Kaela Micro-series: The Art of of Invisibility – Part 1
I could feel the blood rushing to my head as I tried to steady my breath. My arms shook and I could feel my back knotting up. The top of my head hurt as it was pressing against the ground, but so help me, I was going to get this movement right if it was the last thing I did, or at least before practice is over. My legs were now above my head, but still bent. My headstand felt stable. Now, for the hard part. I twisted my lower torso and readied myself to spin on my head. If the boys in class could do it, then I should be able to do it.
I Unwound myself and tightened my core as my body began to spin. I let my hands lift away from the ground and tried to make sure I remained balanced as the room blurred around me. I think I got it! I went around once, now twice. On the third spin, I felt my balance shift. Crap.
I put my hands back on the ground and tried to steady myself as my feet touched the floor. I eased into the ground and tried to compensate for the force of movement. I don't know how, but I managed to stay upright while on my knees and used the remaining motion from my knees to pop into a standing position.
"That was better Kaela." Mrs. Mair said softly as she looked at me with a small smile. I smiled back, but still felt disappointed.
"I fell out of it."
"But you did three full spins before you got out of it. You almost have your posture perfect. Keep working on that and you'll have that head spin in no time."
I nodded, and before I could even try the movement again, the bell rang. Darn it! I really wanted to try that head spin again. However, everyone was getting up and heading over to their backpacks. I followed my fellow classmates and changed my dance shoes to my normal sparkly slip on shoes. I looked behind me and noticed Ethan and Jess weren't here yet and the dance floor was open. Well, let's try one more time. Why not?
I walked to the center of the studio and got into my headstand again. I think last time one of my arms was a little higher than the other, and it threw off my balance. I twisted my lower body again and unraveled it and began to spin again, trying to be more aware of where my arms were this time. The room blurred in front of me once, then twice, three, four . . . ! Holy crap, I think I'm doing it!
After the fifth spin, the same thing happened again. My balance flew off and I tried to smoothly get out of the movement and was back on my knees. I then proceeded to stand up again with one final spin that was left from my momentum. I'm so close. I sighed as the top of my head pounded from the pressure of my entire body pressing down on it. I should probably stop.
"Geez, Kaela. That looks painful. Cool, but painful." Jess and Ethan finally came to pick me up. I smiled, feeling sheepish. It was a little embarrassing when people watched me unexpectedly. It almost felt like I was showing off.
"It kinda is, but it's not as painful as getting whacked with a staff by Master Hamato." I laughed quietly, rubbing the top of my head, partially because it still throbbed, but mostly because it was a stupid, nervous habit of mine.
"Well, let's head home. If we hang around too much, Master Hamato will make training harder than usual," Ethan said sternly, but still gave me a smile. I couldn't help but feel glad that Ethan was the leader; he gave clear instruction without being sharp about it. As much as I loved Jess, she could be a little harsh sometimes.
I quickly walked over to my bag and swooped it up onto my shoulders. "Well, then let's go!" I exclaimed in a sing-song voice.
"Hey, Kaela, I've been wondering," Jess began as she and Ethan opened the door and walked out to the hallway with me tailing them. "Why do you still take these dance classes? Maybe you'd have more energy and get more out of practice if you rest up at school."
I laughed again, trying to hide my nervous tone. "I don't know. I like it? And I think it helps me in certain aspects in training." That was partially it, but it seemed like I had a knack for it too. I had always had a strange feeling that I took lessons in the past. I couldn't remember any practice, but there was a pretty hard wall in my memory that didn't allow me to access anything past a couple years ago.
"Huh." Jess responded shortly.
"That makes sense. Maybe that is why you are usually the most flexible and nimble out of the three of us." Ethan interjected.
"I sometimes wish I was as freaky flexible as you Kaela. Just sometimes." Jess said smiling.
For the longest time, Jess would lightly tease me about my flexibility, mainly saying it looked unnatural. Even beyond the boundaries of our memories, it felt like Jess had always teased me about that. However, Ethan and I definitely had some nerves to poke at with Jess if we wanted too. Mainly her romance obsession, especially with rugged and tough boys. I found it quite comedic. Jess looked like a normal girl with her simple brown hair and comfortable clothes like her hoodie and capris. She seemed like the last person to be attracted to that kind of crowd. But then, what did I know about romance? I can't even watch a movie of two people kissing without feeling awkward. I thought.
We walked out of the school and strolled down the sidewalks of New York City. The streets were busy with honking cars and tall buildings. The lower sections of the buildings and the alleyways were built of aged brick, but the higher the building was, the newer the architecture was. I always found it funny whenever there was a "For Sale" sign on the top of the building. I found out it wasn't that the building was for sale, but the space above the building was for sale and could be built on.
"Hey Ethan, how long are we grounded for again?" I asked, remembering how we would parkour across the rooftops at night while on patrol.
"A week," Ethan sighed.
"So we still have four days left," I trailed off. I knew it would be absolutely stupid, not to mention terrifying, if we tried to disobey Master Hamato again. However, I'd been losing sleep over those poor animals that the Kraang had cooped up in that warehouse. Not only were they most likely denying them proper care, but even thinking about what kind of messed up experiments those Kraang were doing on those animals made me feel sick.
"You know, those animals. Don't you think maybe we should. . ."
"No." I wasn't expecting Ethan to respond so quickly. I stopped, but I still had a few persuasive points to try before giving up.
"But, don't you think that is enough of an emergency to try to free them? Not only are rare animals probably not being taken care of, but they are probably going to mutate them with people or something! That is going to be more work for us and Master Hamato."
"Yeah, Ethan! I'm pretty sure Master Hamato will understand if you talk him!" Jess joined me in trying to convince Ethan that we should patrol. I felt bad putting Ethan in a corner, but I equally felt like this was important.
"Why do I have to talk to him?" Ethan asked, clearly annoyed.
"Because you are the closest to him! And you are the leader," I persisted, trying to make it sound like it was a compliment. I saw Jess look away from us, her mouth pressed in a hard line.
"We technically already broke Master Hamato's rules twice," Ethan rebutted.
"Does he even know about those beavers? We technically only left for a couple minutes."
"Does it matter? No, we aren't going to do that."
"But Ethan, THINK ABOUT THE ANIMALS!" Maybe a little overaggressive humor would break Ethan. It was worth the attempt.
Ethan did laugh, and I saw Jess' lips play with a half-smile. If anything, I think I lightened the mood.
"Ahahaha, no," Ethan said abruptly. His reaction was humorous, but I was a little disappointed. Oh well, at least I tried.
"Well, I guess the leader has spoken," I replied slowly, averting my gaze. I felt pretty guilty for pushing Ethan. Jess did it enough already.
"Don't worry, Kaela. Once we are un-grounded, the first thing we'll do is look for those animals. I promise." Ethan said with a smile. I smiled back, but it didn't erase the concern I had that we might be too late by the time we get to the warehouse.
"Four days isn't gonna get here soon enough. I get bored after training. It doesn't help that all we have to watch is that weird supernatural anime," Jess said.
"No one is stopping you from training more afterwards, not like you need it, Jess." I smiled and nudged her. Ethan might be the most strategic fighter, but Jess was definitely the most powerful fighter.
"Stances and exercises are only going to get me so far. I wish Master Hamato would let me fight one on one with you guys without his supervision."
"We probably could if someone didn't get carried away and nearly cut someone in half," Ethan said casually under his breath. Jess caught it and her eyebrows furrowed.
"I already apologized for that," Jess said coolly.
"It's fine. It was my fault anyways," I said quickly, trying to relieve the tension that was growing between Ethan and Jess again. "If I was paying attention, I would have been able to dodge that rebound attack. It's all good now."
They stopped arguing, but there was still a little tension between them and we all stopped talking, making it a little awkward. I hated it when Jess and Ethan fought. I usually felt like I was in the middle of the crossfire. I looked around, trying to find something to talk about. I looked across the street and saw an arcade. It must be new, because there was a giant sign on the door that read: "Grand Opening".
"Hey, check that out! I don't remember the last time we played video games together. What do you think Jess? Do you think you still have your touch with that Donkey Kong game?"
Jess smiled, and glanced over to the arcade across the street. "I dominated at that game! Do you think they have it there?"
"They might, depending on if they carry old school stuff."
"That might be fun to check out on our day off, and if we have any money."
"True. They might have Fruit Ninja too."
"Wait what?" Ethan said, confused.
"There is a video game called Fruit Ninja. You haven't heard of it Ethan?" I asked, surprised.
"Is that what everyone is playing on their phones?"
"Yeah, apparently they have a version of it for arcades on a huge screen. You swipe the screen when the fruit comes on the screen you cut it. The more fruit you cut, the more points you get."
"That is so weird, but really funny. I wonder if being a real ninja helps you play the game better."
"I don't know, maybe, but I doubt it. Legit fighting and video games are two totally different sets of skills." I replied with a smile. If that was the case, then I probably wouldn't be struggling in practice as much.
"Speaking of which, if we don't hurry, Master Hamato will definitely make us practice ishikikagiri for being late." Ethan began to speed up his walk, and Jess and I followed the pace.
"Anything but ishikikagiri. I am not in the mood to get hit on the head with a staff," Jess said, groaning.
"It's not that bad Jess. You just have to know when to dodge Master Hamato's attack," I said enthusiastically.
"Yeah, that only helps if you have the reflexes of a cheetah. Master Hamato is really tricky about when he strikes." Jess didn't hold back her sarcasm while she spoke.
"It doesn't hurt to build defense and speed," Ethan commented.
"All I'm saying is I feel like there are better ways to build defense and speed that doesn't involve getting smacked on the head with a wooden stick," Jess said with a note of finality.
We continued to laugh and talk as we walked back home. We passed the graffiti art that spelled "Cowabunga" on the wall that signaled us that we were getting close. That art must be pretty old, I thought. If I could recall correctly, that word was popular in the 1980's or something. How did I know that? Let's just say that when I couldn't sleep, I would play on my phone and search the web. One thing always leads to another and I learned about the most random facts.
Down an alleyway was the entrance to the dojo, complete with wooden sliding doors and that traditional paper used over the frame. I always wondered how well the paper insulated our home, but I didn't question Master Hamato's preference in decoration. Ethan entered first, then Jess and I followed him. We habitually took off our shoes and placed them next to the door. The dojo opened up in front of us with two hallways leading to each side of us to our private quarters or the kitchen. Normally, Master Hamato was sitting on his tatami mat in the middle of the dojo waiting for us, but I didn't see him. I looked at Ethan and Jess, and they too were confused. After we grabbed our weapons, we cautiously walked into the dojo, looking for Master Hamato.
Before any of us spoke questions of where Master Hamato could be, I felt a sudden movement behind me and reacted as quickly as I could. It didn't take long before all three of us were on the ground, each rubbing a body part that was hit. Master Hamato stood above us, hands behind his back and looking down on us.
"Hello my children. Today, we shall be practicing the art of stealth."
"Yeah, I noticed that," Jess muttered, rubbing her shoulder blade.
Master Hamato then sat cross-legged in front of us as we got up and followed his example.
"As you all know; the shadows are the ninja's best ally. The art of being invisible will often prove more helpful than open attack. Today, we shall not only practice stealth, but also finding the best opportunity to strike."
Master Hamato looked at each of us, and I gave him a small smile when he looked at me. Practice today might actually be fun.