All Chapters of Frozen on Exam Day: Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

10 Chapters

Chapter 1

My limbs felt like they had been filled with lead. On the other side of the door, I could hear Darren Merritt, my older brother."Dad, Mom, just let Wes out. His grades are amazing. You can't make him miss the SATs...""Shut up!" Mom's voice was sharp and furious."How can you stand there and defend him? Have you forgotten what he did the year he got first place? How he was standing right in front of you, showing off?"I knew exactly which time she meant. I was ten. I had scored a perfect 100 on the math test, 20 points higher than Darren. I ran home holding the paper up, so excited my face was flushed."I'm better than Darren," I had said.Darren went pale. Mom burst into tears on the spot, and Dad came at me and slapped me so hard that I was knocked to the floor.Blood ran from my nose, dripping onto the test results I had been so proud of. That night, they locked me in the freezer to think about what I had done and, by the time they let me out the next morning, I could not fe

Chapter 2

"Mrs. Merritt."A soft, gentle voice stopped her. It was Nora Sinclair, the girl I had grown up next door to, the one I had promised to get into the same college with.She was standing right there at the freezer door, talking Mom down."Wes has always been competitive. Anything you say to him right now is just going to go in one ear and out the other."She paused, then turned toward the freezer and softened her voice. "Wes, I know you think this isn't fair, but your brother didn't do anything wrong. He shouldn't have to be the one who pays for your ambition. Just listen to your mom this time, okay?"There was no answer from inside because I could not move anymore. My body was locked in place like a snapped icicle, still frozen in the position of knocking.The blood from my forehead had sealed my eyes shut, and the warm trickle down one side of my face had already turned to ice. I stared through the crack in the door with everything I had left."Mom, just open it. You're so close

Chapter 3

Right then, Dad called. "What's taking so long? Darren's waiting for his water."Mom hesitated for two seconds, then let go of the handle. "It can wait until after the exam." She turned and walked away.On the other side of the door, my body was still slumped against it, hand frozen in place, still raised to knock. I floated there, somewhere outside of everything, watching her walk away, helpless to stop her. She had been one turn of the handle away from finding my body.That evening, Darren found out I was still locked in and immediately texted me."Wes, Mom said the key's under the doormat. Get out and eat something!"I left food for you in the kitchen.You know how your stomach gets, so make sure you heat it up first!"Darren always remembered that I had a serious stomach condition, and every time they locked me in the freezer over the years, he was the one who found a way to sneak food over to me.He had even put a stuffed bear inside the freezer for that exact reason, hidi

Chapter 4

If Mom had looked for just three more seconds, if she had zoomed in just a little further, she would have seen that my chest was not moving. She was so close to realizing I was already dead.The last exam ended. Darren was the first one out of the testing hall."Mom, Dad, I did great! Everything's fine. Let's go home and tell Wes the good news!"Dad nodded. His eyes were glassy as he started the car."Good, good. It's all over now. We'll head back right now. Your brother's been home alone for two days. That should've been enough time for him to come around."We'll pick him up and the whole family can go to church together."Mom sat in the passenger seat, tears running down her face. "I was too hard on Wes. I know that. As long as he's willing to change, from now on, whatever Darren has, he'll have too."I floated there in the void, wearing a smile that was worse than any cry. Mom, Dad, I had waited 18 years for this. Too bad I never lived to see it.The car pulled into the dr

Chapter 5

"We already told him where the key was! He won't come out because he's determined to wait us out."Mom pulled Darren away from the handle.His voice was raw. "Mom, Wes is still in there! We said we'd come back for him and take him to church together."Mom ignored him. She and Dad each grabbed one of Darren's arms and dragged him toward the door, no matter how hard he fought."If he wants to stay in there so badly, let him. We'll see how long he lasts. Let's go!"The front door slammed shut. The lock clicked into place, and everything went silent.I drifted in the void, my face already soaked with tears. The truth was right on the other side of that door. She had been so close. Just a little more and she would have seen me.Mom and Dad took Darren on a three-day trip. They drove up to a church in the mountains and prayed for Darren to make it safely past his 18th birthday. They knelt and prayed for him to get into a good college. Darren knelt and prayed too, but his prayer was no

Chapter 6

The freezer door swung all the way open. My body was locked upright where I had died, hunched forward at the waist.One side of my face was caked in frozen blood, the ice crystals locking it in place. The other side was covered in a fine layer of frost. Only my right hand was still raised, frozen in the act of knocking.Mom collapsed to the floor. She tried to stand several times and could not, so she crawled. Her knees dragged through the ice water that had seeped out, and she pulled herself, inch by inch, to where my body was at.She reached out to take my hand, but what her fingers touched was skin frozen solid."Wes... how did this happen..." Her voice shook so badly the words barely held together. I didn't turn the freezer on... Wes, my Wes..."Her gaze drifted to the thermostat panel on the wall, and it was negative 22 degrees. The number glowed red like blood.Her throat closed up as though something had been stuffed inside it, and she could not make another sound. She j

Chapter 7

The neighbors had already heard the commotion. Someone called the police and, within half an hour, officers arrived and cordoned off the apartment. I was lifted onto a stretcher, and the coroner examined my body with painstaking care.When the report was placed in front of my parents, they stared at the words and read them over and over again."Deceased: Wesley Merritt. Cause of death: hypothermia. Estimated time of death: approximately five days prior.""Five days ago... that was the first day of the SATs." Dad's voice was barely above a whisper. He stared at that one line and his whole body started to tremble."That morning, he got on his knees and begged me. He begged me not to do it. He was crying so hard he could barely talk. He even begged me to give him back his ID." His voice cracked."I'm the one who kicked him in there. I told him to stay inside and think about what he'd done."Next to him, Mom let out a broken wail. "He was banging on the door! He was screaming that he

Chapter 8

She scrolled through the entries one by one.The first one read, "My test scores came out today, but I can't feel happy about it. Darren didn't do as well as I did and I'm scared to go home. I don't know what to say if Mom asks. I'm so scared she's going to lock me in the freezer again."The second was, "She locked me in there, just like I thought she would. She hit me over and over and kept demanding to know why I was trying to hurt Darren. It hurts so much. I really didn't mean to."The freezer is so cold and I'm so hungry. Thank God Darren hid chocolate inside the bear. If I eat something sweet, maybe it won't feel so bitter inside."The third was, "It's the first day of school. The teacher asked me to be class rep. I said no. I was too afraid. The last time I got picked for class representative, Mom didn't speak to me for three days. I can't be better than Darren."But I don't understand. I've been so good. I've done everything they wanted. Why can't Mom and Dad love me even j

Chapter 9

Nora lost her mind after that day. Her SAT scores came in and they were near perfect, high enough to get into any school she wanted. Despite this, there was no smile on her face.Every day, she went to our apartment and stood in front of the sealed freezer door, knocking over and over."Wes, open the door. I know you're in there. Stop messing around and come out, okay? Didn't we promise we'd go to the same school? I brought study materials. I'll help you review."Her mother came to her in tears and told her I was gone. Nora acted as though she had not heard a word. She showed up again the next day, and this time she stood at the door and pulled out her phone."Wes, I'm calling your parents right now. I'll get them to let you out. Don't worry. I'm calling. I'm calling right now."She held the phone to her ear and waited for a long time. Nobody picked up. She stood in the doorway clutching the phone and cried for the entire afternoon.Eventually her parents came to take her home.

Chapter 10

That night, Darren fell asleep on the chapel floor. I stepped into his dream.It was the first time he had seen me since I died. I was wearing a clean school uniform, no blood on my forehead, no frost on my face. I looked the way I had when I was alive, standing in the middle of a warm, brilliant light.Darren froze. Then he rushed forward and threw his arms around me so hard it felt like he would never let go."Wes." He touched my face with both hands, like he needed to make sure I was real."I didn't protect you. There were so many chances. I could've made them open that door."Wes, are you still cold?"I smiled and shook my head. "I'm not cold anymore. I haven't been for a while. So please stop hurting over it."He held me and cried until he could not form words. "It's my fault. I knew something was wrong. I should've been braver. I should've broken the door down."I took his hand. "You did enough. You really did."In all those 18 years, there was never a single day I regre

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