SPRITES: Legacy of the Black Phoenix

Chapter 9 : A Sense of Corruption

Vidaj set several alarms to make sure that he would wake up in time for the field trip. There was no way he was going to let one of his dreams make him miss a day off from school. Just as he had prepared, the alarm maneuver got him past his dreams by the third time around. He got ready and raced down to make some oatmeal for breakfast. On his way to the kitchen a shaft of light from beneath the basement door caught his attention.

He knew it meant his brother had been working through the night on one of his secret experiments. Though Pax was very open with Vidaj about his personal life, he rarely spoke about his job. There were times when Vidaj wished his brother would talk more about his work life in order to avoid listening to another story about yet another scheme for a new girlfriend.

All Vidaj really knew was that Pax worked at a firm as some kind of designer. Vidaj had tried several times to get Pax to explain exactly what he did as a designer and what the firm specialized in, but every time he brought it up, Pax found a way to change the subject.

Vidaj reached for the doorknob to the basement door to check up on him, but right before he grabbed it, his phone vibrated. Turning around, the text message had taken over his attention. Too much time had passed to make his oatmeal. Instead he grabbed a bagel and was out the door. Waiting at the corner were Lana and Felix. Their backs turned shadily away from him.

"Hey," Vidaj uncomfortably greeted. "What's up, guys?"

There was no response. Vidaj surreptitiously leaned in to tap them both on the shoulder. With just that slight tap they both jumped forward and turned around. In their hands were two ice balls in a throwing motion. Vidaj concentrated hard on becoming his shadow. The ice balls hit the ground. "Too slow!" he bellowed tumbling to the ground. From his knees his grabbed the two ice balls and redirected them towards Felix. With no time to prepare for Vidaj's insane reaction Felix took two both shots to the chest.

Smirking, Vidaj whispered back, "Thanks for texting me this morning. No way would I have dodged that if you hadn't warned me."

"I'm surprised you even looked at the text. You probably would've reacted to dodge Felix's slow shot anyway. But there's no way you could react in time to my arm!"

Vidaj felt bad that they had ganged up on Felix, extending his arms out to Felix as a truce.

"You set me up!" Grabbing Vidaj's hand Felix scowled in frustration at Lana.

"Maybe." Lana stuck her tongue out.

The bus arrived before Felix could answer back as the three quickly loaded in. When they arrived at school, their biology teacher, Mrs. Carter, took attendance and quickly ushered the class to another bus. Easily spotting Briggs, Vidaj jumped into the seat next to him while Lana scooted in beside Jane. Felix finally made his way onto the bus and grabbed a seat behind Vidaj.

The bus halted a few hours later. Vidaj peered out the window to the sight of a large flowery entrance. Mrs. Carter ran up and down the aisle, taking a head count of the students. "All right," she said, "we've got twenty-seven with us today! This is the first time a group of students from Phoenix High is attending the botanical gardens, so make sure you're all on your best behavior." She glanced toward the back of the bus. "That means you, Ian!"

Ian swiftly stood up, his hands on his hips. "What do you mean? I'm a model student."

The rest of the students snickered. "Don't make me repeat myself," Mrs. Carter said. "You'd better stay in line, young man."