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| snowflakes and sunshine |

The day had finally come. The day of the first term examinations. And Rue was terrified. The whole proposal of having to write papers and then submit practical reports over the course of one week was a lot to handle for her.

It was hard to keep track of time.

The written exams were long and tiring. Her wrist felt limp after each one and she was sure that she would never be able to lift a pen ever again. The practicals were both her favourite ones and the ones she considered a nightmare. If you got it right, all the marks were yours. But one tiny mistake, and everything would be lost.

Jeez, exams are like a war if your think about it.

On one side is the paper and on the other is your brain and moral ability to stay awake and alive.

Every time they would enter the examination hall, Rue would sneak a glance at Avery. He hadn't spoken to her ever since the "incident". The customary hello's and bye's didn't count. She knew that she should be focusing. And she did. But it was a bit hard when thoughts of him slipped past her mental barriers, evading her train of thoughts.

What had happened to them?

She missed the old Avery.

But she couldn't blame him either.

In the blink of an eye, it was already the last day of exams. Rue was excited to be relieved of all the stress and the tension. She was glad that it was finally over. Well not yet, there was still one last paper to go.

Every student had buried their face in textbooks and notes before they had to walk into the hall. Few of them were passing around definitions which had somehow changed from the original to something alien.

With a deep breath and trembling hand, Rue picked up her pen.

'You may begin,' came the voice of the invigilator.

She began.

After an excruciatingly long two hours, she handed in her paper, satisfied. With a deep exhale, it dawned on her that it was over. Finally, it was all over.

As soon as they got out of the hall, chattering and laughing began. The students were all discussing about their answers and debating over what to wear for the upcoming Winter Dance. Rue had completely forgotten about it.

Something landed on her nose.

She looked up to see millions of tiny crystal snowflakes falling down towards her. The crowd of students all hustled about, staring up at the cloud of snow and ice. It was beautiful. A reminder that winter had set in.

A flash of blue caught her eye; the one only who seemed unfazed by the burst of snowfall.

He looked up at the sky for a moment, then continued walking. Rue looked at his disappearing back, an internal conflict inside her head. This may be her only chance to talk to him before they all disappeared for the holidays.

Rue wasn't letting go that easily.

She ran after him, footsteps pounding as hard as her own heartbeat, on the freshly fallen snow.

He stopped and turned his head.

Rue skid to a halt, hands on her thighs, as she caught her breath. She looked up at him, determination pouring from her brown eyes.

'Rue?'

'So you do remember me.' She said, dusting off the snow and standing straight. He flinched at her remark.

'I'm... I didn't mean to...' he sighed and stopped himself. 'How can I make it up to you?'

She smiled warmly, breaking her cold demeanour.

'Will you go with me to the Winter Dance?'

The ghost of his old smirk returned on his lips and Rue knew that the Avery she knew was still alive, underneath the somber expression he seemed to wear nowadays.

'Sure I will, sunshine.'

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