Cold Snap

## Content Information

Picture the end of the first semester. Some students are gone for good, others stay behind 'till the school ultimately kicks them out and throws their belongings to the dogs. Some even decide to, all of a sudden, dip right in the middle of everyone's moving-out times. Only a few students would do such a thing, but today, those students are filtering out of the school like the last drops of water from a hose that's just been stopped. Somehow, not many of them seem like they have anything on their minds. Not even Ludlow, the guy who's literally carrying all of his minimally-packed stuff in one go using a big backpack. Then again, he's got enough thoughts on his mind as it stands.

Or, at least, he did, until one particularly unexpected voice addressed him from behind.

"Ludlow," the silent voice says. It manages to stop the boy's footsteps, but he doesn't turn around. He knew who he was speaking to, after all.

"Wow, that's not like you at all, Cynthia," Ludlow comments. "I thought you'd be screaming into your pillow by now, waiting 'till everyone's gone just to step outside for some evening chow."

He turns his head around at last. "And if you're *this* calm, something's damn wrong with the world."

"What, I can't be calm now?"

"On a normal day, no, not really."

Cynthia tries to chuckle, but just ends up remaining silent. Her right hand grips her left arm.

"So, is this just gonna be you?" The girl continues. "Thank God you've got that big lady around you all the time."

Ludlow shrugs at her. She's way out of line as it is, but then again, it's not like he plays by the line's rules, either.

"Yeah," he flatly responds, brushing her offhand callout aside. "And unlike what you might have in store, I don't plan to change time soon." He turns his body around slowly, trembling beneath the weight of his baggage.

"And you? Don't you have anything better to do than try and get me off your back for the millionth time? As long as you're still some chaos magnet, it isn't happening."

Cynthia freezes up. Even Ludlow can tell that she's stumbling over her own thoughts, and the outdoor silence of nothing but wind and rustling trees don't help her awkward case.

"L-look," Cynthia stutters. "After... what happened, erm..."

Ludlow waves his hand in a circle. "Yeah? What happened, now? Slapping more blame on me for shit? You know I practically get off to that sort of thing."

"I just..." She lets out a brief sigh. "I get the feeling you don't think I give a shit about you, and I'm here to confirm your suspicions. I've *seen* the shit you've tried to pull this semester alone and I know better than *anyone* where that leads."

Now swinging back into her usual self, Cynthia embraces her aggression and stomps forth to meet Ludlow nose-to-nose. Despite her rising fury, Ludlow remains deadpan, not a shred of giggling nor a drop of fear to be expressed.

"Sick." Ludlow turns directly around, purposefully smacking Cynthia with his heavy pack. The surprise of the impact leaves her breathless.

"Good to see that some things never change," Lud teases. "That said, you're wasting your energy with me. I'm here to stay until I feel like I'm done."

Ludlow keeps walking forward, leaving the winded Cynthia silent behind him. "All I'm doing is enjoying life just as I learned to."

The silent Cynthia regains her breath, but doesn't waste it any further. At least she tried to go about it peacefully, she thinks. Even if her non-aggressive effort was just as bad as it was before.

Yet, in front of her, Ludlow wore a smile that the girl couldn't see. She's amusing as always, if not a bit stupid. It's for the best, but only in the sense that she'll only get more riled up once Lud *really* gets his game going. Whether the next "big thing" would come to him as soon as he returned next semester or wait another couple of months to try and beat his careless butt didn't matter. What mattered was a pair of questions: "who's next" and "what's next?"

He stifles a gleeful cackle. There's a time and a place for everything, especially when it comes to such displays of maniacal intent.