by K. Manna
Alex pushed his chair back. “You’re not weird. Everyone has their quirks. Most people just don’t want to admit it.” He looked into my eyes and said, “I have a confession to make.”
“What?” I asked, puzzled.
“When I eat, I have to chew each bite at least twenty-four times, no matter what. That’s why I’m still here. Man, it takes forever. Well, actually, I stayed because I noticed you counting. Usually, I just leave my plate of food when everybody else around me is leaving. At first, I didn’t realize what you were doing. When I figured it out, I just couldn’t believe that anyone had an issue like mine.”
Really? Wow, that sucks. At least my issue only happens when I eat cereal. I can avoid it if I want to, but he doesn’t seem to be able to. Maybe he should blend all of his food together, then he wouldn’t have to think about it. A liquid diet would suck too, though.
“I would have never guessed that is your quirk. I have never heard of anyone doing that,” I said.
“Well, now you have. And I have heard of your little game. Maybe I should try it.” Alex laughed.
I laughed, too. “No, you’d better not. With your issues and mine mixed together, you would be eating here all morning.”
We both got up together and started walking out to practice.
“Yeah, you’re totally right,” Alex said.
I turned, heading in the opposite direction.
Alex hollered out, “It was nice talking to you, and remember, you’re not weird, just different.”
I waved back at him. “I’ll try!”
I arrived late to practice. Eugene already had Bree and Indee seated on the ground in deep meditation. Not wanting to interrupt them, he silently gestured for me to sit down and begin.
Okay, I am in meditation pose—again—so let’s try this one more time. Clear your mind. Focus. But focus on what? This whole thing feels so unreal. All this really only happens in the movies, doesn’t it? How do they expect to turn normal kids into wizards? Like, put us in a drum circle and, voila, we turn into magical fiction characters like Ebidysis, the wizard from Seekladust. Yeah, I would totally love to play the good witch with her magical potions, or a fairy godmother with a magical wand or fairy dust. I would love to be magical. But, come on, really? Do they seriously believe that I can come in here and heal?
Thoughts and questions swam around in my brain the whole time we were in meditation, every single waking minute and every single itty-bitty second.
This is ridiculous, absolutely crazy.
I heard Eugene say, “Meditation is over; please open your eyes.”
As soon as our eyes opened, mine met Bree’s and she leaned toward me. “Where were you?”
Eugene looked at me with the same question in his eyes.
“I just had to finish something important,” I replied hesitantly, not wanting them to know about my odd counting obsession.
“Okay, Margo, but please try not to be late again. Practice is also important, and I want to make sure that you are learning and improving,” Eugene said in his calming voice. He put the music player away and turned to address the group. “Please bring out your healing energy balls, the ones you should have worked with yesterday afternoon. Focus your mind and body. Take your time. We are in no rush.”
The three of us cupped our hands into a ball and began to work—or try to work was more like it—with our imaginary ball of energy. I felt odd, like this whole thing was make-believe.
I don’t feel anything at all. Am I doing this right? What the heck should I do now? Ugh, this is so frustrating. We all look like a bunch of dorks, sitting here pretending to hold a ball. Someone is probably videotaping us from some sneaky hiding spot and laughing at us right this very moment.
Bree sat next to me with her eyes closed, a broad smile appearing on her face. “This is absolutely amazing. The heat between my hands feels as if I have them over a heater. I can’t believe this is real, and it’s happening all because of me.”
Really? Blah, blah, blah. I don’t wanna hear it.
Eugene placed his hands close to Bree’s, without touching, and said, “Yes, you have a great deal of energy, Maybree. Margo and Indee, why don’t you come over here and feel the heat she is creating? Her healing energy is strong and ready to be used.”
Indee looked way too focused on himself just then, and either didn’t hear Eugene or chose to ignore him, because he stayed quietly in his place as if he were alone. I scooted closer to Bree and brought my hand above hers to see what Bree and Eugene were all smiles about. At first, there was nothing, no heat. So, I closed my eyes to focus.
Wait! Is that what they are talking about? Or maybe the sun finally came out, and it’s the sunlight shining down and warming my skin.
With the sky being overcast all morning, I partially opened one eye to see if the sun had peeked through the clouds.
Nope, no yellow glow bouncing off these hands, only a dull grayness. Whoa, it feels like my palm is hovering over a candle flame. Craziness!
Eugene noticed my surprised facial expression and said, “Maybree, I think you are ready to begin the healing process. Do you have a small cut or bruise on your body to practice with?”
Bree looked up and down her arms and then pulled her pant legs up and turned her legs in different directions, searching for some past injury that she could heal. I pointed out a purplish-yellow fading bruise on her kneecap. Eugene nodded for Bree to go ahead and work her magic. Her hands came down over her knee, gently resting on the bruise. Again, without touching her, I placed my hand above hers and felt for her healing heat.
“Bree, you are totally awesome. I can feel it,” I whispered, in complete awe.
Indee must have heard me and suddenly became interested because he reached his hand near ours and gave us a look of surprise. “Holy wow, girl! Pick your hand up and see if it worked.”
Not knowing when to stop, Bree looked to Eugene for a cue. He nodded, and Bree removed her hand from her knee.
No freakin’ way!
“Holy crap, guys, I did it!” Bree shouted, unable to take her eyes off her knee, which was no longer bruised.
I gave her a little slap on her shoulder. “See, I told you. You’re awesome! Good job!”
Indee interrupted, excitedly waving his hands. “Okay, okay. Here, check this out.” Indee showed us the forearm that Eugene had scratched with a key the day before. “Almost gone. Awesome, huh? Now, watch me heal this.” He turned his arm over and revealed a crusty brown scab on his elbow. “I bashed my elbow the other day. It hurt so bad, like charley horse city. Not to mention the nasty gash it left. No matter how much I pick at the ugly thing, it won’t go away.”
“Well, duh, Indee. You have to leave it alone so it can heal on its own,” Bree said, rolling her eyes.
“Whatever, girl. Easier said than done. I like picking my scabs. Anyway, from now on, I can heal them myself.” Indee cupped his hand over his scabby elbow. Closing his eyes, he began to hum a little tune.
Bree and I both placed a hand near Indee’s to feel for his healing energy.
Oh, there’s a little bit of heat. Not as strong as Bree’s, but at least it’s something.
Eugene leaned toward Bree and said in a whisper, “Maybree, don’t focus on your healing energy while your hand is so close to Indee’s. Your energy may actually help to heal his wound, and that would defeat the purpose of this exercise. We wouldn’t know if it was Indee actually doing the work.”
Bree pulled her hand away, but mine stayed where it was.
No worries with my hand being here; it’s not like I can heal anything.
After a few minutes, Indee pulled his hand away from his elbow. The scabby edges had slightly faded, but this was the only noticeable difference.
“Damn! There is barely any change. This is hard,” Indee complained.
With hi
s hand resting softly on Indee’s back, Eugene said, “Healing can be very difficult, but you are doing great. Keep a positive attitude, and keep working at it. You will get better, my boy.” He turned to me. “Margo, your turn, my dear.”
Oh, great, here we go.
I began to bite the inside of my lower lip as I pulled my pant leg up. There was a bluish-purple bruise on my shin from the night before when I banged my leg on the stupid dinner table. Feeling hopeless and doubtful, I confessed my feelings. “Eugene, seriously, I don’t think I can do this. Every single time that I have attempted to find my energy, I don’t feel a thing—no heat, no vibrations, nothing. I don’t have the goods to heal, honestly.”
“You must try, Margo. If you don’t try, you will never know. And just so you do know, my dear, I have studied the body’s energies for over thirty years, and I can sense that you have much more energy than you think you do.” Eugene pointed to my forehead, heart, and hands. “In all of these places. You need to learn how to use it. Believe in yourself. Do you want to be able to heal?”
“Yes, I do. I really do,” I replied.
Eugene wiped his hands together twice. “Very well. Then that is exactly what you will do.”
My hands rested one on top of the other over my ugly, swollen bruise. I closed my eyes and tried to focus. I imagined that my healing energy was the color purple, a bold, piercing purple that would shoot from my hands and absorb into my skin, healing the bruise away.
Be gone, bruise. Be gone.
I pressed my fingers firmly against the bruise and began to concentrate intensely.
Heal. Be gone, bruise. Heal. Ouch!
The dang bruise hurt from the pressure of my fingertips. My senses became heightened. Through closed eyelids, I could see movement. I could hear everyone breathing, my deep breaths most of all. My hands felt the slightest bit of warmth, but it could have been my own body heat or my imagination.
I can’t do this; it won’t work. I can’t tell what is real and what isn’t. Is the heat really there or not? Is it the sunlight this time? Maybe it’s Bree’s hand above mine. Ugh, who am I kidding? I’m not some special human being with healing powers.
I opened my eyes and threw my hands up in total frustration. “I suck! I told you I can’t do this.”
Eugene shushed me. “My dear, you need to be patient with yourself. Don’t get so riled up.”
“Whatever,” I huffed and rolled my eyes.
“Hey, Go-Go, do you mind if I try?” Bree asked. “I don’t mean to be rude. It’s just that my bruise was already so faded, and yours is pretty fresh. It’s probably harder to heal newer injuries.”
Oh, she’s just trying to make me feel better, but ya know what, it’s not working. I suck!
Being completely annoyed with myself and my ever-busy mind, I moved my leg in front of Bree and sighed. “Sure, go for it. It’s all yours.”
Bree’s hand covered the bruise on my shin. Her eyes closed, and within minutes, heat began to radiate through my lower leg. An uncomfortable pressure made my muscles tighten.
I cringed. “Don’t press so hard. It hurts.”
“I’m not pressing on you. See, I’m barely touching you,” Bree said.
“The healing process may cause different sensations as the body heals. Pressure, pulling, and pain are common with accelerated healing,” Eugene explained.
Moments later, Bree’s hand came away from my shin; the bruise had faded to a light smudge of yellow.
Dang, she’s good. There is no more pain, either.
For some reason, I took my pointer finger and pressed on the yellow spot. “It doesn’t hurt at all. Good job, again.”
Okay, this makes me feel even more like loser material. Bree healed most of the bruise, while I couldn’t heal a damn thing. I need to get outta here, away from all this—this …
“I have to go to the bathroom, and then I’m going to go lie down for a bit. My stomach hurts,” I lied.
This has been enough for one day. Get me outta here, please.
I was on my feet and halfway to the palace before Eugene could even nod his head. On my way back to the palace, I heard a voice calling from far off.
“Hey, Margo!” Sasha stood in the distance waving her hands. “Come here!”
I walked in her direction to see what she wanted. She drank from a bottle and then crumpled it and tossed it on the ground. When I reached her, she pulled another water bottle out of the cooler on the ground by her feet. I literally watched her down that bottle of water within two, maybe three seconds. Sasha crumpled that plastic bottle and threw it on the growing pile of empty bottles.
“Did you drink all of those?” I asked, pointing to the pile on the ground.
“Yeah, I am so thirsty. You should see all of the stuff that we’re doing, or at least that I am doing. Cole is doing pretty good.” Sasha lowered her voice. “But that Jeremiah kid shouldn’t be here. Not to be mean, but I don’t think he has a chance.”
Looking over, I saw their female guide working with Cole and Jeremiah. Cole stood much taller than Jeremiah and had broader shoulders. In fact, Jeremiah was a tad shorter than me and kind of a little, puny-looking guy. They were in the middle of picking up rocks of different sizes, some pretty heavy looking.
“Well, he will get better, I’m sure. To tell you the truth, I probably shouldn’t be here either. This whole healing thing isn’t working so well for me,” I admitted with a shrug of my shoulders.
Sasha looked a bit taken aback, like she was going to say something, but decided against it. Changing the subject, Sasha approached one of her rocks and told me to watch. She stood over the rock and stretched her arms above her head before taking a few slow, deep breaths. The instructor, Jeremiah, and Cole stopped what they were doing, their attention fully on Sasha. Slowly, she bent down and grasped the rock with her hands and arms. Her forehead wrinkled as her eyebrows scrunched together tightly. Small beads of sweat began to drip down the sides of her reddened face while she inched to a full standing position, still holding the heavy load. Odd grunting sounds came from Sasha’s mouth from all of the strength she was using. With another grunt, she stood straight and then suddenly dropped the rock at her feet.
“I could hardly lift that rock yesterday, so at least I know I’m improving. Was that pretty cool, or what?” Sasha asked, looking pleased with herself.
“Very cool, Sasha. I could never lift that, at least not in this lifetime. How much do you think it weighs?”
“That rock is over two hundred pounds,” the instructor voiced.
All eyebrows lifted.
Being a dork, I ran over to the rock and tried to lift it.
Whoa, no way is this sucker moving.
I couldn’t even get it to budge, not even a smidge. Everyone laughed along with me at my failed attempt. Not to be outdone, Cole wanted to show off how much he could lift, so he lifted a rock that the instructor said weighed about one hundred and fifty pounds. Jeremiah shyly went next, struggling to lift a rock that was about eighty pounds. That kid tried with all of his might, though. I gave him props for that. Sasha and Cole may have lifted more, but if effort and determination counted, he won hands down.
Cole had a mouth like Lottie’s that would run nonstop until my ears almost fell off. He wasn’t my type, but he was kind of cute. He had a round face and nose and really nice skin that looked baby soft.
This guy would be perfect for Lottie. The two of them would never have a silent moment. Oh, I wouldn’t wanna get in an argument with one of them.
While Cole went on talking, Jeremiah stood totally quiet, the complete opposite of Cole. How many words had I heard from him since we got here? Three? Four? And I thought I was shy.
BONGO! BONGO!
Lunchtime! I’m starvin’ marvin. Finally, we can go get some grub.
Lunch was just about over by the time
I took my last sip of lemonade. The day’s activities must have been intense because I noticed a lot of the others had gone back for second helpings, which was unusual considering all the food the cooks piled on our plates. Sir Felix entered the room all smiles, as usual, with hands tucked into his pockets. He stood at the end of the table, quietly watching everyone chitchat and finish their meals.
Sir Felix cleared his throat loudly and waited for everyone’s attention. He announced, “Starting today and from each day forward, one of you will be selected for your hard work and improvement and allowed to choose an item in the Goodies Galore room. The chosen one will also be able to pick one friend to go along with him or her and choose a gift for themselves also.”
Everyone’s eyes lit up and lips curved into smiles with the excitement of hearing this news.
“And the lucky one for today is … Sasha. Sasha, who will you be choosing to go with you?” Sir Felix asked.
With a surprised look on her face, Sasha said, “Oh, um.” Her eyes scanned up and down the table. “Margo.”
Totally stunned that she didn’t choose Bree, her own roommate, I asked, “Really?”
Sasha nodded.
“All right, but before I take the two of you to pick your gifts, I would like all of you to know that at eight o’clock sharp tonight we will all be gathering in the main entrance. Leenda and I will be escorting you to the royal balcony for an extremely important event. Tonight will be the Zyon’s coming out. As you all know, it is royal tradition to keep the Zyon from society until after his sixteenth birthday. All of you should feel incredibly honored to be a part of this special and most-awaited event. Other guests chosen by the royal family will be in attendance, so please be on your best behavior. Leenda will come by each of your rooms and provide you with the proper attire. Don’t forget to look your best!” Sir Felix smiled before turning in the direction of the doors. He reached for the handle, turning back around swiftly. “Sasha and Margo, please follow me. The Goodies Galore room awaits you.”