Cal wanted to try to take his mind off his powers, so he went to one of his favorite spots on campus. There was a single tree on a hill in an opening in the woods on the outskirts of campus. Not many people knew about it and those that did didn't visit too often, so it was usually quiet.
As he stepped out of the woods and into the clearing, he could feel the wind blow past him, shaking the trees and blowing beautiful patterns in the grass. The sun's warm glow washed over everything in the clearing and Cal laid down in the shade of the tree, his head resting on his arms.
He cleared his mind and thought of nothing while the breeze blew over him and the birds chirped as they flew past. He listened to some music and tried not to think of anything. He let time flow by, though he had an alarm set for his class at four. At some point, he might have drifted off, he felt something poking his shoulder.
He opened his eyes to see a girl laying next to him in the grass. He took out his earbuds. "Hi." He said uncertainly.
"What are you doing in my spot?" She said jokingly.
"Relaxing. I don't often see people around here." He answered.
"Hmm. I guess that's fair. You aren't normally here at this time though. I like to relax before my math class at four." She said.
"With Professor Jackson?" He asked.
She frowned at him. "What are you, following me?"
He chuckled. "No, just a guess. I am in your class I think."
"Oh. Sorry." She said.
"It's okay. I don't know many people from that class, I usually end up falling asleep." He told her.
"That's why I like to relax first. At first, I had hoped it would make me feel more awake, but honestly it just helps me sleep through class better now." She said with a laugh.
His alarm went off. "We better get going if you don't want to be late." He said to her, showing her the time.
"Damn, I never even relaxed, I was busy puzzling over you." She said.
They walked to class together and sat next to each other in the back. They introduced each other, her name was Vera.
"So how come I haven't heard of you around here? I know almost everyone, but not you." She asked.
He shrugged. "Not sure. How do you get to know people?"
"I usually hear about their element." She answered.
"Well that'll be why you haven't heard of me. I just turned 18 today." He said.
"Oh really? What's your element?" She asked excitedly.
He shook his head. "Nothing interesting."
She frowned, almost pouting. "That's no fair, I want to know what your element is."
"It's perfectly fair, I don't know what your element is." He argued back.
"Hmm. Okay fine. I will tell you if you tell me what yours is, okay?" She asked. He nodded. "My element is fire." She made a tiny flame at the tip of her finger and then extinguished it.
She frowned at the concerned look at his face, but he quickly recovered and shook his head. "Mine's water." He made a stream of water appear from his finger, which landed in his other hand and turned back into hydrogen and oxygen.
They laughed. "It's like I just lost a game of rock paper scissors." She said to him.
Then she got more serious. "Wait, you can't be a water elemental, you aren't acting like one. We wouldn't be getting along so well." She seemed confused.
He just shrugged. "I just act like I act."
She shrugged. "Going with the flow does sound pretty water-like."
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