Today was very awkward.   We barely talked, mostly just studying each other’s faces and movements.

It isn’t something I want to admit, but it was kind of nice, just the two of us in a quiet room together.  He can be clumsy and stupid, and might not be exactly what I imagined my partner would be like, but he is…nice?

He’s just nice to be around, there’s never a moment of rest.  It’s like there is something inside of him that keeps him moving.  I guess I’ve only known him for a few days, he might just give up when things get too hard.  

But, ugh, he’s so small and weak.  His power might be great, but he doesn’t know how to use it.  I have a lot of work to do.

Let’s start with getting him his training schedule and filling him up some food.

~~~

The door to Michael’s office slid open, “Hi Michael.  Jamie requested that he start classes tomorrow.  I’m here to pick up his schedule.”

“Ah, I see.  You will be getting a modified schedule as well, since your days will need to be lined up for training.  You both are both taking the same academic classes in the morning.  In the afternoons, you will be taking private classes with the trainers together.  Once class will be fist fighting and you two will be sparring together.  The other class will be teaching Jamie to control his power.  There is a reason you two are partnered together.  Your spiritual energy will be an amplifier of sorts for his power.”

“What do you mean?  I have never heard of this before?”

“You will see what I mean tomorrow.  Here are your schedules,” he said as he handed me the papers.

“Thank you, Michael.  See you soon.”

“Have a goodnight, Thomas.”

~~~

“Hey, Thomas!” I turned toward where the voice came from, Tilly was standing, waving me over to their table.  I contemplated walking around and acting like I couldn’t hear here.  Jamie would get mad at me for that.  “Do you know where Jamie has been?  He never came back for any meals and he hasn’t been to homeroom since his first day here.”

“He hasn’t been feeling well, so he has been resting in his room.  He also burned himself in the shower, so he is stuck in bed.  He wants to return to classes tomorrow, though.”

“Oh, that’s good!  Do you want to join us?”  Tilly looked at me in anticipation.  

Does she really think I would sit with them?  I raised both plates of food in my hands, “I’m having dinner with Jamie in his room.”

She looked almost relieved that I said that, “That’s good, that’s good!  Getting to know each other?”

“Something like that.  I gotta go, see you tomorrow.”

“Oh, yeah, see you tomorrow, and tell Jamie we said ‘feel better’!”

I walked out of the cafeteria as fast as possible.  What was that about?  Tilly was acting weird.  As a matter of fact, Rob was acting weird, too.  He didn’t even say anything.

Whatever, I’ll figure it out tomorrow, Jamie is probably waiting for his food.

~~~

When the door to his room slid open, I noticed he had fallen asleep, again.  How can this boy sleep so much?

I tapped his shoulder, “Jamie, get up.  I brought food.”

He sat up like a vampire coming out of a coffin.  His face was all squished and his hair flopped down on his face.  He used one hand to sweep his hair back and the other to rub his eye while yawning.  

Cute.

Wait, what?

No!  He’s not cute!

He’s my partner-My-my-my pair.

I’m meant to be his friend and help him get stronger.  All I meant was that only a weak, cutie person would wake up like that.

Yeah, that’s what I meant.

Jamie spoke, breaking me out of my thoughts, “Didn’t you say you brought food?”

“Yes, I did.  Pepperoni pizza, salad, and lemonade.”

“Ooo, nice.”

“Yeah, sometimes they give us unhealthy stuff.  There is probably something in them that makes them actually healthy, but they taste fine, so…”

“Oh, well, pizza is still pizza.”

“I don’t know what real pizza tastes like.  I don’t really remember my life outside of The School.”  For some reason, I felt a need to open up to him.

“Why?”

“For as long as I can remember, I’ve been here at The School.  My memories before I was five years old are very blurry, if none at all, and after that is all here at The School.”

“You’ve been here since you were five?  I can’t imagine life without my family and friends.  Do you remember your parents?”

“Not really.  What was your time outside like?”

“I went to school with my best friend Scott.  He’s cool.  We met when we were five and he moved into the house next door.  He is the only friend I have, though.  I was generally bullied at school for always having my head in the clouds and not wanting to talk to the other kids.  After school everyday, I liked to walk out into the woods behind my house and read for a couple of hours.  I have eight older brothers, four sets of twins.  They loved me very much.  The oldests were 18 and about to graduate high school.  My parents love each other and don’t fight at all.  You would think with so many boys in the house there would be problems, but I can’t remember a single time we have fought.  I-I miss them a lot,” a tear trickled down his cheek, “but, it’s probably for the best that I am here now.  It’s safer for both me and them.”

I reached out to embrace him before I knew what I was doing.  “It will be ok,” I tell him, not really knowing what was about to come out of my mouth, “if you pass all of your classes, you can get out of here.  You can show me around the outside world.”

He pulled away from the hug and looked me in the eyes for the first time since I got back with the food.  I can’t believe I just insinuated that we would leave at the same time as well as staying together after we leave.

“Don’t worry, Jamie, you’ll get to see your family again.”

“Thank you, Thomas.”

“Why don’t we eat and take a look at our new schedule?”

“That would be great,” his smile grows even wider than before, if that’s possible.