by Gracie Dix
A new teacher stepped in to replace Mrs. Thomas. Everyone supposedly hated her, but Oliver and his friends just thought of her as strict, but nice. Avery joked about hating her, but her friends knew she NEVER really could. The new teacher was Jennifer Kendal, Avery’s and Ondrea’s mom. Oliver thought she was pretty funny, too.
“Okay, so, everyone, if you don’t behave, I will be handing out free—yes, I said FREE—zeros on your tests for today. I know you all like free stuff!” Mrs. Kendal announced. “Now, did everyone do the assignment I posted on Google ClassroomTM? And don’t lie because I can look myself.”
“It was too long!” Will complained instantly.
“And what would you like me to do about that?” Mrs. Kendal inquired.
“Well, I . . .” he began.
Will stopped and looked down. Mrs. Kendal sighed. “All right Will, did you do any of it at all?” she asked.
“I did the first half but . . . ”
“Then I guess I’ll be grading that. Don’t expect a good grade if you’re not going to do the work,” Mrs. Kendal interrupted.
Will just kept on looking down and didn’t say anything.
“Mom,” Avery said loudly, “I love you.”
“Stop it,” Mrs. Kendal responded as she went onto Google Classroom. “I see everyone did it except for a select few.”
She glared at the students jokingly.
The class had done a few vocabulary activities when Mrs. Kendal announced, “We will be having a vocabulary TEST next Thursday, so please get ready for that. Start packing up because the bell is going to . . .”
The bell rang. Since the mission had ended, no one in their group had anything to talk about or anything to do.
“What are we going to doooo?” Darla asked, falling down sluggishly in the hall.
“Are you okay?” Nick asked, picking her back up.
“Yeah. Just a little tired. Actually, are you okay after the whole resurrection thing?” Darla questioned.
“Yeah, man. That was rough. How you doing?” Teddy asked.
“I’m feeling so much better. I haven’t felt tired ever since!” Nick exclaimed happily.
“Yeah, no freaking kidding,” Jessica mumbled.
“You said it, Jess! Nick hasn’t slept in a month. It’s soooo annoying how he constantly keeps us up,” Oliver sighed.
“Well, I feel so hyped up! I can’t control this energy,” Nick cheered.
“Please try,” Jessica said, “because I can’t take this anymore. We’ve been patient enough.”
“Yeah, Nick,” Oliver added.
“All right, fine. I’m sorry, you guys. I should have known by now that I’ve been keeping you up,” Nick sighed, his head down.
“Guys!” Teddy interrupted, “Let’s talk about that new gym teacher!”
“Yeah! I heard she’s hot,” Nick joked, glancing at Avery.
“Ewwww! Nick, gross,” Ondrea laughed.
Avery just looked down and scrunched her face up in disgust. Nick’s head dropped again. The bell rang for lunch. The lunch menu actually had good things on it today! Breakfast for lunch! Everyone filed in and sat around the lunch table.
Teddy had gotten the pancakes, Ondrea had decided to go for the eggs, Jessica went for the hash brown, Will got nothing, Avery just sat there drawing in her sketchbook, and Oliver just had the orange juice. For twenty minutes, everyone just sat in silence and ate their meal.
Avery kept on drawing in her sketchbook. Oliver looked over and took a peek at what she was drawing. He could make out a boy with brown hair and a red hoodie. He decided to not bother her with questions.
“So, what are we going to do now?” Oliver asked to everyone.
“I don’t really know what to do now that the whole Vork mission that brought us together is over,” Darla whispered sadly.
Everyone stayed silent. Three minutes later, a teacher announced that it was time for clean up, so people put their plates up. Next was recess, and no one knew what to do. Oliver began walking around the playground with his hands in his pockets just staring at the ground. He heard someone talking and paused.
“Hey, heard you’re new here. Do you want to know what I do to new kids?” a voice asked.
“Give them big hugs?” a small boy said.
Oliver turned the corner and waited in the shadows to consider the situation. It was Luke! Luke was Malcolm’s older brother and he was as big of a bully as Malcolm had been. If only Luke would disappear like Malcolm had! His idea of justice was to pick on other kids in the harshest of ways. He was taking all his feelings of hurt and loss and turning it into anger against everyone else. Oliver turned his gaze to the smaller boy and gasped silently as he recognized him. The boy looked like the one from Avery’s drawing except he was wearing a blue sweatshirt and glasses. Weird, Oliver thought.
“So, you think you’re funny? Know what I think of jokesters?” Luke growled, readying his fists. Luke punched as hard as he could, but the boy turned away and Luke’s fist hit the wall. He seethed with anger. The boy ran into the corner, and Luke jumped in front of him before the boy could move. Luke kicked at his leg and hit. The boy crumpled, holding his leg.
“Luke, that’s enough,” Oliver growled, stepping out of the darkness.
19.3
Darla ran outside to recess. She began to run laps around the playground, which is what she usually did whenever she was stressed or anxious. She ran as fast as she could for fifteen minutes before her legs turned to jelly and she tripped forward.
“Oh!” A guy said. Darla looked up and saw a boy with brown hair and a red sweatshirt with jeans. He held out a hand.
“Hey, are you okay?” the boy asked. She took his hand and he pulled her up.
“Just a little tired,” Darla answered. She studied his face and saw his eye twitch very subtly. “You look kind of stressed. What’s up?” she questioned.
“Hey, I thought I was supposed to be the hero here,” he exclaimed.
“Ha. Right. That’s funny! What’s your name?” Darla wondered.
“Mason’s the name. Yours?” Mason asked back.
“I’m Darla. Now, what’s up?” she pushed.
“Well, it’s our first day here, and I’ve already lost my brother on the playground,” Mason sighed.
19.4
“What did you say, rat?” Luke growled, stepping toward Oliver.
“I said that’s enough! Back. Off.” Oliver was seething. He stepped to the side and used his Wind Powers to force Luke against the wall.
“Go away,” Oliver stated.
He put Luke down. Before Luke scurried off, he turned back and said, “Oliver, my brother was right about you! You and your stupid sister are bullies.”
19.5
“Who’s your brother?” Darla questioned.
“Oh, his name is Jason. He’s a twin of mine and . . .”
Darla’s phone rang. “Hey, Oliver. Hi . . . Luke again? Oh, the poor kid! Yeah, I’ll get Ondrea. I’m on my way!” she said.
Then she turned to Mason and explained, “My friend Oliver just called and said there’s apparently some brown-haired kid who just took a huge beat down from Luke. I’ve got to find Nick or Ondrea. They’re Healers.”
“Are you Oliver’s friend?” Mason asked cautiously.
“Yeah,” she answered.
“I’ve heard you guys are dangerous!” Mason exclaimed, jumping back.
“Well, are you dead yet?” Darla asked sarcastically.
“No,” Mason said.
“Then we’re fine here! Follow me. We might find your bro along the way,” she yelled, running off. Mason reluctantly hurried off after Darla. Three minutes later, Mason, Darla, and Nick were on their way to Oliver.
19.6
“So, I just got done calling my friends, and they’re on their way. One of them is a Healer, so you’ll be fine,” Oliver called, sitting down next to the boy.
“So, if you’re Oliver, are you going to hurt me?” he asked.
“You didn’t scare me. That was actually pretty dang cool, and my name is Jason,” he mumbled, excitement bubbling up inside him.
“You’re hurt by the way. Luke has Super Strength, so I assume something is broken,” Oliver said as he tried to get a better look at the giant bruise blackening Jason’s leg. Jason pulled away. “Sorry! Um . . . who do you trust?” Oliver asked sympathetically.
“Not many people, honestly. Just my brother, Mason. He’s my twin and looks exactly like me. Except for the glasses,” Jason stated wearily. Jason’s face lightened in color as he adjusted his leg.
“Twins are cool. I have a twin named Jess, but we aren’t look-alike twins. My Healing friend will get here soon. I don’t know which one Darla got. Nick or Ondrea? She could maybe have both,” Oliver rambled.
His phone rang. “Hello... Darla, hey . . . another kid . . . and he’s looking for his brother? What’s the kid’s name? I think I know where his brother is. Yeah, bye.” He hung up.
Oliver glanced over at Jason. “Your brother’s on his way too.” Oliver stated, smiling. As soon as he said that, three people came rushing down the little school-side alleyway.
“What the dragon scales, Jason! Jason, are you okay?” Mason yelled running to his brother’s side.
“Yeah, I think,” Jason responded.
“I promise you, Jason, you’re not,” Oliver said out front.
Mason’s face snapped toward Oliver. “You must be Oliver?” Mason asked.
“You must be right,” he responded.
“I’m glad you were here to save my brother’s life. Thanks!” Mason exclaimed.
“Sure thing. It’s what we do. But I wouldn’t say Luke’s that dangerous,” Oliver laughed.
Suddenly Ondrea, Will, Jess, Teddy, Rachel, and Avery came running around the corner. “Dudes! We’ve been looking for you guys,” Will yelled.
“There’s a situation,” Teddy added.
“What’s going on here?” Jessica asked.
“From what I’ve heard, Luke was being the biggest jerk on the planet and hurt one of the new kids,” Nick intervened. “Speaking of, this is Mason, and this is Jason.”
“I thought they were the same people,” Ondrea laughed.
“Guys, situation—remember!” Rachel hissed.
“How big is it on the situation scale?” Oliver asked.
“About a three out of ten,” Avery stated.
“Yeah, that can wait for now,” Oliver said.
The rest of the group walked toward Oliver. “What happened?” Teddy asked.
“Luke,” Darla answered. “All right Nick, do your thing.”
Nick bent down to one knee and placed his hand gently on top of Jason’s leg. “This won’t hurt,” he whispered.
Nick concentrated on the flow of energy into the bruise and closed his eyes. Jason held his breath, while Mason chewed his finger nails nervously.
“Jason, stop holding your breath,” Nick murmured. Nick began to push his Healing magic out. Jason laughed as he felt the trickle of magic enter his body. A minute later, Jason’s leg was healed.
“That felt funny,” Jason laughed.
“Oh! I’m so glad that’s over.” Mason sighed.
Mason stood up and held out his hand to help his brother up, but Jason shook his head. “I saw you chewing on those nails,” Jason said sternly. He climbed up himself. Oliver ran off toward the situation Avery had rated as a ‘three out of ten,’ and everyone else followed.
“Should we go?” Mason asked.
“Uh, yeah, we should go,” Jason decided, fixing his glasses.
19.7
“Holy crap, Avery!” Oliver yelled, “This. Is. Not. A. ‘Three.’” Oliver had to cover his face in order to not get wind burn. A ball of unconstrained wind floated in the front yard of the school and began tearing up everything—including the platform the school rested on! Oliver could see people being sucked up into the wind ball; colorful blurs rotated inside.
“Well, I apologize!” Avery yelled sarcastically, “It was a ‘three’ before all the Healing stuff.”
“Everyone needs to stay back!” Jessica shouted to the other students.
Oliver used his Wind Powers to pull everyone toward him. “Everyone, run to the playground! The force is least powerful there!” Oliver screamed to them. They all ran, but then Mason and Jason came pushing out of the surging crowd.
“What the dragon scales!” Mason muttered as he saw the huge ball of wind.
“What is that?” Jason yelled.
Oliver turned around in a panic. “You guys have to go! Now!” Oliver yelled.
“No way!” Mason yelled. “You’re in just as much danger as we are.”
“Maybe we should go back,” Jason whined, hiding behind Mason.
“No, we can’t,” Mason declared firmly.
“Maybe you can’t, but I can!” Jason called regretfully as he began walking toward the playground.
A giant piece of concrete dislodged from the roof of the school and the wind hurled it right in Jason’s direction.
“JASON, STOP!” Oliver shouted. Jason didn’t hear Oliver and kept on walking. Jessica Super-Sped into Jason, knocking him to safety but causing her to land right in the path of the falling concrete.
“Yo! Oliver, watch out!” Mason yelled. Oliver looked behind him and saw the wind ball had swirled closer to him. He suddenly felt the force of the wind sucking him in toward the center of the ball. He tried using his own Wind Powers to counteract it, but he felt his feet leave the ground and he lost consciousness as his body flew into the ball of wind.
“Oliver!” Nick and Darla yelled.
“Jess!” Mason shouted frantically.
“HELP!” she screamed. Mason raced over to Jessica, who was holding up the concrete slab—and Super Strength was not one of her Powers. Mason placed his hands under the surface of the large slab and pushed up with all his strength. Jessica felt some of the weight lift off her. Jason was unconscious on the ground beside them. Will ran over to them and used his Super Strength to push the slab off Jessica and Mason.
“Thanks, man,” Mason gasped, staggering toward Jason.
“We need to get Oliver out because he’s the only one with Wind Powers,” Will explained.
“What do you mean ‘the only one?’” Mason asked while shaking Jason.
“Well, there’s this prophecy that Avery drew out in her sketchbook and . . . ”
“I will tell! I am the majestic Avery this child speaks of, so I will tell the prophecy!” Avery grumbled ominously. “So, man, basically, there are these kids with elemental Powers—so, us—who are destined to stop impending evil. But there are only so few of us. No one else has elemental Powers.”
Mason suddenly felt sick. He couldn’t believe what he had just heard. The ‘sick’ look must have shown on his face because Ondrea asked, “What? Are you okay?”
Mason didn’t want to speak because he was afraid he would scream. He felt his Powers surge suddenly. Mason yelped as he felt his body spark. Was that its way of telling him this was his destiny? Mason’s body sparked again. People were looking at him weirdly. Mason wanted to unleash his Powers, but he was worried about Jason. As if the twin-sense picked up a vibe, Jason sat up quickly.
“Whoa!” Mason yelled, startled.
“Look at the sphere of wind! It’s grown so fast. Listen, you have to tell them about us!” Jason exclaimed.
“I’ll do one better. I’ll show them,” Mason whispered. Jason reached out his hand to stop Mason as he turned to face the wind. But then Jason stopped; he knew his brother had to do this.
“Mason! Get away from there! You may get sucked in, too!” Darla fretted.
Mason walked up right to the wind ball, standing ten feet away from it. He commanded the earth to rise. From down on the ground a small slab of stone, mud, and s
ediment rose from the ground and shot up through the large cloud directly under Mason’s feet.
“What the . . .” Will began.
“I know what’s going on! I was drawing the prophecy during lunch! He and Jason are the final piece!” Avery shouted joyously.
Mason was now in the air, floating on the piece of ground.
“Be careful Mason!” Jason yelled. Suddenly, Mason jumped off the stone and into the ball of wind.
“Noooo!” Jason screamed, as he saw his twin disappear into the wind. He didn’t know what to think.
TWENTY
In Which There Has Been A Vortex Still
Mason fought to stay conscious as he willed the wind to clear in front of his eyes so he could see. As the wind carried his body around the ball, he forced himself to not get dizzy. He could see the people flying inside the wind ball at gut-wrenching speeds.
He knew if he tried to stop the ball from the outside, he would only get rid of one layer, so he began to travel toward the source. Mason concentrated all his Power on not getting swept up by the ferocious, increasing winds as he traveled deeper in toward the center.
20.2
“No,” Teddy sighed.
“I can’t believe he just did that!” Nick yelled, throwing his hands up.
“Nick, guys, chill. He knows what he’s doing,” Avery exclaimed, waving her sketchbook in the air. Everyone just stared at Avery. “What? He does!” she repeated.
“Oh! He does. He knows what he’s doing!” Jason realized.
“So, guys, are we just going to completely ignore the fact that Mason just used Earth and Wind?” Darla asked looking shocked.
“You’re right. He certainly did,” Ondrea confirmed.
“We meant to tell you that we have elemental Powers. I mean, Fire is a common elemental Power, but no one else has Earth, Water, and Wind, right?” Jason asked.
“That’s right,” Jessica affirmed.
“I knew it!” Avery shouted.
“Wait,” Darla frowned, “Fire isn’t a special Power? Does that mean I’m not like you guys?”
“Yeah pretty much,” Will declared.
“Bug off, Will!” Ondrea growled. “Darla, you might be normal, but then again, maybe not.”
