Chapter 16: A Brand New Change
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"This is vanilla. That is chocolate and the pink one is strawberry," Jason pointed to the different flavour of the ice-cream. It was Thursday and Jason decided to give a tour to Tiadora. They had parked themselves at a Swenson's Ice-cream Restaurant where Tiadora tasted her very first ice-cream. "What a coolet and vanela?" Tiadora asked confusingly. Jason gripped on Tiadora's hand which held the long spoon and scooped a lump of vanilla ice-cream. He lifted it up near her face and said, "It's just food, Tia. I won't feed you poison. C'mon." Tiadora lifted the silver spoon closer to her mouth but before the spoon could even enter, Jason grabbed her hand and gulped down the ice-cream instead.

"I thought you wanted me to eat?" Tiadora felt even more puzzled. "Sorry. Here take it all," he pushed the bowl back to her. Tiadora scooped up the ice-cream and swallowed it. The freezing sensation zapped through her teeth as she allow the cream to melt. Its unique flavours sink into her taste buds as she felt the taste of vanilla. She opened her eyes to see Jason gulping down the rest of his coke. "It's..." Tiadora tried finding for the right word, "...soft?" Jason laughed at her comment for the ice-cream. Now she really didn't understand and refused to finish the dish but Jason fed her playfully. He looked so happy, Tiadora thought, unlike the time Oberon spoke to him when we were at Oceanatic.

The ride back to Cave Vernos was filled with silence. Nobody uttered a word. As they broke to the surface, everyone groaned in agony as their gills slowly pink in back into their skin and sealed the three slashes completly. The five seahorses swam back into the waters without saying goodbye. Jason's jet was parked right beside the cave, floating above the sea's clear blue surface. The airstewardess leaped out from the majestic vehicle and ushered them back into the jet as they took off after five minutes. When the servants asked for Jason's needs, he pleaded, "I WANT AN AMERICAN HAMBURGER NOW!!" While the guardians altogether munched on their 'early' breakfast, Jason explained to Tiadora that before he fell into the depths of the sea, he managed to glimpse at the images of the descendants. So Jason informed David about it during the earthquake and instructed him to try freeing the elements. That was how David got his first.

Everyone was astound and excited because of the powers that they were gifted upon, though Tiadora didn't want to spoil the mood about revealing the upcoming dangers. Such a coincidence to find the guardians already so close. It was time to celebrate as they partied all morning in the jet, teaching Tiadora some new dance moves. Kiara offered Tiadora a glass of coke but Tiadora detested the taste immediately. "Maybe you're more of a Pepsi person," Cornelia commented her. Behind her, Kiara tried pulling David to the dance floor but he kept heading towards the food table for cocktail. By the time they reached back to Kadic Academy, it was already eight in the morning. Everyone returned to their dorms and spent the rest of Tuesday in bed. The next day, everyone did a lot of admin work to get Tiadora enrolled in the school. The Kingston siblings managed to forged Kiara's parents' signature on the registration form and finally fooled the principal. Now, she'll be known as Tiadora Sanders.

"Yo Jason!" a voice was heard from afar. Ian Pierce ran towards their table with his sweaty jersey and filthy basketball. Once he reached, he stared at Tiadora for some time and muttered, "You're that new girl, right? Tiadora Sanders?" Tiadora timidly nodded and scooped up more ice-cream from her glass bowl. Soon, Jason and Ian talked about stuff that she didn't understand at all. To her, there were strange words like 'touchdown' and 'referee'. It spins her mind. Ian kept on glancing at her, smiling often. "You his girlfriend, is it?" Ian asked her suddenly. She didn't have a clue what a girlfriend is. So she innocently answered back, "What's a girlfriend?"

"Haha!" Ian laughed. "Yo, Jason, your girlfriend doesn't even know what's a girlfriend. Alien, is it?" Ian joke continued, "Which rock have she been living in?" Feeling annoyed, Jason pushed him out of the restaurant and instructed the nearest police officer to not allow Ian in. Tiadora finally finished her first ice-cream dish. She couldn't wait for the next ice-cream treat. Later, Jason took her to the cinema to watch the movie 'Harry Potter' but Tiadora found the picture horrifying and dashed out of the theater. So he brought her to the nearby beach where the place was empty with its sparkling sea. "Where's everybody?" Tiadora asked. "In their respective schools. Kadic Academy's the only school on holiday for this week," Jason answered back as he removed his shoes and rolled like a log on the sand. Tiadora just stood there, observing Jason's daring act.

"C'mon!" he headed back to Tiadora, carried her and removed her shoes. Tiadora yelled and profusely beat him on his back as she was hang over his shoulders. When Jason's feet had touched the shallow shore, he dropped her into the water. Tiadora emerged back up with a splash of salty water, making Jason splash back at her until he screamed, "Ouch!" He lifted up his right foot to reveal a blue crab pinching on his big toe. With a hard grip, he fought with the crab till its pitchers got loose from his toe and threw it further into the sea. Tiadora stared at the spot where the blue crab landed. They looked towards the golden sunset which shrank slowly. After a few moments, Tiadora asked Jason a question, "What's a girlfriend?"

"A girlfriend is..." Jason paused to think, "...a female friend with whom someone has a romantic relationship." Tiadora digested in the meaning. It must be a 21st Century word, Tiadora thought as she excitedly said, "Wow. It's just like an animal attraction. So do you have one?" Jason shakes his head to show 'No' and lowered his head, looking at his reflection in the water. Tiadora patted him on his shoulder as he glared at her. "Well, I've yet to find my Cinderella..." Jason tried to sound happy, "...It's just that. I've never felt love towards anyone. I mean, I like Kiara but it's not love. I still haven't found the person with the missing glass shoe." Tiadora didn't understand the 'shoe' part but she dare not stop him. He looked so sad all of a sudden. Feeling bad for asking that question, Tiadora walked in front of him and gave him a bear hug. She didn't care about the soggy sand, from the sea ground, that was stuck in between her toes.

Jason was too stunned to hug her back. Feeling left out, he wrapped his arms around her too. They stayed in that embrace position for minutes and Tiadora didn't want to let go but released her grip on him after a while. She looked down and murmured, "I'm sorry." Thats when a whirlpool formed around them. Its white waves grew higher, covering the pink sky above them. The water had made a dome-shape and they were trapped. Tiadora held onto Jason as the currents sped quickly twirling round them. A woman, who wore a white gown, rose from the whirlpool and floated in the air. Her eyes had no pupils and her short orange hair was neatly tied to a short ponytail just like Cornelia's. She tilted her head down to look at Tiadora and Jason. The Energy guardian let out a gasp as she recognized the facial features of that woman. Jason looked at her and mouthed, "Your friend?" Tiadora turned her head right and left, No, and replied, "It's my mother."
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"...And practices are on Tuesdays and Fridays."

"But I have modeling on Tuesday!" Kiara interrupted Sally when she was given the cheerleader uniform. Sally just scoffed and mouthed, "Whatever!" before planning Kiara room door. Her room was back to normal. The mattress that was used for Tiadora's bed, was removed as Tiadora was getting her own room which is right 'm front of Kiara's room. She glanced at the yellow dry-fit uniform and dumped it in her light brown cupboard. At the same time, her Blueberry vibrated. It was a message from Cornelia.

Gal, cum 2 library quick! Shaniqua's takin ur man!

With that bit of motivation, she left her room in a hurry. The library wasn't far from the girls' form. It was just a thirty-second walk but it only took ten seconds for Kiara's speed. Unlike the public library near Cross Academy, Kadic Academy Library was grander. Almost like a copy of Oceanatic throne hall, the library was painted golden yellow that were lighted up by a huge chandelier. Though there aren't any computers, its hundred shelves contained the books of fiction and non-fiction. Kiara spotted Cornelia at one of the long white tables.

She headed towards her and peeped in between the many books in front of Cornelia. "David?" Kiara whispered so that the nearby old librarian won't notice. Cornelia pointed to the 'Horror' Section, David's favourite section. Kiara tiptoed behind the Horror section shelf and peeped through the books. True to be told, David was leaning against the opposite shelf, staring into Shaniqua's purple eyes. She could hear Shaniqua whispering into David's face, "C'mon, David. Just one date?" He looked away for a while, and saw Kiara behind Shaniqua's two blond ponytails. Quickly, he drew his green eyes back into the cheerleader's eyes and grinned before assuring, "Sure. I'll see you tomorrow?"

"Okay. After my cheerleading practice, at noon?" Shaniqua grew excited. David nodded his head in reply and kissed Shaniqua's forehead. She bid him farewell as she skipped out of the library. David looked towards the spot he saw Kiara but she was no longer there. A big torn book that stood at the highest row caught his eye as he gently brought it down. 'Anastasia, The Legend.' he read aloud. It was Tiadora's kingdom. He flipped open the first page and shock shivered through his spine. There, written in beautiful handwriting, was a message and the author's signature. David could recognize the clear name easily. It was obvious.

'For my princess. Xana.' Xana's signature was simple and bold. Princess? Was he referring to Tiadora? She is a princess. He flipped to the next page but it was blank. And so were the rest of the book pages. It was empty and only the first page was filled. Maybe borrowing it may give him time to understand but there was a problem. Escaping from Cornelia's sight from where she sat was easy but Kiara still rested her stare at the shelf. David thought for a moment, staring at his silver band with his green sphere. A fashion magazine was lying at his feet. FHM. Shaniqua must have dropped it. It didn't matter. He knew Kiara hasn't gotten her hands on this month's issue.

So he pressed his hand down onto the book which scratched the red mat and concentrated. He remembered what Tiadora had told him yesterday about imagining creative ways to play with his powers. As like he thought it would, the book got absorbed into the red carpet. David peeped out of the shelf to check at the white table. As if on queue, the FHM magazine phased through Cornelia's books and landed in front of Kiara. She didn't notice it at first but in the end took the book and read it diligently, distracted from the world.

With the golden opportunity, David headed to the counter. He was grateful that the floor was carpeted as it allowed no sound from his shoe to be made. The petite old lady smiled at David. She enjoyed having David coming to the library. It kept her company. "Good evening, David. What brings you to the library today?" David noticed her white hair was tied back unlike other days but it didn't bother him. The cushion seats in front were comfortable as he took his seat and greeted the librarian. "Ms. Celia, I was wondering if you could explain why this book is empty," David asked politely. Old Ms. Celia took a look at the black torn book, gently flipping through the yellow pages.

"My my. This book dates back till the 16th Century," Ms. Celia examined it as she continued, "...This book, my boy, is somehow magical. You see this page," Ms. Celia showed the first page, "It has been foretold that this book can only be read by the princess that this author is referring to. That's why the pages are empty. It's because the princess has not even touched the book yet. I've heard many of these stories that my great-grandmother told me about this kingdom."

"David. Mr. Galili wants to see you in his office now," a boy about David's height, interrupted their conversation. He nodded to the boy in reply and turned back to the librarian, "I would like to borrow this book. Can you ask the CLs to bring the book to my room by the end of today?" Ms. Celia nodded as she saw him leave the golden library. The corridors were silent just the way David like it. Mr. Galili's office was right beside the boy's dorm. The principal was like the guard dog for the dorm. David reached the office, thinking that this might have something to do with the punishment about being in the girls' toilet last week. Maybe Mr. Galili took pity on him and decided to kick him out of the soccer team. The first thing different that caught his senses by surprise when he entered was the aura. It didn't feel right. Mr. Galili was facing the window on his chair, facing his back to David. The office still looks the same. "You wanted to see me, Mr. Galili?" David stood with his hands to the back.

"Yes, David Vincent Fields..." the female voice echoed through the room, her back still facing him. It wasn't Mr. Galili at all. Terror and fear triggered as he demanded, "Who are you and where's Mr. Galili?" The lady stood up from her comfortable seat and turned to David. Her red-brown hair was tied back neatly in a ponytail which suited her black blazer. A light pink hair band parted her familiar fringe and hair. But the shocking thing that hit him was her face. It was very familiar. Her red lips parted to reveal her soothing voice as she answered him back, "Mr. Galili has resigned from this school yesterday. My name is Mdm. Miranda and I am the new principal of Kadic Academy."