Discovering Elements

Aubrey Story (1 Month Earlier)

I woke up to the sun shining through my blinds. My computer was in front of me, still on pinterest. I laughed at the panda on the screen, and then got up to get ready. Purple tee and some shorts, not much. I brushed my hair and almost screamed when a solid white strand appeared in my dark-brown hair. I grabbed the scissors and was able to cut it off without it being noticeable. I grabbed my bag and a poptart and left for my school field trip. I passed by my friends house, stopping until they came out.

"We were almost late Melissa, you should wake up earlier next time," I jokingly prodded her, knowing she was got up extremely early, and just stressed over every detail. We got to the bus stop just as it pulled up, and happily got on. We sat next to other, Brittany sitting across from us with Veronica.

"Look, it's the freaks!" I stared at Veronica and felt a coldness in my chest, along with a kindling hatred. I was about to get up and slap her when Melissa held me down.

"She's going to turn it on us, we can't let our anger get the better of us." I sat back down, but watched her fist shake.

"Oh, is the freak shy too? Should I call someone? Are you going to cry?" She used her hands to pretend to make teardrops. I looked down at my hands and white mist was coming off them. I hid them behind my back but Brittany noticed. As soon as we got to the school I ran into the restroom, noticing the mist was gone. I ran into the bubblegum-colored stall and stared at my hands.

"Aubrey? Are you okay? I saw the mist thing." I opened the stall door to Brittany leaning against the wall.

"Do you have any idea what's going on?" I felt the stress in my voice, but the mist returned. I was about to hide them again, but something stopped me.

"Brittany? What's going on?" The mist switched off again, but the cold feeling, almost dread, left my chest. I looked back at Brittany, only to see a solid wall of ice where the door is supposed to be, between me and her.

"Aubrey? Are you okay?" Her voice came through the top of the ice, filling the stall.

"I think so. I'm trapped!" I looked around for any exit, but any conventional area was already taken.

"Wait, I'm going to get the janitor!" Her voice rattled the ice surrounding me, sweat already glistening on the ice. I raised my hand and imagined it colder, as close to absolute zero as I could make it. I heard a crack and watched the sweat immediately freeze. A crack in the ice splintered, traveling upwards. As it approached the top, I held my hands up for protection.

"Aubrey! I'm back!" I heard Brittany rush into the room just as the ice shattered. Shards bounced off my skin, leaving nicks in my skin. As soon as the barrage ended. I came out to Brittany on the floor, blood pooling from her face.

"Are you okay? What happened?" She passed out, her hands falling from her face. Blood poured from her eyes, ice shards embedded in both of her eyes. The blood was too much, and I knew that if no one stopped it she would die from blood loss. With my hands slick with blood, I covered her eyes. I imagined a small layer of ice, more of a frost, but enough to keep the blood from escaping. The janitor came in and gasped.

"What happened here? What did you do to her? Why is there ice everywhere?" His screamed questions alerted everyone in the halls to what happened, and they came in. I could only imagine what they thought from the little they could see. In the crowd I saw one smiley face, Veronica.

"You know what? I'm done with you Veronica!" I got up and the mist jumped willingly to my hands.

"What are you going to do? You already aren't coming on the Field Trip, what else will you lose?" I felt the cold feeling in my chest again, but instead of fighting it I embraced it. A cold wind blew my hair around, showing me the white strip was back again. She started backing up, goosebumps appearing on her arms.

"You know, you should have just kept your mouth shut." I was surprised by the amount of malice in my voice, so much it almost stopped me. I threw my hands out and just through ice. The mist intensified, but I still thought ice. Frost started crawling up her arms, aiming for her heart.

"No" I almost didn't realized I said it, but I continued with it. Ice thickened around her limbs, trapping them in blocks of ice.

"Now you're a slave to your own comments. You ready to make up yet?" She started to mumble, but I felt the cold leave my chest. I ran out, the crowd scared enough to leave a trail for me. I heard Veronica screaming as I left, the fear turning it to more of a shriek. I pushed the door open and ran home.

*****

I came home in a cold sweat, so cold my footsteps left frost behind. I ran into my house, my mom and dad at work. I fixed myself a sandwich, and sat down on the couch to think. My phone went off when Melissa texted me.

Hey, I heard what happened. Are you okay? Do you know what's going on? Police are swarming the school along with a SWAT team.

I quickly grabbed my phone to text her back, but then decided against it. They were going to look for me, I was some super-powered fugitive now. I went to the pantry and grabbed all the non-perishables I could and threw in some clothes. Finally, backpack in hand, I left my house. As I left I heard cop sirens in the distance.