This chapter is really short, sorry I'm not sorry :) Have fun!

Pitch hasn't bothered me since the incident by my locker, but sometimes I can feel his eyes watching me, like a sinister yellow spotlight, taking in my actions and movements and throwing them back in high relief, analyzing me. Whenever this happens, I square my shoulders and hold my head high. This is Elsa shining through my Clara disguise, wanting to prove that she – that I – won't be so easily frightened. I'm not sure if he buys it or not, but I keep doing it anyway. I haven't told my parents about the trouble, they can't do anything about it and it would only worry them. I don't want to cause them any more worry than I already do. Angie and Frank remain in ignorance as well, but it's okay. North is being a really good sport about escorting me around, as have Bunny and Sandy, although that has slackened off in the past couple of weeks, because I felt bad making them almost late to every class. Tooth obviously knows what's going on, because I notice her watching me out of the corner of her eye, but she hasn't said anything. I appreciate all that they're doing for me. It's nice to have friends again.

I can't believe that I've been in Arendelle for two years. The anniversary of the incident about a week ago, which means my anniversary of leaving Burgess to come here is coming up in several days. Happy Departure Day to me. I should make myself a cake or something…I think I will. Cake can go with anything.

I stop writing and look at the words that I've scribbled across the page. Since there aren't many people that I can talk to about my life, I've taken to telling myself these things. It's surprisingly useful. The lamp I'm writing by flickers slightly, probably because the wind is so fierce outside right now. I just put down my pen when there's a knock at the door.

"Clara? Can I come in?" Kevin's voice sounds timid, which is very unlike him.

"Of course," I respond, and he swings the door open and stands in the doorway, apparently unsure of where to go now that he's gotten permission to enter.

"Here." I move to sit cross-legged on the bed and gesture to the chair I leave behind. He smiles and takes a seat, and we stare at each other in silence until he speaks.

"So, Clara, I know that we don't usually talk about school, since that's mostly Angie's domain, but Ms. March called me a few days ago at work with an interesting proposal for you. Apparently they – and I'm still unsure of exactly who "they" are – are starting a project called an 'inter-school exchange' where they pair students together who show promise as writers, singers, and musicians. Given your passion for writing and your love of words – which is what Ms. March called it when she called – she thought you might like to give it a go." The last sentence wasn't a question, but it sounded like one.

"Me?"

He nods, waiting for my reaction.

"Um. What does the project entail?" I ask, stalling for time. I'm genuinely surprised that Ms. March thought of me. I knew she had taken an interest in me, but there are other kids in her class that are much more talented than I am.

Kevin shifts in the chair and removes his glasses. "She only gave me a basic framework of the timeframe, but essentially, you'll be assigned a partner from another school within our district, and over the summer you'll have opportunities to meet and get to know them. The project really begins in the fall, and that's when you and your partner will work together to write a song or some kind of musical number which you will them perform at a concert in the spring. It would look really good on applications, I think, because the project itself is new and difficult to get into."

I let the words bounce around my head for a while. Partner….song….concert… The Elsa side of me is jumping up and down in my head right now, squealing "Do it! Do it!" while the Clara side of me is shrinking back in a timid whisper "No, I couldn't."

After a few minutes, Kevin interrupts my mental argument. "So, Clara, what do you think?"

I can tell that he wants me to say yes. And to be very honest, I want to say yes. But it's Kevin that decides for me. In the past two years, he's accepted everything about me in his quiet way, without asking questions and without forcing me "out of my shell" like Angie tries to do every once in a while. I feel indebted to him because of that.

"It sounds like fun. Sure, I'll do it," I say, a slow grin spreading across my face.

"You will? Fantastic!" He exclaims, slapping his knee with an excitedly outspread hand. "I'll go tell Angie," he says as he strides out of my room. But then he stops and turns to me, "I really think you'll enjoy it, Clara. You weren't meant to be a caged bird in the house like this all the time. It's time you soar." Then he's gone.

-A few weeks later-

I sit at my computer and watch the dark window where my assigned partner will appear. Ms. March went through every detail with me about the program earlier today, and I run through it in my head as the time of my first meeting with my partner approaches.

1) The first few meetings will happen over a Skype-like computer program, not in person. During these meetings, you can really talk about anything you like, even get started on the final project if you want, but they're mainly part of an introductory stage where you can get to know your partner and test your dynamic. If it's a good match, wonderful. If you don't feel you can work well together, let one of the supervisors know and we can assign you a new partner.

2) During the summer, there will be an optional in-person meeting that will take place mid-June at a yet to be announced location.

3) Real work on the project does not begin until the fall, when school starts again. When that happens, there will be weekly communication between you and your partner on the nature of your project and the steps you each will take to achieving it.

4) Your project is set to conclude the last week of April, upon which date you must submit it to the committee for review. At this time, it's suggested that you begin practicing your performance, if you haven't already.

5) During the second week of May, there will be a concert in which you will perform your song or musical number for a crowd of people. This is meant to be a fun event, rather than a stressful one, so don't take yourself too seriously and you'll be fine.

I'm pretty sure that Ms. March paraphrased most of these for me, but that's okay with me. She makes it sound so simple, as if I'm not going to write a song with a complete and total stranger. Will I like him or her? What if we don't get along? What if they don't like my lyrics or I don't like their music? Why are they taking so long? A thousand and one scenarios run through my head, each one more ridiculous than the last. I check my appearance in the reflection of the screen. Short brown hair, the same green eyes I've seen every day for two years. If anyone from my old life, Anna and my parents included, saw me on the street they probably wouldn't recognize me.

The computer screen catches my attention as the dark screen flickers and turns on, revealing a blank wall and a blurry image of a blue shirt that is way too close to the video recorder. I hear a muttering that sounds something like, "How do I turn this thing on?" It's obviously a male voice, I think to myself, and then the person sits down. A face that I would recognize anywhere smiles at me from miles and miles away.

My heart starts to beat faster, at an irregular, jumpy rhythm. Clear blue eyes smile at me, the same ones that I used to watch crinkle in laughter and mischief. The hair is messy and untamed as I remember it, but now it's a deep brown instead of the pure white it used to be. I'm sure my eyes are wide in surprise, but my partner just grins at me and speaks.

"Sorry I'm late. Hi, I'm Jack Frost."