1. The Snow Pistachio
"And when you put the magical fez on the snow pistachio, she comes to life!" Veronica explained, producing a red fez out of her trusty backpack. "Ta-da! And I happen to own it!"
"Does this mean we can see her come to life?" Milo asked, quivering in excitement as he attached the longest, thickest sticks he could find to the snow pistachio.
"Yup! Let the magic begin!" Veronica threw a handful of snow in the air. She passed the fez to Milo and lifted him so he could place it on the snow pistachio. Milo stuck his tongue out in thought as he figured out the best position for the accessory, then flattened out a patch of snow at the top. He carefully set the fez there, tilting it to the right.
As soon as Veronica released Milo, snowflakes and white sparkles swirled around the snow pistachio in a miniature blizzard. Two lumps of snow packed around the base, lengthening into legs. The snow pistachio stretched and stood, waving her stick arms at Milo.
"It worked! Veronica, it worked!" Milo smiled.
"Wintertime's fun!" The snow pistachio walked into the street. "Follow me!" Milo was about to run after her, but Veronica held him back, shaking her head. Her Murphy's Law senses were tingling. "Follow-AH!"
A pick-up truck screeched to a stop in front of the former snow pistachio, now reduced to slush. The driver's door opened, and a snowman stumbled out. "I HAVE MURDERED ONE OF MY BRETHREN! NOOOOO!" he wailed.
Veronica chuckled nervously. "So, how about a steaming cup of hot cocoa?"
2. Snow Day
Snow days are a blessing and a curse. And sometimes they should just be called "There is literally one ice patch in this entire city why is this called a snow day when there is no snow" day.
"They cancelled school today because of this? This miniscule, easily missed, stupid patch of ice?" Lydia glared daggers at the offending lump on the front lawn of the school, chest heaving in frustration. "We spent an entire month working on a production of The King and I for the elementary schools and all that toil and sweat amounted to nothing! Absolutely nothing!"
Melissa was secretly relieved about the cancellation, mostly because she was procrastinating on a math project. "Do you need to vent in musical format or a monologue?" she asked.
"Musical format. How does a ballad that transforms into a rock number sound? It's the perfect way to express my innermost thoughts about my love for the theater that later evolves into an outlet which expresses anger at the state of our school district," Lydia immediately jumped into vocal exercises.
Melissa nodded. "Cool. I sent word to the rest of Just Getting Started. They'll be here in ten minutes. Or twenty. You know how Murphy's Law is."
3. Penguin Huddles are the Best Cuddles
The school's heating system malfunctioned. Again. Everyone was in double and triple layers, though the cold seemed to sap at their bones and will to live. Bradley had long given up on wiping the fog off his glasses, instead focusing on preserving as much body heat as possible. Unfortunately, cloth jackets were completely ineffective when dealing with Jack Frost. He wished he had the foresight to bring his electric blanket.
Mr. Drako gave up on the lesson. Not even the most studious of the class could concentrate on Chinese dynasties when their fingers stiffened on their pencils and hear the lecture over chattering teeth. He pulled on a black trenchcoat, folding his arms across his chest in a V-shape.
The clock was frozen at 1:24. Not even an inanimate object could function in this a room this cold.
"H-hey guys! W-wanna h-huddle like p-penguins?" Milo addressed the class through chattering teeth.
Bradley almost accepted. Almost. He would rather be forced to read trashy vampire novels than accept cuddles from Milo. On the other hand, an invitation to share body heat with Melissa seemed too good to be true. His thoughts backtracked quickly, reminding him that it was cold and that he would never accept a hug from Milo Murphy.
Melissa and Zack clung to Milo immediately, throwing their arms around each other in a desperate attempt to warm up. Milo laughed and tilted his head, inviting their classmates to join in too. Mort and Chad were the next ones to join in, followed by Crystal and Lydia. Crystal blushed when Zack wrapped an arm around her shoulders.
"I d-didn't s-schedule cuddling t-time but I'll forego i-it just this o-once," Amanda sighed, stumbling to her feet and joining the group cuddle. Milo brushed shoulders with her, smiling brightly. More classmates joined them, forgetting any cautionary details of Murphy's Law they've heard in favor of immediate warmth.
This continued until Bradley was the only person in the room who wasn't part of the group cuddle, though he glanced enviously at them. He had to admit, the temperature no longer seemed unbearable now that there was a large heat source in the middle of the classroom.
"What are you waiting for, Bradley?" Milo shouted at him. "There's room for you too!"
"I d-don't c-cuddle when I'm near d-danger zones," Bradley muttered, though his voice lacked the scathing bite he usually had around Milo.
"If you think about it, Bradley," Melissa said, rolling her eyes. "Covering someone with hypothermia in warm blankets and clothing will bring their body heat up for a while until it's possible to get them to a hospital. So pretend you've fallen in a frozen lake in Alaska during winter and that you've got hypothermia."
She was good. He had no retort for proven medical procedures. Dragging his feet to the group cuddle, he slowly approached the side Milo wasn't on. Bradley stiffened when a hand was placed on his back, relaxing when it was only a friendly gesture from Mort. It was warm. Nice. There were no other words to describe it.
And sometimes a little warmth was all he needed.
