"Okay, sit down, breathe, and clear your head," Dad said.

"Seriously dad, we're going to meditate?!"

"It's not meditation!"

"Well, that's what it seems like!"

"Well, that's what it seems like." Dad mocks.

"Just do it!"

"Fine, fine." I huffed.

I clear my head and breathe. I let the sound of our breathing calm me.

"Talk to the elements, let them guide you."

I open up and listen to the whispers of the wind. The winds seemed to giggle in anticipation. I heard several clinks and opened my eyes to see that my father placed five bowls in front of me. They each had a symbol: Water, Wind, Fire, Earth, and Spirit.

"You can't force the elements. You have to ask them for control."

I talked to the elements; each of them excited to see what would happen next. I grew frustrated when nothing happened. Just as I was about to give up the spells flowed into me. I smiled as my mouth began forming the words effortlessly.

As I finished spirits incantation, I felt a fraction of my magic leave me I opened my eyes; only to be rendered speechless. Water flowed in a circular motion, fires playful flames flickered relentlessly, roots sprouted from the ground and curled around its bowl, and spirit seemed to be orbs of me and dad's magic. Which I guess made sense, since our magic was, for lack of better term laced into our souls or spirits.

The only one that didn't seem to manifest was air. I guess dad noticed my pout.

"Don't worry about it, Nessa."

"You did amazing for your first time. It's just hard for wind to stay in one place for a long period of time. It's going to need a little more convincing." Dad smiled down at me.

I took my time coaxing the wind. It thumped excitedly as I asked it to come and play with me. The wind swirled as it flowed into the bowl; picking up grains of dirt and strips of grass as it did.

"You, baby girl, have just excelled in controlling your magic and the elements. Obviously, there's a lot more we can do to help hone and train your magic but you're pretty much got the basics down."

I jumped up and grabbed my dad in a tight hug.

" I love you, daddy."

"I love you too, baby girl."

"You did a good job, love. If you just continue practicing you won't have a problem."

The following week was just a stream of unfortunate mishaps. It was official; Bianca had it out for me. It was only lunch and she had managed to already spill her low-fat mocha on my white shirt, trip me; effectively ripping my pants, and got a wad of gum stuck in my hair.

Thankfully magic saved me every time. Thank God, for that too, cuz' it pissed her off every time I came out fine. I filled in Mrs. H in on the mocha incident and told her I was feeling sticky; she informed me that I could take the time to shower before coming to Gym.

I rarely ever feel comfortable enough to take showers at school; I mean who does, but today was an exception. I grabbed a towel and some liquid soap as I made my way to a shower in the corner of the locker room. I lathered up and sighed in content as the icky feeling was swept away by the water.

I walked up to my locker and closed it just as quickly as I opened it. I rubbed my eyes and opened my locker once again, to see that I was right. The damned bitch had stolen my clothes! Okay, spells! Damn, I can't remember any good spells! The only one I could remember was an illusion. It only made it seem like you were wearing clothes. I whispered the spell and walked out of the locker room feeling thoroughly embarrassed.

The good news is that I officially love Mrs. H. She told me I looked a little feverish and that I could sit out today. Dylan looked hurt by the distance I was keeping from him, and it nearly broke my heart, but if he touched me I don't know how I would react. Especially since he would actually be making skin to skin contact. That would rouse questions that I'm not prepared to answer yet.