Wind bending

No student in the academy dared to talk back to him. He was strong enough to toss you as far as you could see, on top of being a great bendor after all. Plus, his temper did nothing to help with his popularity. "Professor I-" Silver began, but closed her mouth upon receiving a glare from Professor Pockett.

"If it was anyone else, Professor Pockett would have given them a month of punishment. Silver is so cocky because he favors her." Gared whispered to Aria as he led her to the back of the class, claiming there was an empty seat with his friends. "Professor Pockett favors someone? That's hard to believe." Aria giggled as she sat down. Turning to Gared, she added, "I had no idea you took wind bending."

Gared shrugged, "I do." "Zach and the others don't really like practicing bending, so it's no wonder you didn't know." he added, turning to look at Professor Pockett. Aria nodded as she turned to look at the Professor too, but her mind was not in the class. Gared had mentioned Zach and his friend, who, once upon a time, had been her friends too. But then a lot had happened with Stephen and Harper and Bella, and Zach still blamed her for everything.

Professor Pockett was demonstrating how to levitate yourself in the air and how you could bend the wind to complement the force of gravity and the wind pressure, so that they would help you stay in the air, not fight it.

"Are we learning to fly?" Aria quietly whispered to Gared, who nodded back, taking notes of what Professor Pockett was saying. Aria allowed herself a small smile before turning back her attention to focus in class. She would easily be able to pass, she had been flying ever since she was seven.

The class was a practical one and Professor Pockett took the students out after doing some explaining. He asked everyone to float six inches in the air and keep their balance, walking among the students and pointing out mistakes.

Aria, of course was the star of the class, as everyone knew she would be. She had flown to the castle roof on her first day here after all.

"You are so good at flying! Think you would be able to give me some pointers?" Gared asked as they walked back to the classroom to pick up their books and other things. Aria planted a finger under her chin as she thought about it. "I don't really have any pointers now, I guess. I'll think about things that help with wind bending and let you know though." she said. She had been flying for so long that it was like second nature to her now, but she understood how difficult it was to learn to fly. She still remembered all the times she had landed on her buttocks every time her concentration had faltered.

"So, how was the first day of classes after a while?" Jacob asked as the four sat down to have dinner. The boys had decided to join her and Helen for lunch and dinner today. It was nice, being able to eat with everyone else. Aria shrugged as she blew on hot soup.