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Chapter 20
Melody
The next day I'm sitting at lunch with Lisa explaining yesterday's events. "Wait wait wait wait wait. You mean to tell me that Jack is really Jack Frost?"
"Yeah. Crazy right?"
"Oh, that is just so cool!" Lisa exclaims.
I shush her. "Keep it down. This is no time for puns." Lisa thinks for a moment and then smiles.
"Oh, ha-ha. I get it." Lisa laughs.
"I just can't believe he lied to me. I'm so stupid." I take another bite of my sandwich.
"No you aren't. You know, he really likes you." Lisa says.
"Yeah right. He only dated me to get on my good side. And even if he did, why wouldn't he tell me the truth?"
"I don't know. He's a guy." Lisa replies with a shrug. She drinks the rest of her milk. "So, what are you going to do now?" Lisa asks.
"Well, this sounds crazy so bear with me, the North Pole is real too. Not like top of the earth but Santa's workshop."
Lisa gasps. "I knew it!"
"Wait what?" I ask surprised.
"Everyone else said he wasn't real and that it's just a children's fairytale but I knew it was real!" Lisa says. "I stopped trying to convince them and just secretly believed, secretly hoped it was real."
"You mean that you have always believed in all these stories?" I ask.
"Yep. You have to take me! I've always wanted to see it." Lisa says.
"Well, it's a guardian thing. He wants me to come to the North Pole for the weekend to work on my power. Plus, I don't think your parents will let you go to the North Pole for the weekend. That's what I wanted to talk to you about. Can I spend the weekend at your house, but not really?"
"Melody has gone rogue." Lisa teases. "But sure. I'll cover for ya. Only if you promise to send me selfies with the other guardians."
"Okay, fine. Thanks." I say.
"Anytime."
Jack
I wait by the side entrance for Melody to arrive. I'm still on edge about last night. I hate that we fought. I wish she could understand. I frost up the pillars to pass the times and get my mind off of the fight.
Melody comes around the side building and walks toward me. I smile and she doesn't smile back. She must still be mad. Lisa follows her and carries a bag for Mel. Lisa stops when she sees me.
"Oh. My. Gosh! I can't believe you are actually Jack Frost!" She exclaims.
"Wait, you can see me?" I ask surprised.
"Why wouldn't I? Oh, that's right. You can only see you guys if you believe." Lisa and Melody stand under the awning with me.
Lisa sets Melody's bag down and walks over to me. She touches my hair and inspects my staff. Lisa seems amazed by me.
"Lisa has never stopped believing in you guys. She was excited to hear about you being Jack Frost." Melody explains. Lisa looks at my face.
"You look a lot like the Jack Frost I imagined. I can't believe I never put two and two together." She says.
"Well it's good to know we have another believer around." I say. "You ready to go Mel?" I ask.
Melody sighs. "Sure. Let's get this over with." She gives Lisa a hug. "I'll see you Monday."
"I want a detailed description of it on Monday. And a lot of pictures." Lisa says. I laugh.
"I'll take you with us next time, Lisa." I say. She squeals.
"I can't wait to see it." She says. "Have fun, Melody." Lisa says.
"No promises." Melody says. I pick up Melody's red backpack and Lisa heads back to the parking lot. I pull out a snow globe.
"Remember these?" I ask.
"It's a snow globe." Melody says confused. I shake it up and whisper North Pole. It lights up. I throw it and a portal opens. Melody gasps.
"Don't worry. It's completely safe." I say. I place a comforting hand on her shoulder but she shakes it off. Melody walks in through the portal and I follow close behind.
Melody
I'm surrounded by a bright light. It fades and my eyes adjust. I'm awestruck. I'm standing near a big fireplace. Colors of red, brown, and black cover the walls. Russian designs of squares and diamonds appear on the wooden floors and walls. I turn away from the fire place and see a giant globe. I walk over to the edge of the balcony. The giant globe has lights on every continent. I look down. This place is like a beehive. There are toys everywhere and giant furry yetis running around. I watch as one yeti carries in an armful of ice blocks. An air plane flies around the globe, just barely missing a yeti on a lift carrying a box of ribbons. I watch in awe at the beauty and activity that surrounds me. It's just so full of wonder.
Jack walks up next to me, breaking my train of thought. "Amazing right? Before I was a guardian I would try to break in. The yeti's never let me past." Jack laughs a little. Sure. Be friendly but I'm still mad at you.
"There she is!" Someone says in a thick Russian accent behind me. I turn around. I see a huge man with a long white beard and thick black eyebrows. He is wearing a red, plaid shirt and big boots. On his arms are the tattoos "Naughty" and "Nice". I would be intimidated if it wasn't for his big smile, rosy cheeks, and bright eyes.
"Welcome to the North Pole, Mrs. Melody Lillis." The man says. He comes up to me and pulls me into a tight hug. I hear my back pop. He sets me down and I position myself on my crutches again. "You know me as Santa Claus. But you can call me North." He says.
"Uh, Hi." I say. I can't believe I'm actually here.
He laughs a hearty laugh. "No need to be nervous. Pole is a bit extreme to first comers. I can give you tour later." North says.
"Sounds good." I say.
"When do the others arrive?" Jack asks.
"Soon." North says. Just after he says that, an elevator comes up near the side wall. There stands a tall, human sized, bunny. My mouth falls open. He has grayish-blue fur with flower-like imprints on his body. He has on leather bracers and a holster with boomerangs. On his feet are leather wrappings. He hops out of the elevator and stands next to North.
"G'day, mate." The tall bunny says. He looks over in my direction. "Ah, so here's the shelia." He says.
"Melody, this is Bunny. The Easter Bunny." Jack says. I know I've heard Jack say his name before. Wait!
"So, this is your 'friend from Maine whose nickname is Bunny'. I guess we can add this to the list of lies." I say feeling hurt again. What else has he lied about?
"I take it she didn't like the Jack Frost thing." Bunny says to Jack.
"I'll fill you in later." Jack says.
"Beijing. Sector 5. 19 incisors, 15 premolars. Dallas. Sector-, hey. Is this Melody?" I turn around to see a giant humming bird, human thing fly in. Several mini humming bird humans follow her. She flies up next to me and around me. "Open up." I open my mouth to ask why and she starts inspecting my teeth.
"Tooth!" Jack exclaims. He pushes her hands out. She laughs.
"Oh. Sorry. They are just so well brushed." Tooth, who I assume is the tooth fairy, starts rambling to her mini fairies about Tokyo. I wipe my mouth.
"Well, she's friendly." I comment. Just when I think we are done with introductions an airplane made of sand flies in. The sand melts away and a little man made of sand flies over to us.
"Sandy!" North says. "Glad you could make it." Sandy gives a thumbs up and yawns. He turns to me. Sandy makes a hat of sand and tips it and bows.
"Oh, uh, hello." I say. He smiles. He must be the quiet one.
"Alright. I have tight schedule so let's get this started." North says. Tooth quiets down. "Melody, Jack has explained to you that you are next Guardian, correct?" I nod. "Good. Have we figured out what power yet?"
"Uh, no. Not exactly." Jack says.
"Well then. We have our weekend cut out for us." North laughs. "Anything for us to go on?"
"Music. Music and Dance. Although dance will be hard to do with . . ." Jack trails off and gestures to my ankle.
"We make do. Music I can work with. Phil!" North shouts. A yeti comes around the corner. "I need any musical item you can find." The yeti says something I can't understand and then heads out. "Anything else?" North asks.
"Mel, tell him about the dreams." Jack says.
"Oh, okay. Well, it started in eighth grade. I had continuing dreams of a beauty pageant. Lisa would win. Then one day Lisa entered one. The dreams kept coming. She ended up winning and the whole pageant was a replica of my dream. Then I had dreamless sleeps for several days. Then another dream started again." I finish and North thinks for a moment.
"The gift of prophecy."
"What?" I ask confused.
"Melody, you can see future with your dreams. That's why Sandy doesn't recognize you because your dreams have not been his. It is rare and very useful. They only give you what is important, or life changing." North says.
"So that's why I dreamt about the pageant and of Pitch's attack. The pageant is what helped Lisa decide she wanted to go into fashion. And the attack introduced me to the enemy and sprained my ankle."
"That makes sense." Jack says. "But what does prophecy have to do with music and dance?"
"Let's find out. Melody let me take you to your room and then we will get started." North takes my bag and heads to the elevator. Jack walks next to me.
"I'll come with you." He says.
"No. you've done enough." I follow North.
"Melody, wait." Jack puts a hand on my shoulder. "I'm sorry. How many more time do you want me to apologize?" Jack asks. I turn around.
"Enough, Jack. Just leave me be." I turn back around and keep walking.
"No. I'm not going to leave you alone. Whether you like it or not I love you and I'm your boyfriend-"
"Boyfriend?" I stop and turn back around. "You think we would still be together after you lied to me?" I exclaim.
"Well, I was hoping." He says half to himself.
"No way. We aren't a couple anymore. Not after that." I say
"Melody. I wasn't lying to you when I told you how I felt. Every smile, every laugh was genuine."
"Save it." I interrupt. "I fell in love with Jack Freeman. Jack Frost? I don't think so. We're done." With that I turn and walk to the elevator. I avoid eye contact. The piece of my heart that belongs to Jack is breaking. My head keeps reminding me of his lies, his motives. I just can't think about him right now. I have way too much to deal with right now. Starting with my powers.