Imagine #1: A Dream...

Chapter 4: Black Snow

VEX ARENDELLE

Saturday, June 6, 2020 - 2080 RC

I had been having a relatively normal morning. I had gotten dressed early, hoping that I wouldn't have to talk to my mom before I left. Whenever I did try to talk to her, it almost always ended in a fight, I always said the wrong things at the wrong times, talking to others was a mess. I preferred being alone anyways. Less mentally exhausting.

Today I was not that lucky. "Vex? Are you awake?" My mom, Alba, called from the kitchen.

"No, I'm not," I said in a hurry, trying to make it out the door before she said anything else. I didn't make it.

"Will you watch Gwen and Robyn today?" She said, walking into the entryway where I was. Gwendolyn, or Gwen, for short, was my six-year-old younger sister, and Robyn was my brother, he was nine.

"Do I have to? If they come I never get to do anything," I complained, pausing a moment to respond.

"Please, Vex. I have a surprise council meeting today and we can't afford babysitting—" She stopped herself, as if she had said too much. My mom is one of the council members that makes up the Polarex government, but despite such a high-up job, she doesn't make a lot of money. She was the only one providing for our family, my dad walked out on us nearly five years ago.

I shouldn't have said it. I regretted it almost immediately, but I couldn't take it back. I was annoyed, irritated that my life was being affected by something that had happened so long ago. I snapped and said, "Well, that's YOUR problem, not mine!" I turned hotly and left the house swiftly, ignoring my mother calling my name after me.

I had made it pretty far before I properly realized that I hadn't said the right thing. I hate my life. I don't like living on Polarex, with snowstorms every day. I wish that my dad hadn't left and that we'd had enough money to get by without him. But my mom hadn't done anything wrong. Why was I mad at her?

I'll introduce myself. My name is Vex. I'm fifteen years old, and I live on Polarex, the planet of ice and snow.

Ugh. I should go back and apologize. I thought, glancing behind me. I made my way through the forest on a path I had walked a hundred times, out to a snow-filled clearing that was usually empty, at least in the mornings.

I was pretty surprised when I saw a girl in a green dress standing in front of me with a blanket wrapped around her. My mind made connections quickly. Is she one of the Forestical refugees? What is she doing here, so far from the camps?

She introduced herself, stating that she was lost. I looked at her for a moment. If I responded and stayed, I probably wasn't getting out of this conversation for a while. I didn't know whether I wanted to stay. It wasn't my obligation to help a random stranger, was it?

I sighed internally. I couldn't let her freeze out here. "I'm Vex," I decided to say, still looking her over. "I'll help you get back to the camps." She looked cold. "You could take my jacket, if you wanted. I don't need it. Polarexians don't feel the cold. But it looks like you might want it." I offered. I was only wearing a blue off-shoulder top underneath, but to me, the cold weather felt mild, like a breeze.

She looked really happy. I shrugged my jacket off and passed it over to her. She put it on quickly, wrapping up the blanket into a ball. "Thank you so much," She said, reaching forward as if to grab my hand. I flinched back instinctively, pulling my hand away. She looked a little surprised, a little hurt, but quickly went back to her smile.

"Let's go back to the refugee camps. Which one did you stay in?" I asked, checking my mental map of the area.

"The one for those separated, the one that's like, away from the others," She answered awkwardly.