The Celestial Dragon

(2)You're Worse than the Smelling Kid

"Lena, I wanna say that you're an absolute pleasure to teach. You're witty, clever, and know when to be the bigger person," Mister Jensen began, referring to her ignoring the sneers of the terrible B's. "All the qualities of a good Aquarius..."

"But I'm a lousy Zodiac," she said. He didn't have to say it out loud, she already knew.

Mister Jensen placed her report card on the table with a sigh. Half of the scores were in black, the other half in bold red, to emphasize

Your did well in History, Geography, Science, and Language — there's no doubt about it. But they can't compensate for your failing grades in the Aquarius' domains. We don't expect you to swim as fast as a Pisces, but it's not enough."

Not enough was an understatement. She had seen dad cross the swimming pool faster than her, and he was a Taurus.

"I did the campaigning to get people to stay here, to not have to close the school down," she argued. Aquariuses were actively involved in society and made the difference.

She had made flyers with all the the advantages of living in Swampland. One never required a fridge to keep stuff cold, the outside would do just fine. One could walk endlessly by oneself on one of the many snow-covered paths into the mountains (stunning view if you didn't die of frostbite first).

And that had been it...

Nobody wanted to live here, not really. The only ones staying were those too frightened to see the real world. Half of Frost High wanted to move after high school.

"That's what I told the school board." Mister Jensen smiled hesitantly. "But you didn't manage to convince anyone. I'm afraid this school will have a student less if you don't unlock your powers by the end of the summer holiday. I'm sorry, Lena, but junior and senior year only focus only Zodiac-specific subjects."

Though she had expected this, a lump formed in her throat. Her imminent expulsion was soon becoming a reality. Even smelling Vito was allowed to move to junior year. "Then what, if not Frost High?"

"A student not unlocking their Zodiac power is an exception, and for that exceptional measures need to be taken. Your case lies with Mayor Sundstorm. It's out of my control."

There was one other option. Working in the Gale factory in Gale Town, just across the mountains. The hoover bus could take her there by 6am, and take her back home by 7pm. It was minimum wage. The labor boring and repetitive.

Not the future she saw for herself. Not that she had any clue what kind of future she wanted for herself. She hadn't yet found her thing, her passion. Maybe everybody was right—she wasn't a Zodiac.

"Anything else?" Lena asked as she stuffed her report card into her bag.

"I still want to wish you a pleasant and relaxing summer holiday, Lena," Mister Jensen said.

"Likewise," she said through her teeth. How could she be relaxing with this sword of doom hanging above her head.

She left Frost High with her heart thumping wildly in her chest, not knowing if she would ever return there. Dad would be so disappointed in her. He had no good relationship with Stefan, and although he told her that he loved her no matter what, she could see the worry in his eyes.

She passed the lamppost under which Miss-Can't-Freeze stood not too long ago, her footsteps clear in the snow. She had not imagined this. There had really been a girl without a jacket standing outside of the school.

The footprints led away from the school, into the direction Lena had to walk. Approximately a hundred meters further, they disappeared. Odd.

Lena shook her head. She had bigger fish to fry at the moment than some mysterious girl. Luckily, the terrible B's were nowhere to be found. That would have made the disaster complete.

She plodded home through the fresh snow, scanned her iris, and entered her house through the sliding doors. "I'm home," she yelled.

From inside, she heard two voices talking. Her dad's voice and that of a woman's. She was giggling. Dad never had any visitors. After mom left him he had never tried dating again. Lena believed it was because he never wanted to have his heart broken again.

When she entered the living room, she saw that same girl sitting in her spot at the the table, her dad pouring her a glass of Iced Matcha Tea.

"Hi, honey," her dad said. "This lady here wants to talk to you, said she had important news."

The girl extended her arm. "Pleasure to meet you, Lena Anderson. My name is Aphrodite."

Lena froze.

The Zodiac Princess was standing in her living room and wanted to talk to her. This could never be good news.