Eleventh Element

Chapter 2

Joel couldn't sleep. It was a fetid combination of the heat and the desire to understand what had plagued him during the afternoon. There were countless situations running through his head, it made his head spin. He sat up quaintly as the tiredness continued to ail him. The ideas were constantly manifesting in his mind, but they all wound up at the same spot, he was gaining an element. He felt an excitement which he had never felt before, were his wishes finally being answered.

This excitement dissipated quickly, as he came to terms with what this could mean for him as if he had gained an element this late into life, it would immediately paint him as different. As whilst there were instances of people being imbued with an element it was very rare and always caused a fuss with people in power. He quelled his thoughts for a long enough time to allow him to sleep.

When Joel awoke there was an unusual happiness emanating from within as he continued to theorise about what his moment of pain the day before could lead to. He waltzed down the stairs in a way that his mum had never seen before. "What's got you so giddy today, Joel?", asked Jennifer with a clear smile on her face. "Nothing really, Mum. Just that I'm happy its Thursday I guess. Getting close to the weekend so who wouldn't be happy?", said Joel in jest. "Well, whatever it is, its good to see you smiling. You've been a bit down in the dumps since we moved here. So, I won't ask anymore questions. Now, breakfast is ready and get yourself ready for school," Jennifer commanded and Joel happily obliged.

There was an extra pep in Joel's step as he walked to school. The morning seemed extra colourful to Joel, the eucalypts were dancing in the wind and the magpies were chirping away. The usual tradesmen clambering around the construction site amused Joel as he imagined how he could become like them soon as he had always hoped. The drab school gates, and tall brick wall seemed to smile back at Joel as he scouted his surroundings whilst entering the school grounds.

Joel was actually early for once, so he was able to fit in a small chat with Mrs Darby before homeroom started. "Good morning Joel," exclaimed Mrs Darby with glee. "Morning miss. I think I'm finally settling in. I actually enjoyed history yesterday, can you believe it?", Joel responded. "That's great Joel. I just hope this will continue since you've got exams coming up and I would hate to see you've done poorly. You're a bright student if you put your mind to it." This unusual optimism from Mrs Darby shocked Joel who sat down silently as to allow her to continue.

Joel noticed Kelly glaring at his smile after the incident the day prior. She approached him as they were on the way to their next class, elemental history. "Joel are you alright after yesterday. I probably wouldn't be so smiley after that," lectured Kelly. "Yeah Kelly I'm fine. I just thought I wouldn't let them get to me; it wasn't that big of a deal." Joel said hurriedly in a way that raised some suspicion within Kelly. "Are you sure you're fine," she said with a furled eyebrow. "It seems to me that you're hiding something."

Joel's palms started to sweat as he realised how different he had been acting, "Honestly Kelly.." He held his tongue as a Rector passed by them, the fear was prominent in his eyes as he stopped the conversation and hustled to the classroom. Kelly followed, having not given up on trying to find out what was happening with Joel.

"Afternoon everyone, you all seem excited to learn today," joked Mr Groph who's face turned sour as he began to speak again. "Remember guys, after today's class we have a seminar with Rector Jovin. He's going to talk to the year level about pathways into the church following graduation should you so choose to follow that path. Which I'm not sure is relevant to many of you. But it is always good to learn about what paths are open to young people. Anyway, lets start class as today were going to focus on a bit of history surrounding the Royal Element Society and their role in elemental history."

After so quickly acquiring a newfound enjoyment in all things elemental, Joel was far too distracted to even pay attention even though the topic of the RES intrigued him greatly. All that occupied his mind was the seminar with the Rector and how he could avoid further suspicion with Kelly. He deliberately avoided Kelly the rest of the day until the seminar.