Frostbitten (13 page)

“Thank you for helping
me, Principal Keith,” Kate said with a fake sob, before grasping onto Marissa’s
arm and quickly walking away.

“You honestly don’t
have the whole story,” Frost warned Principal Keith.

“Get to class, Frost,”
Principal Keith replied.

Obediently, Frost began
to leave, but not before casting Anastasia a supportive look and mouthing to
her,
it’s okay
. Unfortunately, his kind gestures did little to soothe
her worries because she knew that he was so wrong. Her current situation
couldn’t possibly be any worse.

The minutes ticked by
slowly as Anastasia sat in the principal’s office yet again. This time she was
waiting for her grandfather to arrive so he could be somewhat inaccurately
informed of her latest misdeed. As luck would have it, the principal hadn’t
been able to contact her grandmother; that meant she would have to cope with
her grandfather’s reaction all by herself – terrific.

A knock sounded upon
the door, causing Principal Keith to get up quickly. Anastasia turned around in
her chair to see her grandfather being ushered inside. As expected, he looked
furious. However, in his eyes, she saw another emotion. Was it shame or
disappointment? Both of these guesses made Anastasia feel like crap.

“Hello, Mr. Keith,” Mr.
Lockhart greeted solemnly, while shaking his hand.

“Mr. Lockhart,”
Principal Keith replied, nodding toward an unoccupied chair. “I’m sorry we’re
not meeting under better circumstances.”

Mr. Lockhart refused
the chair that Principal Keith had intended for him. “What’s happened?” he
asked instead.

“I caught Anastasia
trying to engage in a physical fight with another student. As you likely know,
we have a zero tolerance policy in regards to violence.”

“I completely
understand,” Mr. Lockhart spoke quickly, “but did you see Anastasia hit this
other student?”

“Like I said, Mr.
Lockhart, I arrived on the scene before anything serious could take place. I’m
very particular about patrolling the hallways, especially when students should
be in class.”

“With all due respect,
Mr. Keith, if Anastasia didn’t actually hit someone, I don’t see the need for
quite this much rigmarole.”

“That is entirely
irrelevant!” Principal Keith remarked, clearly unable to maintain the
passive-aggressive debate which he and Mr. Lockhart were engaged in. “There are
other witnesses. In fact, it appears that Frost was of great assistance in
keeping Anastasia under control.”

Remaining silent, Mr.
Lockhart shot Anastasia a quick, angry look. She wondered what upset him more –
the fact that she was in trouble or that she’d disobeyed his orders regarding
Frost. It was probably a combination of both, although she had been pleasantly
surprised by his willingness to defend her. Maybe their relationship wasn’t as
far gone as she’d thought.

“I always consider the
welfare of all my students,” Principal Keith continued in a matter-of-fact
tone. “Although I must protect the victim, I’m also doing what’s best for
Anastasia in the long run. She’s dealing with a tough situation at Cedar Falls High,
and that is surely interfering with her decisions, not to mention her studies.”

“What tough situation?”
Mr. Lockhart almost snapped.

“I’m referring to the
allegation of an inappropriate relationship between Anastasia and a faculty
member. Although hard evidence is yet to be found, the investigation is still
ongoing.”

Wincing at the untimely
revelation of such personal information, Anastasia slowly slid further down in
her chair. She stared at the carpeted floor as if it was the most interesting
thing she’d ever seen. Unfortunately, Anastasia and her grandmother’s efforts
to keep the Mr. O’Donoghue scandal quiet suddenly didn’t matter – the secret
was out.

“It’s not true,
Grandpa,” Anastasia muttered, trying to control her anger and frustration. She
was distraught when he said nothing and instead looked away.

“I’m sure the last few
days have been difficult,” Principal Keith spoke to Anastasia, softly and
almost in a condescending manner, “and I’m more than willing to recommend a
wonderful therapist. However, I don’t have any other choice but to expel you
because of today’s behavior.”

Anastasia knew that
this was coming the moment Principal Keith called out to them in the hallway.
However, actually hearing those words made the situation feel that much more
real. What was she going to do now? She doubted there were any other schools
nearby – not that they’d want her anyway.

“Can I ask you to
reconsider?” Mr. Lockhart tried one last time, most definitely losing
endurance.

“I’m afraid not,”
Principal Keith replied, before turning to Anastasia and then adding, “Please
remove your personal belongings from your locker and leave immediately.”

Humiliated and still
very much angry, Anastasia hurried out of the principal’s office without saying
a word. When she entered the hallway, she almost bumped into Marissa. She
wondered what Marissa was doing there but that hardly mattered anymore.

“Anastasia, I’m so...”
Marissa began to say. However, she was interrupted by Mr. Lockhart.

“Get your things and
meet me in the car,” he said gruffly. “I’m too embarrassed to stay here any
longer.”

Anastasia and her
grandfather left in opposite directions, but she soon realized that she wasn’t
alone as Marissa hurried after her, begging for her to stop so they could talk.
Anastasia kept on going, trying to ignore her for as long as possible. However,
Marissa’s refusal to give up finally broke her down.

“What do you want from
me?” Anastasia demanded, spinning around so quickly to face Marissa that they
almost collided. “There’s nothing left for you to take.”

“I...I don’t want
anything,” Marissa stuttered. “What happened with the principal?”

“None of your
business,” Anastasia snapped, while opening her locker and retrieving the only
items which belonged to her – the rose and sweet love notes that Frost had
given her. “Do you really think I’d give you even more reasons to gossip about
me?”

“It’s not like that,”
Marissa protested.

“Save it, because I’m
not interested.” With that said, Anastasia marched down the hallway, out of
Cedar Falls High and into her grandfather’s car.

As expected, the ride
home was deathly quiet. This atmosphere was all too familiar for Anastasia, but
that didn’t mean she was any more comfortable with it. The silence gave her a
moment to think, and she couldn’t help but wonder where her spiraling life
would lead her. Anastasia used to think that the chaos would have to eventually
end at some point. However, she now pondered if she really was cursed, forever
doomed to cause trouble wherever she went.

“I see Rose got my message,”
Mr. Lockhart pointed out in a grave tone.

Seeing her
grandmother’s car parked in the driveway, Anastasia cringed. They had been
getting on so well, and she hated to think how this latest incident would
negatively impact the progress they’d made. This specific consequence greatly
irritated her.

Anastasia’s grandfather
exited the car, causing her to follow him even though she was feeling
particularly heavy-footed. Somehow she managed to walk into the house, and as
soon as she did, no words or emotions were held back.

“Is everything
alright?” Mrs. Lockhart asked, immediately jumping up from the chair she’d been
nervously sitting in and then hurrying toward Anastasia. She studied her face
and body, before letting out a sigh of relief. “You don’t look hurt, but are
you?”

“No, I...” Anastasia
tried to respond.

“She’s the one who
started the fight,” Mr. Lockhart interrupted.

“What?” Mrs. Lockhart’s
eyes widened.

“And she’s been
expelled for it,” he continued, growing angrier by the second.

“Oh, Anastasia.”

“Stop it!” Anastasia
cried, overcome with fury. “Don’t you even want to hear my side of the story?
It’s like no one cares about what I have to say!”

“How can we trust
anything that you say or do?” Mr. Lockhart bellowed. “We’ve done everything we
can to provide you with a safe home and an opportunity to turn your life
around. Yet, all you do is keep disappointing us. What other choice do we have,
Anastasia? You have to go back to Toronto.”

At first, Anastasia’s
eyes widened with shock, but soon the truth settled in. “Let’s face it,
Grandpa
,
I was never welcomed here in the first place. You hate the fact that I’m my
mother’s daughter and that you couldn’t save either of us.”

Running to her bedroom,
Anastasia slammed the door behind her and then began packing as quickly as
possible. She wasn’t going to spend a moment longer in a place where no one
wanted her, but that didn’t mean she was leaving Cedar Falls. Anastasia
couldn’t bring herself to do such a thing now that she was with Frost. Somehow,
she’d figure out a way to stay and make it work.

In the background,
Anastasia heard her grandparents arguing. She couldn’t remember them ever being
so upset with each other, and underneath her own anger, she felt guilty for
causing trouble. However, she repressed that feeling and instead tried to
concentrate on a solution to her current problem. Eventually, her grandparents
ceased fighting, but only when the telephone began ringing continuously.

Ten minutes later, just
as Anastasia had packed the last item, a knock sounded upon her door. Before
she had a chance to say,
come in
, or more likely,
go away
, her
grandmother opened the door ever so gently and then stepped inside.

“We need to talk,” Mrs.
Lockhart said softly.

“Please don’t,”
Anastasia replied, while trying to close her luggage with some difficulty. “I’m
not going to fight with you.”

“I’m glad we’re on the
same page,” she said, after sitting down on Anastasia’s bed and gesturing for
her to do the same. “That was your principal on the telephone. He said another
student came forth, insisting that you were acting in
self-defense
.
Mr. Keith acknowledges that he was hasty in making a decision and, under the
circumstances, has decided to reduce your expulsion to a one week suspension.”

“Does it even matter?”
Anastasia asked, although she couldn’t deny that she was somewhat satisfied to
hear the news. “Grandpa doesn’t want me here. I’m leaving.”

“Your grandfather is a
proud man, but that’s not always a good trait. He doesn’t show his emotions
well, and he hates to admit when he’s wrong. However, he did ask me to speak
with you. We want to forget today ever happened, and your mother doesn’t even
have to know.”

“What’s the catch?”
Anastasia asked with narrowed eyes.

“We want you to take
the job at the library. It will give you direction, responsibility and perhaps
help keep you out of trouble.” Mrs. Lockhart smiled at Anastasia, making her
realize that she did have a choice in the matter. “Oh, and one other thing,”
she added slowly, as if to heighten the suspense, “you must believe that you’re
always welcome here – because you are.”

As her grandmother
wrapped her in a hug, Anastasia realized how much she was loved. Suddenly,
everything that had happened today no longer felt so dire, and somehow, she
knew that she would get through it.

* * *

It was the first day of
Anastasia’s suspension from school, and she only had one objective in mind – to
see Chloe and make sure she was getting better. As she walked down the
corridors of the hospital, she found herself less apprehensive about being
there. Anastasia realized that being exposed to an environment she didn’t
particularly like actually made it seem not as scary. She guessed that after a
while anything could be perceived as normal.

As Anastasia neared
Chloe’s room, Mr. Fairbanks exited. He hadn’t seen her yet, and she
contemplated turning around and leaving. However, she was desperate to speak
with Chloe, and it’s not like she’d done anything wrong. Mustering all her
confidence, Anastasia proceeded forward.

Now talking on his cell
phone, Mr. Fairbanks was still oblivious of Anastasia’s presence. “Can’t you
get an earlier flight?” he asked in an annoyed tone. “Chloe will be released by
the time you arrive, and I know that she needs your support now.” He paused for
a moment and then sighed. “It’s your choice, Gloria – goodness knows you’ve
never listened to me. However, she’s your daughter, and I thought that meant
something.”

After ending the call,
Mr. Fairbanks turned sideways, finally noticing Anastasia. He looked startled
at first, but he soon approached her with an emotionless expression upon his
face. “Anastasia,” he greeted, appearing neither angry nor upset to see her.

“I’ve come to see
Chloe,” Anastasia said firmly. “She’s my best friend, regardless of what you
may think.”

Mr. Fairbanks nodded.
“Chloe told me what happened that night – well, the parts that she can
remember. I shouldn’t have reacted the way I did, but you have to realize that
Chloe’s my life. She’s the only person I have left in this world, and if
anything happened to her, I couldn’t cope with it.”