Reddit Stories 2019

Roommates

The hairs on the back of Clara's neck stood as the icy draft ran down her spine. She recognized the feeling, knew what it meant, but still hesitated. She first felt it four years ago when her parents moved her to the middle of Kansas. Every day for four years, the same feeling creeping down her back. The same sinister cold.

Ice Queen.

Clara glanced around the room. A couple fellow prospectives shivered, pulling out their jackets, but most hadn't noticed. Good. That meant she was weak right now. It could be an easy fight.

"Hey, uh, could you hold my spot?" Clara asked the girl behind her, straining a sweet smile. "I, uh, gotta pee real bad."

"No?"

"Great, thanks," Clara said, ignoring her and dumping her backpack in the girl's hands. She raced out of the room. The faint sound of a backpack being dropped followed her out.

The atrium was large, open, and, unfortunately, not empty. Water trickled down a fancy feature. Plants, only some of which were fake, were placed at specific points for maximum aesthetic. It was designed for posters, like the set of a movie, and not for a quick costume change. Worse still, there was no signage.

However, there was a guy at the reception desk. He was on his phone, ignoring the frost creeping over the desk. She'd been here too.

"Hey, hey, um, hi!" Clara's enthusiasm hopefully did not sound as forced as it was. It was important that she remain friendly just in case he was somehow related to the dean.

With a heavy sigh, followed by a long pause, the guy slowly moved his eyes from his phone to Clara. "What?"

A lick of flame flickered in her hand, but Clara maintained her sweet smile. "Bathroom?"

Another sigh. Eyes to phone. Another lengthy pause. Eyes down one of the hallways. The receptionist nodded his head slightly. "That way."

"Great, thank you. I'm Clara, by the way. I'll be a freshman next year."

"Whatever."

Clara sprinted down the hall, sliding into an empty stall in the bathroom. Frost covered the mirrors. A chunk of ice floated in one of the toilets. Ice Queen had definitely been here.

Clara growled. Of course. Clara had known about her powers all her life, but until her family moved to Kansas, she thought she was the only one. But on the first day of high school, late in August, Independence suffered an out of season snowstorm. The day had been warm and sunny until lunch. It was sudden. It was cold.

It was Ice Queen.

Clara and Ice Queen were obvious rivals. Two girls with mirrored powers in a small midwestern town. Both took care to keep their identities secret and, though they fought at least once a week, they kept the city largely intact.

Except for graduation. The high school had seen more than its fair share of brawls, to the point Clara was convinced her rival was a fellow student, but Clara always kept her powers in check. Until Ice Queen crashed her graduation. She hadn't listened to the speech. Clara was angry. Then she was on fire. Then the gym was on fire.

It had been their last fight. Clara had hoped it would be forever. She wasn't just moving to Vermont for the education. It was a chance to get away from Ice Queen. And from the articles. The newspaper turned on her quick.

Clara could feel the heat rising in her palm again. She was trying to start a new life and, of course, Ice Queen was trying to destroy it. Clara wouldn't let her.

Fishing her mask from the pocket of her discarded jeans, Clara quickly tied it to her face, transforming once more into Heatwave. Unfortunately, Heatwave's original costume burned in the gym fire, so the new and improved college Heatwave wore leggings and a tank top.