School of Secrets (The Perkins School for Self Improvement #1)

Chapter 16

We end up walking around town for about fifteen minutes before making our way to a building on one of the main roads.

It's one of those places where parents probably take their kids on the weekends or for birthday parties, a deserted place that has to be overrun with people in the evenings.

There's an air hockey table that reminds me a bit of the one in our rec building, alongside an assortment of various arcade games which form a straight line along one wall. I count about fifteen bowling lanes, all abandoned in the early afternoon. A nearby sign also proclaims that they've got an ice skating rink here somewhere, though from where I'm standing right now I can't see it.

There's an army of tables scattered around, and nearby a couple of employees are sitting behind a counter.

They look bored out of their minds, as though their next visitor can't come soon enough. I can't blame them. If I were working at a place like this on a day like today, I'd be losing my mind too.

Creighton and I take up residence at a table as far from the employees' counter as we can get.

"What are we doing here?" I wonder, trying to read her expression.

Creighton shrugs.

"I told you," she tells me, "I had to get away from the school. This place serves as a decent distraction most of the time."

I consider that for a minute, deciding she's probably right. This place seems like it could easily distract someone from the real world for a little while.

We watch the pair of employees from a distance for several minutes, then make our way to the counter.

Less than five minutes later, I've let myself be talked into ending up on the skating rink.

I'm still marveling at how incredibly expensive it is just to borrow a couple pairs of skates here when I take my position at the edge of the ice.

Creighton is the first of us to move, and I can tell pretty quickly that she's had considerable practice at this. I, on the other hand, have seen an ice skating rink twice in my life before today. The first time was when I was in first grade, and Mom thought it'd be a fun pastime for me to take up. The second time was at Tara's eleventh birthday party, and on that occasion I'd kept myself on the sidelines to laugh at everyone else's misfortunes.

I tell myself it can't be that difficult, one foot following the other one in a forward motion. Two steps later, I find out just how cold the ice is. My feet manage to keep traveling forward, and I land with both legs splayed in front of me.

I glance up to see Creighton looking down at me. I notice that she's smiling, most likely for the first time since Amber was killed.

"You're hopeless." she informs me.

"I'm out of practice." I argue, struggling to regain my footing, "I went to the rink when my sister was in fifth grade, but I didn't go skating. I watched everyone else and that's about it. I was seven the last time I actually skated on the ice."

Creighton watches me for a minute or so before taking pity on me and pulling me to my feet.

"I stayed at the school over the summer," she tells me, "There was no one there from my grade, so I spent most of my time here."