Sky Jump

by Anastasia Bolinder

  My eyes scanned the page, Animal science with Mr. Deplen sat at the top, below it; Mage Interests in room D7 by Mr. Jacobsen.

  Taking a deep breath, I looked to the doors as the noise was still loud but dying out as classes would start soon.

  I could do this and I would find a reason to make this box of a school feel pleasant; I vowed as I grabbed the doors spiraled knob. Opening it, I poked my head out and started into the hall after a few glances crossed to me. I wondered what they thought of me and what I was doing.

  Equila, it doesn’t matter what they think, I told myself as I started down the hall but again the words were so much easier to say in my head than believe.

  Looking from my schedule in my hands to the rooms with the small lettering and numbers beside the doors I squinted as I walked, stopping every few feet when I realized the crowds were few as people started rushing past. One particular boy nearly knocked me over as I veered away from him and in the process of narrowly escaping being trampled, I slipped into a class room.

  Clasping the paper in my hand and wishing I had the courage to yell,

  “Watch it!” to the stupid boy I let out a hard breath and turned around to find myself in a classroom nearly filled to the brim with tables and students set in rows with floating pools of glowing liquid dancing around the room.

  Taking my attention away from the class, a blob of blue floated in front of my face and my hand wanted to touch it but I held off as it softly started to glow as it passed before me.

  “Please, take a seat.” A kind masculine voice said close enough I nearly jumped backward into a table of jabbering students.

  Looking up, I realized I looked into the face of a tall teacher who, compared to Mr. Deplen, seemed like a masculine god in hih white lab coat as he nodded his head of black hair to the chairs around the class filled with studants.

  “I, ah…” Shaking my head and realizing I did not want to get myself into more trouble, I looked to my schedule and then back to him, “…is this Mage Interests?” I asked, my voice again sounding much more uncertain than I wanted it to.

  The man nodded heartily,

  “I think I should know, considering I’m the teacher.” he said, with a smile that felt much kinder then Mr. Deplen had been.

  Maybe not all the teachers were going to be bad.

  “Please, take a seat.” He said, motioning to the class and turning again I found I was being watched!

  Honestly, if I had any more eyes on me I would have thought they knew I was a SkyJump for heavens sake! All I needed to do was blend in, not spontaneously and continually stand out.

  I nodded again feeling much too enveloped in the stares I received to even conjure up some smooth reply. Walking briskly through the first row of tables I soon found all the seats were taken, save the last table at the back with a girl and boy who, even as I moved to the seat looked familiar somehow.

  “Is this seat taken?” I asked motioning to the end chair.

  The girl glanced to me and away from the boy next to her,

  “No.” She said and as I sat down I saw the way she suddenly did a double take and looked back to me.

  Taking my bag, I put it beside me as she looked over at me and I suddenly wondered why I was so interesting. Did I have a spider on my cheek or something? I put a hand to my cheek and realized only my hair was against it.

  From the corner of my eye, I noticed that a boy and girl were looking at me as I adjusted in my seat. Why? What was so interesting?!

  “Alright, let me introduce myself…” The teacher, Mr. Jacobsen, started out.

  The girl finally looked to the boy and away from me, but they shared a whisper with only one word catching clearly in my ears, “Skyjump.”

  My eyes widened and I took a painfully sharp breath as the girl spoke to the boy next to her. I tried to keep from bolting out of the room.

  How did they know? I had honestly not been bad enough at looking the part for people to guess from a glance that I was a Skyjump right?

  I felt stiff as Mr. Jacobsen talked about his background in the mage world though my ears turned off as the girl leaned back to me and I tried to keep calm.

  What would my father do? What would he think of me? His SkyJump daughter given one day to blow her cover as an average, normal person.

  “Sorry to whisper with you right next to us, but I wasn’t sure until I asked Zac who you were.” Here it came, my life of freedom flashed before my eyes as well as the disappointment on my father’s face when I wrote to him that everyone knew.

  I glanced aside at her as I realized Zac must be the boy she was whispering to before. The girl nodded and again I felt like I had seen them before. Their faces tickled my memory but not from my first day in school but somewhere before.

  “You’re the girl who won the Skyjump competition, the one…”

  “Miss Depsey, do you plan to whisper the duration of the class period?”

  We all three looked up at the words and the girl beside me paled.

  “Ah, no Mr. Jacobsen. I’m sorry.” She said her eyes slightly wide.

  “Good, otherwise I would have had you share what you were saying to, Miss?” He waited for my reply and my mouth felt dry, sour and empty of words; I was a deer in the headlights.

  “Deshion.” The two next to me said in unison as it hit me that it was the same two who stood up for me in the SkyJump competition!

  Mr. Jacobsen nodded as if understanding a secret and slyly tilted his head.

  “I can see the three of you are friends then, best keep the chatter for after class hours you three.” Mr. Jacobsen said and turned back to the rest of the room as most of the class lightly snickered.

  Among the snickers was one face I caught from a distance before I could really take everything in, he looked at me with a wicked smile as his silver tinted mohawk stood straight up.

  Jack Walaoc from the competition was here as well.

  My gaze came back to the two beside me, my bruised nose twitched as they glanced at one another and the girl nodded when Mr. Jacobsen turned his back.

  “We’ll talk later.” she said with a kind nod as Zac behind her nodded in agreement.

  Turning my attention back to the front of the class room I felt as If I was in a dream. The boy I beat, who hit me, was here as well as the girl from the competition who had glared at me and now the two other competitors who stood up for me sat beside me and still glanced over at me as I fidgeted with my wrist holding tight to my SkyJump bracelet.

  What were the odds?

  “Life is a mass of flux and in such some have gained abilities to use the flux that is already present to bend the possible into the impossible. Otherwise known as mage power or magic as a simpleton term.” Mr. Jacobsen, said leaning on his desk as if completely at ease before a group of teens.

  “Now, as you all know, only those with the innate ability are mages, if you have taken this course you either are here for fun, which I assure, this class will not be easy for you or maybe you’re hiding your powers to keep them a secret.” He glanced around the room and when his eyes passed me I felt as if my whole body was as tense as a board on the verge of collapsing to the floor.

  How in the world was so much around me sounding like people knew my secret? Maybe it was simply the fear of the lies that made me so edgy.

  Mr. Jacobsen laughed lightly and my tense apprehensions slowly morphed my stiff body back to its form as the class joined in until he quieted them with a wave of his hand.

  “Now, all this aside, you have come to learn about one of the strongest powers known to man, only matched by that of the extinct SkyJumps.” He said the words so smoothly I felt shaken.

  SkyJumps were rare but not extinct, my father and I were living proof of that. Yet, to most of the world were we really thought to be extinct?

  “So, in hopes of bringing you to an understanding of the mage world, we will study both history and the laws of a mage ability. As a descendent of mage ancestors I will be
presenting some of the spells and necessary knowledge that will help you understand the ways of one of the last three rare blood races.” Mr. Jacobsen said.

  Again, I felt a sudden nobility pass through my arm as my hand held my wrist. I was a Skyjump, a rare blood and I was also a mage descendant of the ten high mages who created the SkyJump’s beast form.

  Maybe I could make it, I realized as I glanced beside me at the two sitting next to me, again they had stood up for me and the teacher had even thought we were all friends. Maybe I could turn all my fears and jitters around. This may be better than I was beginning to fear and I’ll finally get to learn how to use my mage abilities.

  Looking up from my wrist I felt a soft warmth against my chest. No one else could have seen it but me in the well-lit room, the crystal at my neck was glowing!

  I would have to learn to control that I thought again as instinctively I moved a hand over the spot and felt the crystal fade under my touch as if by command.

  Could magic really be so simple? I had no idea but I was excited to find out as Mr. Jacobsen snapped his fingers and the blobs splashed to the ground and bounced together before him to become a screen. He grinned as the class were impressed by the magic.

  “So let us begin on our journey my young friends.”

  For the next hour I felt I was taken to every continent and through it all, forgetting my problems. My fears about what I needed to say next and even the slight pain in my nose faded as Mr. Jacobsen had morphed the blobs into a world and played scenes on it by bending the light that was in the room to create pictures.

  Even though I had magic I had no idea how he did any of it, I felt like a child at a magicians act, I wanted to know how he did it all because to my mind it all felt beyond imagination.

  When he finally brought the class to an end, closing with the middle of a story about magical properties he said we would have to wait to find out the conclusion of explorers searching for magic in a large crystal cavern.

  The class audibly complained as he laughed and nodded to us, I sat forward listening intently as he formed the blobs back into the air with a wave of his hand.

  “Now, you have a whole semester ahead of you, what good would it be to learn it all on the first day?” he asked, and with a wisp of a laugh the class ended as the intercom chimed the end of the period.

  I sat back in my chair as most students started out, my eyes caught Jack as his mohawk stood sky-high compared to the emptying seats around him.

  “So now that class is over…”

  Looking to the girl and Zac, I motioned to the door before she could continue. Jack was making his way towards me with his wicked smile still on that said he was coming for more than to just say hello.

  I had no intention of finding out what he wanted to say, as much as I wanted to know what his friend in the other class wanted to harass me for.

  “Ah, could we talk somewhere else?” I asked fervently, glancing back and forth.

  Both of them nodded reluctantly.

  “Sure.” the girl said and before she could say another word I was up and moving out of the room, throwing my bag over my shoulder and wishing I could have gotten a picture of the class room with the floating blobs.

  Then again, I did have a whole semester, I realized as I weaved through the crowds and again found the library and slipped in. The other two dogged in behind me as I held the door and glanced out to see if Jack had followed before I turned around to the silent room.

  “Is there someone chasing you?” Zac asked with a scoff as the girl nudged him.

  “As a matter of fact, there might be.” I said and feeling suddenly calm and in control I walked to one of the steps to sit down, we had a few minutes before the next class.

  The two looked to me as I glanced back to them and they tilted their heads almost in unison.

  “Who?” they both asked before glancing at one another.

  In a way, they seemed cute together even though Zac was taller than the copper haired girl.

  “Jack and the girl from the competition.” I said as her name escaped my mind and I realized I only recalled hearing her last name.

  The copper-haired girl before me immediately shook her head and waved her hand in the air as they walked over.

  “Don’t even worry about them. Lucy and Jack are two devils that are so self-absorbed you can just brush them off.” The girl said, sitting down with Zac following suit.

  Smiling softly, I sat back trying to act as calm as Keten had been, looking to the books above and the rows of shelves that still felt ominous as I took a slow breath.

  “Well, they sure know how to glare and make a point.” I said faintly.

  The girl laughed softly and nodded as I looked over to them.

  “Just ignore them, ah..” She stopped and looked to me waiting with a puzzled expression as she had no first name to call me by.

  “Quil.” I said nodding.

  By the time the words left my lips I realized I had easily given my nickname to two people I barely knew. Well, it was better than no name I consider with an inward sigh and they had been there for me twice now.

  “Quil, just forget about them.” She nodded as Zac looked over at her and then rolled his eyes.

  “I’m Zac which I’m sure you’ve gathered by now and my friend here who has never once said her name is Alissa.” He shook his head at her dissaprovingly as she opened her mouth when she stopped glancing from me to Zac.

  “Have I really never said my name once?” she asked looking to Zac.

  He shrugged and then nodded to me,

  “It’s amazing Quil is even speaking to us considering she had no idea who you are.” he said with a throaty laugh.

  Grinning, I suddenly felt completely fine with them knowing my nick-name as Alissa turned back to me.

  “I’m so sorry Quil, you probably thought I was as bad as Lucy.” She said, shaking her head.

  Zac nodded at her side and sat slightly forward putting a hand to his mouth,

  “Probably worse.” He whispered to me though we were right in front for her.

  A smile crossed my lips as she glared at him and elbowed him in the side.

  “Hey, you said so yourself!” Zac said as he dodged her second jab.

  Taking a deep breath, she turned back to me.

  “Sorry, he grew up across the street from me and he always gives me crap like he’s my brother or something.” She said, making a dumb face to the ceiling.

  Holding back my laughter lasted only a second as a slight huff escaped my lips.

  I could not even imagine growing up and knowing a friend for my whole life... That was the only thing that softly stung as I sat there, had I missed out on a friendship like these two?

  Alissa turned back to me and both she and Zac looked to me as I left those thoughts behind, I needed to be present as my father often said when we were at restaurants and I was not listening to him.

  “So, before we got interrupted in class I was going to say…”

  “Classes begins in one minute.”

  My eyes widened and I jumped up as Alissa put a hand to her hips.

  “You’ve got to be kidding me.” She said, shaking her head as they both stood up.

  “Nope, you’re never going to get to speak, just the usual.” Zac said and with a harsh glare Alissa slapped at him with her bag as he jumped away.

  Looking to my bag I started rummaging through and grasped my schedule just as we reached the doors, Zac blocked Alissa’s bag to the face maneuver.

  “So, what’s your next class, Quil?” Alissa asked standing at my side.

  I scanned the paper,

  “Defense and Strategy with Mr. Sheplar.” I said looking up from the page.

  Alissa smiled and nodded to me,

  “That’s my next class, too!” she said with a nod, Zac shook his head.

  “I’m out, I’m in fencing right next door.” He said with a grin as he opened the door for us.

  Alissa sh
ook her head as she pulled on my arm for me to follow.

  “C’mon, we’ll all go that way together then split up.” she said with a nod as we walked out into the hall and Zac suddenly flew passed us running.

  “If you wanna make class you two are going to have to book it or be booked!” He called behind himself as he ran, his light brown hair swaying.

  We started into a run after him and Alissa shook a fist after him as we ran.

  “That’s the dumbest one yet, Zac!” She called after him.

  In that moment as we all ran I suddenly felt this magical prison and box of a school was turning out to be something better then it’s first impressions lead me to believe.

  Chapter 10

  “And so, They Fought.”

  By the time we reached the class room the teachers were already speaking as we slipped into the back of the group. The students moved deeper into the large running track like room, with ceilings that were the highest I had yet seen in the building, with tunnels made out of rope dangling above us.

  “We, ah, made it.” Alissa rasped out, as she was doubled over panting.

  Glancing about the room I could see it kept going deeper but a tall boy and a few other students blocked my view of the large gym room.

  “This class is not only about fighting but working your mind in a tense situation.” A deep brooding voice said from within the large group.

  Tilting my head, I caught a glimpse past the other students to the end of the room. Large-box like levels rows up from the ground and an obstacle course set above and throughout the room as I noticed once more the nets high above us and as my eyes scanned down the wall I realized they were covered in Skyjumping objects!

  My lips slanted up into a grin but quickly disappeared as I remembered I could do nothing that would seem like I was SkyJump or Mage.

  Turning back, I looked to the ground absently. What was the point of being either if I was forced to never use my abilities?

  A stern image of my father’s face crossed my mind.