The Cold by Corrine Annette Zahra

The Cold by Corrine Annette Zahra

I dragged my feet to first period History class and opened the black wooden door. The whole class looked at me as I gently closed the door and walked inside towards my desk. Our teacher, Mrs. Black who was from the Dark Side, said nothing whatsoever. She was used to me always being late for first period. The whole class was used to it. The other Cold students glared at me as I found my desk. Some Darks simply ignored me or looked at me in disgust.

Mrs. Black had been rattling on about the start of the Sides thousands of years ago. I rolled my eyes, bored. Everyone in Weather knew of the story.

Even though the Cold Side and the Dark Side were supposedly allies in favour of the winter season, there was still prejudice. Colds looked down on the Darks since the former thought that Darks were trouble and could not be trusted due to their cunning personalities. On the other hand, the Darks thought that the Colds were stuck up and snobbish with their white and pure aura. I never really understood why there were these stereotypes. I didn’t see anything wrong with the Darks even though they were different from me. I also never understood why the Darks thought that I was better than them when I didn’t view myself as superior to them in any way. We had different abilities however we were still the same human-wise.

I glanced to my left and Pitch Shadow caught my eye. He looked like a storm. Threatening.

Pitch Shadow.

One of the darkest Darks that formed part of the Dark Side. Colds were warned to beware of him for reasons I honestly couldn’t fathom. He didn’t appear to be a troublemaker to me even though he had the habit of ditching school sometimes and he failed to bring in his homework. I only had History, English and Abilities Class with him, however he seemed to catch my eye wherever he was. He did respond back to teachers and spoke out when he didn’t think that something was right. I could remember him in elementary school. He was stubborn and had a smart mouth. I kind of idolized him because he was confident and a rebel. However I didn’t think that he was particularly dangerous. He did get into fights and usually won, however I didn’t consider him a bully. He was known for being the best Dark of our age, potentially being the reason for why people were scared of him. Possessing exceptional abilities made people intrigued about you. I, for one, should know.

He seemed to notice that I was looking at him, for he looked my way and I instantly took my gaze off him, embarrassed. I felt my face warm up considerably as I faced the board. Colds are incapable of feeling warmth, however I oddly felt it at times. When I was a child, my foster mom, Bitter, would often have to take me to the hospital since I would warm up unexpectedly, something that was unheard of in a Cold. 

The bell rang and I got up to get out of the classroom as fast as possible.

Next, I had Abilities Class. Abilities Class was the only lesson where students could learn about their abilities and learn how to use them. It was my favorite class. Colds and Darks under the age of eighteen weren’t allowed to use their abilities unless during this lesson. Using your abilities for fighting, even if you were not underage, could also get you into trouble.

I walked down the hallway of my school until I reached the doors to the field. I opened them and walked outside in the large field and made my way towards the benches where I put my back pack. Then, I walked across the field next to my other classmates.

The field was the only area on school grounds where Colds or Darks could play sports. The Education Department believed that sports weren’t vital since they were human activities. The field was old; the ground was dusty and sandy with small rocks scattered here and there and a few patches of dead weeds.

The field was surrounded by bleachers for a crowd to watch a sports game, however no one used to come to watch the games since they weren’t popular.

“Good morning class! Let’s get started, shall we?” our Cold teacher, Mr. White said. He started to show us how to make snow descend from the sky. I used to practice doing this a lot when I was younger and Bitter would get angry at me a couple of times for making a blizzard.

I tried the technique myself.

It was not easy learning how to use your abilities. Even though I was sixteen, there were still plenty of things that I didn’t know. Sometimes it was the basics that were the hardest for those who weren’t good at their abilities.

“Very good, Icy! You’ll make a great Weather Controller.” Mr. White complemented. I smiled. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw most of the Colds, including Blizz, getting angry. One thing that was true about Colds was that they were jealous of each other. I wondered if the Darks were like that too.

The next task was to form the snow into any shape that I wanted. I envisaged what I wanted to create in my mind’s eye and proceeded to make a sculpture of a bird. I used to read books about them which described them as such majestic creatures. I used to wish that we had creatures like them in the Cold Side. The cold weather would prevent them from surviving in this environment however.

When I finished my masterpiece, I smiled to myself. The others, however, were unable to complete the task. I glanced at the other side of the field where the Darks were practicing their abilities with the Dark teacher.

Pitch was there making a tornado. I squinted my eyes in an attempt to see better. He was really good. Maybe this was his favorite class too.

I waited in the lunch line for my turn to get my food. I was only able to eat frozen foods and they did not have much taste. My choices included a frozen sandwich or a frozen yogurt with strawberries. I chose the yogurt. I handed the Cold lunch lady my money and went to find my usual table.

I sat alone to eat my lunch since no one particularly liked me. I did not blame the Darks for not wanting to sit next to me since they were from another Side and it was a societal protocol that Colds and Darks did not mix. The Colds, on the other hand, did not like me simply because I was what they considered “the best Cold”. I hated considering myself the best since it made others hate me; I couldn’t help being good at my abilities. Mr. White was constantly praising me during Abilities Class and that did not help at all.

The Colds usually sat on the right side of the cafeteria while the Darks sat on the left. It was protocol. Even though there was a law that forbid Colds and Darks from having emotional relationships, marrying and having babies together, there was no law that forbid Colds and Darks from mixing; that was a law that society built up due to stereotypes.

I never understood why the Sides did not like each other when we lived together.

From where I sat, I saw Pitch Shadow and his friends find their table on the other side of the cafeteria. Every Dark knew who Pitch was and he seemed friendly enough to them, however Pitch did not have many close friends. At his table, there were only another three Darks who I always saw Pitch with. Only one girl sat with them and her stern facial expression made her fit right in. The other two boys appeared to be slightly more relaxed as they spoke to Pitch.

I wondered what it would be like to sit at Pitch Shadow’s table and have a conversation with him…

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