FREEZE

Chapter 1: Freeze

     Nicole was really bored. Math was her least favorite class, and the boring teacher made it even worse. Not that she new his name. It was Nicole's second week as a freshman at Emit Srellevart. The school was huge, combining the middle and high school into one building, and with about 100 kids in each grade. Nicole managed to remember approximately zero names. Except for Kaelyn, a girl in her math class, who didn't look like she was having a blast either.

     Nicole struggled to keep her eyes open as she watched the nameless teacher write something on the board. It almost seemed like he was writing slower... and slower. His monotone voice faded away as Nicole's eyes drifted close. Then she realized he had stopped talking altogether. Confused, Nicole opened her eyes. Her math teacher was frozen in place, his thick black marker halfway through the equation and his mouth halfway open. Had he forgotten what he was going to say? The silence seemed to last forever. Nicole started to wonder how long a person could go without blinking. She sat up and looked at the clock, only to find that it was broken. That was weird. It was working fine just a minute ago. Worried, she glanced around at her classmates. Not a single one was moving. The silence was eerie. 

     Nicole was scared half to death when the door behind her opened, revealing- Kaelyn! "You scared me Kaelyn!" Nicole breathed out a sigh of anxiety. "Do you have any idea what's going on right now? How come everyone just stopped moving? Is this a huge prank? Where were you anyways?"
"I was in the bathroom. And how would I know? I'm just as new to this sketchy school as you are". The school certainly was sketchy. From the weird name to the peeling white wallpaper, it was not exactly what you would call 'inviting'. 

     "Maybe you're right though" Kaelyn wondered aloud. "Maybe this is just a prank on all the new kids. See if she'll move". Kaelyn pointed to the blond girl sitting next to Nicole. She seemed to be asleep. "Emily Jade" Kaelyn read aloud the writing on the cover of the textbook.

     Nicole grabbed Emily's shoulder. Surprisingly, she felt a strange tingling sensation crawl through her fingers She quickly recoiled, shaking her hand and cracking her knuckles. Kaelyn stared, concerned. Emily opened her eyes a crack. When she realized where she was, she sat up, whispering to Nicole in a British accent. "Did I fall asleep? What did I miss?" 

     "You tell us! Is this some kind of prank? What's going on here?" Kaelyn demanded. Emily was bewildered. "What are you talking about?" 

     "Look at the clock!" Nicole yelled. "Look at the teacher! Look at everyone! They all just froze, it's super weird. It's kind of freaky actually! We-"

"More importantly, look at us... Why aren't we frozen?" Kaelyn interrupted. That got all three of them thinking. What was going on? 

Emily sighed. "Well, I've no idea. If this was a prank, nobody told me about it".

"Something gives me the feeling this isn't a prank" Kaelyn said soberly. "Maybe we should go out into the hallways and see if there's anyone else not frozen" The other two agreed, and the three of them ventured into the silent hallways of Emit Srellevart.