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Chapter 6
A Cold Winter

The clouds of winter rolled in quickly and resonated with the typical gray that accompanied the season of cold. Each cloud, sailing across the sky, contained the many shades of gray that grace a typical winter. Despite this overall dismal gray, in a few places in such clouds, however, Virgil noticed that light occasionally poked through, as if attempting to fight the seemingly impenetrable fortress that the clouds had created the night before. Presently, Virgil was in the back seat of the Zachary minivan, gazing out at the fresh snow that had fallen the previous night and the clouds that had lent a hand in creating it. To Virgil, the snow seemed purer than it could possibly ever become during this long winter. The snow seemed as though its purity was yet to be disturbed by the footprints of humankind. The roads had yet to be plowed, and Virgil also listened to the sound of the minivan crunching its way through the flattened snow.
“What are you doing in school this week, Virgil?” Mr. Zachary asked nonchalantly. His eyes were keenly focused on the road. During the summer when the roads were clear of any dangerous obstructions, Mr. Zachary typically liked to establish eye contact with his passengers. In winter, however, his eyes rarely (if never at all) glanced up from the windshield to the rearview mirror to establish the crucial eye contact that he would have preferred.
“Nothing, really,” Virgil answered the same casual manner, his eyes scanning the moving scenery. He was listening to the snow crunching under the weight of the moving van.
“Do you know if Daniel is carpooling with us today?” Virgil’s father asked as he turned a corner.
“I think so,” Virgil answered again. A long silence pursued Virgil’s answer. The only sounds that could be heard in the van were the soft hum of the motor and the crunching sound of the snow beneath the two-ton vehicle. Virgil returned to his examination of the frozen surroundings outside his window. Everything seemed so cold, colder than Daniel as of late.
“Hey Virgil,” his father said, breaking the long silence as he turned left on Daniel’s street. “What’s been going on with Daniel? He seems nervous now. Has anything bad happened to him recently? Every time I see that boy, it seems like he’s seen a ghost or he’s lost his best friend. His face always seems sullen and worried. He’s a shell of his former self now,” To his chagrin, Virgil couldn’t give a straightforward answer to his father that could explain why Daniel wasn’t himself. His thoughts were focused on the same subject as his father. Daniel had been acting unusual. His face had lost its color and it seemed like his friend had seen a ghost (or something scarier than that).
“I don’t know why he’s like that now, Dad,” Virgil said after another long silence. “This abrupt personality change started about two months ago, at the very beginning of winter. I wonder what’s on his mind,” In a vain attempt to piece together why Daniel was acting so strange, he tried to remember all the important events that occurred after Virgil’s brief conversation with Maria last autumn. As he culled through his memory, nothing stood out as odd, except the fact that Maria and Daniel had been arguing a bit more frequently during the past few weeks. This constant struggle between Daniel and Maria worried Virgil.
“Well, try to help him through whatever is going on,” His father replied. “I don’t want him doing anything that will be harmful to him or to others. Then, I would have to explain it to Mrs. Reed. You know how she is, Virgil. She’s really sensitive to conflict,” Mr. Zachary let out a sigh and slowed the car as he approached Daniel’s house. The surrounding snow now concealed the white edifice before them. The white pillars that supported the house seemed to be like columns of snow against the white house and its surrounding snow.
“You should go and get Daniel, Virgil,” Mr. Zachary said, turning to his son. Before Virgil could protest, his father had already unlocked the door. Virgil sighed and stepped out of the car and into the snow. Although the door was a few yards away, the biting wind and the high snow seemed to make a short walk to the door seem like a trip across Alaska. Trudging through the snow-covered sidewalk, he finally reached the porch of his friend’s house. As he raised his hand to push the doorbell, a memory of last autumn’s party came to mind. He retracted his hand from the doorbell, paralyzed by the haunting feeling that accompanied it. “If only,” he mumbled to himself. Turning back to the car where his father waited, he wanted to leave and lie to his father and say that Daniel had already left for school without them.
As he was stepping down from the porch, Virgil heard the doorknob turn and the wooden door open. Spinning around, his eyes quickly locked on to the dark figure at the door. “Oh, good morning, Daniel,” Virgil said automatically. In truth, Daniel’s sudden appearance at the door had startled Virgil. Looking at his friend’s clothes, he noticed something unusual about them. “I, um, see you’re wearing all black today,” Virgil noted. “Care to tell me why? I mean, a black jacket, pants, and shirt is a little unusual for you, don’t you think?” Daniel refused to answer and remained silent as he leaned against the threshold. As Virgil examined his friend’s face for any sign of warmth, he noticed that Daniel’s eyes had become colder.
“So are we leaving now?” Daniel said darkly. He then stood erect and picked up his bookbag that had been lying nearby the threshold. Brushing past Virgil, Daniel stepped off the porch and into the white snow. “Hurry up,” Daniel added, not even slowing down as he walked away from Virgil. “Mr. Zachary isn’t going to wait forever,” Daniel was already halfway to the van. Virgil, watching in consternation as his friend made his way to the minivan, closed the door that Daniel had left open and quickly pursued his friend who had already taken his seat within the car.
Pulling away from the curb, Mr. Zachary decided to begin a conversation with Daniel and Virgil. “So Daniel,” Mr. Zachary began as he accelerated. “How’s school?”
“Fine,” Daniel answered laconically.
“That’s good,” the driver said quietly. “Are you and Maria doing well? I heard from Virgil that you both were dating now. How’s that going for you two?” As soon as Virgil’s father mentioned Maria, Virgil noticed, out the corner of his eye, Daniel’s eyes darkened and he quickly averted his gaze to the scenery outside.
“We’re…fine,” Daniel repeated quietly. Daniel shifted in his seat, as if his response to Mr. Zachary’s question gave him great discomfort.
“Ah, I see,” Mr. Zachary said. Another long silence pursued. Breaking the silence for the last time, Mr. Zachary said goodbye to both Virgil and Daniel as they exited the van and began their walk into school.


Seven hours passed and Virgil realized that now was the opportune time to finally catch up with his friend to question him about his shadowy behavior. He did not have a chance to ask him until now because he rarely saw Daniel throughout the day, and finding him in his high school and getting him alone during school was no easy feat for Virgil.
Looking everywhere for his friend, he happened to discover Maria at her locker down the hall. The halls, lined with navy blue lockers, seemed to darken as he made his way to his other lone friend. Although she was concealed behind the locker door, Virigl could tell that the person behind it was Maria because of her yellow bookbag.
“Hi, Maria,” Virgil said panting. He had been rushing around school looking for Daniel and had lost much of his breath and composure. “What’s up?”
The girl continued to keep the front half of her body within the locker, as if she were hiding her face. “Nothing,” She said quietly as she nervously shuffled her books around on the small shelf in her locker. Her voice quavered and Virgil immediately picked up on this nuance.
“Maria?” Virgil said, his breath returning along with his calm composure. As his body returned to normal, his mind began to scrutinize Maria’s own composure. She seemed nervous, as if she were hiding something. “What are you doing so close to your locker like that? Are you okay?”
“Step back, Virgil,” Maria warned coldly. “Step any closer and I will never speak to you again. I’m warning you,” Her voice became sterner and froze Virgil in his tracks. He remained motionless for a few minutes as he listened to Maria shuffling her books and the books banging against the inside walls of her locker.
“Come on, Maria,” Virgil pleaded. “What’s going on?” Reaching his hand to pull back the locker door and reveal Maria’s secret, he noticed that the darkened hall seemed to become darker with every inch closer he became. He stopped his progression and retracted his arm as soon as Maria’s delicate hands gripped the locker door. In response to such violence, the locker door quickly swung back and forth at its base as if quivering in fear.
“Fine,” Virgil said coldly. “I was just wondering have you seen Daniel around lately. But, since I can tell that you haven’t…” At the mention of his best friend’s name, the shuffling within the locker stopped and Maria’s hand slipped from the locker door.
“No, I haven’t,” The girl responded, her voice fading. “I’ve been in and out of school for the past few weeks, remember, Virgil?”
“Yeah but—“ Virgil began.
“So, no, I haven’t. That’s the end of it, okay?”
“It can’t be,” Virgil shot back. “You saw him today. I saw you see him today. It was a few minutes before—“
“Shut up Virgil,” Maria growled.
“What? I’m right aren’t I? I’m sure you saw him recently,”
“Just shut up!” Maria exclaimed. The sound of her voice reverberated through the empty hallways.
“But Maria,” Virgil pursued. “I need to speak to him. I’m wondering about him. He seems a little angrier now. I’m sure you could shed some light on his—“
Suddenly, in a fit of rage, Maria gripped the locker door and slammed it shut. Although Maria’s sudden ferocity astonished Virgil and made him flinch, there was something much more frightening about Maria’s appearance that made his body turn cold. Her stomach, usually slim and shapely, had developed a slight bulge.
“Maria,” He said. His voice was now the one that was disappearing. “are you—“
“Pregnant? Knocked up?” She finished. “Yes, Virgil, dammit.” He voice sharpened and every word became fire. Turning to Virgil, Maria’s hazel eyes became clouded with an undying rage. “Yes I am! Are you happy to know my incriminating secret now? Why couldn’t you leave it be? It’s bad enough my teachers and friends and God knows who else knows! Now what, Virgil Zachary? Are you going to say how dumb I was for allowing that kid to even get close to me, huh?”
“No…I was—“
“Looking for Daniel to congratulate him, am I right?” She smiled contemptuously at Virgil. “I would have expected that,”
“Stop, Maria,” Virgil said as his voice filled with anger. “That’s not why I’m looking for him. I’m looking for him to ask him about his depressing mood,” Glancing down at Maria’s stomach, Virgil had immediately figured it out. “Now that I know…” His voice trailed off as his gaze met Maria’s burning hazel eyes. “I’ll just ask him something,”
The girl stood silent, her eyes examining Virgil. They seemed to burn Virgil’s own eyes, for he had to avert his gaze to the navy blue lockers in search of coolness to douse the fiery look that his distressed friend had shot at him. Leaning against the dark lockers, Virgil realized that Maria was under immense stress. In a fruitless attempt to soothe her, he slid over to Maria to give her a warm embrace that he thought she desperately needed. To his dismay, he was interrupted by Maria’s extended arm and an open palm that tacitly meant “No”.
“No, Virgil,” She said sternly. “I don’t need a hug,”
Smiling, Virgil said, “Of course you do,” He picked up her yellow book bag and handed it to her. “Everyone needs a hug every once in a while,”
Maria continued to give him a dark look. “No,” She said coldly. “I don’t need a hug. What I need now is some time alone; alone from everyone,” Slinging the bright yellow book bag over her shoulder, Maria turned around and began her trek down the darkened hallway. With every step, she seemed to fade away as the darkness devoured her being. The only thing visible to Virgil as she turned the corner to the back hall exit, was the warm, bright yellow book bag.