The Sword of Fire-Trials Of Fate--Book I

CHAPTER 1: I FLUNK THE RULES OF CHEMISTRY

"This is bad," my best friend, Mac Henrich, muttered as he looked at the board, "I mean, you'd think that after Mrs. Lester and I practically did our level best to kill each other last year, the school would make sure we never crossed paths again, right?," he turned to me and chuckled, "Anyway, looks like I'd better get ready for round two. So, which class are you in?"

I looked up to the board, and like the other dozen or so students around me, checked to see which class I'd been condemned to. "Grade Nine C," I groaned, "And Mr. Lester's my teacher."

"Wow," Mac laughed, "We've been doomed to spend our entire ninth grade with the Lester family. Could things get any worse?"

As we walked down the hallway, I was pretty convinced things had already gotten worse. This was gonna be the first time since kindergarten that Mac and I won't be in the same class, which was gonna be hell for me but not much of a bother for Mac. Mac may be a bit taller than I am and just as lanky, but don't let his size fool you. I've seen him fight thugs three times his weight, and he's never lost. Without him, I'd be a walking talking punching bag.

"It can't be all bad," I muttered to myself as I walked into my class, "Maybe there's no bully in this class and everybody's actually nice and friendly."

The second I looked at my classmates, those happy thoughts flew out the window.

For one thing, every single football player in my grade was sitting at the back. And with the football players at my school, the second you're a part of the team, you become an automatic bully. I saw a few of them glance at me, and a couple of them smiled the way predators do when their prey's too helpless to even move.

One look at them told me I wouldn't make it through the semester.

I sat on a seat in the second row, mostly to avoid those future thugs without looking like a nerd.

Mr. Lester came into the class just as the bell rang, and just like that, the semester had begun.

I should probably introduce myself at this point. My name's Jones. Jones Fate. Yeah, I know the name "Jones" sounds a bit old-fashioned, but like most weird things in my life, I've learned to deal with it. I'm thirteen, blond, and basically the kind of guy you'd swear wouldn't make it through the whole school year. I got the blond hair from both of my parents, but my blue eyes came from my dad. That's one of the few things I remember about him before he...well, I like to think he just disappeared.

Dad and I used to be close when I was younger. The happiest days of my life usually had him and my mum in them. I remember his charming personality, his warm smile that shone just like the sun. He was always there to cheer me up when I was sad or crying. When he was around, of course. He was a detective most of the time, but he sometimes traveled somewhere with a bunch of guys, doing what he would tell me was "Undercover Work." One time when I was eight, I got curious and eavesdropped on my parents to hear more about his undercover job.

What I got either confused the heck out of me or shook me to my bones.

"... I have to do this now, Angela," I heard him tell my mom that night. I was supposed to be in bed, but I wanted a little snack from the kitchen before I crashed. I got there, heard his anxious voice, and hid myself to know what was going on. I heard him say, "This is the one chance I have to do this. If I don't, then life as we know it will cease to exist."

"I know that, darling," my mom replied, "And I perfectly understand that. But you can't just...leave us here. What if Jones gets out of control?"

"There's a fire extinguisher in the bathroom," he replied, pacing through and fro the kitchen.