Chapter 3
“Come now, Aly,” Teacher said. “No more thoughts. Merely perform, yes? Class, let us cheer her on.”
“You can do it, Aly!” Catty shouted from the sideline.
The rest of the class, also watching, followed in. Aly was a nervous wreck. So much pressure, so many eyes looking at her. She couldn’t do it. Two full months had gone by and she still couldn’t do it. Everyone else in the class could control their being now, but something was wrong with her. She was realizing it, but still too afraid to accept it. Maybe the joke her pappai made a while back wasn’t a joke at all. Maybe she was actually sick and this was the symptom.
“Why does this one wait?” Teacher insisted. “Perform, yes?”
Aly felt as stiff as the green oak wood trees in the forest. If she tried and failed again, that would only push her deeper into isolation from everyone else. Glani and Requai already made fun of her. What if the entire class did the same? She thought about acting like she had a tummy ache, so she could get excused. Nay, that would not fool Teacher.
Joquin and Catty stood beside each other, both of them holding their hands together like they were praying for a miracle. The two eventually stopped cheering and watched silently, making Aly even more nervous. What if she let down the only ones in class who still believed in her?
“We shall count down,” Teacher instructed. “Three.”
Aly’s ears shot up. Nay! More pressure! Not enough time! Why were they pushing her? Shanvi said it’d have to happen eventually, so why was so much pressure starting to be put on her? Maybe there was an actual time limit of expectancy that no one ever bothered telling her about, and she was past due.
“Two,” Teacher and the class said in unison.
Stupid hands. Stupid, stupid hands! What is wrong with me? Aly felt a lump in her throat. Indeed, what was wrong with her? This wasn’t fair. She did everything right. She practiced harder than anyone else in class and even stayed longer during the after class sessions. Sometimes Teacher had to walk Aly home because she didn’t want to let up when the first stars came out. Then there were times when Shanvi actually had to leave the hut, come to the sparring ground, and drag her home. Aly tried. She tried so hard.
She was always exhausted by the time she got back to the hut. Her children’s garden teacher, Master Slew, actually stopped by two weeks ago when he noticed that Aly’s performance in school was dropping. She came into the learning board more tired than usual, as well. That made the mastra wonder if she got her pappai into trouble, so she tried even harder. Still, there was no hope. Every stance, every breath, and every push proved to be another waste of effort.
“One.”
Aly’s frantic breathing suddenly got out of sync, and Teacher’s telling her to control her pacing only made her more anxious. What would happen when she didn’t perform? Not if, but when? Aly lowered her arms a little at the very thought of it. She knew this wasn’t going anywhere. She’d probably be better off going home with the rest of the Little Ones when regular sessions let out.
Nay, I will not! Aly smacked the weak thoughts out of her head. No more. She wouldn’t let this being-control manage her when she was supposed to manage it. Teacher wasn’t yelling at her because he was frustrated with her. He was yelling because he believed in her. Why, everybody did! Everyone was chanting her name, after all. How couldn’t they believe her? Maybe they knew something she didn’t.
“Push!”
That’s right. Aly would push, and the inner being within her would reveal itself. She’d make the biggest sphere of energy that anyone would ever see. She wished her pappai could be here for this grand moment, the day she’d become a true member of the tribe. This would be her first steps to being a true Goolian. She’d be like everyone else again. Yes, today was the day.
“I said push, Alytchai!”
Aly’s eyes lit up when she thought she felt the sensation of her hands grow numb and cold. There it was! She finally had it. Aly smiled from ear to ear. The sensation was still there, and growing. There was only one thing left to do, and that was to express her inner being, that tiny visual form of raw energy that every Goolian could control in order to share his or herself with the tribe. The sharing of servitude, the sharing of the better good, the sharing of pride. Aly stretched out her fingers, chambered her arms back, and fired.
Catty’s mouth gaped open. Joquin’s eyes were wide. Teacher uncrossed his arms and everyone in the class got quiet. Aly fell down on her hands and knees, on the verge of tears. She had it. She knew she did. Or maybe she just told herself that, for the sake of having one final speck of hope.
“Our thanks for the buildup, Aly,” someone from the crowd shouted.
Aly looked over to her friends. Catty was nudging Joquin in the shoulder as he covered his smile. So much for friends.
“Settle down, the lot of you,” Teacher demanded. “There be no humor in this.”
As the Little Ones tried to keep their faces straight, Aly kept facing the dirt. She felt Teacher’s hand rub her shoulder, indicating he knew this humiliation was going to haunt her for the rest of her life; something far worse than the crushing blow he just gave the class’ social development.
“Everyone, meet up at the danker trees,” he said. “A new lesson awaits.”
The Little Ones darted off a little deeper into the forest. Aly didn’t budge, not even when Catty walked over to her.
“Mastra, we best be on, yes?” Aly didn’t say anything, so the other Little One poked her on the shoulder. “Come, Aly. Truly, the others––”
“Touch me not!” Aly swatted the mastra’s hand away. Catty leapt back and clutched her fingers to her side.
“Aly, Catty,” Teacher called out as he returned to check on them. “Trail not behind, yes? Move along.”
Catty didn’t say a word as she passed Teacher. Aly sat up on her knees and sighed.
“That notion includes this one too, Little Mastra,” Teacher added. “Off with you now.”
The Little One did as told and sauntered on with defeat still harassing her. Teacher’s face was straight and confident, as usual. Because of this, Aly couldn’t tell how concerned her sparring priest actually was.
Something was actually wrong with her. Everyone in the class had their physical months before they started school, so everybody was cleared for inner being lessons, with the weakest Little One knowingly having a one-month delay. Goolians – especially the ones from Kutenbrya – had being-control down to a science. They never made a miscalculation when timing one’s control. Aly, on the other hand, should’ve been performing at most two weeks after the courses began.
Teacher pulled a chart out of his back pocket and made sure none of the Little Ones were in sight. He read it, and then read it again, just like he had for the past two months. Aly was taking too long – plain and simple. Still, there were very rare cases of a Little One facing prolonged delays. The longest one that he recalled was from a tribe in the northern hemisphere, where it took a Little One five months. Then again, he always wondered if that story was just another one of the silly local rumors. Teacher shook his head, rebuking all of the negative thoughts, and hurried over to the rest of the class. He figured he’d have to scold them for poking fun at the Little One who still couldn’t control her being.
Aly was still dragging herself over to the rest of the Little Ones by the time he reached her. Teacher picked her up so they wouldn’t waste any more time. Aly’s body went limp like a doll and nearly slipped out of his grip. She didn’t make any fuss over it, though.
“Pull your nerves, Little One,” Teacher grumbled as he tried to keep his hold on her. “Truly, the end of the world has yet to come.” He knew, as far as she was concerned, the end was already upon Aly, but Teacher still had a job to do.
The elder tossed the Little One a few meters ahead, and Aly naturally landed on both feet. He watched the Little One stroll over to Catty since she more than likely thought that was the only friendly face around.
/> “As skilled as one may be with being, you must hold ground, even within close range,” Teacher explained. “Thus, we commence with close-quarter combat, or at the most, we shall test our reflexes. Now, gather round and take heed. While one would think inner being is an advantage for range, there be no such thing when one’s opponent can perform the same deed.”
“Unless you are to be Alytchai,” Requai, who stood close to Aly, called out.
Teacher gave the girl a look, but everyone still laughed.
Catty moved in front of Aly and sized up the other mastra. “Just leave her be.”
“Enough,” Teacher countered. “There shall be no such quarrels amongst you, very good? Or perhaps I shall take this to your parents?”
“Apologies, Teacher,” Catty said.
Requai didn’t say anything else. Teacher figured the issue was settled and turned back around.
Requai then leaned over to Catty’s ear.
“Aw, how proper,” she whispered. “Truly, an expected act. The favored wealthy one to stand up for the odd one, just as her mammai and pappai told her to.”
Catty was about to object, but paused when she heard her other female friends giggle.
“Requai, you do not listen well,” Teacher said. “Thus I shall remind you that a Mature Aged can hear much better than you.”
Requai folded her lips together and quickly nodded. No one was smiling anymore, and Aly felt bad for all of the pity and attention she was getting. Teacher was making her look pathetic since she couldn’t stand up for herself, and the teasing from the other children was only going to get worse because of it.
Requai tugged one of her tentacles when Teacher turned around to dig into a bag leaning against a nearby green oak wood tree. Aly was about to turn and yell, but she bit her lip and kept facing the front.
“I beg, leave my tents be,” she whispered.
“Or what?”
“Quit it!” Catty shouted. “Why do you be so mean?!”
Teacher slammed the bag. “That be it. Catty, Requai, remove yourselves from the rest and face the scolding tree.”
“Yet Teacher––”
“And I did not give you permission to speak, Cattalice. Now, do as told.”
Catty bit her lower lip. Aly looked away when her friend glanced at her, probably hoping she would intervene the way she had done for her. The shy mastra thought she could sense Catty’s surprise and note of betrayal. She watched her friend follow Requai over to an old oak tree; Catty didn’t make a peep and faced its trunk.
Just then, Glani tugged another one of Aly’s tents, more than likely noting she wouldn’t make a fuss over anyone harassing her. And Aly did just what she was expected to do – absolutely nothing. Glani yanked and swatted to her heart’s content until Joquin gave her a look. Aly wiped her eyes and kept facing the front.
Teacher came back with his hands behind his back. The Little Ones were getting excited now. A surprise! And what a surprise it was. The sparring priest pulled a smooth, ocean-blue sphere about the size of a Little One’s head from behind his back. Its translucent interior sparkled with tiny organisms swimming around inside, and it made a flopping sound when he bounced it once.
“A dankerball!” The Little Ones hopped up and down with excitement.
Teacher chuckled. “Truly. Now settle down, you wild ones. You lot are ready to test this out, yes?”
“Truly, Teacher.”
“My ears fail me, I fear. What did you lot say?”
“TRULY, TEACHER!”
Teacher laughed and walked over to another patch of dirt where an excess of walking had killed the grass. The Little Ones were entranced by the ball as they followed him. Before they started, Teacher made sure everyone remembered the rules about the dankerball: no stunts or tricks, no fighting over it, and most of all, no trying to eat it.
The dankerball was made of a natural gel that the sparkling creatures inside – called dankos – secreted when they were trying to interest hopeful mates. If the gel was taken out of its natural habitat – which was usually the dense and darker parts of the forest – and into the suns, it would harden. The chemical reaction would result in the gel becoming bouncier than a Little One that just ate a bowl of sugar. A single dankerball could last a good while, since dankos had a lifespan close to a Goolian’s, that being two-hundred Universal years. The dankerball Teacher had was probably the same one that he grew up with, and Shanvi might have even tested it out when he was a child.
When it looked like the class was calming down, Teacher tossed the blue sphere into a nearby tree and let its natural function take its course. The ball bounced off the trunk instantly and into another, only for it to bounce into another, all the while gaining velocity with every rebound. The Little Ones were ecstatic. They squealed and hollered the faster and louder the flops got until they couldn’t follow the movements anymore. Some whispered how they were going to beat so-and-so at the test while the ball kept bouncing.
“Catty, you are free to return to the rest of the class,” Teacher said.
Catty stuck her tongue out at Requai before strolling back to her spot. Aly moved closer to Joquin, as if the mastra was going to get even with her. The mastra didn’t seem to give her a second thought, however, and that was probably worse.
The Little One went back to staring at the ball, trying to catch its movements. Its speed was phenomenal! She looked around to see if anyone else could follow it; they could, as far as she could tell.
Aly shrugged and stared again, a little harder, and surprised herself when she did. She could follow it too! Finally, something she could also do. It wasn’t all that hard, actually, once she caught the pace of the ball. The mastra was quite proud of herself, but froze when someone poked her on the shoulder.
“What?” Aly asked Catty as she tensed up.
“This one seems distracted. Enough of the weird glazed look.”
“I was not to be distracted, Mastra. I was – Teacher!”
Everyone got quiet, and just as they did, the dankerball ricocheted off the edge of one of the trees and zoned in for Teacher’s belly. The Little Ones ducked and held up their hands, expecting the ball – which was moving at the speed of sound as far as they were concerned – to take out their instructor and finish them all off with him. Instead, Teacher held up a hand and caught the ball like it was nothing.
“Fret not, class. Truly, this ball only moves at twenty milos per hour, at best.”
“Wowwww.”
Teacher giggled.
Catty and Aly still had their hands over their mouths. When Teacher smiled at them, they had no idea he was noting how impressed he was by Aly’s warning, since a Little One’s reaction time at that age wasn’t anywhere near as fast as his. At least, it wasn’t supposed to be.
“We shall commence by current rankings in the class,” Teacher said.
Aly stomped the ground as other Little Ones whined over the proposal. Catty, on the other hand, looked prouder than ever.
“Since this be our case, Cattalice, if you please.”
“Catty,” the Little One corrected Teacher as she hopped over to him.
Aly shook her head. That was probably Catty’s way of punishing the priest for punishing her. Her friend smirked when he didn’t counter the correction, and took the ball out of his hand.
“Ew! It feels disgusting!”
“Enough of the faces.” Teacher straightened her in front of the trees. “Now, this shall be simple, yes? Toss the ball into a tree, and embrace it once it is to approach you.”
Catty nodded and was about to launch the ball with all her might before Teacher placed a hand on it.
“And this one shall be gentle with the release, I beg. And fret not if you do not achieve. Truly, no one does so on their first attempt.”
“If I may, can I not be the first, then?” Catty asked with the most innocent face.
Teacher chuckled and patted the mastra on the head. “And why can this one not be, indeed! T
ruly, be our first then.”
Teacher made everyone move back and gave Catty the go-ahead to toss the ball. She didn’t throw it nearly as hard as she was going to upon Teacher’s warning, but the ball still hopped off of the tree the instant its weight formed around the base.
Catty lost sight of it by the third bounce and was wondering if she threw it too hard by the sixth. That was when the ball smacked her in her pair of sternums and laid her out, flat on her back.
The class roared with laughter. Fortunately for Catty, Goolians were made to take a beating, as their skeletons were a perfect mixture of some bone and special cartilage. Teacher smothered his chuckle behind a smile and helped the Little One up. Catty quickly slapped his hands away and held out her arms for the ball again.
“You shall perform well this round,” Teacher said as Catty snatched the ball. “Truly, there be no need for frustration, Little One. Practice makes perfect, yes? Now, relax.”
Catty tossed the ball, this time a little harder than the last just so Teacher would shut up. She waited and waited for the chance to grab. She got her hands up fast enough for the ball to miss her face, but the strike still knocked her on her rear. She growled and pounded the ground wildly.
The class was beyond hysterical, even as Teacher tried to calm everyone down. Catty stood up, brushed herself off, and headed to the end of the line with a dignified head held high.
“Apologies, dearest,” Teacher said. “Truly, you did well.”
She ignored his words and gave Aly a look, since she was smirking as well.
“Let us see how well you fair, throwback,” Catty said with her hands on her hips.
Aly stopped smiling and turned back around. She wasn’t too insulted. She knew she’d show her, eventually. Of course, her wait was going to be a while, given the rest of the class had to take their turns.
Fortunately for her, their attempts went just as fast as Catty’s – quick and humiliating. Requai even got called back over to have a try, and she failed like the rest. Before Aly knew it, Joquin was going up to take his turn, and she’d be next.
“You can do better than these lot, yes?” Teacher said assuredly.
No one in the class laughed when the Little One approached; the giggling quieted with every turn.
As with all the others, Aly studied the way Joquin tossed the ball, and waited. He held both of his arms out, obviously figuring he’d try a different approach from the others. It looked like his strategy was based around feeling the wind of the ball hit the tip of his fingers. All he’d have to do after that was grab. That simple. The Little One crossed her arms and shook her head while the lad smiled. If only he knew.
Aly watched silently, wondering why no one else could make such a simple catch. Truly, it cannot be that hard, nay? Perhaps it looks easier than it actually be.
Joquin tossed the ball.
Ah, here he goes. He shall miss. And as the thought crossed Aly’s mind, the dankerball struck Joquin’s forehead. He flipped into the air once and landed face-first in the dirt. Teacher hurried over, knelt down beside him, and rolled him on his back. Joquin’s expression was blank and his eyes were rolled into the back of his head.
The Little Ones didn’t say a word as Teacher hollered the master’s name and shook him. Aly was getting nervous. She didn’t think the ball was lethal.
Teacher slapped the lad in the face, and Joquin’s pupils came back. They were larger than normal, however. “Am I dead, Teacher?”
The priest held up three fingers. “How many do you see, Joquin?”
The lad squinted for a moment, then looked away. “Truly, I have an answer, Master. Yet I think my saying it shall make you worry even more.”
Teacher chuckled and helped the Little One up. “At least you know you are of damaged goods. Settle over there on that tree, very good?”
Teacher helped sit Joquin down against a nearby trunk so he could check up on him later. When he came back, Aly was looking up at him with her bright gray eyes shimmering. He gave her an odd stare, as if he was trying to hide his pity. She wondered if he was going to sit her out of the assignment, given she wasn’t capable of anything.
Aly quickly picked up the ball herself, rolling the odd substance around her palms. Catty was right. The danko gel felt like bumpy jelly with slime on it. Every time it moved, some of the substance squished between her fingers.
She examined it a moment longer to see if there was some sort of secret trick she and everyone else had missed. She sniffed it once and thought she was going to puke. It smelt like melted rotten cheese poured over feces left out in the afternoon suns. After her nausea left, she checked for any other faults it had. When she didn’t see any more, she just shrugged and hopped over to the spot where everyone else had stood.
“Just do your best, yes?” Teacher said.
Aly looked up at him again. She thought Teacher was going to pick her up and carry her away from all of the embarrassment. She wished he could, but the nod the two gave one another meant that they both knew better.
“I would suppose that this may end her if it was to knock Joquin out, yes?” Requai whispered, a few spots behind Aly. The class giggled at the joke.
Aly turned and caught Catty locking eyes with the mastra that just cracked the insult. Requai didn’t seem intimidated, however, and Catty backed off. Her friend faked a cough, acting like she actually found the joke funny. Requai went back to talking to some others. Then Catty gripped her hands together, assuring Aly that she was praying for her well-being, that and more than likely asking that she could do something, anything; at least catch a stupid ball, as ridiculous as it sounded.
Aly tossed the ball underhand, letting the blue globe slide off the tips of her little fingers. It soared for what felt like a broken essence in time, stretching and breaking the fabrics of the biosphere and engaging in contact with a wall that the creatures on this particular speck in the known galaxy designated to be a “tree.”
Aly watched. The ball rolled over itself, forming ripples into its form as its mass pushed into the hard, worn, brownish green wood. When the force couldn’t go any farther, the ripples went in reverse and pushed the sphere off into the soft red dirt on the ground. The sound it made was no longer a flop, but a boom. Aly felt the vibrations from the tiny wave send information into her feet, up her spine, and all the way into the proper sensory channels that were housed in the uniquely designed brain that fired sparks of information beyond the speed of light.
Aly didn’t blink, she didn’t move, she didn’t breathe. Follow, bounce. Follow, bounce. Follow, bounce. The rhythm was constant, slowly increasing in pace, but still constant. Left, down, right, up, down, right, left, down, up. Aly’s eyes moved along with the currents of the ball perfectly. She didn’t wonder why no one else was able to catch it, since they could do the same thing. She didn’t wonder what would happen when it would switch its pattern and bounce back. She didn’t even wonder if her hands would be quick enough to make the catch in time. None of it mattered. If nature was always going to take its course, it didn’t matter.
The ball just made the spin, and Aly couldn’t see Teacher lifting a hand up to his face so he couldn’t warn her. The ball would come back with another bounce. She’d never know how hard it was for him not to yell “Now!” so she could duck, and avoid more humiliation.
The ball bounced, and the delay in time was gone. It wasn’t pressing against the fabrics anymore, but gnashing at the thin strands trying to keep it away from the tiny Goolian standing as stiff as green oak wood. The ball was ferocious! It was going to rip the poor creature in half before she even knew she was struck. Such speed, such anger, such rage.
She thought she heard Teacher say part of her name, perhaps to help her, unaware of the fact that he was ignoring original precautions and letting civilized compassion take over. Still, he waited too long. The moment for warning had passed, and the sphere that was once a beautiful blue globe of sparkles was now the bringer of the very essen
ces of agony and torture.
Aly gasped, her eyes widening when she realized the ball’s hidden purpose. To her, it was screaming wildly, with its anger still cutting against the gravity. No, she was too late. The Little One squinted her eyes and held up her hands in the hope that the one desperate attempt would ease some of the inevitable rage. It didn’t.
Catty shrieked and covered her mouth. Teacher started to rush over, but it was too late. The deed was done. None of the Little Ones laughed that time. The humor in the sick game was gone. Besides, they were too shocked to do anything.
“Truth’s Grace, Aly.” Teacher’s steps seemed cautious as he approached her and squatted down. “Are you... Nay. I may be required to search the records, yet I think this is to be the first time one has ever... Goodness be. Well done. Truly, well done, indeed.”
Everyone in the class clapped quietly as Aly rolled the caught dankerball in her hand.
“Yay, Alytchai!” Catty cheered.
Aly looked down at the ball resting in her palms and shrugged. It wasn’t that big of a deal, after all.
“Well, truly, all are to have two tries, thus you must redo.” Teacher pointed at the trees. “And be sure to be thorough with your release, yes?”
Aly nodded and tossed the ball a little harder. Her eyes stuck to the ball’s movements like glue until she saw it make its move. Too fast. The ball shot straight at her, moving ten milos faster. She dropped onto her back and Teacher leapt behind her since it looked like she wasn’t going to be able to stop it. The Little One, however, kicked the ball up in the air just in the nick of time.
Aly flipped back onto her feet and let the dankerball drop into one of her hands when it descended. The class’ cheers made her ears ring, but that didn’t stop them from chanting her name. The gray-eyed Goolian covered her face when she felt her blue blood rushing to it, but she couldn’t hide her smile. She looked up at the instructor and offered the ball back to him, but Teacher was still too puzzled to grab it.
“Apologies, Master,” Aly said as her ears drooped. “Perhaps the ball has worn out its use due to the prior bounces.”
“Nay, Little One.” Teacher counted the dankos swimming inside. “Truly, this ball has several more healthy decades in its life. You simply aced today’s reflex test.”
The class cheered again. Requai and Glani crossed their arms and glared at Aly after they clapped twice. Teacher hurried over to his bag and pulled out two shinier dankerballs with deeper pigments. The Little Ones ogled over the twinkling globes as Teacher handed one to Aly.
“If this one would like, perhaps you would prefer a greater challenge. It be best if I could check your reflexes with some slightly better recordings.”
Aly examined the ball in her hand and counted the dankos inside. It had eighteen, three times as many as the one from before. She looked up at Teacher and raised a brow. The elder Goolian grabbed her hand and walked her a little ways off so the Little Ones couldn’t hear.
“Yet, only if you wish to do so, dearest,” Teacher added. “Truly, you have proven yourself beyond expectations already, thus your pappai shall be gravely filled with pride due to such reports. Be that as it may, perhaps knowing your limits may help in other matters, yes?”
Aly eyed the class; most of them were still chatting about how awesome Aly’s stunt was. Joquin and Catty tried to lean in to see what she and Teacher were talking about, but their ears were still too young to hear that far. Aly shrugged and bounced the ball once.
“If you would have it, Teacher, then let it be.”
“Very good then!” Teacher went back to the bag. He pulled out a large steel helmet and placed it over Aly’s head. The Little One almost toppled over, but Teacher straightened her back up. He knelt down to see how she looked in it. He could barely see her eyes.
“You can see well, yes?”
Aly tried readjusting the headgear. “I think I shall manage... I think.”
“Truth’s Grace, I beg I do not regret this,” Teacher grumbled underneath his breath.
“Pardon?”
“Nothing. Hold, Aly.” Teacher put up a safety net around the surrounding trees and the mastra. “Mere precautions.”
Everyone gasped when Teacher pulled two more balls out of a nearby bag. The Little Ones placed bets on how long the little mastra would last, giggling and pointing out the future embarrassment she would have. Aly tried to look up at the Adult again, but her helmet slumped over her eyes the second she lifted her head. Teacher squatted down and tipped the headgear up with one finger so Aly could have a better look at him.
“Shall this one try two or three?”
“Uh, if I may, can I try three?”
“Of course, dearest. Whatever you wish.” Teacher patted her on the head as he got behind her. “I shall not stand too far off, just in case, very good?”
“Very good, Teacher.”
The Little One got into her readying stance and waited. The class got quiet again as Teacher lowered one arm and tossed the first ball underhand. The dankerball was slow at first, but the more it bounced, the faster it got. Aly didn’t even blink once as her pupils followed the movements. And then, the switch. She ducked with milliseconds to spare. The rest of the Little Ones shrieked and laughed as the net caught the dankerball and sent it back out into the trees.
Teacher threw the remaining balls out. Aly didn’t know he prayed he wouldn’t have to explain why the former sparring priest’s daughter got beat up by three balls meant for older children. She eased his worrying, however, with every dip, swoop, and flip she performed.
Aly’s movements were phenomenal. She hopped and caught one ball between her shins. Still midair, she tossed it up, making it hit one of the other two. She heard Teacher yelp as he ducked his head, the first ball zipping right over him.
His outburst was what made Aly lose her concentration. The second she turned around to see if she did something wrong, the third dankerball struck her in the temple. She squealed as the blow knocked her flat on her back. The Little Ones went hysterical, but Catty and Joquin didn’t laugh.
Teacher hurried over to help the Little One up. She was okay. Embarrassed, but okay. He caught the final two balls seconds later and set them back over by the bag. Aly kicked a stick as she waited to hear her evaluation.
“A round of applause for Aly,” Teacher said. “Well performed, indeed.”
To her surprise, the Little Ones were more than willing to cheer and clap for the mastra. She looked at the ground, trying to hide her smile again. Catty tried to blow a whistle, but she didn’t know how to do that yet.
When the class settled down, Teacher turned Aly to him.
“How was this one able to avoid the balls for so long?”
“Well, I merely tried to keep my eyes on whichever seemed a threat at the time.”
Teacher tilted his head and Aly wasn’t sure if she had said something odd. She fiddled with one of her side tents as she awaited his response.
“Truly, you were able to follow the balls’ movements with your eyes?” he eventually asked.
“That is thus. Why? Can you not?”
Teacher bit his lip again as he straightened up. “Break time, class. Off with you, Little Ones. And, I beg, be sure to use the restroom.”
The class ran off. Aly was about to follow them, but Teacher called her over.
“You have done beyond well this day, Little One. Even so, it be a grand deal that you practice your being some more, yes? You can only receive a blue star on your report card like everyone else if you manage to control it, very good?”
The Little One nodded as she strolled away with the others.
Teacher went over to the bags so he could place the balls back in them, but paused. He looked at the net, then the trees, and shrugged as he grabbed the blue spheres and stood where Aly had placed herself. He tossed one and dodged it without effort. Too easy for someone his age. He figured he’d be able to take all three on with no problem, just like Aly did, and f
lung them out.
It didn’t seem so bad at first, but the more the balls bounced, the more Teacher struggled. He avoided getting hit for a while, but his movements weren’t anywhere near as graceful as the Little One’s. Nine seconds in, all three stuck him in the chest or belly. He grunted as he bent over, watching the spheres roll away into the forest.
Teacher counted the seconds in his head. Aly beat him by twenty, and the only reason she stopped was because he distracted her. Impressive. No, more than impressive. It was close to miraculous. Still, the Mature Aged Goolian chuckled as he thought the facts over. Sure, Aly could dodge three dankerballs, but Goolian worth was proven by how well she could utilize one’s inner being. Since that was the case, she had a lot of work to do.
Aly must’ve known that was the case as well, since she came back to the sparring grounds after school. Shanvi used to let the students train over whatever suited them best when he was in charge of the sparring grounds, so Teacher did the same. He still groaned when Aly grabbed a dankerball while everyone else went to practicing their being, though.
The mastra bounced the one ball twice and let it loose. Her movements were just too smooth, even by Goolian standards. Teacher could tell she was bored when she sighed after ducking the tenth time.
“Not challenging enough, nay?” he said as he approached the Little One.
Aly caught the ball in her hand before turning around and shaking her head. Teacher went over to his bag again and pulled out a navy-blue dankerball. Aly lost her look of boredom when he approached her with it and handed it to her.
The ball was denser and heavier. However, it shot up like a rocket the second she bounced it. She fell back on her rear as Teacher waited for the ball to come back down. It did, seven seconds later.
“Careful,” he said as he handed the ball back to Aly. “This is the sort that the Young Ones around the age of twenty and thirty practice with.”
The mastra nodded happily as she ran back to her spot. She was about to fling it but Teacher leapt and landed in front of her.
“Careful, I say,” he said more sternly. “Truly, these do not need such a grand amount of strength on your end.”
The Little One didn’t say anything again, only studying the inside of the ball before turning around. Teacher was going to tell her that she didn’t have to be so reclusive around him as well, but he figured pressuring her into opening up would only make her quieter. Social development had a processing speed that varied to each child, anyways.
Teacher went back to check on the others, and that notion alone struck the little Goolian hard. Her ears flopped down because he didn’t want to watch her anymore. Maybe he would’ve stayed if she had said something to keep his attention. But then, what was she supposed to say? She wasn’t good with talking to people, especially grown-ups. Not fair.
Frustrated with her own incompetence, Aly threw the dankerball as hard as she could. The sphere slammed against a tree and shot back faster than the blink of an eye. That didn’t bother the Goolian, though. She tilted her head to the left and felt the breeze from the ball blow her tents back. The ball went out again and came back with a vengeance. Still, no effort needed on her end.
Teacher was helping Joquin and some others readjust their stance when he heard the limb from a tree snap. Without even looking, he spun around, ready to intervene for Aly’s sake. However, when he did look, the little mastra was bouting against the dankerball for all its worth. A hand stand, a tumble, a duck, a dodge – the child was just too good to be true.
He trotted back to the net and watched quietly. Aly was in a world of her own and it only included a few trees and that single ball. The sphere got faster with every bounce, but Aly found its rhythm. Tumble, duck, and dodge. Tumble, duck, dodge. And when tumbling became too risky, she narrowed her movements down to duck and dodge.
The mastra didn’t blink, and as far as Teacher could tell, she didn’t even breathe. And as he watched the tiny Goolian, he studied the fierceness in her eyes. Those brilliant, bright, gray eyes. How marvelous they were. How alert. How in-tuned... No. How troubling.
The more Teacher studied Aly’s concentration, the more he came to the realization; Aly’s eyes weren’t that bright anymore. No. Something was wrong. Something was horribly wrong. The more he watched, the wider her pupils became. And her eyes got darker, and darker, and darker, and––
“Enough, Aly,” he said.
The mastra came out of her trance and caught the ball without missing a beat. When she turned around, she looked at Teacher with the most innocent-looking, bright gray eyes. The elder scratched the back of his right ear as he looked away.
“Perhaps this one should practice her being for the remainder of the day, yes?”
“Very good, Teacher.” Aly’s groan was surprisingly loud and Teacher could’ve sworn she even rolled her eyes as she took the ball back to its bag.
He heard rustling from above, so Aly stopped walking just in time for Catty to plummet out of the trees in front of her. Teacher didn’t think her landing was that great, but Catty still laughed at how Aly jolted back.
“Aly,” Catty said with a huge smile, “I was aiding others with their being for a moment, yet they have all retired for home. Still, here you be! Why not come with me and I can display how it works?”
“If you insist, I suppose. Yet I fear this one shall waste her time with me.”
“What silly talk!” Catty tugged Aly along. “Why, at least you and I shall have a moment to play, yes?”
Teacher couldn’t believe it. Aly was actually smiling as she walked with Catty. Now, that was a miracle, if he’d ever seen one. And what a beautiful smile the Little One had. He hoped she’d find more reasons to let it out more often. He climbed a tree, leaned back on one of the limbs, and evaluated the two’s interaction.
Aly hurried back to the bag so she could drop the dankerball off. She paused for a quick moment before pulling out another ball instead. It was one of the younger children’s versions. She frowned as she dribbled it a little.
“A moment, yes?” She tossed the ball at a tree. It bounced and zipped by Catty, who ducked. Aly laughed and Teacher smirked as the ball lost its momentum and bounced away.
“Truly, why not catch the ball as Teacher would have us do?” Catty asked.
“Easy. We cannot catch a ball of inner being, yes? It be too hot. Would we not be better off avoiding getting hit altogether then?”
“Hmm. A good point.”
Teacher shook his head as he smiled. A bright warrior’s mind already.
“Still, why can you not control your being, Aly? You be a weird one.”
“Am not.”
“Truly, you are.”
Aly spun around and threw the dankerball at Catty. Teacher was about to hop out of the tree, but the sphere struck the Little One in the side of the head and knocked her over before he could jump.
“Ow!”
Aly laughed as Catty sat up and rubbed her cheek. To Teacher’s surprise, Catty started laughing as well. His heart sank back into his chest as he scooted back on the branch he was resting on.
Aly was about to pick up the ball, but Catty grabbed her wrist and dragged her over to the being-control grounds. Once there, the other mastra mimicked Teacher by folding her hands behind her back.
“I shall help you with your being,” Catty said. She spaced Aly’s legs out a little farther than she already had them. “Now, like this.”
Teacher nodded. The lively one was pretty observant. Then he watched Catty direct Aly with her breathing exercises, and the “pupil” followed the directions perfectly. Teacher rubbed his head, now seeing how perfect Aly’s form was from a distance.
Aly then stretched out her palms and waited for the order. Catty stood behind the mastra, just as Teacher would, and placed her tiny hands on her own hips.
“You feel something now, yes?”
Aly turned around, baffled.
“Um, is this when I am supposed to?”
Teacher slapped his forehead. He already knew what was going to happen next. Disappointment.
“Well, I usually do by this point,” Catty said, scratching her head. “No worries. Perhaps you should still try, yes? Just push.”
“Push?”
“Truly,” Catty said, now standing beside Aly and showing her the final needed motion. “Just push. Like this.” She stretched her fingers out and a wave of heat left her palms.
Aly shrugged and mimicked the movement like she was Catty’s mirror, as far as Teacher could tell. She frowned when she was denied the hint of energy emitting from her hands. She got out of her form and shrugged again.
“See? I am no good at such things. I best stay with the dankerball. If anything, I am at least fair with that and the bow.”
“Oh, no you do not!” Catty shoved Aly back into the basic stance again.
Teacher crossed his arms and leaned forward. Truly, what a good friend she be. I pray such a friendship lasts beyond these early years.
“Now, out with it, Aly!” Catty said. “Try again, very good?”
And Aly did try. She tried once. She tried another time, and when she got to attempt number ten, the Little One hopped up and down in frustration. Catty laughed as she made her friend settle down.
“Very well, enough then! Perhaps in the morrow, yes? Now, why not try something different?”
“Well, if I can say freely, you could use a hand with your reflexes,” Aly said as she pondered. “Perhaps I can aid you with the dankerball?”
Teacher sat straight up.
“I can teach you how I manage in dodging three, if you like,” Aly finished.
“Very well, Little Mastras.” Teacher dropped out of his tree. “I fear the suns indicate the lateness. I shall not have your parents fretting over their darlings, yes?”
Catty and Aly looked at each other, shrugged, and raced each other back to their school bags. Teacher blew out some air as he rubbed his forehead with his forearm. Now, that would have been catastrophic.
* * *