The Elementals - The Ice Princess

Chapter 2

The alarm startles me awake at 7:15. My heart is racing as I first open my eyes. My first thought is that the nightmare didn't return. It usually doesn't. But as usual, after a night that includes the dream, I feel worn out. My body aches and I feel very unmotivated to get moving. I look over at the clock and it now reads 7:17.

My dad walks through the door with a big smile on his face. "Rise and shine." He says handing me a glass of orange juice. "Any other dreams last night?"

I shake my head, set the juice down on the night stand and stretch out my tired muscles. I can feel little bits and piece inside of me cracking as I am starting to feel somewhat normal again.

"Breakfast is on the table, I'll see you down there." I grab the orange juice and take a drink before rolling out of bed to begin my morning routine.

The morning sunlight is shining through the windows in the kitchen downstairs. Dad likes to allow as much possible natural light into the house in the morning. He says that it wakes up the brain to have a good breakfast soak up some vitamin D. He knows as well as I do that in the winter, your body can't soak up as much vitamin D, nor can it be done through the glass. It's just something that he loves to say.

I have taken my usual seat which faces me away from the window so I can feel the warmth on my back. On the table is my favorite; over-easy eggs, which we call "Dippy Eggs", with turkey bacon and toast. I think I am finally starting to shake the effects of the dream I had last night as the food settles into my stomach. My dad is a few minutes behind me coming into the kitchen. He is dressed in his usual suit that he wears to work.

To be honest, I am not quite sure what his job is as he's never really told me what he does. It's something to do with researching stories for the, what he calls, "talking heads" or "newsies". I think it's mostly weather related. All I know is he's great with computers and he apparently is very good at what he does. He's been asked several times by larger news companies to go work for them but has turned them all down, most recently in Green Bay. When we talk about moving to places like New York or Los Angeles, he says that he will always be a "small-town type of guy." This is pretty apparent because in the four times that we've moved since mom died; it has always been to a place that has less than 3000 people in it.

This town is no different. Snowspell, Wisconsin, population 2984. Famous for...Well, nothing! It does snow here though, a lot. Like, A LOT a lot. In fact, surprisingly enough we have more snow here than almost anywhere in the United States. It's been documented that in each of the last two years out of all the states, we consistently got more snow. Last year, it was nearly 14 inches more than the next closest city. My dad calls it an anomaly and brushes it off, likening it to lake effect snow and the way that the jet stream usually passes us. Snowspell is also statistically colder than most parts of Wisconsin, so maybe dad is right and there is nothing more to it than that.

In all honesty, since we have moved here a couple of years ago, I have started to take a liking to this town, even though I know that another move could happen pretty quickly. My dad has sometimes made decisions to up and move at the drop of a hat. He never really explains why though. I think back to a couple of moves ago, when he woke me in the middle of the night and we just up and left. That was when we were in Jasper, Alberta. That move was one of the hardest ones because we practically had to start from nothing. When I asked him why were moving, he couldn't really explain it. I tried my hardest to get him to explain it to me but he stayed tight lipped. I gave up after a few days of him not cracking. My dad has always been good though, he never really seems to get mad, even when I try to purposely push his buttons. He is very understanding and compassionate and to be honest, I don't know what I would do without him.

This town is one of those towns where you can learn everyone's name and they leave you alone. It has everything a typical town needs, a grocery store, a post-office, a couple of elementary schools and the high school that I go to. Much of the town is very manufacturing based and like most of the country, it has been hard with the recent downturn in the economy. Dad likes it and to be honest, so do I, even if we aren't the most popular people in town.

Making friends isn't a strong suit of mine. In fact, I think in the last two towns we've been in combined, I've made all of but a couple of friends. The most recent one was a boy named Jared. We only became friends by chance really. He and I were partnered to do some science project for the local science fair. They took older kids and paired them with kids that were a couple of years younger. I was partnered with Jared, he was only a year older than me at the time. He was skinny with dark hair and glasses. I am sure that like me, he didn't quite fit in.

We actually did quite well in the science fair. Our project was on the effects of global warming and the polar ice caps. I was quite surprised at how passionate he was about it, and how smart. He theorized that we could cool the ice caps from the inside to re-inforce them against the sun's heat. Obviously, the theory was never something that could be tested but it did attract some praise from environmentalist clubs and the local paper.

I try to be part of clubs here in Snowspell, but they are harder to get into. Often there is handful of kids that want to run things their way and it's always easier to not be involved than it is to try and crack the group.

It wasn't long after the science fair that we made another move and I am not entirely sure if it was because dad didn't really approve of Jared.

Dad seems to be okay with my not having many friends. He keeps telling me that having friends isn't all it's cracked up to be. I for one would like to try it sometime. It can't be all that bad. It's not because I don't want friends, it's just that I am not quite good at fitting in. I always seem to mess things up somehow or we end up moving just as I begin to trust someone. As I get older, I am beginning to think that it's better to not have friends because then you don't have to worry about leaving them behind.

"Anything after school tonight?" Dad asks as he grabs his keys up off the table. His question catches me off guard and shakes me from the day dream I was having.

"Nothing." I reply. "But I have my phone in case anything comes up." My dad cocks an eyebrow at me.

"Well, if anything comes up I need to know where you'll be."

"I know dad. Get to work, you'll be late."

He pauses for a moment before leaving. I am in just about to put the final bite of toast in my mouth when he asks, "You ok? That dream last night, was a doozy. If you want, I can call the school and tell them you're going to be home today so you can rest."

I think about it for a second and weigh the option about being alone at home or being alone surrounded by others. I go with the latter because I would like to think of myself as not a total lost cause.

"Nah, I'll be ok dad. It'll just mean I'm in bed earlier tonight."

"Ok, but you might want to hurry and get ready, there's your bus coming down the opposite side of the street. That means it will be loop and come back around in less than ten minutes." He says pointing out the frosted window. He walks over and gives me a kiss on the forehead. "Have a good day at school and remember to call if something comes up."

"I know dad." I say sarcastically, both of us knowing that nothing will come up. Nothing ever comes up in my boring life. With a smile, my dad walks out to the garage that houses his grey Ford Fusion. A few seconds later, I can hear the garage door squealing as it struggles to open in the cold.

I begin to clear my dishes and gather up my textbooks from last night. Just before walking out the front door, I feel my pockets for keys and cell phone. I am missing my cell. This means I have to run all the way back upstairs and get it. I contemplate leaving it for a brief second because no one ever calls me on it anyway, but it's better to be safe than sorry, so I trot upstairs as quickly as I can.

"Crap!" I think to myself as I see out of the window that the bus is already at the neighbors place picking up their kid. He's a young boy, probably grade 4 or 5 and he's just getting onto the bus.

I grab my phone and rush downstairs gathering the rest of my things and head out the door knowing that I will have to catch the bus at the next stop. I hate it when things are rushed.