I sat at the kitchen table, my fingers tapping against the chair while I waited for my parents to sit down for their newest talk. The explanation of what was happening.
My mom poured my dad a cup of coffee and set it in front of him, taking her own seat.
"Alright, Kimmy, I need you to tell me everything that happened Monday." My dad stated, his eyes showing all of his excitement.
I tried thinking of what I could tell him that he hadn't already heard.
"well, uh, I woke up...I didn't really feel right; I felt like something was off, but I couldn't figure out what it was. I got up, got dressed, put on my make-up, and walked to the kitchen. I ran out the front door as soon as you brought out your new antibody."
"Why?" He interrupted.
I sighed "Because the last antibody you gave me had me stuck in bed for a week with a new strain of the flue."
"I see" he simply nodded.
"So...um...I made it to school with Jake, without any trouble. I walked past the various groups around the doors and we headed for the cafeteria." I paused, then added "there was a crowd gathered in the hallway. Someone told me that they were out of food."
"Hmm..." dad had a look of deep thought.
Mom placed her right hand on dad's shoulder, his clean lab-coat reflecting the kitchen light.
"It's like the others said" she stated, then looked at me intently. "What about the bugs? Did you notice anything about them?"
"Other than the fact that they completely coated the school and knew how to break windows?" I responded dryly.
My mom was about to say something, but my dad interrupted "the others each said that they saw an unusual insect moments before collapsing. Normal classifications, but too large and they seemed to just disappear before their eyes."
I swallowed dry air, my body tensing with the memory.
"i-I thought that was a delusion brought on my hunger..."
"What did you see, sweetie?" My mom asked softly.
I looked down, trying to hide my rising emotions. My fingers were ice again, but it didn't seem to be spreading.
"I felt something pinch the back of my neck, and I slapped it out of habit. I looked to see what had fallen from my neck. I thought I was crazy when I watched a scorpion turn into smoke without even leaving an impression in the snow.
"You're not crazy" my mom reached her hand out and touched my cheek.
I saw the pain in her eyes as she fought to show her love. I forced a smile and pushed away from the table and her hand. Seeing her suffer by touching me was the worst kind of torture I could imagine. The dread of knowing I could never hug her or my dad, or anyone else, was breaking me inside.
"I need some air" I stated and left the room.
I knew they had intended to explain their test results or their theories, but I was close enough to an emotional breakdown. My body was on edge, and the ice had claimed both of my hands. The stair railings and the wall froze upon contact, and I could feel my parents watching me. They clearly weren't going to say anything.
I pushed my door open and stepped inside, pausing when I heard a cracking sound, followed by shattering and falling. I looked back anxiously. Several chunks of glass lay just below my door. My glass doorknob had shattered from my intense cold. Frozen tears fell and shattered, and I hit my knees. My body wracked with sobs and I really couldn't say that I actually cared about my skin currently turning to ice. It did scare me, but all I could think about was my mom's pain and fear. I knew it would haunt me forever.
I held back my voice, half expecting my mom to appear at my door, until I felt my control returning. The floor was frosted over and the lower half of my legs matched my arms.
Opening the closet carefully, I looked through my clothes. I had meant it when I said that I needed air, but I wasn't going outside in a top covered in holes, and sleep shorts. Mentally unstable as I felt, I knew how to dress in a city.
My pale skin was whiter than it had been, so bright flashy colors wouldn't work. I grabbed a long-sleeve shirt, the same shade of blue that my body kept turning. My well fitting blue jeans, felt extremely loose, but it was a good guess that it was because I hadn't eaten since Jake had given me his granola bar, and it was already 6 pm.
Even weirder, I wasn't actually even hungry. Maybe whatever had taken away my human body, had also taken my appetite. I still had to pee,, though the water in the bowl had frozen, and I still seemed to produce a normal body odor. So I still had basic human functions.
I walked over to look out my window. Life outside seemed normal. Snow piled where plow trucks had pushed it out of the road and thousands of tracks coated the sidewalks. Mrs. Cherry was standing outside of her house across the street, letting her sweet-on-the-outside-evil-on-the-inside, Pomeranian, Feefee, do her business. It had to be cold outside, since Mrs. Cherry had a large, men's winter coat, a hunter style hat, bulky winter gloves, and a scarf that looked as fluffy as Feefee.. Looking at her, all I could think of was a walrus with man and furry ears, prepared for tan ice-age. On Monday I had felt the cold the instant I'd left my bed, but now I just felt comfortable. Like how I felt in the spring-time. The chilled air that was freezing everyone else, felt like just your average cool breeze.
I slipped into an old pair of pink tennis-shoes, my feet having returned to flesh, but my top, it looked like I was wearing matching gloves.
I ignored the glass knob remains, moving quickly down the stairs, in unusual silence. Even with my training, I'd never really passed for elegant. But the stairs didn't even creak. My parents were in the kitchen, unaware of my presence.
"What are we going to do, Henry?" my mom sighed over an empty sink.
"We'll just try to talk to her again. We know that she's experiencing the same things as the others. We'll talk, run some tests, and we'll figure out a way for her to control this." dad stared down at his empty mug.
"It's worse for her than the others, and you know it. I can't even touch my own daughter, even with her trained control, the cold keeps claiming her body, and I fear that it would lead to her closing off her heart. A cold heart is much more dangerous than a cold body."
I bit back a cry, my initial instinct telling me to go and tell her that I'd be alright. But if I did that, I'd probably want to hug her, or even touch her arm, and I couldn't do that.
I waited in the silence for several minutes before stepping in front of the kitchen.
"I'm going for a walk, I won't be too long."
Mom and dad shared a look, but said nothing. I took the silence as an 'okay' and walked away.
"Kim!" My mom cried out, rounding the corner to the front door. She looked like I was dying. Miserable and distraught.
I knew my smile wasn't convincing, but I had to try.
"Don't worry, I'll be careful."
A tear escaped her, something that rarely happened, and, before I could stop her, she wrapped her arms around me and squeezed me against her. I felt paralyzed, knowing that I was probably hurting her, but not wanting lose her touch. And, for the first time since waking up, I actually felt warm. I fought from falling apart, wanting more than anything to protect her and dad.
I finally got the strength to push her away, surprised to see only the slightest shade of red on her bare arms.
Her eyes softened "I finally got to hug you."
She grabbed my hands and raised them in front of me. Bone, muscle, and flesh shining under the lights. I just stared in amazement, grasping to hold onto the normalcy I was finally starting to feel.
"You go ahead and enjoy your walk. Your father and I will be here when you return."
I smiled and nodded. Hope was blooming within my heart.
I pushed the door open, then felt it bump something. I looked around the door and saw Jake gripping the stair railing for dear life, not noticing me right away. His blond hair fell flat and he had bags under his eyes. He looked lifeless, with the only color coming from his blue winter jacket, black jeans and white scarf. His fingers were red from a chill that I wasn't feeling.
"Kim?!" His eyes widened "what are you thinking out here without a coat? Should you even be outside? Are you alright?" He spoke faster than I could respond. "Kim, you really shouldn't be rushing your recovery."
"Jake, slow down" I lifted my hands to get his attention.
He paused, staring at me like it was the first time.
"You have blue eyes" he stated blankly.
I tensed, trying to think of a reasonable explanation for my changed appearance.
It wasn't that I didn't trust him, I just didn't want him to treat me like one of those anime characters that were expected to save the world.
"And your hair...is it white at the roots?"
Panic began to rise, but it bet it back, willing the ice to stay back.
"My, dad said that I somehow got this weird disease when I passed out. We don't know how I got it yet, but it just made me look a little different."
"And made you resistant to the cold?" He pointed out skeptically.
"I'm not entirely sure of all of the details. I just feel fine." I answered vaguely.
His eyes brightened "Holy crap, what if this thing gave you and everyone else super powers! I mean, there's a rumor going around that everyone who went from the school to the hospital are showing weird changes. Have you experienced anything supernatural?"
I sighed dramatically, giving extra energy as I faked disappointment "I wish. I bet heroes don't need school for a fun future. Hell, Iron Man was born into a rich family, and only created the suit to escape. He didn't even need to become a hero. I bet that between each movie, he used the suit for joy-rides."
My reaction had clearly thrown him off. He'd probably thought I'd never paid attention the several times he'd made me watch them. Sure, comics weren't my thing, but action movies pumped me up.
"Tony stark is a genius who went to a good school" he stated, probably mentally re-reading from the comic. He loved when he could correct others, and I knew how to distract him from looking for unnecessary topics.
"Yeah, but his intelligence was completely natural. He didn't require school. Besides, wasn't he kicked out of several schools?" I pushed, knowing he would go on a superhero rant. And he didn't disappoint.
First he went on about the history of Tony Stark, then about each avenger. I admit that I liked hearing about black widow, since I felt like I could almost relate. And Thor interested me because I enjoyed hearing about different myths of each culture. Though I wasn't fond of how they twisted the myth to create a hero.
20 minutes pass of Jake's rant, before he finally reached the end.
"Hey, there's a new movie premiering tonight. Think your parents will let you go? If you feel up to it." He asked.
"I'm sure I can convince them, depending on the movie" I responded easily, grateful for the new subject.
"Don't worry, it's something you'll like. Think of it as a surprise. And no cheating!" He smiled that quirky smile and it almost felt like nothing had changed.
He started walking away, not waiting for me to respond.
"Hey! At least tell me what time to be ready!" I called after him.
"Meet me at the Lincoln plaza cinemas before midnight" he called back.
The sigh I gave this time was real.