SHADES of GREEN ↬ m. wheeler

III. COLD

CHAPTER THREE
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❝COLD❞

　
　

IN THE NIGHT, the temperatures dropped drastically. Jade walked to school on her third day, and by the time she escaped into the light warmth of the building, her skin felt layered in a coat of ice. She could not feel her nose or her fingers.

　She had no money for coffee, although she desperately needed it. Jade skipped breakfast and slipped into the bathroom, warming her hands under the dryer. It was so cold, it was ridiculous.

　After managing to thaw out her skin, Jade glanced in the mirror. Despite the torture of the cold, she liked the way it flushed her cheeks, painted a pink glow across her bronze skin. Her eyes were the color of green ice—she was pleased with that as well. And her wild curls somehow looked more tamed; there was no frizz, although her hair was so thick that she would always have half an afro.

　Jade bit color into her lips and left the bathroom. The moment she turned the corner, someone crashed into her. The impact was more jarring than painful, and Jade gasped in surprise. She hardly noticed the hands that clamped her shoulders—until she threw her head back and recognized the boy who towered over her.

　There was alarm in Mike Wheeler's dark eyes and in the parting of his lips. Suddenly Jade was intensely aware of the fact that his body was pressed against hers, in some attempt to save her balance. Jade quickly stepped away, and he just as quickly jerked his hands from her shoulders.

　"Sorry!" Mike gasped. "Are you okay?"

　Jade uttered a nervous laugh and brushed her curly bangs behind one ear. "I'm fine."

　"Sorry," he repeated, sounding slightly out of breath—frantic, even. "I wasn't paying enough attention. Again, I'm so sorry—excuse me—"

　Jade opened her mouth to assure him that it was perfectly all right, it was no trouble at all, it was an accident—but then he sidestepped her and barreled forward. She turned to watch him go. In a matter of seconds, he had disappeared around a corner, leaving Jade breathless and confused and embarrassed.

　When class began, she sat behind Dustin. Her eyes flickered continuously toward Mike's empty seat and the door, but he never showed.

　

✧∘ଂ ࿐ ཾ

　

JADE almost swore that it would snow—even in the middle of November, it was not uncommon for Indiana to snow early. It was, however, uncommon for Jade to walk in the blistering cold without a heavy jacket.

　She quickened her pace, walking along the sidewalks. Frost sparkled in the dying grass, paled the bronze of autumn. The sky was a magnificent silver-pink, casting an almost haunting red glow upon the dying earth. Nevertheless, it was beautiful—if only it wasn't so damn cold.

　Jade's breath puffed in an icy mist; since she could not quite pull out a book and walk-and-read, she amused herself with this. It also proved as a distraction, because she did not quite notice the car that rolled slowly beside her until the window opened and a whistle broke through the frosty air.

　Max hung out of the passenger's seat of a black car. Her red hair swung around her extra pale face, her flushed cheeks. "Hey," she said, without much excitement. "Need a ride?"