They called me the ice queen.
Not because of anything to do with real ice, though. They were talking about meth. More specifically, the meth that I sold. The meth that everyone and their mother wanted. The meth that turned the whole of Eagle Valley upside down, and turned me into an overnight success.
The meth that would land me on death row.
"Elsa?"
"Present" came a voice from the third row of desks in the room.
Oh, I should've mentioned, my real name is Elsa.
The girl twisted her pen between the thumb and middle finger of her right hand before realizing that the pen's tip was beginning to dig into the veneer of her desk and laid the pen flat, letting out a sigh.
Even when it seems like it is, the first day of school is never easy.
The room sat silent save for the drone of roll call and the occasional grunt or sniffle of another student. The whole school reeked of anxiety for what the coming year might hold.
Though I know it's the same every year, this year felt so… different.
"Alright class, I believe that's everyone. Did I miss anyone?"
Nothing.
"Good, good." He walked to the center of the class. "In that case, I welcome you all to your first year of Calculus!"
Elsa cringed slightly at the realization that she was actually in calculus.
What possesed me to want to take this class?
"My name is Dr. Agdarson," god, a doctorate for a teacher?, "and I am here to see to it that when you all leave this room on our last day together, each and every one of you has a firm understanding of this course. Now, while calculus isn't easy, it is possible, and I am certain that if you put in the required effort…"
His voice trailed off as Elsa slumped down in her seat.
Another year, another set of speeches. God, can this please take up the whole period?
Elsa shifted to the right of her seat and rested her head on her arms, still looking straight ahead.
Let's see how strict this guy really is.
The teacher motioned Elsa to lift her head up, not missing a beat in his speech.
Very.
A few heads glanced back at Elsa as she sat back upright. The teacher snapped his fingers twice and all eyes were once again facing forward.
Yup, I'm fucked.
A sudden wave of realization came over Elsa once more, bringing about a short onslaught of panic within her. She really was in calculus, and, by the looks of it, she would really have to work for a good grade in this class.
It was right when she was finally coming to terms with this that the teacher's voice caught her attention.
"Now, would you all please get out a piece of paper?"
A lump formed within her throat, and again Elsa was in a state of panic.
God dammit, I'm not ready for this!
She wanted to run, but she instead reached down to her side, unzipped her backpack, and removed a blank piece of paper.
"Now, we will be starting our notes with what may be the keystone for all of calculus: the derivative. Now, this will most likely be review for all of you, but I would really appreciate it if you took notes because…"
Again his voice trailed off.
You may have a doctorate, but you're still just a high school teacher, and it sure shows by the way you're starting us off with review of something we all have known for-
"Elsa! What makes the derivative so important to calculus?"
Her eyes widened and once more she panicked.
"Um…" She cleared her throat. "It's the rate of change in a function," she said. "As far as I know…" she added, doubting herself.
"Correct!"
Whew.
"But why does that make it so important?"
Fuck, I don't know!
The panic within her had grown to an absurd level for the occasion. Her eyes were completely focused on the teacher, everything else a blur, and she had actually completely disregarded trying to answer the question at this point. Her only focus was on figuring a way out of saying anything. Nevertheless, she started: "I- I'm-"
"Well, it makes it so we can solve a problem where variables change." Elsa's eyes turned towards her rescuer. "Like, instead of everything remaining the same, we can deal with everything changing." He took a quick glance at Elsa, and for a brief moment they made eye contact. Though he said nothing, Elsa knew the message he was sending her- "You're welcome." She wanted to mouth a response, but the other's gaze had already turned back to the teacher.
"That's absolutely correct, Olaf!" came the teacher's voice.
"Elsa!"
Elsa heard the calling of her name, but she gave it no mind.
"ELSA!" The second calling was much louder.
Well shit, I can't pretend I didn't hear that.
She turned around and saw the boy from earlier jogging towards her, pushing aside other students in the hallway to get to her.
Oh God, what does he want?
He held out his left hand, something contained within its grip."You left your pen," he said.
Figures.
"Oh, t-thanks." Elsa gave him a small smile and took the pen. They stood facing each other for a short while before Elsa realized Olaf was looking deep into her eyes. The realization somewhat startled her.
"Oh, and, uh, thanks for… helping me out earlier in class," she said, mostly as a means of breaking the awkward silence between the two.
"No problem, Elsa," he said. The use of her name sent a chill down Elsa's spine. "Hey, if you ever need any help in that class I could lend you a hand," he suggested.
Was that a joke? Wait, no, I think he's being serious...
A student walking in the hallway bumped into Elsa from behind, causing her to stumble forwards. Olaf reached out with the intent to catch her, but she righted herself before he could get to her so he instead stuffed his hands into the pockets of his jeans and looked away for a moment. The two were now mere inches apart.
"Hey, I'll uh.. see you later, alright?" he said.
"Yeah, sure," Elsa replied.
"Alright," Olaf said, giving her a nod while taking a step back before turning around and walking away at a considerably fast pace. Elsa stood in the same spot and watched him.
"It's F minor!"
"No, it's A Flat major."
"Those are the same!"
"Anna, the notes of the scales are the same, but the feelings the two convey are completely different. Look."
Elsa struck a chord on the piano the two sisters were seated behind.
"What chord is that?" she said.
"It's an A flat major," Anna said, crossing her arms over her chest in a pout.
Elsa added a note to the chord she was playing. "And what chord is that?"
"An F minor seventh."
"Do they sound the same to you?"
Anna began to open her mouth in protest but decided against doing so when Elsa looked at her, clearly expecting an answer out of the younger girl. The vibrations of the strings within the small piano grew soft.
"No…"
"Now, would you say that the major chord sounds happy and the minor chord sounds sad?" Elsa asked.
"I guess?" Anna replied, confused as to where her sister was going with this conversation.
"Alright, and would you say that this song is happy or sad?"
Anna now realized her sister's intentions and sassily replied: "Well, it starts off sad so it's-"
"But it turns into a happy song, doesn't it?"
"Yeah, but…" Elsa looked back up at her sister. Anna realized she was fighting a battle she couldn't win. Her sister was right.
"But what?" Elsa asked.
"Nothing."
"So, do you agree that this song is in A Flat major?"
Anna did agree, but she didn't want to admit it. "I don't really see why it matters, Elsa! They're the same damn scales either way!"
Elsa stood up from the piano bench.
"It matters because it's part of learning theory, Anna," she said.
"Well maybe-" Anna stopped when she noticed that Elsa was walking away. The younger girl sat and watched as her sister climbed the stairs to the upper floor of their small home.
Anna looked back down at the keyboard of the piano. After a short while she struck an F minor seventh chord, the same one Elsa had struck just seconds earlier.
The door to her sister's room creeked open and closed with a dull click.
A single tear trailed down Anna's left cheek as the sound of the piano grew dim. After the last string of the piano ceased to vibrate, Anna lifted her hand from the keys, pulled the wooden cover shut, and laid her head atop her arms on top of it, sobbing gently.
A/N- Hey guys, glad you decided to read the first chapter of (or at least scroll down to the bottom of) my fanfic! Now, I may or may not continue with this due to the fact that my schedule may or may not allow it. That being said, don't get too attached to this because it might not be updated for a while. I'll try and give you guys a definite yes or no as to whether or not I'll be finishing this asap, but I'm not guaranteeing anything at this point.
Happy reading,
for-the-first-time-in-never