Chapter 20
We had a rest period scheduled for the early afternoon, then we were heading back to strength class for some more torture. We sat on the grassy hill overlooking the soccer field and watched a scrimmage game.
“How did your strength class go this morning?” Rachel asked Noah.
“Great. It was fine,” Noah said cautiously, flickering his eyes in my direction for just a second.
“Yeah, it was pretty crazy,” I added. “I lifted, like, thirty pounds or something big like that.”
Nick and Noah laughed, relieved by my sense of humour in the matter.
“You mean three hundred pounds?” Claudia asked, confused.
“No. No, he really means thirty,” Nick laughed.
I smiled and rolled my eyes. “But I think I know now what my problem was. I'm ready to go back at it again.”
“What was your problem?” Rachel asked.
“I was letting something distract me. I have a purpose, and I have a reason. Two different things that I was letting cohabit when I shouldn’t have.”
Rachel gave a confused look to Noah. “Are we still talking about your strength problem, or something else?”
Claudia interrupted, “And how did your Healing class go?”
“Uh, about the same.” I grinned. “But it's all good now. Trust me.”
The bullhorn sounded.
“Good,” Nick said as he stood up and brushed his pants off. “I'd hate to see you get held back.”
“Come on, guys. Let's go to strength class and watch Jake lift fifty pounds now,” Noah teased.
We said goodbye to the girls and headed back to the dreaded building by the mess hall.
Sam was standing at the back of the room waiting for us to gather. “Good afternoon, cabin three.”
We took our seats and waited patiently as Sam arranged the cement balls along the left side of the room. So effortlessly.
“Okay everyone, we'll start by warming up with the balls. Go grab a ball and a partner and toss it back and forth.” Sam picked up a smaller cement ball and said, “Jacob, you can pair with me.”
That was a little embarrassing. “Uh, thanks. I guess.”
I closed my eyes, cracked my neck and cleared my head. I was ready.
“Think fast, healer,” Sam taunted as she gently tossed the ball toward me.
I reached out to grab it, bracing myself with my left foot back, and caught the ball with ease. It no longer felt like a heavy block of cement, but more like the beach ball that it resembled. I creased my brow as I inspected the ball. Was it a joke?
“Excellent job, Jacob. You think you're ready for the big ball?”
“Yes, please,” I said, welcoming the opportunity to be considered normal again.
Sam picked up the large ball and hurled it at me without warning. This time I didn't feel the need to brace myself as I reached out and snagged it like a football.
“Very impressive,” she commended. “Class, now that we're all up to speed, I think we'll have a little competition. Let's all line up here on this side of the room and I want everyone to take their turn in throwing the ball as far as you can. We'll see who can get the closest to me.” Sam stood at the opposite end of the room, which was about forty feet away, much further than I had seen anyone throw.
Everyone took a turn. I stood back and watched for the techniques that appeared to work better than others. Some people threw it like a bowling ball, while others threw it like a baseball. Most balls landed in the middle of the room, somewhere around fifteen to twenty feet, which was impressive in itself. Noah was in the lead so far with coming up just five feet short of Sam. Nick was the next one to throw, then me at the end of the line. Nick hurled the ball and it landed at Sam's feet.
“Very nice, Nick,” Sam said, obviously impressed.
I stepped up and cleared my head. The ball felt so light in my hands that I had to check to make sure I was even holding it. I decided to throw it like a baseball and pitched it with all my might. Everything I had.
The ball soared, at an unbelievable speed, across the room, over Sam's head and right through the wall! A few seconds later, a big thud conquered the room as the ball smashed into a tree, sending the tree timbering to the ground.
I wasn't sure if I should apologize for the destruction, or celebrate my victory. I got my answer when Sam burst into cheer, followed by the rest of the guys.
“Well done, Jacob!” Sam applauded. “My, my! They sure were right about you. You have some promise.”
“Good job, dude,” Noah said slapping me hard on the back.
“Never seen anything like it before,” Nick shouted over the laughter and noise.
Just then Matthias came running into the building. “Is everyone alright here? Anyone hurt?” He scanned the room for injuries, but quickly relaxed when he saw the celebration. I met his eyes with a wide grin. “You did this?” he laughed.
“Sure did. Just needed someone to talk some sense into me,” I said with a wink.
He looked across the room at the hole in the wall and shook his head. “Look at this mess.”
Sam clapped her hands together and shouted above the commotion, “Okay guys! Everyone relax and sit down. You all did very well, but we don't have a lot of time left so I want to talk to you about mind movement before you go.” She looked up at Matthias, “Thanks for stopping by to check up on us, Matthias. Thankfully there are no injuries.”
Matthias nodded and left the building, chuckling to himself as he went.
“So I'll begin by reminding you that mind movement is not something you are expected to be able to do. It's rarely done and when it is, it's only by seniors who have been practising the techniques for years. Some of you may be able to accomplish mind movement after years of service, but I want to show you the technique now so that you can practise at home.” Sam started handing out pencils to everyone. “Take this pencil and set it on the floor in front of you.”
I set my pencil down on the floor and stared at it, wondering what the technique was. I remembered all those times I laid my tired and bored head down on my desk at school and stared at my pencil, willing it to jump out of the groove at the top of my desk. It never happened. I wondered if this was going to feel the same.
“The trick with mind movement is really quite simple. First of all, you must believe you can do it because our motto is, ‘If you think you can, or you think you can't, you are right.’ So you have to believe that this pencil will move. Secondly, you don't imagine the pencil merely moving, but you imagine the final destination for your pencil.” Sam laid her pencil on the floor and stood over top of it. “For example, I know I can move this pencil and I want to hold it in my hand.” And just like that, the pencil lifted off the ground and flew into her hand like a magnet.
“That is neat,” I said.
“Go ahead, give it a try,” Sam said as she slowly walked around and watched. “Those gifted with Faith may have an easier time with this.” She leaned over one guy and said, “You're trying too hard. I can see the wrinkles in your forehead. It's a simple act. Don't put much thought into it. Just believe and tell it where to go. You are in control.”
I listened to everything Sam said about believing it and just doing it. I knew I could do it, given the accomplishments I had achieved in class already. Now I just had to decide where I wanted the pencil to go. Hmm . . . Where to go?
“Let's see it, Jacob. Stop thinking about it and just do it already,” I heard Sam say.
“Go to Sam,” I said quietly, and off my pencil went, flying through the air and smacking Sam in the middle of her forehead.
“What was that?” she said as she looked around. Her eyes rested on my pencil lying on the ground at her feet. She looked back to me with disbelief. “Are you kidding me?”
“I don't often joke, Ms. Conrad. You didn't believe in me,” I said with a smile, recalling the words she said to me earlier that day.
Everyone was watching our exchange by th
is point.
“You're right. I can't believe it. This has never happened in all my years. You're not supposed to be this advanced, Jacob. That wasn't in the cards for you.” She scratched her head as she thought through something that was beyond me, but bewildered her.
Noah leaned over to me and asked, “Did you really move the pencil, dude?”
“Yeah,” is all I could say as I waited for more of an explanation from Sam.
Sam paced the floor for a minute then she looked up at everyone and announced, “Okay everyone, you're dismissed. Go take a break or something. Jacob and Nick stay here.” She waited for everyone to clear the room. “Nick, please go and get James Chisholm and Matthias. Tell them it's important.” She continued to pace with her fingers tapping away at her lips.
Nick left in a hurry. Noah, appearing concerned, waited outside by the door. “What's this all about?” I asked Sam when the room was empty.
She didn't respond, she just kept muttering, “It doesn't make sense. It wasn't meant to be like this. It just doesn't make sense.”
A few moments later, James and Matthias burst through the door.
“What is it, Sam? What's the matter?” Matthias demanded.
James didn't need an explanation. He read her mind the moment he walked into the room. “Are you sure?” he asked before she could answer.
“I think so. I mean I didn't exactly see it, but that's what he said.” She struggled to remain steady and calm.
Their uneasiness made me nervous. Was I a freak?
“What happened?” Matthias shouted.
“We were doing mind movement techniques,” Sam started to explain, “and I think he moved something.”
Matthias sucked in some air and turned to face me with wide eyes.
“Jacob,” James began, “tell me what happened.”
“I don't understand what the uproar is all about. She was showing us how to do mind movement, so I did it. Why is that so hard to believe?”
“It's just that mind movement is only done by few people in the world, and none of them are newcomers. We just didn't see this in your future. It's a great thing, mind you. It's a really great thing.” James smiled from ear to ear. “I need to see it for myself though.”
Sam brought a chair over and set it down on the floor in front of me. “Can you do it again?”
“Yeah,” I said. “Sure.” I squinted my eyes, focusing on the chair in front of me, and then silently commanded the chair to take a trip across the length of the room and rest against the wall.
We all watched as the chair flew and bounced off the wall, landing with a clang on the floor.
“Incredible!” shouted Matthias. “Jacob, you are one special kid.”
“Good work, son.” James beamed.
“So what do we do now?” Sam asked, reluctant to join in on the celebration.
“It doesn't change much, Samantha. He'll continue with his training as planned,” James answered.
“But no one saw this. Why?” she demanded.
“This stuff happens, Sam. Well, not quite like this, but change happens. It's a shift in the energy.”
“I know how it works, James. That's what concerns me! Does this mean the Defiers have an edge now too?”
Matthias and James exchanged a look. One that I didn't understand. Then they both answered, “Yes.”