Chapter 275
Chapter 275
Chapter 275
Chapter 275: Snowball Fight
Nina
It started snowing heavily that morning before we had even finished training the recruits for the day. In fact, it snowed so heavily that there were already two feet of snow on the ground by noon. Because of the deep snow and cold weather, the dean wound up canceling classes for the remainder of the day, and I decided to just go home to study for the rest of the afternoon and the evening since finals were only a couple of days away.
For the rest of the day, I spent my time studying with Lori and Jessica, who made hot cocoa and started putting up Christmas decorations. Normally we would have gone home for the holidays, but the dean made an exception that semester and was allowing students to stay in their dorms at no extra cost between the fall and spring semesters. Therefore, Lori, Jessica and I were going to be staying in our dorms for Christmas, and I was excited to spend the holiday with my best friends.
“Those stupid Crescents may have tried to take everything, but they won’t take Christmas from us,” Jessica said as she hung up a garland in the window. “I won’t let them.”
Lori and I both smiled. “That’s what I love about you,” Lori said, handing Jessica a pushpin for her garland. “You’re always so optimistic.”
Jessica bent down and gave Lori a kiss on the lips. I quickly looked away, but it secretly made me happy to see my two best friends still in a happy relationship together. It did feel as though things were going to work out for everyone in the end.
The three of us studied and decorated for a while longer before I decided to head to my room to study alone.
However, as I laid in bed with my books spread out around me, I wasn’t studying for very long when I suddenly heard the sound of something soft hitting my window. I jerked my head up and furrowed my brow when I saw what looked like fresh snow splattered on the glass. Thinking that it was just a bit of snow falling off of the roof, I went back to my studying.
But then I heard the sound again, and again after that. Finally, I got curious and got up to look out the window.
Lo and behold, Enzo was standing below my window with a snowball in his hand and a shit-eating grin on his face. He tossed the snowball in his hand a couple of times before chucking it up at the window, hitting the glass right in front of my face.
With a laugh, I flung open the window and leaned out to look at him.
“Can I help you?” I asked.
Enzo didn’t answer. Instead, he leaned down and scooped up another handful of snow, packed it into a ball, and threw it right at me. I managed to jump out of the way just in time, but the snowball still landed on the middle of my carpet and would leave a wet puddle later.
“Hey!” I shouted, stifling a laugh at Enzo’s childish behavior. “What was that for?”
“Quit studying and come down here,” Enzo said. “You’ve been studying all day. Come and play with me.”
I stared down at him for a few moments. He was standing almost knee-deep in fresh snow, bundled up in his winter coat and hat. Looking down at him, he looked comically small, and the redness on his cheeks and the tip of his nose made him look like a naughty little kid. I couldn’t say no to that face, so I finally agreed to go down before he chucked another snowball into my room. I quickly got dressed in warm clothes and headed out.
“Where are you going?” Lori asked as I walked through the living room bundled up in my winter coat and boots.
I shrugged. “Outside. You guys can come.”
Lori and Jessica looked at each other for a few seconds before shrugging and agreeing to meet me down there. I headed down ahead of them and met Enzo outside, who had apparently now amassed almost ten snowballs in a pile at his feet; and he was in the process of making more.
“Those had better not all be for me!” I said, leaning down to scoop up a handful of snow.
But they were.
Within ten minutes, Enzo and I were both already soaked from snowballs and out of breath. And it wasn’t just us, either. Other students saw the snowball fight through their windows and started running out to join in the fun, and soon enough it felt as though the entire campus was joining in one massive snowball fight. The quad became filled with the sounds of screaming and laughter, and the fresh layer of snow was turned into a mess of footprints and places where people had slipped and fallen. And all the while, Enzo and I just had more and more fun.
At one point, I had a snowball in each hand and was chasing Enzo furiously around the quad. All around me I could hear the sounds of people laughing and screaming as they chased each other and shoved each other into the snow. I pulled my left hand back then and flung the snowball as hard as I could, and at the same time Enzo looked over his shoulder.
I hit him square in the face. He froze, his face covered in wet snow. My mouth dropped open and I dropped the other snowball on the ground, running up to him and apologizing profusely as I wiped the snow off of his face with my sleeve. Behind me, I could hear Lori and Jessica cackling as they watched the scene before them.
“I’m sorry!” I said as I wiped the cold snow out of his eyes while trying not to laugh. “It was an accident!”
But Enzo just grinned. Without a word, he grabbed me and pulled me along with him, and we fell onto our sides in a deep pile of snow. I felt myself instantly get soaked when we fell, snow soaking through my pants and sliding up my shirt. I sat up and punched Enzo in the arm as I shrieked from the cold feeling on my skin, but both of us were laughing.
“You jerk!” I teased, punching him in the arm again.
“It’s just payback for hitting me right in the face with a snowball,” Enzo teased in return.
I giggled and picked up a handful of snow, dumping it on his chest. He pulled me down against him so that the snow soaked through my coat as well, freezing my skin even more. Despite the coldness, however, I couldn’t stop laughing, and neither could Enzo. Still laughing, I pressed my cold lips against his and kissed him deeply. When I came back up, his cheeks were redder than before, and his smile faded as he looked up at me lovingly. He gently tucked a loose strand of hair behind my ear as he gazed into my eyes.
“Come on,” he said, sitting up. “Let’s get you some dry clothes.”