The class room was large, or at least it was large enough for 4 by five grid of desks. Each one, except for one at the back and 4 at the front. The girl who was avoiding everyone, now with her headphones on, took the one seat at the very back. Eric sighed, he really need to talk to that girl to see if he had pissed her off or something, but then went and sat as close to the door as he could, meaning only one desk was next to him. For some reason, Serena argued with Mat about who would sit there, but eventually just gave up and took the seat furthest away from Eric with a pout on her face. Hatch took the final one and that was that.
Once everyone had settled down and were actually seated, a side door opened. Through it, a tall black haired and grey eyed woman stepped out into the classroom.Wearing a clingy tank top and leggings, with a long katana on her back. Her eyes, which were as hard as ice, scanned the crowd of students. Her mouth turned upwards in disgust, yet lingered questioningly on the last 5 people to arrive in the class. Her posture spoke of experience, battle experience, of wins and losses innumerable.
"OK maggots, shut the hell up and we can get on with the lesson. I am your teacher, my name doesn't matter. Call me Teach if you really have to." She turned her back tot he group and picked up a small piece of chalk. She drew four rough circles on the board and drew strange symbols within each. She then drew her sword, turned back to the class and pointed to one of the circles, resembling (loosely) a flame.
"Lets start with the absolutely easiest form of magic: Ball." Eric stared in shock. The system thing had told him to be able to do all forms of it. Did that mean he had to be able to do the Ball form of each element?
"Fire," the teacher continued, " requires both a burning emotion and a physical trigger. A click of your finger, a clap, rubbing your hands, any form of friction should be enough." She snapped her fingers on her right hand, the one with chalk in it, and a ball of flame appeared a few inches above her hand. She gestured and the ball disappeared.
"Earth requires a solid concentration and the speed of the Ball forming is dependant on how dusty the area around the caster is." She held out her chalk hand, crushed it and then formed a small, white ball of earth formed on her palm. She tossed it out the nearby window and dusted off her hand.
"Air is slightly more difficult. How high above sea level effects how easy it is to form air and each caster visualises it differently." She swept her arm through the air and held something invisible in her hand. She put her katana above it and tried to cut whatever was there, but it couldn't get anywhere near her palm.
"As for water, I hear it is similar to air. However, water requires an actual source of liquid to work. Since I don't have the affinity, I wont be able to show you it, so good luck on your own." She then pointed her katana at the class, almost as a challenge to each and every one of them. "Now its your turn. Try to make some Balls. I will be judging your progress. The more affinities you have, the more Ball types you should be able to form."
Eric panicked at this. No matter how hard his mother pushed him, he hadn't been able to form any of the Ball types. All around him, his fellow classmates were doing it left and right: Mat and Hatch throwing earth balls to each other, Serena and another girl exchanging complements over the multiple fire balls they were producing, several noble boys at the back messing with water and air.
He tried fire, thinking about how much he hated being weak. Nothing. He tried earth, focusing on the trail of dirt he had traced into the room. Nada. He thrust his hand through the air in front of him, trying to grasp something. Anything. Still no Ball. He considered water. He had no source available. Somewhere in the back of his mind, an idea sparked. Water vapour is just oxygen and hydrogen in the air. They both existed in the air separately, so surely he could extract them and form a water Ball that way...
"Zohani! Talonstone! Why the hell are you both sitting there not doing anything! Talonstone, get those headphones off and come to the front. If you can't demonstrate proper Ball control, I'll have you expelled immediately!" The teacher had turned all of her attention to the girl at the back, leaving Eric safe for now, causing him to release a sigh of relief.
The bitter girl from earlier took off her headphones and slowly walked down the isle towards the front. The nobles at the back had begun muttering, whispering and sniggering among themselves. One, who held the ball of water they were messing with, had their arm back. With one confirmation nod from another noble, he hurled it at the girls back.
Without looking back, the girl casually brought her right hand behind her back. It was almost like instinct. The air ball she held absorbed the water ball, and she then tossed it over her shoulder. It hit one of the boys right in the face, covering him in water while making his hair seem as though he had been caught out by a high speed gust of wind. He looked outraged, but suddenly turned pale.
The girl had reached the teachers desk and had formed several earth balls and a larger than normal ball of blue fire. She smirked and sent all the balls towards the back, leaving small holes in the wall and a single scorched spot. The teacher smirked as well, almost laughing at the nobles who had bitten off more than they could chew. The girl then walked back to her desk and put her headphones back on. It seemed she was simultaneously telling everyone: 'Don't mess with me, I know my stuff and can easily put my money where my mouth is' all at once.
"Zohani! Stop smiling like you're off the hook. Talonstone has just shown she has an excuse for not listening. Do you?" Eric began to panic again, everyone was expecting him to be just as good as the girl now. He took a deep breath, stood up and held out his hands.
His left was in line with his chest and his right with his stomach, palms facing each other. He let out his deep breath and concentrated on the moisture around him. Within 6 seconds, a ball 3 times the size of the nobles was between his hands. The noble at the back was no longer wet, but the ball had required 2 more of their balls to be complete. Eric had drained water from the air around him.
The rest of the class, who had been staring at him, applauded politely, except for the nobles Talonstone had humiliated and Talonstone herself, who's face was as bitter as when they first met.