Nothing Burns Like the Cold (Phan)

Chapter One

The sun was hot on Phil's shoulders. Perhaps too hot for what was supposed to be a cooling November evening; maybe it wasn't even the sun at all, but instead Phil's own nerves that were overtaking him.

The feeling of his mother's lips pressed against his cheek remained engraved into his skin, warm and sticky of lip balm, sticky like the tears that were running down her face as she hugged him close, promising that she would send as many letters as she could. They'd been followed by a pat on the back by his father and a tight smile that showed how much pain he was actually in.

"I'll write to you often," Phil had promised, knowing that they would not have let him go otherwise. Despite the fact that it was literally against the law for him not to, now that he had been identified by the government as 'Special'.

Ah yes, it was no secret anymore. Phil was now known as a special person, one that yielded abnormalities unknown to most other humans. It was rather a mutation, honestly, but there was nothing he could do about it now.

The school loomed before him, white pillars holding up beautiful marble gargoyles. Phil could have sworn he saw the eyes flash red, but he was obviously mistaken, pressing his lips together.

He was forced to come here, to the school known as Dahlia Academy. It was basically a school used to harbor and protect special students up until they reach the age of twenty, with no contact of the outside world until the day of graduation. No parents, no friends. Nothing. All that was allowed were the occasional letters to his parents, but they were strictly regulated.

So what identified a child as Special? The concept was actually quite simple. A Special child must yield a power that no other human should be able to do. For some, this means telekinesis or teleportation; but for Phil? He could control water. This included any object that has a source of water in it; he could easily dissect the water from the source to manipulate it how he likes.

Not very useful in his opinion, other than to make pretty waves in swimming pools.

"Right this way, Mr. Lester," ordered the principal of the high school division, who was leading Phil into the academy. His face was hard, like he's seen many years of hardship. It made Phil feel somewhat uneasy for some reason. "I will get you a uniform and then you will be joining the college division of class B."

Phil nodded, smiling at him widely. He tried to keep the grin on his face despite the fact that his mum's crying face was burning in the back of his mind. It was times like these that he wished he could sit in a warm bubble bath and forget about life for a bit.

The school uniform ended up being a blue undershirt with a white blazer over it and white pants. A blue "DA" was embroidered on the breast of the jacket, a nice contrast to the white colour. However, Phil couldn't help but feel like the white made him look more pale than he already was.

"Here's your schedule," the principal said, giving him a sheet of paper. "The only class you'll be able to make it to today is science. Once there, you will be assigned a single partner for all of your classes to help you through the school year. They will then direct you to your dorm room and show you around the academy. Any questions?"

Phil shook his head despite all of the confusion running through his brain. Who will be my partner? I hope everyone likes me.

"Alright, I'll take you to the classroom then. Right this way."

The halls of the school were gorgeous, with various intricate frescos on the walls, high ceilings and marble floors. It was so high class that Phil had to wonder how much tuition would be if it was just a normal school.