Ivory's Pov
When I opened my eyes in the morning, something was different.
It was the light. It was still the gray-green light of a cloudy day in the forest, but it was clearer somehow. I realized there was no fog veiling my window.
Suddenly, my door waa burst opened almost flying off the hinge.
"Good morning, honey. Did I wake you?" Mom asked soon as she entered the room.
"No." I answered, sitting up.
"I know how you always want your own car and I promise to get you one for your eighteenth birthday but..." Mom trailed off looking every but at me.
"What is it mom?" I urged.
"On my way from work, I saw these cute car and I couldn't help not drove away. So I went over, one thing led to another and the next thing I was signing up some papers for your new car." She explained oozing with excitement.
"Thank you! Thank you!" I embraced her in a tight hug. "Your the best mom in the whole world." I gushed.
"I know." She said, wrapping her arms around me. "Now, look out your window." She smiled.
"What?" I asked pulling away from the hug.
"Look out your window," She urged. "Go."
I jumped up to look outside, and there beside my mom car was my new ride. It was a red two seater coupe with a fixed roof and a sloping rear. A high pitched screamed left my mouth I was super excited. I can't wait to tell Lucy.
I was so excited about my new car I hadn't noticed the layer of snow that covered the yard.
After handing over the key to my new ride mom turned on her heels, leaving me to get ready. When I got downstairs Nikki was drinking a bowl of cereal, while mom was drinking a cup of coffee.
"Do you like your new car?" Nikki asked.
"I love it," I grinned, as I threw down a quick bowl of cereal and some orange juice from the carton.
I felt excited to go to school, and that scared me. I knew it wasn't the stimulating learning environment I was anticipating. Or seeing my new set of friends. If I was being honest with myself, I knew I was eager to get to school because I would see Vald Evans. And that was very, very stupid.
I should be avoiding him entirely after my brainless and embarrassing babbling yesterday. I was still frightened of the hostility I sometimes felt emanating from him. And I was still tongue-tied whenever I pictured his perfect face. I was well aware that my league and his league were spheres that did not touch. So I shouldn't be at all anxious to see him today.
"Eww." Nikki face contorted into one of disgust.
"No drinking from the carton." Mom scolded.
"Sorry." I grinned sheepishly.
"I have to go, else I'm going to be late." Mom said placing a kiss on my temple.
"Bye ivory." Nikki called making his way through the door.
"Bye," I waved at him.
When I got outside I groaned in horror. A fine layer of snow covered the yard, dusted the top of my car and whitened the road. But that wasn't the worst part, all the rain from yesterday had frozen solid. Coating the needles on the trees in fantastic, gorgeous patterns. Making the driveway a deadly ice slick. I had enough trouble not falling down when the ground was dry. It might be safer for me to go back inside.
It took every ounce of my concentration to make it down the icy brick driveway alive. I almost lost my balance when I finally got to the car, but I managed to cling to the side mirror and save myself. Clearly, today was going to be nightmarish.
My car seemed to have no problem with the black ice that covered the roads. I drove very slowly, though not wanting to carve a path of destruction through the Main Street.
When I got out of my car at school, I saw why I'd had so little trouble. Something silver caught my eye, and I walked to the back of the car. Carefully holding the side for support to examine my tires.
There were thin chains crisscrossed in diamond shapes around them. Mom must have gotten them to put snow chains on my car. My throat suddenly felt tight.
I was being selfish. I was so angry at her that I hadn't realized how difficult all of this might be for her.
I was standing by the back corner of the car. Struggling to fight back the sudden wave of emotion the snow chains had brought on. In my peripheral line of vision I saw Vald and his siblings standing against his car.
Slinging my backpack over my shoulder. I began walking over to the other side of the parking lot. When I heard on odd sound.
It was a high-pitched screech, and it was fast becoming painfully loud. I looked up, startled.
I saw several things simultaneously. Nothing was moving in slow motion, the way it does in the movies.
Instead, the adrenaline rush seemed to make my brain work much faster. And I was able to absorb in clear detail several things at once.
Vald was standing on the other side of the parking lot, three cars down staring at me in horror. His face stood out from a sea of faces, all frozen in the same mask of shock. But of more immediate importance was the sliver Toyota that was skidding. Tires locked and squealing against the brakes, coming in full speed down the parking lot.
When reality sank in, it was going to hit me. I didn't even had time to close my eyes.
Just before I got ran over by the Toyota something hit me, hard... but not from the direction I was expecting. My head cracked against the snow pavement, and I felt something hard pinning me to the ground.
It was absolutely silent for one long second before the screaming began. In the abrupt bedlam, I could hear more than one person shouting my name. But more clearly than all the yelling, I could hear Vald Evans's low, frantic voice in my ear.