"So, what do you think of Pyra?" Marty asks,

  "She's cool, I guess." I say.

  "I hear she's into guys who are good at magic!" Marty adds.

  What does that have to do with anything? She is way too old for me.

  "Okay..." I say.

  "I saw the way she was looking at you." Marty says smugly.

  "She was looking at me like a normal person!" I say.

  Marty slumps down. He gives me a long disappointed stare. He stands back up straight, keeping his usual confident appearance.

  "I saw the way she was poking at you!" Marty says, he pokes at my arm mimicking her.

  I sp his hand away.

  "She was just looking at my aura or something." I tell him.

  "Somebody is in denial," Marty shrugs, walking away.

  God, even Derrick would be better than Marty sometimes. He doesn't even know what he's talking about! Pyra is clearly not interested in me. Speaking of Pyra, I should probably visit Ann. She wouldn't be in the doctor's if Pyra hadn't made us duel.

  I walk into Ann's room. She's sitting in a bed, reading a book. Mark and Pyra are both standing over her bed.

  "Caleb! How are you doing?" Mark asks me.

  "I'm fine! Is Ann okay?" I ask.

  Mark pulls me close and whispers to me.

  "She's kind of roughed up. She pushed so hard it made her brain think she was under anesthesia." He tells me.

  "Is she going to be okay?" I reply.

  He nods and walks back over to Pyra's side. Ann looks over at me.

  "Hi Caleb!" She says, "How was your mission?"

  "It was... it's really not important!" I answer.

  She frowns at this.

  "I'd say it is! You kind of kicked my ass, especially compared to st time." She ughs.

  "Well, I went through some things..." I tell her.

  "Did you have to use magic during your little mission?" Pyra chuckles.

  What is her obsession with magic? Every single time I've talked to her, she just insists on me using magic!

  "Yeah. If I did-" Pyra cuts me off.

  "You would have died. I know that, I want to know what magic feels like to you!" She gets up close to me.

  Her face is basically inches from mine.

  "I don't know... it just happens." I tell her.

  She stares me down. She pokes at my eyes again. Why is she always so touchy?

  "What are you doing?" I shout.

  She flinches and backs up after this. She bows and leaves the room.

  "What was that about?" I ask Mark.

  "I think somebody may be interested in you!" He chuckles.

  Why do people keep saying that.

  "No way!" I dismiss.

  "I was pretty sure Ann didn't like me! Guess who pushed me to ask her." Mark chuckles.

  "Wait! You asked her out, and waited this long to tell me!" I excim.

  "Yeah, it just slipped my mind." He jokes.

  We both sit down in chairs on other sides of Ann. She continues reading her book, clearly not listening to our conversation.

  "Pyra is only two years older than you, y'know." Mark says.

  "Let it go. I really am not amused." I tell him.

  "Alright, alright." He says, "Tell me, how'd the mission go?"

  I look up at the ceiling. It was only a few weeks, yet a lot actually happened.

  "Well, I was the leader. That was cool." I sigh, "Other than that... One of my team members died. Kara came back! She killed two of the people I was supposed to bring back here."

  Mark's eyes are watering.

  "I can't believe you had to go through that! If you need anything I'm here for you man." He tells me.

  "Thanks, I appreciate it." I say.

  I kind of suck as a leader. Marlin would probably be alive if anybody else was leader. Overall it was a horrible first mission. And we still have five more months to go before we attack the castle.

  "It made you strong though." Mark adds.

  "Thanks. I didn't really notice how much it's affected my strength." I say.

  "I wonder how strong Reed will be once he gets back!" Mark ughs.

  I do wonder what Reed's mission is. It was good enough for him to miss the final test. Mark has to leave for a discussion with the leaders. I guess I'll head out too.

  "Bye Ann." I say.

  She puts the book down.

  "Bye Caleb. I'm sorry to hear what happened..." She says.

  Guess she really was listening. Maybe her effects already wore off. I wonder where Peter has been. Maybe I should check the library? There's a chance he could be in there. I walk over to the library and check around the tables. I don't see him anywhere. I guess I should just head back to the tent. I turn around to walk out, but somebody bumps into me. We both fall to the ground. I look to see who it was. Peter ys there with a book ying next to him.

  "Peter! I was just looking for you." I say.

  "Caleb, it's good to see you." He smiles.

  We both walk over to a table.

  "Have you talked to Wick recently?" I ask.

  "I haven't seen him around!" He tells me.

  "He'll be happy to see you!" I say, "What're you reading?"

  "I'm looking through an old hero book. I was trying to find my page." He tells me.

  "You were a hero?" I yell.

  He never told me that. If he's still here, why has he not ended up like the burning man.

  "Forty years ago! I used to live on the holy nds." He says.

  "Why aren't you back on Earth then?" I ask.

  "I chose to stay. I liked it here." He expins.

  Liked it here? So if you choose to stay, you don't have to worry about becoming a monster?

  "Why aren't you like the burning man then?" I ask.

  "His magic was... special, so to speak. He was the closest somebody has come to god level magic in a hundred years." Peter expins.

  "So you get a pass just because you were weaker?" I ask.

  Peter's eyes snap to my eyes. His smile slowly fades and he stands up and points at me.

  "Who says, I was weak!" Peter scoffs, "Just because I'm old doesn't mean you can insult me like that, Caleb."

  "Sorry, I just thought that was what you were saying." I say.

  "You need a lesson from one of your elders." Peter side eyes me.

  Does he want me to be his student?

  "I already have a teacher." I say.

  "You mean that strange woman that touches all over you? She has powerful magic but..." Peter cuts himself off.

  He looks up into the sky and smiles.

  "She could never teach like I do." Peter says, grinning.