A Mission For Drew

My alarm's consistent ringing finally wakes me up. I reach out with my hand to find my phone before turning it off. Once the ringing stops, my hand flops back unto the bed. Strangely the urge to sleep is not as strong as I imagined, and with a little circulation of my Uua, the urge disappears completely. I had not slept till 2.30 am this morning. I had spent the entire time practicing. I started with the circulation of my Uua, but not long after I decided to focus on manipulating my Uua externally. Thankfully, my efforts had not gone to waste.

I get up with a smile on my face as I think of what I gained from yesterday's practice. First off, circulating my Uua didn't require as much concentration as it previously did. That isn't to say I could move while circulating it, but in two to three days, if I keep on practicing like this, that shouldn't be impossible. As for controlling my Uua externally, I have figured out the trick to doing it thanks to Drew's advice. I can't get it every time, but every three tries, I can manage to do it once. With a bit of practice, I believe I will be able to get it on every try. The trick is to remain conscious of the Uua the moment I cut off the strand connecting it to me. If I manage to retain that feeling of it, then I could control it.

I even managed to complete Master Hogan's previous exercises of creating different shapes with it outside my body. I know it's probably a small thing to people like Drew, but I gained a great sense of accomplishment from doing it.

I hurriedly prepare for school, before heading to the kitchen for some breakfast. In the kitchen, I meet my mother boiling water for her usual cup of tea. She doesn't look as tired as she usually does and that makes me feel a bit good.

"Good morning," I greet cheerily as I head to the refrigerator and take out some bread to toast. I have taken Drew's advice to heart and am determined to eat as much as I possibly could this week and next.

She smiles at me and greets me back. As she makes her cup of tea, she frowns a bit at the abnormally large amount of toast I am making. "Are you sure you can finish that?" She asks as she blows gently on the cup of tea in her hand before sipping it.

I nod. For a moment she looks like she wants to say something, eventually, she shakes her head as she decides against it. "Is Emily still asleep?" She finally asks.

"Uh-huh," I nod, "don't worry, she'll wake up within the next five minutes."

Mom sighs and just shakes her head.

I finish my breakfast quickly and leave for school. Hopefully what I had eaten would last till lunch, I have no desire to spend the day hungry.

As I walk to school I begin thinking about what Drew told me yesterday about the levels and came to the obvious conclusion that I have a long way to go. At the same time, I wonder how powerful the Eldest truly is. Almost everyone I had met so far seem to think of him as a God, Master Hogan had even told me directly that he was no ordinary man. Hmm, I wonder what Drew's level is? I decide to ask him today during lunch.

Like yesterday, my high spirits make the first half of the school day pass like a breeze, also like yesterday is the fact that most of what is taught is very easy to grasp. If only school was like this all the time.

Soon, it's lunchtime, and I head quickly to the cafeteria. As usual, I spot Drew sitting at our usual table. As I slide into the seat opposite him, I can't help but ask. "Don't you ever eat lunch?"

For a brief moment he seems confused before he finally shrugs. "Lunch is overrated. I can function on one meal per day without any problems, unlike you food addicts."

I raise an eyebrow at him. "Anyone who isn't 'addicted' to food will die a slow horrible death."

He scoffs. "Only weaklings die from hunger. Hardcore people like me can only die from things like being too badass."

I snort, the sides of my mouth curling up. "Of course."

As I begin to eat my lunch I suddenly remember what I wanted to ask Drew. I stop eating and look seriously at him. "Hey Drew, what level are you at."

"Me? Captain. "

I look at him in surprise. That was far higher than what I expected. "Are you serious?" I ask him as I watch his face for any sign that he is just joking with me. But his expression is completely serious as he nods.

"Wow," I say. I had expected Drew to be an Apprentice, at most a Pre-protector. I hadn't expected him to be a Captain already. The way I look at him suddenly changes from a normal dude with magic to a powerful guy. The gap between me and him suddenly seems too great to be bridged.

He shrugs as if it's no big deal. "Did you practice yesterday?"

"Yeah," I say, my achievement suddenly feeling useless in the face of his power. "I can control my Uua externally now…"

"What about the circulation?"

"I've made some progress," I say without much enthusiasm.

Drew suddenly laughs out loud. "You look, depressed. Look, don't compare yourself to me. You have no idea what I had to go through to get to this level. You'll probably have things easier than I did. Just do your best and who knows, with that potential of yours you could become as powerful as me in two or more years." He glances at someplace behind me and says. "Your girlfriend's coming."

It takes me a moment to figure out who he means by my girlfriend. Cassandra. I haven't really seen her since I tutored her on Monday. I am about to tell Drew that she isn't my girlfriend when I hear footsteps behind me and decide to keep quiet.

"Hey, Drew. Hey Ian." She greets us she sits beside me.

Drew and I greet her back and she spends a few moments joking with Drew before turning to me. "I was wondering if you could tutor me today. I want to try to understand more before the week is over since you know the test is in the next two weeks."

I think and realize I have a free period today, just before school ends for the day. I nod at her and tell her to meet me at Mr. Sherman's class, he should not be having classes by that time. She smiles brightly and thanks me, before leaving after saying bye.

Time passes quickly and during the last period I head to Mr. Sherman's class. I meet Cassandra leaning against the wall beside the classroom, a textbook and notebook in one hand and her pen in the other. She is rolling her pen between her fingers when I arrive.

"Why are you standing outside the class?"

She shrugs as she stands straight. "The thought of being alone in a class with Mr. Sherman is… I don't know, I just don't like it. I know you think he's cool and all but he reminds me of my mother."

"Your mother?" I ask, failing to find any connection between Mr. Sherman and her mother.

"Yeah," Cassandra says with a small laugh. "She's really strict, and Mr. Sherman seems to be like that."

"You're such a scaredy-cat." I say teasingly before walking into the classroom.

We greet Mr. Sherman and find some seats towards the back of the class before beginning our lesson. Mr. Sherman barely spares a glance at us before continuing to work on his laptop.

We don't have much time before school is over but that isn't a problem for me. Cassandra only has four topics to learn before the test and we completed the bulk of the first topic the last time we met, so what I just did today was explain the last few topics, something which takes around twenty minutes, before giving Cassandra some questions to attempt on the whole topic.

She finishes quickly and as I go over her work, I nod impressed. She had made very few mistakes and had correctly solved most of the questions.

By this time there is still about ten minutes till school is over and we spend the time just talking about random things. A part of me is glad the silence from the previous lesson isn't here while the other part is glad that for the first time ever I am really getting to know her.

When the final bell rings, I wish I could stop it and extend the time I can spend with her by another ten minutes, but of course that is impossible. We say our goodbyes and separate.

I meet Drew who is waiting for me outside the school, and together we head to the bookshop. At the bookshop, Hugo is attending to a customer, but just before we go into the room in the corner, he extricates himself briefly from the customer and says to Drew, his voice low so that the customer can't hear what he's saying. "Get back quickly and contact your team. There's a mission for you."