The Incredibles

♢ Chapter 8 ♢

I walked to stand beside the smallest rock I could find. It was still big, but the smallest within the boundaries of the training ground. After I found my rock, I looked around to take a peep at what my training partner had picked.

Not to my amazement, he stood next to the largest rock, being a rock himself, standing straight and not moving. I stifled my laughter. After all, he had came before me and obviously had trained enough to take on the challenge of shattering the large rock. It was cheating in some sense, and it had made me angry at the fact that he was seemingly more capable than me.

However, I still stood beside the smallest rock, unlike normal people who would immediately change their rock to a larger one under the same circumstances. I was not a person that would let my emotions take over me.

My plan was to first smash the smaller rock, and then slowly advance to larger rocks. I would not succeed if I did not have good fundamentals. A look of determination flashed across my face as I raised my hands and gathered whatever power that was helpful in completing my mission, ready to shatter the rock.

My fists were clenched from the overwhelming anger inside of me and it was transferred onto the rock, which in turn shattered.

I smiled smugly at my successful attempt on the first try.

From the corners of my eyes I could see an emotionless George, which I had expected as the rock was the smallest one after all. I was preparing for my next smash when I heard a loud and reverberating smash.

I turned around to find Isaac infront of remains of the rock, both hands red from the impact. Not bad, I thought. Unknowingly, my eyes were fixed on the next movement of Isaac. There was no rock larger than the one that he just destroyed. I expected him to sit at a corner to rest, but instead he walked to a normal-sized rock and stood in front of it. His movements were so small that it was near impossible to catch him move. What was he going to do? My eyes were still on him when something mysterious happened in a split second.

The normal-sized rock in front of him had grown. Grown to a size larger than the rock he had just shattered. I was stunned. He could make the rock grow?

It then came to me that his ability was behind the phenomenon. However, I could not figure out what his ability was. It was impossible for mankind to do that...

This phrase sounded familiar. Dad had told me that my ability was impossible too. George had also mentioned that Isaac's ability was unique... Like me.

Could make things grow...grow....expand....volume.... I was immersed in trying to figure out what Isaac's ability was, that I had forgotten to do what I was supposed to do.

"Sherrie! Focus!" George suddenly shouted into my ear. My heart skipped a beat.

"Don't get complacent and stop practicing just because you had managed to destroy a tiny rock in an attempt!" George bombarded me with hurtful critiques. I was terrified.

"Sorry, sire." I muttered. I did not expect him to hear me, but he had.

"I accept your apology and get cracking now." was his reply. I was starting to even suspect that his ability might be the same as mum's, but it was impossible for an incredible to have 2 abilities at once.

Suddenly, I remembered that George said that he would show his ability to me if I had came to the mountains with him. I was delighted to know that I could finally learn of his mysterious ability. I abandoned the rock mission once again and ran to him.

"Teacher! Teacher! Your ability, show me!" I shouted on the way to teacher. George turned his head around to find me galloping towards him.

"Tsk. I thought she had already long forgotten about that promise. But...." George chuckled to himself. As I reached his side, I demanded once again that he shows his ability to me, but his reply was unexpected, and had caused me to feel down.

"Sherrie. We agreed that I would show you my ability if you came to the mountains with me..." I nodded my head.

"Yeap, and I'm here, so don't break your promise." I mustered up my courage to interrupt teacher, just to make my stand clear enough for this old Georgie Porgie to understand.

He then continued without lecturing me. "But you did not come with me... Instead you rode on my back to get here. So do you think you kept your promise?" His voice was hoarse and stern.

2 sentences.

That was all it took to defeat me. I was disappointed and went back to the rocks without any further negotiating. I turned back during my journey and caught George giggling to himself. I hated this teacher even more now.

The anger inside of me once again got transferred to the rock, and it had shattered with two punches.

Destroying a rock was not easy, but how could George do it so easily singlehandedly? I admit that he was strong and worthy enough to be my teacher, but my inquisitive nature could not let the topic of finding out George's ability go. It was killing me in the inside, and I would like find out about Isaac's ability too.

There are so many things to think about, and the most infuriating fact of all was that George could have told me everything, but instead left me to find them out myself.