Evergreen Academy and the Golden Club Chapter 6 The moon festival
Daniel didn't get a chance to talk to Owen the rest of the day. He woke up on Sunday morning, feeling defeated. He didn't think that he had done anything wrong, so he wasn't ready to apologize again; but he was afraid that he was going to lose Owen as a friend. He thought he had been used to being alone before he came to Jade Island, but going back to being alone after the friendship he had with Owen seemed unbearable.
He went to the dinning hall alone. Most people in there were sitting with friends and chatting happily.
After a while, he saw Owen walk in but pretended that he wasn't paying attention. He felt like someone waiting for his sentence. He could hear Owen pick the usual morning food and walk towards him.
"Morning,' said Owen, sitting down by him as if nothing had happened.
"I'm sorry," said Owen after a couple minutes of silence.
"Why did you get so mad?" asked Daniel, relieved all of a sudden.
"I thought you were dead or kidnapped by the merpeople," said Owen, picking up a big pancake.
"Then you would need the Golden Club to save me," said Daniel and realized that it was a stupid joke right away.
"I always wanted a little brother or a little sister," said Owen after consuming a big glass of milk. "When I was a kid, I kept bugging my parents begging for one. They just said it was impossible but never told me why. They said I would know when I turned sixteen."
"You are like a kid brother to me," he said, looking embarrassed.
"Kid brother, you are only one year older." Daniel felt the need to dignify himself but felt warm inside at the same time.
"But only half my size," said Owen, laughing in his food.
Before Daniel knew it, he had been on the island for almost one month. One part of him kept reminding himself that he had just arrived, but another part felt like he had been here all the time. In the history class, they had covered the period when there were many immortal groups. Different groups had different beliefs and different ways of doing magic but co-existed in harmony. He learned that even now there were many groups and different schools.
In transformation class, He had managed to turn a small apple into a bigger apple, which was the most basic transformation-professor Nolte could make it as big as a desk.
In the clairvoyance class, professor Baldred was still covering the fake clairvoyance methods.
The moon festival was also coming up that weekend. For immortals, it was an occasion of family reunion. Students were very excited about the banquet and the party. The first year students had not experienced the party. All they could talk about was what they had heard from other students. Tony and a couple of students were in student government. So in a way, they became the authority. They were really enjoying the attention. From what Daniel heard, there were going to be performances by students at the party. Tony had a role too, but he was very secretive about what role he was going to play.
Before history class started on Monday, the classroom was very noisy with all the chatter about the celebration. Among all the chaos were two people that didn't seem to be affected. One was Kerri. She was sitting at the first row. She had been sitting in the front row since the orientation. Daniel could see that she was going through the new chapter. Owen noticed her too.
"She really needs to loosen up," he said. Now if he wanted to talk to Daniel without other people hearing, he just whispered to himself. There was no need to talk in Daniel's ear. It started as a joke and had turned into a habit.
"She's in combat class too," said Owen. "She just won't give up. Fell off her sword more than anyone else in class."
The other one was Tao. He was reading a chapter on the back of the book. Daniel could see that it was about three thousand years ago and the part he was reading was about the Monkey King. Tao looked excited. The corners of his lips were twitching and his bony fingers were dancing on the desk.
"A monkey king, I thought that was just a fairy tale," said Daniel, trying to initiate a conversation. Somehow he felt sorry for Tao. He knew what it was like to be an outsider.
"No, it's not," said Tao defensively. His voice was high and it ended abruptly.
He took a look at Daniel and looked away quickly. His eyes were golden and elusive. He didn't seem to trust anyone and apparently wasn't keen on talking. He went right back to the book but opened the book to the chapter that professor Haldan was going to talk about.
The clairvoyance class on Tuesday was just like the previous ones. It was about the crystal balls. They were told that crystal balls just told a person's mood swings. Fortunetellers didn't really see you future in it. By asking personal questions and observing people's reaction through the crystal ball, fortunetellers were able to have a general idea about what happened in the past; but they could never specify what had happened-they simply led the customers into telling their stories, encouraging them with words like "I sense that a tragic event happened in the past." In a way, people seeking help from fortunetellers were eager to find anything relevant and usually poured their hearts out with a little encouragement.
"The whole process was like a guessing game," said professor Baldred with distaste. "They go on to tell you some very unspecific events that are going to happen in the future, like your life is going to change for the better or you are going to meet someone. PREDICTIONS like those can never go wrong, can they?"
When they walked out of the classroom, Daniel was a little frustrated. He wondered when he was going to learn anything magical in the clairvoyance class.
"It's really interesting, isn't it?" He was kind of irritated when Kerri caught up with him. "There are people in my hometown that do exactly the same thing. They told my parents to be aware of someone strange in their life. They thought it was me."
Suddenly she realized what she was talking about. She stopped abruptly and, without a word, walked quickly in the other direction. Before Daniel could dwell on what had just happened, his attention was drawn to a little drama in front of him.
"Hey, Birdy, learn anything about fortunetelling?" The chubby boy Ted was making fun of Mike again.
"Yeah, the center of you forehead is kind of dark. I say something bad is going to happen to you." Mike threw an insult at Ted and ran away quickly, but Ted caught up with him and pushed him on the ground. Ted then walked away like nothing had happened. Mike got up. He stared at Daniel for a moment as if daring Daniel to laugh at him. Then he turned around and walked away. Daniel knew that he should have done something to stop Ted, but it all happened too fast.
"Next time," he thought, "Next time, I won't let it happen again."
Daniel woke up on Friday morning, feeling exhausted. He had a bad night sleep again. Last night, there was some chaos in Mike's dorm room. From what he heard, someone hid a bird in Mike's bed. When Mike got into the bed, he had a violent sneezing attack. Daniel learned a while ago that Mike's power was communicating with animals, but he had this terrible allergy to birds and rodents. He would sneeze nonstop until tears ran down his face. Daniel was so mad that he lay in his bed tossing and turning most of the night. Making matters worse was that most people kept talking about the party late into the night.
Owen was already up. He was eating a moon cake. Daniel was surprised to find a box of moon cakes on his desk.
"Got that from my mom," said Owen. "They are not bad. My mom, she's not a very good cook-I can't wait for tonight's banquet."
Daniel was grateful that Owen shared his cakes with him, but he found it hard to keep up with Owen's festive spirit. Moon festival was supposed to be for family reunions, but he still had no clue about where his father was.
Daniel spent most of the Friday afternoon swimming in the ocean. He had had the urge to go down to the mervillage to see how their reconstruction was going, but hadn't had the courage. That afternoon, however, the beach was deserted. Most people were either preparing for the party or still in class. Daniel took a deep breath and dove deep into the ocean. There was still evidence of the destruction, but it seemed that the ocean recovered fast. On the seabed, new weeds were already growing. In between the weeds were schools of fish. The coral had started repairing itself too. Daniel swam quietly near the village. It looked like all the houses had been fixed. He could hear the laughter coming from a group of merkids in the village. It sounded like they were playing a hide-and-seek game. Daniel saw a merboy swim out of the village. The merboy gave him a grin when he spotted him. He signaled Daniel to keep quiet and hid behind a reef.
Not wanting to disturb the people in the village, Daniel swam to the surface of the ocean. He lay on his back in the water. It was so comfortable; soon he fell asleep. He had a dream. Owen, Mike, Kerri and he were eating a big moon cake. All of a sudden, the moon cake turned into the chubby bully Ted. Then everything turned black, but the darkness had a familiar feeling. Daniel realized that he was standing in the hallway of his old house. He was holding a moon cake and was looking for his father, but he couldn't find him. He felt very cold. Meanwhile, a gentle hand was persistently pushing him out of the cold. He woke up finding himself lying on the beach. Close to him in the water was a small dolphin. Two bigger ones were swimming a little further away. One of them made a calling sound and the young one answered. He nodded at Daniel and swam away. They all jumped out of the water when the young one reached the parents and disappeared into the sea.
When Daniel and Owen entered the dinning hall, many students were there already. The dinning hall had been decorated. The food stands disappeared. There were big round tables surrounded by chairs. Together they were like blooming flowers. On the walls were paintings and drawings. They were of different styles. Some were so good that Daniel could feel what the artists had felt. Some were too abstract for him to understand. Hanging from the ceiling were lanterns that Daniel had only seen in museums. They gave out soft light that danced with the music in the air. Daniel felt himself warm up inside and out.
They looked around a little more and then found a table where they could sit together. After a while, Michelle came in with a few girls. She saw Daniel. This time she came to their table and sat down. They had never had a real conversation since Daniel's first day in school. Even in that one, Michelle was doing most of the talking.
"Owen right?" she smiled at Owen. She had makeup on her face-the makeup was a little bit too heavy-her face was really white; her lips were red; and her eye shadow was dark. She noticed that both Daniel and Owen were looking at her face.
"Oh, this is for the performance later."
"I heard you're very good with weapons and combat," she said to Owen.
"I guess so," said Owen. Most of his attention was on the snacks on the table.
"So how is everything?" Michelle turned to Daniel.
"Good."
"I heard all about your powers," said Michelle. "Very exciting, isn't it?"
"Mostly, but can be annoying when I try to sleep," said Daniel.
Michelle laughed at the comment. She then went on to ask about what classes they have and told them a few pointers about the professors to help them stay on the good sides.
"Be careful around Professor Corgnon," she said to Owen. "He can be really nasty if you get smart."
Before she left to join the other girls. She whispered in Daniel's ear: "With the powers you have, I might need a few favors in the future." Then she stood up. "Oh, sorry, I didn't mean to insult you by whispering in your ear." She chuckled at her own joke and walked away.
Owen made a funny face behind her back.
"She's not that bad," said Daniel with a smile. "She just likes attention and the spotlight. Remember she stopped Jared the other day."
"I suppose you're right," said Owen.
Soon the professors also joined them. Alverdine was also in the group. Daniel had not seen him since the night he released his powers. He was not surprised to find that Alverdine had not changed a bit. It gave him a sense of security. Among all the ever-changing things, Alverdine was like a rock.
Daniel had never been to a banquet like this before. There were nineteen courses and each one was better than the last. The woodmen carrying the trays were coming in and out of the kitchen.
"Are they also the chef?" Daniel asked Owen.
"No way," said Owen with his mouth full. "I'll tell you about it when there's no one around."
Daniel noticed that even Tao the monkey man joined the banquet, although he didn't eat much.
After dinner, all of them moved outside to the sport field. In the middle of the field was a huge bonfire. The sky was clear. A full moon was hanging in the sky. When everyone was seated. The music started and out from the dark flew a group of beautifully dressed girls. They flew to the center of the sky right under the moon and started dancing to the music. They all had long skirts and long sleeves, which made their moves dramatic and ethereal.
The second performance was a group of third year boys led by Jared. They rode on their swords and arranged different battle formations. Drumbeats and roars turned the sport field into an ancient battlefield.
Michelle's performance was about an ancient fable. It was about a beautiful fairy that fell in love with a mortal. A mortal life, however, was not what she had expected. She was very unhappy and finally decided to leave her husband. So, on a full moon night, she escaped. She flew to the moon with her pet rabbit. Playing the pet rabbit was Daniel's roommate Tony. They got a standing ovation from the audience. Michelle, however, didn't leave the center stage when the show was over.
She pulled out her sword, which was still the pen size. She held it like a microphone and spoke into it.
"Everyone, let's all welcome professor Alverdine to give us a performance." With that she turned the sword into a spot light and cast the light on Alverdine.
Alverdine was apparently caught off guard. He was still holding his wine glass. Everyone was applauding and cheering him on. He was smiling amiably.
"That's a nice ambush. Truth be told, I wouldn't say that I didn't expect it." Even without a microphone, everyone heard his voice as if he was talking right in front of him or her.
With that, he raised his wine glass. A small figure appeared on the glass like smoke. It grew bigger and bigger. When it reached the size of a real man, it flew off the glass. The figure was pearl white like a ghost. He wore an ancient robe and hat. In his one hand was a wine glass. In his other hand was a sword. He flew to the center of the sport field right above the bonfire and started performing a sword dance. He was singing to accompany the dance.
See how the river's water runs out of heaven,
Entering the ocean, never to return;
See how lovely locks in bright mirrors in high chambers,
Though silken-black at morning, have changed by night to snow white.
Oh, let your spirit venture,
And never tip your golden cup empty toward the moon.
Since heaven gave the talent, let it be employed.
Spin a thousand of pieces of silver; all of them come back.
Cook a feast, wet the appetite,
Make me, of three hundred bowls, one long drink.
To the old master,
And the young scholar,
Bring in the wine.
Let your cups never rest.
Let me sing you a song.
Let your ears attend.
What are bell and drum, rare dishes and treasure?
Let me be forever drunk and never come to reason.
Sober men of olden days and sages are forgotten.
And only the great drinkers are famous for all time.
A banquet in the palace of perfection,
Ten thousand coins for a cup of wine, with many a laugh and quip.
Why say, my host, that your money is gone?
Go and buy wine and we'll drink it together.
My flower-dappled horse,
My furs worth a thousand,
Hand them to the boy to exchange for good wine.
We'll drown the woes of ten thousand generation.
"The figure is supposed to be a great mortal poet," Daniel whispered in Owen's ear.
"More like professor Alverdine himself," said Owen.
The figure disappeared into the air when the song ended.
"Now, it's time for the old folks to leave," said Alverdine with a smile. "We don't want to wear out our welcome."
He led the teachers out of the sport field. The music changed into dancing tunes. The older students poured into the center of the sport field and started dancing around the bonfire.
"Wait here," Daniel said to Owen and ran after Professor Alverdine. Alverdine was walking with a couple of professors. Daniel waited until he was alone.
"Sir," Daniel called. Alverdine stopped and turned around.
"Sir, Can I ask you something?" asked Daniel.
"You most certainly can," Alverdine said with a warm smile. "Quite a night, isn't it?"
"Yeah, it is," said Daniel quickly. "It's about my powers. I have eagle-eyes and bat-ears."
"Yes, I have heard," said professor Alverdine. "Actually I had the feeling when I released your powers."
"I hear and see things all the time. Sometimes things that I don't want to see or hear. I can deal with the eyes. I can close them if I get too much information, but I can't just close my ears."
"Ah, yes. I suppose this must be hard for you." Alverdine didn't look surprised.
They were now on the cliff where the tower resided. Daniel remembered that a month ago it was in the tower that Alverdine released his powers. Everything was similar but everything was different. He could see the tiny waves in the sea and every detail on the tower. He could hear the sound of the waves and the movements of the grass blades over the noise from the sport field. However, he also heard the scream of a rat being killed by a wild cat and the sound made by insects before they were devoured by bats. His powers were like a blessing and a curse at the same time.
"A lot of people actually have the solution for your problem without knowing it. Even you may have done it without knowing it yourself-in a very boring class, for example-or in the case of couples accusing each other that their words go in one ear and out of the other. The solution is to make a tunnel between your two ears, so the information does not enter the brain"
It took some time for Daniel to digest and fully understand what professor Alverdine had just said, but Alverdine didn't rush him. He stood there quietly and seemed to be in perfect harmony with everything around him.
"I sense that you have another question that you are a little embarrassed to ask," he broke the silence after a while.
"It's-well-I hear a lot of things that aren't supposed to be heard by others," said Daniel carefully. The issue was kind of sensitive and he didn't want it to come out wrong.
"You mean secrets," Professor Alverdine didn't seem to think that was necessary.
"I don't mean to eavesdrop," said Daniel quickly.
"I understand," said Alverdine amiably. "Information like powers is a double-edged sword. You can use it for good or bad...Use it well. I have faith in you."
When Daniel got back to the sport field, Owen had already left. The party was still going strong. Most of the students were dancing around the bonfire. Not knowing how to dance, Daniel decided to go back to the dorm.
The rest of the school was very quiet compared to the sport field. Amount the small chirping sounds of the insects was the sound of someone crying. It was a stark comparison to the festive sounds in the sport field and hard to ignore even thought it was far away from where Daniel was. Daniel followed the sound and found himself by the lake. The moonlight reflected on the lake made the lake much brighter and the shadows of the trees much darker. The hills and the island were peaceful under the moonlight. The crying sound was from the back of a tree.
"You all right?" Daniel stopped a few feet away from the tree.
He waited. The person behind the tree didn't answer right away. Daniel asked again.
"Yeah," the person answered this time. Daniel recognized Kerri's voice right away. He walked to where she was.
She was sitting on the ground with her back against the trunk. She was wiping her eyes with her sleeves and seemed embarrassed that Daniel caught her in that state.
"What's the matter?" asked Daniel, feeling concerned and out of place.
"I guess I-miss-my family?" said Kerri, looking ashamed.
"You can always go back for New Year," said Daniel.
"I don't think I'm welcome there any more, not like I ever was," said Kerri. "They have always thought of me as a monster."
"By their standards, we all are," said Daniel.
"You don't understand," said Kerri. She sounded like she was going to cry again.
"If you want to talk, I'm here to listen any time you want," said Daniel.
"I don't know," said Kerri.
The silence made Daniel very uncomfortable. He wanted to leave but knew that it was a terrible thing to do.
After a while, Kerri started talking. She was looking at the ground the whole time. Daniel knew that it must be hard for her to talk about something that personal.
She was born in a mortal family. To keep her away from other people, her parents hid her in the attic when she was a kid. Because of the fortuneteller, they were afraid that she was going to cause them bad luck if they were too close to her. When their business went under, they blamed on her. After a while, they got desperate. They decided to show her as a zoo animal and collect entrance fee, but Kerri would not change her color, which led her to more trouble. In her parents' eyes, they were dealing with something evil and the abuse was somehow justified. It was Alverdine who saved her and brought her to the island.
On his way back to the dorm, it suddenly came to Daniel that it was probably why Alverdine was late getting to his house. He had to save Kerri first. Daniel didn't know how he felt, or he didn't want to understand the way he felt. He didn't want to blame either Kerri or Alverdine for his father's disappearance. The mere idea of that made him feel ashamed of himself; so when he walked into his dorm room, his mind was blank. When Owen jumped up from his bed and said, "no way you're gonna believe this," Daniel just pushed him aside and went right into his bed.
The book is available at barnes and noble, amazon online bookstores. Search by the title. Author's blog: 360.yahoo.com/gcgustopher