Monday came along, and as the two girls rode in their mother's car to school, they snuck each other playful glances under the wary watch of their mother's eye. Elsa wasn't sure what to expect; if Hans knew that Anna was her sister, there was no doubt she'd be victimized as well in his game. Or perhaps he'd miraculously decide to leave them alone. Falk Industries was a large company, but its influence still paled in comparison to Arendelle Corp. She sent a silent prayer to the gods that somehow his barbaric brain would understand the consequences of insulting their family. That he wouldn't force her hand.
But the damage was already done, and it couldn't be reversed. She'd been reluctant to explain the kinds of tactics the senior bully uses, but deciding it was better to prepare Anna for everything, she'd recounted as much as she could, while also sugarcoating as much as she could.
As they entered the school, she walked Anna to the younger girl's locker, to make sure Hans or Henry wasn't pulling the same spray paint stunt that they had before. She wanted to be there if there were hurtful words on Anna's locker door; she remembered how much it stung when she had first seen them graffiti'd on her door. And Anna couldn't hide the hurt as well as she could.
She was relieved to see that the locker was clear, and she gave her sister a pat on the shoulder before turning to go to her own.
She got through first period, physics, without a hitch. Second period, calculus, was fine as well. It wasn't until third period that she heard commotion near the entrance of the school. With Anna's safety as her foremost thought, she sprinted toward the source of the disturbance.
"That was so on purpose!" A brunette with short hair that Elsa identified to be Rapunzel was yelling.
"Yeah, that was so your fault!" A redhead with wild, curly hair spat. Merida, Elsa presumed.
When she finally reached the scene, pushing open the glass doors to the outside, it took her a second to register what had transpired. It was just as she feared. She looked down to see Anna half-sitting, half-sprawled on the hard concrete. Her elbow and knee were bloody and her lower lip was quivering, on the verge of tears. Nearby was an empty can of coke that had spilled over a pile of textbooks and papers on the ground. It took her a moment to piece together that the perpetrator must have 'accidentally' tripped her sister and 'accidentally' spilled soda all over her and her fallen belongings.
Elsa clenched her jaw and dug her nails into her palm. Rage burned within her, raw and red, overwhelming all rational thought. Storming toward the offender, Hans, she said in her coldest voice, "What the hell do you think you're doing."
"Well, well, it looks like I've finally got a response out of the Ice Queen! What about it, bitch, do you have a problem?"
Adrenaline and red-hot fury surging through her veins, she dug her fists into the taller boy's collar and shoved him into the nearest solid object, which happened to be a metal beam. Still burning with cold rage, she said, "You so much as look at my sister again, and I'll have you expelled."
He was shocked by her violent outburst, but quickly recovered his composure. "How you going to do that, bitch?" he sneered, "Fuck the principal?"
Her hands still buried tightly in his collar, she swung him to the side and onto the ground in another fit of rage, towering over him. Leaning forward, she spat in his face, "Do you think that I was so stupid to let you walk all over me forever? Imagine what Arendelle Corp could do to your family's minuscule wealth if we so desired. How would you like to live on the streets? In a homeless shelter?" She threw the last bit in his face as a whisper so that only he could hear. It was a bluff—she had no idea how the industry worked—but he bought it.
"You bitch—you—you can't…!" he said pathetically as he backed away and walked quickly through the doors, throwing his last words hastily over his shoulder, "I'll get you back for this, you whore."
She turned around and saw Rapunzel and Merida helping Anna pick up her soaked textbooks and papers. Eyeing her sister's bloody elbow and knee, she kneeled down and took one of Anna's shaking hands. "Come on; I'll take you to the nurse's office," turning to Merida and Rapunzel, she said, "Thanks for picking those up. You two should get to class." As if on cue, the bell rang, signaling the start of third period. By then the crowd had already dissipated, students rushing off to their next class.
"That was amazing!" Merida said in her rough Scottish accent.
"Yeah," Rapunzel chuckled as well, handing Elsa the fallen textbooks.
When they were out of sight, she felt Anna tugging on the hem of her shirt. "Sorry, sis," she choked.
"What for?" Kneeling down again, Elsa stared into the girl's watery teal eyes, "It's my fault if anything. I should've been here with you." She was Hans' real target, after all. It wasn't Anna's responsibility to defend her. And it sure shouldn't have involved her at all, if she had done a better job. If she had been more vigilant. If she had been more careful.
She hadn't realized a hot tear had escaped her eye until Anna's soft hand came up to cup her cheek and wipe it away. "You're probably blaming yourself right now."
When did she get so damn perceptive? "Why shouldn't I? It is my fault. It's me he's after. To him, you're just collateral damage," Elsa replied thickly. "This is what I was afraid of." Like all my nightmares realized. She took a deep breath and swallowed back the rest of her tears. "Let's go."
"Um."
"What's wrong?"
"Nothing."
Elsa raised an eyebrow.
"My leg fell asleep," Anna confessed sheepishly.
Elsa couldn't stop a snicker from escaping her lips.
"If you're going to laugh at me, I'll just drag myself to the nurse's office," pouted a very indignant Anna.
"Alright, alright, feisty-pants," Elsa put one arm around her sister and balanced the textbooks with the other.
"Oh, dear! What happened?" The nurse asked as the two girls approached.
"I tripped," Anna blurted before Elsa could say anything.
"Oh, you poor dear, come sit over here," The nurse motioned to a bed. She then proceeded to retrieved the first aid kit, but before she could treat the girl, another student knocked on the office door. "Oh, wait one second, dear."
It was a boy with an open cut on his forehead, which was bleeding profusely. The nurse peered over at Elsa, issuing quick instructions, "Just wipe the wounds with the antiseptic and then tape the gauze over them!" Then she herded the boy to another room, his emergency being more urgent.
Elsa opened the first aid kit and ripped open the plastic containing the antiseptic wipes. Then she tentatively dabbed at the gash on Anna's knee, watching her little sister carefully for any signs of pain. When the younger girl displayed none, she stopped dabbing and gently ran the wet tissue over the wound, trying to clear all the dirt and granite.
"Sorry, you're missing class because of me."
"Stop apologizing. None of this is your fault," The words came out harsher and more impatient than she intended them to. She mentally berated herself. Way to show off your mastery of tact and grace. Was she really that socially stunted? Anna must have felt bad enough.Elsa tried for a joke. "I'd rather be here than sitting through Mr. Weselton's boring history lesson anyway."
Humouring her, Anna managed a small smile. "I know that you probably still think we would have been better off pretending we don't know each other at school, but that's not true, at least to me. I still don't regret what I did."
"How could you not regret it, Anna? You wouldn't have to suffer this pain if you didn't acknowledge me, the school freak, as your sister," the blonde said with contempt, unable to hold back her self-loathing.
Anna suddenly grabbed her hand, the one holding the antiseptic wipe. Alarmed, the older girl looked up at her, concern raw in her eyes, "What's wrong? Did I hurt you?"
"Yeah, you did." Before Elsa could apologize, she continued, "With your words. It hurts me to see you belittle yourself, Elsa. You're not a freak. They're just jealous of you. You're beautiful, smart, kind, everything that Hans guy isn't. And I hate how you still think I would be better off pretending that you didn't exist."
"Why?" the blonde asked dumbly.
"Because this pain," Anna pressed the antiseptic hard into her knee so abruptly that her sister didn't have time to pull away, "is nothing compared to what I felt sitting outside your door, every day, thinking that you hated me."
Elsa just stared, mouth agape, at the unbelievable girl sitting before her, trying to repair the connection between her brain and mouth.
Breaking the tension, Anna gave her another entrancing smile, "I can handle Hans being mean to me. I can't handle you being mean to me. Okay?"
Elsa nodded stupidly. She wondered briefly how lucky she was to have this brave, stunning, creature as her little sister. Suddenly aware of how close Anna had leaned toward her to get her point across, close enough that Elsa could count the freckles dusting her rosy cheeks, she quickly ducked back, heart racing, and tried to focus on the wound—
"Ow!"
The response elicited an inappropriate laugh from the older girl. Anna's abrupt pressing of the antiseptic into her wound had caused the almost-clotted blood to flow again.
"Hey, no laughing—Ah!—Ow!"
"Stay still, and I'll give you a lollipop when we're done," Elsa shook her head, feigning disbelief. She tore a piece of gauze from the kit and gently pressed it to the wound. "Now, let's do your elbow."
She tried to ignore the pleasant thrumming of her heart against her ribcage that Anna's speech had left within her.
It was Elsa's first time eating lunch with Anna's friends. Heck, it was Elsa's first time eating lunch at school with anyone. Years of pseudo-isolation did nothing to improve her social skills, causing her to mutter a pathetic "yes" or "no" or "okay" when a question was directed her way.
Or maybe it was because Elsa wasn't focused on the conversation to begin with. Her mind was cluttered with the one-sided conversation they had had in the nurse's office, and of how easily Anna had dispelled her fears and made her realize exactly how much they needed each other. And how close their faces were—
"Elsa! Hellooo, Elsa!" Rapunzel waved a hand in front of her.
Startled, she shook her mind of the thoughts and realized she had been asked a question. "Yes? I'm sorry—do you mind repeating that?"
"I said, you should totally tell everyone about how you made Hans Falk run off with his tail between his legs this morning."
"Ohhh~I would love to hear that, too! What did you say to him?"
"Oh, I threatened to get him expelled," she explained.
"Really? You can do that?" another girl, Aurora, chimed in.
Elsa shook her head, "Not legally, I don't think. I bluffed and he bought it."
"Elsa has a really good poker face," Anna chirped.
Before any further questions could be asked, the PA system sounded. "Elsa Arendelle, please report to the office. Elsa Arendelle, to the office."
Elsa felt herself flush when all eyes were focused on her. Excusing herself, she felt Anna tug her hand.
"Do you think it's about this morning? Should I come with you?"
"No; if they wanted to see you they would have announced your name as well. I'll be right back. Have a great lunch, guys."
As she exited the arts room, she heard the barely-contained excited squeals of the girls behind her.
"Your sister is totally different from what I imagined! I thought she was a robot! She's actually really nice!"
"You are sooo lucky to have such a smart and pretty big sis!"
She could feel Anna's warm gaze on her back as she made her way out of the room and to the office.
She hadn't expected to see their mother at the office, talking with the principal. As she approached, Principal Banner greeted her. "Ah, Elsa, it's nice to see you."
"You as well, Mr. Banner." With an apprehensive glance at her mother, she asked, "What's this about?"
"Your principal and I were discussing your early graduation," her mother explained.
"I beg your pardon?"
"You will have enough credits by the end of this school year to graduate in June, Elsa. And since it's only early November, you should have enough time to finish college applications," the principal affirmed. "And with your grades, I have full confidence that any university or college will immediately grant you early admission with a scholarship."
"Am I able to graduate at the same time as my peers, should I choose to?"
The principal looked puzzled, "Well, technically, yes, but a student with gifts as precious as yours should seize the chance to get ahead."
"Yes, Elsa, what are you thinking? Of course you're going to graduate early."
"But…" The question held her chest in a vice.
Who's going to protect Anna?