The Magitrix: A Flame Awakens

Chapter 3: How to Turn Your Math Teacher Into An Ice Sculpture

Summer sat across from the kid she had been quietly admiring for a month- Sam Vasquez, the school's most recent new kid and the only nonbinary person she had ever somewhat met. They were focused on the notebook in front of them, pencil scribbling furiously, their black curly hair falling into their eyes. She bit her lip nervously and tried to focus on her Algebra homework.

Summer desperately wanted to talk to them. Sam had just moved there a few months ago, but they were one of the most well-known kids in the grade. Summer had been intrigued by them ever since they were paired together in Algebra II, and made it a personal goal to talk to them and get to know them a little. But what would I talk to Sam about? She'd been sitting across from them for a month, and that's the one thing that stopped her from saying anything.

Summer wiped her forehead. She also felt hot, even though the room was air conditioned. She always felt hot. It made her irritable, especially since nobody else seemed as bothered by the heat as her. She hated her namesake with a passion.

Gah... what to talk to them about. She glanced back up at them again. Their head was shaved on the left side, and they had (dark?) skin and eyes that matched their hair. She looked at their shirt. It had some sort of album logo on it... Wait. It looked familiar. She peered in closer and gasped. She grinned. Aha! I know what to say! Before she could change her mind, Summer blurted, "I love Nightwish."

Sam glanced up, startled. Did I say the wrong thing? Summer thought, worried. Crud. I shouldn't have said anything.

But then they smiled at her and said, "Finally, someone who knows who they are." They pulled at their large black Nightwish t-shirt. "I love The Greatest Show on Earth. What's your favorite song by them?"

Phew. But now she had to answer the question. She thought for a moment. "Uh... I'd have to go with Gethsemane."

Sam gave her a weird look. "Why that? No offense, I just haven't heard anyone say that before."

She had to think again. Crap, why is that my favorite song? Think. She then answered, "I don't really know how to describe it. I love the beginning parts with the piano, and that one layered over part. Also, Tarja sang it. I love her voice."

"Same." Sam's mouth quirked up, and they leaned toward her. "Though I prefer Floor's voice, Tarja's is majestic. Seriously, I can't describe it, either."

Summer smiled back. She hadn't met anyone who liked Nightwish before, either, and she was definitely enjoying the experience so far. "What other music do you like?"

"Symphonic metal, of course," they said, putting their pencil behind their ear. "Some power metal. Maybe folk? I don't know, just... no country. Please."
She frowned. "I like country."

Sam frowned in turn. "Sorry, but I can't stand it. It's too repetitive for me" They sighed and leaned back in their chair. "So, uh, what do you like?"

"Pretty much the same as you, minus the hatred of country." She smiled. "I also like bluegrass. My dad plays the banjo, so it kind of runs in the family."

"Nice." Sam laughed, and Summer slowly felt her anxiety alleviate. She hadn't felt this comfortable talking to someone in ages. Without thinking, she asked, "What do you like to do?"

Now Sam seemed to think for a moment. They rested their head on their hand, their eyes pointed upward in thought. "Hm. I like playing the violin. Also, drawing. Want to see what I'm working on?"

Why not? She thought, and nodded. Sam lifted the thing they were writing on- a sketchbook- and turned it to face Summer. "So. What do you think?"

Summer sucked in a breath. "Wow," she breathed. "That's really, really good." Sam had drawn a dragon, its scales blue and green. A flame was being shot out of its snarling open mouth, its blue eyes glinting. "It kind of looks like it's alive. Kind of eerie, but really cool at the same time."

They blushed. "Thanks... I've always liked sketching them, though buildings are my specialty." They glanced at their drawing and smiled. "Nice to know my years of hard work are paying off."

The final bell of the day rang. Students immediately shot out the classroom at the speed of light. "Alright, I'll see you on Monday," Sam sighed, closing their sketchbook and shoving it in their backpack. They stood up. "Bye."

"Bye," Summer called as they walked out. She smiled to herself. We have a lot in common. I wonder if we'll ever become actual friends.

"Summer?" She glanced up. Her teacher, Ms. Pike, was sitting at her desk. From the red pen in her hand and the stack of papers she was writing on, she assumed her teacher was grading the tests from the day before. "Can I talk to you for a second?"

"Sure, I guess," Summer replied, standing up. She walked over to the desk. "Did I do badly on the test? Should I study more?"

Ms. Pike shook her head and smiled. "No, you have some of the best grades in the class." Summer sighed with relief. "I just wanted to ask you a question. Do you always feel really hot?"

Summer blinked. "Uh. Yeah. How did you know that?"

Ms. Pike smiled even wider at her. The teacher was starting to freak her out. "It means that you're the person I'm looking for. Give me a second." She turned away, and moved some papers over on her desk.

Ms. Pike began to change shape.

Summer stifled a scream, stepping backward. Ms. Pike's hair melted to her skull, she got shorter, her eyes widened and swirled with colors, and her features darkened so it was as if she was standing in a pitch black room.

"That was too easy," she (or it?) hissed. "I am Cuantova. Kazetova is handling the bomb. We have many questions, Concilium."

Before Summer could even blink, or piece together what the creature had just said to her, it lunged for her. Her hands shot up, protecting her face, and she squeezed her eyes closed. She felt a strange tingling in her hands, heard a scream, a whoosh of cold air and a couple of cracking sounds, then total silence.

After a few seconds of not being dead, Summer opened her eyes. She stumbled backward and screamed.

The creature was completely frozen.