The first two weeks passed in the blink of the eye. They were getting used to their classes, figuring out which ones needed more studying. Parker and Alexis were busy in their evenings with the Aether practice easily lasting multiple hours. They found it challenging to remember everything for their classes along with all of the different formations and strategies for Aether.

Every couple of days, either Parker or Alexis would ask Caleb if he could talk about his Omni class yet but they always received the same dreary answer from him. Caleb wasn’t acting the way he used to. He was always so willing to talk to them, even though he was extremely shy. Now, he barely said anything and always looked exhausted.

They were learning different ways to command the air in order to help themselves. Master Sora demonstrated how they could use the air to dry themselves off. He even mentioned a way that they could control the air in order to breathe underwater, but wouldn’t teach how to until later in the year.

Their Imperial came very easy to Parker. Alexis was still good at it, but had to work a little harder than Parker. Caleb struggled to excel in controlling the air. He had no confidence in himself and rarely found himself at peace any more.

Parker and Alexis both did everything they could to help him out, to make it easier for Caleb. Hailee even spent time with him in the evenings while Parker and Alexis were at practice.

The two of them spent their evenings together. Caleb finished his day when Parker and Alexis were starting the second half of theirs. Hailee was done after lunch every day. Her classes were all first thing in the morning. She explained to them that element classes were mostly just for first years. You learn most everything in the first two years, then the following years you learn how to use all of those skills in different scenarios. The scenarios grow more and more challenging the older you get. You begin working with the other houses on how to combine your elements in order to become stronger imperials.

Parker found his history class to be the most boring, whereas Alexis and Caleb both loved it, and found it incredibly fascinating. Parker preferred to be in his element class where he excelled and spent a good amount of time helping the others in his year.

Aether practice was exhausting every night. The morning practices were even worse. They loved playing, but having to exert themselves as much as they do first thing in the morning makes for a very long day. Becoming a part of the team, part of the Aether family, came second nature to them. They fit in perfectly with the others and always had a good time.

Every once in a while, during practice, they would catch some of the other students from their house and from the other houses watching from above. Word had gotten around that The House of Erion team had some new players, so everyone was trying to get their first look at the newcomers.

The first match was scheduled in one week, exactly on the same day as their first exams. Parker, Alexis and Caleb were huddled up in the common room trying to help one another get ready for the exams. Alexis and Caleb felt perfectly ready for their history exam, Parker however, did not.

“Don’t worry! You’ll get this figured out I promise!” Alexis sounded so optimistic about Parker being able to remember everything. He looked at her, appreciating the optimism, but struggling to be happy about it.

“There’s no way I can remember all of these names. The house founders, the different masters that have made a major impact on the school and how. What year the castle was built, the first years students started attending and everything else. It’s just too much. I’m good at the physical stuff, just not all of this information.” They could hear the frustration and panic in his voice.

“Talk to me then,” Alexis said. “What makes our Imperial so simple for you? Maybe that will help guide your studies. Try to connect them somehow.”

Parker thought for a few minutes about what made their Imperial come so easily but he couldn’t figure it out. It was just like second nature to him. He didn’t have to focus on it.

Caleb had an idea, “What if you do your studying while doing your Imperial as well? Focus on different classes while doing different things. They say connecting something you don’t like with something you do helps you remember it. So, you could focus on history while trying to hover in spot. Or studying Behind the Imperials while creating an air ball in your palm.”

“Caleb that’s genius!” Alexis shouted. Parker, out of ideas at this point, was willing to try just about anything. The rest of that night was spent with Parker trying to remember everything they’d learned so far in history while hovering in the air. He fell out of the air multiple times while trying to remember the different founders, the original Elemental Imperials.

The group went to sleep very late that night, making Parker and Alexis very tired for practice in the morning.

When they arrived to the field, the team was already there. “Is everything okay? You guys aren’t normally the last ones here.” Cassidy sounded worried. Alexis gave a big yawn before responding. “Sorry, we’re trying to help Parker get ready for the history exam.”

The third years laughed. “Oh, I guess it is exam week isn’t it?” Claire looked at Parker and said, “Don’t worry. The first exams aren’t all that tough, as long as you do a little bit of studying.”

“I don’t want to think about my classes right now. Let’s just practice please.” Parker was ready to take his mind off classes.

Practice was just as intense as any other day, maybe even a little bit more than usual with the first match approaching quickly. When it was over, Parker was dripping in sweat. The team was like a well-oiled machine at this point. They barely had to speak while on the field. Everything happened naturally between all of the players.

Exam day arrived and Parker felt no more ready than he had at the beginning of the week. They all woke up nice and early and made it down to breakfast quickly so they could study a little more while they ate.

“I just want to get to class so we can take this and be done. I want to focus on the match tonight. We’re facing The House of Leith and it’s our first time actually facing another element. We have yet to actually be around the other elements being used.” Parker looked to see how Alexis was feeling about the match that night.

“I’m really excited. You remember how to stop their blockers right?”

This was the type of stuff that came easily to Parker. Anything having to do with his Imperial was right in his wheelhouse.

They started to make their way to their first class. When they walked in, Master Keegan was the only one in the room and asked them to start filling the seats at the front.

“Are you guys ready? I’m sure you’ll pass with flying colors.” Alexis and Caleb seemed ready, however, Parker didn’t look the same. “Parker is everything okay? Do you not feel ready for this?”

Master Keegan seemed genuinely worried that Parker didn’t feel ready. “Based on what I know, you’re going to do great!”

“What do you mean, ‘based on what I know’?” The master forgot that he hadn’t gotten his chance to talk to Parker yet.

“I knew your parents Parker. They were students of mine, and they were amazing. Some of my top pupils.” Parker looked surprised. Not that his parents had been really smart, but that Master Keegan knew them.

“So they were in your history class?”

The master shook his head. “No, this is my first year instructing this class. They belonged to my house. Some of the best Fire Imperials to come through this school.” Alexis and Caleb gasped as other students began filing into the room and taking their seats.

“My parents weren’t Air Imperials?” Parker had had the feeling that this was true before but couldn’t wrap his mind around it.

“No they weren’t. I was very surprised when I found out that you were an Air Imperial instead of a Fire Imperial. That’s why I wanted to meet with you. Your parents were amazing at everything they did here. It’s no wonder you’re great at controlling your element, even if it is a different one. We can discuss them more later, for now, it’s time for your exam.”

Parker was frustrated because now on top of his exam that he wasn’t ready for, he found out he didn’t even belong to the same house as his parents. Alexis leaned over to him and said, “Apparently, it’s really uncommon for families to belong to different houses. But please don’t get hung up on that. You're going to do great on this exam!”

When everyone received their exam, you could hear the pages turning. Students began flying through the exam as Parker sat and stared at number one. “There’s no way I can pass this. The first question doesn’t even make sense. ‘Who was the first master at our school to make a difference among the students?’” He couldn’t remember that being in any of the notes he had studied.

Thinking back to all of the tricks he’d done to try and help his memory. Nothing seemed to click for him. He flipped to the next question. Parker was able to remember that one because he learned it while he was hovering in the air. The first time he thought about it he had fallen out of the air. Moving, slowly, through the questions, he was able to remember just about all of them.

Other students had finished their exam and had left. By the end of Parker’s exam, he was the only one left in the room. With just the first question left, he wrote down a random name and turned it in. “I’m sure you did great Parker! Now, go relax for a little bit before you take your next exam.”

Parker met Alexis and Caleb back in The House of Erion common room. “So, how’d it go?” Caleb was waiting to hear if his strategy helped out at all. Parker was in his own world for a brief moment.

“What?” he asked.

“How did it go?” Alexis was pressing a little. Both she and Caleb felt like they both passed easily.

“Oh, I don’t think I did too badly. I remembered a lot of them because I remember falling out of the air while thinking about them.”

Caleb’s face lit up with a large grin. “It did work! I’m glad I could help you out, at least a little.” This was the first time in days that Parker had seen a smile on Caleb’s face.

“Wait, Caleb, don’t you have one more test than us? You know, since you have that Omni class?” As if a ghost took over his body, Caleb immediately became withdrawn again. Parker and Alexis could both tell that whatever this class was, it was taking its toll on Caleb.

Alexis grabbed his hand. “I think it’s time you told us what is going on in this class. I don’t like how it’s changed you since the year started.” Caleb had a look on his face like he’d just lost an old family pet.

“I was told not to tell anyone.”

Parker looked at him, completely understanding how he felt. “Who’s going to know if you just share it with us?” Caleb thought for a minute while Parker and Alexis stared at him waiting for a response.

“Fine… but we need to find a place to talk where absolutely no one can overhear.”

“No better place than the roof,” Alexis said. They made their way out to the balcony. “Caleb you go first and then we’ll follow you up.” She could see the worry in his eyes.

“No… that’s okay… you can go first…” However, Alexis insisted greatly that Caleb go first.

He focused hard on flying to the roof. He tried to find his peace and then he spun his arms. Parker and Alexis jumped back quickly because small flames shot from Caleb’s arms. They quickly looked around to see if anyone else saw. Turning back to him, Parker whispered, “Caleb, what in the world just happened?”

Together, they raised Caleb to the roof, and then joined him. “Start talking. How can you create fire?” They couldn’t figure out what happened. Caleb looked terrified, like he was going to lose two of his only friends from school.

“Remember how the first night I was held separately from everyone else. Well, this is why. Apparently I’m not an Element Imperial. I’m what is called an Omni. I can control each of the different elements. The problem with this, right now, is that I’m not good with any one element. I’m equally bad at all of them. And I’m not good at using the correct element at the correct time. For example, the fire you just saw.”

The two stared at him, not completely understanding what he was saying. Parker said, “So, let me get this straight. You can just use whichever element you want? How is that possible?”

“Here, let me show you.” Caleb stood still, focusing his mind. He held his hand out in front of him with his palm facing the sky. A small flame appeared, the size of a candle flame, and then in a second, it was gone. Next, Parker could see a ball of air spinning quickly in his hand. He tossed it at Parker and it burst into a gust of wind that blew Parker’s hair around.

“Caleb, this is amazing. I can’t believe that you can do this!” He reached his hand out in front of him, with his hand making an “L” shape. He then pulled his hand back toward him quickly. All of the loose pebbles on the roof scurried by their feet to one side. Finally, he made a swirling motion in front of him with his hand. A small stream of water came from inside a small hole in his robe. He spun the water into a tiny ball that hovered just over his palm. Then he worked the water back into a stream and put it back where it had come from.

Parker and Alexis looked at Caleb in disbelief of what they just saw. “Caleb… I don’t even know what to say.” Parker was trying to find the words, but couldn’t.

Alexis looked at him, and gently grabbed his shoulder. “So, this is what your Omni class is? I guess the letters make sense now. Why do you seem so exhausted all of the time?”

Caleb was breathing heavily. “Well, it takes a lot of effort right now because I’m still getting used to it. It’s a different type of energy than what you use for your Imperial. You have to promise to keep this between us though!” They both promised Caleb that the secret would stay between the three of them.

The trio headed back to the common room, which was filled with all of the first years. Everyone was getting ready for the rest of their exams. Caleb left to go take his Omni exam even though he felt as ready for it as he did to walk down the dark tunnel at the subway station.

The rest of the day went by in a blur of lunch, studying and taking their exams. Parker and Alexis were also becoming distracted with the match closing in quickly. When they arrived in the common room, the majority of their housemates met them.

“Are you ready?” a bunch of the kids shouted.

They all froze in spot, not sure what was going on. “Parker, Alexis, you need to get changed! Your match starts in an hour! I can’t wait to watch you guys!” Parker recognized the voice but he hadn’t heard it in quite a while. April stepped out of the group.

Alexis shouted, “April! How have you been? I haven’t seen you since the trip here. Wait, you’re in our house? How have we not run into each other yet?”

April blushed, “Well, I’m a bit shyer than I was originally. I’m fine in small groups but when I’m around a big group, I tend to keep to myself a little more, blending in, not standing out. Enough about me though, go get changed! We’ll see you on the field.”

The common room was empty when Parker and Alexis returned in uniform. “I guess they’re already at the field,” Parker said. They made their way to field through the empty corridors. They didn’t see anyone on their trip to the match.

Alexis questioned aloud, “Does everybody go to these?” Parker shrugged his shoulders, not sure what to say to her.

They reached the door to the field and opened it. What they saw made their jaws drop. Their teammates were waiting for them at their goal. However, what amazed them was not the field but what they could see above them. All of the stands were full. It was amazing to see everyone in the school in one spot, getting ready to watch them. It was at that moment that the nerves hit the two first years.

They made their way to the team, trying not to look at the floor above them the whole way. “Hey guys! Are you ready?” Claire was so excited for the match. Parker tried to steal a look at The House of Leith team but remembered that you couldn’t see one goal from the other with the center of the castle being where it is.

Evelyn huddled the team together. “All right guys! Here’s the moment of truth. Everything we’ve done so far is for this moment. Shooters, stay light on your feet. Blockers stay vigilant and help me out. Attackers, remember how to stop their blockers from getting to our shooters. I know we can do this! Remember, the faster we score three points more than them, the quicker it’s over. That works in our favor; they prefer long matches to wear their opponents down. Break!”

The team spread out to their starting positions. The ball sat on the centerline next to Master Keegan. Alexis was shocked to see him there. “Master Keegan, why are you here?”

He turned toward her and said, “I’m your referee today. One of the four head masters is the referee for each match. And always a master of one of the teams not in the match.”

Each team took their spots on the field ready to go. Master Keegan cleared his throat and the cheering from above immediately came to a halt. “Today’s match is between The House of Leith and The House of Erion. I expect this to be a clean match. The game will end when one team is three points ahead of the other team. Are there any questions? No? All right then let’s begin!”

Gwen and The House of Leith girl approached the ball. Master Keegan took a step back and blew a whistle. Gwen rushed the ball and kicked it away from the other team. Alexis sprinted toward the ball and didn’t realize where she was. She had crossed the centerline and was met with a large ball of water that smashed into her chest knocking her flat on her back.

“So this is what Evelyn meant when she said it would be different in a match.” She got up and was more vigilant of her location.

The House of Leith was making a break for the goal. “Angela, keep going, you’re in the clear!” a player shouted at the girl running with the ball in her hand.

Finn came out of nowhere and thrust his arms directly at Angela. She dropped the ball and went rolling sideways across the field. Cassidy sprinted by and took the ball with her. Dribbling it between her feet, Alexis came up alongside her. As they neared the centerline, Parker and Clay covered their front.

An opening appeared and they took it. Sprinting from their left came a tall, lanky boy. It was Parker’s time to shine. This was his chance to show what he was made of. It was his job to make sure that the shooters could make it to the goal. He jumped in the air and spun. His arms acted as a giant propeller around him and he thrust toward the oncoming player. A burst of wind surged from Parker’s whole body. The boy was blown off of his feet and he landed in the small mote of water around the outside of the field.

Cassidy and Alexis were passing the ball back and forth, keeping the goalie on his toes. Cassidy split off to the left while Alexis went right. Clay knocked their second blocker off his feet leaving the goal open for a shot. Alexis took the ball and acted like she was going to shoot. Their goalie leapt to the right to block but instead Alexis passed the ball to Cassidy and she kicked it straight into the left side of the goal.

The crowd from above roared with applause. They could see people in shimmering white robes standing on their feet cheering. The center of the castle glowed a bright white, signaling that The House of Erion had scored a goal.

The House of Leith was given the ball at their own goal once everyone had returned to their starting positions. They maneuvered it down the field flawlessly. They dodged everything that came their way. As they crossed the centerline, Claire and Finn hopped into action. The two worked together as if they had one mind.

Passing the ball back and forth quickly was good. They slowed their speed down, making the blockers reconsider what they were going to do. Angela was the one with the ball, bouncing it around on her feet. “Brandon, be ready for the T-formation. Jessica, get ready to branch out and be open.”

Their attackers came sprinting from behind. They filed into the formation that Angela was yelling about. Angela was running in the middle of the formation, protecting the ball from Claire and Finn.

Without saying or signaling anything to one another, the blockers kicked toward the formation sending a burst of air, low across the ground sweeping the feet out from under the other team. They all toppled forward, causing the ball to pop out. It rolled toward the goal and Evelyn scooped it up, calling for a time-out.

The whistle rang again and both teams ran to their huddle. “All right guys, this is a great start,” Evelyn said. “We need to stay vigilant and keep the ball moving in the opposite direction. Blockers, those were great moves just a minute ago. Keep up the good work. Attackers, make a clearing for the shooters to move through. We can do this! Break!”

Both teams made their way to their starting locations. Evelyn passed the ball out to Alexis, who carried it down the field. Cassidy and Gwen traveled alongside her as they approached the centerline.

The House of Leith’s attackers made their way toward them to try and steal the ball. Parker stepped forward and sent a blast of air knocking the attackers to the side. The shooters sprinted forward passing the ball from one to the next and back again.

The blockers moved forward to stop them making any more progress. Parker fell back into formation and worked his way forward with Clay at his side.

All five players sprinted forward, keeping an even pace with each other. As they approached the blockers, Parker made his move just like he had before. The House of Leith player noticed quickly and took a quick side step dodging the attack. He sent a ball of water hurdling at Parker. It crashed into his chest, knocking him to the ground.

As soon as Parker landed, Clay jumped over him and hit the opponent with a blast of air that sent him spiraling across the field. The shooters sprinted forward ahead of their attackers.

Alexis shouted to Cassidy, “Quick! Break off to the left and stay open.” She turned to Gwen as they ran, “Break to the right and stay open.” Alexis continued straight down the center of the field toward the goal.

She threw a quick pass to Gwen who lobbed the ball over to Cassidy. The blockers couldn’t keep up with their movements. Cassidy launched the ball toward the goal and out of nowhere came Parker sprinting passed her. He spun through the air and sent a blast of wind from his arm at the ball. The ball rocketed past the goalie and into the back of the net.

The center column lit up bright white again, signaling another goal for The House of Erion. The team ran around giving each other high-fives. Cheering could be heard from above. The fans sitting in their glimmering blue robes didn’t seem too happy with what was happening.

“One more point guys! We can do this!” Everyone could hear Evelyn yelling from the goal.

Master Keegan dropped the ball at Angela’s feet. The whistle blew and the game commenced. Claire and Finn surged forward toward the opposing shooters. “We’ve got to stop them at all costs,” Claire yelled. Finn nodded his head and sprinted forward.

Simultaneously, they shot blasts of wind toward them. From behind them, a wall of water appeared. The wind crashed into it creating a mist that blew backwards. The shooters rushed passed Claire and Finn and had a clean break at the goal.

The shooters split up, passing the ball back and forth. The attackers were close behind while Claire and Finn were trying to catch up. Both attackers lobbed a ball of water toward Evelyn while Angela took a clean shot toward the goal. Evelyn dove to block the ball and it crashed against her chest. As the ball bounced away, a ball of water smashed into her head, knocking her straight back into the goal.

Evelyn lay in the goal, not moving. Parker and Alexis were both waiting for a whistle to blow but nothing happened. Finn quickly kicked the ball away as hard as he could. It bounced off the wall and followed the curve of the field. Cassidy was quick to pick it up and start moving across the field.

She passed the ball forward to Gwen who sprinted down the field with it tucked at her side. Alexis caught up with them just past the centerline. The blockers were sprinting at them with a stream of water following behind them.

The first stream shot forward at Cassidy and collided with her side knocking her to the ground. The House of Erion now had only two shooters running down the field toward the goal. The second stream crashed into Gwen, knocking her off of her feet and spinning across the ground. The ball shot into the air. Alexis jumped and grabbed it and sprinted forward. Parker caught up to her while Clay was keeping the blockers busy.

“You need to throw off the goalie so that I can score. I’m not sure if I can score on my own.” Parker could hear the nerves in her voice. “Don’t worry, we’ve got this!”

Parker sprinted ahead of Alexis. She had dropped the ball to the ground and was now traveling forward with the ball using her feet. Parker thought hard about what to do to help her score. He quickly spun as he was running forward, picturing a tornado in his mind.

The air around him swirled faster than it ever had. When he landed on his feet, the wind kept spinning but no longer around him. It formed its own, small tornado, directed at their goalie.

The House of Leith goalie didn’t realize what it was until too late. Crashing straight into him, the tornado spun him in place rapidly. Alexis kicked the ball gently into the goal. She was so relieved with the fact that she didn’t have to try to get it passed the goalie. Parker had done all of the hard work, making her job easy.

She ran and hugged Parker tightly. The hug lasted for a few seconds and then they broke apart, blushing. “We won!” Finn came sprinting and screaming, ecstatic at their victory. “That was awesome, Parker! When’d you learn to do that? I’ve never seen that before. We haven’t won a game three to zero in the entire time I’ve been here!”

Parker didn’t know what to tell him about the tornado. He hadn’t learned how to do it either, it just happened in the moment.

The House of Erion team was being cheered and applauded in their common room. The whole house was there, except for Evelyn who was in the Medical Ward. Everyone was screaming about the victory.

Parker and Alexis managed to sneak off to the balcony while everyone in the common room was still cheering.

“That was amazing. I’m so glad Master Sora suggested we try that.” Alexis was giddy over their experience.

“I know what you mean. I can’t wait until our next match. Who’s it against again?”

Parker could see the nerves wash over her face. “We face The House of Kenna next. I overheard some of the kids from The House of Kenna talking during history. They were saying that their team was crazy good this year. Extremely aggressive, and good at moving the ball around. So, we’ll have to move quickly and end the match fast so no one gets hurt.”

They both started thinking of different strategies for their next match. The sun set across the lake, the moon and stars lighting the sky. The view from outside of the castle at night was mesmerizing. If you weren’t careful, you could find yourself out there for hours just staring into the sky.

The castle gave off very little light, making the sky glow magnificently. Millions of stars could be seen among the galaxy. “Well, I’ll see you in the morning Lex,” Parker said this and immediately started to blush. Alexis let out a little laugh, blushed and said good night.

Parker mumbled to himself about calling her Lex. He couldn’t believe he had done that. “Does she think I like her now? I’ve never called her by a nickname before. Is that even a nickname she goes by? What was I thinking?”

Crawling into bed, thoughts racing through his head, Parker was ready to crash for the night. He lay with his head sunk in his pillow, but couldn’t sleep. Thoughts of Alexis kept running amok in his mind. It wasn’t for hours before Parker finally dozed off.