Chapter 2: The Snowman
Man is not what he thinks he is, he is what he hides - André Malraux
Maybe there was some truth to the fact that Tom Riddle was not necessarily ordinary, anything else would do nothing to please the young boy, for what on earth has made him like anyone else? Surely, there had to be greater plans for someone like him, somewhere far away from here and this orphanage. He hated this place so much.
The next day was a cold Sunday morning. Most of the children were outside starting to build a snowman. It has been snowing the past couple of days; the kids could barely walk in the thick layers of white cotton. Tom, sitting in his warm room, watched expressionlessly how Eric managed to put up the snowman's head while Amy was busy finding the right twigs for its arms. Dennis seemed to look around for some stones, and as everyone put efforts in completing the snowman, Tom saw how Billy and the rest ran back inside, they must have forgotten something. Tom turned away in boredom, ignoring the loud cries of frustration that he heard when the kids returned to find a stomped down snowman. What a pity.
A knock on the door caused Tom to glance over to it. He sighed, not paying attention when it opened, but he was particularly surprised to see Joelle Cole standing there.
"Hey." She smiled. "Can I come in?"
Tom shrugged, which Joelle took as an invitation. She walked over to Tom's desk, sitting down on the chair. Why did she have to be here? Tom did not like it. He wanted to be left alone. "What do you want?" He asked.
"All of the kids are playing outside, just your door is closed, no sound of you at all. Are you alright?" Joelle asked with a soft and caring voice.
Tom shrugged again.
"Your name is Tom, right?" Joelle asked. Tom's eyes flickered up to her, his nostrils widened in anger, but he grumbled something under his breath.
"Sorry?" Joelle asked.
"I said I don't like that name," Tom murmured.
"Oh." She smiled. "Okay then. How else do you wish to be addressed?"
What an odd question, Tom thought. Usually, somebody would just ask him why exactly he didn't like his name. Wanted to find out if he was right and healthy - in the head, of course, if he was perhaps beginning to hate himself. He did not hate himself, how ridiculous was that assumption? But he would play along for now. He shrugged again. "Maybe Marvolo," he said. "It is my second name. And I don't know a single person with that name."
"Okay, Marvolo," said Joelle. "Now do tell me why you wish to be inside the house while all the other kids are out."
"I don't like to play with them," said Tom simply. "And that's all there is to it."
"Oh?" Snickered Joelle. "Now, that did not sound like that's all there is to it," she got up from the chair.
"Where are you going!" Tom blurted out suddenly, but he watched how Joelle frowned and pointed to the door, closing it. Tom felt the embarrassing heat starting to creep up into his face. She just wanted to close the door. Ridiculous.
"Just why exactly are you here at the orphanage," Tom asked with a low voice when Joelle sat back down.
"To help my aunt," she sighed. "That's all there is to it." She chuckled.
"That doesn't sound like that's all there is to it," Tom responded smoothly, playing with a stone in his hands. "You're not telling the truth."
"Oh. So you caught me?" Joelle asked with a loud chuckle, leaning back. "Then tell me, Marvolo. Why am I here?"
"You are hiding," he said simply. He looked up to her. Joelle's soft smile instantly vanished, it was as though her whole face was thrown into water where her joyous expression unwrinkled and straightened out. She stared at Tom with a ghostly expression.
"How do you know that?" She asked in all seriousness.
Here she was just like everyone else. How do you know that, Tom? How could you find out, Tom? Who told you, Tom?
"Told you that wasn't all there is to it," he said in a silent murmur. "I always know when somebody lies to me."
"To- Marvolo, I want this to be our little secret, do you understand?" Joelle said suddenly, her kind and warm tone vanished completely. "Nobody must know." She sounded panicky.
Tom looked up to her, then to his stone again, throwing it up and down. Secret. This was nice, this was getting interesting. Unfortunately for Tom, he could not dig deeper yet. He did not know why she was hiding nor whom she was hiding from, but he could find out. And he wanted to - it was just one or the other way to escape the dull, boring routine of Wool's orphanage.
"So Mrs. Cole does not know?" He asked.
Joelle shook her head. "The less know, the better," she said, glancing to the door, then back to Tom again.
"Come. Let's go outside, hm? I'm sure we can build a much cooler snowman than those losers, look at that." Joelle chuckled as Tom got up to glance out of the window, seeing that Billy and the rest had rebuilt their snowman.
"Just you and I?" Tom then asked.
Joelle shrugged and nodded. "Sure, why not. Only if you promise me to make a better snowman, though." She held up the palm of her hand and Tom smacked it hesitantly with his own. "Promised," he murmured when Joelle turned around, a slight grin crept up his lips.
"Joelle!" A girl smiled when she spotted Joelle as soon as they had walked outside.
"Hello...Amy, right?" Joelle asked. Amy nodded brightly.
"I thought you said just us." Tom frowned, walking up closer. Joelle chuckled, then gasped when she took a close look at him.
"What- cloves yes, but where is your scarf? But-, you can't go out without a scarf, do you want to die?!" She shrieked and pulled off her own, wrapping it around Tom a couple of times, then patted his shoulder with content. The latter looked up to the girl, raising an eyebrow. What an odd girl. Somebody else would have simply told him to go back in and get his scarf, but she did not think of that. Or maybe she did not want to. Whatever the reason, it almost infuriated Tom. Was she trying to be special? She was a girl. How special could girls get? With a glimpse towards Amy Benson, not special at all.
"Joelle, Joelle, look at my snowman!" Amy squeaked, pulling on Joelle's arm. She almost fell into the snow upon Amy's strength. No surprise, Tom thought. Amy resembled more the likes of a hippo than anything else.
"Yes, well done, Amy," said Joelle.
"She didn't do it alone." Dennis Bishop huffed, walking up, frowning at his friend. "I helped her!"
"Yes, he helped a bit," Amy shrugged and Joelle chuckled, turning around, but she just saw her black scarf in the snow and footsteps leading back towards the door. She followed them quickly, able to stop Tom from going back inside.
"But Marvolo, didn't you promise we'd make a cool snowman?" Joelle asked.
"And didn't you promise it'd be just us?" Tom asked back with a low grumble, half of his face hidden in his jacket.
"Right. That was my mistake. It's just us now. And we'll go...mhh...over there." Joelle pointed towards an empty spot. "Where nobody can bother us. What do you think?"
Tom glanced to the spot, then looked back to Joelle, shrugging with a nod as he kicked ahead some of the snow. The both marched there and started rolling up the base of the snowman.
"You have to smooth it out," said Tom later. "That will press the snow together and friction will prevent it from falling apart."
Joelle grinned upon hearing this, but she left him in the belief that it was new to her. Despite Tom's adamant instructions, they were a good team, and a while later both stood in front of their very own snowman.
"I think he looks a lot better," said Tom proudly.
"We did a great job. But... He's a little lonely, isn't he?" Joelle snickered as she glanced over to the five snowmen at the other side of the yard.
"This one doesn't mind it," said Tom. "Not all of them need company to be happy."
"Are you sure? I once met a snowman that lived the same and had to be convinced, but it turned out that he actually liked the company a lot," Joelle grinned, smoothing out some more of the snow, walking around it.
"Did he really? Have you ever asked him?" Tom inquired, slightly amused as he walked around the snowman as well.
"No, I thought his actions told the truth," Joelle snickered.
"You'll never know the truth until you make real attempts of finding out," said Tom, stopping to lean against the tree to watch Joelle because she turned around to him with a surprised frown.
"You do have a talent for words, Marvolo. You would do well to perfect it. Words are immensely powerful," she paused. "Probably more powerful than anything else." She sighed at the last part and dusted herself off. Tom realized that her joyous face turned oddly rigid, her gaze a tad emptier than before, but she forced a smile, looking at him. "Come on. Let's get back inside."
A while later, Joelle was standing in the kitchen with Mrs. Cole, helping preparing lunch, but her attention was drawn to the entrance door close to the kitchen. It opened.
"Hey Joelle, glad to see you're still here" said Bryan Lessing, walking into the corridor while holding his brown leathery bag under his arm. Tom watched him closely from above the stairs, peeping into the kitchen's entrance that way. Bryan carried this nonchalant grin on his face as soon as he returned; oh, he disliked Bryan. Tom was merely lucky not to be around him as much. Orphans at the age of fourteen were taught in a public school, and Bryan being seventeen already was close to graduating in a couple of months.
"Hmm? Yes, I'm still here, I..." Joelle glanced to the clock, then back at Bryan. "It's already two p.m.? Oh well."
"Bryan, tell the other kids that lunch will be ready in ten minutes," said Mrs. Cole with a gentle smile - and Bryan nodded. "Yes, Miss. I will do that," he said and walked off, Tom quickly got up and hid in the bathroom when Bryan passed by, then, after a cautious glimpse, he walked back out to listen again.
"I hate her so much." He heard Joelle grumbling, cutting something that Tom imagined to be cucumbers. He slowly and quietly walked downstairs for a real view.
"I'm sure you will get used to her," said Mrs. Cole with a knowing tone. "Just give it a chance."
"I'll never get used to her!" Joelle hissed. "She's a nightmare. Why did he have to marry her? You know, I believe he did that just to punish me, that's the only reason I can find. She did not care whether I wanted to move away from Bristol or not, did not care about the friends I had to leave behind, the school, my home. She just snapped her fingers and Daddy jumped of course, like a dog running after a large piece of beef!" She growled, throwing some meat into a bowl. "But that beef is poisoned!"
"Now, now," said Mrs. Cole. "You are being a little too harsh on your father, dear. He fell in love again after your mother...well... And this is his way of moving on."
"But I was not ready, Ellie...I was not ready yet..." Joelle whispered, Tom could hear the suffocated sniffling that was overshadowed by Mrs. Cole's comforting "shhhs", but quickly stopped when Tom was spotted by Joelle looking up from her aunt's embrace.
"Oh, Marvolo." Joelle smiled and looked away from Mrs. Cole and him, dabbing her tears off. When she turned back around, her face seemed the same again, but Tom saw her swollen eyes, he could not be fooled.
"Marvolo?" Asked Mrs. Cole with a curious chuckle.
"Yes," said Joelle firmly. "He wants to be called Marvolo, so he will be called Marvolo. He can have any name he wants to have," she said, walking past her aunt to put down a bowl of salad on the dining room's table. Mrs. Cole smiled faintly at Tom, who leaned against the doorframe.
"Any name I want?" He suddenly asked. Joelle turned her face to him, nodding with a smile. "But yes, of course."
"Well," sighed Mrs. Cole. "That's not entirely true, law forbids-"
"His life, his name. He doesn't have to officially use it. Some names are better kept secret anyway," snickered Joelle; Tom could not help himself but wonder about those words.
"Come here," she then waved him by. Tom hesitated at first, but walked over to her, sitting down just when some other kids strolled into the dining room. Joelle began to fill everyone's plates and Tom felt content when she started with his, a slight smirk crept up his face. Bryan watched the girl, frowning when she gave him the smallest piece of meat and laughed.
"Whaaaat?!" Bryan fake-gasped and the kids all laughed, especially when Joelle poked Bryan's hand with a fork as he tried to reach out for a bigger piece of meat, and only granted him that when everyone else was served, winking at him. Tom watched how Bryan's face changed into a dirty grin - or at least it looked dirty to Tom.
Bryan was one of those people Tom heard some of the girls giggling about with high pitched voices whenever he brought one of them into the orphanage despite Mrs. Cole's strict prohibition. He was successful and good looking - but clearly lacked classiness, however, as Joelle herself had to witness during dinner yesterday. After all the plates had been filled, Tom noticed that Joelle was not there anymore, he glanced around for her and saw her walking back to everyone, wearing her coat and bag.
"Oh, leaving us already, dear? Why don't you stay for lunch, at least?" Mrs. Cole asked, frowning gently. The other kids broke out in moans of dislike.
"No! Stay here a little longer, Joelle, please! You can sleep in my room, I'll take the floor!" Amy Benson whined. Joelle chuckled at her, but simply ignored the offer when Mrs. Cole walked up and hugged her niece.
"Do visit us soon, will you?" She withdrew, rubbing her shoulder gently. Joelle nodded.
"I will. Thanks auntie. And you" she looked at the children. "You better behave, you can freak out again when I get back," she winked and most children snickered at this - aside from one of them. Tom poked around his food, resting on his elbow as usual, not even looking at Joelle anymore. She would leave.
"Hey, snowman." She said, bending to his level. She took her black scarf off and wrapped it around Tom's neck again, smiling.
"So you are prepared to accompany our friend out in the yard," she said, stretching up again. Tom glanced at her, but did not say a word, nor waved back when Joelle vanished at last.
Mrs. Cole would find him out in the yard quite often these days.
