After a few seconds of stunning brightness, the electricity vanished, leaving the air thrumming and crackling from the sudden burst of energy.

"Shane!" Mr Stealreaver yelled, a hint of desperation and fear in his voice, "are you alright?"

Shane nodded, shaken by the explosion of electricity.

"Yeah," he said quietly, barely registering what had happened.

"Then... that was amazing!" the teacher cried, "you have just fully formed an Affinity, with electricity. And so quickly! How is this possible? I've never seen someone so powerful, with such little training. Have you been practicing before the Academy?"

"No, sir. I just learned that Psionics existed less than a week ago," Shane said, eyes wide.

"Well then, boy. It looks like you will grow to be a very promising young Electrokinetic. Congratulations!"

Ethan cursed quietly, a foiled look on his face. Shane smiled, from joy and victory and sheer relief.

After the sudden burst of energy, Shane was able to control the substance to a small amount. By raising and lowering his hand he could make the energy arc upwards and fizzle out. But besides that, it was hard to truly control the electricity.

"Mr Stealreaver?" he asked.

"Yes, Shane?"

"Could you help me a bit with controlling the electricity? Are you an Electrokinetic?"

The Kinesis teacher laughed.

"No, Shane. But I am a Geokinetic, and I can still show you the basic Kinesis techniques."

He turned to the rest of the class. Shane glanced around at his classmates. Only five other students had formed an Affinity.

There was Ethan, with his Pyrokinesis. Luciana was a Hydrokinetic, sending droplets of water bubbling into the air by raising of her hand. Hanako was an Aerokinetic, her hair swirling around her, a strong wind causing black strands to fly in the air.

There was a sloppy circle of gloomy shadows circling at Liang's feet, showing Shane that he was an Umbrakinetic. Finally, Adrian lifted his hands over the container of ice, sending frigid shards flying into the air. He seemed the most skilful of them all, able to make the shards shift in a neat circle with by twirling his hands.

"Attention, everyone!" Mr Stealreaver shouted. All eyes fixed on the Kinesis teacher.

"Now, watch closely as I control this stone. After I have finished, I will repeat my actions, and those who have formed an Affinity should try to mimic me as closely as possible," he instructed.

He strolled forward to the container meant for Geokinetics. He concentrated on the container, his eyes fixed on the mound of soil and pebbles. He lifted his hands carefully, like the conductor of a grand orchestra. Stones and chunks of dirt rose at a controlled, stable pace into the air. Mr Stealreaver's hands then began to quaver, ever so slightly. The suspended pebbles began to vibrate, the air thrumming.

Suddenly, Mr Stealreaver shot up his left hand. Shane gasped as the dirt flew across the room, to the left wall, levitating high in the air. After holding the stuff there for a second, the teacher relaxed his hands. The dirt fell out of the air, straight towards them.

Mr Stealreaver spun his arm around once, and the substance followed, sailing around him in a tight circle. Finally, he pointed to the pillar, his eyes still wide and focused. The pebbles and dirt returned to the container.

"Woah," Ava said.

Mr Stealreaver looked around at the impressed faces of the class.

"You see," he said, "Geokinesis is not just a power that you can utilise with ease. Instead, it is an art form. Every move, every thought, must be clear and precise, with complete and utter focus the entire time."

Shane nodded. He had seen the teacher's intense concentration as he had controlled the substance.

"Now, could all the students with an Affinity please copy me. For this week, you will just learn how to control your substance. Later, I may start teaching you Special Techniques."

"What are Special Techniques?" Shane asked, eyes wide with interest.

"They are advanced commands. Instead of just controlling and moving a substance, they are precise and practiced techniques. For example, a Special Technique for a Hydrokinetic would be creating a whirlpool. Or for an Aerokinetic, it could be conjuring up a tornado."

Shane nodded, thrilled by the idea.

"But for now, just follow me," Mr Stealreaver reminded him, seeing the excitement in his eyes.

Mr Stealreaver turned to the Geokinetic container, repeating his last movement at a much slower pace.

Shane turned to the container that was shining with electricity. Mimicking Mr Stealreaver, he slowly raised his hands. The electricity buzzed and sent a electric tendril into the sky. He then shook his hand. The electricity shot from side to side in stunning streaks, seeming to charge the air around them.

He copied the teacher and threw his left hand into the air without a warning. A huge lightning bolt surged high into the air on the left side of the room. As Shane dropped his hand, the electricity fizzled and died out. Now it was time for the last step, the hardest part.

Shane focused on the electricity, feeling the energy pulsing through him, clearing his mind, crackling through his nerves, charging into his brain.

He moved his arm around in a slow, gentle circle. Slowly, the electricity rose forward from its container and circled around him in a luminous, pulsing line. He had done it! Now he just needed to make all the electricity spiral around one more time and arc back to the container.

Suddenly, he saw Ethan on the other side of the room. The Pyrokinetic was bending his arm back over his head, a ball of flame burning bright scarlet in his hand. Without a second thought, the boy threw the ball of fire straight at Shane. He was going to die, and at the hands of Ethan! And if he didn't die, it was going to be a hell of a burn.

Shane instantly dropped his concentration on the electricity, lifting his arms to shield himself. He braced himself, staring with horror as the inferno arced towards him.

The ball of flame dissipated into thin air, not even half of the way on its course towards Shane. Shane relaxed, but then realised that he had lost focus on his Electrokinesis. Around him, the electricity had fizzled out and died.

He should've known. There was no way Ethan was skilled or powerful enough to reach him with a blast of fire, it had simply been a distraction to make him ruin his Kinesis training. Cursing under his breath, he turned back to the container.

But it was already too late. The bell rung for the students to move to their second class. Shane half-heartedly thanked Mr Stealreaver and stormed out of the class, irritated. Ethan's trick had worked. He hadn't completed his practice.

Still, he knew that he shouldn't make a fuss. As he walked to their next class, Combat and Self Defense, with his friends, he remembered that Fernando and Ava hadn't even formed Affinities yet.

"I'll never get a Kinetic power!" Ava said angrily.

Fernando agreed, annoyed at himself.

"Don't worry," Shane said, "that was just our first lesson. I'm sure you'll get it next time!"

Shane wasn't even being dishonest to spare his friends emotions. He hadn't ever imagined he would form an Affinity in the first hour of his Kinesis Training, but he had, and he was sure that Ava and Fernando would follow soon after.