The film is really bad - a dragon is giving a kid a self-defence lesson. Jackson leans over and whispers, "You were right, I feel robbed." His breath is warm on my neck and the feeling hovers there long after he returns to watching the film. I try to concentrate on the pocket ninjas, but I"m too confused. Am I on a first date? If I had known I was going to end up on a date, I wouldn"t have coated myself in animal scents at the pet shop. I must stink. I blush in the darkness. I wish I could have prepared for this. I would have revised the ponytail, dirty white trainers and camo-green T-shirt. I would have made an effort, worn clean shoes at least. Maybe even applied some of Elecktra"s make-up, blingles to my nails, washed my mouth out with perfume. That"s what guys like, right?
Jackson coughs and covers his mouth with his hand. My entire body tenses. He extends his elbow behind my ear and my body leans in without my permission. Jackson"s arm reaches around and pulls me towards him. I snuggle in. He gently pats my shoulder and smiles down at me. Even in this dense darkness, the colour of his eyes is still vibrant, alien green in s.p.a.ce. There are no savage b.u.t.terflies this time. It"s weird how completely comfortable I feel. We watch the last twenty minutes of the movie curled up in the back row. It"s the best twenty minutes of my life.
"I think it"s time," he whispers. As the movie credits roll, I flash invisible again and we exit the cinema.
Darkness slithers in as we walk home. Streetlamps flutter on and shadows ink themselves across the pavement. Sludgy samurai shadows that you can"t see through. Jackson and I are careful not to tread in any; the slightest wrong step and they will feel us. We don"t talk, but walk fast. We can sense there is trouble simmering on the streets and the movie ran later than we thought it would.
"I know a short cut to your house," Jackson says as he leads me around a corner and down a dark alleyway. My heart pounds in the blindness. The alleyway opens up onto a street and under its lamp I regain my bearings - we are only three streets away from my home.
Jackson grabs my arm. "Wait!" he says.
I look down. I don"t need to turn around to learn what is behind us - the shadows have already swallowed my feet. Jackson and I turn slowly to meet the black eyes of samurai. Two girls and four boys, all with red string tied around their wrists. Jackson and I step back. They step forwards. We are outnumbered, but I feel the strength of trained techniques in Jackson"s fingers as they clench my arm. The samurai encircle us.
"Woot! Ninjas in the dark," one of the girls croons. She is wearing a pleated short skirt with biker boots.
"Hey, we live around the corner. Don"t want any trouble," Jackson says.
"But you never know what"s around the corner," the girl sings and the samurai laugh. I hate samurai humour, it"s lame.
They take a step closer. The samurai must be about seventeen, yet their knuckles are not calloused from training. These guys are amateurs. No match for the White Warrior. I know I shouldn"t use any of my powers as they might guess who I am, but I"ve been dying to show Jackson what I can do ...
The four boys lunge and pin down our arms. Jackson looks at me and without hesitation we jump and somersault back, twisting our arms out of their grip and landing on our feet. A samurai flies at me with a spear-hand strike and I block it with my foot, then kick him across the chest. I jump onto his shoulders and use them as leverage to propel me up to kick the next boy. The power of my kick spins him into the streetlamp, causing its light to smash and casting us all in darkness. I look around and Jackson has already taken care of the third boy. The girl with the biker boots steps forwards. She c.o.c.ks her head to one side and studies me. I"m going to go for it.
The taste of chilli coats my tongue as the heat from the Fire Scroll kindles in my gut. The girl launches at me. I flash invisible, fly behind her, then clap my hands together. The girl spins on her heels and I see both her and Jackson"s surprise as I slowly part my palms, revealing a fireball. I launch it over her shoulder. It misses her as I intended and sizzles on the road.
The girl kicks out at me, her feet boxing towards my face. I leap away from her stinging strikes. Behind us, Jackson is defending himself against the fourth boy. I watch my opponent dance around, showing off her best kicks and stances; the speed and effortless rhythm of her technique are familiar. She spins towards me in a turning flying side kick. I leap out of the way and counter with an axe kick, my heel on fire. She twists out of the reach of my flaming toes, then a.s.sumes a deep tiger stance. Her shadow engulfs me. Jackson back kicks the fourth boy into the girl watching and they both crash to the ground. The biker girl realises she has no backup, but holds my glare. Why isn"t she afraid of me?
I summon another fireball in my hand, then direct the wind to whip it into a flaming tornado. I hurl it towards her. She leaps out of the way, then charges at me. She backflips over my head, tucks her knees under her chin and scratches my face with her long nails as she travels above me. She spins twice and lands in a blurring forward roll. She crouches and looks behind at us with her arms winged out to the sides. She smirks. That same irritating samurai smirk that Hero wears when he knows something. She pokes her tongue out at me, then runs off.
"Are you okay?" Jackson studies my face in the moonlight and gently dabs at my cheek with the sleeve of his shirt.
"Just a scratch," I say.
"Fireb.a.l.l.s are dangerous. You can"t go showing off your powers like that. We could have taken them, you know. Without the fireworks," he says sternly. Jackson has slipped back into his role as my instructor.
"But don"t you think my powers are awesome?" I ask.
"You were concentrating too much on your powers and not enough on the fight," he says.
I"m thankful for the darkness, which hides my blazing cheeks. "Okay. I was showing off and got stung," I mumble, hurt that he didn"t say my powers rock.
Jackson starts walking to my home and I follow. A sudden realisation handbreaks my step.
"I"ve got it!" I say. "I know where I"ve seen them."
Jackson pulls up. "Seen what?"
"Biker girl"s moves," I say. "She"s been to the Cemetery of Warriors and fought the Monk. Can"t you tell?"
Jackson thinks for a moment. "She was trained. Gave you a fair go." He smiles. "Makes sense. More and more samurai are transporting and training up. They"re stronger than ever and outnumbering us. Soon this town will be Sam Central," he says, taking my hand to lead me home. He wants to escape the shadows. Fast.
"They can"t know you"re the White Warrior," he says as we turn the sharp corner into my street. I can see my yellow apartment and a light in the window. We slow down and I turn to Jackson.
"But Hero knows already. Why hasn"t he told his clan?" I ask.
"He"s not that stupid. He knows it would mean clan war - samurai fighting for your powers, ninjas protecting you - and Hero wants you all to himself. He"s up to something. You can"t risk it again, Rox."
"I reckon Hero"s up to something with Lecky," I say.
"Maybe. But remember, whoever kills the White Warrior takes on their powers," Jackson says.
The word "kill" reverberates through me, a gong to my heart.
"You"re safe with me, Fancy Face," Jackson says, pulling me into a hug. He hasn"t called me that for a long time. My heart glows like the living-room lamp. He squeezes me tight.
"G2G?" he asks, releasing me.
I smile. "Good to go," I say, then walk casually up the side of the house to my open bedroom window on the second floor.
"I"ll see you on Monday for the sports carnival," he calls up to me. "P.S. Your wall walking has improved."
I wave to him from my window, then he darts across the road and in a few seconds he has disappeared, leaving me hungry to be wrapped in his arms again.
NINE.
"Hey, how good do you look?" I tell Cinnamon. She is wearing a red tracksuit and has managed to prop a red cowboy hat atop her big hair. Red warrior stripes are painted on her cheeks. I"m wearing a brown Mexican poncho of Art"s and brown corduroy pants, and I"m carrying a hobbyhorse with a brown head.
The school oval is a patchwork of colours this morning for the sports carnival. Everyone is sitting in their House on the gra.s.s, screaming their House chants and waving banners. House pride is really important. Red Rose is the strongest team, then purple Bougainvillea, blue Iris, orange Tulip, white Lily and finally us, brown Cosmos. My House is named after chocolate cosmos flowers, which are technically a deep burgundy colour, but few kids know what burgundy looks like so Hindley Hall went with brown. Cosmos is filled with the laziest kids. Many of them faked a sickie today so the younger kids have to run the older kids" events.
Cinnamon is in Rose with Elecktra. Elecktra is wearing a Red Riding Hood costume, a red wig and high wedge shoes. She has painted the soles of the wedges red like a pair of designer shoes and struts her stuff as if walking a runway. Many of the kids are wearing mismatching trainers, following Elecktra"s trend from sport the other day.
Jackson races up to me in a lavender bunny suit - he"s in Bougainvillea.
"I like bunnies," I say, flicking his floppy bunny ears, then blushing once I realise what I"ve said.
"Bunnies like you," he replies. He"s probably talking about the rabbits in the pet shop, but he doesn"t blink his eyes away and I remember the gorgeous weight of his arm around my shoulder.
"So what events are you in?" I ask.
"Everything," he says.
"I"m doing heaps too."
Chantell appears at my elbow. "Roxy, you"re up for the two-hundred-metre sprint," she orders. Our House captain didn"t even bother showing up today so as deputy House captain, Chantell has to organise Cosmos.
"But it"s the Open race. All the kids are at least sixteen," I say.
"Then you better run fast." She is wearing her school uniform and the only hint of House pride is that she has coloured in every third nail with a brown felt-tip pen.
"You could have worn more brown," I say. "The kids love dressing up."
"Brown does nothing for my complexion," Chantell snaps.
"But -"
"I"m drinking a Long Brown," she interrupts, holding up a Thermos.
I shove my hobbyhorse at her and remove my poncho. "Please look after Maheadabell," I say, patting my old horse"s nose for luck, then walking to the start line, where Sergeant Major stands.
Great. I"m racing against both Elecktra and Jackson. Elecktra has not taken off her wedges so I should have an advantage and Jackson"s bunny suit looks restrictive. I can do this.
Sergeant Major calls, "On your marks, ready ready."
I place my fingertips on the start line and raise my bottom in the air.
"Go!" he booms.
I"m off, churning my arms and legs. Jackson overtakes me quickly in a mauve blaze. Elecktra is struggling behind us in her wedges. My lungs burst with the effort. I"ve been running with the wind too often and I"ve lost a bit of fitness. Elecktra"s red wig suddenly zooms past me. I push harder to catch up, but I"m no match for the older kids with their long strides. Lecky is out in first place. She"s never won a race before. I notice her feet are hardly touching the ground - she"s using her powers! Lecky flashes a victorious smile at me, then blasts off, leaving us all in her red smoke. I don"t even get a place.
After the race, Elecktra bounces over to Jackson, Cinnamon and me with her ribbon. "I won!" she squeals.
Jackson scrunches his nose. He has pencilled on whiskers. "You"re asking for it," he says.
Elecktra smirks.
"Poxy Roxy"s a loser!" Hero shouts from the sidelines.
Elecktra"s eyes cloud over, her mouth tightens and her fists clench. She spins towards Hero. "Cool it, short stuff! No one"s asking you to run an Open race!" she yells.
I can"t believe it - did my sister just stick up for me? Joy explodes inside my chest. I smile at Jackson and he winks. But I can tell he"s not convinced by Elecktra"s sudden sisterly love. He"s still so suspicious.
Elecktra walks back to Rose. She ignores Hero, but joins the rest of his clan. All of them have red string tied around their wrists. Hero is teaching the samurai arts to norms - kids without fighter parents. His school martial arts team is growing stronger every week, like an army. Jackson says they"re training in a secret location in the bush.
Later, I watch Lecky take up a discus. She spins into a blur, then throws it. The discus lands at her feet with poor technique, but she makes it leap five metres further with her mind. Rose House cheers. No one has questioned her sudden athleticism - she is a pro at disguising her powers as magic tricks or timely mistakes.
"I won!" Cinnamon joins me with a blue ribbon pinned to her red tracksuit top. "I can"t believe it! I won. For real!"
I hug her. "You won for real!" Her excitement is contagious. "What did you win?" I"ve been too busy watching Elecktra"s every move to notice any of the other events. I haven"t even seen Jackson compete.
"Hammer throw," she says. "Sergeant Major showed me how and when I threw my first one, he said I"m a natural. I"m better at throwing than climbing."
I remember Cim paralysed on the rock-climbing wall when she was only a ruler"s length off the ground. She"s changed so much. So far she has partic.i.p.ated in school sport, represented Rose in the hammer throw, been bike riding after school and is trying to eat healthily, although she"s given up beetroot. At this rate she"ll be at the Olympics before we graduate.
The sports carnival is winding up. We stand next to the long jump pit with my hobbyhorse, Maheadabell. Jackson approaches with so many blue ribbons pinned to his purple bunny costume that he looks like a decorated war hero.
"Poor effort," I tease, flicking one of his ribbons.
"Cute horse," he says, patting Maheadabell.
When I don"t laugh, he asks, "Hey, are you okay, Roxy Rox?"
Cinnamon looks at me, concerned.
"Elecktra"s still acting weird, you know?" I look up into the green pastures of his eyes. He stares down at me and smiles.
"Oh, I know," he says. Cinnamon nods in agreement.
"I think we need some professional help. Do you think it"s time to talk to Sabo?" I ask.
Jackson tilts his head and one bunny ear flops down over his face. Now I laugh. Cinnamon narrows her eyes.
"I"m not sure about professionalism," he says, "but yeah, Sabo will convince her to train regularly." Jackson must think she"s turning ninja too! Nothing escapes Jackson. He has a sixth ninja sense - sniffing out other ninjas. Jackson walks off to join his House as Sergeant Major announces the awards ceremony is about to start.
Cinnamon elbows me. "There"s something going on between you two!"
"As if!" I say, blushing badly.
"Liar." She smiles as we join the other kids in a mash of rainbow colours on the oval. Everyone is shouting their House chants and thrusting their banners in the air. I sink into the pack circling Sergeant Major. I"m not feeling House-spirited today. My mind has been too full of Elecktra. How dare she use her powers when competing! And in such a ridiculous outfit. Outfit! That reminds me of Elecktra"s viewing party this afternoon. I"m not looking forward to seeing Chantell.
Sergeant Major hushes the crowd and we wait anxiously for the results. Cinnamon is hovering in a cl.u.s.ter of red over with Rose House. I"m not expecting Cosmos to do well. Chantell was more interested in how to make brown fashionable than filling our events with compet.i.tors.
"In third place," Sergeant Major pauses, "Tulip!" The orange in the crowd go nuts and run up to him in a cloud of tangerine fizz.
Sergeant Major hushes the crowd again. "In second place, we have -"
"Me!" some kid yells out. Sergeant Major shoots him a glare and the boy is swallowed into the Neapolitan swirl of brown Cosmos, pinky-red Rose and white Lily.
Sergeant Major clears his throat. "In second place, we have," he repeats, "Iris!" A blue wave of kids surges forwards and envelops Sergeant Major. They have blue-painted faces and some of them are dressed like Smurfs, sailors and Alice in Wonderland.
I think first place will be a tie between Rose and Lily. Sergeant Major waits for us to be quiet.
Elecktra is standing at the front of Rose, her red wig blowing in the breeze. She would love to be House captain one day. I don"t know why though. Whenever she has to do something in a team, she blabs on about how much teams make her stressed and "stressed" spelled backwards equals "desserts". So according to her logic, being in a team will only make her fat. Lecky logic is confusing, I know.
"Drum roll?" Sergeant Major asks. We all tap our thighs to drum up suspense.
"In first place, the winning House is ... wait for it ..." We hit our thighs harder to make the drum roll louder. "Rose!" he yells.
The first person to scream is Cinnamon. She throws her cowboy hat into the air and yells, "Yee-ha!"
Rose blazes to the front in furious excitement. Cinnamon is high-fiving everyone and even earns a high-five from Elecktra. I can"t take my eyes off Cinnamon - she"s glowing. Today she won her first race and now she"s part of a winning team. She rarely used to leave my side, but now she"s hanging out with other kids. Her emotional fitness has improved so much too. I"m supersonic proud of my friend.