Something New Revealed

Chapter 12

            I wake up and stretch.  I check my clock.  9:00am.  I look at my dresser and see a slip of paper- my schedule.  I pick it up read it.  My class with Sam starts… now.  Dang it. 

            I slip out of bed and get dressed.  Then I run out and grab a granola bar from the kitchen, and obviously Belladonna and Dana are gone.  If they were still here I would’ve woken up an hour ago from their talking. 

            I walk out the door and down to the field where Sam will be teaching me things about having Discrepancy.  When I see Sam pacing on the field I start to run toward him.  When he sees me approach I slow down.

            “Hey,” I say.  “Sorry I’m late.”

            “It’s fine.  I knew you just woke up.”

            “Oh.”  Sam turns away and digs through a box.

            “What’s that?” I ask.  I walk over so I can see better. 

            “It’s a box full of training activities,” Sam replies.  He pulls out some daggers and I step back.

            “I’m not gonna stab you,” Sam says.

            “I’m taking precautions.”

            He shakes his head and hands me two of the daggers, leaving two for himself. 

            “Okay,” Sam says.  “Now, having Discrepancy, we are good with dueling and swordplay, preferably daggers.” He gestures to the weapons.

            “So for the next few days we’re gonna practice,” he continues.  He gets into a fighting position.  “Now, stand in this position with your daggers pointing toward the ground, slightly toward me.”

            I do as he says, putting my feet shoulder-width apart and hold my dagger in front of me, my arms tense.

            “Stop shaking, Nita,” Sam says.

            “I’m not shaking,” I say.

            “Yes you are. I’m not blind.” He walks over to me and slides his hands into mine.

”Calm down, Nita. Focus on me.”

            I stare into his eyes, right now a soft blue. Calm, maybe? I pull away.

            “I can’t do this,” I say.

            “Can’t do what?” Sam asks.

            “This,” I say, gesturing between me and him. He sighs.

            “I wasn’t trying to persuade you to get back with me with my amazing looks, Nita,” he teases. I roll my eyes.

            “Then what were you doing? You just decided it was a good idea to hold my hands?”

            “It’s a way to calm the nerves.”

            “Holding hands?”

            “You take their hands and stare into each other’s eyes, and their anger or distress level goes down.”

            “How can you tell it’s going down?” I ask.

            “It’s like there’s a meter beside their head,” Sam says. “It starts as a full meter, then gradually goes down.”

            “Is it hard to do that?”

            “Not really. You just need to focus.”

            I nod, and let him take my hands again. I take a deep breath as I stare into Sam’s eyes, and I start to feel myself relax.

            “It’s working,” I say quietly.

            Sam smiles. “See?” He releases my hands and walks over to his box of wonders.

            “Now what are we doing?” I ask, following him over.

            “I was thinking about more dueling, but that might be it for today,” he says.

            “Oh,” I say with a hint of disappointment. Sam turns to me.

            “Why do you want to go on this quest?” he asks.

            I shrug. “It’s like a chance to redeem myself. I wanna figure where I belong, and I think me going to go visit this ‘She’ person will help.”

            “You wanna go out there, with no experience in the arts of fighting? Great plan, Nita.”

            I roll my eyes. “Of course I wanna learn to defend myself, but - I don’t know…I just wanna go out and see where this person is, you know?”

            “Yeah, I guess.” There’s an awkward silence.

            “Why’d you choose me to go with you?”

            I turn to him. “What do you mean?” I ask.

            “I mean, there’s plenty of students here to choose from. Why’d you choose me to go with you on this quest?”

            “Well, you’re like me. I want someone going with me who understands what I’m going through and can help me figure myself out. The others that are coming…they’re normal Mythicals. Us – we have Discrepancy. We can do anything, and I still can’t use a sword!”

            He laughs.

            “That’s why I chose you, Sam,” I continue. “You’re like my best friend.”

            “Well I’d say we’ve been a little more than best friends,” Sam says, winking at me.

            “Well, I don’t deny that,” I say, laughing.

            He smiles softly.

            We continue to talk for a little while, about what having Discrepancy means and school stuff and forgetting about normal lives.

            “I haven’t got lunch,” Sam admits. “Wanna go out? Light restaurant lunch?”

            “Is Sam asking me out?” I tease.

            He stand and bows. “Just for this lovely afternoon.”

            I take his arm and we walk down to the east side of the school where the grounds hold restaurants, roller skating rinks, bowling, a cinema – just about anything you can find; it’s like a small town.

             We end up going to Panera and I get a sandwich and Sam gets soup.

            “You know, you never told me about your life before you found out you were a Mythical,” Sam says. “How was it? I don’t remember my life before. I’ve lived with Mythicals all my life.”

            “Well,” I say after chewing a bite of my sandwich, “it was good. I lived in Greece with my parents, sisters, and brothers. But there was a war just outside my house before I left – they’re all dead now.”

            “Wow, I’m sorry to hear that.”

            “It doesn’t matter. They never really paid attention to me. I tried to talk to them, but they would ignore me constantly.”

            “Well, we’re your new family now,” Sam says. He eats some of his soup, and I smile weakly.