The Ice Queen of My Brain

Exams

As we waited in the hallway outside our classes before the first day of exams, I pulled out my phone to check Wattpad one last time before descending into the abyss of testing.

To my delight, my book, Glitches, already had fifty reads! And, it was only a couple of chapters long! I smiled to myself, noticing some repeat voters. -fateless and Dragon_Writer993 had liked almost all of my chapters so far. My first real readers!

However, my celebratory mood was quickly disrupted.

"What are you doing on your phone before the big test, huh?" Keilee raised an eyebrow, prodding me painfully in the ribs. "Trying to cheat?"

No. Unlike you, I actually studied.

"No, I'm just checking Wattpad. Exams haven't started, so we technically don't have to put our phones up yet."

"Oh," said Keilee. "And be careful with that big water bottle!" She pointed to my thermos. "I don't want my brand new shorts getting wet?"

Shorts? What shorts? All I see is a two inch thick band wrapped around your hips.

"Oh, sorry," I rolled my eyes, reaching over to put my water bottle in my backpack. However, as I was putting it away, its metal bottom accidentally rammed into Keilee's exposed thigh.

"Ow!" She screamed. "Saralee, you're so rude!"

"It was an accident! Sorry, gosh! It isn't my fault this hallway is so crowded."

I will be a lot worse than rude to you in my book!

As I walked into the classroom, I almost instantly was overpowered by the tension in the air. The desks were spaced out so that none of us could see each other, and the teacher looked like she was already tired.

I casually sat down at a desk in the corner, as close to Amanda, Megan, and Claire as possible.

"Well, hello again, Saralee!" I turned around in irritation as Keilee sat down beside me, sliding into the seat and crossing her legs in one, smooth flourish.

Great. As if exams weren't stressful enough already, I had her to distract me.

Reaching into her purse, Keilee pulled out a long pencil covered in sequins and topped with purple fuzz.

"It's my lucky pencil," she smiled proudly when she saw me looking. "It's the best pencil ever! If I take a test with it, I'll obviously get an A." 

I nodded with pretend politeness, which was my usual reaction to Keilee, but when I was about to turn back to my paper, I heard a little voice in my head. It was smooth, calm, and reminiscent of the open sea: the most beautiful voice I had ever heard. 

Your grades certainly don't reflect that, Keilee. It seems as if you forget your lucky pencil...a lot. 

I couldn't help but snicker at the voice's snarky remark as the teacher passed out exams. As I waited for her to get to me, I also began to marvel at the gorgeous sound I had just heard. My imagination had always been overly active, but even I had never imagined something that felt quite so...real. 

Who are you? I attempted to mentally converse with the voice as I bubbled in answers on my test. 

I'm you, silly! It laughed. Its laughter was a cold, hollow sound that sent chills up my spine. It mesmerized me as I sat there at my desk, in awe. I couldn't even begin to comprehend how the voice could sound so lovely, yet so evil. That was when it clicked. 

Lovely...but evil. 

A laughing killer. 

A smiling tyrant. 

My perfect supervillain. 

Ah, a supervillain! I like it! The voice laughed again, once again sending thrilled tickles up my spine. 

But who are you? I asked the voice again. If I'm going to add you to my book, I need to know more about you! 

I told you, I'm you! The voice answered, sounding slightly annoyed for a second before it continued its patient explanation. 

I'm the extremes of you. 

I'm the best and the worst. 

I'm smart, and I'm sadistic.

Determined and stubborn. 

Loyal and vengeful. 

A quick wit and a short temper. 

That doesn't help! I replied. I need concrete details, like specific aspects of your personality and appearance. 

But there's no need! I am you! The voice emphasized the word "you", desperate to be understood. No one knows you better than you do. 

"You're right," I whispered, pulling a blue pen out of my binder. 

Taking a deep breath, I pressed it to the top of my test booklet, grateful for the large margin, and began to write. Here goes nothing...

I raised my arms and inflated my Aura. My expensive gossamer cape lifted slightly, billowing quite impressively in the breeze my swirling power made. Blue walls rose around the shocked Valior twins, and with a twist of my hand, I curved the Aural shields to form a dome around them. 

I lifted the pen, looking down at the paragraph. This was undoubtedly one of the best things I had written. 

This wasn't my work.  

This was the work of Queen Saralee, ruler of Lessaenes. 

But the funny thing was, Queen Saralee was me...Maybe my dreams of becoming a real Wattpad author weren't so far away after all.