“I didn’t know you had this much fight in you,” Max smiled.
“I guess all the hard work is paying off,” replied Chris.
Jimmy attempted to ram his rock fist into Chris’s face as he talked to Max and Chris had to take a couple of steps back, covering his face with his blade.
“Good, Jimmy! That’s the offensive I want to see. Get him while he’s not expecting it,” coached Dozer.
The teacher looked on and studied all three of the boys. Each had their strong and weak points, and Dozer identified them as he watched.
Chris sprang into action, swinging his sword to strike Max down. Max watched as the sword fell short, wincing as it struck his protecting arm. He retreated two steps and felt the flow of hot blood running down his arm. His eyes narrowed as they focused on the gash on his arm.
“An element blade,” Dozer complimented, watching the electricity burst from Max’s sword.
Max looked carefully at Chris’s blade, admiring the growth of its tip. He had used his ice technique to extend the blade.
“That’s enough. Go get cleaned up before you drip blood all over this fine wood,” said Dozer as he pointed out of the small outside arena.
Max willingly obeyed Dozer’s order, handing him his sword, noticing that Dozer appeared hesitant to grab it following the lightning display.
He covered the cut with his hand, walking briskly so that no blood dripped onto the floor.
Chris had to trot to catch up to Max’s furious pace.
“Sorry to cut you before the final Assessment,” he said, regretfully.
“I wouldn’t expect anything less. I’m not going to improve if you swing at me like you’re catching butterflies,” he said, truthfully.
“Jimmy is becoming very promising, isn’t he? If you had told me I would be fighting on a par with someone his age I would have laughed at you.”
“He has that effect doesn’t he?” Max admitted. He had, without realising, slowed the pace down to a saunter during their conversation.
Max thanked Chris for accompanying him to the hospital wing and disappearing behind the curtain. As he sat on the bed waiting, a familiar scent crept up past his neck, brushing the inside of his nose. It was the intoxicating sweet smell he loved. He lifted his arm, forgetting for a second that his arm stung.
“There’s no need to sneak up on me,” said Max.
The room remained silent as Max tried to pick up any movement behind him.
Finally: “You are getting much better,” said Hilary in admiration.
Giving up on the stealth tactics, she took up a position next to him.
“What have you done?” She picked up his arm and took a look. Max jerked his arm away at the cold sensation that gushed through his cut.
“What are you doing?” Max questioned finally giving in to her.
“Cleaning your wound. It doesn’t seem to be too deep,” she said, inspecting it.
Hilary drew closer to Max, loving the touch of his skin as she held his arm. His hands had been softer than she had expected. She imagined she would feel callouses at the bottom of every finger, the result of playing with swords every day.
Max watched as she took off, returning seconds later with a big plaster that she cut to fit the gash.
“You really do need to stop coming here,” she complained. Her moist lips grew wide with a smile. “The medics see you just as much as the cook does,” she said smoothing his hair.
She again sat next to him, drawing in his warmth. Max’s cut had made Hilary’s day; she had been looking for an excuse to spend some time with him. She recalled the strange feeling she’d had when he arrived at the school. The first touch in the park flicked though her mind as she reached down for his hand, connecting them. She watched as a spark wriggled along their hands only to disappear.
“Why do you spark like that? It was the same when I first met you,” she said softly, looking up into his light brown eyes.
“It’s uncontrollable and happens when I get excited,” he explained, surprised at the closing space between them.
“And why are you excited?” she murmured, reaching up to stroke the stubble on his face as she drew closer to kiss him.
Max was helplessly sucked in, leaning closer and closer. He had wanted this for so long, planning in his head the perfect time to do this, yet unable to find the right moment until now. He could smell the mint on Hilary’s breath, his senses heightened.
His eyes closed to the beat of his heart, running his fingers down her smooth arms.
“Oh, my God!” a voice boomed just outside the door. All traces of Hilary’s breath disappeared as she pulled back and Max opened his eyes to see Jimmy hesitantly approaching his bed.
“Are you all right?” he said, as though Max were on his last legs.
“He’s not dying,” Hilary smiled.
Relieved, Jimmy’s energetic buoyancy returned and he joined them on the bed.
“Dozer had me finish by packing all the equipment away. Didn’t know if you were all right or not,” Jimmy explained.
“You’re a goon,” Max replied, watching Jimmy as he re-enacted the fight scene between them.
Max couldn’t help but laugh, concealing his fast-beating heart and quickened pulse, wondering when he would be able to kiss her for the first time.
Chapter 17
Preparations
It was easy to give up on a problem that didn’t matter. Maths was a subject best left for bankers and scientists, Jimmy thought. He sat in confusion, looking around at his classmates whose heads were down, all figuring out the impossible equation written up on the whiteboard. It was frustrating. He would rather have skipped class and replaced it with training, a mentality that Maximus had instilled in him. The class had dragged on for what seemed like hours, but, painfully, he was only twenty minutes into it.
His problems evaporated into thin air when there came a knock at the door and every head turned towards the sound. Hilary opened the door and stepped inside the room. The glow around her was amazing, her long, curly hair flicked past her shoulder as she pointed towards Jimmy with a smile. He blushed slightly as all eyes turned towards him. He quickly packed up his belongings and followed her down the hallway.
“Thank you for saving me,” he said.
“I hated maths just as much as you do, but it is important,” she replied.
He nodded his head, immediately discounting her advice as they reached the outside arena. Two figures stood, waiting patiently as they approached. Jimmy recognised them instantly; Stuart and another student from the flow network. The new student stood about the same height as Jimmy, with light blond hair and blue eyes. His inexperience was clear as he followed Stuart’s commands.
“Good morning,” Stuart greeted.
Jimmy gave a slight bow, Hilary replied with a nod. “Are you ready?” asked Hilary.
“Yes, follow me.” He smiled as he held out a hand to her.
They vanished with a pop. Jimmy felt instantly uneasy, since no explanation had been presented.
“Have you teleported someone before?” asked Jimmy.
“Once or twice,” the boy replied.
“Great,” Jimmy huffed as he grabbed the boy’s shoulder.
The pop was quick and Hilary and Stuart came back into view. It took Jimmy a couple of seconds to scan the environment. He looked past Hilary to see the pillar in the middle of the canyon. The ground was flat, with the edge of the canyon six hundred metres away. It was clear that the ground had been flattened and the rocks and trees cleared away. It wasn’t until he turned around that he understood why.
“Wow,” Jimmy muttered turning around to take in the view. A new stadium was under construction, something that all three schools needed.
The circular arena was surrounded by stands of seats made from stone to seat a total of one thousand people. It looked like a gladiator arena from the posters, and Jimmy followed an imaginary crowd through one of the tunnels leading to the middle of
the arena. He observed the rough carvings along the walls and stopped to touch the surface.
“They’re not done yet,” said Hilary. She continued through the tunnel but then had to brace herself against the shaking stone.
“What have you done?” she yelled angrily at Jimmy.
“Watch,” he replied with a calming hand. The stone around Jimmy’s hand began to ripple and create a smoother surface, which quickly spread outwards as the whole stadium became more clearly defined.
She focused her eyes on the carvings and gasped as she realised what he had done.
“How?” she whispered. Jimmy wiped his brow as the task had taken more energy than he had anticipated.
“If this was made out of water, could you have done the same?” he questioned.
Jimmy was special in more ways than one. He could sense the doubt and shock in her thoughts as he read them. Her mind was quite easy to access, little triggers were all he needed to open the vast novel.
He retreated from her mind as the group continued through to the arena. He could see that his work had done something really amazing as he studied the great pylons positioned around the whole stadium.
* * *
The three Head Masters had joined together as they inspected the stadium for the final Assessment.
“Spectacular, Alex,” commented Danny.
Master Lee knelt to feel the ground with his hands. The part-sand, part-dirt swirled through his fingers, falling back to the ground as a wide smile broke across his face.
“The ground is excellent. Stable enough to thrust a sword in any direction with as much force as you want and still keep your balance,” said Master Lee, re-joining the group.
“This stadium has been in the planning for quite some time now and to see it finally getting built is actually quite overwhelming,” replied Alexander.
The others agreed as they took in the view. Alex nodded as Jimmy and Hilary’s group approached.
“May I introduce Hilary. She was key in the stadium’s preparation and is the person responsible for the final Assessment,” said Alex with pride.
“Head Masters,” she bowed.
Jimmy slipped away from their eyes, trying to avoid all communication.
“And Jimmy here is the one responsible for the finishing of the carvings and grandstands,” Alexander continued as Jimmy stepped out to greet everyone.
“I have heard a lot about you, Jimmy,” said Master Lee as he grabbed his hand in a strong grip. Jimmy bowed, trying with all his might not to enter his mind. What had Alexander told him about Jimmy? Did he know he could control two powers, or that he chose to go to an Element school rather than a school for kids who possessed all powers? His mind twirled with questions as the Head Masters took their leave.
“What’s wrong?” asked Hilary as soon as they had left.
He shook his head trying to avoid her question. “This reminds me of the stadium in the posters,” he said, trying to change the subject.
“What posters?” she asked, confused.
“The two in Max’s room.”
A small tingling sensation ran down Hilary’s body as she imagined him. She couldn’t understand why she was feeling flushed all of a sudden. It wasn’t something she was used to.
“They’re not going to tear this down once they are done with it, are they?” the head boy asked, appearing beside Jimmy and trying to insert himself into the conversation. Jimmy shot a confused glance over his shoulder, trying to determine where he had come from.
“It has been confirmed that this location is to be the new stadium for many events to come,” said Hilary.
Satisfaction spread through the group as the sun beamed its heat off the ground. It truly was a place of power where the blood, tears and sweat of hundreds would eventually become part of the stadium itself.
* * *
A hard gust of wind blew furiously as Max braced himself on the rail, half-expecting Rachel to blow him off with her next huff.
“What arrogance,” she puffed. As soon as the wind passed, Max quickly jumped to her side, escaping the wind-burn he was receiving from her. He gradually drew his gaze up to the crystalline blue eyes that stared back.
“Don’t look at me like that,” she groaned.
Maximus would try every means possible to escape the long hours required by the history work given by Ms. Figg.
It didn’t matter if he had to beg or get a beating from Rachel, whatever secured his grade to advance him in class, he would try.
“I have my finals coming up and I need to spend all my time preparing, not doing silly homework,” he pleaded. She looked at his innocent eyes and once more stood helpless before his charm. She knew she was now entangled in it, stuck in his web of excuses and pleas.
“This is the last time,” she sighed, watching him pounce around like a little boy.
Max had high hopes that he would make the Pillar proud. His exceptional abilities and fearlessness had moulded him into one of the more poplar students at school. This hadn’t gone unnoticed by Rachel, who noticed especially the way the girls of the school flocked to his side at every possible opportunity.
He was starting to become something she feared and if this went unnoticed by Maximus himself it was clear to her: He was a contender and a leading role model for the majority of the school. Sure, the electricity user was very rare, making him unusual, but it was the combination of his found power and his stand-out personality that made him the person who now stood before her.
His smile was warming.
“Yes, I promise I will help next time.”
It shredded her pride to give in to his demands so readily but she couldn’t help the feeling of emptiness spreading through the pit of her stomach.
“Can you answer something truthfully, Maximus?” said Rachel, using every ounce of her remaining confidence to utter the words.
This isn’t good, he thought, waiting in suspense. Rachel had used his full name.
“Do you just use me for the homework?” she questioned.
Max was taken by surprise, and was forced to wonder why he was always getting her to complete his work for him.
However, his comeback came with no hesitation.
“I have to admit I have used you to my advantage far too many times, but that doesn’t change the fact that you are a very close friend to me.”
The words struck directly to her heart and she had to restrain herself from crying. Rachel had wanted Max from the beginning; she only got close to Chris to be close to Max. Now that had backfired upon her.
To add to her woes, her feelings for Chris had grown just as fast as had her feelings for Max. She stood, confused, a picture of Hilary popping into her head.
“Excuse me,” she said, taking a deep breath, and waved Max goodbye.
Of course, Max had noticed nothing of Rachel’s inner turmoil; he had secured his homework and that was the important thing. With training on his mind, he headed off towards the last tool for the final Assessment.
* * *
“Why are you so twitchy? You look like you’ve just committed a crime,” Ben noted.
Jonny was striding furiously from one side of the room to the other.
“I don’t know what to do,” he admitted, looking for advice.
“Maximus?” replied Ben, watching for his reaction. Beads of sweat rolled off the side of Jonny’s face as he finally sat down. The room turned quiet, the only sound the boys’ breathing.
Ben felt uncomfortable with the way Jonny was acting. He had not seen him under any sort of strain before, and could see that something was weighing heavily on his mind, converted into the restless motions of his body.
“Don’t get me started on Max. He isn’t going to become an Elite if I get my way,” he said, irritated by the mention of Max’s name.
Ben didn’t mind him; it was Jonny’s crusade that exercised his mind.
“What’s the deal with you two, anyway?”
Jonny wiped his brow.
He had many things pinned on Maximus. The instant he laid eyes on him he had known automatically that he was a threat, not only to his chances with Hilary but to his manhood. Jonny’s very confidence dwindled in his presence. His over-confidence and arrogance were reserved for him only.
“What if there was someone new who was just as big as you and more popular?”
“It would suck,” Ben replied, thankful that he was the only one.
“That’s how it feels,” Jonny said truthfully, hating that he was confiding in one of his boys.
The boys sat in the common room, alone. It was spacious, a lot bigger than sitting in one of their rooms. The room played host to the late night movies that the students were allowed on their weekends, or the occasional club meeting where students sat and enjoyed one another’s company.
Ben moved to the soft pull-up chair where he took a seat next to the blazing heater that kept his cheeks a rosy red.
“So what are you going to do?” he enquired, resting back comfortably.
Jonny had no need to think through his plan; it was already set in stone. Every time he closed his eyes he saw the fight that lit the stage and assured his victory.
“I am going to bring him and his whole team down by whatever means necessary. Are you in?”
Ben sat forward again and glanced over to Jonny. “I’m in,” he replied, hoping that his reply would lift Jonny’s spirits.
Jonny waited for Ben to fall asleep before moving. With Ben’s big body mass he would have thought Ben would be warmer than he seemed. Jonny soon found out the difference between cold and freezing. His body temperature dropped significantly as he walked out of the warmth of the heated room and into the icy chill of the canyon.
Jonny had enjoyed Ben’s company and his stress levels had lowered considerably, which made his breathing much easier.
Then his expression hardened. He drew close to the outside arena railing. The pitch black dark was something he didn’t like, with visibility zero.
Suddenly, his heart leapt and began to beat thunderously as he distinguished an even deeper shade of black that slowly approached him. The sight was frightening. His previously mellow mood turned to anxiety as the black cloak rustled in the wind.
Maximus Thatcher Page 23