Wings of Fire as Humans

Chapter Two: Winter

Winter's heart began beating faster than he thought humanly possible when he saw Moon. How could she be that gorgeous? Her raven hair was down and her dark green-blue-purple eyes captivated him in the cosmo-like glow. Winter seriously needed help. Moon was doing something to his brain and if he spent too long looking at her, he might actually beat up Qibli for looking at her the same way. At least he barely had any classes with her so he wouldn't go totally pyscho. The bell rang, and Moon, Turtle, and Qibli went off together toward the direction of advanced geometry. Winter didn't know anybody in his economic class, or anything about the class. "Now," droned Mr. Webs, "when starting a business, you must add the revenue to the blah blah blah." Winter zoned out for most the class, imagining Moon's raven hair under an ebony sky studded with diamond stars. When the bell finally rang, Winter was snapped back to reality, where he would never actually be with Moon. After economics he had athletics, which he had with Qibli. They played soccer together for the Jade Mountain Dragons. Coach Kestrel was absolutely brutal. "Before you losers get to the real deal, fifty push-ups," she said, blowing her whistle. Qibli flashed Winter a smile and began. It was honestly unfair how much upper-body strength he had. The one time all their friends had gone to the beach together, Winter had realized how physically fit Qibli was. He had perfect abs, perfect biceps, perfect hair, just perfect everything. Why in hell would Moon want to date Winter when Qibli existed? "Pick up the pace!" Kestrel ordered. Qibli finished his push-ups in thirty seconds, then sat back criss-cross. "Impressive, Qibli. Those of you who aren't failures, ten laps around the gym." Kestrel blew her whistle again, making Winter want to shove it down her throat. Qibli stood up and began racing around the gym like a cheetah. How is he so fast? Winter thought. It was unfair how exceptional this kid was. He was the only one who'd finished his push-ups, and came back from his ten laps a minute after he started. "Now, to the field!" Kestrel commanded. The teenage boys crowded to the doors, trying to beat each other to the field where they would begin soccer practice. "We're going to be split up into two teams. The red team and the blue team. Team captains are Qibli for red and that sorry excuse for a soccer play Winter for blue." Qibli grinned at Winter. "Yes, coach. Are we picking teams for ourselves?" he asked Kestrel. "I don't really care, so go ahead," she answered. "I'll take Deathbringer," Qibli said. The black-haired teen jogged over to where Qibli was standing. Winter barely knew anyone in this class, so he had no idea who to pick. When they had their teams chosen, the game began. Qibli was the star player on the Jade Mountain soccer team, and the blue team was losing by approximately a hundred points. Unsurprisingly, they lost when it was over, but Winter didn't care. Qibli caught up with him in the locker room afterwards. "Hey, bro," he said, patting Winter's shoulder. "No hard feelings about the game, right?" "Of course not. It was just a stupid practice game. Even though we didn't get one goal while you guys got thirty and I probably should be mad right now," Winter said. Qibli laughed. "Well, I should get to French class. Seeya." And with that, JMHS's golden boy was out the door. That's one of the classes he has with Moon, Winter remembered. What class did he have next again? Oh, right, algebra two. He barely talked all day, since he didn't have friends in most of his classes. When the final bell rang, he met the rest of his friends under the willow tree. "So, how was everyone's first day?" Kinkajou asked, brushing her gold and pink hair behind her ear. "Great," Qibli said, putting an arm around Moon's shoulders, making jealousy rush through Winter. "Awesome. Oh, and sports tryouts were today. I got on the cheerleading team," Kinkajou told them. "I signed up to be a library shelving assistant," Moon said. She glanced at Qibli. "And there's another spot open if anyone else wants to do it with me." Winter was about to say something when Qibli, as usual, jumped in. "That sounds awesome! Can I?" "Of course," Moon said, smiling. In Winter's opinion, their lips were much too close for "best friends", as they claimed they were. "Volleyball practice was so crappy," Peril said, rolling her eyes. "Then why do you do it?" Turtle asked, confused. "Because my mom makes me! You knew that," she said. "Oh, right. I forgot Coach Kestrel is your mom," Qibli said. "Oof." "You have nothing to say oof about," Winter pointed out. "Kestrel loves you! You're the soccer team's golden body." "I was saying oof in solidarity," he said. Moon giggled and rested her head on Qibli's shoulder. Another surge of envy crashed down on Winter, making him clench his fists in the grass. "Anyway," Kinkajou said. "We should meet up at the café after school." "That's cool with me," Turtle said. "I'll meet you guys there," Moon agreed. The rest of them nodded, and then they went their seperate ways.