I was headed outside into the strip of grass behind the firehouse. The ground was flat and soft, perfect for hard landings, but we were in a very residential part of the city, so we might attract some attention. Whatever. As much as I hated it, I needed some practice, and it would probably be good for people to know of my existence. Garrett broke me out of my thinking.
"Hey, Sara, why don't you get transformed? We're ready for ya."
I started, realizing I'd missed a good chunk of time. Everyone was in their fire clothes, and there were target sets everywhere.
"We figured that because of your outfit and name you were a fire fairy. Just try to shoot the targets with fireballs. Unless you're not a fire fairy and can't shoot fire?"
I shook my head quickly and confirmed that I was a fire fairy and could shoot fireballs. Then I took a deep breath, said my transforming words, and transformed. It was actually kind of funny to see the look on the guy's faces afterwards, as if they hadn't really believed until now. I turned to Garrett.
"So, we ready to get started?"
Garrett nodded, and we began. For hours I would do as many drills as possible, just trying to get my power stronger and my control better. Yet, it was working perfectly. Every time I got too tired to throw another fireball, I would stop and take a breath. But as the same time, the number of fireballs thrown between breaks kept getting larger. As an added bonus, I could hit each target quicker and more precisely each time. Once it turned dark, it was pretty cool to watch. As soon as the fireballs hit the target, they would explode into millions of specks of light, kind of like fireworks. That's when the people from nearby houses started showing up. I didn't even notice they were there until they started making appreciative noises whenever a fireball exploded. At around 9:00 PM, I declared to the fireman that I was too tired to do anymore, and that we should call it quits for today. I sent the transformation away, and heard gasps coming from the crowd. At first I was confused, but then I understood. They didn't realize I could change back and forth. I was going to tell them the story, but then Garrett stepped in.
"This is Firelight. She is the protector of this city now, but you may call her by her birth name, Sara. I assure you that after school tomorrow, Sara will be coming back to the firehouse for more training and you may come back then. For now though, it is time for us to go, so if you please, please disperse. Thank you."
Garrett sounded so sure, so formal. I saw another side of him, one that made me admire him even more.
"Sara," Garrett said. "It's time for you to go take a shower and go to bed."
I playfully shoved him for that. Then I replied, "Hey! You're not my mom."
Garrett smiled, then said, "I'm older than you, therefore, you senior."
I frowned at him, but decided against arguing further. Instead, I swallowed my pride and went to take a nice shower. Afterwards, I wrapped a towel around myself and tucked in a corner to keep it from falling off. I then walked to my room. Luckily it was right next to the bathroom, and shut myself inside. I turned around and nearly jumped five feet into the air. Garrett was lounging on his bed with an amused smirk on his face. My face turned bright red, and I occupied myself with finding my pajamas in order to avoid looking at him. I heard a rustling behind me, and curiously looked over my shoulders. Garrett had pulled himself under the covers, and no part of him could be seen. He spoke through the fabric.
"Hey, just get dressed. I won't look; I respect your privacy too much."
Gratefully, I took the opportunity to put on my pajamas, then walked over to his side bed when I finished. Slowly, I pulled down the covers, and met Garrett's blue eyes with my own. He started to smile, but I interrupted him with a kiss. Like lightening, the kiss got electric, and didn't end for a while. We broke it, we were both panting heavily. One look at each other and we seemed to decide the exact same thing. Any more kisses and we weren't going to bed. With a heavy heart, I padded back to my bed and tucked myself in. Garrett flicked off the light without a word, and on instinct we both turned so we could face each other. That's how we feel asleep, staring at each other and thinking about what had happened that weekend.
I was shaken awake by Garrett and his voice, screaming at me to get up. Wearily I look at the clock. It was 7:15. Shoot! Class started in fifteen minutes! I was still groggy, so I didn't even notice when more words tumbled out of my mouth. First, "Dress." Then "Do."
Automatically, my pajamas turned into one of my outfits, and my hair was brushed and straightened. Garrett stared at me, then I realized what happened. I just shrugged my shoulders, too tired to care, and he smiled back at me and shook his head in exasperation. Briefly, I thought about how the words worked, and decided to try a little experiment. I pointed at the bed and said, "Make."
Immediately, the bed made itself. Garrett shook his head again and gestured for me to walk outside of the room. Together we went downstairs. I grabbed my bag on the way out. I told Garrett that I didn't need an escort to go to school, and after a minute, he agreed to stay behind. Unfortunately, I remembered that school was much further away from the firehouse than my old home and I wasn't going to make it on foot. Briefly, I thought about going to Garrett and have him give me a ride, but a more fun idea popped into my head. I could fly to school with my wings. Plus, isn't the whole idea of training in the log behind the firehouse part of some big scheme to get the residents of this town used to me? If so, then wouldn't that mean flying to school would be good. I smiled to myself, then transformed. A minute later, I found myself hovering about my school. I quietly lowered myself to the ground, and then dropped the transformation. The entire student body scurrying around stopped dead to watch me enter the school. Only one got over it.
"Hey, Baby! I'm here now and now the party can start. Now that the whole school knows how awesome it is to be dating the hottest and coolest girl on campus, I so rule!"
SHOOT! I forgot about Brad. I didn't even remember I had a boyfriend over the weekend. Good thing Garrett hadn't come with me. But, anyway, I'd always thought Brad was a jerk, and I'd been planning on dumping him, so I guess now was as good a time as any.
"Look, Brad, we need to talk. I don't really think you commit yourself to the relationship well. I'm breaking up with you and that's final."
He just stared at me, mouth open, as I walked away. A few of the other kids who had witnessed the scene, and were now spreading the news around. By the time lunch hit, every student would know what happened. Today's classes were much more different than usual. The teachers seemed to marvel at me like I was some holy object, and all the students gave me a wide berth like a pop star. Some groups wouldn't even touch me while others flocked me in a swarm. Lunch did come, eventually, and I had a headache the size of Jupiter. Wearily, I sat down at an empty table, which quickly filled. I wasn't in the mood for cafeteria food, but there was something I craved, a nice foot-long sub. Warm, toasted bread with layers of turkey, chicken, and four types of cheese, warm mayo squirted on top, and a lemon slice. I pointed at the table on impulse and snapped my finger. Out of the blue, that very sandwich appeared in a blink of an eye. Then I really did blink, shrug, and mowed down on the sandwich. It had the most perfect flavor in the world, and I actually moaned when the flavor hit my tongue. Everybody else just looked at me with their mouths gaping, and I couldn't blame them. The only reason I wasn't awestruck was because I was used to this magical impulse. When I finished, I smiled at my audience and went to my next class. That flowed smoothly, as well as my other classes, until last hour. We were supposed to have an assembly, and something strange happened about ten minutes in.
Right as the cheerleaders were posing after their last stunt, the whole building started to shake. Large cracks appeared in the ceiling, floor, walls, and a huge chunk of brick and more was ripped away from the structure. Luckily, no one was near that section of wall. Unfortunately, some beast walked in. I'd say it was a griffin, except that griffins don't exist. But, wait; aren't fairies supposed to be non-existent too? Uh Oh… We were in some serious trouble. Fortunately, I was on the job. Unfortunately, I was on the job. Quickly, I transformed. I flew up into the air, and conjured a fireball. The fireball hit the griffin in the flank, and it then charged me. Now, I should mention that this griffin was at least twenty feet tall, and that the fireball seemed only to make it angrier. It shot fire at me from its mouth, and I narrowly dodged. This thing could shoot fire too, so that meant fire was not going to work very well. Then, suddenly, I felt a whole new power, something that wasn't warm and filling, but rather cool and sleek. The words came naturally to me.