The rest of the day was dull at best, spent in a blur of wandering around hallways trying to find classes, and then once he found the classes, sitting through them. By the time classes were over, Jack was exhausted from dealing with the stares of people. For several minutes, he simply stood outside of his last class, leaning against the wall, watching passively as the halls slowly emptied of his chattering peers.
"Oi, Jack," called Aster, marching towards him with purpose. "What are you doing? It's time for specials."
"I thought classes were over for the day," said Jack.
"They are, it's study hall time, or specials, depending on who you are," said Aster. "Come on, we're in the third floor all purpose room."
When the pair entered the room, Jack noticed that ten other people were already there. Two boys were identical in every sense of the word, their dark skin the same shade of warm coco, eyes bright and alert and sparking almost with energy.
"Those two are the Bias Twins," said Asher, following Jack's gaze. "Claude and Caleb. Science genius's and can boost or suck electricity. They don't talk to me."
"Aster, who's your friend?" asked a boy just taller than Jack.
"Go away, Monty," said Aster tiredly.
"I'm Monty," said the boy, his caterpillar eyebrows wiggling on his face. "I work with metal. What's your name?"
Jack blinked at him owlishly, reading his face with the ease of someone who was used to being ignored could do. Nothing on the newcomers face told Jack good things and his eyes set Jack on edge, which caused the temperature in the room to drop several degrees.
"Aster, what gives?" said Monty angrily. "Why'd you drop the temperature?"
"How many times do I have to tell you, I don't do temperature changes!"
"Everyone, get to work on your homework," said Headmaster Moon, emerging from a side door. "You will have practice in a bit after I finish with my meeting."
"Practice for what?" asked Jack.
"Talent practice," explained Aster, leading Jack to a side of the room that held art supplies. "You know, so we don't lose control or something. You normally work alone or pair up with someone who had a similar talent as you. A few of the teachers supervise and assist when they can. It's quite fun."
"Hello," said a girl with violet eyes who was two inches taller than Jack-which wasn't saying much considering most were taller than him. "I'm Ana Toothiana, shape shifter."
"Is that how everyone introduces themselves around here?" said Jack. "With their name and talent?"
"Or department."
"I'm Jack," said Jack, holding out his hand. "It's nice to meet you."
"Aster, come here, I need your help," said a large boy who towered over even Aster, his hair jet black and voice booming.
"Jack took a seat at the same table as Aster, Ana, and the boy who asked Aster for help. They were soon joined by a small boy with golden skin and matching eyes. Jack nodded to the smaller boy and silently finished his math homework and started his English essay before Headmaster Moon reappeared.
"Put away your belongings and use this time to safely practice your talents," said Headmaster Moon.
"What do you do?" asked Aster, pushing away from the table.
"Ice and snow," said Jack quietly, watching people mill about the room.
"Brilliant!" said Aster. "Nick there is force fields and Sandy-the little guy- does dreams, which is way cooler than it sounds. I do storms, so we can work together."
Jack nodded.
It wasn't until Jack was settling in to the bed at the end of the room, farthest from the door, closest to the window, the he had time to think back over his day.
There had been no going away party for him when he left Fred's home for children because honestly, no one cared that he was leaving. Before he had even set eyes on his new home, Jack had vowed to leave it the same way he left Fred's, without fanfare and with no one remembering as soon as he was gone. The other boys were running amuck in the dorm room, so Jack, suddenly feeling claustrophobic, slipped out the door, wandered the vast halls, until he found an old auditorium where he hid from the rest of the school.
The room was more empty than a graveyard; at least graveyards housed bodies. It was beautiful in a haunting way, stretching on like a church with even wooden seats acting as honor guards to the center aisle. Jack sat in the third row from the back, the seat in front of him looked like it had bite marks from a restless child more interested in a coloring page than whatever performance had been happening on stage. Jack couldn't quite blame the unknown child for it's boredom.
"What are you doing here?" demanded a solid sounding voice.
Jack turned slowly in his seat. Ordinary was the perfect word to describe the boy. He had mousey brown hair, deep brown eyes, and naturally tanned skin. Sitting, Jack thought he was ungodly tall but when he stood, his own blue eyes were only half an inch from being level with the other boy.
"Well?" he said when the silence stretched on.
Jack thought about answering the question but the answer was so obvious it was almost painful. He had been sitting. If this new boy could not understand that he certainly would not understand any answer that Jack had to offer. Jack felt one eyebrow going up but he didn't try to stop it.
"You're quite loquacious," said the boy.
Jack almost smiled.
"I don't care that you're in here, you just didn't look like you knew where you were. I'm Jamie, by the way. Jamie Bennett."
Jamie smiled, which made his eyes crinkle. It would have made him handsome if it hadn't made his face squish up. Jack imagined that someone who had been hit in the face with a frying pan would look like Jamie when he smiled.
"Do you talk at all?" asked Jamie.
Before Jack could answer, a man in a top hat ran in, his boots clacking on the floor.
"This is all wrong," he declared, his words lilting with a British accent. "Not a single one of you is competent enough. What is wrong with this world?"
Jack rolled his eyes and turned back to Jamie.
"Wait, you, boy," said the newcomer, pointing a long finger at Jack. "What did you just do? You rolled your eyes. Why?"
Jack turned back to the man, both eyebrows raised and looked him up and down, wondering how he would react if he signed him a response. In the end, Jack settled for looking him in the eyes, steadfastly remaining silent.
"He doesn't talk, Professor Black," said Jamie helpfully.
"Doesn't talk or can't talk?" said Professor Black. "Because there is a difference."
"Are you from Leeds?" asked Jack, finally placing the accent.
"Well, that answers the question about ability," said Professor Black. "And no, I'm not."
"You sound like it," said Jack.
Professor Black glared at Jack but the boy was no longer interested. He walked past both Jamie and the professor and left the room.
The nest morning, Jack sat in the back of his history class with Aster, doodling absently on his notes.
"Mr. Frost, care to share with us why they burned him in 1415?"
"Other than the fact that he was alive in 1415 until they burned him, then he wasn't alive and they didn't burn him anymore?" said Jack.
"Yes, other than that," said Professor Black.
"Don't sass him, mate," whispered Aster. "He's not one you want to cross."
"Well other than that, they burned him because they claimed he was a religious radical and that's how they killed off people they didn't like back then," drawled Jack, bored with the conversation. "Burning at the stake, which was actually a pretty stupid way to kill people if you ask me. Most of them died from smoke inhalation before the actual fire could kill them."
"You may be here for your talent, Jack Frost, but don't think that gives you a free pass in all the other classes," sneered Professor Black. "Like most of your kind, you may be gifted but you are completely talentless."
Jack bit his tongue from pointing out that his powers were called talents, so the proper way to phrase the insult would be to call him talented but giftless. Instead, Jack contented himself with thinking about how he must look to the girl two desks over and three rows up, the one he had met yesterday but promptly forgot her name. She sat there, right leg crossed over her left, hair covered in strand after strand of rainbow colors, curling slightly against her pale cheeks, lost in her own world, seemingly oblivious to the taunts of her fellow classmates as they whispered about her hair.
"Aster, what's her name?" asked Jack when Professor Black had moved on to terrorize another poor soul, nodding in the direction of the girl with multicolored hair.
"That's Ana, remember? Shape shifter. She's a bit strange."
Jack nodded more to himself than to Aster, a small smile tugging at the corner of his mouth as he watched Ana who, it seemed, the jury was still out on whether or not she was insane.