Snow Fire

Snow Fire

Prologue

What do you think of when I say fire? Do you, like most people, think of the flames, scary and bright, or maybe even how your eyes sting when you get too close to a fire? Or do you, like me, think of coming inside on a winter night and feeling warm and content, one of the reasons I love fire so much? 

What do you think of when I say that she's fiery? Do you think that she's untameable and wild and fierce, even, like the flames? Or do you think that she's warm, and always there, never ending? 

Everyone always calls me fiery. To everyone, I am that girl. The one that, if you got on my Good Side, that you value our friendship forever. They always say that I'm wild. Untameable. Fierce. The one, if you were on my Bad Side, you get burned. That's me. Red Fierce. I know. It's an... original name. But it fits me. I'm just Red. Red Fierce, mind you.  

"Red!" My best friend, Poppy, yells at me. Her dark blond hair flares out wildly, like it's another being; her blue eyes pop against her creamy skin; last, but not least, she's wearing only the color pink. Pink everything.  

"What, Popsie?" I ask bored. She scowls at me. I roll my eyes and look around us. We're at school, outside, in the front of the school, and it's a beautiful Tennessee day.  

"Don't call me that! It makes me feel like an old lady," she pouts. I stick my tongue out at her. Poppy suddenly smiles brightly at something behind my head. It must be Jake. My boyfriend. I turn around and give him a flirty smile. His perfectly styled blond hair is, well, perfect, his skin is tan, eyes deep green like a jungle, and he looks just... perfect. 

"Hey, Jake," I say with a smile. It's safe to say that he's on my Good Side. He gives me a nod and Poppy a sly smile. She glares at him.  

"Listen, Green. You need to either leave my friend alone or be nicer," she snaps. Jake seems unaffected.  

"Okay. Bye, Red. I'm dumping you," he says simply and walks away with confidence I've always envied and loved. I love him. How could he? Poppy draws me in a hug.  

"He doesn't deserve you," Poppy coos almost happily. I just shrug and draw back. I was right; she looks sad, but it looks fake. 

"I'm going home," I say and blindly grab my backpack. 

"I'll get your lessons!" She yells back as I run to my house, only a few blocks away. It's so weird. She actually sound cheery; as if my heart breaking is such a good thing. When I get home, a cute, yellow picket fence house, my Mom and Dad aren't home. Usually they're here. Another weird thing. I just shrug and go upstairs to my room. It's small, but cute. The walls are a deep green. The exact color of Jake's eyes. I sob harder. I can't be alone. So I call Poppy. She answers and giggles on the other line.  

"Jake!" She scolds him. My blood runs cold. Poppy is super ticklish; why is he tickling her? 

"Poppy Heather Addams. How could you?" I accuse her, deadly quiet. 

"R-red?" She asks scared. She should be.  

"Nope. Only my friends get to call me Red. You, Poppy, are now on my Bad Side. You've been my best friend since birth. Now you're dead to me. Have a terrible life, Poppella. I'll make sure of it," I threaten her and hang up. Not, in my seventeen years, have I ever called her by her real name. She hates it. I run to my bathroom and look in the mirror. I'm not even that bad looking. My hair falls in glossy red waves with copper streaks to my waist, my skin is a pale, like winter snow, and my eyes are a dark gray, like rain clouds. I have high cheek bones, my lips are pink, wide and slightly pouty, and I'm short, around five feet, and delicate. Kind of. The anger overcomes me. It feels like fire, rage, was consuming my soul. My hands glow an orangey-red that lights the room on fire. Literally. Then, it stops, leaving me with this hollow feeling. The doorbell rings. I walk downstairs and open the wooden front door. There are two officers, both men, standing there. They look passionless and numb. Like they've seen it all. I invite them in and we go to the den. 

"Miss, I am sorry to inform you that your parents, Jessica and Oliver, died in a car crash earlier this morning after you went to school. You will go to your new guardian, Samantha Grimm, in three days. She runs the Astrid Academy in Greece. I am sorry for your loss," he says disinterestedly. I think of two things before I pass out; why is she named after that doctor lady from Doom, and why did this happen to me?