Julia Lelieveld and the fifth element
~30~

I was walking down the hall and suddenly I heard someone calling my name.

I looked around and there was Lucas. That was a long time ago.

I smiled at him.

“Hi.”

“Hi,” he said back.

“When are we going to get to know each other better?” he asked casually.

“Speaking of which, you should have said your family went to school here.”

Lucas’ face twisted a little. Oops, did I say something wrong?

“I don’t speak to Lorenzo often.”

“Oh, sorry, I didn’t know that.”

“Never mind, but can we sit down somewhere?”

“Sorry, but I have to go to the library and then have class again. Some other time?”

I saw him look doubtful for a moment, not disappointed, but as if he were angry. I hadn’t seen that before. On the other hand, I had only spoken to him a few times.

He nodded. “Another time.” And he walked away.

A little taken aback, I went to the library. That’s why Renzo didn’t mention Lucas, they barely speak to each other. Could it have something to do with Renzo being in jail? Maybe I’ll ask him anyway. I didn’t know why, if it was my new instinct, but somehow I felt more comfortable with Renzo than with Lucas.

I pushed open the big door and the rest of the “circle” was already on the couches. That’s what Leo had called them after all.

I looked at them for a moment and sat down next to Sara. I really didn’t feel like provoking Kate’s behavior by sitting next to Max.

She smiled briefly.

“Glad you’re all here.” Rob walked out of his office.

“I want us to train tonight. Behind the old industrial estate.”

I saw the others immediately nod in agreement.

“Julia, you don’t need anything else. I’ll take care of the necessary stuff. Be there around half past six. Do you know where it is?”

I thought for a moment. I thought he meant the old industrial estate where I got a lift from Olaf, but I wasn’t sure which side the back would be on.

“I’ll drive by, I’ll live close anyway.” I looked at Leo gratefully.

“Thank you.”

He nodded and turned his attention back to Rob.

“That’s settled then. I’ll see you tonight. If necessary, you can stay the night.”

He wanted to walk back to his office.

“Wait a minute,” I said.

“Tell me you’ll come to me and you’ll have an alibi.” Sarah looked at me.

I nodded.

The circle got up to go to the next lesson and Rob went back to his office.

The rest of the day passed slowly. Everything just kept running through my head. When finally the last bell rang and I wanted to walk away from biology, I was approached by the teacher. “Say, Mrs. Lelieveld, didn’t you forget something last week?”

I had to dig deep into my memory, so much had happened in the past few days.

“I’ll just tell you. You were late for class. Do you remember? The agent’s guest lecture?”

Oh shit, you’re not going to mean that. I really should have stayed.

“Sorry, something got in the way.”

“Yeah, I thought so. Well, you can make it up tomorrow afternoon.”

He turned again.

Tomorrow afternoon? No, then I had therapy, then I couldn’t. God damn it.

“May I make it up on Friday afternoon, sir? I have an important appointment tomorrow afternoon.”

He looked at me bored.

“Say, I’m not being nice. You should be glad you don’t have to stay after tomorrow and Friday afternoon.”

“I really appreciate it, but I really can’t tomorrow afternoon. I’ll be there Friday afternoon.”

And with those words I walked away. I wasn’t in the mood for a discussion.

I would have heard if he didn’t agree. So Friday afternoon detention. Well, that was nice.

As I walked out of the classroom, I saw Eva walking toward the gym. She must have been training, I thought. At the bicycle shed Bas asked if I really wasn’t going to the party tonight. I said no and disappointed he cycled away.

When I got home, the panic slowly started to bubble up. Train? Where the hell were we going to train? How bad would I be? What strange things were going to happen again? I was pulled out of my thoughts by the car pulling into the driveway. It was Daddy, he was home early. I quickly started with dinner. I made a simple stew so that I would be ready in time when Leo came to pick me up.

Dad allowed me to leave tonight. He was still busy himself.

After dinner I quickly went upstairs, I grabbed my backpack with the much needed sleeping and school supplies for tomorrow when my phone rang. I looked at the screen. Leo had sent a text that he was ready. I said goodbye to my father and walked outside with the bicycle. Leo had hidden himself just after the driveway behind the bushes.

“So, are you ready?”

I shrugged my shoulders. “I’m not quite sure what to expect.”

“Do not worry. It was also exciting for us the first time, but Rob builds it up slowly, so that you can take your time.”

I nodded. I had no idea what he was talking about, but it will be.

Maybe I should also let a feather fly. Suddenly I could kick myself. I hadn’t even thought of that because of all the hustle and bustle. Of course I could have practiced by myself. I had nothing more to do with it. I was still aware of everything around me. But somehow I got used to that very quickly. Like I always had it. Lost in thought, we quietly cycled to the old industrial estate. Adjacent to the north side was a forest. We plodded through the dense forest with our bicycles in hand. Once outside the forest, there were still a few old factories, along which a stream ran. It had already become dark, but you could just see all the contours. It was really completely deserted. If you didn’t know this was here, you’d never get there. Geez, what a good hiding place. Leo led me to the largest building. Next to that large building were two smaller ones. I saw there were other bikes outside against the cracked wall. Leo opened the heavy iron door and camping lamps stood in the middle of a large abandoned shed. The rest of the circle and Rob were already sitting between the lamps. I saw that Max was already working on fire. He had a flame dancing on all the fingers of his hand. Sarah sent water from one large vessel to another. It was a fascinating sight. Kate looked very hard at the ground, when her face brightened slightly I followed her gaze and saw that she had grown a very small daisy from a crack in the concrete floor. Geez, I was really stunned.

“Glad you’re here.”

Rob gestured for us to come. Leo walked to the circle and automatically sat between Sara and Kate. I stood a little to the side. Not knowing what my place was in all this.

“Julia, would you like to sit next to me?”

I nodded and sat down next to Rob.

“Okay, for you.” He gestured to the circle. “Try to train in a calm manner. Don’t be influenced or distracted. I’ll open the sliding doors and turn on the outside light. If you stay in sight, I don’t mind if you train outside.”

I saw the faces light up a little.

“Oh and one more thing. When Julia and I are busy here, I don’t want anyone eavesdropping. Is that clear?” He gave everyone a stern look and his gaze rested on Kate a little longer.

They all nodded.

“Fine, let’s get started then.”

He rubbed his hands briefly as he said this and walked to the side of the large shed. He pulled open two large sliding doors and pulled a lever. Four large construction lights switched on, so that a very large part of the building could be seen outside the shed. It reminded me a bit of the lighting on a football field.

The rest immediately got up and went outside.

I tried to draw my attention to Rob. Which was difficult for me, because I thought it was all so special what they could already do.

“You’ll be there soon too,” said Rob sympathetically.

“I hope so.”

“I’m sure.” He looked at me for a moment.

“Okay, you know I’ve talked to the Elders. That is the advice and is the beating heart of the practitioners. They know a lot. A lot. Just not everything.” And he pointed my way when he said that.

I felt a little uncomfortable.

“Well, we know you can practice air and resist fire. I’m curious how far along you are in development. The more I know, the more will be clear. Do you want to know more, or do you want to get started?”

“Get started,” I said with conviction in my voice. I didn’t want to hear that nothing was known about me yet. And all that gossip. I also wanted to know what I could do. When I realized tonight that I hadn’t practiced at all, I really had the urge to do it on the spot. So come on. Let’s see what turned my world upside down.

Rob got up and shoved a few leaves together.

“Try to concentrate. Look at the leaves and focus on them. I want you to try to blow the leaves from their place. If it doesn’t work right away, it doesn’t matter at all. Leo managed to move a feather after three training sessions, so don’t be ashamed.”

He glanced at me to see if the message had gotten through.

“Leo can put more force behind it by amplifying the movement with gestures. This is also the case with Sara, Max and Kate.”

He seemed to think for a moment.

“In your case, I think we’ll see some things tonight, because you’ve already practiced air unintentionally. Do you think you’re ready?”

He looked at me questioningly and expectantly.

I nodded.

I looked at the pile of leaves in front of me. Outside, the others were busy practicing. To become better than they already were. I had to laugh a little to myself when Leo asked me if I had also let a feather fly. But now I was sitting here myself with a pile of leaves. Okay Julia, come on focus.

I looked at the leaves and I focused on the element of air. The feeling I had since yesterday morning became a lot stronger.

I felt Sara practicing water. How Kate interacted with Earth. And how Max let the fire unfold within himself. I also felt Leo send the air.

What I noticed was that the elements didn’t mind at all that they were sent.

I looked at the leaves and in my mind I let the wind blow them away. For a moment nothing happened. Shit.

Would I still have to move my arm?

I took another hard look at the leaves and with all I had I focused on them being blown away by the air.

And with those thoughts they flew through the air. Wow. Did I just do that?

I looked around to see if there was any wind coming from somewhere, or if Leo wasn’t accidentally practicing in my direction. No, he was on the other side of the field outside.

I looked at Rob for a moment, who smiled with satisfaction.

“You did it all by yourself,” he said sincerely.

I let out my bated breath. Somehow I felt relieved. I could have done it. I succeeded.

“How do you feel?”

Rob looked at me inquiringly.

“Relieved.”

“Fine, if it works out, we’ll go even further, is that all right?”

I nodded. I wanted to try and learn as much as possible tonight. The story of evil was still in the back of my mind. Surely someone couldn’t stay with me all the time to protect me if necessary. No, I had to be able to protect myself. Though I had no idea why. What would evil look like? What kind of powers would it have? Or the e-warriors, where would they hang out?

“Julia?”

“Sorry, my mind was elsewhere for a moment.”

“You have to try to concentrate, that’s very important. If you can’t concentrate well or shut yourself off from the environment, that has an influence. You should also not be easily distracted, as soon as that happens it can have consequences for your powers. You may not be able to control them properly and hurt someone.”

He looked at me seriously.

Geez, message got through.

“I’ll focus.”

“Okay, we’re going to the next building for your next training session. I think you need a little more challenge.”