Trevor opened the door, and behind it was Liv, waiting impatiently with her arms crossed on her chest. A sly smirk appeared on her face as she saw him.
- Now talk – she demanded.
- Come inside – said the boy, and stepped to the side to make space for her.
She entered, without changing the position of her hands, took off her shoes, using her feet to do so, and headed straight to Trevor's room. As she passed by livingroom she threw:
- Good day Mrs. and Mr. West.
- Hello Liv – they both answered almost perfectly synchronized.
The boy followed her, glancing briefly at his parents, watching the news on TV, where they were again busy explaining a difficult situation on the border with the fifth district in some key places, as unrest was growing there.
- As unreasonable requests continue from the leaders of the most prominent gangs in the fifth district, authorities decided to strengthen the defenses protecting the key passageways – said the anchor, reporting live from one of those areas. - As you can see and additional police officers were deployed.
Behind the man in a suit was one of the transition gates, currently closed. In front of it were parked a few armored vans, and from one of them came out several people in long blue coats, wearing helmets, and having clearly visible wands put behind their belts.
Trevor caught that scene, as he briefly passed by the living room in his pursuit of Liv, but didn't really care, as he had his own problems walking in front of him.
They both entered his room, and he closed the door behind. Liv turned around to face him, and then took a single step back, and sat on his bed, with hands still crossed on her chest.
- Do your parents even know? - she asked, raising her eyebrows.
- N-no… I didn't tell them yet.
- I bet they would be happy, but we didn't gather here to talk about that, did we? - she asked and the smirk reappeared. - I want to know everything.
- Look Liv… I didn't ask you here to talk. I asked you to come because I wanted to actually teach you what I've learned. I don't think I was supposed to share it, but I believe I can increase your magic. I think…
She opened her mouth surprised, but quickly closed it. His proposition clearly got her interested, excited even, as she released her crossed arms, grabbed the side of his bed, and leaned slightly towards him.
- Ok… I'm listening.
Trevor brushed through his hair with his fingers and puffed his cheeks, as he gathered his thoughts. Since he had the memory pack, it was easy for him to understand what to do, but he had difficulties explaining it, as he didn't even know how to start.
- It's mostly about breathing… Sit on the bed, with your legs crossed.
- Ok – she agreed, and followed the instructions, not losing eye contact with him. - So it's a breathing technique.
- Yeah... Kinda... Now… Take five consecutive deep breaths. But not just deep… Make sure you can't hold any more air in your lungs.
- Ok, what after that?
- Take a sixth, and hold the air. It might sound weird, but try to condense it in your belly, and then spread.
- Yeah… That does sound weird – she said, sighed, and then followed the instructions once again.
Trevor observed her carefully, but it was hard to judge if she was doing it right.
- What next? - she asked, as she clearly was done with the task.
- Repeat. I know that it sounds simple and maybe stupid, but you have to repeat… For an hour at least. Maybe two…
- That's… - she sighed again, this time heavier. - Fine. I'll try, but I swear, if you are making fun of me, I'll zap you to death.
- I'm serious – he protested. - Look. I'll be doing the same.
To confirm his words, he sat on the ground, closed his eyes, and proceeded with the meditation.
Liv watched him for a moment, then pulled her phone out of her back pocket, turned on an alarm that would go off after two hours, and placed the device in front of her, on the bed. After that was done, she peaked at him again. Only then she finally started her own meditation.
Trevor quickly drifted off, focusing on the process. Maybe it was because of the memories, firmly engraved in his brain thanks to the practice he already conducted or perhaps was it his firm desire to push his magic further, but the effect was quite quick and quite strong.
He suddenly opened his eyes two hours later, when Liv's phone rang violently, scaring both of them. The boy used the opportunity, as the girl reached for the device, laying in front of her, on the bed, and mumbled under his nose:
- Open status.
The semitranslucent window appeared in front of him. The idea was to check if she would be able to see it, but he already predicted she wouldn't, since it seemed to be just for his eyes, as the previous experiment with the ball icon in the corner of his vision indicated. Still, he wanted to be sure.
He saw that both his 'Energy' and 'Control' have risen up to 9.
Since she didn't seem to notice anything, he quickly turned it off with the proper command.
- So… Do you feel any different? - he asked.
- N... no – she said slowly. - Should I?
He shrugged his shoulders.
- To be honest, I don't feel the difference either. We will have to wait until tomorrow to check during the daily evaluation.
- Yeah – she said, and then smiled a little bit. - I hope it works.
- It does – said Trevor with confidence. - But… I'm not sure if you've been doing this properly, so… We will see tomorrow.
Liv sighed, and her mood clearly got worse. She ended up just nodding in silence, before she got off the bed, and stood back on her feet.
- I should go now. I hope you weren't shitting me with this meditation.
- I wasn't – he yet again confirmed.
She didn't respond to his words but headed straight towards the door. Trevor quickly got up and followed her all the way to the entrance, and on his way briefly peaked inside the kitchen where his parents were preparing dinner.
- You won't stay to eat with us? - asked the mother.
- No, but thank you for the offer Mrs. West – replied Liv loudly, as she didn't even stop for a second.
Trevor saw her off and then joined his parents. There was somewhere on his mind since Liv brought it up, and he decided that there was no need to delay it since there was no reason to.
- I need to show you something – he said.
Both mother and father looked at him, stopping their work. The two of them had knives in their hands and were chopping some vegetables for a salad, standing behind the island.
- What is it, son? - asked the father.
- This…
Trevor summoned his magic, and pushed it to the right hand, causing the flames to ignite and form a small ball of flames. The eyes of his parents went wide, and they stormed from behind the island right toward him, dropping the knives. His mother threw her hands around him and hugged him tightly.
- That's such great news! - she shouted.
- Congratulations son – the man placed his hand on Trevor's head, smiling, and stroked his hair gently. - That's indeed some great news.