"Here's the deal, Charlotte; from what I know and have seen, you have the power to control light. It's pretty good. You won't meet many or any people like that, so that's the bad news. Unlike most people here, you don't have someone to help you learn your ability." He gathered his Chi, created a lantern, and handed it to Charlotte.
"What's this for?" Charlotte asked curiously, looking at the lit lantern with curiosity. Johnny snapped his fingers, and the light from the lantern got a bit brighter, but it wasn't enough to bother him. "Was that supposed to do something?"
Johnny nods and inspects him and the lantern, quietly muttering and mumbling. The light slowly gets brighter, eventually enough to bother him, so he covers it with his hands.
"Alright, sir, are you just trying to mess with me?" Charlotte asked with slight anger in his voice. Johnny shook his head, and the lantern bounced off his hands, slowly hopping over to Johnny. Charlotte at least had a clue on who was responsible for his bed.
"I was testing something, and the results are worrying. Not for you, of course; if anything, you might call this a blessing. It just makes your life harder." Johnny picked up the lantern, which dissolved into Chi in his hands and flowed back into him.
"You're fortunate. Reese told me he gave you a small explanation of how we are blessed with abilities. You are one of the few more blessed and cursed than others. You're absorbing the light around you. You probably can't tell; I couldn't tell until I started trying to blind you. Sorry about that, but I had to do it to see it more clearly. It's small and practically unnoticeable." He said apologetically as he bowed.
"I… it's fine? I guess?" Charlotte responded, still a bit confused about what he was hearing. At least he knew his power involved light. As for how to use it, it would be challenging to figure out. Honestly, he never got the easy path, so it didn't change a thing.
"Don't despair, even if I can't teach you to use your ability. I know someone similar to you, and they could help…if you can convince them." Johnny sighed, and the giant glass box and the chair he was sitting on came undone. The Chi didn't return to Johnny; instead, it scattered and seemed pulled into the roots.
"His name is Juba. You've already met them, and I don't imagine they find you very pleasant." Charlotte got up, dusting himself off. That didn't even cover half the issues he and Juba had. He didn't think Juba would be the type to hold the grudge, but he did beat him up and ruin his reputation.
"I'll talk to him, see what he says…so how do I get back?" Charlotte didn't think they would tell him to climb back up the way he came in. He wasn't exactly excited to waste the entire day doing that.
"Right, come along." Johnny didn't wait for him to respond as he walked away. They walked past a few students. Charlotte couldn't pick up what they were whispering. Still, there were a few he recognized. The one with that freaky form-changing ability talked with the one they fought with, and strange plants formed around them.
Johnny eventually stopped beside a stone platform with runic symbols forming along the edges. He gestured for Charlotte to get on, and as soon as a blue light covered his body. When he opened his eyes, he was outside the classroom; curiosity got the better of him, and he opened the door to the classroom. The classroom had nobody inside, and the floor was still there. He tried to step inside while holding onto the sides of the door. He could feel his foot resting on the classroom floor. As soon as he tried to take another step inside, the floor disappeared, and he held on tightly to the wall and pulled himself back out.
"God, that's scary. Who the hell designs these things?" Charlotte rubbed his face and forced himself to his feet, walking over to Class D. He opened the door to catch Juba, Haze, and the student Leon had beaten cleaning the classroom. His old teacher sat in her clean space and waved at Charlotte.
"Come in, brat, don't mind the garbage; I don't mean the dusty room." She spoke with a mischievous grin, eliciting a reaction from the three. They didn't outright insult her, but their groans and silent complaints didn't fail to reach his ears.
"I'm here to talk to Juba. Can I borrow him?" Charlotte didn't step inside and pointed to Juba. Suffice it to say, he surprised Haze, who looked first at Charlotte before looking at Juba. Juba seemed the most surprised as he stared at Charlotte, confused.
"Sure, but bring him back soon. I need something to hold my book while I read." Charlotte was sure she was saying that as a joke, but Juba didn't seem to take it as a joke as he stormed out and grabbed Charlotte, dragging him along. Juba didn't let go of him until the two were outside, and even then, he made sure nobody was spying on them.
"What do you want? If it's for a fight, I'm not in the mood to fight you, and frankly, I don't have my sword either." Juba sat down on the steps leading up to the entrance and sighed as he looked up at the tree.
"No, I came here to ask for your help. My new teacher, Johnny, said the two of us are similar, and you could help me learn to use my ability." Charlotte didn't know whether to sit beside him, so he leaned on the wall. Juba took a few seconds to register what he said before staring at Charlotte with surprise.
"Are you fucking with me…did someone pay you to do this? Who are you?" Juba questioned, a small tornado forming in his hand. Charlotte raised his guard. Juba waited a few seconds before letting the wind disperse and rubbed his eyes.
"Alright, so you aren't fucking with me, what do you mean we're similar? Last I checked, I couldn't make a dome of pitch black around me with my wind ability." Juba spoke slightly annoyedly; if Charlotte had to guess, he wasn't having an enjoyable day or morning.
"I didn't mean similar in that way…also wait, I created a dome of darkness? That's so cool!" Charlotte wished he had gotten to see that from the outside, and sadly, it seemed it wasn't meant to be. Juba tapped his chin, and his facial expressions jumped from confusion to understanding. He opened the doors to the school and made sure nobody was around before gesturing to remain quiet and walking to the back of the tree. Charlotte followed behind him, confused about all the secrecy. What exactly was going on now?