Chapter 6- First Lesson

“So, you guys are going out tomorrow? And Hayden’s going to Brock’s house? When did this happen?” I said as the four people of the Blair family sat down to dinner.

“Yes,” said Allan Blair, my dad, scooting his chair closer to the table and ignoring my last question.

I almost went head first into my cheese and rice casserole, but I placed my temples on my palms instead, and closed my eyes.

My mother Ana Blair had answered the door with a smile and greeted me in the same as any other day, asking me how my day had been, and filling me in on what was to be expected the next day and so forth.

Asima had followed invisible behind me to the couch, to sag onto it with a sigh.

I had rolled my eyes as I walked passed him to my room.

Setting my bag on my dark wooded desk, I flipped on the light with the same movement. The fan began to whirl as I went around the room to turn on the rest of the lights. The blue twisty one on my desk, the lava lamp on my dresser, the five headed, multicolored floor lamp by my window, the orange cylindrical light on my nightstand next to my bed.

I fell onto the bright blue comforter of my bed, staring at the ceiling, then sitting up and looking around.

We had recently changed my room. Before it had been a garish color of lavender that looked pink when lit. Now each wall was a different color. One was lime green, another bright orange, then fuchsia, bright aqua blue, and purple. It was like walking into a neon rainbow. It was lovely, I think, with an evil cackle.

I just had time to read for a bit when my mom called for dinner.

This brings us back to me, my headache, and rice and cheese.

Not mention, Asima walked in then and waved to me.

I glared at him and rubbed my temples more fervently.

“Whatever mom, I’m just beat, I’m gonna go to bed,” I said, standing.

“Its only six dear,” my mom said, I rolled my eyes.

“Fine, I’ll read, or catch up on sleep, I know I need to,” I muttered, and she smiled, Asima walked up to me.

“You’re boring aren’t you?” he said in my ear.

“Whatever, I don’t need this at the moment, go away, just make sure not to be sat on when the others go in to watch TV,” I said, and I clicked off the lights of my room, and fell into bed.

The next morning, I turned over in my bed, for once being awoken by my own mind than the alarm clock. Saturday is lovely.

Throwing the covers off me, I closed my door and took off my nightgown, changing into jeans and a dark blue shirt that went to my knuckles.

I turned on my lights and grabbed my book, settling into the pillows of my bed to read.

I read for a couple hours, until three anyway, and then my door opened and Asima came in.

His coat was off and he wore not a black shirt but a green one, with khakis. His hair was tied back in a ponytail, silky, and beautiful.

He leaned against the door frame, smirking that annoying grin.

“Is that all you do, bookworm? Read?” he asked.

I continued to look at my book, but answered, “No.”

He kept on smirking, and entered my room.

Looking around he raised his eyebrows at the fuzzy blue clock on my shelf, and looked at me oddly.

“You are one strange person bookworm,” he said, taking my desk chair and sitting down jadedly.

I slid my bookmark into place and slammed my book shut.

“And why does that matter? Why are you in my room any way?” I asked, setting the book down and leaning back against my multicolored pillows.

Closing his eyes he shook his head, “You really are the densest book person I’ve ever met Blair,” he said, and before I could retort, he added, “I am going to start your lessons today, as all of your family is out.”

I glared at him, as though it were all his fault that my family was gone, which it most likely was.

“Fine,” I said, “What first?”

He held up one admonitory finger, “Master…” he sang.

I narrowed my eyes and grit my teeth, but I truly had no choice.

“Master,” I muttered, almost inaudibly.

“There we go!” he said, and I had a feeling he was enjoying this far too much.

“First, you are not escaping work by not going to the school. You will actually have one textbook, and homework,” he said.

“What?!” I said, incensed, sitting up and staring at him horrified.

He nodded still smiling, and he held out his hand, where a book appeared.

It was black and hardback, about the size of one of those pocket dictionaries. As thick as one too.

“Are you kidding me?” I said, glowering at him.

“No, why would I be?” he said, tossing the book to me, I stared at it.

“To annoy me to death,” I muttered.

“As fun as that is, no,” he said, and I gave him yet another glare.

That’s all I seem to do to him. My eyes were already tired.

“But just set that down for moment, I have to teach you to meditate; you’ll be doing it a lot. For, as you most likely noticed, our powers are run by our emotions. And your emotions are one thing that are not in control,” he said, tauntingly.

I rolled my eyes, but he ignored it and continued, “All you have to do is find your power core. Your core at the moment is probably flaring all over the place. You’ll need to contain it.”

“What?” I said flatly.

“Okay,” he said, coming to sit beside me on the bed, “Close your eyes.”

I did. If I was a different person- more appealing, less cynical- lessons on controlling my magic wouldn’t be the only lessons being taught right then.

“Get in a comfortable position.”

I laid back into the pillows. Shit, this was getting better and better.

“Concentrate. Nothingness,” he breathed softly.

“I never really got how to do that when I read about it, I don’t now,” I said; I left out the part about his velvety voice distracting me.

I peeked out of one eye to see him smiling and rolling his eyes.

“Come on, just…agh…okay, this is what my Master told me, he said it helps a lot of people,” said Asima.

“O-okay,” I said slowly, still peeking at him.

“Close your eyes woman!” he said, snapping his fingers in my face; I snapped my eye shut.

“Think of a word, any word, and focus on it.”

I didn’t know what to do, so I just sat there.

Black. I thought black, black, black.

Nothing.

Black.

“Nothings happening,” I said.

“You have to concentrate!” he replied.

I continued trying to force my mind into darkness.

My mind was blank, and slowly, as though a camera focusing on a picture, I began to see something.

A shining, silvery ball of pulsing bluish silver light, floated in mid air.

But it wasn’t calm or smoothly round, oh no.

Random explosions seemed to be blowing from its surface. Small flares of light that jumped from its face, like the sun and its solar flares. They burst from it every second, shoots of light, so often that I wondered how the thing didn’t explode.

Then it clicked; this was my power core. Asima had said it was faring all over the place, and he was right.

But was I supposed to tame it? This giant ball of light, spewing things all over! What did I do?

I pulled out, and sound and feeling came back to me, rocking my senses royally.

Asima was sitting beside me looking bored as usual. He had his black jacket on again now.

I sat up, and stared at him.

“How do I control it?” I asked.

“So the chanting thing worked?” he said, and I nodded.

“Good, well, that’s all you have to do, the only reason yours is in such bad a shape is because you’ve never meditated before then. You just continue to repeat your little word. Do that when you wake up, and when you go to sleep, everyday, and maybe those few times in between when you need it, and your core will smooth itself out.”

“Okay,” I said.

“Next,” said Asima, “You wanted to learn to block me, right?”

I nodded furiously, he smirked.

“Well, I’m not sure how good you are when it comes to telepathy and mind powers, but I’ll do this little test. Look at me,” he said, and when I didn’t he took my face in his hands and said, “Look at me.”

My eyes connected with his.

I knew he was doing something.

Flashes of memories flew in front of me, showing me what he was skimming through in my head.

My first birthday, when my best friend Rachelle had stuck her head in my cake.

The day Rachelle stabbed me in the back, telling her parents and other friends lies about me, and I was sitting in my room crying.

The moment I unconsciously promised to never trust anyone again.

“Stop!” I yelled.

My eyes focused on Asima, he was turned away, a sad look on his face.

He looked at me again, “You have to figure out how to block me!”

“Don’t go ferreting around my memories!” I yelled.

He said nothing, but said, “Look at me again.”

When I didn’t he took my face once more, even as I struggled to look away.

I couldn’t close my eyes, but I didn’t want him to do anything to my head. I did the only thing I could think to do. I tried to push with my thoughts, trying to keep him away from my memories and feelings. At all costs. He’d captured my body movements, so I thrashed with my mind.

His hands left my face and he staggered back, having to catch my knee not to fall from the bed.

“Not bad,” he said, breath heavy.

“What?” I said, watching him through my bangs.

“You,” he said, “Just repelled me.”

I was silent. I had just warded off Asima with my thoughts only!

This was so cool.

“That’s all I have to do to keep you out of my head?” I asked.

“For the time being, you only need to know how to do that,” he said.

“Good, my head hurts,” I said, rubbing my temples.

“It would,” he said, rolling his eyes and standing, “You’re a wimp.”

I glared at him, standing as well, “And you’re a sadist.”

“I am not,” he replied.

“Wouldn’t be surprised,” I muttered.

He leaned forward and took my chin in his fingers, “You need to learn when to shut up, bookworm.”

I jerked my face from him and he smiled that maddening smile that made me want to kill him and kiss him at the damned same time. Ass.

“Ya know what, I think you should meet the team today,” he said, “Since your parents are gone, and its Saturday; who’ll think a group of kids wandering around is a big deal?”

“You mean…these people?” I said, pointing to the small book on my desk.

“No, a fleet of pandas, who’d you think I meant?” he said, shaking his head.

“Never mind,” I said, “but how are you going to get them all here? I mean they don’t live exactly down the street?”

“You think we haven’t invented a magical cell phone yet?” he asked, as though this were the most ridiculous thing he’d ever heard.

Asima pinched his forefinger and thumb together, then brought them apart slowly, and I could see a blue line of magic being drawn. When he was done, he put the blue lines to his ear.

“Garet, phone the others, you’re gonna meet your last team member,” he said, “Yes, on her world,” pause, “Yes, Garet, it means human form,” pause “Yes, the others, Rina, and Sana,” another pause, “Okay, bye.”

He snapped his fingers and the lines disappeared.

“Human form?” I asked.

Asima turned to me, “Didn’t I tell you Garet is a peantha?”

I stared, “Uh…no.”

He smirked and sat on my bed again, “On Garet’s world, all of the people are peanthas, like people on your and my world are called human. Peanthas look kind of like human shaped cats. Fur, Garet’s white, all over. That’s why he’s so short. But he’s got his human form, just like we’ve got our peantha forms.”

“What.” I said, my eyes narrowing. Turning into a humanoid cat. Not my idea of fun.

“Oh, right, we can change form depending on which world we’re on. It’s a thing about being a Gypsy,” Asima said.

“Right,” I said, “S’pose we can understand every language too.”

“Yep,” he said, and I gazed at him to see if he joking; he wasn’t.

“We’re gonna meet ‘em at the corner in about five minutes,” he said.

“Okay, well then, you can go away, and I can read,” I said, going back to my bed and my book. I didn’t feel him get up.

“Will you go away!?” I said, slamming my book on my thighs.

“Don’t have much to do, do I?” he said.

“Well, you could always head to the corner,” I said.

“I can just appear,” he said.

“Oh, right,” I muttered, then a question I’d had earlier popped into my head.

“Hey, in the book, when it listed your powers, it said meta on there, what’s meta?” I said.

“Meta means transformation, I can transform into anything,” he said, setting his hands behind his head and closing his eyes.

“Oh,” I said, and I stared into space, before going back to my book.