Jump:
"The government had asked for our assistance again," Headmaster Noah said. "The animals have attacked three cities. The fighters managed to force them back but were badly wounded. If the animals attack again, they can't do anything. Forget what you heard. This is a private conversation."
I repeat what Headmaster Noah said over and over again in my head.
"What were Headmaster Noah and Headmistress Amaya talking about? Why is the government asking for Headmaster Noah's help? And what is this about animals attacking cities? That's nothing new! Animals are always attacking cities. That's why fighters exist. What's going on?"
While trying my hardest to think what is or could be happening, I hear someone snapping their fingers.
"Hey," Hothead says, snapping his fingers. "Jump. Jump! Are you in there?"
"Ahh. Oh, hey Hothead. Sorry. Did you say something?"
"Yes," Hothead answers, nodding his head. "I asked you three times if you wanted to be my partner."
"Partner?"
"For today's class. The professor picked our team. He wants us to split into pairs. Does any of this sound familiar to you?"
Shaking my head again, I put what I heard in the back of my head while pushing myself up. Checking my weapons, I look up at Hothead.
"Yeah," I say, nodding. "It does sound familiar. I'm ready, and I accept."
"Awesome."
With a nudge of his head, Hothead leads me out into the academy's private arena. There, we see Renee and Alodia.
"About time," Alodia says with crossed arms. "Where have you two been this whole time?"
"Calm down," Hothead answers. "We're only five minutes late."
"My dad said being late is a form of disrespect."
"I don't suppose your dad also taught you how not to be an as-"
"Hey, hey, hey," Renee says, jumping between Hothead and Alodia. "They're here. We're here. We're all here. Let's just get through this class. Okay?"
Alodia and Hothead shoot daggers at each other with their red eyes. I roll my own eyes before speaking.
"Okay," I yell.
"Okay," Alodia and Hothead groans.
"Okay," Renee says. "Glad to know we're all getting along."
"Attention Team RSEA," Professor Lundin Canbury says, his face with a stubble beard appearing on the dome. "Today, in Wild Survival class, you will learn about surviving in one of the world's most interesting regions."
We all then look around as the arena changes before our very eyes. The white metal ground disappears and is replaced with hot sand. Holes open in the wall and water quickly pours in. It fills most of the arena and forces us onto a tiny island.
"Welcome to the Oceania region," the Professor says with a laugh. "Here, most of the region is covered by seawater. The people who lived here lived on these tiny islands."
As the Professor tells us about the Oceania region, Hothead leans toward me.
"How do people live here," he whispers. "First seawater and now tiny islands. This place sucks."
"Be quiet," Alodia quietly yells. "I'm trying to listen."
"Besides being one of the most interesting places in the world, the Oceania region is also one of the most dangerous," the Professor goes on. "Many Wild beasts hide in the water. "
"Another reason why this place sucks," Hothead whispers.
"Be quiet," Alodia growls.
Hothead sticks out his tongue at Alodia. She gasps and pulls back.
"Okay," Renee yells, turning around. "That's enough."
Hothead, Alodia, and I all look at Renee. A little surprised by his raising his voice, we all look up when we hear laughing.
"Mine, mine, mine," the Professor says with a laugh. "Aren't we in a rush? Very well then. Let the class begin!"
"Wait," I shout. "No! We aren't in a rush! We were-"
"Break into teams and simulate survival in the Oceania region for one week," the Professor shouts. "Suilen and Alodia. You're Team 1."
"What," Hothead and Alodia scream.
"Renee and Eimear. You're Team 2. Simulate survival in the Oceania region for one week."
With that said, the Professor vanishes, leaving us alone. The second the Professor is gone, Hothead and Alodai look at each other.
"I'm not working with you," Alodia screams.
"Same," Hothead yells. "I am not working with you. I'm working with Jump."
Hothead takes a step toward me but I push him back.
"Hey. What's the idea?"
"Didn't you hear the Professor?"
I point at the blank screen where the Professor's head was.
"He split us into teams. It's Renee and me and you and Alodia. Renee, come on. Let's go."
Before anyone can say anything, I grab Renee's arm and pull him away.
"Come on," I whisper. "I need a break from those two."
"Are you sure," Renee whispers back. "Are you sure one of us shouldn't be watching them? You know, in case they decided to end one another."
"I'm sure they won't do that. I think. Either way, I need a break from these two."
Stopping at the island's shoreland, we look all over. Besides the sand and seawater, there are only a few trees and rocks around.
"Uhh," Renee starts. "Do you know anything about surviving on a deserted island?"
"No. Do you?"
Alodia:
"You do," I ask.
"Yes," Suilen says, nodding. "I do. Even without my gift."
Turning around, Suilen pulls out his sword. Jumping into the air, he swings his weapon and cuts off some large green leaves. Landing back on the sand, Suilen hands me a few leaves.
"Here," he says. "These leaves are very flexible and durable. They can be used for containers."
"Containers," I repeat.
"Yeah. Containers. You know, civilizations are built around containers. Now, follow me."
Dropping to his knees, I watch Suilen fold and bend his leaves. In only a few minutes, he makes a large bowl.
"Wow," I say. I blink a few times to make sure I'm not seeing things but no. It's real. Somehow, Suilen actually managed to make a whole bowl from just some leaves.
Suilen turns and looks at me. Realizing he's waiting for me to make my own bowl, I try to copy Suilen. I try folding and bending the leaves like he did but when I do, the leaves snap back and hit me.
Screaming as I fall back down, my butt hitting the hot sand, I rub my sore face.
"Ahhh."
Grinding my teeth as I lower my hand, I see Suilen standing before me, offering me his hand.
"You okay," he asks.
I open my mouth but for some reason, I don't say anything. My mind goes blank and all I can do is just sit there.
"Come on," Suilen says. He reaches over and grabs my hand. Pulling me back onto my feet, I shake my head.
"Thank you," I say, taking my hand back. With my two hands, I dust myself off, getting rid of the sand still clinging to my armor.
"Here," Suilen says, handing me his leaf bowl. "I'll work on making another bowl. You go and get some water."
"Water? From where?"
"From there."
Suilen answers slowly as he points behind me. I turn around and see only the seawater.
"Okay. Really? Even you can't be that dumb? You know we can't drink seawater."
Suilen lets out a sigh as he stops folding the leaves. He gets up and looks at me.
"I know we can't drink seawater," he plainly states. "But I know how to filter out the salt."
"You...do?"
"Yes. Now will you get the seawater?"
Looking at Suilen, I search for any sign of the same person who napped through half of our classes. I look for the person who played silly games on his holo-display instead of using it to study. The same person who snacked on leftovers from the cafeteria instead of doing his assignment. However, no matter where or how hard I searched, I couldn't find any signs of him.
"Sure," I say. I walk to the shoreline, where the sand meets the water, and bend down. Filling the bowl with as much water as possible, I return to Suilen. When I get back, I see him with two bowls already made, one big and one small, and even a pile of sticks. Rubbing two large sticks together, Suilen actually started a fire without his gift. He throws the two sticks onto the pile and even before I can sit down, Suilen has a roaring fire.
"Thanks," he says, taking the bowl of seawater from me. Placing it over the fire, Suilen then takes the second big bowl and places that bowl above the seawater, covering it. "There. These leaves are able to survive extreme heat, meaning the fire won't burn them. The fire will instead boil the seawater, turning it into steam. The steam will collect on top and once it does, we can pour it into the smaller bowl. We should have drinkable water in a few hours."
Letting out another sigh, Suilen drops to the sand and stares at the water. Clearing my throat, I take the empty spot next to Suilen. While sitting side-by-side, I sneak a peek at Suilen.
"This isn't...Suilen," I think. "At least, not the one I'm teamed with. I can't believe I'm saying this, but I think I might missed that one. The...funny one."