The Sun Weilders

11

I looked at Connor. "Change is ok. Even if it is the great and powerful Connor Freida."

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Believe me, roaming down the hall to my first class next to Connor Freida was not what I had envisioned that morning looking like, and apparently, neither was the rest of the school. I got odd stares, bemused grins, and the occasional death glare from some girls who I didn't even know. I do, though, remember Adagio's astounded face upon seeing me with Connor. Overall, it was kind of like one of my dreams, except this time, I wasn't setting the world on fire, in the literal sense.

Connor, though, looked as if he'd won gold at the Olympics. I figured if I had the surfer-dude-in-Montana look he had, I'd probably hold myself like that too. I imagined what we looked like, the single most popular guy walking next to the least popular girl, but I didn't dwell on the negative thoughts.

Apparently, Connor and I had the same English period, something I hadn't picked up on. So when he plopped in the seat next to mine, I raised my eyebrows.

"I thought that back there was maybe a stab at one of your exes or something. Feel free to leave anytime," I said and rummaged through my backpack.

Connor's eyes searched the room. "Like I said, Emry. Change. Something different. You're something different. And you look like you need some change. Plus, you have to admit, it is cool walking next to me."

I rolled my eyes, but silently agreed with him. Sure, it felt pretty cool being with Connor, seeing the shocked and impressed faces in the hall.

One feeling I couldn't shake, though, was where Crimson had gone. I hoped he had just wanted to be early to his first class, but it didn't seem like him to do that without telling me first.

As the most-boring-of-all-boring English classes dragged on, I propped my head on my elbow, examining the September morning sun. That got me to thinking about Sun Weilders.

So, from what I had heard and seen, Sun Weilders were created so that the Sun might never get too close to Earth, causing the destruction of the world. The way Sun Weilders get picked is they start having these crazy erratic dreams, and these dreams somehow magically get registered in this holy book or something. Then the soon-to-be Sun Weilders get assigned a mentor, and the mentor helps them to learn their abilities and harness their power.

I remember Mr. Dougal saying something about a Sun City, and I started to wonder about that, when I felt a tug at my elbow. I looked over to see Connor, and he mouthed 'Lunch' to me, gesturing back and forth between the two of us. Without giving it a second thought, I nodded.

Once class was over, I walked out, hoping to find Crimson somewhere, when Connor appeared by my side. Not that I minded it, but I wanted to find my best friend.

"So," Connor started, "what do you normally do after school?"

Well, I thought, I go and train with a mentor to learn how to live a secret double-life. I learn how to control the fire that runs through my veins, Connor. Then I realized this was basically a complete stranger I was talking to, not my best friend.

Connor eventually went off to his next class, leaving me to find Crimson. I had a feeling he'd be by his locker, so I headed there. It wasn't that hard to spot a six-foot guy with inches of red hair sticking straight up, and as I weaved my way through the other people in the crowded high school hallway towards his locker, I saw him.

I walked forward and straight into JH. He and Zylan were looking down at me, and Slater was behind them, amused grins stretching across their faces.

"So I see you've moved on from Crimson, huh?" JH asked, making Zylan and Slater laugh.

I scowled at them and said, "Can't people just mind their own business? I mean, JH, I didn't ask about your tattoo or anything."