this is the first chapter of my story “The five of us” Story below! The entire sophomore class of Lakewood High surrounds me, about 70 kids all sitting in the field, basking in the warm sun. When we were escorted to the field, I noticed how strange it was, especially having a large tank of water filled to the brim, at least 15 feet tall. The warm fall breezes play with my hair, the dirty blond strands pulled back into a messily-crafted bun. Everyone goes silent. “Listen up everyone,” a guy with brown hair says, he only looks a few years older than us. “Does anyone know why you’re here?” No one says a word. “Well,” he continues, “you’re here to be tested.” “Tested for what?” some kid shouts out. Tested? What could possibly be tested for in a field full of strange-looking equipment? “You will be tested for any magical abilities, those who have these abilities will be enrolled in a school for anyone who can possess this magic.” We begin to laugh, magic abilities? We didn’t think we had heard anything more ridiculous, it was a joke. It wasn't a joke, it was real. “Here’s how this works,” the guy continues with a stricter voice, “There are 5 elements, correct? You will each be tested to see if you can control one of those elements, if you can, you are στοιχείο bearers. Those who possess the element of earth will be tested further, to see if they’re elves.” Elves? What was happening? “It’s a little known fact to most humans that magic does exist, and some of you,” he continues,” have it. Signs of the magic peak at your age, that’s why we test you now.” I scan the field more, there are people at each “station” who will be the ones testing us. Then we were split into homerooms, 3 groups of about 20 kids, each lined up to be evaluated. My homeroom was assigned to earth testing. Vines will wrap around us and trap us, we had to control them. The goal was to stop them from crawling up our legs and if we could, we would be earth στοιχείο bearers and be further evaluated. There were eight kids ahead of me in line, I watched each one struggle until the 4th person tried but he passes it, he controlled the vines. Instead of them slowly creeping up he uses some sort of hand gesture, and they stop. As I draw nearer to the front of the line, I nervously fidget with my bracelet, the one my mom gave to me, although I never see her. The weaved leather holds a small pearlescent-like stone that glimmers in the light. Fail, Fail, Fail, Fail, then it was my turn. I step onto the dirt, a small dust cloud arises when I do. The assessor must have read my face like a newspaper, “Don’t be nervous she says,” she smiles, “ready?” I nod, once, twice, I’m not ready, I just want to get it over with. Pressure wraps around my legs, I look down to see bright, vicious green vines crawling up my calf, faster than any normal plant could ever grow. The guy who first spoke to us approaches, I remember hearing someone whisper his name while speaking; Finn. After what seems like hours of these vines attacking and taunting me, my female tester finally speaks, “Alright, that's enou-” “Keep going,” Finn says, his voice is strong and assertive, and his chocolate-brown eyes stare at me. “Try to fight them.” I try and try, but no matter how hard, the vines never stopped, I couldn’t control them. They dig into my skin, not letting up, they reach my torso, then my neck. “Stop,” Finn says, “good effort.” The vines slowly sink back into the earth, good, I think, it's where they belong. After all of the other kids tried, some were able to do it, but the rest of us went on to the next test, and it went by in a blur. We had to try to control the wind and manipulate it, only 1 was able to before me. The breeze messed with my hair, and I couldn't stop it, then the winds became so strong they pushed me over, I failed once again. The third test: fire. Hot, bitter fire would approach us as we were to be placed in a circle of flames, and they were to slowly come nearer, and nearer. Those who are fire στοιχείο bearers can withstand the heat, they can push it away from them, and they can materialize fire out of thin air too. This is torture, I think to myself. I am one of the first people to be swallowed by flames. I stand in the circle of red-hot heat, and the flames approach me, but the closer they get, the more pain I feel. The pain is overwhelming and the fire bites my skin, but then it’s gone. I try and try to stop the pain, to push the roaring flames away, but they engulf me, I collapse, exhausted. After what seems like hours, the flames are gone. I am escorted out of the circle by another instructor, his ears are pointed, an elf. He places his hands on my burns which are already starting to blister, but instead of pain, all I feel is warmth. The warmth travels through my body and down my spine, I shiver. When he removes his hands, my burns are gone and the pain is wiped away.
(Chapter 2:) https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/832507278/ (Also no advertising pls!) :D More below! “Thank you,” I whisper. He gives a slight bow and leaves. I just watched someone heal me. The fourth test is less rigorous than the others, the assessor will shoot tiny lighting bolts at you, and the goal is to create a shield from them, the most the bolts will do is sting. This test is to see if you are a sky στοιχείο bearer. I am the last to go, the test goes by quickly but with every bolt I can’t deflect, each one gives a small searing sting, that soon dissipates. Someone told me afterward that only 2 people were able to pass that test. The final test. I gaze up at the large tank of water. The test is the simplest one of them all, water στοιχείο bearers can breathe underwater, so they will anchor us underwater to see if we can. I wriggle my way to the back portion of the line, I don’t want to participate. Everyone's test goes by fast, then I realize I’m next. I slowly walk up the steps to the very top of the water tank, shaking as I climb the stairs higher and higher. A girl awaits me, she smiles and says something, but I am too nervous to process it. She ties a weight to my ankle, and I am instructed to jump in. After a deep, shaky breath, I jump. Icy cold water surrounds me, and by instinct, I try to swim up but I can’t. My breath shortens more, I have never been able to hold my breath for long. I have nothing left in my lungs, I try to inhale but swallow water, and being half-conscious I still try to swim upwards. The world around me swirls, then fades to black. I gasp and bolt up, then begin coughing. “Hey slow down there,” I look up to see Finn, his eyes gazing into mine, “you feel alright?” My senses slowly come back to me, everyone has already been tested and been placed, and those who didn’t pass a test wait for further instruction. I take a deep breath, who knew air could be so wonderful? “I’m alright,” my voice is unsteady, Finn must have heard my fear when I spoke. “Well,” he continues, he places his hand on the small of my back, I shudder. “You tried you’re best, that’s all we care about.” He removes his hand and stands up and makes his way to the front of the group, the group of kids that didn’t pass, I am among them. “Thank you all for coming out today,” he says, “I’m very sorry we had to put you through all of that, but the good news is you won't remember a second of it.” Won't remember? “Magic was unknown to you before today, and since none of you possess it, we need to keep it unknown. We’ll wipe your memories, there isn’t anything to be afraid of, it won't hurt.” He locks eyes with mine. I awake on the bus, and our teacher tells us that we just went on a trip to a museum. That can’t be right, we didn’t go to a museum. What was the field trip like? Everything comes rushing back to me, the testing, the magic, Finn. Everyone else's memory is wiped clean, but mine isn't, I remember everything.
