After an incredibly uneventful(and stupid) Royals class, I made my way to the courtyard. When most people think of courtyards, they think of a large yard, with prissy flowers and grasses, with a stupid fountain of Cupid or something in the center. Well, forget all that, please. The courtyard was less of a yard, and more of a battleground. The dusty, dry sand was stained red in some places from the dragons' meals, and the whole arena was surrounded by cages where the dragons were kept. You probably wouldn't wanna eat your delicious lunch here. Anyhow, I think I was kinda late, because when I walked in, everybody stopped chatting, and all eyes were on me. After the silence, the teacher launched into a long lecture on, um, dragon safety? "Good morning, class." A few grumbles. "I am Madame Draxona, or Coach Draxona, of, if you're lazy, Coach or Madame. Welcome to Third Semester Dragon Training. In the semester and next, we'll be using the knowledge we've found in the first and second semesters to tame and annihilate any dangers caused by dragons. "You will have one partner this whole semester, and if you don't like it, then suck it up. You're stuck with it. The list is on the Southern Wall. When you find you partner, come to me with them to get your cage's key and code." When Draxona finished her whole deal, the class buzzed over to the Southern Wall. There was some laughing, some moaning and groaning, and a LOT of chattering. Once the crowd thinned, I made my way to the front, and scanned the list for my name and partner. *** click screen for list *** Dion? Who the heck is Dion? As if on cue, a short, long, curly-haired redhead ran up to me. "Hi you're Storm right I'm Dion I'm so excited to meet you this is gonna be a great year you're new here right well I can show you around..." Yeesh. This kid is talking a mile a minute. "I'm good at EVERY class except this one I hope our first assignment dragon is an easy one like water or air--" Well, that air dragon comment kinda tipped me off. "AIR DRAGONS ARE VERY COMPLICATED. WOULD YOU SHUT UP NOW?!" Dion stood shocked, but then she started sniffling, and looked at her shoes. "Oh. Okay. I'm sorry." Jeez, this kid is falling to tears. What kinda 12-year-old is this? Whatever. I didn't have time for sympathy. I got the key to our dragon's cage, unlocked it, and armed myself quickly. Our dragon was a venom dragon. I quickly looked around at the other kids. Ember and this Crystal girl had gotten a Metallisis dragon. Unlike Metallisis people, these dragons had not went extinct. Most Metallisis people had been killed by the Venom people a few hundred years ago. The Windwing girls are the last family that has Metallisis. Anyhow, I was finished reminiscing when my dragon emerged from its cage. Dion yipped, and dodged under the table that had the armor and weapons and such. The venom dragon was fairly easy- Guaranteed weak spot? Eyes. I made a clanging sound using my sword and shield. The dragon peered down, its eyes ablaze. When it lunged for me, I made a mad dash for the tail. I grabbed onto a spike, pulled myself up, and repeated until I reached the back. The back of a venom dragon is smooth and flat, so I sprinted for the neck, made my way up that, and stood on the dragon's head. I grabbed the horns, and simply threw myself over its head, and planted my feet firmly into its eyes. The dragon roared, and reared back into its cage. I hopped onto the ground with a light thud. I quickly shut the cage, and locked it. I turned toward my classmates, who were staring at me in awe. I partially ignored it, and started towards a dumbfounded Coach Draxona. I handed her the key to my cage, and asked "Got anything else for me?"
Thx to my editor/agent, and my unpaid interns.
