Wednesday Briefs: The Waterlord Prequel part 14

    

Part 14 

 “Shut up, I’m fine. A…splinter.” Nathan looked at his finger for a moment before returning his hands to his pockets. He glared at Tom again as if daring him to say anything, and when the younger boy didn’t, he turned back down the hall. “C’mon, we’re almost at the end of this place. I think there’s a door up ahead.”

Nathan resumed walking, faster this time. Tom kept his hands away from the wall as he followed. How had Nathan gotten a splinter in the short time he had touched the wall? The wood was too smooth for that. He decided, though, that he would make an effort to be less annoying. Nathan seemed unhappy down here, which was odd considering it had been his idea to come down. Sure, the makeup of the ship was a little strange, but it was nothing menacing.

    Soon enough, Tom spied a door ahead, and Nathan almost ran to it before suddenly slowing. He peered at the wood and the handle for a moment before turning to Tom. “You open it.” It was a weird command, but Tom shrugged and put a hand on it.   

    It was almost cold beneath his hand. “Wow! Look, Nathan-its metal! On a door handle!” His hand glided over it, impossibly smooth.

 Nathan just rolled his eyes and walked through the door. On the other side, rows of doors stretched down a long hallway. Tom figured they must be where people lived.

   “Think they’ll be unlocked?” Nathan asked, grinning mischievously.

   Tom had an idea of what Nathan wanted, but hoped he was wrong, turning to him with wide eyes. “You’re not going to steal, are you!?” He had not thought his sometimes aggressive friend was capable of that. And from a different lord’s ship…

     “Of course not.” Nathan snapped. “I just wanna look around; see how people’s houses here differ from ours.” Tom figured that made sense, and then wondered if he had left his door unlocked back on Ruthen’s ship. Were people from this ship looking through his room? He hoped not, and then wondered if they were even allowed.

     Nathan crept down the hall and tried a few doors, and the click of one opening startled Tom from his thoughts. Nathan grinned at him and then disappeared inside. Tom’s stomach turned as he followed.

  Nathan had vanished somewhere into the other connected living areas, but Tom was struck by the differences he found. The room was huge, dwarfing Tom’s. Numerous shelves lined the wall, and small wooden carvings sat on a table that shone with the same glossy wood as the wooden floors outside. Fresh air flowed in from a door leading out onto a personal deck. Tom stepped through it, feeling less like an intruder once he left the room. He hoped Nathan wasn’t messing stuff up.

  Once outside, he felt much calmer. These small personal decks were much lower than the main ones, and attributed to the ribbed appearance of Auros’s ship. Tom could hear the waves lapping against the ship much louder on this small deck than he ever could on Ruthen’s. It was very nice here. Tom wished that his small, cramped room had something like this attached to it. The waves lulled him, and he imagined he could sense them without looking at or hearing them.

    Something banged from inside, and Tom jumped. What was Nathan doing? He poked his head back inside the doors, only to see that the door leading into the room from the hall of the ship had been thrown open. A girl had walked inside, followed by a shorter boy. Both had brown hair and mean looking eyes, the girl rather stocky looking. Tom immediately knew he should not have come in here, and tried to hide behind the deck door.

 “Who’s here!?” the girl yelled. Tom hoped Nathan had hid. The girl wasn’t tall, but she looked big and strong.

    No such luck, apparently. He heard Nathan’s sandaled feet, and Tom could imagine his swagger, even in a place where by all rights he should not be. “Hey, your door was unlocked, so I just figured we could explore the room.” Tom’s heart dropped into his chest. Why had he said we!? He heard another boom as something fell, and figured that one of the two had probably started looking for him.

   “You think we’ll believe that?” Tom frowned, risking a peek from behind the door. Nathan stood alone by the entrance to one of the halls, his hands in his pockets once again. His usual smirk was gone. The girl had her hands in fists, the other boy at her back, and Tom knew that something bad was going to happen.

 Nathan took his hands out of his pockets, but before he could so much as make a fist the girl tackled him. Nathan was quite a bit taller, but the girl obviously weighed more, and Nathan staggered. She had his arms behind his back in a moment, and then the other boy jumped in.

   Tom had no idea what happened, but the girl forced Nathan to stand up straight as the boy put his palm on Nathan’s chest. He didn’t see what the boy did, exactly, but Nathan shuddered at the contact, and as the girl let him go he collapsed to the floor, retching. Tom hid again behind the door, shaking with fear. He knew he should run, but he couldn’t, and who knew what they do to Nathan now? He didn’t want to leave him here if he was so hurt, even if there was nothing Tom could do to help.

   “Where’s the other one?!” The boy shouted, talking for the first time. Nathan groaned.

New Cover!

Check out the cover for The Storm Lords, coming out August 8th!

The heat took everything from Rowen: his parents, his voice when the local cure for heat stroke poisoned him, and the trust of his fellow villagers, who branded him a water thief. It would have claimed his life when he was deemed unworthy of precious resources and left in the sun to die, had not a strange man named Kristoff ridden in on the wind and told Rowen he had power.

Rowen works hard to become a Storm Lord, one of a secret magical group who bring storms to break the heat waves overtaking their world. But Rowen is starting his training at a disadvantage since he cannot speak and is much older than the other novices. The desire to please Kristoff inspires him to persevere even more than the threat of being sent back to his village to die should he fail. Still, he cannot gather rain, and when his abilities manifest, they are unlike anything known to the Storm Lords. Unless Kristoff can help him control his deadly powers, the entire world will be in danger.

Kristoff might be among the mightiest of the Storm Lords, but he’s never been a mentor before. For a chance to be with Rowen, he’s willing to risk everything.

Wednesday Briefs: The Waterlord part 13

Part 13

     

“Good job crossing, Tom.” Tom smiled at the navigator. It felt nice to have someone he knew officiating in a strange place, even if it wasn’t his favorite person in the world.

      “Yeah, not bad for freezing up. I thought you’d delay me.” Tom turned to see Nathan hopping off the bridge after him, having crossed it quickly. The navigator snorted derisively, but Nathan ignored her. “C’mon, we have a lot of exploring to do.” He set off onto the deck, and Tom began to trail after him. He thought it odd that Nathan was so disrespectful to a teacher, but decided it wasn't worth fretting over.

     Tom looked around to see if he knew anyone. He knew that he and Nathan couldn’t be the only ones exploring the foreign ship, and knowing where other people were that he could meet up with would be comforting. Nathan walked too fast, though, and Tom had to abandon his search to keep up. What was he in such a rush for?

     “Hey, wait up!” Tom ran to catch up to the blond.

 Nathan turned in exasperation. “Hurry up, then! We have a lot to see!”

Tom frowned. How could they see anything when they didn’t even stop to look?

 Tom hadn’t known until now the difference longer legs could make when walking the length of a deck. It was just another thing that irritated him about Nathan sometimes, even though it wasn’t truthfully Nathan’s fault.

     “Where are we going!?” Tom yelled ahead.

 Nathan didn’t slow, but yelled casually over his shoulder. “How should I know? I’m just looking for something interesting.” Tom could sense Nathan’s grin.

He had to admit it was strange, though. Nathan seemed as if he knew where he was going, despite his denial. How could he, if he had never visited the ship before? Did someone describe it to him?

    While Tom pondered this, Nathan came to a dead stop, Tom almost running into him. He had stopped by a staircase that led straight down to an area below decks, an architectural feature that Ruthen’s ship did not share. Tom craned his neck to try and look down. He wasn’t sure if he wanted to below just yet; he hadn’t seen everything on deck. More accurately, he hadn’t seen anything on deck, due to Nathan’s impatience.

    Typically, though, Nathan didn’t give him a chance to voice his displeasure. “C’mon, let’s go.” He practically shoved Tom down the narrow stairs, following after him to almost force him to walk down.  Tom did so, though not without a bit of resentment. He vowed to explore the ship on his own later on, when Nathan wasn’t around to be annoying. Why did Nathan want Tom to come with him anyway? Nathan could be nice if he wanted to, but sometimes Tom felt weird around him. Nathan was such a jerk sometimes, and when he wasn’t he was…confusing.

     Tom was so focused on his thoughts that he didn’t notice the two missing steps at the bottom of the stair case. “Watch it!” He heard Nathan yell at the last second, but too late, and Tom fell. He managed to keep himself from face planting, but he hit his knees painfully on the wood of the floor. He stared at the planks for a moment, his eyes tearing. It was glossy and well finished, but it didn’t seem fire forged. He could barely see the grains it was made of. How odd…

     “Are you okay?” Nathan grabbed his arm and hauled him up, interrupting his study of the floor. “You didn’t hit your head, stop looking moronic.”

 Tom forgot about the odd floor, pulling away from the older boy. “I’m not moronic! Why did you shove me down the stairs anyway?!”

     Nathan looked at the wooden ceiling above them and sighed. “I didn’t shove you. You fell. Now let’s go, as long as you can keep from falling on your face again.” With that, he walked off down the dimly lit hall. The oil lamps weren’t as strong as on Ruthen’s ship.

    “I didn’t fall on my face!” Tom shouted, running after him.

      Nathan didn’t respond. The interior of the ship was very different from Ruthen’s. Tom ran his hand along the wall as he walked, and was surprised at the smoothness. If he had done the same on Ruthen’s ship, he likely would have ended up with nasty splinters.

     Nathan walked ahead in a slouch, his hands in his pockets. If Tom didn’t know any better, he would say Nathan was nervous. About what, though? Tom smiled and ran up to him. It served Nathan right for trying to control everything.

     “What’s wrong? It was your idea to come down here.” As he ran to Nathan’s side, Tom’s flimsy sandals clacked on the floor. Another odd effect of the wood, he guessed.

     “Nothing’s wrong!” Nathan snapped, straightening. “Don’t be idiotic!” He walked faster, ahead of Tom, who shrugged his shoulders and followed. Nathan was definitely uneasy, but Tom had no idea why. He continued running his hand along the wood, and tried to dig his nails into it. It didn’t work, it was too slippery. Tom decided that whatever wood Auros used to design his ships was cool. Dragging his nails along the wood made a funny scratchy noise, and Tom grinned at the sound, his sore knees forgotten.

     “Would you STOP THAT!?” Nathan whirled around to face Tom, his yell echoing down the lengthy corridor. Tom jumped and backed up against the wall, and Nathan advanced on him angrily. “Do you have any idea how annoying-DAMNIT!” Nathan had put his hand on the wall in an attempt to force Tom to back up, and now he pulled it back as if burned. He shook it, cursing, and Tom darted out of the way. Nathan looked like he wanted to punch somebody.

    “Um…are you okay?” How could Nathan possibly hurt his hand leaning on a wall for a half second?”

Wednesday Briefs: The Waterlord Prequel part 12

 Part 12

The air froze his every breath, but the clouds formed were beautiful. The white plain stretched out before him, untouched by wood, and he realized he wasn’t on a ship. He wanted to float, but the ground-was it ground?-remained hard under his feet. He stood  above a freezing, foreign world, and yet he was entombed in it. It was too quiet, too still, and strangest of all, there was water everywhere and yet none….

         Tom heard his door creaking, and then a flurry of knocking. He rolled over in bed, trying to ignore it. It was warm in bed…

     “Tom, get up, damnit! It’s already noon! ” Tom groaned and snuggled further into his blankets. The person pounding his door outside was obviously Nathan, and Tom didn’t want to deal with him right now. It was rest day; what was Nathan bothering him for? Usually the older boy slept longer than he did. Tom almost fell back to sleep until the banging started again.

      “TOM!” You’d better not be sick again!” Nathan’s voice rose in volume. Tom rolled over, facing the door.

      “I’m not…g’way!” He buried his head under his pillow.

     “Fine…I guess I’ll have to explore Auros’s ship by myself.”

       Tom shot out of bed at that, running to the door and wrenching it open. “What?!”

Nathan laughed, his eyes roaming over Tom’s frame. The younger boy realized he was still in his pajamas, and blushed, but that didn’t matter now. “What about Auros’s ship!?”

      

 Nathan paused. “Well, the festivities start tomorrow…but the ship came today, in preparation, I suppose. They just started letting us explore it, after the captains met.” He raised his eyebrows.

 “Let’s go!” Tom raced back into his room, not bothering to anchor the door or wait for Nathan’s response, and quickly changed into clothes. When he turned back to his door, Nathan was leaning in the frame, having caught the door. Tom raced past Nathan into the hall, looking for any signs that festivities had begun. He could see none until he got to the deck.

     Instead of the typical endless blue of the sky on the ocean, a gigantic ship filled the skyline. Tom stopped dead and stared, trying to take it all in.

     The ship was about as large as Ruthen’s, but it had ribbed hulls, and the back was narrower. The lining of the sails was also a different color, a much darker orange versus the bright red that adorned all of Ruthen’s ships. The wind blew, and the foreign flag danced in the mast. It was an orange leaf on white, whereas the one that flew on Tom’s home ship was a fiery tree. They rarely flew the flag, only on holidays and when meeting other ships, though this was the first time in Tom’s memory that the latter had occurred. A narrow wooden bridge spanned the two ships, though there was a rope ladder on the side of Auros’s for those who opted to swim rather than risk crossing it. Tom figured that their ship probably had one too, though he couldn’t see it now.

     “Nice, huh?” Nathan had walked up behind him, Tom being too absorbed in the view of the ship to bother turning around. His annoyance with Nathan the night before was temporarily forgotten.

      “How do we get onto it? That bridge?” Tom could see a person on each side of the bridge, probably making sure that traffic was kept under control. The bridge looked flimsy, basically only a plank of wood, and Tom could see why their presence was necessary. It didn’t stop him from wanting to cross immediately, though.

      “Well, obviously…You have to ask, though. They’re monitoring the crossings.” Tom moved toward the area of the ship where the bridge was anchored. He heard Nathan greet someone, and wondered briefly who it was while he walked closer to the bridge, before being intercepted by the woman who was monitoring it. She held a sheaf of palm paper in her hand.

     “Where are you going?” Tom couldn’t remember seeing her anywhere, and he wondered if she was an official from Auros’s ship.

      “I was going to see the…Auros’s ship. We’re allowed, right?” Tom hoped it wouldn’t be a problem.

      “I don’t see why not. You’re awfully young, though.” Tom frowned at that. He was 13, not that young. “Where are your parents?”

       “You need parents?” Tom’s face fell. If he needed some kind of guardian to get on the ship, he couldn’t visit it! He would miss another opportunity, like seeing Ruthen’s island.

       The official frowned. “Don’t you have foster parents, at least?”

      “No…I live alone. I can still see it, though, right? I won’t cause any trouble.”

      The woman muttered to herself about “strange foreign customs” and made a mark on her papers before turning back to him. “I don’t see an official problem with it. Be careful, though. And cross slowly, or you’ll be swimming.” She waved him on.

        Tom grinned and hopped up on the bridge. It was rather thin, but it seemed solid enough. He began to run across, and then stopped dead when a gust of wind hit him. For a moment he stood paralyzed. It wasn’t that he was afraid of the water, but it was a long fall. He turned back to the side he had come from, the wind whistling in his ears.  

      He saw Nathan then, who was waving to him. He was probably yelling at him to hurry up. Tom swallowed hard, and looked ahead to Auros’s ship. It wasn’t that far…

     Suddenly, the whistling stopped as the wind seemed to die. Tom looked around, taking his chance and racing ahead to the end of the bridge. He jumped off onto Auros’s deck and felt stupid once he looked back. The bridge wasn’t that long at all, and it wasn’t that high. He shook off his fear. He wouldn’t let himself freeze up on the way back, wind or no wind.

Wednesday Briefs: The Waterlord Prequel part 11

Part11

               Nathan stood on the deck, completely absorbed in whatever he was doing, which didn’t appear to be anything but looking at the sky. Tom felt a strange kinship for a second. Hadn’t that been what he was doing only a moment before?

 He shook it off quickly, though. Nathan didn’t seem interested in the rain as much as the horizon itself. Tom didn’t have any idea how Nathan could see anything, but his gaze still remained fixed far ahead.

              Tom was trying to decide if he should call out to him when heard a shriek in his ear, and he yelped in high-pitched fear.

             Tom whirled around as an albatross flew into the sky, and soon out of sight. He gasped, catching his breath and trying to slow his heartbeat. He soon realized that Nathan was smirking at him.

               “Nice, Tom. Real mature, to be scared of a bird.” Nathan laughed.

               “N-not my fault! Where did it even come from?” Birds didn’t fly at night!

              Nathan sauntered over and patted Tom condescendingly on the shoulder, much to his further embarrassment. “It’s alright, Tom. I don’t think the bird will hurt you.” Sarcasm laced his words, and Tom pulled away.

              “I know that!” Unfortunately, Tom couldn’t think of any further comebacks.

              Nathan rolled his eyes, holding out his hand. Then he frowned. “Damn, what the hell?” Tom looked at him strangely. It had begun to rain harder, but Tom didn’t think it anything to be concerned about. It suited his mood well.

   Nathan frowned, looking down at him. “C’mon then, let’s go inside. The rain is awful anyway.” Tom didn’t agree at all, but he headed inside, stepping down the stairs. He wasn’t even sure why he had gone out in the first place. The rain was pretty, he supposed.

             Nathan jumped down the rest of the stairs, appearing next to Tom’s shoulder. Tom’s annoyance grew when he realized how much taller the blond boy was, Nathan looming over him…which reminded Tom of what he wanted to ask. Nathan turned to him, probably to make some sort of scathing remark, but Tom spoke before the older boy could.

              “Hey, today I talked to some old guy and he said he knew you…” Tom trailed off, trying to figure out how to ask Nathan about what Archibald had said. Something about clash, and orientation? And he had seen him again at dinner, too. He wanted an explanation, but it suddenly seemed awkward to ask. Nathan smirked at him, but it wasn’t the playful smirk Tom was used to. It was stiff, and almost menacing.

              “What did he say to you?” He talked as if he already knew something, and Tom grew nervous. Was Nathan mad at him for something so strange?

               “Um…he said that there’s no clash, and that”-Tom didn’t finish before Nathan put his hands on his shoulders and roughly shoved him against the wall of the ship, grinning from ear to ear.

              “No clash, huh?” Tom tried to get away, but Nathan’s fingers dug into Tom’s shoulder blades. Tom tried to wrench away once more. Nathan let him go suddenly, and Tom nearly fell on his face.

              “What was that for!?” Tom screamed at him, jumping away from Nathan in case he tried it again. Nathan backed up, his hands out in front of him in a peacemaking gesture.

              “Hey, just testing something. No harm done.” He smiled.

              Tom shrugged his shoulders, his skin crawling as he tried to shake off the sensation of Nathan’s fingers on them. This day had been so strange it was ridiculous, and Nathan had just made it worse. He hadn’t even gotten an explanation of what the old man had meant! He sighed, suddenly tired. He hoped tomorrow would turn out better, and then the following day the celebrations would start.

               “What’s on your mind now?” Nathan spoke up, and he sounded actually interested. “You look thoughtful.”

 “I’m tired!” Tom shouted at him, hoping he would go away. His shout came out more of a squeak, much to his mortification. For once, though, Nathan didn’t laugh at him, simply regarding him thoughtfully, though with an expression that made Tom mildly uncomfortable.

              “You want me to help you back to your room?”

               “What?” Tom looked up at the older boy, who actually avoided eye contact. Was Nathan nervous? That was unheard of. Did he think he was getting sick again? “No, I’m fine, just tired.”

               “Fair enough. You’re going to bed now?” He sounded concerned, and Tom couldn’t tell if it was due to worry or because Nathan would be bored without someone younger to torture.

               “Well, that’s what you do when you’re tired.” The sarcasm came to him easily. Tom realized he spoke nastily, but he chalked it up to his being tired, and he felt very sick of trying to understand Nathan’s motives. He turned away and started down the hall, disappearing around the corners. His body dragged with his exhaustion, and he wanted to get some rest before the festivities started. He also felt like avoiding Nathan for a while.

               He had nearly arrived at his door when Nathan showed up behind him. “Hey, Tom, listen.” It was not a question, more of a command. Tom turned. He would give him 30 seconds. 

             Apparently reading from Tom’s expression that he wouldn’t have much time, Nathan made it quick. “Hey, I’m sorry for manhandling you…I was just testing something.” Tom blinked. Was Nathan actually apologizing for something?

              “Um, okay.” Tom opened the door to go into his room, and Nathan left, vanishing down the hall so quickly Tom didn’t even see him. Nathan had no parents either as far as Tom knew, so his room wasn't far. Tom decided not to bother finding him, though, opting to sleep, and as he got ready for bed, he thought over the day’s events. If it was always this weird after getting sick, then he made a vow to never get that sick again. He hoped the holidays coming up would still be enjoyable, at least, and he focused on that as he fell asleep.

Wednesday Briefs: The Waterlord Prequel part 10

Just a note--I had gotten the part numbering wrong. This is the real part 10!

Tom stared at the sky, his heart beating hard. He could suddenly sense…something. He felt like he could drown in the air, even though it also made him feel somewhat in control. He hoped he wasn’t getting ill again. He walked over to the side of the ship and looked down into the water. It was calming, somehow.

    He wondered if the water felt like the air did now. It was so damp, and yet he wasn’t wet. There must be water in the air…it dawned on him then. It was going to rain. He looked up, and as if on cue, a downpour started. His classmates on the deck groaned, and started heading under, their break for fresh air interrupted.

             Tom didn’t mind the rain, though. He had before, when Nathan had cruelly left him out as a prank, but now it was different. It was peaceful, and it made him feel strong, for some reason. He wondered briefly if he could catch the raindrops and throw them like a bucket of water.

             “Tom, what are you standing there for? It’s pouring, let’s go!” One of his classmates pulled him away from the edge of the ship, and he broke out of his daydream.

               He followed the others below deck, and he watched while those who had gotten caught in the rain attempted to dry off. They had taken some of the dampness in the air with them, and Tom noted how the wooden planks of the ship absorbed the excess water. That was probably bad for the wood, Tom figured.

               “Don’t you want to dry off?” someone asked. Tom didn’t really want to, but agreed anyway, running his hands through his hair to shake off some of the water. He had never noticed before how nice rain was.

           

              “Cruddy weather,” someone said. Tom frowned.

“I hope it lets up before the holiday,” someone else said next to him.

               “Holiday? As in, days off?” Tom perked up when the speaker nodded. He hadn’t realized it was near the Ship Lord’s holiday again. He couldn’t wait for the festivities. There would undoubtedly be food, and often they met up with other of Ruthen’s ships to exchange goods. He could meet new people, maybe explore another ship, and best of all, not have to worry about class for three days. Once he got through this one, he could eat and then have time to himself, and hopefully plan with Nathan what to do to celebrate. Nathan had been strange lately, but surely he would have time over the break to spend with Tom. Tom spent most of the lesson that afternoon pondering what he could do over the break from classes.

     ***

              Once classes were over that evening, Tom’s stomach growling with hunger, the navigator pulled Tom aside. Tom jumped in surprise. Was he being punished for something?

              It turned out that was far from the case. “Tom, I heard you were ill from a friend of the captain.”

              Tom tilted his head. He didn’t know anyone that was at all close to the captain, and he had no parents on the ship that would have such connections. It was true, though, so he simply nodded.

              “Well, if you ever need to take time off, that’s fine.” The navigator looked as if she was sharing some secret with him. Was she telling him that he could cut class…whenever he wanted? He tried to suppress a grin.

               “Uh, sure.” He replied, and quickly ran out after the rest of the class. That had been odd, but he figured the teacher was just worried about his health. How sick had he been, anyway? He didn’t know, but he was happy with all the benefits it had given him.

 Tom headed to the mess hall next, sitting alone at a table and enjoying his meal. He started when he saw the same strange man he had run into earlier that morning in the hall, sitting at one of the head tables. As if sensing Tom’s attention, the stranger put his head up and stared back at him, his eyes glittering. Tom’s heart jumped. He remembered his conversation with the man, suddenly. The guy’s name was Archibald, and he wanted Tom to tell Nathan about clash, or something. Tom figured he would, just to get an explanation of some sort for all the odd events of the day. Assuming, of course, that Nathan knew anything. Tom frowned. He couldn’t decide yet if today had been good or bad.  

            He should probably go find Nathan. Where he would be, Tom had no idea.

            As he headed down the hall, he could hear the drumming of the rain against the ship. He stopped, cocking his head. Had he always been able to hear that when it rained?

            He headed down the hallway, his skin buzzing with a strange sensation, like the feeling he got before a storm but…deeper. More obvious. He stopped by the door to the deck, staring at the wood. He could hear the rain pounding outside.

            This was stupid, he knew. But he pushed open the door anyway.

             The rain hit him with force, soaking him in seconds, but Tom didn’t. He felt invigorated by it, and dashed to the edge of the deck, looking over the water. The spray of the ocean mixed with the rain from the sky, and he realized that they were different. He grinned into the storm, his face and hair already soaked. He felt powerful, out in the heavy rain like this. He wondered if anyone else felt the same way.

            He jumped when the door to the inside of the ship banged open. Tom peered through the rain as a figure walked to the edge of the ship, looking out over the water into the rain. Tom almost called out, but then closed his mouth. It was Nathan.

Wednesday Briefs: The Waterlord Prequel Part 9

  The navigator raised an eyebrow at Tom’s interruption. “Oh? Well, what creates water currents, then?”

 

  Tom bit his lip. He had never actually attempted to answer anything on his own in class before. “Um…things. Like, when you drop something in the water, it creates little waves.”

                 The navigator smiled. “Yes, that’s true, but aren’t there tides and such that large currents follow?”

                For some reason Tom thought that was wrong, but couldn’t place why. He was very aware of the entire class staring at him. “Uh…there are large underwater currents, but if they followed tides…tides change, and that would mean that the currents would too, but they don’t. Do they?” He looked up at the navigator, unsure.

               She sighed. “Well, Tom, little is known of underwater currents. Wave studies have been carried out for years. It is thought that they follow the tides, and change with the weather.”

             “Oh.” Tom was confused. If waves followed tides, then how did the ships get anywhere? And in the tank, the waves created had disappeared after reflecting off the tank walls. Did the same thing happen with real ones?

The navigator moved on, though, to discussions of air currents, which Tom did not find half as intriguing. Weather did not shape all water currents, he was convinced. There must be something static that determined their motion. Tom opted to daydream again rather than listen to the teacher. Every time they began to discuss something interesting, it never seemed to last, and this lesson on air currents seemed to drag on forever. Apparently much more was known about it than tides and water currents, and Tom found that mildly annoying.

               “Ah, apparently someone has seen fit to join us for once.” Tom looked up in surprise at the change in the teacher’s tone. In the doorway, Nathan strode in, probably his first time actually attending class in a while. He didn’t respond to the teacher’s jibe; he simply sat down in an empty chair next to Tom. His assigned seat had been taken by someone else in response to the fact that no one actually expected him to ever show up. He smiled at Tom happily before turning to the teacher, as if he were actually going to try and learn something. Tom wasn’t fooled.

               “What are you doing here?” Tom hissed, trying to keep his voice low enough so that the teacher wouldn’t hear him.

                Nathan didn’t even turn to face him. “What does it look like? Schooling.” Tom could barely hear him; apparently Nathan had mastered the art of whispering during class.

               Tom wasn’t willing to let it go. “Why now?”

               Nathan looked at him this time. “Maybe I’m just looking out for you.” He grinned.

               Tom felt his face grow hot, and his own reaction irritated him even more. “What?!” He yelled the last, too loudly.

               The whole class looked at him for the second time that day, and this time the teacher was not amused. “Do I need to separate you two?” She looked tired already.

              “No…I’ll be quiet.” Tom attempted to whisper this time. The teacher just rolled her eyes and turned back to the board. Nathan snickered, and Tom tried to kick him under the desk. His legs were too short to reach and he ended up hitting the leg of the desk, making it jump. The teacher looked up, but Tom stayed motionless. Nathan laughed quietly the entire time, and Tom vowed to get him back for it.

               The teacher returned to the subject of air currents, and though Tom found it boring, he couldn’t help noticing that Nathan, of all people, had begun to take notes, the chalk grating on the board. He longed to ask the older boy why he had suddenly returned to class and actually shown an interest, but didn’t want to risk embarrassing himself further. He wished the teacher would talk more about water.

               Tom rested his head in his hands as the teacher droned on. He actually felt rather tired. Watching Nathan scribbling down notes made him feel like an even worse student. He couldn’t wait until it was time for lunch.

              “The nature of wind is akin to osmosis--high to low pressure areas. One can predict storms with a barometer, which measures pressure.” Tom thought he had seen a barometer in the infirmary. He hadn’t bothered to see how it worked, though. He sighed and looked over at Nathan again, who appeared to be grinning as he was taking notes. Tom wanted to smack him.

              Tom rested his head on his desk. Maybe he could take a nap without anyone noticing. He closed his eyes and let the teacher’s droning lull him. It sounded like water burbling…

              Someone punched him in the arm, hard. “Ow!” Tom stood up indignantly, glaring at Nathan. The rest of the class was getting up, and Nathan was folding up the board he had taken notes on. Apparently class was over. He followed the rest of the students out of the room, and stopped in the hall.

             “Way to sleep during class.” Nathan smirked at him.

             “It’s not my fault the teacher is so boring!” Tom growled back.

            “Right, right.” Nathan laughed, and gave Tom a shove. “Why not explore on deck for a while? See, all the little kids are going.”

            Tom scowled. “I’m not a little kid!” He was thirteen and living on his own! Granted, he had to because he had no family, but that independence had to count for something.

            Nathan ignored him, though, and Tom frowned and headed up to the deck. He wished he understood the other boy.

             

            When he looked up at the sky, and noticed it was cloudy, and the air felt oddly heavy with humidity that he could not feel, yet somehow sense. He was very aware of the dampness in the air, and wondered if anyone else noticed. His heart began to pound.