Heshra

Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Today is my final day on the boat. In the dining room, everyone is talking about the storm. I can't help but listen.

"It was a bad one," A riva boy says to his friends.

"I heard it was a very mild," another argues.

"Mild? Ha! That was one heck of a storm." The first one says. "I almost puked my guts out."

I turn away from them and head over to a table. Melanie and Liam soon join me. I note that Jay is not with them. I have not seen him since the jump. They seem to be having a conversation. One about meeting the kids from other sectors.

There are six sectors. All very similar and also very different. We all fight for something. We all have something worth fighting for. Heshra fights to protect. Whylex fights for those who need it. Laurotha fights for the knowledge and information. Duranza fight for freedom. They have a harsh government and need to fight to gain their freedom. Saurina does not fight and have a very peaceful community. Then the Karkus, the evil, fight for power. In fact, I remember Dad telling me that they had recently just elected their tenth king because none of them could decide who the king should be. And even there the government is not equal, all of them wanting to have power. Dad told me that in his training he was bullied by a Karkus boy. He told me to watch my back because they have the power to do all sorts of things and could get away with it because most of their parents had someone that had power and if any of the trainers even slightly went out of line, their parents had the authority to do whatever they liked with them. I'm not looking forward to that part of training.

"I wonder which kids out of which sector will be the nicest?" Melanie says, snapping me out of my thoughts.

"Definitely not the Karkus or Duranza."

"Why not the Duranza?" I ask.

"Because they have spent their whole life fighting a rebellion against their government." He says, his face hard. I have never seen Liam this way.

"Poor them," Melanie says in a soft voice as if she is talking to a puppy or kitten.

I feel a pang of sympathy.

"But I bet the Saurina will be nice. They don't fight at all." Melanie chirps up.

"Which will make it even worse for them for the fighting part of training ." Liam says. Why is he so negative today? I ask myself. Must be the thought that we are almost at training.

"I noticed that you don't have any bacon on your plate this morning." I say trying to lighten the mood. He glares at me. The smile that was playing my lips immediately turns into a frown. I stand up.

"What is up with you boys these days. First Jay and now you. Why do you have to be so moody." I stomp out of the dining room causing a few heads to turn.

I don't care. All I want is the boys to stop acting so mad and strange at everything. Is that so much to ask?

I head to the room and slam the door closed and sit on the end of my bed and stare at the wall. I don't even look up when Melanie walks in.

"Hey," she sits next to me.

"Hey," I continue to stare at the wall.

"Look at me," I look up at her.

"I've noticed it too. The constant mood swings. You can't blame them. They're boys after all. And they are going through puberty."

I nod but I'm not really convinced. Jay has never acted like this before.

"I think it's because of training," I say, turning my head so I don't look at her.

"I think everyone is nervous about it." Her voice is calm and steady, like a mother comforting a child.

Her hand finds mine and she squeezes. I look into her eyes, calm and happy. They are Melanie's eyes. They comfort you when you need it. She is the person I will never be. Sweet and innocent and stern all wrapped in one. She is my friend and she will always be. I lean my head onto her shoulder like I was three and sit there.

"There is no time to waste," she says softly.

"It is still only nine in the morning." I mumble and glance up at her.

She nods and I stand up, stretching.

"I was thinking about going to the pool. How does that sound?" She asks.

"There is a pool?" I ask.

She nods again.

"And I asked the attendant to bring us some swimsuits. Come on, it will be fun!"

"Okay," I agree.

We step out the room after an attendant brings us our swimsuits. We took some towels from the bathroom and then Melanie leads the way to the pool. We step into the room to see it deserted. The reflection of the light off the pool casts an eerie glow throughout the room.

"I guess we have the place to ourselves." Melanie says.

I nod and follow her into the changing room on the other side of the pool room. I change into a one piece bathing suit that is too tight because it is too short for my torso but it's okay. I am changed faster than Melanie so I set my towel down on a chair and dive into the deep side of the pool. I glide through the water like I was a torpedo, making it to the other side of the pool before bringing my head up. I feel free. I push myself out of the pool and sit on the edge. I look up to see Melanie smiling at me.

"Go Myra!" She cheered. I smile.

"Now let's see you do it," I wipe water from my eyes and nod to the side I just dove into.

"Okay, ready go!"

She dives in and glides through the water, graceful and elegant.

She pokes her head out of the water and I applaud. She bows her head and I giggle.

"Thank you, thank you," she says in a very sophisticated voice.

"Let's race! First to the other end wins!"

We spend the majority of the day racing and swimming and having fun. I didn't even think once about Jay or Liam or anything other than me and Melanie and gliding through the water like I could fly. I feel free. Now I know what the birds feel like when they fly. The freedom and happiness of being able to glide and soar.

We head on back to dinner after we change. The magic is gone and I have to come back to reality. Like the fact that I have to face Liam after yelling at him at breakfast.

We walk into the vast dining room and Liam waves us over, a smile once again on his face. One less problem I have to worry about. I see that Jay is there too. He is laughing about something Liam just said.

I find myself smiling with him. It is good to have him back. The rumbling in my stomach reminds me that I didn't even eat lunch. I had been so wrapped up in swimming that I guess I forgot about it. I get dinner and then slide into the seat next to Jay, parallel to Liam.

"So tomorrow is the big day," Liam says.

"I guess it is," Jay says back to him.

"I'm nervous," I admit.

Melanie just sighs.

Jay gobbles down his food. I guess his appetite is back. Everything seems to be returning to normal.

I smile.

That night I fall asleep straight away not even thinking about training.