Chapter 5: Aura Laven

"Leon?"

When I heard my name being called for the fourth time, I opened my eyes to find Dan to my side.

"Oh," I mumbled. "Did I fall asleep?"

"Yeah," he told, "Miu told me you were here, so I came to get you."

"How'd she know I was here?" I asked.

"The buddy system in the Driver. She told me where you were."

I looked to my shoulder, and remembered what I had done earlier. I had added both Demi and Miu to my Driver, so they had known where I was. When I checked their location, they were outside this room.

"Miu and Demi are outside, are they?" I asked Dan.

"Yeah," he answered. "We were going to eat lunch together, remember?"

"Ah, right."

I got off the bed and walked to the door. I looked back at Dan; he was just standing there.

"You're not going to change into something more casual?" he questioned.

I first looked at him; he was wearing a blue shirt with denim jeans. I was still in my uniform. I looked inside my suitcase stored in my Driver and found simple clothes: a white shirt and khaki pants. Within seconds, a white flash covered my whole body and replaced my uniform with new clothing.

"What do you think?" I asked.

"Good," he replied. "Let's go, Miu and Demi must be pretty tired of waiting."

We headed out the first door, and then opened the room door to find two girls standing in the hall. They weren't in their uniform; Miu was wearing a white, two-piece dress that complimented the prettiness of her lavender hair, while Demi wore a red top covered with a short-sleeved tan coat that appealed to coolness, along with simple blue jeans. Still, their clothes were unable to hide their Drivers on their left shoulders.

"You both look great," I commented.

"Well thank you," responded Miu, smiling.

"So where are we headed?" asked Dan.

"The best restaurant in town!" exclaimed Demi. She punched the air above her, "We're going to Hyper Life!"

"Hyper Life?" questioned Miu. "I thought that place was expensive."

"Naw, I got plenty of money, don't worry! Come on, let's go!" she turned and ran off, made a spin to check on us and turned back towards her path.

"She's so hyper," I commented.

"She fits being a part of this island," Dan said. I didn't understand what he said for a moment until I connected the dots. Hyper Academy. Hyper Life. Hyper Island. Ah.

We followed Demi's trail only to be back at the main elevator. We rode all the way down and exited onto the ground floor, making our way to the foyer and to outside. Thankfully, when we passed by the other students, there weren't many who asked for my autograph, or asked to sign a belonging. Instead, we received smiles, giggles, stares and stalkers. Miu and I didn't mind the attention, though Demi waved back at them, while Dan felt awkward from the looks he was given.

"So, how are we going to get to town?" Dan asked.

"Oh, don't worry about that. A friend of mine is waiting for us in the parking lot. She'll drive us all."

After the walk through the school grounds, we reached the parking lot. Demi took a jump forward and looked around, turning her head left and right while her hand became shade from the sun. Eventually, a loud honk that made all of us jump. Ahead, there was a red-colored van, which was also wheel-less and floated happily. Next to it was a brown-haired girl rapidly flustering her arm. Immediately, Demi rushed on over and hugged her friend, and they chatted a short conversation as the three of us arrived.

"So, this is Gina," stated Demi.

"Nice to meet you all!" exclaimed Gina. We all said our salutations, but then she stepped closer to me and examined my Driver.

"So you're the Love Wielder," she began. "It must be nice to be famous, huh?"

I grinned nervously, "Well…" I looked at the crowd behind us. All of them kept sight on us while having cameras and phones pointed in our direction.

"Well, we should go, before Leon starts signing some more autographs or something," Demi said. She walked around the vehicle and opened the passenger door, climbing on in. Gina opened the door for us. Dan climbed in first and sat in the backmost seat. Miu and I followed in and took the next available seats.

Somehow, the door automatically closed as soon as I was settled in the chair. Then, Gina opened her door and climbed on in. Within a short moment, she reversed the car from the parking space and exited parking lot and through the first gates, past excited people who waved and smiled at me. Son bikes rode by on the side towards Hyper Academy as the vehicle rolled on the paved ground.

"So, how was the swim meeting?" I asked Miu.

"It went fine," she replied. "We begin our swimming practices next week. So for now, we just relax."

"Nice to know," I responded. "Do you think I could come watch?"

"Sure. I had asked the coach if spectators were allowed, and she didn't mind."

"Cool." I turned my head to Dan. "Are you good at swimming?"

"Um…" he looked down. "I guess I'm average."

"What about you?" I said to Miu.

"Well, I swam much throughout my life in Aqua, so I should be very skilled," she replied with a smile.

"Can you swim, Leon?" asked Dan.

"Ah, I haven't tried. It'd be nice though, to be in the water…" I let my mind wander off for a bit.

"Do you know that there's a swimming sport for Aqua Drivers?" Miu asked.

"Really?" I had thought it was possible, but never knew that it had existed.

"Yes," she continued. "Like Aeria Tennis, Aqua Swimming exists. It's basically swimming in your Aqua armor, but it's a little harder to move around in your armor if you're not used to it. Also, there are some special rules."

"Like?" I curiously asked.

Miu placed a finger on her cheek, pondering. "I can't say much, since I haven't been in a race for myself…but I know one rule states that you only use your Aqua drones for boosting only."

"Drones?" I questioned.

"Weapons for the Aqua wielders." She placed her hand on her Driver and pre-activated it. Shortly after, a blue aura illuminated on her body. A blue Drive Suit appeared on her, followed by a continued glow on her arms, which became blue gauntlets, and then, two glowing spheres exited from her Driver and appeared floating on her shoulders. The glow faded and revealed two steel spheres. "These would be the drones. They control the water abilities for Aqua Drivers."

"I see," I responded. I stared at the sphere floating innocently above her Driver, and then glanced at the drone that was on her right shoulder. It had moved to Miu's gloved and armored hand, and acted as if it was smiling at its owner.

"Aqua Drivers are so lucky," Demi mentioned. "You get to have all the fun in water."

"But you have the ability to manipulate the earth, correct?" Miu responded. "Of course, you must love the earth to do it."

"Of course I love the earth!" exclaimed Demi. "Nothing feels better than knowing you are stepping on something than floating above it or sinking in it."

Miu giggled. "Well, if anyone is lucky, it's Leon, since he has both earth and water abilities."

I grinned at both of them, proud of my privilege.

"Hey, can you create a small pillar?" asked Demi.

"Um…" I believed I could do it, even if I don't remember how. "I could try."

"Well, since we're right next to grass, try making one," she said. I looked out the window. At the moment, we were following the paved road towards the city. Right now, only green grass and some blooming flowers filled the space to our left and right.

I put my hand over my Driver, pre-activated it, and entered Armguard state. My body shined with white light, replacing my clothes with my Drive Suit and two arm guards.

"Now, we are still driving," Gina said, "so be careful to not pop a pillar in the middle of the road."

"Ah, don't worry, earth manipulation is easy," retorted Demi. "Just focus on a spot on the ground and tell your Driver to make the pillar. But, you have to imagine the shape."

I pointed my arm at the window, and looked for a certain area as we continued to rush by. In an instant, I found one random spot, and quickly imagined the shape of a square pillar. I could feel a piece of energy pulse from my hand to the chosen spot in the ground. Immediately, brown earth shot up as if it hardened into rock, leaving unused crumbles shattering onto the ground, and the square end was topped by the piece of green.

"Awesome!" Demi commented.

"Wow…" I heard Dan mumble.

I looked at my hand, amazed by the power within my Driver.

"Okay, enough playing. We're almost in the city," Gina stated. Miu and I withdrew our Armguard states and commanded our clothes to reappear on us. As Gina made a turn into the city entrance, the rest of us continued watching the scene roll by.

We passed by the many business buildings that Dan and I had first seen when we were on the way to the academy in the morning. Now going in reverse, we took a different route, and made a few turns left and right. There were more people on the sidewalks than before, as well as new sorts of stores.

Gina drove into a parking space left inside a large, U-shaped building. At the center of the building, white blocks of letters spelled out "Hyper Life", a name that had made Demi squeal with glee. She immediately exited the van and jumped up and down.

"Thanks so much for taking us here!" she said as the rest of us exited the car.

"No problem," replied Gina. "Now, I'll be off shopping. I'll pick you guys up in thirty or forty minutes."

"Got it!" replied Demi. Both girls waved at each other as Gina left us and walked away from the parking lot.

"Demi, do you really have the money for us to eat here?" Miu asked, staring at the large building.

"No worries!" replied Demi, "I got it right here…" she placed her hands on her thighs, but patted them more than four times. Her face grew worried as she continued patting them, and then began to check all of the pockets she had.

"My wallet!" she cried. "I forgot it!"

"Seriously?" grumbled Dan. "How are we going to go eat now?"

"Miu, do you have money?" asked Demi. "Please tell me you do!"

"Well, I do, but I don't think it's enough," she replied.

I bumped in, "How much does it cost to eat here?"

"It's forty silvers per person, and I only have fifty," she responded.

My mind boggled at the currency she spoke of. Then, another piece of my memory returned. Three metals, copper, silver, and gold, were the currency for the world. One hundred coppers made one silver—a normal dollar. So, a hundred silvers made one gold, which an average adult with a job would have in hand.

"That's pretty expensive," Dan commented.

"Well, considering that this is a refined, five-star restaurant, I'm sure the price would be high," responded Miu.

"What about you, Leon?" Demi asked frantically. She rapidly stamped her feet, "Do you have money?"

"Well…" I knew that my pockets were empty, but I had remembered I had a suitcase full of items within my Driver. It didn't hurt to look. Mentally, I checked through the contents—in the small pockets, and under the clothes. Hidden under a sock was a peculiar, silver case. It's unique color and shape made me conclude that it was a very advanced item. On it was a white piece of paper with written words. The small note was from Mother Air.

"This is a special wallet. It is able to hold a large amount of coins without a limit. It functions using thought as it would with Drivers, so it is very convenient. All you must do is place it in your hand and ask to withdraw coins or deposit coins that you hold. I packed you a lot of coins, but don't spend it all in one place! Love, Mother Airmid."

I told my Driver to withdraw the case and summon it on my palm. A white glow emitted from the heart-shape on the metal; soon after, the box began to form on my hand. Its front side appeared in my eyes—three pictures and digital numbers were shown to detail the amount of money inside. The number one hundred filled the three green spaces next to the gold coin picture. Everyone stared at the object that had appeared, in awe and shock about the fact that I had carried money.

"How much is in there?" asked Miu.

"Um, a hundred gold coins," I replied. I waved the other side of the box and presented them the one hundred.

"What?" yelled Demi.

"Wow, you're rich!" commented Dan.

"Get us in! Please!" whined Demi.

"All right, all right," I said.

I took the first steps onto new concrete as the rest of the party followed me. We met automatic doors, along with an electronic greeting message of a woman's voice that welcomed us in. Within a few more steps, a green-haired woman stood behind a fancy wooden counter, full of unnecessary paper, and had greeted us.

"Welcome to Hyper Life," she said. "How many will be dining today?"

I made another head count. "Four."

"That will be one hundred and sixty silvers then," she responded.

I looked at my wallet box, and questioned how it would be opened. There wasn't any conspicuous lock on any part of the case. Then, I had remembered on the note that Mother Air had told me about. I gave the box my thoughts, and a thick, gold coin along with a stack of thin silvers formed and sat on the box.

"My, that is a lot of money," commented the woman. "To have gold at your age as well as the Driver's Wallet."

"Driver's Wallet?" I responded.

"You didn't know what it was called?" Demi snickered. "It's called a Driver's Wallet because it works like Drivers. You know, giving it your thoughts. It's expensive to have but it keeps your money organized."

"I believe the goddess is spoiling you," said the woman.

"The goddess?" I questioned. "You know who I am?"

"Of course," replied the woman. "You are the Love Wielder. Anyone can tell from your Driver. In fact, if anyone didn't know who you were, they would see you on TV right now." She pointed to one of the multiple large televisions that were hung on supporting pillars. On every screen right now, there was a replay of the Lionbat invasion in Agem Town. There was also additional footage of myself fighting off the Lionbats and sending them back to the skies.

The excitement of the fight controlled myself to comment, "Oh, cool!"

"Well now, let's get you all a table," stated the woman. She took the coins and dropped them into a black bin behind the counter. In a few seconds after the rumbling of metal coins, there was a small clink, as if a sufficient amount of money had been deposited. Then, numerous silver coins were ejected into a connected container. She all of the coins in one hand, floated it above my wallet, and just dropped the coins. Instead of the silvers falling all over the place, they disappeared after reaching just a centimeter above the case. The number forty appeared next to the silver coin picture. Immediately after, a waitress in white and red uniform came by, holding a silver clipboard in her hands, and stood still until further instruction.

"Be careful not to have that wallet stolen now," she whispered with a subtle chuckle. "Enjoy your meals!"

The waitress waved her hand to an open path. "Right this way," she said. We followed her onto exotic carpeting and past turning heads that glanced in excitement of my arrival. I feigned an oblivious face and continued to follow the waitress.

We were led to a table with walled-seats that curved into a C. I sat next to Dan, and the girls sat next to each other. Looking down on the table, I was amazed the structure and work put into the fancy, exotic design, similar to the floor. However, there were four green buttons, set on the side for each of us, and one red button at the end of the round table. Then, the waitress had brought out her clipboard—which was in fact, some sort of keypad—and typed multiple keys. Suddenly, a fuzzy, blue screen appeared in front of our faces.

"What's this?" I asked.

"Our menus," Miu replied.

The waitress stepped in, "Select a category from the list and then choose a dish. If you confirm your choice, it will then appear on your table for you to eat. When you are finished with your dish, press the red button here to have the plate disappear, then press the green button to open your menu again."

As the others were browsing through their menus, I joined in and began with the appetizers. The screen had then displayed a slideshow of multiple food items, and they had all looked delicious.

"Enjoy your meals," said the waitress. I gave her my thanks, and she bowed and then took her leave.

"Ooh!" Demi sounded, "this looks good…no wait I want this!"

"Mm?" Miu looked over, "Oh, the Fried Wyvern Wings. Looks delicious!"

"The Nightsprout Supreme looks good…" mumbled Dan.

I had no idea what kind of dishes they were looking at. All I wanted was nice, normal-looking and normal-sounding food. But as I continued to explore the menu, I remembered that this restaurant was very fancy, so there was no doubt exotic foods would take up most of the set menu. Thankfully, I had found regular pizza, so I ordered that, along with a pink-colored drink called "Sweet Days."

When I confirmed my order, there was a quick ringing bell. In the center of the table, blue fuzz began to form in two shapes. Within a second, a small plate of pizza cut in six pieces, as well as a glass of the pink drink appeared. Without inquiring the magic of technology, I pulled the plate and drink closer to me.

"You're eating pepperoni pizza?" Demi questioned. "Come on! Order something fancy. Like this!" She confirmed an order, and soon, a bowl of soup with chopsticks set on it formed in the center. There were noodles in it. No, it wasn't noodles. They were dead, beige-colored worms softened by the soup and appeared as noodles.

"What…is that?" I asked.

"Sandworm Soup," she replied. "They're not only delicious, but really healthy!" She took the chopsticks and began eating.

"Sandworms are rare worms that only appear often in the summer on Terra Island," Miu mentioned. "It's surprising how they found some in this season."

"Miu!" Dan exclaimed. "They have Eel-tangle!"

"Seriously?" replied Miu. She hurried through the menu, changed her facial expression after finding something, and quickly ordered it. At the same time, Dan also made an order. Silverware and two plates of the same dish formed in the table's center. There were several, small and long black eels tied into a fancy knot. Tails and heads of the eels poked out, but the center was like a rubber band ball.

"What's that?" I asked.

"Eel-tangle is a popular dish only made in Aqua Isles," Dan responded. "It's really good!"

"Only Aqua chefs know how to handle cooked eel very carefully to make it into a knot like this," Miu added. She began cutting a piece of eel off. "I'm so amazed that it's here!"

"Can I try some?" Demi asked. Miu cut off a piece of eel and held it with her fork. Demi used her chopsticks to slip the eel off and ate it.

"How is it?" Miu asked.

"Delicious!" Demi exclaimed. "I'm gonna order that next!"

I paid little attention and ate my food. The pizza had its unique, delicious taste as I tried to remember from a hundred years ago. I took a sip of my beverage. It was heavenly sweet, urging me imbue more. It had the tang of lemonade, but there was also a mix of other saccharine tastes as well. The blend of sweetness was simply divine, staying true to the drink's given name.

The four of us continued to eat, ordering a buffet without worry. I eventually tried one of the exotic foods, named Moonfly Flan, but gave up half-way trying to resist its distinct flavor and crunchy-soft texture. We relaxed in our seats, resting our full stomachs from the pleasant meals. Demi took her time to look around the room, but perked up and eyed something in a distance.

"What're you staring at, Demi?" Dan asked.

"That girl…" she pointed to a lonely table in a corner where a girl was sitting, eating a sponge cake topped with strawberries. She had large amounts of blonde hair, both sides tied with black ribbons to create four bright gold streams. As she ate, her proud green eyes stared at the food, and then at a window on her left, as if she was pondering very carefully.

When I took a closer look at her right shoulder, there was green metal with softly curved horizontal lines as a symbol, meaning she held an Aeria Driver.

"She looks familiar," Miu mentioned.

"Yes, very familiar…" Demi agreed. "Huh…isn't she that rich girl from Aeria?"

"Oh, yes!" responded Miu. "I remember now. Her name is Aura Laven."

"She's rich?" Dan questioned.

"Yes, plentiful rich. But she's more well-known for her ability to fly."

"She can fly? Like me?" I responded.

"Yes. Normally today, Aeria wielders would still have few difficulties from flying even after ten or so years of training," Miu continued, "but Aura was able to master the ability to fly within one year."

"One year?" I mouthed loudly. She nodded back.

"I wonder if she'll be in one of our classes," Demi whispered. "It'd be pretty nice to be her friend!"

"If she accepts you, that is," Miu said. "Aura will only talk to people who she thinks it is worthy to talk to." She whispered the next words, "in fact, she's very haughty."

I looked back at Aura. She had just finished her cake, and discarded her plate with the table's buttons. As she looked through the menu, she caught my sight and gave me an unpleasant glance. I turned my head back and pretended like nothing happened.

"So, shall we leave?" Miu suggested. All of us agreed. We left the table and out the restaurant door without the need to do anything else. Though as I walked, I could feel that there was an unfriendly feeling trying to penetrate my confidence.

We returned at the same time Gina had finished shopping. She was carrying two bags in each of her arms, most of which were clothes. With nothing else to do, we got in the car and were on our way back to Hyper Academy.

"Did you guys enjoy your meal?" asked Gina.

"Yes!" exclaimed Demi. "The stuff there was so good!" Then, she turned to us. "So, what's on the plan for tomorrow?"

"We start classes in the morning," Dan said.

"Oh, right, darn!" she reacted.

"How do we know which class to go to?" I asked.

"There should be two books on a desk in your room," Miu answered. "In each book, there should be a piece of paper inside. Place your ID card on it and your schedule will appear." I pondered on how that process worked.

"Do you think we'll be in the same class? That'd be totally awesome!" Demi exclaimed.

"It'd be really nice if we would stick together," agreed Miu.

All Dan and I did was smile at each other. Both of us happily approved of the idea.

We made our farewell to each other for the day at the school entrance gate. Dan and I went up to our rooms and checked the desk for the books Miu had mentioned. They both sat there, untouched, just a feet or two apart. Inside both of them was a blank piece of paper as Miu had told. When we placed our ID cards on the papers, they illuminated a faint light, and letters began appearing from top to bottom. My schedule had appeared in my hand:

1. 7:40 – 8:50: Drivers' Basics (Heart) 2-A

2. 9:00 – 10:10: Biology (Aqua) 3-A

3. 10:20 – 11:30: History (Flamma) 2-C

4. 11:35 – 12:15: Lunch

5. 12:25 – 1:35: Math (Aeria) 2-E

6. 1:45 – 2:55 English (Terra) 4-K

Dan and I compared our schedules, and to our surprise, we had all of the same classes. All of them. The only exception was that he had two more classes: Culinary Arts (Aqua) and Swimming (Hyper). I examined our schedules carefully. I understood what my subjects were, but I didn't why Hyper, Heart, Flamma, Terra, Aeria and Aqua were mentioned. I had asked Dan, and he told that the buildings around the center building of the academy correspond to the location of the island. The academy was like a pentagon, like the island formations were. At the top of the pentagon is Heart Island, and on the right was Flamma Island, below that was Terra Island, to the left of it was Aeria Island, and above it was Aqua Isles. In the center of the pentagon was Hyper Island. I took note of the idea, and stored my schedule into my Driver.

It was nearing a black sky after Dan and I unpacked our belongings and settled into our room. We headed to bed and began dreaming about tomorrow.

All I did for many moments was stare into the dark ceiling, visualizing the experience of tomorrow, the day after, and so on.

I couldn't wait to start my new life at Hyper Academy.

Leon: Next time on Love Driver!

Demi: Our classes start tomorrow! Oh, hey, we're all in the same class!

Dan: Driver Class...huh?

Miu: It's definitely the class that everyone enjoys! We even get a fun teacher!

Demi: Oh my gosh, the virtual Driver world! Perfect! Hey, Leon! I challenge you to a duel!

Leon: You want a fight? You got it!

Dan: Episode 6! Driver Class: Basics and Duels!

Leon: I'm definitely going to win!