Super Glitches 5: The Soldier's Vow

Fire Boy

The canteen roared with laughter and nearly every head turned to me. I looked up from my book and frowned.

"I haven't done anything, have I?" I asked Georgina. She shook her head, grinning widely. Sophie was in fits of laughter, rolling about on the floor whilst Rebecca had her head in her hands. Emmi folded her arms and stood there with a very puzzled look on her face. All four wore different coloured jackets - Georgina: russet red and gold, Rebecca: red, grey and gold and Sophie and Emmi: black jackets with grey T-Shirts. I still had on my blue shirt and suspenders, my trenchcoat being used as a cushion to protect me from the hard wooden bench.

"What's going on?" I asked, still unsure of what the laughter was about. "Hello? Anyone?"

"To be quite frank I have no idea what the hilarity is about either," a familiar voice said. Georgina jumped off her seat just in time for Shaade to vault over th bench and take it, water spraying everywhere. I ducked away and wiped a droplet from underneath my eye.

"What the-?" I broke off, eyes widening, a sense of dread taking over. Shaade grinned and cocked his head.

"What the indeed," he agreed. I groaned and covered my face with my trenchcoat, trying to disappear. I wished that the ground would just swallow me up and that I would burst into flames and die.

Shaade, it turned out, was the source of the amusement. He had wandered the room, talking to people in his usual arrogant, sarcastic way - but there was a catch. He wore only a pair of purple shorts that he had managed to cover in mud, bare foot and bare chested. His hair was completely flat to his scalp and, as if he heard my thoughts, he shook his head violently. Water flew everywhere and I was glad for the material covering my face.

"What's the matter?" Shaade teased, putting an arm around my shoulders, shadows flicking the coat off my head and over his arm. Wolf whistles and even more laughter followed the movement. By that time I resembled a strawberry perfectly.

"You. Are. An. Embarrasing. Ass," I growled. Shaade's 'eheheh' of amusement joined the cacophony echoing around the hall. He kissed me on the cheek and rested his head on top of mine, still smiling broadly. I felt my hair steadily dampen and stick to my head, any uniformity or neatness squashed.

"Shosh!" Sophie managed to choke out before laughing again.

"I would say leave him alone but," Georgina said, grinning, dissolving into giggles, "it's too funny."

"Not for me!" I wailed. Shaade laughed and hugged me tighter, stopping me from escaping. Again the image came to mind of burning, of fire, of...

"Hey!" Shaade cried, springing backwards. Shadows and light wrapped around his waist briefly, quelling the fire that had sparked suddenly. The laughter turned to hushed murmurs, anxiety's presence visible in the air.

"What was that about?" Emmi asked, walking over, looking a little less worried when she saw that Shaade wasn't hurt. "Where did that fire come from?"

"No idea," Shaade said in bewilderment. "I just felt a burning sensation at the bottom of my spine and bam, my trousers were on fire."

"That might have been me," I said in a small voice. Silence reigned and smoke curled from my feet. A dampening towel of shadows and rainbows stopped me from going up in a blaze.

"What do you mean?" Emmi said eventually. My shoulders were up by my ears and I was trembling all over. A single, terrified tear rolled down my face, cold against my burning skin.

"He was annoying me and I kept on thinking of fire and then..." My voice became a whisper. "I didn't mean to. I'm sorry, I'm so, so sorry..."

"No matter," Shaade said, shrugging. "But if I ever embarrass you again do not set fire to my trousers, thank you."