Snow Fire

Chapter One

Three Months Later

"Ms. Fierce, would you mind answering the question?" My teacher asks with a raised eyebrow. I stare blankly at him.

"Athena, the goddess of wisdom and battle, Ares, the god of war, Apollo, the sun god, Zeus, the god of the sky, Aphrodite, the goddess of love and beauty, Dionysus, the god of wine, Hera, the goddess of marriage and family, Poseidon, the god of the sea, Hephaestus, god of the forge and fire," a shiver goes through me as I say fire. It's still there. In the back of my mind. I continue with, "Hermes, the messenger god, Demeter, the goddess of agriculture, and Artemis, the goddess of the hunt and moon." I recite, like I'm reading it out of a history book. People's heads turn to look at me. I glare hatefully at them. They just blink. I have almost no affect on them, God help me. The teacher smiles at me.

"Good job, Ch-"

"It's Red," I interrupt him. "Red Fierce." I slouch down further in my seat. I seriously don't even think that's possible. If I don't fall out now, I don't think I ever will.

"Right. So, Ms.Fierce, how did Zeus become the king of the gods?" The teacher(I really need to learn these dudes' names) asks me, again. Does he not get that I don't want to freaking answer another question?Apparently he does't, because he keeps looking at me expectantly. That butt.

"He chopped up his daddy to get all of his brothers and sisters out of Kronos's belly," I tell him bored. Luckily, he finally gets the message and backs off. I look out of the window I'm sitting by. The Aegean sea rolls out in the distance, while the green grass is an almost blinding color. My reflection looks back at me, faintly. The girl has red, untameable locks of hair, shoved up in a messy bun at the nape of her neck, while bangs fall across her forehead, gray eyes that look despaired with grief, milky, pale skin, despite the beautiful weather, and soft, pink lips. She's wearing high top orange Converse, short jeans shorts, and a dark orange tank top. She stares back at me. Suddenly, her eyes burn a burnt orange, like autumn leaves. Then, like it never happened, the flames disappear, almost like fire being doused with water. The bell rings shrilly. I bolt out of the room. Thank God. I collide with a strong body. Ugh. Just my freaking luck. The dude, I assume, shoves me out of the way. I get a good look at his face. Curly, brown hair that looked perfectly messed up, even though he probably didn't even touch it, tan skin that glowed, and dark, beautiful, blue eyes. He's only 5'10 to my 5'0, but he has this aura that makes you afraid of him. Or so I've been told. Nothing's ever intimidated me. Not the mean girls, not the bad teachers, and sure as heck not Ethan Alexander. I glare at him.

"Dude! Watch where you're going!" I yell at him furiously. His eyes widen a little, but he glares right back.

"You, freak," Ethan quips back.

"Oh, the scary boy can actually say a comeback," I taunt. He seems unaffected by my awesome comeback.

"The freak can actually speak outside of class. Nerd," he taunts right back. Jerk.

"Jerk." I tell him.

"Loser." Ethan says smugly.

"Stupid." Not very original, I know, but it's all I have. This dude really gets on my nerves.

"Country bumpkin." Oh, he did not just call me a country bumpkin.

"Butt," I say and walk away. Did I just call Ethen Freaking Alexander a butt? He can make my life aa living craphole. And it won't be the first time he's done it to somebody, either.

"Hey, little cuz," my older cousin, by two months to the day, Danny, says as he comes up beside me. I grin at him, flashing my straight, white teeth. He has black hair, shockingly bright blue eyes, and an olive skin tone, and he's tall, like the rest of my family. Yes, family. Sammy/Samantha Grimm, yep, like that doctor from Doom, good movie, by the way, is my auntie. Danny is her son. Anyways, everyone in our family has bright blue eyes, olive skin, and black hair. On my mom's side they all have green eyes, but black hair and olive toned skin. Sammy's my Dad's sister. Dad. Mom. It sends a pang through my chest. I miss them so, so much. I even miss Poppy. Just a little. And I'm still totally in love with Jake. I come back to the present.

"Hey, Danny-boy," I reply easily. Danny sends me a stern look.

"What did you say about Ethan?" He asks sternly. I wince. It only happened about five minutes ago, but I'm sure our whole argument has been spread all over school, analyzed, and become the GoD. Otherwise known as the Gossip of the Day. No one, I mean,  no one, has ever stood up to Ethan Alexander.

"All I said was the truth. He was being rude, and my momma never tolerated rudeness, so I won't either," I reply stubbornly.

"He's my friend, Red. Just try to be nice to him. Wouldn't want to be rude, would you?" He adds. Danny's right. I hate rudeness and I absolutely hate being rude.

"It's a two way street, Daniel," I reply seriously. If Danny wants me to be nice, fine, but he won't be a total meaner to be.

"Done," he says instantly. "Now, let's go get you some lunch." Danny soothes. Somehow, I feel like I've made a deal with the devil.

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"Remind me again about this weird food?" I ask with a scrunched up nose. I was automatically accepted with the popular girls, but I choose to sit with the guys. They're much more fun, and funny.

"It's veal," Seth, a boy with a shy smile, dark brown eyes, and blond hair, reminds me. I sigh dreamily.

"What I wouldn't give for some fried chicken right now. With barbeque sauce. And mashed potatoes. And butter beans. And creamed corn. And homemade-"

"We get it, Red, you're hungry," Ethan interrupts my food rant.

"I'm sorry this food is nasty," I reply sarcastically. Danny sends me a look. "What? I'm not being rude. That's just naturally me. Good old sarcastic, snarky, crazy, hungry Red."

"That's right. You're always hungry. It explains a lot." Ethan's girlfriend says with a smirk. She has overly highlighted brown hair, hazel eyes, and a pretty tan.

"Well, I'm sure it would explain a lot, if I didn't play hockey, volleyball, basketball, soccer, tennis, baseball, swimming, running-"

"We get it, Red. You're an overacheiver," Danny says with a smile.

"You better believe it, Danny-boy," I say and wink at him.

"So, parent weekend is next week. Who's parents are coming?" Seth asks, changing the subject. I'd been avoiding parent weekend for who knows how long. Danny, of course, Ethan, Ethan's girlfriend, and Seth all say "yeah" or "mine."  

"What about your's, Re-" Seth starts to ask.

"I gotta go. See y'all later," I interrupt and run out of the Cafet- Dining Hall, sorry, before the tears start to fall. They gush out in rage and pain. Of losing my parents. Poppy's betrayal. Wanting to beat the crap out of Jake. Then, the bell rings. Luckily, I get to work in the library for the rest of the day. Yeah. I'm a nerd. Deal with it. I wipe off the tears and skip to the library. Astrid Library.

"Chioni! Why are you late?" My auntie, Sammy asks/yells. I wince. What kind of name is Chioni? Mine, apparently.

"Uh, no reason," I say vaguely and go to the checkout counter. I go behind it and start to read a new book on my Kindle. Soon, someone clears their throat. I look up. "Ethan?" I ask in surprise.

"Hey," he says and gives me a book. It's about water.

"So, you a water?" I ask curiously. He flushes, and it rises up in his high cheek bones.

"Yeah. You a fire?" He challenges back.

"Yup. Among a water, too," I inform. His eyes widen.

"B-but you're a cross element?" He asks. No crap, Sherlock. I just nod with a fake smile. I don't see what's so special about it.

"Yeah." I reply.

"Do you want to hang out sometime?" He asks arubtly. I nod. Not because I like him. But because he seems complex. And I'm gonna figure him out, whether he likes it or not.

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-----------> Red. Red Fierce ;)