The Ties of Family (RotG Fanfic)

Chapter 48

Sophie felt at ease. Just a few more hours, and school was out for about 12 days. She felt elated at the thought of Christmas, remembering the last one at the North Pole. Though they hadn't received any invitation, she was just glad there would be a break from school. Plus, Jamie was returning from college. As much as she hated for him to be around sometimes, she did catch missing herself missing him. The downside of the holiday was that Mrs. Warren was coming over for Christmas. Or earlier.

Sophie leaned back in her seat, stretching her arms out in front of her, only partially listening to the teacher drone on about revolutions and genocides. She glanced out the window, noticing that it was snowing heavily. Much heavily than it usually did. That's good, she thought, imagining a snow day. It had been long since she had participated in any snowball fights, given the absence of her usual allies and opponents, most of whom were miles away from Burgess, trying to score a doctorate before they turned thirty. Life had gotten pretty dull for her since then, but Sophie managed to befriend others her age and she still had Bunnymund, who came to visit her from time to time.

"Hey, Soph." Sophie turned to face one of her new friends, who had called out her name in a pretty loud whisper. Sophie glanced momentarily at the teacher, but he seemed distracted. She turned back to her friend. "What is it?" she asked.

The other girl jerked her head at the window. "Think they'll let us out early?"

It continued snowing outside. The grounds outside were almost buried under the thick layer of snow, which was rising rapidly. Sophie merely shrugged. "Hopefully," she said. Getting home earlier than usual on a school day? She'd take it any day, be it before a long break or not.

Throughout the day, the air was thick with anticipation as the students of the high school awaited the announcement. Even the teachers seemed distracted. Sophie couldn't help wondering what Jack was up to now, and why it involved so much snow.

After what seemed like an eternity, there was a burst of static as the speakers crackled to life, and the principal's raspy voice emanated from them. "Attention, all staff and students, this is your principal speaking. Due to bad weather, there will be early dismissal and everyone is required to head home by one thirty. Good day." Another burst of static, followed by cheers from several students, high-fives being exchanged and murmurs of chatter. Beneath their desks, several students were texting their parents. Sophie punched the air in delight. That was more than two hours early! The weekend was getting off to a good start, she couldn't help thinking.

#

Mrs. Bennett glanced worriedly out at the snow. To the children, they would be more than ecstatic at the thought of another snow day. But to her, she had a feeling there was going to be a snowstorm. A pretty bad one at that.

Heading to the kitchen, Mrs. Bennett checked the refrigerator and cupboards, where she had put away everything she had bought for the Christmas dinner. There seemed to be enough food, which she assumed to be normal, as she housed a teenager.

As she shut the refrigerator door, the doorbell rang, startling her slightly. She hurried to get it, knowing how impatient Mrs. Warren was, and what with the heavy snowfall.

"Nice to see you again, sister," the lady said, walking in as Mrs. Bennett stepped aside, holding the door opened. She was about to shut it when someone else walked in. Someone she hadn't noticed earlier and wondered why she hadn't. A huge grin broke across her face.

"Jamie!" she exclaimed, pulling her son towards her and giving him a hug. He was as tall as she was, and she silently hoped he wouldn't grow any taller. A slight nostalgic feeling enveloped her as she remembered the little daydreaming boy Jamie had once been. Well, he was still the boy who daydreamed, but he was no longer little. She sighed as they broke apart.

"Auntie decided to give me a lift, since the place isn't too far from her house," Jamie told his mother as he hung his coat up.

"And I almost regret it!" snapped Mrs. Warren, seating herself on the couch. "Look at the amount of snow! In a little while more, I have no doubt the roads will be closed and we'll all be advised to stay indoors. This is going to be a bad blizzard, I'm telling you. Probably worse than the blizzard of '68 on Easter Sunday, and that's saying something!"

Jamie looked out of the window at the falling snow. Mrs. Bennett knew what- or rather, who, he was thinking about. Her son frowned slightly. "It does look serious," he commented, agreeing with his aunt for the first time. He continued gazing out for several moments, before suddenly standing upright, facing his mother with a strange look etched on his face.

"Mom, what about Sophie?"

#

"Did it get through?" Sophie asked, peering at her friend's phone, only to receive a shake of the head in reply. The message was still pending, and Sophie was getting restless. Her mother was to pick her up that day and she would usually head back at four. Though they were dismissed at one thirty that day, Sophie had had to serve detention for being caught passing notes in class only a couple of hours before the dismissal time. So much for a good start. As she settled down onto a seat in the waiting area beside one of her new friends, she began to feel a pang of worry. If Mrs. Bennett did not get the message, she might only make her way down to the high school early in the evening, when the snow would be too thick to travel through and Sophie would be stuck in the school. She shivered slightly at the thought.

Sophie was part of a small group of students; only about six of them; and her boring history teacher who seemed more interested in his newspaper than them. They were all waiting for the late bus; some had been in detention with her, others had parents who couldn't fetch them at one thirty. The phones had no reception, which was a bad sign. Impatient, Sophie kept pacing up and down till someone called out to her to sit down, or she would cross over to the windows and peer out, hoping to catch a glimpse of flashing headlights or an approaching car. There was nothing so far, just the road, which was half-covered in snow and there weren't many vehicles at that hour, which was strange, as the road was usually pretty busy. But it would be impossible for them to move in the snow at all. All thoughts of fun snow days were wiped from her mind. It was snowing too heavily for any fun. Not for the first time, the girl thought about the winter spirit. Sophie finally sat down, slumped forwards in her seat, staring at the glass windows of the school, watching as the snow piled up against it. She gazed at the empty road, sort of trance-like, before a thought caused her to sit upright all of a sudden, her eyes wide.

What if Mrs. Bennett couldn't make it through the snow to pick her up? What if that went the same for the other vehicles, especially the late bus? It was really late at that moment. She turned to her friend once more, but the message had not been sent. The history teacher requested them, in his dull, monotonous voice, to inform him if there was any signal. He mentioned something about the blizzard of '68 and how this one would probably be worse than it, and Sophie couldn't help feeling a sense of dread deep inside her. Bunny had told her about the blizzard of '68 (or more like rant angrily to her about all the snow and Jack), and it hadn't sound good at all.