The Ice Prince

Chapter 55 (and some other bits)

"To Ashton Armand Prince, I bequeath all my savings, and all possessions other than those mentioned specifically. You were like a son to me, and a dear friend. Whether you forgive me or not, do know this, that betraying you was the biggest mistake of my life. May He bless you with all good things and happiness. You've got great skill in those hands, and if ever you find yourself unable to decide whether to be conventional and get a degree or to be unconventional and cook, remember me, and use my savings to go for the path less travelled by. You will go a long way, Ash, and I do hope my little contribution can help in that journey.

"To Hayley Elena Broadbeck, I bequeath all my books, and my car, a 1998 Camaro. Learn, and you shall flourish. And yes, please do call the car by her name. She's named Daffy, short for daffodil. Yellow in color, you see. I also bequeath to you a sum of one million dollars.

"To Marcel Deveraux, I bequeath my collection of guns. I know you'll put it to better use than I ever did.

"To Carver Broadbeck and Alyna Prince, I bequeath a sum of fifty thousand dollars each. Grow, learn, and most importantly, be good people. Look up to your siblings. Love and cherish what you have.

"It is my wish that Jerry's have a new manager, and there is no one better than Ashton Armand Prince for the post. However, I do not wish to force it on him. It shall be his choice, entirely, whether or not to take up on this offer. If he accepts, my quarters are to be assigned to him, and he must continue his schooling under any circumstances.

"The downtown apartment on 90, King Street, should be auctioned off, and the funds so gathered to be given to Feed Our Future, a charity working for food for children of the world."

The will was read out and the small gathering stood silent. It was Kellner Strauss who broke the silence, and spoke up. "I believe, Ash, that you have it in you to forgive the dead man?"

I nodded. I was shaken, but I felt like this was the right thing to happen, and forgiving Arnold Wood was the right thing to do. There was just one question I still had to ask Kellner.

"Did you do what I asked you to?" Kellner gave me a small smile, and nodded. If he wasn't being his usual stoic self, I knew that the will had affected him too. I could see everyone touched by it in different ways, and I knew that Arnold was my friend, and had always tried to be, whatever choices he'd made, or deceptions he'd caused. I couldn't say whether he was a good man or not, but then none of us are completely good or bad. But in the end, he'd let his good side win, and that was what mattered to me.

His diary would make things clearer, I hoped.

But for now, I was satisfied. Kellner had done what I'd asked him to do, and it was time to break the news to everyone. I turned to Hayley and took a deep breath, and Kellner was nodding approvingly.

"Congratulations, Hayley Elena Broadbeck. You've been enrolled into the Polson Academy."

--

We made our way to Polson, she in Daffy, her Camaro, and me in good old Buzz. Carver rode shotgun with her, as Alyna did with me. It had been two months since that one week that had changed my life for good, and there was no looking back. Every day, we drove to school and worked on our grades. Every day, we fought for the same parking lot. Carver and Alyna often skipped away together, and that had me wondering as to whether there was something more to their friendship than just having their elder siblings in love with each other. But then they're growing up too, and I guess Carver does take care of Alyna in his own way. I'd give them a chance to see where things went. After all, it will be nice if Hayley and I were responsible to bring them together, like they had brought us together, never to let go again.

I have narrated out the whole story to my friends, and they're with me now, an important part of my life. Justin is writing out a novel about the whole series of incidents, and says it'll make a good book. Under his hands, I'm sure it'll be a bestseller. He can make anything sound exciting and intriguing. It all feels like a dream to me, but there are so many reminders around me that keep telling me that it was all for real. For one, I can see Alyna skipping and playing with girls her age, and Carver looking out for her. For another, I can see Leia arm in arm with Hayley as they laugh at some joke and lead her into the cafeteria. Then again, I can see all my friends gather over at Jerry's every Thursday, even Kellner, Marc and Rey, sometimes.

Slader has gone to the police academy for training.

Of Domingo and Ramírez, I know nothing but the fact that they're going to serve a very long time.

I miss Arnold. His easy jokes and kindness which have left a void in Jerry's. I almost took them for granted, before, and now that they're gone, I try to fill up that void with my presence. I can't bring myself to think of him as Darren Clay. He was, and always will be Arnold Wood to me, a man who had always had my back, even if I didn't know it.

Every day, I see Hayley struggling her way through Algebra and English and all other subjects she'd always wanted to learn. I see her battling sums and questions and emerging victorious. Her progress is steady and sure, and she's still the same fireball of a girl, who can burn her way through anything. Sometimes she's too proud to ask for help, but with me, she knows I'd help her when she needs it. Life is beautiful. Things are finally as they should be.

--

The new English teacher is a lady named Ms. Roth. She's younger than Justin even, I think. Her pointed glares at Leia's friendly flirting make me miss the old class we used to have with Justin. It amuses me. Whenever I try and succeed in keeping a straight face, Leia accuses me of taking classes from Kellner Strauss. That has me cracking up, and earns Leia another angry look from Ms. Roth.

Hayley, too, squirms when Ms. Roth asks her a question. But then, again, she always gives the right answers, so there's nothing Ms. Roth can do except to glare at her sullenly. Almost enviously, sometimes. So many times I've seen Ms. Roth look at me and pout or bite her lip.

She keeps up her efforts, but they have no effect on me. Just yesterday, she'd managed to corner me after class, and made clear her intentions. But I was firm too.

"Ice Prince!" she gasped and stalked off, like so many others had, before her. The name almost hurt as much as it had the first time, but I shrugged it off coldly. I had a relationship to keep, after all.

Was it so hard to understand that I didn't want to date anyone?

Well, no one except Hayley, that is.