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“I’m ready. ”
She didn’t look like she agreed with me, but nonetheless she told me, “Go get them. ”
I raced to my locker and was back before Priti could have a chance to change her mind. I met her at the target station, a throwing star in my hand, the others wrapped in velvet at my feet.
I raised my arm, ready to throw. Nervous excitement jangled through me.
“Patience, Acari Drew. ” She stilled my arm, giving me an amused smile. “Shuriken is an art form. The exercise mental as well as physical. ”
She wrapped my fingers around the star. It was cold, sharp. Not so much larger than my palm. “Feel the weapon. Shuriken is Japanese for ‘dagger in hand. ’ Feel the edges. More than any knife, it is an extension of you. Nothing separates you from the steel. No artificial handle, no imperfection of the blades. ”
Priti took my shoulders, guiding me into position. “When you throw a knife, you must worry about distance. Not so for the shuriken. Yours have six points. Six opportunities for the weapon to hit its mark. ”
She squatted a bit, standing behind me, bringing herself to my eye level. “Now look at the target. You aren’t just throwing at it. You are extending yourself, your will, your power, toward it. ”
I’d been contemplating that bull’s-eye all semester. But I opened my mind this time. I extended my energy toward it. As though the target and I were connected by the finest thread.
“Yes,” she whispered. “You see it, don’t you? Watchers are taught a mantra. Listen, and hear the words. ” She cradled my arm extended before me. “I am roots in the earth. I am water that flows. I am grounded. I am Watcher. ”
Slowly she pulled away. “Now breathe. Feel the ground at your feet. Feel the weapon as a part of your hand. Relax and feel the connection. ”
I did. My head rose, my shoulders dropped slightly. I felt lighter.
“That’s it, Acari. Stay relaxed. Always relaxed. The movement isn’t merely in your arm. It’s not just a flick of the wrist. You must draw energy from the ground beneath your feet. Let the energy flow up from the earth and through your body. Into your arm. Your movements should be fluid. When you throw, you cast the shuriken from you as though riding on a wave of power. ”
I did. I felt it. The soles of my feet were grounded to the floor. I was connected to the earth. The sensation of power rose from below, through my feet, shooting up my body, tingling all the way to the tips of my fingers.
I felt her whispered breath in my ear. “Now. ”
I threw.
The star flew from my hand on a wave of power. And then clattered to the floor.
I heard a couple of girls behind me snicker.
I felt my face turn beet red.
“Again, Acari. Without pause. You must try again and again. ” Priti patted my shoulder and walked away. I heard her shout a crisp order to one of the other girls, but her words didn’t register.
The only things that existed were me, my shuriken, and the target. I tried again. Again I heard the disappointing ping of metal hitting the ground.
I tried over and over. And each time my star bounced off the target, clattering to the ground.
I felt the other students gathering their things, heading to the locker room. I kept my back to them. I didn’t care if I had to stay all night. I was determined to get this.
Again and again I tried. Ping. Ping. Ping.
Until.
I knew the moment the shuriken left my hand that it was the one. I’d felt it. It had flowed straight from me. Riding on a perfect wave. I felt it going directly for the target, like a line being reeled back home. It hit and it stuck.
I heard a single pair of hands clapping for me. Turning, I saw Emma smiling at me. I realized I hadn’t really seen her smile before. It warmed that heart-shaped face, opened it up. She was pretty.
She glanced at the clock. “You’d better git,” she told me in that Fargo accent.
Many of our classmates had already showered. They sat waiting for Watcher Priti’s final words.
I tucked my stars carefully in their velvet wrapper and headed to the bleachers. I’d have to skip my shower and change later.
