First Sword Fighting Lesson is the fourth chapter of Zak Saturday's Immortal Love Life. It was first published on January 4, 2016.
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Chapter After talking with Zak, I went to look for my mom to tell her about it, even though I knew she was listening. I went looking around the Saturdays’ home, which was maybe a little bigger than mine, looking in every door I passed that opened liked a grocery store’s motion sensor doors. Most of them half empty, I found my mom sitting on a bed with her cell phone in hand in one of the guest bedrooms that the Saturdays’ were letting her stay in. The room was a pretty good size room, about the size of mine at home. It had orange walls, which was kind of weird; a queen-size bed; a nightstand right next to it with a lamp and digital clock on top of it; and a window on the opposite wall of the door. “Hey,” Mom said, putting her phone down. “Were you surprised by what Zak asked you?” I nodded. “Yes.” “Well, I’m not. He probably liked watching you and Zack sword fight, and wants to try it himself too.” “Yeah. I guess I should’ve asked you if I can teach him or not.” “You didn’t have to. I would’ve told you yes, anyway. You know I practically let you do whatever you want, right?” “I know. But I don’t know why.” “I have my reasons. “You have a lot of reasons on why you do certain things, but you never say what those reasons are.” “That’s because I get a little emotional when I talk about it. You know easily I can cry.” I nodded. “Yes, I do. I’m the same way, probably getting it from you.” “Probably.” “Anyway, you don’t mind if I teach Zak how to use a sword?” “Of course I don’t,” Mom said. “Just let me know what kind of sword he wants to use and I’ll get it for you, and you can teach him how to use it.” “But I don’t know how to use any other sword besides my own.” “You can use practically any kind of sword the same way, Sarah. The only difference is the look and weight of it.” “Are you sure?” “Sarah, I can use almost every single weapon that has ever been made. Believe me, I know.” “Ok. I believe you.” “Besides, he’ll probably want to use the same sword as yours, anyway. He did say that, after all.” “Yeah,” I agreed. “So, did you call Dad?” Mom nodded. “Yeah. He’s not exactly happy with this new thing, and doesn’t really understand it that much, but he’s fine with it. He’ll take Emily to Britney during the day, and pick her up and bring her home when he gets off work.” “We can’t bring her here?” I asked. “I think it’s a little too dangerous for her to be here. She’ll be fine with Britney.” “If you say so. Well, good night.” “Good night.” I exited the room and went toward my temporary guest room, which happened to be between my mom’s and Zack’s room. My mom and I have a great mother/daughter bond. I talk to her about everything. I even tell her more stuff than I tell my best friends. Whatever we talk about, Mom always keeps between me and herself, and so do I. Sometimes, anyway. Occasionally, Mom does ask me if she can tell someone about what I told her, like my dad or her best friend Britney, and half the time I say yes, and half the time I say no. She won’t say anything to anyone if I say no, and I won’t do the same. That’s how great our bond is. I entered the guest room that I will be staying in for a while. It looked the exact same as Mom’s. The guest rooms at our house are identical with each other as well. I walked over to the bed and was about to get under the covers, when I realized that I was still wearing the clothes that I’ve been wearing for the past few days. I quickly went back to Mom. When I entered her room, I noticed that she had changed into her PJs already. She was wearing a light pink thank top with light pink shorts. Mom likes to wear clothes that match in color, as do I. Another thing I get from her. “Hey, Mom, I need my—” I stopped when I noticed something in her hands. My favorite pajamas. She held them out to me. “I figured you were going to come back in here and ask me to teleport home really quick and get you some pajamas. So that’s what I did, and got some for you.” I took them and smiled. “Thanks.” “You’re welcome. And I also got you clothes for tomorrow, too.” She picked up a blue outfit that was lying on the bed next to her, and handed them to me. I took them too. “Thanks,” I told her again. Then I realized something. “Umm, where are the animals, and Pikachu?” “They’re playing together outside,” Mom said. “They’ll be inside soon.” “Ok. See you in the morning.” “Alright. Sweet dreams.” After I got back to my room, I changed into my PJs. The reason that these are my favorite pajamas is not just because they’re purple, which is my favorite color; but it’s also because it had Pikachu on the front of the shirt, and all kinds of other Pokémon all over the rest of the clothes. I know I’m a little too old to be wearing those kind of clothes, but I love Pokémon. I climbed into bed, but then I felt uneasy, like someone was watching me. I looked over the side of the bed, then all of a sudden, two something’s jumped at me. I screamed, and fell off the other side of the bed. I heard laughing. When I lifted my head up, I saw Kika and Honey on the bed with smiles on their faces. I scowled at them. “That’s not funny.” I got up from the floor and sat on the bed between them. “It was funny to us,” Honey said. I heard Zack laughing in my head. “Zack, stop laughing and get out of my head,” I told him aloud. He apparently heard me, because I couldn’t hear him anymore. I turned back to Kika and Honey. “You two are lucky I’m not kicking either of you out,” I said. “We were just playing around,” Kika said. “I know, but you two scared the hell out of me. I was about to grab my sword. I could of really hurt you two.” “But you didn’t,” Honey said. “I know I didn’t. But please, don’t do that again.” “Ok. We won’t.” “Thank you.” I petted their heads. Then I laid down on the bed, and Kika and Honey laid down on either side of me. I immediately began to feel a little uncomfortable. “My bed at home is much more comfortable than this bed,” I muttered. “I’ll say,” Honey agreed. “I can deal with it.” “So, are you excited about tomorrow, since you’re spending it with Zak?” Kika asked. “I’m not crazy about him. And it’s just a sword lesson.” “It won’t be one for long.” “Oh my God. Just shut up about it already.” “Ok. Good night.” “Good night.” I turned off the lamp and closed my eyes. I really hope that Zak isn’t attracted to me like the boys at my school are. And if he is, I doubt my family and I will stay for much longer. I’m really glad that Sarah and her family could stay and help us with this Kur stuff, but I’m also glad that Sarah said yes to teaching me how to use a sword like hers. I couldn’t wait until tomorrow. I’ll be a sword master in no time, with a person like Sarah teaching me. It was getting late, and close to my bedtime, so I decided to just go to bed now. I went and said good night to Mom and Dad, then headed to my room along with Komodo. Once I got there, I climbed into my bed and got under the covers. Komodo lied down next to my feet. I turned off the lamp on my nightstand next to my bed, then I closed my eyes and fell asleep almost instantly once my head hit the pillows. The next morning, I got up, got dressed in my regular clothes, and went to get some breakfast. While I was walking down the hall toward the kitchen, I looked outside the window and noticed Sarah sitting on a log with her sword in its scabbard around her waist. I quickly went out there to join her. When I reached her, she noticed me and smiled. “Good morning,” she said. “Good morning,” I replied. “How long have you been out here?” “Since dawn.” “Why?” “Because that bed is uncomfortable, and I couldn’t sleep in it any longer.” “Oh. Sorry about that.” “That’s ok. I can ask my mom if she could make it more suitable for me to sleep in. But it’s probably best that we start the lesson as soon as the sun rises.” “Well, you could have woken me up. I wouldn’t have minded.” “I didn’t want to be rude since you had helped me out. Plus, I didn’t know where your room was.” “Oh. Ok. I’ll show you where my room is later. But before we start the lesson, do you want to have breakfast first? It is the most important meal of the day, after all. For some reason.” “That’s probably because it gives you the nutrients you need to start your day. And, yeah, I’ll have some.” So we went back inside and headed toward the kitchen. “What would you like to eat?” I asked Sarah. “Umm, cereal is fine,” she replied. “Alright.” I gestured toward the island in the middle of the kitchen. Sarah walked over to it, pulled out a stool, and sat down. I grabbed two bowls from the covert, two spoons from the silverware drawer. I placed one set in front of her, and mine next to it. I grabbed the cereal. “Cheerios ok?” “Yeah,” she replied. I poured it in her bowl, then in mine. I walked toward the refrigerator, opened the door, and pulled out the milk. I walked back over to Sarah, and poured some milk into her bowl. “Thank you,” she said. “No problem,” I said. Sarah picked up her spoon, scooped up some milk and cereal from her bowl, and put it in her mouth. I was about to pour the milk into my bowl when all of a sudden, Sarah spit out her food and coughed a few times. “Are you ok?” I asked her. She nodded. “Yeah. That milk tastes really bad.” I raised my eyebrow. I lifted the milk carton to my nose and smelled the liquid inside it. Augh. It does smell bad. I looked at the expiration date, and I wished I had checked it first before I poured it into Sarah’s bowl. “Yeah, it’s about five days past its due date,” I said, then threw the carton in the trash. “Do you want something else for breakfast?” Sarah shook her head. “No, thanks. That milk ruined my appetite. But can I have some juice to get that bad taste out of my mouth?” I nodded. “Sure.” I went toward the refrigerator again, and I grabbed the orange juice. I got a glass out of the covert, and poured some into it. And yes, I did check the expiration date before I poured it. Still got about three weeks to go. I handed the glass to Sarah, and she took it. “Thanks.” She lifted it to her mouth, and gulped it all down. “Well, it got rid of the taste a little bit, but not much.” “Do you want to start training now?” I asked. “Yeah. Just let me go see if my mom’s awake yet. You can go and wait outside for me if you want.” “Ok.” So I went outside to where Sarah was earlier, sat down on the same log, and waited for her. She came outside a few minutes later with her sword in its scabbard in her hands. At least, I thought it was her sword, but I noticed her actual sword was still tied around her waist, so I’m guessing the sword in her hands will be mine. “Ok,” Sarah said when she reached me. “We can start the lesson now.” I smiled. “Great.” “Umm, I got you what is now your sword. I wasn’t sure what kind of sword you wanted, but I remember you saying that you wanted to learn how to use a sword like mine, so I got you my kind, which is a three-foot-long, classic stainless-steel. “Oh, yeah. That’s fine. I didn’t know that there were different kinds of swords.” “Well, your mom uses a differnt kind of sword than I do.” “True. But where did you get that sword?” “From my mom. That’s why I went to see if she was awake, so that she could this sword for me.” “Where did she get the sword?” “From our home. We have a few spare stainless-steel swords, and my mom teleported home really quick for me to get me one of them for you.” I nodded. “Ok.” Sarah handed me the sword. “The first thing we’re going to do is to make sure that you can lift this.” “How heavy is it?” I asked. “It weighs about twenty pounds.” “Umm, ok.” I took it with both hands, and I was able to lift it. I even held it over my head as a joke. “See? I can lift it,” I said. Sarah glared at me. “Ok, first of all, it’s easy to lift it with two hands. Second of all, you’re not even holding it by the hilt like you’re suppose to. And third of all, you need to be able to hold it with just one hand, too.” “Is there a fourth of all?” “No.” “Ok. But why just one hand? Aren’t you suppose to use two?” “Usually, yes. But some people use a sword and shield. You probably won’t, so you need to learn with one hand just in case, for some reason, you can’t use both your hands.” “Fine. I’ll try. But with two hands first.” “Make sure to pull it out of the sheath.” I grabbed the hilt of the sword with both hands, and pulled it out of its scabbard, but I was only able to lift it half way up my body. “That’s good,” Sarah said. “Now try it with one hand.” “Do I have to try it with both hands separately, or just one?” I asked. “You can do it with either of your hands, but you can try both if you want.” “Ok.” I let my left hand go, trying to hold up the sword with my right hand, but it fell to the ground, me only able to lift it back up again a couple inches off the ground. “Ok, that’s too heavy for you,” Sarah said. “I’ll go get a fifteen pound sword.” I handed the sword to her. She took it and sheathed it. “How much does your sword weigh?” I asked. “Fifteen pounds,” she replied. “But my brother’s weighs twenty.” “How can he lift a more heavier one?” “Well, when his powers activated, he got super strength, and he wanted to swing a little heavier sword.” “And since your powers haven’t activated yet, you can only lift a fifteen-pound-sword?” “For now, yes. I’ll be right back with the same weight for yours.” Sarah went back inside the house and came back out a few minutes later, carrying the sword in her hands. “That sword looks the exact same as the other one,” I noted. “That’s because it is the same sword,” she replied. “Now try it.” I grabbed the hilt of it once again with both my hands and unsheathed it. It did feel a little lighter than before. “How did you make this sword lighter?” I asked her. “I didn’t,” she replied. “My mom did with her powers. And it’s easier for you to lift now, right?” I nodded. “Yeah. I’m guessing you want me to try it with one hand now?” “Yes.” I dropped my left hand from the hilt. It dropped a little, but my right hand was able to hold it up. Sarah nodded in approval. “Perfect. Now let’s start training.” She held the scabbard for my sword in front of me. I took it and sheathed my sword. “Do you want me to buckled that for you?” Sarah asked. “What?” I asked, confused. “Your sword’s sheath. Would you like me to buckled it on for you, like how my sword’s sheath is around my waist? Or would you like to strap your sword across your back like your mom’s sword is?” “Oh. Umm, no, that’s ok. Around the waist is fine.” I handed her the scabbard. She took it. “You can put this on like a second belt. So which side would you like your sword to be on?” “Does it matter?” “Umm, not really. But I have my sword on my left side because I’m right-handed. So, which hand do you use more: your left or your right?” “Umm, my right hand.” “Ok. Then your sword should be on your left side.” Sarah walked to my right, wrapped the straps around my waist, and buckled them together, which made me feel a little uncomfortable. “There you go,” she said. “Thanks,” I said. Sarah nodded. “Ok. Now unsheathe your sword with one hand.” I did as she said, grabbing the hilt of it with my right hand and pulled it out. “Good,” Sarah said, then unsheathed her own sword. “Now point your sword out in a threatening way. You know, like I did to you yesterday. I remembered. And to make sure I remembered, Sarah did it again with her sword. Luckily this time, she didn’t point it at me. I mimicked her, but the sword was a little heavy, so I bent my elbow a little to keep it up. “It’s ok,” Sarah said. “You’ll eventually get used to the weight of the sword.” She put her free hand under my elbow and straightened it. “Good.” She put her sword down and held it by her side. I did the same. “Ok, umm . . .” Sarah looked around us. “We need something that can cut easily.” “You need me to summon something for you?” a voice called from behind us, startling us. Zack was standing right there when I could’ve sworn he wasn’t there a second ago. Sarah sighed in relief. “Good morning, Zack. Now tell me what the hell you’re doing here.” “And good morning to you, too,” he said. “I noticed you two were out here, so I thought I would join you.” “That’s fine. But you didn’t have to sneak up on us like that.” “Sorry.” “Apology excepted.” Then she turned to me. “Zak, you wouldn’t mind if my twin brother, here, stays and watches us train, do you?” I shook my head. “No, it’s alright. He can stay.” Sarah smiled. “Thank you.” She turned back to her brother. “Zack, can you summon a net for us so that we can practice slashing?” He nodded. “Yeah. How thick do you want it? And how big?” “It doesn’t matter how thick, but can you make it as tall as Zak?” “Of course I can. Now where do you want it?” “Right here is fine,” she said, gesturing right in front of us. “Ok.” Zack held up his hand, and it began to glow white like before. A white net appeared in front of us. Ii was the exact same length as I was. “Great job, Zack,” Sarah said. “Thanks.” Sarah turned to me. “Ok, Zak. Next I’m going to teach you how to slash with your sword while holding it with one hand first, then with two hands.” “Why would I need to try it with one hand, then with two?” I asked. “Because it’s easier to do just one slash with one hand than two slashes at the same amount of time with two hands.” “How come?” “Well, I’ll show you.” She approached the net with her sword still in hand. “You might want to stand back,” she told me. I took a few steps back. “You too, Zack.” “I’m ten feet away from the net,” he said. “I know your sword is only three feet long.” “Oh. You look like your closer.” Sarah raised her sword, and in one quick motion, she moved her sword to one side of her, turned it sideways, and cut through the middle of the net, and half of it fell to the ground. I was impressed. “Zack, can you repair the net?” Sarah asked. “Of course I can,” he replied. “Ok. Just thought I’d ask.” Zack’s hand glowed white again, and the net was back to the way it was.” “Cool,” I said. “Thank you,” Sarah said to her brother, then turned to me. “Ok, Zak. Did you see how I cut the net?” I nodded. “Yeah.” “Do you think you can do that with your sword?” “I can try.” “Well, at least you said that you’ll try. But don’t worry if you mess up. It takes a while to do it just right. But don’t do it as fast as I did until you get use to the weight of your sword.” “Ok.” I approached the net the same way Sarah had, raised my sword, moved it to my left side, turned it sideways, slashed the net from left to right, and half of it fell to the ground. I turned toward Sarah. “That was nice,” she said, impressed. “Yeah,” Zack agreed. “You did it the same way Sarah did, even though you weren’t suppose to do it fast.” “He didn’t do it fast,” Sarah said. “Yes, he did. But he had to do it fast to cut it, or he wouldn’t have been able to if he did it slow. But he moved his sword to the side and turned it sideways slower than you did.” “I saw that too, and that’s fine. He did great.” “You two really think I did good?” I asked. “Yes,” Sarah said. “I mean, when I learned how to slash with my sword, it took me a while to cut straight. But you did it on your very first try, and it was great.” I smiled. “Thanks. I always try to do great.” Sarah laughed. “I’ll bet. Now let’s see if you can do it with two hands. Zack, repair the net, please.” “Ok.” He held out his hand toward the net, and it was back to the way it was. Sarah approached it. “Watch closely at how I do this. And you’re going to want to stand back farther this time.” I backed up five more steps. Sarah raised her sword up, holding it with both hands. In one quick moment again, she turned it sideways, cut half of the net, then she did a spin with her sword held high and slashed straight down the rest of the net, it all falling to the ground in three pieces. “Wow,” I said. Zack repaired the net, then Sarah sheathed her sword and turned toward me. “You think you can do that?” she asked. “It doesn’t look hard,” I replied. “Well, it kind of is hard, because when you spin, you can lose your focus, even though you only spin once for barely a second.” “I think he can do it,” Zack said. “He was able to do it last time.” “Well, there wasn’t a spin last time.” Sarah sighed. “You wanna do it, Zak?” I nodded. “If you can do it, I can do it.” Sarah smiled. “That’s the spirit.” She moved aside as I moved in front of the net again with my sword in both my hands. I held it up, and was about to start when I remembered something and stopped. “Umm, do you want me to do it slow?” I asked Sarah. “No,” she replied. “You’re going to need to do it fast.” “Ok.” I still had my sword held up, then, just as fast as Sarah, I turned it sideways, cut through the net, did a spin with my sword held high, and slashed straight down the middle of the rest of the net, and it fell to the ground. I turned and look at Sarah. She had a big smile on her face. “You’re a natural,” she said. I smiled back. “Umm, thanks.” “I think we’re done for the day, if that’s ok.” “Ok.” I sheathed my sword. “Alright,” Zack said. “If you both are done out here, I’m going inside.” “Ok,” Sarah said. “Thanks again, Zack.” After he left, Sarah sat down on the log as she had before, and I sat down next to her. She grabbed her scabbard, pressed a button on the side of it, and a part of it slid aside, showing a white cloth. Sarah grabbed it, unsheathed her sword, and started polishing the blade. “I’m guessing your mom made that on there with her powers?” I asked her. “Made what on where?” Sarah asked. “That secret compartment on your scabbard where you got that cloth.” “Oh, that. Yeah. It’s a good place to put a small first-aid kit or a cloth to polish your sword with.” “Does mine have one?” “Yeah. It’s in the same place on yours as it is on mine.” “Ok.” I grabbed my scabbard, found the button, pressed it, and pulled out the cloth. I unsheathed my sword and began to wipe clean the blade too. “Umm, I want to apologize to you about yesterday,” I told Sarah. She narrowed her eyes. “About what?” “About my rudeness when you wanted to ask me a question, and I kept saying, ‘You just did.’” “Oh. That’s ok. You just wanted to be funny, even though you weren’t.” “Maybe. But I just found it funny how you were asking me if you could as me a question. What was that question, anyway?” “My mom already asked your parents about it.” “And what was it?” “It was about how you got your powers, how you were even born with them if your parents don’t have any kind of powers of their own.” “They don’t,” I agreed. “But how I was born with these powers, I don’t know. I don’t even think my parents understand how.” “Haven’t you ever wondered?” “Not really,” I admitted. “But what about your mom? How did she get her powers?” “It’s kind of a secret, but I don’t think it will hurt to tell you.” “Throughout my whole life, my family and I have kept secrets. I don’t think knowing another one is going to hurt.” Sarah smiled. “Ok. My mom was in her early twenties when she got her powers. She got them from the queen of the Immortal World.” “The Immortal world?” I asked. “Yeah. It’s where most people like us live. I’ve never been there before, but my mom has, and she says it’s much bigger than earth. The people there get along a little better than the people on earth most of the time, and that’s one of the things they insult mortals with. But anyway, the queen gave my mom powers of her own to, I guess, make her life easier and happier, because apparently my mom lived somewhat of a lonely life. I don’t know why that was. The animals know a lot, having been with her for almost eighty years now, but they won’t tell me anything. My mom doesn’t like talking about it, even after she got her powers. I learned that the hard way.” “Is your mom happy now?” “Yeah. Once she met my dad, and when she had me, my twin brother, and my baby sister, she was very happy. And she still is.” “That’s good,” I said. “Yeah,” Sarah agreed. “Kika and Honey did tell me that there was one person in my mom’s past that always made her happy when she was upset. That person really cared about her, and she really cared about him. They saw each other everyday. They even spent holidays together, because my mom didn’t have any family, and his family really liked her. But I guess their friendship came to an end and they stopped talking to each other. Kika and Honey never told me if the person was a man or a woman, but it just seemed obvious to me. My mom loved him, and he broke her heart. We can’t talk or even ask about him because, as Kika and Honey told me, she might cause a wildfire again. I don’t know if that’s what happened between him and my mom. It’s just a guess, but I’m not sure.” “Wow.” That was all I could think to say about that. “But I don’t think he broke your mom’s heart.” “Why do you say that?” Sarah asked. “Well, you said that he really cared about her, right? Always made her happy when she was upset about something? If your mom loved him, he probably loved her too.” “You might be right. But they probably eventually fell out of love with each other.” Sarah finished polishing her sword. She sheathed it and put the cloth back in its secret compartment in the scabbard. She stood up. “Come on.” She walked toward my house. I quickly stood up and ran after her, slowing down to her pace once I reached her side. “Where are we going?” I asked. “You said you were going to show me where your room was,” Sarah replied. “Oh. Right.” Once we got inside, I showed her to my room. When we entered it, Sarah looking around, examining it. “Nice,” she said. “It’s almost as big as my room at home.” She walked over to my bed and sat down on it. “You’re really good with that sword.” “Thanks,” I said. “I have a really good teacher.” She smiled, and possibly blushed a little bit. “But I have to ask you, how come you wanted to learn a new weapon, even though you just got the claw yesterday?” “Well, I’ve seen how you fight with your sword, and I wanted to learn how to fight with a sword myself.” “Ok. That sounds reasonable enough. But it’s gonna be a while before you can what I do with my sword.” “I know.” I heard the door open behind me. I turned and noticed Komodo come in. He walked past me, going toward Sarah. He jumped on the bed and licked her face. “Hi, Komodo,” she said with a smile, and started to pet him. “He really likes you,” I said. “Which is weird, since he doesn’t usually like someone new he meets.” “Well, my aura probably makes him more friendlier,” Sarah said. “Did you say you were born with that?” “Yeah. But don’t ask me how, because I don’t know how. My mom, my dad, not even my twin brother have it.” “Ok.” Sarah stood up from the bed. “I’m going to go flying for a while.” “How?” “By riding my Charizard. If you want, you can join us.” “I can’t fly.” “No. But you can ride on Zon. I’m sure she’ll let you.” “Yeah, I guess I could.” “Well, I’ll see you later.” “Ok.” She walked out of the room. After a few seconds, I called after her. “Sarah?” She peered back into the room. “Yeah, Zak?” “Do you want to start another lesson tomorrow at dawn?” I asked. She hesitated. “Umm, are you sure we’re going to be able to tomorrow? I mean, don’t you think we have some work to do with that piece of the Kur Stone we have?” I frowned. “Umm, probably.” Sarah nodded. “Sorry. We can try the day after tomorrow, though.” I faked a smile. “Yeah.” “Well, bye.” “Bye.” And she left me and Komodo alone in my room. I felt disappointed, but it wasn’t because I had to wait another day to learn how to do more stuff with my sword. I felt like it was something more than that, but I wasn’t sure what. Please review here. |
Character Appearances[]
Main Characters[]
Minor Characters[]
- Sarah's unnamed father (mentioned)
- Emily (mentioned)
- Britney (mentioned)