Burning Hope

Chapter 18: The Tale of Hazuki Omori

Vistra is the traditional language of dragons, and the official language of Sciana. The class itself was as boring as watching paint dry but the language itself was extremely cool. At least, it sounded cool. I had no idea what anyone was saying, which may have been due to the fact that I transferred to this school a month before summer break. The teacher pulled me aside while my fellow peers talked about their weekend and told me that I didn't have to worry about passing this class. As long as I participated, the teacher told me that I'd get an easy A.

By the time the bell had rung, I'd only learned two phrases in Vistra. "E vorx Scarlett" means I am Scarlett, and "Rayen la" meant hello.

Kallan walked up to me and tapped my shoulder to get my attention. "Which class do you have next?"

"None." I replied. "I have to wait for Hazu. I have training with her today."

"Oh. Do you want me to go get her for you?"

"She's here?" I asked.

Kallan ignored my question and walked over to one of the desks. Sure enough, Hazu was seated down, sketching in a notebook with a look of concentration on her face. I followed close behind Kallan. I looked over Hazu's shoulder. She was drawing two cuddling dragons. One looked a lot like Hydronia, except younger and with blue eyes, and the other was white with horns that looked like miniature trees in bloom. The detail was amazing. You could almost feel the sense of contentment that the two dragons shared between each other.

"That's really pretty, Hazu." Kallan praised.

Hazu whipped her head around. Once she saw Kallan, her face flushed beet red and she shut the notebook closed. "K-Kallan-senpai!" She stuttered, trying to shove her things into her backpack as quick as possible. "It's n-nice to see you."

"Why'd you put your sketchbooks away?" Kallan asked. "You shouldn't be ashamed of your drawings. They're really good."

Hazu shoved her folder in her backpack and slung it over her shoulder. I tried to warn her that in her haste, she had forgotten to zip it shut and put it on upside down, but not before all of the contents came tumbling out. I rushed to try and help her, but Kallan beat me to it. Hazu blushed deeper as she frantically tried to collect all of her pens and pencils. As the two girls reached for a cell phone, their hands brushed, causing Hazu to squeal and dart her hand back. She hid her face behind her arms, refusing to meet Kallan's gaze.

"I'm sorry that I startled you." Kallan apologized. She handed the green iPhone to the pink-haired Japanese girl. "Here you go."

Hazu tentatively took the phone from Kallan's hands, as if disaster might occur if she made physical contact with her fellow student. Hazu took the phone and placed it in a pocket concealed within the folds of her pleated skirt. This time, she zipped her backpack shut once she had put away all of its contents.

I sensed something familiar about Hazu's reaction. I had a feeling that there was more to it than just her regular shyness.

"So I heard you're training Scarlett today." Kallan said, a smile on her face.

Hazu looked down at her feet and nodded.

Kallan's smile evolved into a frown. "Well, I hope you two have fun. Hey Hazu, are you going to come to my softball game on Saturday?"

Hazu began nervously playing with her braid. "Well, I-I have therapy with J-Jian that day, and then I have a big project I need to work on for E-Elements, and then I—"

"Oh, okay." Came Kallan, looking defeated. "I didn't know you were so busy. There's another game Monday if you want to watch that one. I hope you get done with all of your work." She walked off and waved goodbye.