The Adventures of Freezer Boy

Part One: Magic School Bus

Welcome to every student's least favorite day of the year! Or, if not everyone's, mine. I've always hated picture day, but this time, I loathed it more than normal. 

It's senior year, so these pictures actually matter. Every photo up until today has been practice for the one that I'll be judged by for the rest of my life. As spectacular as I normally looked, today was awful. 

After that wicked lightning strike that sent me straight to the hospital, my hair never really sat right again. In my opinion anyway. I've combed my black locks like three times now and they won't stay flat to save my life. Plus, the baggage beneath my eyes from staying up to late was looking a darker shade of purple than normal. I doubt people would buy it if I said they were Prada. 

"Ian! Don't miss the bus!" 

Bus. Right. That thing. My hair doesn't really matter anyway, seeing as I'm rolling up to high school in a yellow whale. With one last flatten of my slightly wrinkled black dress shirt, I snatched my backpack and shot for the stairs. 

"Are you eating anything? I suggest you do." My mother was standing in the kitchen, wearing an apron over her business-like suit. Her black curls, very much like my own, were pinned to the back of her head and fell behind her shoulders. Between her and my dad, I'm glad I took after her. 

"No thanks, mom. I'm a young adult. We don't eat breakfast," I explained, throwing the strap of my Halo backpack over my shoulder. I watched my mom roll her eyes and I smiled sheepishly. "I'll definitely eat lunch though. Pizza is a staple." 

"I should disapprove, but I can't say I do." Mom untied the apron and folded it over her arm. "I'll be at the firm late today. Will you be ok on your own? I never had to worry before, but after that incident with your last job..." 

"I'm fine. I would definitely tell you if anything was going on, ok?" I tried to reassure her. She didn't look convinced, but I couldn't stay to elaborate any further as the sounds of a Diesel engine pierced through the air. I flashed a peace sign and backed up towards the door. "That's my ride. The prison bus, since I don't have a caaaaar," I groaned. 

My mother rolled her eyes and tossed her apron on the counter. "Get to school, Ian." I shut the door on my half dash out of the house, keeping pace all the way onto the bus. 

The only good thing (and I literally mean only good thing) about riding the bus my whole school career was the unofficial assigned seats. I pushed and slipped my way to the back of the bus where my best homie sat next to the window. 

"What's up, loser?" I joked whilst plopping onto the seat next to Henry the First, as I liked to call him. Henry was the stereotypical popular guy: blonde hair with an expensive hair cut, lettermen jacket filled with pins from every sport ever invented, and the priciest phone on the market. The only thing he didn't have going for him was me. 

"Who are you calling loser? Look who's riding the bus," he replied, elbowing me harshly in the ribs. Sometimes I wondered if he actually forgot he wasn't a pathetic nerd like the rest of us. 

I rubbed the pain out of my side and smirked, "You, actually. And me, I guess. You know what, let's forget I said anything." 

"Is that seriously what you're wearing for pictures?" Henry asked with a skeptical look at my shirt. "Aren't you going to overheat and get all sweaty before you even approach the camera?" 

I rolled my eyes and casually began rolling up the long sleeves. "Nope. Seems you've forgotten temperature doesn't affect me anymore." 

Henry nodded, fiddling with a loose pin on his letter. "Ah. I forgot you were playing on that. When are you going to admit that getting struck by lightning didn't make you a superhero?" 

"Woah woah woah. I never said I was superhero. It'd be freaking great, but I'm not powerful enough for that," I stated. "Not yet, anyway." 

Henry snorted, "Right. Keep dreaming, Freezer Boy." 

"Wow. I thought we agreed on Climate Control." 

"Nah. It was too sciencey," Henry admitted. He then gestured to me with a sweeping motion. "Besides, Freezer Boy is fitting."