Purity

Chapter Four

After mana studies, everyone went home to prepare their families nightly dinners. Well, everyone except me, that is. Yep, you guessed it, I’m the cleaning b***h again. This time, no Lei. She’s gone home for dinner. Beautiful as she may be, she can eat… A LOT. Anyways, it’s just me, alone, in the town hall cleaning. I thought so too. There was a nonstop feeling in my gut that I was being watched. No matter what I did to shake the feeling, it stuck. BANG! A sudden rush of shock overtook me in the moment. I spun around quickly and saw an arrow coming for me. My body again acting on impulse, grabbed the arrow out of the air as if it was standing still. Just then 3 more were hurled from the darkness of the second-floor balcony. I caught 2, but the third struck me in the shoulder. I panicked and felt a sense of adrenaline rush which seemed to have caused time to stand completely still. I ran out of the town hall as quickly and kept running home as I could seeing the torches that were illuminating the road were a blur. I stopped at the door of the house and turned the other way. Ran faster than before to Lei’s house. Fast enough to cause tunnel vision. Once I got to Lei’s I ran up the wall, vertically, and entered through her bedroom window. When I entered the house, her bedsheets flew into the air as if a tornado came into the room with me. Lei, shocked and nude except for her underwear began to shout extremely quietly while covering her bare chest.

“What the hell?! How did you- What are you- Oh god, Jaimie!” She exclaimed.

“I’m so sorry Lei!” I replied hurriedly, “I didn’t see anything! I mean I did, but I didn’t if you didn’t want me to! Their nice, but I didn’t see anything! God I’m sorry!”

“Jaimie shut up! Why is there an arrow on fire sticking through your arm!?”

Apparently, I ran so fast, it caused the arrow to spontaneously combust. What a tragic night, but what a great view I had. Lei forgot about the fact that she had nothing on her top half and was focused on my arrow. I mean, the arrow in my arm, not my, you know, “arrow”.

“I have no clue what or who it was Lei.” I explain as she works on pulling the arrow out of my arm, I was cleaning the first floor of the town hall, and something just started firing arrows at me! Ow!”

“Sorry, but you have to hold still! It’s a freaking arrow in your arm! Doesn’t it hurt?” she remarks.

“Not really,” I reply, “But I caught 3 out of 4! Once I got hit with this one, I ran. I was going to go home, but then I thought of what my dad would say.”

“Why are you dripping blood on my floor James? Go outside! And get rid of that disgusting arrow!” She said in a mocking tone as if to mimic my father.

“So, I came here instead and figured your parents would’ve freaked if I walked through the front door with an arrow poking out of my shoulder.”

We ended that conversation in a silent agreement then and there. She finished pulling the arrow out and used one of the healing spells she knows to fix me up. Still wearing the same “outfit” I was beginning to have trouble focusing on anything else around me. I lost my train of thought in how perfect they were. They weren’t huge by any means, but they weren’t small either. Everything about them were perfect. I had never thought of Lei as a woman before. She was my best friend. But seeing her like this now, bare, I was in utter shock. My stomach began to flutter and could almost hear nothing at all until…

“Ok Jaimie, that should be good. It’ll leave a nasty looking scar, but it shouldn’t bother you any.” She said, “Are you ok?”

“I’m good,” I reply, “Just uh… Maybe, I don’t know, I should close my eyes?”

“Why would you have to close your eyes?” she questioned.

“Lei. Your boobs. They um…”

“Holy crap Jaimie! I’m sorry I forgot I didn’t have a shirt on because of that stupid freaking arrow!” She silently wept as she ran for her closet.

“No, it’s fine. I should be sorry,” I replied, “I was the one looking. Not that I wanted to. Not that I DIDN’T want too. They’re nice. I mean, I didn’t really see much!”

“Shut up and forget you saw anything James!” she yelped, “You should go home before someone starts wondering what’s goi- “

Just then the door to her room began to open. Panic, Adrenaline, slow motion. I ran faster than the sound of the door could follow and jumped through the window. Her dad came through the door asking Lei who she was talking to. She sounded very confused but explained that she wasn’t talking to anyone. He said OK, then goodnight and walked out of the room closing the door behind him. She ran to the window and peered out at me.

“How the hell do you keep doing that Jaimie?!” She quietly yelled.

“I don’t know!” I replied whisperingly, “Fraidy-cat powers? Either way, you have to admit it’s kind of cool!”

“Yea whatever! See you tomorrow asshole!” She exclaimed.

“Sure thing b***h!” I replied in a chuckle.

I began to walk home and felt a feeling of pure bliss. Almost euphoric. Best, day, ever. Sure, I got shot by a shadow dwelling creep with an arrow, but, Worth It! I opened the door to my house and my father was sitting in his chair. He turned to face me with a look of confusion on his face.

“James? You’re just getting home?” He questioned confusingly, “Is the townhall cleaned properly?”

“Yes sir,” I replied hastily but with exhaustion, “I stayed late to make sure I got everything cleaned to your standard.”

“Good,” he said, “Go clean up. You smell like a pile of horse shit.”

Without another word, I took to the shower room an cleaned myself up. I sat in front of the mirror for a while and just looked at the new scar on my shoulder. Who would want to attack me? Who would want me dead? And why would they want me dead? Is it my newly found accidental ability I still don’t know how to use? What does this mean for my friends and family? What could happen to them? What should I do? Enough questions, just go to bed James. I went lie down and stared at the ceiling for what felt like hours until, finally, I fell into a deep sleep.