Alicia looked at Jack’s outstretched hand then looked at his face. He smiled encouragingly at her. She smiled back and put her hand in his. He helped her onto the branch with him. “See it’s not that hard.” he said, as he climbed higher into the tree. Alicia followed but after they got ten feet above the ground she looked down and froze. Jack noticed and dropped down beside her. “Are you okay?” he asked. “Y-Yeah.” she said, still looking at the ground. She was afraid of how high they were.
“Are you afraid of heights?” he asked, concerned. “I-I think so.” she said, tightening her grip on a branch. “Hey, look at me.” Jack told her. She tore her eyes from the ground and met his eyes. The first time she’d seen his eyes she’d been kind of startled. His eyes were a piercing icy blue. Her eyes were blue too of course but Jack’s were unlike any blue eyes she’d ever seen. She was tempted to look down again but she kept looking at Jack.
“Don’t worry. We’re almost to the top and it’s flat up there. It’s hidden by all the leaves and branches. Once we get up there you won’t see the ground, but we can go back down if you want.” he said. She didn’t want to be a wimp in front of Jack so she decided to push through it. “No, it’s okay. Let’s keep going.” she told him. Jack climbed onto a branch above her. He held out his hand and she took it. “We’re almost there. I promise I won’t let you fall.” he said. He let her climb ahead of him trying to make her feel somewhat safe.
They continued climbing but Alicia had out her foot on a weak branch and it snapped. She screamed as she fell but Jack caught her. He pulled her against him for a second to steady her on a branch right beside his. He released her awkwardly. Alicia was blushing very hard. “I told you I wouldn’t let you fall.” Jack said. “Thank you.” she breathed. He smiled at her and helped her up a few more branches. Then they reached a hidden part of the tree that she hadn’t seen from below. It was a large flat space that could fit four people easily.
There was a network of branches above it, sort of like a roof and it was surrounded by leaves. Sunshine still managed to poke through gaps in the leaves lighting up the space. She stepped onto the area speechless. It was beautiful like a hidden world. “This is amazing.” she said. Before Jack could answer they heard voices from below. “Where did they go?” a voice said. “I don’t know but they can’t have just disappeared.” she heard Luke say. Jack glanced at her. “Come here. You can see them through here.” he said, quietly.
She walked over to where he was standing and looked through a gap in the leaves. She could see Luke and his two friends standing at the trunk.
“Reckon they’re hiding up there?” one of them asked Luke. “We’d be able to see them.” Luke replied. This was true. The leaves only shielded the top of the tree and the branches were too thin to climb into the dome of leaves. Alicia looked at Jack. “Should we mess with them? I mean they’ve been messing with you so….” she trailed off with a grin. “What do you have in mind?” Jack asked. “Can you use your magic to do something?” She asked him. Jack was quiet for a minute. “I don’t think so. I can’t control it, which one of the few things Luke gets right.” he replied finally.
Alicia looked into his eyes. She could see the doubt he had in himself. “I think you can do it. I mean it can’t hurt to try right?” she said. “It can hurt. I don’t want to hurt them by accident or you.” Jack replied. “I think you can do it.” she said. Jack met her gaze. “Alright I’ll try. Thanks, Alicia.” he said. “That’s what friends are for.” she said. Jack looked at the group as they started turning back to walk down the hill.
A large gust of wind hit them and they tumbled down the hill. She laughed as she heard them shouting at each other. She turned to Jack but he wasn’t standing beside her anymore. She looked back and saw him sitting with his head in his hands. “Jack!” she exclaimed moving so she was on her knees in front of him. He gasped and looked up at her.
“What happened?” she asked. “I-I don’t know.” he whispered. “Did you get tired again like you did earlier?” she suggested, concerned. “I did at first then everything burned.” he said. “What do you mean by ‘everything burned?’ she said, worried. “My whole body burned like it was on fire.” he said. “Are you alright?” she asked. “Yeah, I’m fine now.” he replied. “You should tell someone.” she said. “Like who?” Jack asked. “When we go to the Academy tomorrow. Tell someone there.” she said. “If it happens again I will. Maybe I just did something wrong.” he said, standing up.
Alicia stood too. The light coming through the leaves was beginning to fade, the sun was starting to set. “We should go.” she said. “Alright. I’ll help you climb down if you need it.” Jack said. She blushed. “Um you don’t have to.” she stammered. He smiled at her. “It’s fine. That’s what friends are for right?” he said. Alicia smiled. They started climbing down. Jack helped Alicia as they made their way to the ground. Jack dropped onto the ground from the lowest branch that was still at least six feet from the ground.
Alicia stood on the branch and looked down at Jack. “I-I don’t think I can do this.” she said. “I think you can.” Jack replied. She nodded once and dropped off the branch. Jack could tell by the way she was going to land she was going to hurt herself. So in a split second he went forward and caught her in his arms and lowered her to the ground.
“W-Why did you do that?” she asked flustered. Jack shrugged. “You were going to hurt yourself.” he said. “Thanks.” she said. “No problem.” he replied. They started walking down the hill together. “I really don’t know that much about you. Want to ask questions back and forth?” she said. “Sure. You can start.” Jack said. Alicia thought for a moment. “What’s your favorite thing to do?” she asked. “Um well I like to read, and I like climbing. I used to really like dueling with fake swords.” Jack replied. “I like reading too. Why’d you stop dueling?” Alicia said. Jack shrugged. “I was really good at it I guess. I just stopped doing it after my father um…..” he trailed off.
“You don’t have to tell me. It’s your turn to ask a question anyway.” She said. “It’s fine. I mean my dad just beats me sometimes. He hates me because of my magic.” Jack said quietly. They were just entering town now. Alicia put a hand on his arm to stop him. He stopped and looked at her. “I’m sorry. Let’s talk about something else.” Alicia said, changing the subject seeing Jack’s pained expression.
Jack thanked her telepathically. “Why do you want to be my friend? I don’t mean to be rude but you know that I don’t really have friends.” he said. Alicia was quiet. “Honestly I’ve seen you around. I saw how you stood up for yourself. I’ve also seen how smart and nice you are to people.” she said blushing a bit. Jack smiled. “You think I’m smart and nice? That has to be a first.” he said. “It’s true. When people ask you questions you pretty much always know the answer. I also saw you go out of your way to help a little girl who got lost find her family a few weeks ago. The gossip women were talking about it for a while.” She told him.
“You’re really nice and smart too. I mean you’re probably the smartest person in this town and you’re nice to everyone even people who aren’t nice to you.” Jack said. They started walking again. Alicia smiled slightly. “I don’t know about that but thank you. I guess it’s my turn. What’s your biggest fear?” she said. Jack hesitated. “Um, I’ll hurt someone with my magic by accident.” he said quietly. “I don’t think you will. If I did I wouldn’t be here.” she told him. “What’s yours?” he asked, lightening his expression.
“I already um kind of got over it.” she murmured. “What was it?” Jack asked. They had made it back to the fountain now. “That uh you wouldn’t um want to be my friend.” she mumbled. “I’m lucky you're my friend. I was surprised you were even talking to me.” Jack replied with a smile. He looked up and saw that the moon was beginning to rise. There were also a few stars in the sky.
He looked back at Alicia. “We should probably head back.” he said. “Yeah you’re right. See you tomorrow morning though.” she said. “See you tomorrow then.” Jack replied. Alicia smiled at him one last time before turning a walking toward her house. She turned and saw Jack walking back to his house. She turned again and walked down the street to a pale blue two story house. She had a lot of fun hanging out with Jack. He was really amazing and everything Luke said about him was completely false.
Luke had said that Jack was a wimpey freak that was boring and stupid. He couldn’t have been more wrong. She remembered when he caught her. It was just so she wouldn’t hurt herself. She smiled to herself as she opened the door. She’d had a lot of fun with him and she hoped that they would both go to the Academy together. All they had to do was pass their tests. She was pulled from her thought by the sight of her parents sitting at the table waiting for her. “How was your date with that freak boy Jack?” her father asked. “It wasn’t a date and he isn’t a freak. I had a great time.” she replied, sitting at the table with them.
“He does seem like a nice boy. Have you seen his eyes?” her mother said to her father. Her mother was one of the main gossips in town. She had the same red hair and fair skin as Alicia. Her father had the same ocean blue eyes. “What are you talking about?” her father asked. Alicia leaned back in her chair trying to suppress a smile. Of course her mother would bring up Jack’s unusual eye color. “His eyes are so blue. I mean they’re such a piercing blue it makes the ocean look grey.” her mother said. She was usually very overdramatic. “They aren’t that blue.” Alicia said. Her mother turned to her. “Tell me then. Everyone in town knows that no one in his family has that eye color and no one in town has that eye color.” she said to her. “They are a really beautiful blue though. I don’t know what to compare the color to. He’s really nice, mom. We climbed a tree and he caught me so I didn’t get hurt.” Alicia said. Her mother smiled. “You like him.” she said. “Yeah he’s my friend.” Alicia replied.
“He caught you?” her father asked. Alicia looked at him. “Yeah he did.” she said. “Doesn’t that other boy Luke say he’s really weak?” her mother asked. “He isn’t weak. Nothing Luke says about him is true. He may not be as strong as Luke but he isn't weak.” Alicia said. “Did you find out anything new about him?” her mother asked. “You have to promise not to tell anyone, mom.” Alicia said. “I promise I won’t.” her mother replied. “I’m serious.” Alicia said. “As am I. I promise.” her mother said. “He said his father beats him sometimes because of his magic.” Alicia said quietly.
Her parents were quiet. “You should get to bed.” her father said finally. “Yes, I’m going to the tavern to meet with some friends.” her mother told her. Alicia got up and walked toward the stairs. Her mother had got up too and was walking toward the door. “You promised mom.” she called. Her mother didn’t respond. Alicia heard the door close. She walked up the short flight of stairs and into her bedroom. Her father had painted her ceiling as a starry night sky. She loved the stars. She had a small but comfortable bed and her dad’s old desk.
She went over to her wardrobe that used to be her mother’s. Pretty much every piece of furniture in her room was a hand me down. She opened the wardrobe and looked through her clothes. Tomorrow was going to be important. She decided on a simple white shirt and black pants. The shirt had an open back and she had only worn it twice. She draped the clothes over the back of her desk chair so they would be ready for tomorrow. She sat on her bed. She was worried because if her mother broke her promise Jack might have an even harder time.
She gasped. Maybe if he found out it was her mother who’d told everyone then maybe he wouldn’t want to be her friend anymore. She didn’t want to ruin their friendship when it hadn’t even been a day. She pushed those thoughts from her mind and thought about what tomorrow would bring. She wondered what the Academy looked like. She thought about the test as well. Was it a written test or a physical exam? Maybe both? She hoped it wasn’t about magic because she didn’t know anything about it. It couldn;t be a test on magic though because nobody knew about it well I mean Jack sort of did.
She thought about what happened that day. He said everything burned. What did that mean? She’d seen the students at the Academy do magic and they never reacted that way. However none of them were like Jack. Tomorrow they would probably get an answer well if it happened again. She did know one thing. Jack was powerful. She knew one thing about magic. Controlling the elements was not easy and Jack had done it with just a little concentration, but that still doesn’t make sense that he felt like he was on fire. The Headmaster could control the elements. She thought about it as she laid down and looked up at her ceiling.
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