Freezing Cold

Chapter Five- Beau

Chapter Five

It was nine the next morning when I stopped breathing. A weight was crushing my lungs. I was desperate for air. I shot a blast of cold air onto whatever was attacking me, ready to jump into a fight. I guess I shouldn't have been too surprised at who would do such a thing so early in the day. It was Flor.

She screamed, standing up quickly. "Why would you do that?! Are you crazy?!"

I gasped. "I'm not crazy! You're crazy! I almost died, you maniac!"

Rolling her brown eyes, she said, "Don't be so dramatic. You wouldn't have died that easily. You're too tough for that." Flor's gaze was concerned. "Don't let anyone tell you any different."

It felt like we'd switched topics. It was like in junior year when I broke my arm doing Physical Education. Everyone had acted like I was dying. Mrs. Lewis was crying and Flor was telling her to be strong, holding back her own tears. I had been at a loss, not understanding anything, just that I wasn't allowed out of my dorm. I had never been treated normally, but I always chalked it up to my parents' influential government positions.

I laughed nervously. "Alright." Trying to move back onto familiar ground, I questioned, "Why'd you wake me anyways?"

She smiled. "We still haven't gotten our Homecoming dresses." I opened my mouth to interject, but she shushed me. "I will find you a date, so don't you dare give me that excuse. You can't miss out on such an amazing social experience. Go on, get ready. I'll get the car and be out front in five minutes."

Flor was gone before I could think of a good excuse. Resigned to the awful fate of having to shop for a dress, I put my clothes on quickly, racing out our door and down to the sleek, red Lamborghini waiting for me.

Though I cared about her very much, I couldn't help feeling a little jealous of Flor sometimes. The girl had her mom around all the time, tons of friends, super speed, super hearing, and super strength. What else could she possibly need? Apparently, a Lamborghini for her eighteenth birthday. My parents would never have gotten me anything so cool. Flor was the super all the girls aspired to be.

My own eighteenth birthday was in a week, but I knew what I was getting from my parents: a generic birthday card and four hundred dollars. It was the same thing I got every year, even when I lived with them. It was tough to not envy Flor, but I tried my best.

I jumped into the car with no further argument, trying not to look too miffed.

*

I was dragged from store to store and made to try on dozens of dresses, some too puffy and over-the-top for me to even attempt to describe. But there was one really cute, dark green dress that was actually a possibility. It went up to my knees, was strapless and didn't have any unnecessary decorations, just the way I liked it. Flor only let me buy it after I looked in five other stores without considering anything. She got herself an adorable pink dress about the same length as mine, looking pretty pleased with herself.

I almost cried in relief when we started walking away from the stores and to the food court tables. "They should be here by now," Flor murmured.

"Who are we waiting for?" I asked.

She grinned. "Bernard and Marcela. She used her pass to let him inside the force field." In a hushed voice, she added, "I told him about being a super yesterday, so go easy on him. He's kind of a fanboy." Raising her voice again, she exclaimed, "Here they come now!"

Flor's sister, who was basically a miniature version of her, skipped up to me and gave me a hug. She was a fifth-grader, so we didn't see her too often, but Marcela was a nice kid. She didn't really say anything to us, just ran to some store with a wave in our direction.

The guy, whom I assumed was Bernard, looked pretty nerdy. He was not at all the guy I'd expect Flor to be with. He didn't meet my gaze, shyly staring at the ground. His dark hair covered his eyes and his clothes weren't exactly the latest fashion, but he seemed sweet.

"Hi," Bernard smiled slightly at me, some of his reservation gone.

Despite his bashfulness, Bernard was very interesting. The four of us sat and talked about super powers, like which were the best and the worst. Bernard briefly mentioned that ice was nice in theory, but I felt Flor kick him underneath the table before the conversation could move along that route. I hated not knowing things, but I ignored the feeling, not wanting to ruin the first time I met Flor's beau.