When we were younger, they often asked “If you could have any superpower, what would it be?” All the kids had a variety of

answers from superhuman strength to x-ray vision. I used to want telepathy, maybe even invisibility. But as I got older, I realized I just wanted to freeze time. To stop it, even if it was just for a minute. I wanted to be able to breathe, to just have a moment of peace.

But life never goes the way we want, does it?

The world around me is barren of all noise, of all worries. Comforting cold air fills my lungs and calms my mind. I swing my

legs as they dangle off the edge. I lean back on my arms as my hands bury within the chilly ice. I did not always like the cold.

 

***

 

“Mommy, there is too much.” I flail my arms up and down.

She kneels in front of me as her large black curls bounce. Her oak-colored eyes smile into mine as she stuffs my wiry hair into a

sunny beanie. “You have to wear layers.”

“Why?”

“To stay warm.”

“Why?”

“Because it’s cold outside.”

“Why?”

She begins to wrap my chubby cheeks in a pastel purple scarf. “Because there is snow outside.”

“Why?”

“Because it’s winter.” She grabs my sparkle purple gloves and begins to wiggle them over my stubby fingers.

“If it’s so cold, why do we have to go outside?”

“The boy across the street is going to play outside with his mommy and we’re going to play with them.” She stops to see my

nose crinkle in displeasure. “We can go make a snow man.”

“Why a man of snow?”

Her eyebrows knit together as she tries to decide what to say next. “It doesn’t have to be a man, but we could make a man.

Like frosty the snowman.”

“But we don’t have a top hat for him to sing.”

She shakes her head with a chuckled breath before slipping on her own black gloves. “We could make snow angels instead or

have a snowball fight.”

“Why?”

She sighs staring at me for a moment before ripping the velcro on my boot then slapping it down a little further across my

foot. “Just trust mommy, okay? Now let’s go outside.”

She cracks open the large white front door leading me out to the steps. I raise my hand trying to block the blinding reflection

on the powdered sheets. My face contorts into an unpleasant grimace with squinting eyes. After a moment I shuffle off the steps to walk up to the tree holding icy droplets on its branches. The wind blows the fluffy white onto my freezing nose.

“Hey, Caroline!” I look up to see a woman with a curtain of blonde hair standing at the house across the street, waving to my

mother.

“Hi, June.” I see the air puff out around my mom as she yells. The woman walks across the street with a small boy at her side.

Sleek honey strips poke out of his gray beanie as his brown gloves clutch the woman’s hand. My mother crouches next to me before whispering into my ear. “Go introduce yourself.”

“Why?”

“Annalise, be nice.”

I puff out a pout, but my mother’s warning gaze makes me shrink away from her towards the boy. He stares at my sparkle

gloves as I look at the silver puffball on the top of his beanie. My yellow covered ears almost miss when he quietly squeaks. “Hi.”

“Hello.” I sway back and forth. “I like your hat.”

“I like your gloves” The awkward air shifts as he continues. “My name is Jack.”

“I’m Annalise.”

 

***

 

My eyes flutter open to stare at the silver puffs that float across the sky. Sitting up, I look down at the frozen city. The streets

are full of people and cars, yet no sounds can be heard. Ice covers every surface, keeping the city stuck. My nerves have left on vacation while delight fills my heart. I see a flicker out of the corner of my eyes breaking my peace as the footsteps behind me begin to slip on the ice of the rooftop. Bitter words explode out of my mouth. “You shouldn’t be here.”

 

***

 

“You shouldn’t be here.” She mutters with tears streaming down her face.

“Mom? Why are you crying?” I stand at the edge of her bed as she rushes around the room ignoring me. She slams a stack of

clothes down in the beige suitcase. “Mom? What’s going on?”

She wipes at her face before kneeling in front of me. “I just want you to remember that I love you very much.” She hugs me

tight before walking over to the suitcase, zipping it closed.

I follow her down the hallway to the scratched white door. “Where are you going?” She slips on her jackets, still ignoring me.

“I want to go with you.”

I try to grab the sleeve of her jacket, but she pushes me away. “Stay here with your father.”

 

***

 

I swing my legs back on to the roof, rising to face him. Sandy artificial curls blown into a disarray, mirroring a tumbleweed. A

salmon tint settles on his skin, a reflection of the red material he wears. The blue curtain of silk cradles his back touching the top of his black calf boots. “You still look ridiculous.”

Jack’s eyes hold pity so deep; you’d almost believe he cared. “Anna.” Almost.

 

***

 

“Anna!” Jack bangs on my bedroom door. “Hurry up! We’re gonna miss the bus!”

I open my door with my backpack in hand. “Calm down. The bus isn’t even here.”

“I know, I just really felt like bugging you.”

“I hate you.” I push him slightly as I walk into the hallway.

“You love me, and you know it.” He shoves half of a folded-up waffle into his mouth.

“Where did you get that waffle and why are you eating it like that?”

“First off, from your freezer. And before you ask, I did microwave it so it’s not that bad.” Projectile bits fly from his mouth as he

talks.

“They’re called toaster waffles and you put it in the microwave?”

“I mean isn’t that just a suggestion?” He consumes the other half in a single bite.

We enter the kitchen where my dad is leaning against the counter already dressed for work while he sips coffee from a

chipped brown mug. “Are you back to raid the fridge again, Jack?”

“No, Mr. Whitlock. But I might be back after school to raid your pantry.”

My dad chuckles into his coffee while I stuff page after page into my bag. Without meeting his eyes, I shuffle towards the

door. “Well, we should get to the bus stop.”

My father nods, thinking of something he should say. “Have a good day.”

I nod and drag Jack out the cracked white door. I can feel his eyes trying to bore a hole in my head, but I proceed to ignore

him. He begins to obnoxiously clear his throat but before long it turns into a full fake cough. “Sounds like you got something stuck in your throat. Probably that waffle.”

“Anna, he’s not bad to talk to. He’s your dad after all.”

“You couldn’t understand our relationship. Can we not do this again?”

Before he can continue with the lecture on how great of a son he is to his parents, we see the bright yellow bus round the

corner into our neighborhood. Jack steps up next to the curb of which it stops before climbing in. From the back of the bus, you can hear the shouts as soon as Jack gets into view. “Yo, Jack!”

“Go on. Go sit with them.” He seems to hesitate. “I don’t need you to babysit me. Besides, they may be your friends, but I

know I’m your best friend.” He rolls his eyes before running to the back while I find a barren row to sit.

 

***

 

“Why are you here?” My body tenses up more every second that passes.

“You know why.” He tries to take a step towards me, but I take another back. His eyes grow wide as he looks towards my feet

and then the edge of the building.

“Can’t you just leave me alone?”

“You can’t do this, Anna. People have to get back to their lives.”

Pain quakes inside of me as I tremble. “You don’t understand what I’ve done for them.”

He flings his arms in the sky. “Come on, Anna. Even you must see that this isn’t right. You’re smarter than this.”

 

***

 

“You’re smarter than this.” Jack waves around the large red F on the marked-up sheet as we walk through the school halls.

“Well, I just—didn’t get it this time.” I snatch it back before shoving it in my bag. Every paper I had recently was decorated

with the same red letter disproving his comment.

“Well, maybe you just need to study more.” He suggests typing away on his phone.

“Easy for you to say, Mr. Smarty-pants.” I want to yell at him about all the time I would have if I was not supporting his life. If I

was not driving him to his practices, if I was not lacking the will to even try while he can just get away with not evening studying. I spent my life helping his and letting mine fall apart to the point where I couldn’t care anymore.

“Hey, Jack. See you tonight?” A shout from someone in the hall beckons his attention away from our topic.

“You know it!” He shouts back as we continue walking and I feel my heart drop.

“What’s going on tonight?” I hope he hasn’t forgotten.

“Oh, just a party at the abandoned building, some sort of plant.”

“You mean the abandoned power plant? Isn’t that like dangerous or something?”

“Well, it’s in the warehouse section of the plant, so we should be fine.” He continues to just type away at his phone, almost

like I’m not here.

“So that’s code for Tyler’s parents are home this weekend so you need a new spot?”

He looks up from his phone for a second. “Well...pretty much.”

“So, what about our plans for tonight?” I feel my body ready to jump into autopilot as I anticipate his negative answer.

“We had plans?” He pauses but still doesn’t look up from his phone. “Well, you could just come to the party if you wanna

hang out or maybe you should stay home and study more, you obviously need it.”

On auto pilot, I drive home alone without remembering a single second of it. I approach the chipped white door, fumbling

with my keys before rushing to my room full of pictures I wish didn’t haunt me. I want to rip everyone off the wall so I could stop seeing Jack’s stupid face. I don’t know why I thought this year would be better than last, I don’t know why I thought he’d remember my birthday. I curl into my mind in the corner of my bed trying to breathe, but my lungs feel like defective balloons. I try to get my eyes to keep their sacred commodity as my mind fills with my imperfections. I bask in the hollow house that is no longer a home.

Hours pass before I realize the sun has set and the darkness creeps into my vision. I pull myself up and walk to the kitchen in a trance. In the fridge lies a single container with a single lemon angel cupcake with buttercream frosting. A little note on the lid from my dad, ‘Happy 18th Birthday! I’m sorry I missed it. -Love Dad.’ 

I pull the cupcake out, but the note lost all meaning as soon as I touched it. The words don’t hold up as I try to push away the

thought that he just didn’t want to be here, he just doesn’t want to be with me. I pull a small candle out of a drawer and shove it through the perfect dome into the fluffy yellow substance. I fiddle with the lighter until I can see the heart of the flame flicker to life onto the candle. I stare at the little light wondering what wish to make this year. I close eyes and hear my mom’s voice ringing out the song just as it did when I was little. ‘Happy Birthday dear Annalise. Happy Birthday to you. Make a wish sweetheart.’ 

When I open my eyes again, I feel the tiny droplet drip off my eyelash. “I wish for it to all to stop.” I breath onto the flame,

ending its life, leaving me alone again. I stare at the cupcake wishing I could find a way to not be disgusted at the thought of eating it. In a fit, I push it off the counter seeing the slow fall to the ground. The cupcake has now become my enemy as I jump up and down on the lemon remains letting breathy curses fly from my mouth. After the substance coats to bottom of my shoes I take a moment to breathe, to try and tell myself that it will all get better. The bell of my phone rings, taking me away from the squished sweet. He just seems to always need me for one thing or another. I take a large breath, trying to even my voice before I answer the phone. “What do you want, Jack?”

“Yoooooo, Annalissssssse.” The slur manifests the bitter smell in my nostrils. “No one is like, good to drive. I kinda need, a

um, a ride. I was kinda hoping you would come get me.” I close my eyes knowing that I won’t say no, knowing I can’t turn my back on him. He must take my silence for a yes as he continues. “You’re the best Annieeee.” Then there is a click.

The car drive to the abandoned plant fills my cold heart with irritation beyond reason. The beat from the techno music grows

loud, mimicking my heartbeat as I pull up to the gates with a broken chain lock hanging off the side. The sea of cars makes me feel sick as I try to prep myself to go into the hellish scape of my peers in search for this idiot. If the past has taught me anything, a phone call to him in his current state will leave me with more questions and no path to find him. Braving through I find all sorts of classmates drunkenly dancing around, passed out littering the floor, or making regrettable decisions with one another. I recognize one of the boys on the baseball team handling drinks at the bar with a heavy hand.

“Hey! Have you seen Jack?” I scream over the banging of the music and the chatter.

He looks at me for a second before recognizing me. “Ohhhhhh! Little Anna, you made it! Yeah, he went off with some chick

into a backroom about ten minutes ago.”

I huff realizing this mission is going to take more effort than I feel like giving, but nod in appreciation to him anyway. I walk

through the halls, illuminated by the faint hanging lamps on the ceiling wondering how they got electricity to this god-awful place. I pass by a door with a large sign above, ‘Caution! Testing room’. Through the small window I can see the amber puffs of hair that I’m looking for. I push open the door to see a tall blonde slipping on her shoes before stumbling past me. Jack has only managed to get his dark blue boxers back on and seems to be searching for his other articles of clothing. The wet blanket in the corner smells of aromas I wish I could unsmell, I feel vomit curl up in my throat but I push it down.

“Oh hey, Anna.” Jack smiles to me. “Can you help me? I can’t find my shirt.”

“Or your pants. But I guess that’s not as important to you.” I roll my eyes as I decide to help him. The floor being abandoned

of all material except the blanket leaving me to look elsewhere. Jack then wanders through another doorway leading further in. I follow despite the uneasy feeling I get looking at the heavy metal doorway. Once inside I see Jack struggle to slip his shirt over his head, I reluctantly walk over to him and help him slip it on like a mother would for a child. He grabs his pants as I walk to the other side of the room to find his shoes. I turn back to see him stuck in one pant leg as he begins to tip. I try to rush over and stop him from falling, but he catches himself on a panel of buttons in front of him, pressing them as he goes. The large heavy door closes with a whistle before the room sputters to life with a symphony of sounds. I rush to the door trying to find a way to open it with no luck. My fingers shake and my vision goes blurry in my fit of hysteria. I try to get my lungs to work as I rush over to the panel of buttons trying to find a way to escape. The screen in the center of the panel counts down.

“Neat.” Jack’s hot breath fills the air around me.

“No, you idiot! You locked us in here!”

“5...4...” He sings to the countdown. “3...2...1”

 

***

 

“I helped these people. I gave them the chance for it to stop.”

“How? How can you see this as a chance?” Jack frustration hangs in the sky.

“They’re stuck, hidden away from time. I let them have the peace I’ve wanted. They don’t have to worry about that meeting

tomorrow or that family function next week or whatever it is. Don’t you see that?” I inch closer to him.

“You froze the city, Annalise. Every single person is trapped in ice. What happened to being a hero?”

 

***

 

“Do you realize this means we could be superheroes?” Jack zooms across the room at inhumane speeds.

“Superheroes?” The term doesn’t sit well in my gut.

“Yeah, I got super speed, super strength, and I can fly!” As if to prove it, he begins to float in my bedroom. “And you...you

have ice, cold power thingy. We could be a crime fighting duo. Getting us trapped in that testing room is the best thing that has ever happened.”

 

***

 

“Who ever said I wanted to be a hero?!” Ice clings to my fingertips ready to burst.

“How could you say that? Anna, I know you, I’m your best friend. You don’t want to harm anyone.” Jack tries to reach for my

hand before I snatch it away.

“You know me? Really?” I feel my heart grow cold. “You may know my favorite color, know what my room looks like, but when

was the last time you tried to know me? Tried to understand what goes on in my head? I know your dreams, your goals, your fears, your struggles. I’m your best friend, but obviously you’re not mine... For fucks sake, Jack, I know everything about you, and I would do anything for you! But now, I’m a fucking monster because of you!” Spears of ice poke out of the ground but he flies up just in time to avoid them.

“Anna...please.”

“You were never there when I needed you. I became the backup of the backup to you. You kept me around because you just

want everyone to like you, everyone to know you’re the good guy, huh? Now, you want to play hero for everyone...everyone but me, right?”

“Anna, I’m sorry but it’s not too late to do the right thing.” He reaches for me once more before I trap his feet in a case of ice.

“You know I think it would have hurt less if you just walked away like my mother. I think it would hurt less if you didn’t pretend

to care like my father.”

“Anna, don’t make me the bad guy.”

“You fool everyone else, but I see the truth. Yet again you can’t do this without me, can you?” Ice covers my skin. “Every good

hero needs a villain, right?”