And, finally, Jack's turn.

Snow day.

They were such simple little words. Without the other they either meant ice crystals that fell from the sky or the amount of time it took the earth to rotate once on its axis, but when the two were put together it meant so much more. It meant street closings and school cancellations, it meant snow shovels and plastic sleds, it meant hats and scarves and coats and gloves. It meant snow angels and igloos, it meant ice sculptures and snowmen, and it meant snowball fights and numb fingers and toes. It meant smiles and laughter and, most of all, fun.

Jack Frost had been around for a lot of snow days, and he loved every second of them. From the fervent expectation of students waiting for their school to be announced as closed, to the final retreat at the end of the day inside where hot chocolate by the fire awaited. Everyone loved a good snow day; or at least, everyone who had a good sense of fun. The adults, of course, always grumbled about the icy roads and the walks that needed to be shoveled. But who cared what they thought? Jack didn't make it snow for them; he did it for the kids.

A snow day was wonderful no matter where it happened, but Jack especially enjoyed snow days in the southern United States. They didn't happen very often, seeing as the region's natural climate counteracted Jack's powers, but sometimes he would take advantage of a cold snap and bring some snow. It didn't have to be a lot; because they weren't accustomed to snow the people tended to overreact a bit when it did start to fall. He had once managed to bring a few icicles and a light dusting to a city in Texas and they had practically shut down the whole town. But that was what made snow days in the south so great, their overreactions. And the fact that, for some of the people there, it would be the first time they would see snow in person.

Today was going to be one of those days. Jack was in Florida now, in the middle of the night during a cold snap. It would probably be his last chance for a long time to bring the people in this area anything more than a thin frost, and he was going to take it. He had already frosted the ground so that the snow wouldn't melt on contact, and as he stood on top of a telephone pole he willed the snowfall to begin.

It came down just a few flakes at a time at first, but this quickly thickened into a flurry. Flurries were all Jack could manage here, because if he didn't have it come down hard and fast and briefly then it wouldn't come down at all. Long, slow, snowfalls just weren't an option here, even though he preferred them.

It was late, and Jack expected everyone in the neighborhood to be asleep. But then he heard the sound of a screen door slam shut and turned around to see a figure emerging from one of the houses. The figure stepped into the light of a street lamp and Jack saw that it was a teenage girl who had clearly been expecting this to happen, for she was clad in jeans and a light coat, which was probably the heaviest clothing she owned.

The girl turned her face to the sky and closed her eyes, letting the snow collect in her hair and eyelashes. She held her arms out as if to embrace the freezing air and, with a laugh, spun in a circle, her breath misting in the air. Then she cupped her hands and caught some snowflakes in her fingerless gloves, staring at them with sparkling eyes.

"Snow," she whispered in wonder.

Jack smiled as he watched. This, this was why snow days in the south were the best. It took a lot of his strength to make this little flurry, but it was worth it to see the look on this girl's face as she stood in the snow for the very first time.

The girl looked up at the sky through the twirling snow again and smiled. "It's beautiful."

Jack reached out and caught a snowflake in his own hand. He looked at its perfect crystalline shape, its delicate translucence. "Yes, it is," he agreed. Then he looked over at the girl and said, "Your first snowfall, huh? I think that deserves something special."

With a wave of his staff the wind complied with his wishes, causing the snow to whirl about the girl in a swirling vortex of white. She gasped in amazement, and as she stood there Jack leapt of the telephone pole and used his staff to make frost grow all around her. At the crackling sound of the frost she looked down beneath her feet. When she saw the formation in its entirety she spoke a soft "oh" of awe.

Jack had manipulated the frost so that it branched out in every direction from the spot where the girl stood, coiling and spiraling into a thousand rays. He had made a sun from the ice, and the girl was at its center. He stepped back to admire his work, and when he looked up his heart skipped a beat as he saw the girl staring directly at him.

"Are you…" she began.

Jack looked behind him, half expecting her to be talking to someone else. But there was no one.

"…Jack Frost?" the girl finished, confirming it.

A teenager who believed? Now this was rare. Not quite sure of what to say, Jack smiled casually despite his racing heart. "That's me."

The girl looked around at the snow that was still falling. "Did you do this?"

"Yeah," Jack said hesitantly. "Snow and frost, that's kind of my thing."

She looked back at him, staring straight into his eyes and smiled a big grin that showed off her teeth. "Thank you."

Jack's heart soared and he smiled back. "No problem."
Just then a light came on in the girl's house and she looked over in alarm. "I have to go," she said. "Will you come back?"

"Maybe," he said, even though he knew he probably wouldn't be able to. He could feel his strength ebbing even now. "But if I don't, every time you see frost on the ground in the morning- that's me."

The girl gave him one last smile. "Goodbye, Jack Frost." Then she turned and ran back to her house.

"Goodbye," Jack murmured. He watched as she disappeared back through the screen door before he turned and took to the sky. The snow was slowing now, but he figured he had gotten the kids around here enough snow for the day off.

He wondered if the girl would remember him or simply write him off as a pleasant dream. She was, after all, past the age when most kids stopped believing.

But whatever happened, Jack was happy to have had that one moment in her first snowfall.

For all of you who have never had a snow day: I'm sorry. They're pretty awesome.