I Dream of Dragons

4. Ice

The walk Ailysia took that morning to the bus stop seemed extra long. Food usually energized her in the morning. But today, despite stuffing herself with a blueberry waffle and a smoked salmon English muffin sandwich, she felt sluggish. She had even asked for some coffee at breakfast, which she usually didn't drink, and Grandma, who firmly believed that caffeine, like alcohol, was only for adults, didn't let her have any.

Coffee probably wouldn't have helped anyway. It wasn't like she was sleepy. Her mind just felt unfocused, distracted, and it was all the fault of that dream.

Despite promising herself that she would forget about it, Ailysia couldn't quite banish the dream from her thoughts. It had parked itself firmly in her memory, bludgeoning her with all the vivid details that she struggled to interpret.

Most of all, she was bothered by that strange glowing panel, and what could possibly lie beyond it. She had seen something there, she was certain, something that left her in tears. The mystery tugged at her like many tiny hooks, and she felt this was the source of her obsession. If only she could remember what it was, then maybe she would stop thinking about this once and for all.

Mind wandering, she arrived at the bus stop. Usually, she was ten minutes early, but today Misty – who lived just down the block and tended to come at the last minute – had already got there before her.

"Hey there early bird!" Misty greeted, with a tease and maybe a tiny bit of satisfaction. "Did you just jump out of bed?"

Ailysia remembered how many times she had urged Misty to get there earlier, just in case she missed the bus, and blushed from embarrassment. "I had no idea I was walking that slowly."

"Well, you do look kind of tired." There was concern in Misty's voice. "Didn't you sleep well?"

"I..." Ailysia was about to blurt out that she had the weirdest dream, but for some reason, she checked herself. "I was up late writing my campaign platform." She said instead.

Guilt twisted inside her. Why did she conceal the truth from her friend? There was no reason not to be honest! In all the years of their friendship, she had always told Misty everything. But she felt compelled to hold back on this one subject, because it was too strange – because her obsession over it was inexplicable. She was afraid Misty would dismiss it.

Fortunately, Misty didn't notice Ailysia' hesitation. "What did you come up with?" She said cheerfully. "Let me read it, and maybe I can give you some pointers."

Grateful for the change of subject, Ailysia dug in her backpack for the writing pad. And at that moment, the bus pulled up to the curb.

They boarded the bus, walking to the back for their usual, relatively quiet spot. Ailysia didn't know most of the students on the bus, and usually, she just walked right past them. But today, she remembered that she was running for office, and suddenly had the impulsive idea to say hello.

That would be a first. Ailysia wasn't in the habit of greeting strangers. There were some students who seemed naturally good at talking to people, who would casually smile and say hello and get a friendly response in return. On some level, she wished she could be like that. But years of disappointment, of people reacting with guarded skepticism at her friendly gestures, had taught her otherwise.

Deep down, she knew appearance mattered, and hers was more intimidating than friendly. Friends who looked past that, like Misty, were rare. And so, as she walked past row after row of students, she held her tongue.

But if saying a simple hello was going to be this difficult, how could she hope to ask anyone to vote for her? Frustrated, Ailysia forced herself to act.