Green Girl (PRS)

Day Off

"Allison!" I heard Mentor call to me as I was getting ready to train. He jogged over to me as I was tying my belt.

"What's up, Ji?"

"I want you and the rest of the team to take a day off."

"Seriously?! A day off?! Please tell me you're being serious!" I shouted excitedly.

"I'm being serious! You and the others should take a day off. You know—"

"Balance is part of being a samurai."

"Exactly. Now, go change and tell the others." And with that he walked out. I quickly changed out of my practice clothes and into my regular clothes. I ran to the dojo where everyone except Jayden was practicing.

"Hey, guys! Guess what?"

"What's up?" Emily asked.

"Ji just told me he wanted us to take the day off."

"Really?!"

"This isn't a joke?" Mia questioned suspiciously.

"But we just started our workout." Kevin argued.

"Dude, you're telling me that you're going to disobey a direct order from your samurai mentor?" I challenged him.

"Well... I guess not."

"What to do? I could shop for shoes that aren't designed for fighting monsters. Or I could catch a movie." Mia pondered.

"But it's such a beautiful day. It'd be a shame to stay cooped up inside." Emily argued.

"Well there's that amusement park, Rainbow's End. How about we all go there?" I asked.

"Sounds great! I've never been on a roller coaster before."

"Now you're kidding."

"They don't have roller coasters where I'm from."

"Then it's settled. Rainbow's End it is! I'll meet you guys outside." As we all started to leave Jayden passed us by.

"Hey, Jayden, we're going to the amusement park." Kevin said invitingly.

"Have fun." Jayden said with a smile as he brushed us off. I knew what he was doing. He wants to go, I can tell, but he's definitely working on something. I just wish he would have fun like he used to. And I'm not talking about sneaking around, I'm talking about real fun.

"You're not coming with us?"

"Not this time. There's something I need to do." And with that he walked away.

"He's so mysterious sometimes." Mia said. "I wonder what's so important."

"Look, I've known Jayden a long time. He's always been like that. It's probably nothing." I said. Lie, lie, all lies. It's definitely something, but I wasn't about to tell them that. "Jayden can take care if himself, trust me."

"Wait, but I thought you and Jayden only knew each other for a little while as kids. Why do you say you've known him for so long?" Emily asked. Crap, busted.

"We just have a good friendship. That's all." I lied again.

"Yeah, 'friendship.' Whatever you say, Allison."

"Enough of this, let's hit some rides!" And with that we all raced off. I just hope I don't reveal our secret on accident.

•••

We had just hopped off a roller coaster, which were always my favorite, when Kevin began ti talk again. "I wonder why Jayden didn't come."

"Jay isn't like the rest of us, Kev." I responded. "He's extremely focused on protecting us. Sometimes to a fault."