Wings of Fire: Jade High School

The Problem with Jealousy

It was the first snowfall of the year. Trees were bathed in white and icicles hung from their branches, making an eerie sound as they clanged together like icy wind chimes. The whole world was calm and quiet... except in Ms. Kestrel's class.

Paper airplanes flew, words usually whispered were now yelled, and chairs were now being used for jousting fights. Of course, none of this could have happened on a regular day, but today was a special day. For the first time ever in her career as a high school math teacher, Kestrel missed a day of school. Instead, her substitute, with no success, had tried to control her uncontrollable students.

Not every student was acting in rebellion. Moon sat tucked into the corner, legs crossed, with her eyes glued to the book that sat in her lap. It was like she had tuned out the world, sitting in her own little bubble of solitude.

Qibli had stopped mid airplane throw to watch her from the opposite side of the room. "Does she seem distant to you?" he asked Turtle before giving the plane a good throw, landing it in Kestrel's terrarium. The class gecko stared at him blankly, not breaking his gaze as it dragged his pink tongue against its eye.
"Are you really asking me if Moon seems distant? She's, like, the quietest person I know. Other than me."

"Yeah, yeah, I know. But whenever I talk to her, she just seemed preoccupied," Qibli said. Before he could throw another plane, the passing bells rang and everyone in the room immediately grabbed their bags and hurried to leave. The substitute peeked out from behind her desk, relief in her eyes as she watched the evil children run off to ruin another classroom.

Moon was taking her time packing up her books, but when she looked up at the door, her eyes beamed.

"Hey, Winter!" She said, excitement evident in her voice. Qibli's stomach flipped. Winter?
"Looks like you have your answer," Turtle mumbled, before grabbing his things and maneuvering around Winter out of the classroom.

Qibli watched as Moon and Winter left the room, sighing as he followed in their footsteps.
It didn't end there, of course. The only class they all had together, world literature, was next and Qibli walked behind Winter and Moon the whole way, who were having a seemingly endless conversation. I'm just as interesting as him, his mind grumbled. If anything, I'm more interesting.

During class, Moon kept sneaking looks at Winter, then quickly bringing her attention back to the presentation. Qibli tried to pay attention to the speaker, but all he could think about was Winter and Moon. Kinkajou probably had a ship name at the ready. I'm sure she would probably call it something like Winterwatcher.

He sulked in his seat after he witnessed his friends lock eyes for a good minute before both of them started to show some pink on their cheeks. If there were ever a way to torture someone, this would be it.

* * *

It was the end of the school day, and the frosted courtyard was mostly cleared of students.

Qibli caught up with Moon before she started her walk home and snow crunched under his feet as he ran to catch up with her. "Moon!"

She turned around and waited for him to reach her. The cold air hit Qibli's lungs, and he was out of breath by the time he was by her side.

"What is it Qibli? Is something wrong?" She furrowed her brows, her voice concerned.

"Oh, nothing's wrong. Nothing at all. I was just curious," he said, rubbing his hands together to keep his fingers from turning blue.

Moon took a step closer to him. "About what?"

Qibli wouldn't meet her eyes as he spoke: "Nothing important. You and Winter just seemed a little different today. Are you two... like... together?" He regretted it as soon as he asked it. It was their personal life, and he shouldn't be asking-

Moon's eyes widened. "Um... no. Well, maybe. What if I'm not sure? Is that okay? I mean, no. Definitely not."

Okay, not the answer he hoped for, but it wasn't the worst-case scenario. "Ok, yeah, sure," he said. He let out the breath he'd been holding, the icy vapor clouding the air. "That was all. So I'll just...," he started to walk backward, "see you tomorrow."

Moon gave a slight nod and started to walk away. "You too," she said.

"See ya," Qibli said, shooting finger guns as a last-ditch attempt to lessen the awkwardness, to no prevail. God, Qibli, what is wrong with you.

As he trudged home, his mind kept wandering to what he had done wrong. Was he too awkward? Too weird? Or was she just not interested... Of course, he couldn't ask Moon, but her closest friend was always standing by. She had to know since girls supposedly told each other everything. He could catch up with her tomorrow, and he was sure she would drop some hints... as long as she wasn't for the opposing team.

Author's Note

I did it! Hold your applause, please! So we have some new developments, and I'm intrigued to see where this goes. If you are too, please give this chapter a vote and comment on things you liked (or disliked, I'll always accept critiques)!

See you later fanwings!