DEFEATISM

12

In between them both, Darlington is fiddling with his flashlight. After turning it on and off twice, he is a bit satisfied. He wonders how long it would take to move through this much snow. He's one of the few wearing snowpants, since his father likes to go skiing sometimes during the holidays. Perhaps he could make it to Burns Hall and escape this all. It cannot be more than a mile from where he stands. Surely, it would only take a few hours.

"Moonie, you've still got hot chocolate?" Tempest asks.

With a soft smile, Moonie nods. They have no milk, so the hot chocolate won't be great, but it will be something. Besides, it's nice to be acknowledged by Tempest. She is so strong-willed, so soft spoken, so many things Moonie thinks are beautiful. Moonie couldn't be Tempest if they tried. Unlike Tempest, Moonie made a mistake last night. Tempest would never be so silly as to mess up love like that.

"Are we good to go?" Elodie is done listening to everyone meander about. When Benedict nods, she's up on her feet. She pulls herself into a sitting position on the windowsill. From there, she throws her feet over the edge. The window isn't that high, and her dangling feet already dig into the snow. So, she plops down.

Elodie wouldn't consider herself that short. She was shorter than every guy on their staff team, including Benedict who is shorter than Callie and Ro. Moonie is just shy of five feet tall anyway, and Elodie has several inches on her. Yet, in the snow, it doesn't seem to matter. The white stuff, perfect packing snow, hits above her waist. It's still snowing too, but it's calmed down.

"Holy shit, it's fucking cold," Elodie manages. Her breath is thick in the air. She shuffles forward, moving out of the way of the others.

They begin to pile out the window. Jerry has to resist the urge to put Galilee in. She'd surely disappear, since the only person shorter than her is Moonie. Callie's teeth start chattering loudly once she's in. Darlington gets out and shines his flashlight in everyone's faces to make sure they are okay.

"Turn that the fuck off," Ro shouts at him. Without the wind, her voice is loud.

Last through the window, Benedict hops down. He can feel himself shaking in the snow. It's like the cold of the shower, and even more refreshing. Everyone is beginning to wear down the snow at the window, but it gets deeper when he pushes out. The snow mostly packs down beneath him.

While Ro would never admit it, she is practically giddy with excitement. Already, she is starting to make a snowman. It's too deep for snow angels, she thinks, but she's never made a snowman. It's so exciting.

Darlington can't help but jump in. He hasn't made snowmen with anyone since he was a boy. At private school, the children couldn't play outside without ruining their uniforms. At home, his Mom would make them with him. Since her death, over ten years ago, he kept building. His father never joined in.

"We should've brought carrots," Darlington manages.

"I have a knife, we could make the hilt the nose," Ro offers, still working on her ball.

While they work, Galilee pulls out her camera. The picture quality is going to be terrible, with the snow only lit by their flashlights, but that's part of the charm anyway. She snaps the picture and shoves the camera into his pocket.

Maverick is big enough that the snow doesn't hit his hips. He's well over six feet tall anyway. He watches Moonie who is wading through the snow which hits their ribs. They almost always wear their hair up, but it's so long that it hits the snow beneath their beanie.

Smiling, he begins to make a snow ball. He tosses it in her direction, purposefully missing. She sees it whizz by her and turns her head.

There Maverick is, smiling to himself. He is too good, she thinks. He is too perfect.