Chapter 3

School Days

~O|*|O~

The number of people within the kitchen made it difficult to focus. First thing in the morning and Emily already felt lost in the human crowds. Never mind that, it was almost impossible to prepare the meals. But she had been on cooking duty and therefore would have to suck it up. Quickly too, as school started in an hour and the meal took some time. Every minute was precious and that wasn't including the time it took to get to school.

"Dammit!" someone cursed as a bowl fell on the floor. Luckily, from the sound it made as it landed, it was plastic. Emily shook her head, focusing on the frying pan in front of her.

'A Guardian. Someone who protects children. A spirit...' Her mine whizzed through the memories of last night. They weren't helping. Nor did the sizzling of the cooking oil ease her mind.

"Can someone pass me the cutlery...? I'm kinda' stuck," another voice popped out of nowhere. The response, albeit not coming from Emily herself was immediate and she could hear the clashing of the forks as someone picked them up, handing them to the girl who had requested him. This was followed by a pitter-patter of feet, supposedly-

'Oh, come on!' she glowered at the pan. An eggshell decided to invade the space, along with several others. A rookie mistake. Clumsily foraging for something to pull it out, she sighed. Well, at least she'd already managed fourteen successful eggs. Out of twenty and there were the other parts of the breakfast in question to finish off. Including the sauce with an incorrect consistency and the Quorn that was still browning. She sighed.

Just another day at the orphanage, being her smart self.

Fortunately, that mistake didn't repeat again that day and soon enough, the eggs had been finished, the sauce looked... edible... and the Quorn had finished cooking. The girl with the cutlery had decided to take initiative and served the meals for Emily, leaving her to sit down at the table.

There were thirty seats in all, in what was once a hall and now had become a dining room. Four large tables, three of which could seat eight and the remaining one only six, for the adult staff that worked here as carers. Despite being nearly an adult, Emily herself never did count and despite having the chore of assisting the carers, it wasn't an official job and meant she was still expected to sit with the others.

Gaze sliding to her left, she spotted the most crowded table, where the younger ones sat, unwilling to sit with the older ones. Most had been adopted already, by the time they reached the age of the people at the other tables.

Behind that table sat the less-than-enthusiastic portion of the orphanage. They were either very close, or in their teens, and often held an aura of hopelessness. At times, particularly when she herself felt that way, she would sit with them. They wouldn't budge. They wouldn't judge. But there were no welcoming hugs; there was no small talk. Everything was in silence and being in a corner with little light definitely added to the sombreness of the place. Not that the group ever minded it.

This time though, she felt like sitting at the remaining table, which fortunately had one free chair next to a cheerful brunette who was busy talking about a contest she had thought of entering. Of course, the question remained if the carers would allow the fourteen-year-old to partake in it, but she already took up the liberty of boasting about the routine her club had thought up. With a small smile, she settled down in that free chair, glad to see that the meal had already been placed there for her. Lea probably knew she would sit there today, but how, she would never know.

"Thanks," she murmured overheard and the girl behind her nodded, before walking away. Part of her younger self always wondered if perhaps the girl was psychic.

Part of her younger self had wondered about many things, perhaps too many.

"Hey, Emily. Been kissing up your boyfriend...?"

School was the worst part. The orphanage, if not always the most cheerful as at least respectful. She looked away, focusing on the writing in front of her. Essays. Did she mention how much she hated writing them?

"And she pies me," the same voice continued, in mock indignation.

"Everybody pies you, Aron," a female remarked with a giggle.

Emily frowned, tapping her finger. They would stop after a while. They would be quiet. Surely. Hopefully. She didn't want to be here either. What made them think they could make this more difficult for her, just because they didn't like the subject? So long as they were in school, it counted as their choice to learn about this. Therefore they should do their best to focus on the work, not ruining it for anyone. Apparently, that part had escaped their minds.

"Now that's just cruel, Abbie," Aron teased, before tapping his pencil against the desk.

"Detention will be crueler if you don't return to your work immediately. Thompson. Blaire," the English teacher finally spoke out, in an irritated tone. His glare was fixed on the two chattering students and, as intimidating as ever, it dissuaded the whispers.

'For the record,' Emily thought, without ever meaning to say it out loud, 'I'm not kissing anyone.'

Taking the time the students had been using to write their essays - however simplistic and error-ridden they were - the teachers walked around the class, occasionally dropping a stapled stack of sheets at the odd desk. Circles in different inks showed up at the top corner, bright and terrifying. Worse than the teacher himself, was the threat of a low mark.

She gulped as the teacher neared her desk, but continued looking down. No sooner did the teacher place her results on the desk, Emily immediately slid them under her folder, not wanting to look. Knowing that is it was there wasn't much chance that she'd have the best marks. Momentarily shutting her eyes, she froze, before hearing footsteps walking away from the table. They snapped open soon after. She sighed. But the terror inside her remained and for a moment, she could swear she heard another voice. one she couldn't recognize. It taunted her, smooth and soft, but torturously so. It wasn't human.

"Afraid of failure, miss Parker?"

An icy sensation crawled down her back.

Lunch had finally come along and she could no longer wait to wolf down her sandwich. Never mind how uncultured she'd look. If nothing else, it kept her nerves at bay. Even if it was just lettuce, tomatoes, and butter. Better than nothing.

She sat alone, as usual. Most of the people that lived with her never did go with her to school, due to the difference in ages. Those who did had other friends and she knew better than to pry and walk into their social lives. At least, when it came to school. Besides, there was some comfort in being alone. She never used to be with many people. Even before...

"Haunting the school grounds?" A familiar voice asked, not so much taunting as it was friendly. She looked up from her sandwich to see Darren smiling down at her.

She shook her head. "No, not today."

Her half-hearted attempt at going along with it didn't seem to affect him. Instead, Darren sat down beside her, watching her eat with interest. Much to her dismay. That always discomforted her. Being watched like that. Even if it had been Darren, of all people.

"Lettuce? Again? At this rate you'll turn into a rabbit," Darren commented, smirking.

She smiled a little, taking another bite, swallowing and then speaking. "What's wrong with rabbits?" she asked in a small voice.

"Oh, there's nothing wrong with rabbits. Unless you're talking about the Easter Bunny," another voice piped in. Wait, was that. She turned around, seeing the boy from yesterday, Jack Frost, leaning against one of the pillars of the school. He grinned at her, showing off a set of perfect teeth. With a blush, she looked back at Darren.

He blinked, confused.

"Oh, uh... I just... I thought I saw someone," Emily excused herself nervously, "and... I'm not turning into a rabbit, by the way. No need to worry." She laughed nervously. Whether or not Darren saw through that, or even sense Jack, he never did say, completely ignorant of spirit's presence. He smiled, though likely only to ease the girl's worries.

"Well, if you ever wake up with rabbit ears growing on your head, don't say I didn't warn you."

She didn't say much to that, instead finishing her lunch as fast as possible. No one needed to see her eat. In fact, she would prefer if no one did. Darren amused himself by fidgeting with his fingers whilst keeping a close eye on her - without taking a note of her discomfort - and Jack, who seemed to sense her discomfort turned around. For a while, she thought the spirit might just disappear, or fly off, but instead, he just stuck around, tapping things with his staff. Of course, there was the risk of him freezing the school over, but despite his powers, it didn't seem to be that much of an issue. Still, she couldn't shake off the feeling that the temperature had dropped a degree or so since his arrival.

"Is it just me, or is the heating in this school terrible... at least today?" Darren said after a while, just after she'd finished the last of her lunch. He folded his arms over his chest.

She sighed in relief. "I'm glad it isn't just me," she responded, with a small smile. She peered towards Jack, who looked back at her sheepishly.

"Sorry, my bad. Kinda' comes with being a winter spirit. I'm sort of new to this temperature thing..." he apologized. He'd shown her snowflakes and frost. That which he was certain he could control, but he'd also remarked that even without all that snow, there were times where he could swear his surroundings would cool down in his presence. It made sense, but as it wasn't something consistent... but that was in the past. That conversation.

Emily nodded, in an understanding gesture, but in Darren's presence, there was little more she could do to emphasize this.

"So, want to come with me? We can go book hunting if Lady Bookworm needs another novel to read," Darren offered, whilst Jack seemed to tilt his head.

"You do realise that Lady Bookworm isn't my real name?" Emily exclaimed, but more for Jack to understand than for Darren. She playfully glared at the russet-haired boy, but the twitching corners of her mouth gave her away all too soon.

"I think it's pretty fitting."

Nudging him with her elbow, Emily laughed. The look on Jack's face changed into something she couldn't understand and he turned around. "Well, I'll see you around, Emily," he said. Perhaps the spirit wasn't much of a reader. To be fair, it wouldn't surprise her. Darren never did actually read in the library. He just followed her. And she never pushed away his company.