The Elementals - The Ice Princess

Chapter 4

"Nice necklace." whispers Alexander the minute that Mr. Jamieson has his back turned to the white board. I reach up and feel the immediate comfort of it between my fingers. It feels perfect, almost as if it were meant to be around my neck. "Thanks." I whisper back but not looking directly at him as I don't want to re-experience what just happened five minutes ago. "Where'd you get it?" he asks.

Just then a piece of paper lands on our desk. It's addressed to him. I pick it up and hand it over to him but to my surprise, he brushes it off to the side and completely ignores it. I look out over the classroom and my eyes settle on Laney Michaels, who is giving me the evil eye. Great! I think to myself. Laney is going to start some kind of ridiculous rumor about me because she has her eye on the new guy.

Laney is also relatively new to the school, coming a month or so just before I did. She is on the cheerleading squad and is rumored to be quite ruthless to people that she doesn't like. We are complete opposites when it comes to fitting in, its been no problem for her. She is one of the prettiest and simultaneously most feared girls in the school. Her hair is usually pulled back into a tight braid and it never appears out of place, even with how active she is. She wears little makeup, or so I've heard, I've never gotten close enough to confirm that. Aside from being insanely beautiful, she is insanely strong and has an amazingly athletic body. During the co-ed gym classes, she consistently outperforms many of the guys in the school in almost all sports. The ones that she doesn't outperform them in, is because she elected not to try that day. Of all the sports that she excels at, the most impressive is gymnastics, even though she doesn't train competitively. I remember seeing her during a cheerleading competition back flip the entire length of the room. What was more impressive was that she completed the routine without appearing to be out of breath. It was one of many standing ovations from the crowd that she would receive in her short amount of time here. She is completely different from me, in almost every way.

This doesn't bode well for me. Rumor has it she has a people to kill list and she has socially assassinated several students already. By the look that she is giving me I can't help but feel like that I am going to be a new target and potentially next on the list.

"Aren't you going to read it?" I ask and nod towards the note. He takes the note in his fingers. "This thing?" he says, "Nah. I am not interested in whatever this note has to say." He tosses it over my way and it slides off the desk to the floor. "I'm more interested in your necklace. Where'd you get it?"

For a moment, I am wondering why he has such an interest in my necklace. I think about telling him a lie about it so that he will lose interest. However, when I open my mouth, I blurt the truth out.

"It was given to me by my mom, just before she died a few years ago." I glance at him and see the expression on his face change to a look of sadness. "Oh, I'm sorry." He says as he runs his hands through his dark hair. I notice a dark imprint by his left ear. A tattoo? It's not normal for 16 year old boys to have a tattoo so I must be seeing things. Or was I? It was a symbol, a symbol that seems vaguely familiar to me. "It's beautiful." He finally says not taking notice that I was checking him out to see if I was right about the tattoo. "Thanks." I finally muster.

"Can I see it?" He asks reaching out his hand. "I'd like to know what it's made of."

For some reason, the thought of giving him my necklace stirs up a slight panic inside.

"I don't ever take it off." I quickly say, trying not to be rude to his question. To me, it sounded better than a simple not a chance!

"Ahem!" Mr. Jamieson says from the front of the class. "Can I proceed or do you two want to share something?" "Uh, no Mr. Jamieson, sorry" I say. "Good, then we can get back to work." He pauses for a few seconds longer, staring at us before turning to continue his lesson of the inner workings of a frog's digestive system on the smartboard at the front of the class. We are only a few days from actually dissecting real frogs. They sit by the window in the aquarium, under the read heat lamps not aware of the fate that awaits them. From time to time, students will walk by and look at them.

I am embarrassed. I feel my face going flush and my cheeks are burning. I've never been called out in front of the class. If my dad were to know what just happened, he probably wouldn't be happy. He's always told me that I need to blend in and not draw attention to myself to survive high school. This boy is ruining that for me. He's only been seated for a few moments and already I've been drawn into getting called out by the teacher. I take a quick look around and most of the class hasn't given me a second thought, except Laney. She is still staring at me in the exact same way. Her eyes are focused on me and her lips are pursed tightly shut. I wonder if she has taken lessons from Mrs. Raymond based on how her stare looks eerily similar to the 'Death Ray Stare' that made her famous. She is not impressed and I dare not make eye contact with her for fear that she may actually see how afraid of her I actually am. Alexander doesn't seem to notice.

The people that sit around her are visibly uncomfortable. One boy in particular, Derek, shifts in his seat. He takes quick glances in my direction, but obviously doesn't know what to do. He eventually tells Mr. Jamieson that he needs to go to washroom. When Jamieson allows it, Derek looks incredibly relieved. He hurries out of the class and when he returns a few minutes later, he doesn't return to his seat near Laney. In fact, he sits near the door at the front of the class, one of the furthest seats away from where he originally sat. Jamieson either doesn't notice, or doesn't care.

Laney also doesn't seem to take notice of his change in seating. The longer her attention is focused on us, the angrier she looks. No one says a word to her, not even Mr. Jamieson and I am sure that he notices the look I am getting. There are still forty-five minutes that remain in class and I wonder if her focus will ever waver from me and my new, seemingly oblivious, seating partner. This situation gives me a new appreciation for the frogs in the class and I can empathize with them a little more. I am certain that we will be sharing a fate somewhere similar before too long.