The Students of Sarila - Elsie Janda (best business books of all time .TXT) 📗

– one led to the bathroom, another the closet, and finally a door to leave the room. It would lead my back to the main room. And I could just walk down those stairs and go back to my world. It would be that simple.
But Sarila needed me. Alexander too. And I couldn’t leave Peter alone. That would be too much. And where would I go? My home is with Sarila. Or Sally. I wondered if it would be acceptable to still call her that. That’s who she was.
Then I started examining the room a bit more. The bed had my old blanket on it. The one Sally had bought me and put in my bedroom back at the bakery. The pillows were different, or at least the cases were. They were baby blue silk. The bookshelf was covered with all my favorite books, along with my notebooks from back home. And my diary, the one that Sally had given me my first birthday with her. The closet was filled with dresses like the one Sarila wore. She was right; I didn’t like them all that much. I’d always preferred jeans and t-shirts, maybe with a few sweatshirts. But what’s this? In a box, in the closet, were my favorite shirts and sweatshirts and pajamas. This place felt perfect for me.
I went into the bathroom to find my favorite shampoo and conditioner. There was even my bathrobe from when I lived in the bakery. And my toothbrush was there, along with my old hairbrush and my toothpaste. In the medicine cabinet was the vitamins I took every night. I realized that this place had been designed for me.

I entered the main room wearing a dress. It was the color of the sky on a cold morning, and the cloud pattern moved over the silky fabric. I was barefoot as well. My hair had been done almost magically. It was soft and fluffy, like a cloud. I realized it had been done to match the dress I wore.
I noticed that Peter was wearing a t-shirt and pants. Lucky. They had the same pattern, a bunch of little waterfalls tumbling down through rocks. His hair looked normal, though. “You look nice, Tina.” Sarila smiled at me.
“Yeah, I guess.” I shrugged my shoulders.
I sat down on the floor. I hadn’t expected to be eating like this. There was a bright blue blanket on the floor that was covered with food. There was a lot of blueberries, I noticed. And kiwi. That had always been my favorite. There was also peanuts and coconut cake.
“This is… our favorite foods.” I noted.
“Aren’t you bright, Tina.” Alexander nodded his head. “Yes, we’ve got your favorite foods here.”
“Blueberries…” Peter smiled. “I lived on a blueberry farm when I was younger.”
“My parents always gave me peanuts as a snack when I was in school. I’ve become quite fond of them.” Alexander told us.
“I just like the taste of kiwi…” I said. “And Sarila, you’ve always loved coconut. That’s what your aura smells like.”
“Yeah…” Sarila replied, her voice distant.
Then she snapped up her head. “We aren’t safe! Nobody’s safe! Ignatio will win! FIRE WILL BECOME THE ELEMENT.”
She took in a deep breath and all four windows exploded. I grabbed Peter’s arm and used our auras to form a shield around us and the food. I then passed out.

I was back in that dream where I was surrounded by fire. “I let you go to the island safely, Tina.”
“Ignatio! You will not win this!” I yelled.
“And are you going to stop me?” Ignatio chuckled. “Naïve girl, you can’t win. You haven’t been trained, and I’ve already begun to take over.”
“I’m not alone.” I said fiercely.
“Oh yes, the boy. He’s not nearly as strong as you, and you’re already weak.” Ignatio mocked.
“That’s not true. He’s just as strong as me, if not stronger.” I told him. “And we are going to defeat you.”
I fell into deep blackness and Ignatio’s laughter rang in my ears.



I Make the Most Dangerous Decision Ever

I woke up on my bed. I was completely alone, but next to my pillow I found a note. It read:

Tina –

When you wake up, come see me. I’ll be waiting in my room.

- Peter

I got up and checked my closet for some clean clothes. I was still wearing my dress from earlier, and I figured a late night visit to see Peter wasn’t dress-worthy. I opened the box in the bottom and selected my Winnie the Pooh pajama pants and a random sweatshirt. I then pulled on a pair of socks and went to Peter’s room.
Peter’s room was located directly across the hallway from mine. On the other side of it was Alexander’s room. I walked across the hall and knocked on the door. There wasn’t a response, so I opened the door a tiny bit and peeked inside. The light was on, but Peter wasn’t in the room. I then heard running water coming from the bathroom and realized he was in the shower.
I walked inside and glanced around the room. It was dark blue, just like his aura, and was quite similar to mine. There was a bookshelf and a bed just like in mine. On the bed was simple dark blue blanket. But next to the pillow was a little teddy bear. I smiled at the idea that Peter had a stuffed animal that he had to keep with him. Then I realized I would die without my blanket.
I went to examine his bookshelf. You can tell a lot about a person from the books and trinkets they keep on a bookshelf. On his was a bunch of historical fiction books, along with the Lord of the Rings trilogy. I approved. On the top shelf, however, was a camera alongside a bunch of pictures. A handful of blueberries. A cute little girl with blonde pigtails and her front teeth missing.
A heard a cough behind me, and I spun around. Peter was standing there. “So, you decided to wake up?”
I blushed. “I was just coming to see you, like the note told me to… And I saw you were in the shower and then I was just looking at these pictures.”
Peter released a breath. “You like them?”
“Yeah.” I smiled. “You took them?”
“I love photography.” Peter said, and I would’ve known from his voice. It was quiet and calm, like mine is when I talk about baking.
“Really? How’d you get into it?”
“My mom… She went to college to be a photographer. She had to drop out, though, because she didn’t have enough money.” Peter replied. “But she always took pictures of everything beautiful. Lots of pictures of Dad and me. Emmy too.”
“How old is she? Emmy?”
“She’s 7.” Peter smiled. “And I love her to death. Since mom died, Dad has to work a lot to support us. I’ve tried to take pictures to earn a little money, but nobody’s interested.”
“That’s upsetting.”
“What do you like to do, Tina?”
“I like to bake. Sally taught me how.” I laughed. “We did run a bakery together.”
“I heard.” He said. “So you guys were – are – really close, huh?”
“Well, like I said, she adopted me.” I sighed. “She’s all I’ve really got.”
“Tell me your story, please, Tina.” Peter asked. “I’m really curious.”
After a long pause, I took a deep breath and began. “My parents abandoned me when I was a baby. I lived in an orphanage until I was eight, and then I was adopted. The people who adopted me were complete jerks. I got sent to a boarding school. And then somehow I ended up with Sally.”
“How much do you wanna bet something magic was involved with you being with her?”
I thought about it. “Yeah, you’re probably right.”
Peter and I sat on the floor. “My iPod magically appeared here, ya know.”
“So did my blanket. And my pajamas.” I said.
“Wanna listen to music?” Peter suggested.
“Yeah, sure.” I smiled.
We went and sat on his bed and listened to music. We sat in silence for quite a while. “You know, you’re really nice, Tina.” Peter said softly.
“You are too.” I replied.
“I wouldn’t want to be in a near death situation with anyone else.” He smiled at me.
I took a shaky breath. “I’m scared, Peter.”
“I’d think you were crazy if you weren’t.” Peter said. “After all, you are only human.”
That was the deepest thing I’d ever heard a person say. It was true. I was only human. I couldn’t be expected to be perfectly brave and honest all the time. If I was, then I would be supernatural.
“And look at it this way. Ignatio is human just like you.” Peter began. “So, he’s gotta have some sort of weakness.”
“He’s a human with years of experience.” I sighed. “I doubt we’d be able to find a weakness.”
“Maybe we should just ask Sarila.” Peter suggested.
“Ask me what?” Sarila was standing in the open doorway.
“Does Ignatio have a weakness?” I asked. “We’re trying to find a way to defeat him.”
“Like I said, he’s power-hungry.” Sarila said. “Tina, get to bed soon. Training starts tomorrow morning.”
“Sorry. I just…” I began.
“Bed.” Sarila interrupted. “You need it.”
“Right.” I leaned over and kissed Peter’s cheek. “Good night.”
What did I just do? Why would I do that? I should know that a love life right now is completely out of the question. I guess… it just felt right.
I walked back into my room. I hadn’t noticed Sarila following me. “What was that?” She inquired.
“I… I don’t know!” I admitted. “I mean, it just…”
“Felt right?” Sarila asked.
“Yeah.” I was ready to cry.
“Tina, I’m sorry. But right now, love can be dangerous. It is distracting. And when one of you takes over as Master, everything will be destroyed.” Sarila informed me. “So, try if you want, but don’t say I didn’t warn you.”
“How do you know all of this?” I questioned.
I could see the hurt in her eyes.