Land of Ice

Chapter 1

The first bell rings as I rush through the double doors at Cold Brook High School. It is the perfect fit for a school in a town that is always freaking cold. I am frustrated as I continue my quick pace down the hallway. I woke up late and it is the last day of school. I thought that I might get lucky enough to be able to stay home and not have to endure the last day as a junior in high school, but no such luck.

Dad insisted that I go and "enjoy myself" on my last day with friends before the summer break. Mom probably would have let me stay home, but she already left for work just minutes before I finally woke up.

I trudge into my first class of the day and my English teacher Mr. James looks up from his desk with the typical look of annoyance that seems to be permanent on his face.

"You're late again, Ava." He tells me as he looks at me with disapproval.

"Sorry, Mr. James. I'll try to not let it happen again." I say, starting to feel a bit annoyed myself.

He turns back to his computer and begins typing again as though nothing had happened at all. I reach my desk and sit down next to Becky like normal.

She leans over and whispers, "You made it. I knew I should have called you this morning."

"I know. I woke up to those strange dreams again and didn't get much sleep last night. They are becoming more frequent lately." I whisper back as quietly as I possibly can.

Becky starts typing something on her phone and I feel my phone vibrate in my pocket.

Becky: Did you talk to your parents about going on that camping trip with us yet?

Me: Not yet. I am going to talk to them about it tonight since they’ll both be home. I hope they say yes.

Becky: K. Just don’t chicken out. I’m sure they’ll be fine with it.

Me: we’ll see. You know how protective of me they are. I figured they would loosen up over the years but you know that hasn’t changed a bit.

Mr. James picked that moment to begin the class lesson for the day. It's too bad that we couldn't just skip the lesson on the last day. He droned on for what felt like hours, but finally the bell rang releasing us from first hour.

I walked out of the class feeling hopeful. Maybe next year I wouldn't have to deal with the grumbly Mr. James. I couldn't wait to finish up senior year and get out of this place. I have already been looking for colleges as far from this town as possible.

Becky catches up to me at my locker, which is conveniently right next to hers.

"Are you getting excited yet? We'll have a whole weekend to just hang out with friends. I think Mason and Jack have already gotten the approval from their parents. The rest of the group are still working on it, but I think we should be able to get all ten of us out there." Becky says this all with the usual excited grin on her face.

I smile back and hope that I can get my parents to say yes. We split up to head to our next classes, Becky going towards her math class and me going to Latin studies. My parents insisted that I take Latin classes and I'm glad that they did. It turns out that I caught on very quickly and Ms. James is a lot less grumpy than her English teaching brother.

I float through the rest of the day and finally the last bell rings, signaling everyone to rush out of the room. I drive home and breathe a sigh of relief when I make it there. I made it through the day and my parents should be home within next couple hours.

I walk through the front door and start to take off my boots at the door and hang my bag up on the hook. Snowball, the white cat I got for my seventh birthday, strolls in and gives me the once over before realizing that I didn't have anything to offer. She gets bored quickly when she sees me head to the living room and runs off to do whatever it is that she does when we're not around.

I sit on the couch and turn on the TV. I turn on the news and it's the same typical crap. The weather for this weekend is surprisingly clear, sunny and freezing but no snow storms in the forecast. It looks like Becky planned a good weekend to go camping. I'll have to remember that when talking to mom and dad about the trip.

I hear the front door close and look around groggily. I must have dozed off while watching some movie.

"Ava? Are you home, dear?" I hear my mom call from the kitchen.

I stretch my aching limbs and get up to go into the kitchen. I walk in the kitchen and find my mom putting groceries away.

"Hey, Mom. How was work?" I say and smile at her.

"Oh, you know, just a typical day running around the hospital. One of the nurses still can't realize that she can't just take breaks for as long as she wants. She keeps on disappearing again. I'm afraid that I may have to let her go." She says with a slight frown towards the end.

"That really sucks. Hopefully she figures it out before you get to that point."

It is hard to find employees in this small town. It could take months to replace just one person.

The front door opens about thirty minutes later and closes again as dad walks through with April, my little sister.

"Hey guys. How was work and school?" Dad says, as he gives mom a kiss on the cheek. April walks through and sits next to me at the table.

"Hi, Ava. Guess what?" April asks with a toothy grin.

"Hey, April. What?" I grin back at her.

"I am done with kindergarten and get to go into first grade next year. Daddy says so." She giggles at this.

"Well, yeah. You're just getting so big!" I say, chuckling at her enthusiasm.

Not too much later and dinner is done. We were all sitting at the table eating the steak, mashed potatoes with gravy and mac and cheese. I was quietly chewing my food and thinking as the other three talked about random events of the day.

"So...I was wondering if I could go camping with my friends this weekend?" I ask, the words spilling quickly out of my mouth in my nervous rush.

Mom and dad both look at each other and then back at me.

"I don't think that would be a good idea, honey. The forests around here aren't always safe, with the wild animals and all." My mom starts to say.

"Who all would be going?" Dad asks.

"Martin! I don't think it's a good idea." Mom insists.

"Becky, Tiffany, Jamie, Jack, Mason, Stacy, Jeff, Tim, and Danielle would all be going. I checked the weather and it is going to be a clear weekend with no snow storms. It would only be just down the road and I would have my cell phone the whole time. We all have portable chargers too. Please just say yes." I plead.

"Your mom and I will talk about it tonight and give you an answer tomorrow morning, okay?" Dad says.

We go back to eating and they all continue to talk about other things, avoiding the topic I created. We finish eating and head to our separate rooms. Mom picks up April and leads her to the bathroom for her evening bed time rituals.

I head to bed with a heavy mind and already dreading the dreams that I know will come as I drift into the dark rest of sleep.