Ice (8 page)

The school bus dropped me off at the stop sign that was at the fork in the road. While the school bus went forward, I took the gravel road to the right that led to Uncle Justin’s house. The walk only took a few minutes and soon I was standing on the tiny square porch, digging the house key out of my jeans’ pocket. As soon as I stepped through the door, Big John greeted me. He jumped up and planted his paws on my thighs, excitedly wagging his tail. I petted him and locked the front door, which I always made a point not to forget since the night I met Kavick.

I headed to my bedroom, Big John following loyally behind me, and I slid my backpack off my shoulder. I let it land on the floor next to my bedroom door and took off my denim jacket. I felt a little cool in my t-shirt and decided I would just crawl under the covers for a few minutes. Instead, I just fell down on my bed with a thump and stared up at my ceiling. My mind wandered to Kavick and what Molly had said about him, and at the same time my mind was composing my next e-mail to Marcus.

Today was my first day of school here. It’s really small and most people only said one word to me, but I suppose it wasn’t that bad. I survived, so I guess I can’t complain.

To get my mind off of Kavick and the e-mail floating in my head writing itself, I decided to get my laptop from the nightstand and start typing the letter. In about ten minutes I had sent it to Marcus. However, I still kept thinking about Kavick and his brother, Tom. They were all I could think about, so I decided to do some research since I was still on the Internet.

The closest thing I found to what the Skarlings were was an Inuit legend about a race of wolf
-people called the “Adlet”. But that didn’t seem to be exactly true, either. An Adlet was a bloodthirsty creature, and Kavick certainly didn’t seem like he was thirsting my blood when we were talking in my uncle’s living room.

I shut down my laptop then and leaned back, staring at the ceiling again.

Had I gone crazy? Was the ordeal with Kavick just a dream?

I remembered the way he had looked at me when I was on the bus. There was recognition on his face. He definitely recognized me, which mean
t it had been real.

“Christine?”

I woke up to Justin calling my name in that same unsure manner he always did when he came home. I pushed the covers off of my head and ran a hand through my hair as I sat up. I swung my legs out of the covers and over the side of the bed, slipping my feet into my fuzzy slippers. I noticed Big John had already left my bed, having fallen asleep on the covers next to where I had. I walked into the living room, greeting Uncle Justin just as I always did. He noticed my t-shirt as he petted Big John. “Aren’t you cold?” he said a little puzzled.

He was used to me always being cold here, especially since the days were gradually getting cooler. Even he thought it was a little cool out; he was wearing an old, brown bomber jacket.

“I was covered up,” I said, thumbing back behind me toward my bedroom. “I was taking a nap before I started my homework.”

“Oh,” he said, and I thought I might have seen one side of his mouth tip up. Maybe he was relieved he wouldn’t have to ground me to get me to do my homework, unlike most teenagers.

After a few minutes of chatting, I returned to my room where I diligently did my homework, trying to be the perfect teenager so Uncle Justin wouldn’t be bothered by my presence in his life. I used to be the opposite, waiting until the last minute to do my homework, sometimes copying
Charlotte’s (she never did seem to mind), or turning it in late a few times.

When I finished my homework, I stared at the wall. I let out a heavy sigh, remembering how much trouble I used to be for my parents. I hadn’t been a wild child, but I had certainly been difficult at times. I regretted it now and wished I would have tried to be the model example back then.

I was jarred out my thoughts by a sudden rapping sound. I jerked my head in the direction of my window and saw none other than Kavick waving at me with a big smile on his face.

I gasped, and I immediately looked to my bedroom door, worried that Uncle Justin might have heard it. I got up from my bed, listening for any sounds that might indicate I had been caught. All I heard was the news from the living room TV and the sounds of Justin making dinner. He usually liked to listen to the evening news while he cooked.

I quickly went over to my door and locked it. It was shut, but I didn’t want to take any chances of Uncle Justin sneaking up on me. I then ran over to the window, sliding to a halt in my slippers, and raised it.

“Hey,” he said, still smiling.

I shivered a little in the cold wind and noticed he now had some sort of black fur cape on over his t-shirt.

“Hey,” I said, mesmerized again by his eyes, but only for a second. “Uh, I don’t mean to be rude, but why are you here? Are you being hunted again?”

“No,” he said, shaking his head. His smile disappeared. “I saw you earlier today and thought I should say hi.”

“Well…hi,” I said awkwardly.

He grinned and then I said, feeling like I needed to explain for my awkward and seemingly rude behavior, “I would let you in, but remember how I said it might cause a lot of problems with my uncle if I let a boy in the house?”

Kavick nodded. “Yeah, I remembered something like that, that’s why I knocked on your window instead of knocking on the front door. I also wanted to say that I hadn’t forgotten my promise.”

I felt my eyebrows furrow in confusion. “What promise?”

“
To show you an Aurora Borealis,” he said, raising his eyebrows, like he was trying to jog my memory.

Suddenly, I did remember. That was when I had wondered if I had made friends with a dog-person. Until now, I had thought I hadn’t. In fact, I had thought I would never see him again.

He grinned and rested an arm on the window sill. “It shouldn’t be much longer now.”

I suddenly found myself extremely curious, and maybe even anxious, to see an Aurora Borealis from this special place he h
ad in mind. I caught myself just staring speechless at him for a few seconds, amazed by his excited grin, and in turn making me excited.

“By the way, I heard you asking questions about me,” he said playfully as he drummed his fingers on the window sill.

I felt my eyes widen. “You could hear that?” My voice was high and exasperated.

“Mm-hmm,” he nodded smugly. He tapped his left ear and said, “My hearing is a little more sensitive than yours. The bus engine and chatter from the other students made it hard to hear you, though. When we have more time to talk, feel free to ask me anything you like. You don’t have to settle for Molly’s second-rate gossip.”

I was surprised he was so willing to answer my questions, but another thing came to my mind I had to ask. “Do you have a sensitive sense of smell, too?”

He nodded again.

My eyes widened again and my hand darted to my mouth. I suddenly remembered I ate garlic bread at lunch. I glanced around my room awkwardly, like I would find a mint just laying out in the open somewhere. “Uh, sorry. I’ll use some mouthwash, or something...”

He laughed quietly, and said, “Don’t worry about it.” He then patted the window sill and removed his arm, taking a step back and holding it at arm’s length. “Well, I guess I should get going now so I don’t get you in trouble with your uncle.”

I grasped for something to say that wasn’t goodbye, yet I knew he was right. Part of me was still afraid of being caught. How would I ever explain my association to this teenage boy who was talking to me via my bedroom window, instead of the front door, or a phone call? I knew it looked bad, and so did he.

“Uh…thanks for wearing clothes this time,” I whispered. It was the first words I could think of and they just flew out of my mouth. I hadn’t seriously considered saying them, but somehow did without thinking. I felt my eyes widen as I realized that once again I was accidentally being rude. My mouth certainly had a way about getting me in trouble. That’s why I only had two friends in
California.

To my surprise, Kavick laughed. He covered his mouth and tried to stifle it, coming out only a little louder than my whispered words just seconds earlier. His shoulders bounced and he bent over, his long white and black hair falling over one side of his face.

I smiled, pleased that I hadn’t offended him, and amused by his reaction. It was beginning to look like Kavick was the only person I wasn’t able to offend with my poor choice of words.

After he h
ad regained his composure, he waved to me and walked off toward the trees.

I don’t know if I can survive much longer!

I stared at Charlotte’s words on the screen of my laptop late one night. It was well after ten and my screen glowed in the dark of my room. As I heard a faint howl from outside, Charlotte’s next message appeared on my bright screen.

I miss you, and Marcus is still dating Marcia! Can you believe it?!

I read her message, but I couldn’t help but wonder if that was an actual wolf howling, or someone like Kavick. It could even be Kavick himself, since I did meet him in the woods near Justin’s house. I found myself staring at my window wondering, listening for another howl instead of typing a reply. Was Kavick the animal that used to get Big John’s attention so much?

Another message appeared as
Charlotte continued to rant.

I thought he would have woken up by now! You need to call him and knock some sense into him!

I squared my shoulders and stared at the screen. I could feel my mood darken and my spirits fall. The last thing I wanted to talk about was Marcus. Charlotte had been doing so well until now about not bringing him up after I had told her how it bothered me a while back.

You know I can’t do that.

Yes you can, you’re just too noble, unlike her. Another example of why he should have picked you.

Pick? I told him I didn’t like him.

Only because you thought Marcia would let you keep hanging out with him if you said that.

I stared at her words, wondering for the millionth time if I should tell him how I really felt. I knew I never would, though, much like
Charlotte had said, but I didn’t think of it as nobility. I liked to think of it as a sense of fairness, or loyalty to my friendship. Really, I knew it was just cowardice.

You need to tell him!

I typed my reply with a frown, putting an end to the conversation.

What I need to do is go to bed.

A long moment passed before Charlotte’s message finally appeared. I knew I had hurt her feelings then.

You’re mad at me, aren’t you?

I huffed, angry at myself. I typed a big fat lie, even though I knew it was useless. Charlotte knew me too well.

No, I’m not.

Yes, you are. I’m sorry, Chris.

I’m sorry, too.

Charlotte didn’t bring up Marcus again for a very long time.

Everyday when I would sit with Molly at school, I thought of Charlotte. They had three very noticeable things in common:

One was that they both dyed their hair blond. Before I moved to
Alaska, Charlotte had dyed it a very dark brown, almost black. She had told me recently in one of our instant message conversations that she had dyed it blond again, like when we had first met. She had sent me a picture last week in an e-mail.

Two was that they both were tanned. The difference was that Molly’s was natural.
Charlotte’s was more orange because she had switched to spray tanning a year ago. She was afraid of the harmful effects the UV rays might have on her skin because of an article she read in a magazine once. Though she no longer tanned at the beach, we used to still go there often with Marcus. While he and I would be running into the water as soon as we got there, Charlotte would be applying heaping amounts of sunscreen.

And three, they both liked to talk. I used to think
Charlotte could be a bit of a gossip sometimes, but she had nothing on Molly. Molly was in a class of her own when it came to that. I had no idea why Kavick called her gossip “second-rate” since she seemed to know everything. However, I was quickly learning that most of it was just rumors. Perhaps that’s why he dubbed it that.

I got lost in my memories of
California, no longer listening to Molly’s gossip. All I could think about was Marcus’ many, big, tan muscles the last day we chased each other in the water. I was running back to land, trying to get away from him, thinking I could hide behind Charlotte, who was still feverishly applying her sunscreen with a worried look on her face, muttering about wrinkles and skin cancer. I knew it had been a futile effort, though, and he had soon swept me up into his arms. I was both screaming and laughing, and he was laughing at me. He had pulled me back into the water, plunging me under the surface with a hard splash. When our heads came up we were smiling at each other. I remember thinking he had the most beautiful smile and that my heart felt so light.

“Are you listening to me?”

I stopped replaying the memory and looked at Molly, feeling like I was caught red-handed. I opened my mouth, but I had no idea what to say since I didn’t know what she had been saying.

She frowned and said, “Never mind. I’ll just talk to somebody who cares.”

“Molly, I’m sorry,” I said quickly, as she turned away, grabbing her tray of food. “I didn’t mean to get nostalgic while you were talking, I’ve just been having a hard time being away from my friends. It has nothing to do with you, and I do care about what you have to say.”

She had remained sitting at the table, holding her tray in front of her with that frown on her face, listening to my plight. I had managed to look her in the eyes most of the time, and by the time I was finished, looking as sincerely as I could (which surprisingly was pretty well because of how badly I felt), the frown disappeared from her face and she actually looked a little sympathetic. She turned back around to the table and sat her tray down.

“I’m sorry,” I said again, but more awkwardly this time.

“It’s cool,” she said as she brushed a piece of hair out of her eyes.
“You must really miss your friends.”

I didn’t know Molly
very well, but I was glad that she was staying. This place was still new, and ninety percent of the people here still treated me like a stranger. I would probably always be a stranger since I was still considered the new kid in this little school. I felt like I would always be an outcast.

The weeks dragged on and each school day felt like it would never end. It seemed like every day my mind was racing between the last time I saw Kavick and memories of Marcus.

One September day, I was especially eager to get home, but I didn’t feel like talking to
Charlotte for once. The routine I had gotten used to was starting to make me tired. Once I was home, I sat down at the desk Uncle Justin had put in my room a few days ago. He had apologized for putting it in so late, but he had carved it himself, explaining that before he started working at the lumber yard, he had been a carpenter. I was unsure of what to do with my free time, though; I felt too tired to start my homework that very minute, but I didn’t want to waste away any more of my day. I wanted to do something exciting, but kept drawing a blank. I decided I should start my homework anyway, but I still felt mentally exhausted after my long day.

Five minutes into my homework, I fell asleep, and the next thing I knew, I was waking up to Uncle Justin calling my name.

“Christine?”

I raised my head, surprised I had fallen asleep and also surprised by how dark it was in my room. When I had gotten home earlier, I hadn’t bothered to turn any lights on and had just raised the blinds. Now it was dim, my whole room was cast in a dark, gray shadow. I looked to my open door and called, “I’m in my room!”

I rubbed my face and eyes and slowly stood up from my desk. I walked over to my door and saw him peeking into the dark hallway at me. “Long day?” he asked with a bit of a sympathetic look.

I nodded.

He walked into his room at the end of the hall. “I know how those are. Go to bed if you want. You look exhausted.”

I yawned and stood in my doorway a moment, trying to get my head on straight. My thoughts were still fuzzy and groggy. After a few seconds I said, “I think I’ll finish my homework first.”

Suddenly, my stomach growled and there was a horrible aching. I was famished since I didn’t touch my lunch at school. It had been meatloaf day. Molly had laughed at me and said I wouldn’t survive long in Alaska if I stayed a vegetarian. “I think I’ll get a snack, though.”

Justin came out of his room in a clean sweater and without his baseball cap, turning out the light behind him. “Go ahead. I’ll get started on dinner.”

I was glad that Justin was so laid back that he would let me eat a snack before dinner, unlike most figures of authority.

I grabbed a granola bar from the cupboard and stood in the doorway to the living room, watching Justin wash his hands and prepare dinner. At some point, I decided to wash my hands and join in. Unlike the first time I helped Justin fix dinner, we actually had quite a bit to talk about. He asked me about school, and I asked him about work. Soon we were sitting at the table, Justin saying grace.

After dinner, I did my usual routine of watching about ten minutes of TV, and I decided to go ahead and chat with Charlotte before I finished my homework. I didn’t want to tell her I hadn’t been able to get Marcus out of my head for several days now (I was still a bit sensitive to the subject), but I was surprised that she never mentioned Marcus telling her about the e-mails I had been sending him. Even though he never replied, I had figured that at some point he would tell Charlotte about them. It would be just like Charlotte to tell me that if I could write to him about my happenings in Alaska, then I should be able write to him about my feelings. But she still hadn’t said a word about them in our conversations. He was probably deleting them without even reading, not just avoiding me, but really forgetting about me like I had feared. What if he had blocked me long ago so he wouldn’t be bothered with deleting another message from me?

I looked to my window after I typed a message to her, thin
king about how it was night now and that Kavick wasn’t at my window. With the coming of night came bitterly cold temperatures, and it reminded me that soon winter-like weather would be here. I could already feel it creeping in, little by little, as each day went by. But Kavick still hadn’t come back, and I wondered if he would keep his promise to view the Northern Lights with me.

Not long before the first snow fall, Uncle Justin knocked on my door and asked me if I would like to go outside with him to view an Aurora Borealis. They had only just started showing up in the sky, he said. We bundled up and sat outside for a while, gazing up at the sky and talking. It had been just a faint green sheet above the trees, barely there. However, I was still amazed by it. It was that night I felt like Justin and I had gotten much closer, and once again I was grateful to be with him.

And with the first snow came dog sled races. Doug kept saying that Justin
should bring me over soon so that he could teach me how to mush. Justin still didn’t like the idea. I told him to just give a vague answer like “I’ll see,” or, “I’ll get back to you on that,” and to let Doug forget about it.

But Doug wasn’t forgetting. He was passionate about mushing and was looking forward to teaching me. Finally, Justin thought up a good excuse, suggesting to Doug that he and I watch him compete in a race.
Justin was certain he was going to sign up for the Iditarod. I agreed that it was a good plan and that he should try that the next time Doug asked about me
.
             

That night after our conversation about Doug, I was once again chatting
with Charlotte on my computer.

Is it snowing there?
she asked.

I glanced toward my window where the blind was raised. It was night, but I could clearly see the white sheet of snow covering the ground.

Yes.

I was pretty certain it was still snowing lightly outside.

Charlotte’s reply read:
I don’t know how you can stand it.

I’ve gotten used to it. It’s not that bad. And it’s kind of pretty.

Unfortunately, Charlotte couldn’t talk long that night, and soon had to go. Having finished my homework long ago, I fell asleep staring at the sea of white outside, sprawled out on my bed. I dreamed about the cold, as if I were lying on the snow instead of my bed, sinking into the freezing, white, icy substance, staring up at the inky black sky above that was dotted with stars.             

I woke up to a soft tapping sound. I slowly opened my eyes, surprised to see that instead of the black sky I remembered, there was my bedroom ceiling. All at once my senses returned to me and I rubbed my eyes.

Tap-tap-tap.

The soft little taps sounded like it was coming from my window. I looked over at it, not only surprised to see I had left my blind raised all that time, but that Kavick was staring at me from outside. He was just simply watching me.

I quickly got up from my bed and went over to my bedroom door, locking it. On my way over to my window, I glanced at my alarm clock to see how long I had been asleep. The red digital numbers read 12:11. I had been asleep for a long time. As I raised the window, I wondered how long Kavick had been tapping on it.

“Hi,” he said, smiling, and I was surprised by how deep his voice sounded. Had I really forgotten what his voice sounded like? It had been weeks since I last saw him, and I had given up hope that he was going to keep his promise. I had no idea why I still kept my blind raised even though I hadn’t believed he would come.