Jonathan Rush and the Star Academy

by Gregory Blackman

  Chapter Six

  Two months had now passed, and Johnny was no farther along in his training. All the other students were beginning to show signs of their potential.

  This isolated Johnny from his peers even more. Now he wasn’t just the smallest and youngest student, but he was now the only one without any special abilities.

  “You’re never going to get anywhere if you doubt yourself like that,” Davan said as he blocked one of Johnny’s attacks. Johnny was never going to be used to Davan reading his mind. “That’s not exactly true either, Johnny.”

  “Anything is possible in the heat of battle,” Davan said. “Strength of the body starts with strength of the mind; stay focused, believe in yourself, and anything can happen. Just because you have not shown any signs of greatness, does not mean greatness does not reside within you.”

  Davan stopped the lesson, and motioned for them to sit. “Children are chosen at the age of sixteen, because that is the age that they first begin to harness their abilities. Then, at age eighteen they begin to learn to control those abilities,” Davan told him. “You have heard this many times, yet you still close your ears to the truth. Do not discourage yourself, little man. You will find you are stronger than you could ever imagine.”

  Johnny understood where Davan was coming from, but was still frustrated in not being able to share in his peer’s stories. They were all discovering wonderful abilities, and Johnny’s biggest victory to date was a recent calculus exam. He sighed, and grabbed his textbooks. Saying goodbye to Davan, he left the training room.

  He took his usual route home, stopping by Kush to say hello. Kush was the first real friend Johnny had made, outside the members of the Star Academy.

  “Hello, Kush,” Johnny said as he walked up to the rocky giant, who was taking a break from his flute playing. Johnny had been trying to get more used to speaking to aliens, and he was lucky with how easy Kush made it for him. He was friendly, and almost child-like in nature, Johnny felt at ease around him.

  “Hello there, Mister Johnny!” Kush said eagerly. He had actually been waiting for Johnny to come by. “I have something for you, Mister Johnny.”

  Kush opened the sack by his flute, and pulled out a small, stone figurine. He handed it to Johnny, and suddenly it didn’t look so small. It must have weighed twenty pounds, and required both hands to carry. It was the coolest thing he had ever seen.

  “What is it called?” Johnny asked.

  “To my people, they are called Magma Guardians. Each one represents a Golem that gave their life to protect our people from The Great Volcano; a very old story. This one is called Rokler. Take good care of him, he is yours now,” explained Kush. He realized that Johnny was having trouble carrying the statue, and sent him on his way for the day.

  Five minutes. That’s about as long as Johnny’s good fortune lasted. The moment he transported to the student section, Jarren was waiting for him; and he didn’t look happy.

  “I saw your present from that civilian Rock-muncher,” Jarren laughed as he pushed Johnny.

  “Don’t call him that!” Johnny fired back. Upset at the presence of Jarren, Johnny quickly realized that no one was around to help him this time. He started to back away from Jarren, grabbing tightly on to his stone figurine.

  “What are you going to do about it Johnny?” Jarren ridiculed. He started to walk toward Johnny. Johnny had backed himself against a wall, and Jarren made him move. He thrust at Johnny, reaching for Johnny’s present.

  “Stop it Jarren!” Johnny yelled. “You’re going to break it! Please stop!”

  Jarren ripped the figurine out of Johnny’s hands. Unwilling to give in this time, Johnny tried his best to retake his Magma Guardian. The two grappled for a moment, before the figurine crashed to the ground. It shattered on impact, breaking off into hundreds of little pieces.

  “You bully!” screamed Johnny, as he started to cry. Dropping to his knees, Johnny desperately tried to pick up some of the shattered stone pieces. It was no use; the figure had been completely destroyed.

  “You are weak, Johnny,” Jarren sneered. Jarren snorted, and walked away. Now that he had ruined Johnny’s new present, there wasn’t much need to be around. He left Johnny, sobbing in the corner.

  It was official, Johnny’s day was ruined. These were the times when he missed his mother the most. She has always been there for him, and it was in his times of need that she really shined. She always knew what to say to make him feel better, if even just for a moment. Now, he didn’t even have that.

  Loose, creaking wheels; now that was a sound Johnny had not heard since his time on Earth. Yet, here they were; and they were getting louder. Johnny stopped crying, and tilted his head up. He always was a curious child, if nothing else.

  An elderly man pushing a janitorial cart appeared from around the corner. He had long, white hair, and matching shaggy beard. He was thin, but not unhealthy. He was even dressed like a janitor from Earth, with a blue one-piece uniform. The old man stopped pushing his cart when he noticed Johnny crying in the corner.

  “Young sir, what is the matter?” the mysterious old man asked Johnny. “Up now, we can’t have you crying on the floor like that, can we?”

  The old man helped Johnny off the floor, and over to the couch. He couldn’t explain it, but he felt at ease around the old man. Johnny just had to ask, “Who are you?”

  “Who I am is not important, I am nothing more than a janitor,” the mysterious old man said with a smile. “Who are you? Now that is a question I would love to hear the answer to.”

  Johnny had heard that before in his dreams. Who are you? The Dark Prince had spoken it in his dreams before Johnny arrived at the Star Academy. However, while the Dark Prince had appeared to frighten Johnny, this old man had seemed to make Johnny feel protected and safe. Just who was this old man, Johnny thought.

  “I am Jonathan Rush, a student at the Star Academy.” Johnny stated proudly, wiping the tears from his face.

  “Ah! That is a fine title for such a young sir. That may have been what I asked, but not what I meant,” the mysterious old man grinned. “I want to know who you want to be. Your mother always told you that, did she not?”

  Johnny was taken a little aback. How did the old man know that? Surely he just got lucky; every mother probably says that to their child, Johnny thought.

  “She did,” Johnny replied. “The real world doesn’t work like that. I am who I am, a far cry from perfect; and certainly not more important than anyone else.”

  The old man looked sad. He smiled though, and wiped the last of Johnny’s tears away.

  “There there, child,” the mysterious old man said calmingly. “Things will get better for you, I am certain of that.”

  “It has been a pleasure, young sir,” The mysterious old man said, slowly standing up to shake Johnny’s hand. He walked back to his janitorial cart and started pushing it down the hall. He stopped after a moment and looked back at Johnny. “You said before, the real world doesn’t work like that. Are you so sure, Johnny? I promise you, believe in yourself and you will save the universe one day.”

  And with that, the janitor was gone; vanishing down the hall as quickly as he had appeared.