E TREE......................................... LEAF FIVE

Power Unleashed

“Did you see the notice on the Powerplay?”

Cher ambushed me and Freya early in the morning on a shiny fine day from our second month at White Lotus. Powerplay is the main notice board displayed near the Headmistress’ Office. It only displays notices that are of utter importance to the whole school and so was this.

“We are starting training out powers from 5th period onwards. Today is the first day and Head Mistress Cleanor herself is turning up to mentor us. I was always tuning into see what her power is and think of it, finally we can see it ourselves. Whoops! I almost forgot. There will be Power ID tests for everyone and you can find out what yours is Ish.” Said Cher.

“Yeah, I guess.”

And all of a sudden I was not looking forward for the very moment I’ve been looking forward since I discovered that I have Mind’s Eye genes. What if it is something less useful? Less cool?? Or may be useless…. Or it could be dangerous. Or that I don’t have a power and these people are mistaken. My mind was suddenly busy throughout the whole morning session and I didn’t even feel the end of Interval bell. That was our call to line up at Assembly Arena aka at the moment when training is conducted, Camp.

“Listen, I know what you are feeling right now because hardly your mind does not seems to identify full stop Ish. I’ve seen people when they are about to discover their powers and trust me White Lotus wouldn’t have picked you up if they are not sure that you are a potential Mind’s Eye. It’s like magic so bear it you, definitely have a power. And next thing, cheer up because you cannot have something destructive for a power unless you train yourself to be bad. Here we go.”

I had to admit that felt a little good and I was happy I had Cher. Sometimes it’s nice to have a mind reader for a friend so that you don’t always have to say aloud your awkward moments.

Assembly Arena or the Camp was nothing like I’ve ever seen. The stage was modified into a mountain top with actual winds and clouds and snow. The rest of the hall was a complete grassy plain and it felt so alive like we were actually standing outside somewhere.

Miss Cleanor was on the stage turned mountain top. Her usual attire that reminds us strongly of a more elegant form of Nanny Mcphee was not to been seen today. Instead she was wearing a full length skirt with daring slits, black leggings underneath and a white frilly sleeveless top.

“I thought she was around fifty or so. Look at her! She can’t be older than my eldest sister!!! And Rachel (eldest sister) is only twenty seven!!!”

Cher whispered into my ears at the very moment we saw her. Many of my friends were whispering too because Miss Cleanor was looking so young…… and beautiful. Taken this whole situation not at all surprising, Miss Cleanor addressed the gathering.

“Good Evening girls! I am sure that you are well fed and prepared for the upcoming lesson which is going to be your first ever training session as a Mind’s Eye.”

She swept the arena with her eagle sharp eyes. It was like we could not move but only listen what she was about to say. With a satisfied tone, she once again began.

“Each and every one of you has a special power hidden inside you. In order to achieve what’s inside you, discipline of your mind and soul is very important. With great discipline come great powers. With great powers come great responsibilities. And your responsibility is to serve humanity with your gift.”

“Unleashing the power within you is not easy. You will have to fight with the dark side of you. With power, your greed and anger may be provoked which will cause nothing but destruction. As young girls, women and ladies you carry the most unique position in life. You are the bearers of life of next generations. Your pathway in life is pre determined since the beginning of life and you cannot change that but support it. As women, support the mankind to avoid destruction. As mothers, spread the kindness to beat jealousy. As sisters, protect those who depend on you. As angels, spread the message of love to destroy hatred. And as Mind’s Eyes do your part to the benefit of goodness.”

Miss Cleanor waited for a minute and then spoke again.

“Your training basically depends on your power. As different people have different powers, first you must go through a Power ID test to identify your power. You will be registered as an official underage Mind’s Eye with a special identification. Remember that your ID is nothing like your National ID or Driving license and you cannot present it as evidence at any situation. Your ID is only to be used within the school premises and anyone breaking the rules will be dismissed as Mind’s Eyes.”

With another eagle look she continued.

“Okay. Now that we are done with that part, I want all of you to line up as class wise in register order. When I call your name you will cross the white line in front of you and come on to this mountain top. Your test is to tell me what you see in the sky above you. And remember you can’t cheat because I see what you see and if you do cheat, you will not get another Power ID test for a month. Let’s begin with class A. First up Atkinson, Mandy.”

That seems fair enough. Tell what you see. Easy.

“Yeah that’s what I thought too. But the only problem is Miss Cleanor also sees what we see. And what if you can’t see long distance? I mean sky is far far away….”

Then Cher began to peel into laughter. I have a nut for a friend!