Sorting

            Max and Lucille were the only ones outside of the fire element clapping for her as she walked and sat at the front of the fire kids.

            The rest of the sorting went quickly and Lucille was exited to get away, to the coast of an island, so she could toy with her newfound talent. As she was leaving, she could feel a pair of eyes on her, she turned and saw a fourth or fifth year air student staring at her. She bit her lip and turned around.

            “Where do you think our “estate” will be?” Max asked Lucille.

            “I don’t know…. I think that the campus extends t all of the islands. I’m exited to see how they used a space.. do you think we will have to go on boats between classes?” Lucille asked.

            She heard laughing behind her. “No, we have bridges… but if you want to take a shortcut, you can always make another bridge yourself.”

            “Make bridges? How?” Lucille asked.

            “You are a water īpaš… you just make part of the top of the water ice. There is a lot you have to learn, but there is a lot you can do on your own. A lot will come to you. There is power inside of you that you didn’t know existed… finding it out is the best thing that will happen to you.”

            “Where is our estate?”  Max asked.

            The girl giggled. “It’s a secret. We’re heading there now. Then we will have the in house orientation. Hey… do you guys want to come with me instead? I know a more scenic route. I’m Megan by the way.”

            “Sure.” Max and Lucille said simultaneously.

            “Do we have roommates?” Lucille asked.

            “Wait- one sec.” Megan said, ducking into a corridor and gesturing for them to follow. They came out about ten feet later and found themselves standing at the top of a cliff, no castle in sight. The opening that they had come out of was small and hardly noticeable. “You guys aren’t afraid of getting wet, are you?”

            Lucille laughed.

            Megan suddenly jerked her hands, as if she was pulling something, and the water from about a hundred yards below shot up to meet them. Then, Megan clenched her hands and it all froze. She slowly made a gesture, pushing it back out, and then it made a forty degree angle… a slide over to a nearby island. Lucille stopped for a second to take it all in. The island across from them seemed small and tall, the slide was about 20 yards over the water, and there was another, just above sea level long island far to the left with a long beach. On the horizon, she could see the wall of the volcano, making the rim of the lake. Above her there were a few miles of jungle and the light coming from the sun that was a few hours away from setting.

            “We can pause for a second, we’re far ahead.” Megan said. “I remember my first day here last year… It took me a bit longer to stumble upon a helpful second year and I was so overwhelmed. All of your questions about classes and school will be answered in orientation, but Demesne, and being a īpašas is so much more than that.”

            There was a short pause. “So… you were wondering about roommates?”

            “Yeah.” Lucille responded.

            “You have one roommate, but the rooms are pretty big. But your roommate is important, you have them for the whole time that you are here, so you really learn to rely on them. My roommate was a fifth year, so this year I have a first year.” She laughed, “Neither of you know a Lucille, do you?”