It is time my young one
It's time to fulfill your destiny
Now open your eyes
And embrace it
Mmm. Sleepily, I push myself up from the bed, rubbing my eyes. What was that dream all about? I ask myself. Destiny? Time? Groggily, I glance at the clock. "My gosh! It's 8:05!" I yell, panicked. Hurriedly, I stumble to my closet, and pull on a thick, purple hand-knit sweater, blue, boot-cut jeans, knee-high black, leather boots, a white scarf and hand-knit beanie. I stuff all my school books and notebooks in my white, purple trim backpack, and sprint to the bathroom. I wash my face and brush my hair, placing the beanie back on my head. I fumble down the stairs, and grab a slice of French toast on the table, courtesy of mom. I stuff it in my mouth, swallowing the orange juice to wash it down. After that, I rush out the door, calling behind me, "Bye Mom! I going now!" I make my way down the porch just in time to here her reply. I'm gonna be late, I'm gonna be late! I jog to the bus stop, just in time to hop in, and sit down, breathing heavily. Thank goodness. I remove my bag from my back and sit it on my lap, and lean my head against the cold window. Relieved, I watch the snow cascading over the small town of Burgess. Winter was my favorite time of the year. I loved that the snow was pure white, and that it was soft and fluffy in my hands. Ever since I was little, I always believed that there was some non-scientific reason for the snow to fall. And for some reason I felt I already knew the answer to that question, but could never place my finger on it. Slowly, the bus stops with screech, and all the high school kids step off.
"Danielle! Morning!" a voice resounds in my ears, as I exit the bus. I swerve my head to the voice, seeing Trixie running towards me, clearly out of breath.
"Hey, how was detention yesterday," I smirk. Her face shoots up to mine, and she glares.
"Ha, ha, very funny Nielle" she retorted. Nielle, was the nickname given to me by Miss Sanders, and apparently everyone now calls me that. It's not like I mind, it just makes me feel a little bit of a teacher pet, when I'm not.
"Ok, ok," I laugh and shake my head. "So it was THAT bad?" Suddenly, Trixie stops walking, just as I was about to walk into the school building, and spins around on her heel.
"Bad? It was a nightmare! Mr. Dawson kept me in there for more than 2 hours, talking about the, all the way boring history of the French Constitution!" She exclaims, throwing her arms up in emphasis. RING!
I laugh and walk around her, into the building saying, "Well, if you don't want to hear more of that, then we best be getting to class before we get caught." We walk our separate ways, since our class schedules were different.
"Wait, wanna go grab a slice of pizza after school?" Trixie turns around and asks me, before I walk to class. At first, I think it's a great idea, then remember I have to pick Jamie up from school today, and babysit him. I smile apologetically.
"Ah, sorry, but today I'm going to babysit Jamie. So I can't," I reason out, Trixie just pats my shoulder.
"Oh no, it's totally ok. I understand. And besides, Jamie is a very special kid, he needs a sitter like you, while Ms. Bennett is out most of the time," She says, simply smiling. I smile back and thank her. Then I walk to my first period class, Chemistry. The class went by pretty fast and easy, we just discussed about molecules, took down a few notes, and received homework. The same thing with the rest of the periods. At lunch, however, was a different story. As usual, I meet up with Trixie, and we sit at our usual table.
"So, did you hear?" Trixie whispers, leaning into me. "Apparently, Miss Big Bucks is going to Hawaii this Christmas Break." I roll my eyes in annoyance.
"Well, you know what they say, loners brag about anything to fill the empty void," I remark smugly. I take another bite of my lasagna, and push the tray away, screwing my face. Suddenly, I got this chill up my spine, when I looked to my right, I realized it was a mistake. I roll my eyes and stare down at my food. "Oh look, speak of the devil."
"What was that about me being a loner, Shivers?" the sassy, billionaire in my butt girl says, as she sashays over to our table.
"Something that you wouldn't be able to process in a thousand years with that tiny, peanut-sized brain of yours' Cecilia," I sigh as I fork my sorry excuse for a lasagna. I could hear Trixie's faint snickers, as I saw Cecilia's sapphire eyes glow brighter with annoyance from the corner of my eyes.
"You should learn to keep your mouth shut Shivers, never know when those words might bounce back and bite you in the butt," Cecilia says attempting to annoy me, but to no prevail. I smirk and say,
"You mean like what that mini, tight, blood clogging skirt is doing to yours' right now?" I question. Trixie's snickers got a bit louder, and she covered her mouth to keep herself from exploding. Cecilia's face then turns red and she balls her fists up. Taking a deep breath, she calms down and smiles.
"Oh? You like it? It's the newest fashion trend. Something you wouldn't look good wearing no matter how hard you tried, especially with that small chest and butt of yours'," she says smugly waiting for my counter. That's it, if she thinks she can make me explode like a volcano in public, she's got another thing coming. Slowly, I stand up and face her overly obnoxious expression.
"Interesting you brought my chest and butt into the situation, at least mine aren't begging for attention with the mini, tight skirts and low neck collar shirts you wear. Pity, seems that you really are a loner if you want people to always acknowledge your presence, if your using those to get it. I figured, you never had any real friends, and getting people's attention helps you cope. But using antics like low neck collars and mini, tight skirts? I always thought you couldn't get shallower and lower than that Cecilia Roberts, guess I was wrong," I smile smugly at her, and I hear Trixie muffled laughing as I stare at Cecilia blank face. Then her face reaches the highest peak, or so I think, of redness that I have seen in my entire life. Furiously, she huffs and storms out of the cafeteria.
"That was hilarious Nielle! You sure gave her a taste of her own medicine," Trixie chortles. I smile and seat myself back down.
"Well, she deserves it," I say simply, I cross my arms on the table and rest my head in them.
"Anyway, your birthday is on December 1st right? It's like 5 days from now," Trixie says. She pushes her tray away and folds her hands. "What do you plan on doing?"
"Oh yeah, it's almost my birthday. Guess I forgot," I shrug, brushing strands of hair behind my ear. Trixie laughs again and I look at her quizzically. "What so funny?"
"Oh nothing, just that you always forget your birthday, even though it's the first day the snow starts falling, and you love snow!" she says as another bucket full of laughter left her.
"Yeah whatever, anyway we better get going or else we'll be late for class," I remind casually. Trixie and I return our trays and head out of the cafeteria. The rest of the day went unusually smooth, and our class was cut down a bit, thanks to the teacher's faculty meeting. Trixie and I exited the school and waved our goodbyes. I was just around the corner to Jamie's house when, Jamie himself rams into me as I turn the corner. He falls to the ground, and looks up. When I sees my face he jumps up and hugs me.
"Danielle! You're finally here! I was just about to get you from your school, when I actually ran into you!" Jamie exclaims. I laugh and gently pull him away from me.
"Ok sport, let's go inside or else you'll catch a cold," I smile, as I ruffle his brown hair. He nods his head, taking my hand, and pulling me into the house. Almost immediately after I shut the door, Mrs. Bennett comes into the living room.
"Oh Nielle, you're here. Well, that great, ok the kid's snacks are in the fridge, just heat it up. Also I'll be back by nine o'clock tonight," she says, spotting me at the front door. I nod in understanding, and watch Mrs. Bennett walk out the door. After I hear her car pull out of the driveway. I throw a smirk at Jamie, who was sitting on the coach. Catching the message, he energetically runs up the stairs to get changed.
"Sophie, where are you?" I call into the house. Immediately, Sophie comes running from upstairs and squeals in delight at the sight of me. She latches her tiny body around my waist.
"Zanielle!" the small girl squeals. I pick her up and spin her around in circles in the air.
"Here's my sweet little princess! How've you been?" I question propping her on my waist. She giggles, and answers,
"I'm good! What we gonna do today?" I smile at her question, rubbing her nose against mine.
"Well, today is a snow day, and you know what that means right?" I hint, and she immediately leaps onto the couch and jumps up and down yelping excitedly.
"Yay! Yay! Yay! We play in snow!" she huffs, as I laugh at her enthusiastic response. "Me gonna see Jack!" I stop my laughs all of a sudden and tilt my head in confusion.
"Sophie, who's Jack?" I question. Suddenly, Jamie comes out wearing his snow gear, and ends up answering for Sophie, who doesn't seem to have heard me from all her shouts of excitement.
"Jack, as in Jack Frost, he's the spirit of winter, and he's a guardian who protects children from nightmares," he casually explains.
"Uh huh," I nod skeptically. "Anyway, let's get you ready princess you'll catch a cold if you don't put something warmer on." I pick Sophie up and help her change. Then I take them to the nearest park. We also encounter Cupcake, Caleb, Claude, Montey, and Abbey playing there. The kids then start an all out snow ball free for all. Meanwhile, I take a seat on a nearby bench, and watch the kids pulverize each other with snow balls.
"Zanielle!" I hear a voice call for me. I turn my head and see Sophie coming this way. Suddenly something hits me, as I look at Sophie, it looked like she was pulling someone by the hand, except there was no one there. The small girl lowers her arm, indicating she had let go of the "invisible" person, and climbs on my lap.
"Sophie, who were you holding just now?" I ask , arching an eyebrow. Sophie smiles and points at, or at least what I think is her imaginary friend.
"Thad's Zack Fwost," she giggles. I look at where she's pointing, but I see nothing. I squint my eyes, hoping I would see something, again nothing. I shake the thought off and turn back to Sophie.
"So princess, what did you want?" she turns her head to face me, then points at her stomach.
"Me hungwy," she states. I nod my head, and stand up. Taking Sophie's hand, I call to tell Jamie we're going home. He groans, but reluctantly obeys. He says goodbye to his friends, then we head to the house.
Several hours later, Mrs. Bennett comes home at nine o'clock on the dot.
"Thanks so much Danielle, they weren't too much trouble were they?" Mrs. Bennett asks, hanging her coat on the coat rack. I shake my head and smile.
"Oh no, no, they were as wonderful as always," I reply. Mrs. Bennett sighs in relief, then hugs me.
"I don't know what I would do without you. You are a lifesaver," she thanks. I nod my head and take my coat off the hook.
"No problem, I'd be happy to look after them any time you like," I reassure her. After saying our goodbyes and goodnights, I start walking down the street to my house. I look up at the dark, silent, sky.
"Ah, such a peaceful night, I like it," I yawn. I listen to silence of the night and close my eyes. Suddenly, I feel a gust of cold winter wind blow across my nose. "Gosh, it's getting colder, better hurry home," I say to myself. However, as I walked home to falling snow rained down harder. It got harder to stay warm, and I was literally trudging in an ankle high snow covered side walk. Just a five more houses to pass, then I'll be home. I continue to trudge in the snow, not minding if the cold already felt like it was tearing my skin. Finally, I reach the front porch, but when I reach for the doorknob, it's locked. Great. Here I am half freezing to death, and my mom locks the door, and I forgot my keys. I sigh a big clump of white breath, and ring the doorbell. After what seemed like forever, my mom came to the door, and practically pulled me inside.
"Sweetie, I thought you were going to end up staying at the Bennett's house, since there's a snow storm outside!" my mom says, worriedly, a she dries my soaked to bone hair, and wrapping me in a blanket.
"I was walking back home when the storm hit," I sniffle as I sip the hot chocolate mom gave me. ACHOO!
"Sweetie, I think you need to change out of these wet clothes and go to sleep or else you'll get hypothermia," my mom suggests. I nod my head in agreement and walk upstairs for a nice, long, hot shower, change of clothes, and a good night's sleep.
The next morning, isn't any better. It's worse. I ended up with a high fever, so I had to stay home from school. Mom came into the room a couple minutes earlier, and she said that the Bennetts were here to pay her a visit. So I was talking with Jamie and Sophie in my room as I lay in my bed. ACHOO!
"Here Danielle," Jamie says, offering me a tissue. I smile and take the it. "Jack's really sorry he made a blizzard happen, even though it wasn't suppose to happen." That name again. I arch my brow and sit up.
"Jamie, seriously who is this Jack friend of yours'," I question.
"He's Jack Frost, he's the spirit of winter, remember? I told you about him already," Jamie replies, sitting at the foot of my bed. "In fact, he's in this room right now." My eyebrows shoot up, but then furrow, as I turn my attention back to Jamie. He sighs and comes closer to me, so does Sophie, who sits on my lap. "You have to believe to see him. Please just believe for one minute and you'll see," he pleads, and I feel my face soften. What could it hurt to believe in Jamie just this once. I sigh and close my eyes. When I open them, I look at Jamie's anxious face.
"So where is he?" I ask bluntly. Jamie smiles at my participation, and he points to the corner of the room, nearest to the door. I swerve my head to where he's pointing and my grey eyes lock with a pair of icy blue ones. I take in a sharp breath to keep myself from screaming. Ok, I said I would believe Jamie just this once, but I didn't really think this Jack Frost would actually appear! Suddenly, Sophie jumps up and down on my bed.
"Yay! Zanielle saw Zack! Yay!" she screams, and Jamie grabs the small girl, pulling her down and telling her to settle down. I turn my attention to the mysterious teenage boy in my room with frost white hair, very pale skin, blue sweater, brown pants, and a staff.
"Jack Frost," I whisper as he comes closer to my bedside. He kneels down next to me with wide-eyed curiosity.
"Wait, you can see me?" he asks, putting his staff on his shoulder. I nod my head, and a grin comes across his face. "She sees me!" COUGH! COUGH! I press my hand over my mouth as I cough numerous times. Jack stops parading in my room, and crouches near me again.
"Sorry that your sick in bed, it's not like I wanted that blizzard to happen," he apologizes. I stop coughing, and take a deep breath. I nod in understanding, still in a bit of shock that this person actually exists. I cough again and this time it's more aggressive. My body starts to shiver, so I wrap my sweater around me tighter.
"Danielle, I'll go get your mom, I think your fever is getting worse," Jamie suggests, so I signal him to go ahead, while I fight back another wave of coughs. Sophie crawls up the Jack and sits on his lap. I look at her and smile.
"Sophie, why don't you go outside to Jamie, I don't want you getting sick to princess," I tell her and she reluctantly does so, closing the door behind her. Now I was alone with a winter spirit in my room. "So you're real uh?" I speak up, making the frost haired boy look up.
"Yup, I'm real," he says with a grin. "Well, real to those who believe in me." I smile, then inch myself back under the covers. "Hey, you okay? You're looking worse than before," he questions worriedly. He touches my forehead with his icy hand, which sends a chill throughout my body by the contact. He removes his hand, and his eyes grow wide. "You're burning." Suddenly, my mom comes in carrying a thermometer and a rag, with Jamie close behind with a bowl a cold water. Mom kneels next to me and smiles. She put the thermometer in my mouth, and she soaks the towel in the cold water filled bowl. However, when she takes the thermometer out, and checks the reading, she literally drops the towel causing it to splash back into the basin. Jack flies over and looks at the thermometer, and I swear, his eyes almost popped out. His expression drops, and he looks at me with sorrow and apology.
"Mom, is everything ok?" I ask groggily suddenly feeling weak and sleepy. I hear my mom get up, then walking to the door.
"I'm calling the doctor!" I hear her say as she runs downstairs. I look to Jamie, Sophie, and Jack for an answer. But they all just gave me the same look. Worry.