When Matthew awoke, he was back in the gym. By his side, Polly was tending to him, and further up ahead was Jahad, punching away at the boxing bags.
Noticing his awakening, Polly glanced towards the bags and shouted. "Jahad, he's awake!"
"Oh, good!" Jahad responded, finishing with one last strike and jogging up to Matthew. "Are you alright, kid?"
Matthew nodded, memory a bit hazy. When he remembered how he fell, his cheeks went a little red. "Oh, uh, I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to make you worry..."
Confused, Jahad pat Matthew on his shoulder. "No worries kid, its not me on the bed, but you, so do me a solid will ya? Know your limits." His gaze was suddenly firm. "You have talent, you're a young hot shot, but don't let it get to your head. I've known many who pushed past what they were able, and sure, that might be a good thing, but you must learn when to stop. Had that been in a real battle, had I not been your opponent, that would have been the end of you. Do you hear me?"
Matthew dipped his head down in shame. What Jahad said was true. He had been reckless and stupid. Why did he go so far in just a mere spar? From the get go he went at one hundred right till the very last moment. His body couldn't handle that, nobody could handle that.
"Sorry Mr. Jahad, I wasn't thinking straight, it was just so fun..."
Sighing, Jahad's stoic exterior melted. He smiled, ruffling Matthew's hair. "No harm no foul, go on, you've been out since lunch, school's about to be finished."
Matthew's eyes nearly popped out of his head. "What!" He couldn't believe that he'd slept through periods five and six! His mom was going to kill him! I mean, it was quite ironic, really. He had told Hazel not to sleep through her classes, yet here he was.
Without another word, Matthew jumped out of bed, thanked Jahad and Polly, then ran off to his homeroom.
Just as he entered though, the bell rang.
"Class dismissed!"
"Woohoo!" Zayne jumped out from his seat, rushing out the door and nearly bumping into Matthew. "Oh, your awake! Nice fighting man."
"Yeah, uh, thanks." But it was too late, Zayne had already left before he could finish. Matthew turned around and was momentarily jumpscared by Demitri.
Demitri eyed Matthew with intensity, staring deeply at him. Then, wordlessly, he pat Matthew's shoulder and left.
Student after student, peer after peer, they all came to Matthew and gave him words of care.
Not very many were at the gym, but all of them heard that Matthew had been injured, that was why he couldn't attend the fifth and sixth periods. Then there was Lauren, who didn't even look at him as she walked out, aloof and uncaring.
Mr. Julius cleared his throat. "Don't worry about missing out on class, I've prepared you a worksheet you can do as make up for not being here." He handed Matthew a small A4 piece of paper. "The subject is mana beasts, to prepare for the test at the end of the semester."
Matthew bowed deeply and rushed out the door, thanking Mr. Julius for the work. He would have exchanged more words, but time was marching onwards and it was threatening to leave him behind. He had to catch a bus home after all. That and he needed to meet his sister at their agreed meeting spot.
.
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On the bus home, Matthew was getting his ear blasted by the endless sequence of questions that June had.
"Why didn't you tell me you were so good at fighting? What was that dust attack you made? Can it be changed and used for other elements? Do you take classes? When did you start learning how to fight?"
Gordon had to be the one to end her barrage of verbal attacks. "June, quiet! You're being annoying!"
Taking a moment to consider her actions, June pouted. "I am not annoying!"
Matthew smiled, a bit surprised by the sudden shift in personality. "It's fine, Gordon, I'd never find June annoying. You never asked, the dust attack was improvised, it probably can, no I don't, ever since I first awakened at four."
A bright, heart warming smile appeared on June. "You don't find me annoying? Awesome! Can I ask more questions?"
Confused at why she felt the need to ask his permission, Matthew nodded.
June bombarded Matthew with a heap of questions the entire bus drive while Gordon watched the scenery. Hazel slept on Matthew's shoulder, snoring the whole way.
Eventually, Matthew and Hazel reached their destination and got off. "Bye June, bye Gordon!" He waved at the two of them, happy he had found those two people so early on in life.
Awaiting their arrival, Mary hugged both of them tight, bringing them close. "My babies, I missed you so much! How was school?"
Smiling from ear to ear, Matthew recounted everything that happened that day. When he talked about the fight and him falling unconscious, Mary felt greatly responsible.
"I'm so sorry, Matthew, I know you hate it but that seal is there to keep you safe. Don't you ever push yourself that hard ever again, you got that young man?"
Matthew nodded solemnly, putting his head against his mom's hip. He was too short to put it on her shoulders.
.
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That night, after eating dinner, Matthew laid awake in his room, fantasizing about the future. What was to come was the excursion to Calonia, followed by the written test about mana beasts. Then were was a two week holiday and then not much. Life was going to be smooth sailing from here.
Flipping the pages of the worksheet Mr. Julius gave him, Matthew looked up at the starless night filled with smog from the factories. He dreamed about seeing the cerulean expanse once more, only in real life. He'd never had serious thoughts about his future before, not any in great detail, so now was as good as a time as any to start really planning. His dreams still held true, Matthew wanted to become the strongest mage in the world. Even without the orb sapping his strength, he was only as strong as an intermediate mage. He couldn't even fathom how to progress further and become an advanced mage, hah, if he couldn't even fathom that, there was no way to become a Grand Mage. Matthew decided then and there what he would do...well, not really, he kind of blanked out since he didn't even know where to start, so he decided that he would ask Mr. Jahad about it tomorrow.