The Missing Piece of History

Chapter 8 CATHY: I MAKE SOME NEW FRIENDS

The next duel was Teena versus a boy with black hair. He wore a black shirt and stood opposite Teena adjusting his huge spectacles. It was obvious that he was nervous.

As soon as Professor Sally yelled START, Teena folded her right hand into a fist and when she opened them, there appeared a huge steel bar. She hit that poor boy with one of her powerful steel strikes. She was so quick and it seemed that she was handling her powers with ease.

I felt that the boy on the other hand didn't have a slightest chance of winning against her. Even before he could defend himself, he got a direct hit to his stomach and fell down. The boy showed no movement after that and terror started to build inside me.

The blonde guy who dueled with Rose rushed towards the fallen boy. He used his power and sprinkled some water on that boy's face.

I looked at the professor. She gave a staring look at Teena and said, "Class dismissed". She then walked towards the blonde guy and said, "I'll take it from here. You may leave."

Rose pulled me away saying, "Come on. There is nothing we can do here. It is also time for lunch. Let's go to Diner."

We entered the Diner and received our plates from the counter. We had rice and chicken for lunch. We decided to eat outside, sitting under an umbrella that day.

A thought was bothering me and I finally asked Rose about that. "Hey, Rose. Teena seems to have a good control over her powers. Then why do you think she didn't attack us yesterday night?"

"Maybe she is planning for something else," Rose replied casually having a bite at her chicken.

"What? How can you say it like it's no big deal?" I asked her.

She looked at me in a reassuring way and said, "Hey, don't worry. We don't have to be scared of her. We have powers of our own too."

"I am sure that the guy who got defeated today has some powers too," I said.

She just shrugged and continued her lunch. I started eating too. No use worrying about it now. I have already made an enemy of her. I have to learn to control my powers sooner.

Rose gave me a nudge. I asked her "What?" But she was not looking at me. Her gaze went way past me. I turned to look what it was and saw two boys coming towards us with their lunch plates in their hands. One wore a blue sweatshirt and he was the blonde guy who fought Rose. The other was the red-haired guy. He wore a black sweatshirt with the words 'DON'T TRY TO IGNITE ME' imprinted on it.

"Hi. Are these seats taken?" the blonde guy asked pointing to the empty chairs near us but before we could reply, they sat. I felt that it was more of a statement than a question. "I am Sam. You were great during the duel today," he said addressing Rose.

Rose smiled at the compliment and said, "Always am. It was a pleasure dueling you. Well, I am Rose and she is Cathy." Sam nodded to me and introduced the other boy as his friend, Jim.

Jim nodded to Rose saying, "Nice to meet you". He then faced me and stopped, "Wait a minute. I recognize you." He paused. "You were the one who hit yourself in the duel today, weren't you?" he said and had a hearty laugh.

My face turned red and I blurted out, "Well, I recognize you too. You were the one snoring in the Mythology class."

Rose and Sam started laughing.

"Ha, so you noticed me?" Jim asked smiling.

What!? I ignored him and asked Sam, "Is Teena's opponent fine?"

"Oh, you are asking about Nicole. Yeah, he got hit pretty badly today but I am sure Professor Sally will take care of him," said Sam.

"So, where are you girls from?" asked Jim.

"I am from Berglon and she is..." dragged Rose.

"I am a blue-blood," I said. Everyone had their gazes fixed on me.

"What!? Really?" asked Sam. I nodded and then he continued in a concerned tone, "Well, um...is it easy for you to adapt here?"

"Yeah, I am adapting," I replied.

"How did you find out about your powers? And how did you end up here? I mean, who brought you here?" asked Jim.

I narrated my whole story from the garden incident to how Josh and Jenny came to my home through our bird cage and how we used the portal to reach Illusia.

And when I was done Jim commented, "Let me make this clear. Your curiosity drove you to a new world with two complete strangers?"

I didn't react to that, though I knew he was right. "Such curiosity," he said looking at me.

"So, where are you guys from?" I asked them trying to change the topic away from me.

"We both live in Neodom. My dad works as a coastal guard and Jim's dad owns a Textile shop," answered Sam.

"Are you guys living in the Quarters now?" asked Rose.

"The Academy members say that it is mandatory for everyone pursuing studies here to stay in the Quarters. It is actually nice staying here. Jim is my room-mate, and so it is actually fun," replied Sam.

"We are room-mates too," said Rose.

"Great," said Sam as he ate his chicken. Then he asked Rose, "When did you realize about your powers?"

"I realized it when I accidently electrified my brother," she said with a smile.

"Well, you just hurt one person but I set my entire room on fire," said Jim.

"Yeah, can't forget about that. I came to your home to put out that fire. We live nearby, so I went there as soon as the fire alarm went off," said Sam smiling.

"What about you, Sam?" asked Rose. As soon as she asked it, Jim started laughing saying, "Do tell her buddy."

"I, um...happened to find out about my powers when I was having a shower," Sam replied. Rose looked at him raising her eyebrows.

"Not so decent, I know. But hey, water is my element," said Sam.

"You can't change that, bro. I know you wish your powers were as awesome as mine," added Jim with a chuckle.

"No, I don't. I don't want to go around burning stuff. I like my powers," protested Sam.

"Okay, water-boy. Relax," replied Jim with a grin in his face and continued eating.

Once we finished our lunch, Sam asked, "Does anyone know what the next class is?"

I checked my note and told everyone that it was the 'Recreational Activities' class.

"Guys, I hope this class will be fun and be nothing like the Mythology class 'cause I seriously can't handle another theory class today," said Jim and then he imitated in Professor Michael's voice, "ALWAYS REMEMBER THE PAST." Rose and Sam burst out laughing. I couldn't help but smile, as his imitation of the professor was really good.

We then headed towards the Ground for the Recreational Activities class together. Sam seemed nice and friendly and Jim was not bad either except for his comments. So I didn't mind their company. Actually, I started feeling good with them around.