The Devil & Me

Chapter Nine: Krampusnacht

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Morning came with a frosted ground: overnight, the sky had opened up and dumped a foot of snow. My eyes burned as I stared into the expanse of white, strengthened by the glare of a strong, blue sky.

It was Christmas, and my phone was ringing. My mother was on the line.

"Good morning," she greeted me. Her voice was tight like she was walking. She was either coming from or to work. "Merry Christmas."

"Merry Christmas," I echoed, picking at my thumbnail. A long stretch of silence grew between us. I wondered if she would bring up the calls the Vice principal made, and the fights at school, or if she would leave it for another day.

"So, I'm just heading to work," she said.

"No celebrating?" I asked.

"We're having a little something in the break room." She paused. "Although I wish I could spend the day with you—what are you doing today?"

"Uh, just some cleaning. And reading."

"Go to the store and get yourself a roast chicken. And a pie."

"I will, I will."

"Is there lots of snow over there?"

I hummed and looked out of the window. "Lots. The walk will take a little bit."

"Oh, does that mean you have to go?"

"I think so. I love you."

"Love you too," I mumbled a goodbye and cut the line. My hand was shaking, and I didn't know why. I missed her a lot, but at the same time, I knew the only reason I was at school was that I was being punished for what we hadn't addressed. And maybe—as Ambrose Devil had said—I didn't enjoy my own company as much as I thought I did. Actually, in that moment, I would've done anything not to be alone.

I stood up and stuffed myself into a pair of jeans and a sweater. I grabbed my purse. Maybe I wouldn't buy chicken, but I needed something to eat. A pie sounded nice: some sugar to drown out the heaviness lingering in my heart and on my head.

My feet clipped the empty hallways. I felt like a ghost wandering the grounds. From across the wide windows lining the stairs, I could feel the press of an acidic cold, working its way down to my bones.

Footsteps filled the space behind me. My heart squeezed. I wasn't alone. But was this company any better than loneliness? If I said it was, what sort of person would that make me? Weak? Foolish? Or pathetic?

"Camille," Ambrose Devil said. He walked up to me, wearing a ski jacket and snow boots. "Are you going outside?"

"Are you?"

"I guess we both are then."

"We?" He grinned at me and nodded toward the door. I followed him, into the snow and the ice. The wind hit my face and put tears in my eyes. "Are we going to get lunch or something?" I asked. I pushed through a snowbank to catch up to him. We were walking through the unpaved parking lot, where his car was the only thing that stood.

"We're doing this." Before I could blink, I was blinded by a ball of snow. He threw a second ball right after the first, and I staggered backward, wiping the cold out of my eyes. "What, you can't defend yourself, Mouse?"

"Are you kidding me right now?"

"So that's a no? All right."

He threw a third snowball at me, and I lunged before he could make a fourth. I grabbed his wrist as he slipped in the snow and fell backward. It sprayed around us, drenching my pants, coat, and finally sweater. By the time I got the upper hand, I'd lost my hat and my ears were aching with the cold. I was breathing hard too, and my palms were cherry red, both frost-bitten and racing with the blood of a beating heart.