20 Board Breaking

Waze rolled over in bed again, hugging her pillow closer. She'd been tossing and turning for the past hour or so, thinking about what had happened earlier. She'd thought a lot about her talk with Alec on her way home. At some point, she seemed to accept her fear, and start to let go of it. She had felt so at peace at the time, she hadn't noticed the energy radiating off of her until a moment before it disappeared. Had she used her power? Obviously she hadn't fought anyone, but that didn't mean she couldn't use it normally. She had felt the same warmth that her power usually brought, but it wasn't as fierce as it had been the first two times she used it. This time it was... softer. Rather than drowning in flames, Waze had been engulfed in a bright glow. This was a start, though! If she could manage to control her power enough to bring it out as she had earlier, that was progress. Eventually, she would be able to fully use it. Waze wasn't quite sure what to do at first. Should she go running to Norris or Abbus? Should she text her teammates? At some point she decided to just wait until the next day to tell people about her momentary experience with the power. She was going to have to tell Norris about her run-in with the god, too. If she didn't already know. Waze was excited, though. She had finally accessed her power without going completely overboard. And she felt great. Waze knew she needed to get some sleep though, she had school and then another intense day of training after that. She rolled over again and snuggled deeper into her blankets. She would think about it more in the morning. For now, sleep. Slowly but surely, Waze felt herself drift away to her dreams.

----

That sound of her alarm blared out, but it sounded less harsh today. Waze flung her hand around on the floor for a bit until she found her alarm clock. Clicking it off, she rolled out of bed. She was in a good mood today. She had a lot to talk to Norris about, and Waze was hoping she could make real progress in ability training today. Perhaps she could even use her power for once.

Waze glided through her morning routine, then said a quick goodbye to her mother. So quick, her mother only had enough time to say goodbye before Waze was out the door. Hey, Josh couldn't talk if he didn't have a chance to.

School was easy as usual. No one gave her trouble, so she skated through her day easily. She felt bouncy and light. Waze had the feeling that today would be the day she finally made progress with her ability. Never mind the prolonged stares and whispers of her classmates. She really didn't care right then.

After school, Waze practically skipped into the tea shop. She opened the back door into the training room, practically glowing already.

"Oy oy, you're late!" Duke gave her a playful scowl before his expression widened slightly. Everyone else had similar expressions as they looked at Waze with mild surprise.

"You seem like you're in a good mood." Marco's face was painted with curiosity at her bouncy demeanor. He seemed to be completely ignoring what had happened yesterday. Waze was fine with that.

"I am! A lot happened yesterday, I guess. Anyway, I'm late because I bought everyone drinks. Here, I got your favorites." Waze opened the plastic bag she had hanging at her side and handed out the variety of sodas and drinks to her friends.

"You're a true friend, Waze. A truly true friend." Duke slapped her on her back as he spoke, and Waze practically choked from the strength.

"Thanks, darling! You're the best!" Michelle winked at her before taking a long sip of her cherry root beer. It was in a bottle, just how she liked it. Marco, Cassidy, and Sable gave similar mutters of appreciation and they all enjoyed their drinks for a bit before Norris scolded them to start working out.

Waze coasted through training. It was so easy today. She felt energized, like she could do anything. She hadn't been in this good of a mood in a while. Eventually, it came time for ability training.

Waze sat down on her mat like usual. She had decided to see if she could draw out the power once more instead of blabbing about the glow she had seen last night. Waze slowly sunk into the mat.

She had been scared. She had been afraid. While she was reaching for the power, she had really been running away. But not anymore. She had people around her who would support her, who believed in her. She was worthy of this power, and she could handle it. Slowly, warmth ebbed through her body. This time, Waze accepted it, and let herself become enveloped in it. She could feel it now, all around her. The energy seeping through her bones, the flames surrounding her. Waze slowly rose from her position, struggling to keep a handle on her power. If she could just hold on a little longer...

Waze slowly pulled off her blindfold and headphones to see everyone staring at her with awe. She looked down to see the power swirling around her, just as she had felt. She did it. She did it! She really did it! She was controlling her power. Waze could feel it starting to flicker out, but she wanted to use it first. Without going overboard and destroying her body. She rose slowly from her sitting position and walked to the center of the room.

"Sable, can you toss me one of those boards?" Waze gestured to the wooden boards on the wall. They used them for practicing ability strength, but Waze had never been able to break them without a gift. But now, as the board came soaring through the air, it seemed to come in slow motion. It was like the first time she had used her ability, when she had seen James's projectile slicing through the air. Waze moved quickly, it must have been incredibly fast to the normal eye. She slid her leg back and concentrated all her energy into her left foot. She snapped her leg up as it made contact with the wood. The board shattered into pieces.