Fight With Fire

13

This waiting room is much bigger than the first one. I was the first person to go through testing so I sat by myself waiting. John had followed me out and was standing by the door like a body guard. I was too scared to question it so I sat in a chair facing away from him. I was waiting for him to leave to test the next person but he never moved. Soon my curiosity got the best of me and I turned around to face him again. He was standing not noticing me watching. When I looked closer I saw a small wire leading up to his ear. He was clearly listening to something.

That's when the door swung open showing none other than Penelope. She took one look at me and my glare and walked to sit as far away from me as possible. I thought I heard a quiet chuckle escape John but I might have been imagining it. I don't recognize the next boy that comes out. He looks between me and Penelope deciding that Penelope is the better of us two evils. I'm not surprised but it seems that everyone follows suit leaving me still alone. Luckily they speak loud enough that I can hear what they are talking about.

Penelope is the loudest voice out of everyone. "That was the weirdest testing ever. I walked in the room waiting to see something scary or intimidating just to see her?"

Someone else nods enthusiastically. "I was not expecting Ms. Fields to be the examiner. And I wasn't expecting something so easy. She just asked a set of questions on a piece of paper and then sent us out." I look over at John quizzically. When nobody is watching, I see the ghost of a smile as he winks at me. It takes a lot of self-control not to burst into laughter. I guess I'm not the only one that is going to fail the testing.

Little do they know that testing is far from over.

"Although it was strange how they knew our Aerdells and our Drells." The boy after Penelope seems almost angry at the memory.

Penelope nods a little too enthusiastically. "It's so weird because I didn't even know my Drell before she asked me about it." As much as I hate to agree with anything Penelope says, that is weird. John never asked me about anything because I'm an Oari to him.

Someone shrugs. "Maybe it's the same way they know everything for the list."

Someone else shakes their head. "Those numbers are collected from the elder on the council. He has a special Aerdell that helps him. But there are no names. So it wouldn't be very helpful."

I ponder about this as well as another person enters the room. There are 8 people in the room now. How did they know about the Tefras' Drells. Those are almost impossible to figure out even if you're the one with the Aerdell. But I don't think about this too much because that wasn't the real test. When I piece everything together I am tempted to slap myself on the head. When I look up there are a total of 15 people in the room. I walk over to the group.

"Hey guys!" Everyone turns their attention to me for the first time. "Did you ever think about why testing was so easy?"

Penelope laughs trying to make everyone join her. "Clearly this John Louis guy couldn't come up with any good ideas. I mean one thing is for sure, this is different from all other years."

"No that's not it. I think he's the smartest examiner yet because he got all of you fooled." Everyone looks very worried and is clearly interested. Penelope tries to laugh at me but stops when she realizes no one else is laughing. "I agree that this year is different. Here's what I think: It's a social experiment. They've done physical tests and mental tests and even patience tests. I mean why are we in this room? They always send you back to your room after testing." I look out at everyone's horrified expressions and feel satisfaction come in the form of a wide smile. "Testing isn't over."

"It is now." Everyone looks behind them to John. I turn as well pretending to be as surprised as them.

I hold up a hand. "Wait wait wait. Let me guess. Are you John Louis?"

"I am." I am thankful that John plays along and doesn't tell anyone that he already introduced himself. "Now please everyone, exit and return to your rooms. Testing is over."

Everyone stares at him with mouths wide open. My smile grows when I see Penelope's eyes water. I get up from my seat last studying everyone's shocked expressions. When everyone has left the room I turn to John. I have accepted that I have failed the test so I don't care about pushing the boundaries about what's allowed.

"Can I stay?" I hold a hopeful expression on my face like a toddler asking for one more treat.

His expression stays amused. "You want to stay here for hours watching everyone go through testing so every hour you can do what you just did and watch their faces?"

My expression turns to pleading and I clasp my hands together. "Maybe?"

He laughs a loud and hearty laugh. "Go ahead. I must admit that that was very entertaining. Just don't tell them too often. Wait until the group is larger."

I think about this for a second. "Okay how about this. I know I ruined the first round but how about when you learn what you need to learn you cough. Then I know to break the news to everyone."

His smile grows if this is even possible. "I like it." He holds his hand out and shakes mine. "It's nice to work with you Ella Sanders."

With that I sit in a chair so I can see John and can watch his expressions change. A boy comes in and decides to sit right next to me. I don't recognize him but I'm sure he knows me. "That was total BS, am I right?"

I agree with him and make up a story based on the stories I had heard when sitting here before. He talks about his frustrations with the testing because he didn't get to show off his skill and couldn't get past his Drell. Another girl comes in the room and the boy repeats everything to her girl almost word for word.

More people keep coming in and they had a similar discussion to the one I had heard with the first group. John starts to look bored and starts coughing as Finn walks in the door. Finn immediately smiles at me and holds up a finger gesturing for me to wait one second. I repeat the gesture in a less obvious way to John. John doesn't seem to notice because he watching Finn intently.

I notice Finn is very tense. It is very similar to when he had taken my concussion. He is breathing with more effort than normal and he is walking with a slight limp. He shuffles through the crowd and then stumbles forward. I notice that he isn't unbalanced but just throws his body to the side with his hands out to catch him. He catches himself on a boy's arm who screams out in pain. Out of the corner of my eye I see the black iae on Finn's arm retreat slightly. Finn pretends to not have his balance back and moves his hand to the next person. I watch closely as he moves through the crowd placing more hands on shoulders, arms, and any skin he can make contact with. When he gets to me he is breathing normally, he is walking normally, and there seems to be no trace of the pain he was feeling before.

It takes me a second before I realize what had happened. Finn had shown what he can do with his Aerdell in testing by taking someone's pain away. When he had walked into the room he had dealt small amounts of pain to everyone he had touched until it was all gone. I know I should be mad or disgusted but I'm nothing but impressed. It was sneaky and very smart. I smile at him as he sits down and I lean over to whisper in his ear. "First, I saw that. Second, don't say anything bad about the test and just follow my lead." When I pull away I speak louder knowing that John is paying attention. "It's funny because I never realized how clumsy you were."

Finn laughs and shrugs. "I would've blamed it on testing but there wasn't anything physical."

I take this chance to channel the conversation. "It is kind of strange. It was very short. Are we sure that was the real thing?"

Finn thinks about this for a second. "Well I guess that might not be the real thing?" He looks to me and I give a slight nod encouraging him to keep going. He looks around the room. "Don't they usually send everyone back to their room after testing?" There are several nods of agreement and some start to speak. I nudge Finn so he'll keep going. "Did they tell anyone that testing is over?" Everyone thinks about this and shakes their head. I discreetly point to where John is standing. Finn looks over there as if he didn't know John was standing there until now. "Excuse me sir, is testing over?"

He looks impressed as he answers, "It is now."