Chapter 13: Olana's Class

"Alex, do you want to come to the library with me to write an apology letter to Klaus?" Jiten asked.

Alex had already forgotten about it and sighed, but eventually agreed. They both went to the library, which was a spacious and quiet room with wooden shelves and plenty of books. Alex was a bit lost because he had never written an apology letter before. Jiten noticed his friend's confusion and helped him. For some reason, Jiten was very experienced in writing apology letters.

After a while, they heard the bell that signaled the end of classes. "Jiten, can you see if you can find someone in our class who has notes on today's lesson?" Alex asked.

"My dear Alex, do you know who you're talking to? I could make those potions from today's class when I was four years old," Jiten replied.

Alex laughed at his friend's comment and said, "Alright, potion master, I'm heading to Olana's class now."

Upon hearing this, Jiten replied, "Oh, right. I momentarily forgot that you are an elemental heir."

Alex heard this and responded, "I wish more people were like you."

Trying to find Olana's classroom was a challenge. Everyone was running out of their classrooms after a tiring day. After a while, Alex saw Samantha, Emily, and Max standing at the door of Olana's class chatting.

When Emily spotted Alex, she beamed and called out to him, "Hey Alex! How did your class go?"

Alex, scratching the back of his head, replied with a somber tone, "Not so great. I made a new friend, but it didn't end well. I got kicked out of the classroom."

Samantha, upon hearing this, gave him a judgmental look, but Max intervened with a friendly gesture, placing his hand on Alex's shoulder and advising him, "Remember, Alex, you need to set a good example in class. You never know where you'll end up in the future."

Before Alex could speak, Emily jumped in, "Hold on a minute, guys. You can't judge Alex without knowing what really happened. What's the real story, Alex?"

Alex smiled and began recounting the incident. "So, I walked into class and smelled this horrible odor. I looked under the desk, and there was Jiten, holding two bottles and pouring out some stinky stuff. He then asked me for a spoonful of 'moon powder', but I had no clue what that was, so I ended up giving him salt instead. When he mixed it, it caused an explosion, and the whole room reeked. The teacher kicked me and Jiten out of the classroom and made us write a one-page apology."

Emily chuckled at the story, but warned Alex, "Be careful next time, Alex. You don't want anything worse to happen."

Max added, "And watch out for Jiten. His father is John Feller, a crazy scientist with a bad reputation."

Alex appreciated the concern but defended his new friend, "Thanks, guys, but Jiten is a good person. He even tried to defend me when we got in trouble."

Curious as ever, Emily asked, "But why was he making a potion under the table?"

Alex explained, "he told me he hears weird noises near his house at night. But he doesn't complain because he thinks it's coming from the church facilities."

Emily's face lit up, "Wow, investigating sounds like a great idea!" exclaimed Emily with enthusiasm. Before Alex could reply, Samantha turned to the newly arrived Olana and greeted her with a warm smile, saying "It's lovely to meet you, Lady Olana. My name is Samantha."

Olana returned Samantha's smile and replied graciously, "The pleasure is mine, Samantha. Shall we head inside now?" The group nodded in agreement and followed Olana into the classroom.

The classroom was spacious, with four individual desks lined up side by side. As the four students entered the room, their teacher, Olana, instructed them to take a seat in a specific order. "Please sit in this order," she said, "Max, Samantha, Emily, and Alex."

The students quickly obeyed, but Emily couldn't help but wonder why they were sitting in that order. "Excuse me, why did you seat us in this order?" she asked Olana.

The teacher smiled and replied, "It's to separate friends. I heard someone likes to talk during class." She looked at Alex as she said this, and Emily couldn't help but feel a pang of guilt for all the times she had chatted with Alex during class.

"Hello and welcome to the class of elemental studies," Olana continued. "As it's not necessary to take attendance because it's just you four, I'll start by saying that in this class, you'll try to deepen your relationship with your elemental power. As the first exercise, I'll give each of you an object that belonged to the ancient heroes. After receiving the object, close your eyes and try to make contact with the element."

The students eagerly awaited their objects, and Olana began distributing them. Max received a small golden vase with soil, Samantha was given a gold basin filled with water, and Emily received a bracelet with a small feather. When it was Alex's turn, Olana gave him a wooden stick with a burned tip.

"Sorry, Alex," Olana apologized, "unlike them, the hero of fire didn't leave any treasure behind, and if he did, no one knows where it is. But I'm giving you this stick because I believe you can still connect with the element of fire!"

The students all closed their eyes, eager to make contact with their elemental power. However, after an hour, no one had achieved any results. Two hours passed, and still, nothing had happened. Frustration began to set in, but Alex refused to give up.

He remembered a conversation he had with Emily in the cafeteria, where she mentioned he had defeated a Tera with the element of fire. He closed his eyes once more and tried to remember the feeling he had that night. Suddenly, he felt an unbearable heat, and in his mind's eye, he saw mountains full of fire. In the midst of those mountains, a hooded man stood, and as Alex approached, the heat intensified.

The hooded man was someone Alex recognized from his dreams when he was in a coma. As he got closer, the person looked at him, and at that moment, Alex saw red eyes under the hood looking at him, and he got scared. Gasping for breath, Alex opened his eyes, and everyone was looking at him with a shocked expression.

Before Alex could recover, he looked at his hand, and all that remained of the stick was ashes. Olana clapped and said, "Excellent, Alex! Congratulations on not only being able to communicate with the element but also using it."

Emily was also thrilled, proud, and shocked at Alex's performance. The only one not in the best mental state was Max. After years of help and lessons from Olana, the best he could do was a small branch, while Alex burned a stick to ashes in his first class. The only thought in Max's mind was 'monster.'

"You did it, Alex!" Emily exclaimed, beaming at him. "I knew you could do it!"

Alex smiled, feeling proud of himself for the first time in a long time. "Thanks, Emily. I couldn't have done it without you."

Emily blushed and responded, "You're welcome," with a red face.