Winter Hugs For Summer Kisses

::In The Snowstorm

DEDICATED FOR THAT AMAZING COVER__________________________________________________________ 

We were huddled together, trying to keep warm. The wind sent pieces of white snow swiveling around us. The more we breathed, the more the air showed us how cold it really was. Christmas was approaching in two weeks but even so, it shouldn't be this cold.

Another bus passed us, splashing slush on to our bodies. The people in the car stared, probably at the castle-like school beyond us. They sure as hell can't see us, what with the blizzard that blocked their view. 

I envied everyone who gets a ride home. What I wouldn't do to be home right now.

"Nadiya, what time is it?" Andrew's breath shook as he talked to me. He should be the coldest one of us all. He only wore a sweater and a hat that doesn't cover his ears today, on the coldest day we've ever experienced in a long run. His normally pale face was covered with red. His nose kept running and he was constantly bringing his sleeve up to wipe it off.

I put my hand in my pocket and took our my phone. My hands were protected by gloves, but they weren't the good ones. I could really use my father's shovelling gloves right about now. I brought my phone closer to my face and clicked the menu button. "4:00," I said. Right on the dot.

"Are you freaking kidding me?" asked Jacqueline, throwing her hands in the air. Well trying to, if her boyfriend, Matt, had not been holding her so tightly. "We've been out here for almost an hour waiting for a stupid bus?"

They usually take a long time. Maybe not an hour long, but a good thirty minutes is what we usually have to wait. We are far from any civilization. This Preparatory decided to be right in the middle where a bus runs every ten minutes. On most days, the buses are full and nobody gets off for a few extra miles. We weren't willing to walk that far, so we usually just sit outside the gates, waiting.

If we sat today, our butts will be frozen to the ground.

"This is so tiring!" Andrew moaned. He was shivering, a lot. He kept bringing his hands closer to his face, trying to warm them up. I don't think it's working.

"Tell me about it," Matt said, stretching and momentarily taking his arms away from Jacqueline. They were back before she knew it.

"My parents are so going to kill me," Natalie mumbled, making her cello case stand on it's bottom. "I was supposed to be on that freaking bus that just passed us."

Us five were the only ones who took the bus home. We are five of the only ones who actually go home. Most of the kids stay at the academy. We were just the scholar kids. We don't have a hard time fitting in but we definitely miss some things while we're at home, an hour away from the school.

The Brigand Preparatory Academy is the only schools in Toronto which allows extra admissions in. They choose the top students from all of the schools, which usually includes places around Toronto, and practically hand us the money to get it. We can either pay for the dorms or we can go home. We all chose home.

Brigand has high standards for us. Since we aren't paying for these spots, we have to maintain a 90% average in what we specialize in to stay in. Natalie is obviously the musical genius. Matt is the all around kind of guy. Jacqueline is the multicultural speaker. Andrew is the Science geek. And I'm the sport's girl. We're a strange bunch.

We lived within a few miles of each other, yet we didn't know of each other's existence until about three years ago, which excludes Matt and I.

I went to the same school with Matt since kindergarten. He was always in my class and there were those times were we partnered up with each other, chosen by the teacher, of course. I would consider him one of my friends. Not a good one, but one nevertheless. We never talked outside of school but I would ask a few school-related questions whenever I was really stumped. He was a good guy.