Anna Everfrost's Arc

Chapter 1 of 1

Anna spread her fingers wide and sent three ice butterflies spinning across the playground. They sparkled in the sunlight, leaving tiny frost trails that made the monkey bars shimmer. She needed something bigger today, something Marcus couldn't stomp on or knock down. She closed her eyes and thought about Tommy and Jessica sharing crackers, about all the friend pairs in her sparkly notebook. Her hands grew cold. Ice spread across the ground in swirls of pink and blue and lavender, building up and up until it formed a fountain with candy-colored towers. Water froze mid-splash into permanent arches. Anna added heart shapes to every level and made the base so wide that ten kids could hold hands around it. When she opened her eyes, the fountain gleamed in the center of the playground. Marcus could push it all he wanted. It was frozen solid, just like the friendships she'd made. But the fountain wasn't enough. Anna ran around its base, pressing her palms to the cold ground. Ice sculptures rose up one by one. Two girls in purple outfits holding hands for Emma and Kai. Two boys sharing a lunch box for Tommy and Jessica. She made five pairs total, each one shining pink in the sun. Anna stood back and wiped frost from her nose. Her creation circled the fountain like guards protecting something precious. When Marcus came to recess, he'd see that every friendship she'd built was right here, frozen forever where no bully could break them apart.