“It’s really starting to get chilly now. Shouldn’t you be wearing your winter uniform soon?” Mom eyed me up and down, noting the jacket I’d thrown on over my uniform. It’d still get warm later in the day, which was why I was electing to just go like this. It didn’t stop my mom from fussing over me before she headed to work. Papi suppressed his grin as he watched me, and I only gave him a tortured look. He didn’t bother to head my plea.

“I’ll be fine, it really isn’t that bad.” With my backpack secured, I started to scoot away from her. “I’ll see you guys later.”

“If you get sick, don’t say I didn’t warn you.” Mom called, and I only offered a wave.

The morning air was biting. It sunk into my cheeks in seconds, and I wrapped my arms around myself. Abigail was just walking up to my door as I walked out, her arms wrapped around herself. She’d opted for tights and a jacket as well.

“I hate the cold.”

“The heat is worse.” She only bundled herself more under her jacket, breathe frosting the air. There was a thin layer of mist around us, giving the morning an eerie glow. We’d just entered autumn, but I sensed it was going to be an early winter this year with how quickly the temperature was dropping.

“Lighten up, it’ll be fine in the afternoon. We’ll just walk to school fast.” I examined her, noting the redness in her ears and face. Bumping my shoulder with her, she rolled her eyes but her expression lightened.

The day had just started, but I felt I was already drifting through it. Abigail’s silence was so unlike her, and it left me in my own head. The same thoughts plagued me endlessly. It was starting to feel like it’d take a miracle for all of it to calm down. The rest of the world faded away like this.

“Do you think I can change, too?” The question came out of nowhere, and I felt my eyebrows drew together.

“You want to change?” Of all the things to consider, Abigail seriously thinking about self growth wasn’t one of them. She’d never once indicated dissatisfaction with herself, unless playing at remorse would get her out of something.

She shrugged, “I mean, we both know I’m not always a good person. If you can work on being more confident, I can work on being more considerate right?”

“If…if that’s what you want.” The more we walked, the warmer my skin got. Hearing her say those words made me wonder if there was something going on with her as well. Were we both thinking about things, and keeping it to ourselves? I had thought we’d forever tell each other everything. Maybe this uncertainty is what I deserved.

//

Every day was the same. It was why when something changed, it stuck out like a sore thumb. Abigail was late to lunch, but we weren’t eating outside in our usual spot today. It was still chilly outside, and she always refused to be out and about during the colder months. Instead, we’d tucked ourselves away in the library, listening to the librarian scold kids about making a mess with their lunches.

A freshman was in front of us, a mousy looking girl with wide eyes and trembling lips. There was no way this was how I looked to others, was it? “U-um. I—we—never got to thank you for the other day.”

“The other—? Oh! You’re one of the freshman, aren’t you? Sorry, since we’re on different teams I haven’t memorized all the new faces yet. Don’t mention it.” Nia waved her hand. Despite knowing Nia for her entire basketball career, I still wasn’t quite sure how it worked during the off months. I assumed it was a lot of staying in tip-top condition, and training the freshman.

“I-it’s ok! We’re always so busy during practice, so we never had time to tell you. Jenny’s hasn’t been on us, and some of the older kids were surprised. We realized it had to be because of you.”

“I’m glad to hear that. If she ever causes you guys issues again, just let me know.”

“Y-yeah! And could you thank your friend for us, too?” Nia nodded and she scampered off.

As we watched her, Nia grinned, “I can’t believe we encountered someone as shy as you are.”

“I’m not that bad! …Am I?” A part of me knew I had been at that age. I’d liked to pretend I’d grown out of it. At least a little.

“Maybe not anymore.” She leaned forward, eyes sparkling. “You have been trying to take the initiative lately. Abigail said you even managed to walk home with Soccer Boy the other day.”

I knew Abigail told. It didn’t make me feel any less embarrassed, “We just happened to run into each other is all. We live near each other, so it just made sense.”

She laughed, “It’s just funny. You know, I never thought—”

“Sorry I’m late, my teacher was being a pain.” Abigail materialized in front of us without warning. I jumped as she sat down, placing a decent sized lunch in front of her. Maybe she skipped breakfast, with that much extra food. “I can’t believe we’re already having group projects. Those are the worst.”

“Are you with people who never do the work and let others do it for them?”

“God, yes. Can you believe it? I’m not above tattling, and I will tell the teacher if they don’t do shit.” She would. Her group was going to hate her for it. “Did I miss anything important?”

“Lunch just started. You were literally only a couple minutes late.”

This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

“Do you know how much can happen in a few minutes.”

“Well, there was one of those freshman girls in basketball. You know, from the other day? She wanted to thank you.” Nia nodded as I said this, and Abigail looked more alive than when she had arrived.

“How sweet. Wish I’d been there. Does that mean Jen has been laying off?”

“Apparently.”

“Has she been leaving you alone too, Cinder?” I paused, remembering all the jabs she’d offered throughout drama class. It had, if anything, gotten worse than it’d been in previous years.

If I said that, Abigail would cause even more fuss about it, so I elected not to, “Yeah. Same as always. You know I never existed to her.”

“That’s good. I was worried she’d start setting her sights on you, especially with what happened last week.” She had, I thought. Even if it wasn’t anything severe, it was more than it should have been. After ignoring me for the past two years, this was a new development. I couldn’t say if it was Abigail’s fault or not, with how things were going.

The two talked, and I looked out the window. There were still kids out in the courtyard, and I watched them. The sky had cleared up to a bright blue, leaving only the wind with its chill. There was no one I recognized out. Without realizing it, I started to look for Kade, wondering if he was out in the courtyard today.

At some point, I found him. He was talking to someone, and although he was too far away to see clearly, I thought that Wells was right beside him. The day hadn’t felt real since I woke up, and this only added to the feeling.

//

Fox was folding paper into various shapes when I got to math. There was an origami heart, a sword, frog, and a crown. His hands were fiddling away at something else by the time I sat down. He didn’t glance at me, focused solely on what he was doing.

“Afternoon.” He greeted, fingers going faster than lightening.

“Hey. What are you up to this time?” I pressed down on the back of the paper frog, delighted when it actually hopped. Despite myself, I pulled it towards me and did it again and again.

As he continued folding, his lips curved up, “Glad you’re enjoying my latest invention. Spot the Frog.”

“…Isn’t Spot a dog name?” I stared at the frog made out of a white index card. “A better name for him would at least be Stripe, wouldn’t it be?”

“I’m not one to put confines on my imagination. Spot is a basic name for a dog, but unpredictable for a frog. There are a lot of other things that act much the same.” He paused, finally looking at me for a second. I got the feeling he was hinting at something. I tucked it away in my head for now.

He took out yet another piece of paper, adding it to the collection in his hands. As I waited for class to start, I watched him. He was so concentrated on what he was doing, and nimble in doing it. It reminded me of his weird tap-walking somehow. A collection of random things all made up into one person.

I blurted, “Are you normally super into making things?”

“Not like an artist would be.” The paper was slowly taking on the form of a dragon. “I just get bored sometimes, and my body needs something to do when that happens.”

As the piece was finished he set it down in the center of his desk. His fingers danced above it, a puppeteer with no strings, and the wings started to move. The head and neck swerved. No one else noticed what was going on, much like the day we’d been in the smoothie shop.

When I looked at his eyes, they were dripping blue again, “Someone will need a sword.”

My stomach dropped, as the rest of the classroom blurred around me. The dragon rose up, paper mouth biting at the heart. The frog leapt forward, placing itself into the center of the crown. The pieces were moving, all coming to life, but the sword laid still.

Something compelled me to say, “You should have made a mask.”

“Who’s to say I didn’t?” The dragon’s teeth weren’t strong enough to rip the paper, although it was trying to. The frog stayed within the confines of the crown, protecting it. My hand reached out, stopping just above the small, paper sword. Fox stared at me, expectations in his gaze.

The bell rang overhead and everything was normal again. The paper statues were scattered along Fox’s desk, not a single one not where he’d originally placed them. His eyes were their normal brown again, and he dipped his head down. As the teacher called for everyone’s attention to start class, the air kept its charge.

“Take the sword.” He whispered. I knew he wasn’t talking about the paper one. I took it anyway.

//

“Fox what was all that earlier—” He raised a hand out, making me stop in my tracks.

There was tension in the smile he offered, “Whatever happened earlier didn’t actually happen.” When I tried to speak again, he curled his fingers, leaving one up to indicate silence. I snapped my mouth back shut. “It didn’t happen. Whatever you ask will only be based on falsehoods and hypotheticals.”

I couldn’t figure him out, no matter how hard I tried. He was always somewhere else. Constantly on a different page. “Ok, um. Hypothetically, there’s a dragon that…steals someone’s heart.”

He shook his head, “Not yet. Too early. Why would the dragon do such a thing?”

There was no way I could possibly ever know. “Ok, hypothetically a dragon will…want to steal a heart? And the…prince will care less about the heart and more about his…current position?”

The frog had to represent a prince, right? That was the only thing that could make sense. I didn’t know why Fox was playing paper charades with me, but maybe because he wasn’t allowed to tell me. He’d went ahead and broken the rules. My eyebrows drew together at the realization. I got the feeling if I’d asked why, others would know and he’d be punished.

“In a fairytale, a prince should have both. His position and his sword. What happens when he only has one?” I’d thought Fox was normal again, but I caught the light in his eyes and the blue tint of magic was still covering his irises like film. When he’d used magic before, offering me protection, he’d acted similarly to this.

I swallowed hard, “I…I’m sure you’re trying to tell me something important. But I’d prefer you as you were.”

He paused, and his eyes truly focused on me. He furrowed his eyebrows, before he quickly shook his head and repeated, “What happens when he only has one?”

“Someone else takes the sword.” The obvious path was I took it. He’d offered it to me, telling me I needed to. I’d slipped it into my binder, careful not to crush it when class had finished. I couldn’t even speak to other people, I wasn’t sure how Fox was expecting me to take such a role. “Fox, come back.”

His expression grew more frustrated, more confused. He squeezed his eyes shut, and took a breath in. On the breath out, he opened his eyes again, and I leaned forward to see if they were clear. He took a step backwards.

“Sorry, I—” He swallowed. “It can do that sometimes. Magic.”

I was too scared to ask what it’d been doing, “Then don’t use it if you don’t have to. I’ll be fine on my own. Promise. Besides, we don’t want you breaking the rules.”

“I’m not going to break the rules.” He shifted away from me. “I was told to guide you.”

“You have been, haven’t you? In more ways than one?” He was so far from me. I wanted to take a step towards him, to ask what had brought all of this on, anyway. But a shoulder jostled into me, and when I recovered he was gone. A true ghost in the making.

I thought of calling out to him, but I knew there was one main reason why he would have disappeared. It wasn’t hard to spot the face when I knew I was looking for it. I raised my hand in greeting to Kade and forced a smile on my face. The image of a dragon eating a heart and Fox’s blue eyes didn’t leave me.