Chosen Sidekick: Chapter 2.1 [Old]

Squeak. Squeak. Caleb swiveled back and forth in his chair, the chair squealing in protest. Finally he sighed and leaned forward. "Mira. Valencia. Something feels off here. It's not me, is it?"

It was Monday and the three of them were at the school library, supposedly planning their quest. There were a few other students at the other tables, but for the most part, everyone had left when school ended.

Val glared up at Caleb. "No, it's not you. Also, it's just Val, not Valencia."

"Okay, noted." Caleb ran his hands through his hair in frustration. "But what is it, then? I thought you two were supposed to be friends, but I'm feeling a super weird vibe here. We need to work together if we're going to be successful on our quest."

Val eyed him skeptically. Did he not know about everyone believing she would be the Chosen One? Or was he just extremely dense? Either way, she didn't deign to answer his question. Val turned to Mira, who was bent over a thick tome called The History of Mineral Metropolis. "Find anything useful?"

"Not really." Mira tugged at a lock of hair nervously. "I mean, I guess there is the part about them using the Vernal Pearl of Eternal-" She stopped. "Let's just shorten it to the Pearl. Apparently, they use the Pearl for a special festival in the springtime. Val, remember that time we went to Mineral Metropolis for Spring Break and there were tons of flowers everywhere?"

Val nodded stonily. There was an awkward silence that normally Val would have filled with a joke about how she'd been sneezing for days afterward. But she wasn't in the mood for jokes.

After a moment, Mira continued, "Well, it's a tradition that goes back exactly a hundred years this year."

"You're saying this year is the hundredth anniversary?" Caleb asked.

Mira nodded, her dark eyes skimming another page of the book.

"Yikes, that's not good. Security around the Pearl will likely be increased if it's such a special occasion."

As if this quest could get any worse. Val huffed. "What's the date of the festival this year?"

Mira did some quick calculations. "Last year it was on April 21, so… This year, the Festival of Renewal will take place on April 19, the Friday of our Spring Break. Celebrations last through Saturday and wrap up on Sunday."

Caleb nodded grimly. "Maybe they'll be more lax with security on Sunday, after the festival."

"That's all well and good, but how are we going to get into Mineral Metropolis in the first place? Every city is naturally suspicious of trios of teenagers. And splitting up is not a great idea on quests," Val pointed out. They all remembered the story of how the questgoers five years ago had split up during their quest and ended up maimed in different, equally gruesome ways. Nothing that New Geode City's Hat of Healing couldn't fix, but it still must have been painful.

"We'll get to pick out some artifacts tomorrow, right? We could find something to help." Mira gave Val a tentative smile. It was customary for each member of a questing trio to pick out an artifact from the city's Artifact Museum to aid them in their quest.

Val gave her a strained smile back. The Artifact Museum had featured prominently in her daydreams about being the Chosen One… She'd already known which artifact to pick– the Sword of Flames, which her mother had brought back during her quest. It wasn't just a cool flaming sword; the Sword of Flames was sentient, meaning it could be a useful spy, an ally to defend her if she ever fell unconscious during a fight, and so much more. But legendary artifacts like the Sword of Flames were reserved for Chosen Ones.

"Right," Val muttered. At best, a Companion Two like her would get the Cucumber Club: literally a club made from a gigantic cucumber.

Caleb looked between the two of them and frowned. But before he could comment on the atmosphere again, Val pointed at the clock.

"It's five already. I think that's enough planning for today."

"We're meeting at the Artifact Museum tomorrow after school, though, right?" Mira asked.

The others nodded. With that, the trio parted ways.

Val holed up in her room again at home, like she'd been doing every day since she'd shown her parents the waiver. She gritted her teeth and worked on her math homework. If she couldn't be the Chosen One, she could at least score higher than Mira on the math test on Friday– Wait. When had things become about beating Mira?

She set down her pencil and rubbed her eyes. Who was she becoming? What had happened to the Val who cruised through her classes, spent hours laughing with Mira, and dreamed excitedly about the future?

Val groaned. If only she'd been the Chosen One. She was sure things would have been better all around; Val had the experience and skills to be the leader of their quest, and knowing Mira, she would've been more comfortable being a Companion. Val silently cursed the seeing pool of New Geode. Everyone said it never made mistakes, but surely something had gone wrong this time.

The thought lingered in Val's mind as she ate a quiet dinner with her parents, washed up, and went to bed. The government issued each city its seeing pool, but surely it was possible for there to be defective ones? Even magic items could be flawed. Maybe New Geode City's seeing pool was just showing its problems now…

When Val woke up, the idea that the seeing pool could've messed up seemed less plausible. For the entire history of New Geode City, the seeing pool had faithfully selected Chosen Ones and the objects of their quests. Questioning the seeing pool wasn't something to be done without evidence.

At school, Val attended her classes mindlessly, nodding at classmates who offered her sympathetic smiles. The embarrassment she'd first felt at their pitying glances was nothing more than an uncomfortable twinge at the back of her mind now.

Out of habit, she had lunch with Mira, both of them absorbed in their thoughts. When the bell rang, Val walked to her next class, gazing listlessly at the patterns on the hallway floor.

"Hey."

Val looked up, startled.

Caleb stood in front of her, a triumphant look on his face. "I figured out why things feel so weird between you two."

"Oh? Great job," she said sarcastically, raising an eyebrow. How had she ever thought this idiot could be her love interest?

"I get that you were disappointed when you found out you weren't the Chosen One, but you need to try to get past it if we're going to go on this quest. As a trio, we'll need to be able to trust each other and communicate effectively." Caleb stared at her earnestly, his green eyes widened ever so slightly.

Val sighed heavily. "Look, it wasn't just that I was 'disappointed.' Being the Chosen One was always my destiny. Finding out that it was Mira instead… well, it was like ground that you'd always thought was solid had turned to air, leaving you to free-fall into the void, never to be heard from again."

Well, perhaps that was a tad bit dramatic. Who cared, though; she had to get to class. Val spun on her heel and stomped past Caleb.