Here is my story about the Big Four. Mainly inspired by Hogwarts The Big Four. But I thought, maybe they could have the same magical school for gifted kids, but just without the wands and all that Harry Potter stuff. So hope you guys like it!
Disclaimer: I wish I owned Rise of the Guardians, or How to Train Your Dragon, or Brave or Tangled. If only. If only.
P.S. Sorry if the beginning is a bit too angsty. But near the end, is going to be our perked up, unusually hyper, fun-loving, Jack Frost we all know.
PROLOGUE
Jack's POV
The rain was pouring harder than usual in Burgess that day. Everyone who wasn't crazy or stupid was inside with their families, drinking hot chocolate or turning on the television. Even the very few homeless were sheltering inside the local Red Cross station, celebrating with each other, pretending that they were the families they never had.
Except for one. Jack Frost. He just stood outside one of the family's window, partially hiding, and looking longingly inside. There was a young boy and a little girl inside. The boy was slumped in the couch, eagerly reading a book and the little girl was playing with a doll. It looked so warm and cozy in there, an atmosphere that could only come from having a home and a family. If the scene wasn't painful enough, the mom had come in and gently and lovingly, carried the sleepy girl upstairs. The boy made an exasperated face, but still trudged upstairs.
"Do you know how lucky you are?" Jack thought bitterly, having the nerve to press his hand to the glass.
As usual, spiraling bits of frost came from his fingers and obscured his vision of the family. This seemed to snap Jack out of his daze. He looked at his fingers again. They looked like normal people fingers. You know, five fingers per hand. He looked back longingly at the window, then turned away. Jack didn't feel the need to wound himself anymore. He pulled up his hoodie and slowly walked back home. Jack was not normal. He had a gift, or a curse, depending on which way you looked at it. He had this strange ability to manipulate the cold. The puddles at his feet turned to ice. The rain when it touched him, froze on his blue hoodie. Whatever he touched, froze, or glazed with frost.
And that wasn't all. Ever since he was born, he was different. He had the palest skin of all the boys, not just regular pale, like pale as white as snow. (Pun intended.) He had bright blue eyes and shockingly pure white hair. Yep, Jack was officially branded a freak. So he was booted out of his home, and forced to live on the streets, for something Jack couldn't even explain. Some things in life just weren't fair.
Jack kept on walking home, or at least the makeshift tent he called home. It was propped up against the side of a dirty old restaurant. It was basically a bunch of clothes Jack had stolen, tried sewing up together and propped up on a stick. He sighed as he got back here.
"Home sweet home, I guess," Jack sighed, getting on his knees and crawling inside.
He froze the top of the tarp, so the water would just slide off, instead of soaking through the clothes. Jack sighed again and leaned against the wall.
"Merry Christmas," Jack thought miserably.
Maybe there was a time in his life, where those two words would be thrown around carelessly. But for now, Jack would keep them, treasured, waiting for the day when he would actually use them. His eyes started to close, when he caught sight of an envelope. His eyes snapped open. What? He took a closer look towards it.
"What the-"Jack muttered.
It was a fancy letter, with the envelope all shiny and black. Written in gold letters on the front were the words
To Jackson Overland Frost
Jack turned his head to look both ways. Maybe there was some other random guy named Jackson Overland Frost who had dropped this, because there was no way that this could actually be him. Because he was a nobody. A homeless person among thousands. But a small glimmer of hope started inside him. Maybe his family wanted him back. He carefully turned the envelope over. A fancy wax seal was on the back. He didn't even care to look at the symbol as he ripped open the cover of the envelope. A folded piece of paper floated out as Jack eagerly grabbed for it. As he read it, his hopes were dashed.
Dear Jackson Overland Frost,
You have just been accepted to The School for Gifted Children (TSGC). This school trains gifted children, such as you, to control and use their gifts to better the world. An opportunity like this does not come again. If you wish to apply, go to your nearest train station and show him the seal on this envelope tomorrow at precisely 12:00. You cannot be any earlier or later otherwise the train will leave without you. Bring only your prized possessions since you may not return back. Clothes and food will be provided. We welcome you to our school.
Headmaster, Man in the Moon
Jack was about to throw it away, crumple the letter and kick it away. This was probably some joke or prank by somebody. But a small voice inside Jack's head said, "What if it isn't?"
It probably was a trap though, probably some random kidnapper or something. But the small voice kept being annoyingly persistent. "What if it isn't?". Jack groaned and pressed his hands to his head. This continued for several hours and well into the night. Jack crawled out of his tent and rumpled his shockingly white hair with his hands. Then he did what he always did when he was confused. Almost like a robot, Jack moved to the stairs hanging outside the restaurant and climbed up to the roof. Then he sat down, with his feet dangling off the roof, his face angled to meet the moon's rays. The moon both angered and comforted him. It was that solid presence in his life, one that would never go away. It was there when nobody was. But that was it. It was just there. It never did anything. When there were times when he looked up at the skies, hoping the moon would unlock something.
Should he really go? What if this was all a hoax? Then almost like a match, the rebellious side of him, the part that had sort of gone into hiding throughout this entire abandonment had sort of snapped up to life. Then, as Jack imagined it, grabbed the sad side of him and slapped him in the face. He was Jack Frost, for goodness' sake. The bane of Burgess. The savior of children from boredom. And what's life without taking risks? Jack's head bobbed up and slowly a grin started spreading on his face. He looked at the horizon, the sun already high up in the sky. How long had he been staring off into oblivion?
"Oh schist," Jack cursed as he flew down the stairs, grabbed the envelope and started sprinting toward the train station that was four hours by foot.
4 ½ hrs. later (Jack stopped to "get" some ice cream)
Jack panted as he bent over to catch his breath. Who in their right mind would put a train station so far away from Burgess? It just didn't make sense. Anyway, Jack stood up right and wiped the sweat from his forehead. It already felt overly hot here even though it was 60 degrees. Jack walked nervously to the railroad, trying to restrain his feet from spreading frost on the ground. What train did he have to take? Was he already late? Jack looked frantically, there was no train on the station. He looked at the clock. He barely managed to get here. 11:59.
Believe it or not, it came from nowhere. The moment Jack tore his eyes to check the clock, the train wasn't there. But all of sudden, when he looked back. Jack gasped. Holy God! It was a gleaming black train, with awesome sleek curves and shiny sides. It was enough to make a grown man er, boy cry. The door, which Jack didn't even know was there because he was gawking at the train, slid open and revealed a rather grumpy looking fellow. He looked around his mid-thirties, but he had a head full of dark hair, which was streaked with grey which was sleeked back. He was a kind of guy that you could tell was muscular without even looking at his muscles. You could see it in his stance and in his intimidating green eyes. Oh yeah, Jack would have fun teasing this guy. You could just see uptight in him. He was wearing a stiff collared shirt that couldn't have been comfortable and clean, black slacks.
He smirked and walked his way over to the guy. The guy looked disdainfully at Jack.
"Hey, um, this the train for the Gifted Children School?" Jack said, grinning.
"It's the School for Gifted Children. And yes, and you are actually 30 seconds late. Don't you follow instructions, boy," the guy snapped back, checking a pocket watch that he pulled out of his pocket.
Man, was this guy uptight? He really needed to let go. Relax or something. Do yoga. Suddenly, the idea of this guy wearing purple yoga clothing with an exercise band around his head, doing the downward dog popped into his mind. Jack could barely keep him from snorting out with laughter.
"Look, man, you gotta lighten up. All the envelop said was to give this to you and we'll be off and whatever," Jack said, taking out of the black envelop.
He critically examined the black envelop.
"Don't mess up," he snapped, reluctantly moving aside to let Jack in.
A little bit of Jack fell, but he picked himself up. But as Jack stepped in, he froze the steps with his feet and the conductor slipped and fell.
"Frost!" the conductor yelled, shaking his fist at Jack's retreating back.
As soon as Jack pushed himself through the door, he stood shocked. This train was nice. Even though he had never really been in a train before, he had heard the reputation that trains weren't very good. But this train was freaking awesome! The seats were all silk and black, with black marble tables in between the seats. The hallways were lighted with glowing little lamps on the ceiling. Jack just strolled down the hallway, feeling a little self-conscious because of his really worn down clothes and his bare feet. All of a sudden, more people flooded in to the train.
At first it was empty, then there was more students. Some looked around from here, with a regular T-shirt and worn jeans. But some people, he could definitely tell where not from around here. Some people wore linen headscarves around their head and linen pajamas with bare feet like mine. Some had silk dresses with fancy embroidery and their hair all done up with lotus flowers and stuff. But there was a group that came in that really caught his eye. But not in a good way.