Ivy pushed open the door to the stone bridge with great difficulty, hearing the wind whistle through the opening as she did so. Once she opened it just enough, she slipped through and closed the door behind her. Leaning against the door for just a moment, Ivy took a deep breath, her lungs filling with the icy winter air.

At least I can breathe out here... she thought as she pushed off the door and began meandering across the bridge.

With it being so cold, she didn’t anticipate running into anyone out here, at least not anyone who was in the mood to talk. Most people out here would just be scurrying from one class to another as quickly as possible to get out of the cold. Ivy, though, didn’t mind the cold. Home was cold, and as odd as it was, the feeling of the inside of her nose freezing with every breath was very comforting to her.

Part way along the bridge, she stopped and turned to look out across the viaduct, her hands playing with some snow remnants that had piled up in the corner of an arched opening. She missed home... she missed her mom... she missed cheeseburgers.