If I Had One Wish

Noelle's foot felt slight resistance as she made her way to the shore of the lake. She looked down at a rock that sat there and gave it a look. She lifted her foot and moved along. The lake was one of her favorite places, especially in the winter. It was a good place of solitude for an introvert like Noelle. And introvert who was fascinated by interesting people. But not boring people. She didn't have time for boring people.

She pulled her backpack off her shoulders and sat down on the cold hard ground. The cold hard ground that didn't bother her though. It was actually a source of comfort. All cold things were. She stared out across the lake and took in the beauty of nature and pondered how there could be people in this world who never noticed it. She also wondered how there could be people who never noticed her. If she had one wish, right now, it would be that she wished she had a friend, so she wasn't so lonely. She grimaced at the sound of such a cheesy wish but being alone like she had definitely had consequences.

The unzipped her backpack which she used to tote her clarinet around mostly. It was one of her favorite things. It reminded her of home and her parents and while she didn't miss them terribly, there was a sense of companionship the offered. Then there was her jerk brother, Sam. That dumb fire happy-she cut herself off there. She had thought of her maniacal brother who tried to burn her family in their sleep many times and nothing ever changed. She just wished she'd been strong enough to stop him.

Strong enough, nothing. She had been a little girl. Thank goodness her parents were both elemental controllers. She sighed and wondered how long she would be out tonight. Many times she had come here and had stayed until after dark, simply because she had nowhere to go and no one to see. Ugh, who would be her "friend" anyway? Her attitude was too chilling for most. Except that one guy she'd met here. He'd been her friend. But he had left the school and she went back to being a blue haired introvert with a chilling attitude. Maybe that's just how her life as an elemental was supposed to be. But she hoped not.

Noelle squinted her eyes when she heard the quiet shuffling of what had to be another person. A few yards away there was a boy. He looked a few years younger than her and he seemed to be by himself, as well. And if there was one thing she was good at recognizing, it was people who didn't do well in the cold.

People were usually that way. All about summer and warm beaches or mountains and crisp air. But not the cold. And not snow. It was an inconvenience to many. But not to Noelle who could make it do whatever she wanted. She could part the snow and have all the people who snow plowed be thanking her. But whatever.

She took a few steps toward the boy but drew back when she heard him talking to himself. Listening to people talk to themselves was like reading their minds, kinda and she always respected privacy. He was silent afterwards and still unaware of her being there. She shrugged and took a step forward.

"You know, if you're cold, you should bundle up more. Or stay inside, your choice."

Noelle cocked her head to the side a little and studied the boy. Boy. A sudden thought came to her mind. The only people she ever connected with were guys. And how ironic considering she has major trust issues from her brother. The guy said something about warming up before a little flame appeared over his hand. He leaned close to it.

Noelle's first response was to want to shoot ice at the flames or the boy, or both, but she calmed herself. She leaned back a little and responded to his question by creating a little snow fall over her hand.

"Me getting cold, it's not likely." She said while playing with her element. How coincidental that the person she met out by the lake would have opposite powers of hers. Still, she could work with it, she supposed. She took a step forward.

"I'm Noelle by the way but I'm not sure if we want to shake hands."

Malek, that was a name you didn't come across... Ever. Or at least until now. And an interesting last name too. There had go be something special about Malek. Noelle's mind scrambled to find an answer to his question that didn't sound lame. But she didn't really care about sounding lame so she answered honestly.

"Well Malek..." She began, trying out his name, "I'm kinda a loner, so I come here to keep my mind off of it. Which sounds strange because I'm here all alone."

She figured he was probably just out taking a wall and enjoying the view. The day was very nice and ideal for being outside, if one didn't mind the cold. Noelle could say she didn't.

"Yeah, I guess we can be alone together. How old are you?" She hoped that wasn't a question he hated. Some people here were actually quite old but we're somehow in young bodies. Immortal souls she supposed.

She looked at the ground and pondered what he said. He didn't like being questioned about the past, and apparently he didn't like to think about it either. She respected that. Being interrogated was not cool.

"Well if it helps, my older brother set our house on fire when I was just a child. My parents and I were asleep but they are also elementals so they were able to get us all to safety. Then my Dad whisked away my brother away in a cloud of air. Haven't seen or heard of him since. Kinda an awkward family situation."

Why was she telling him all of this anyway? What if he didn't care. Or thought she was weird? Okay, since when did she care if people thought she was weird? Well, she just didn't want to lose his company. He was the first conversation outside of classrooms that she'd had in a while.