Pucking Fantastic

Chapter 4: Not One Of Those Times

Hiya! Thank you so much for reading thus far. Enjoy this song. Keep an eye out for the <>!

I pulled my coat closer to my body as the cool fall air hit my face. The breeze seemed to cut straight through me as I tapped on my leg to pass time. Kris was late for picking me up and it made me slightly frustrated but, maybe if I was lucky, she wouldn't come at all.

"I saw that fall today," Quinn said as she walked up to me.

I looked at her in silence, knowing I had nothing nice to say to her, so it was better not to say anything at all. If I was her, I wouldn't be anywhere near me. She lost her face and it would take forever for her to get it back. Attacking my best friend was not a way to get on my good side.

She stopped and looked at me with concern, as if she could see something on my face that wasn't right. "Are you ok?"

I resisted the urge to shout at her. Too many people have asked me this question recently, and it set me on edge. Since when did she care? I was fine. Why couldn't they see that? "What do you want, Quinn?" I snapped, not willing to be pleasant towards her.

She sighed, pulling on her north face black puffer coat as if she was uncomfortable. "I meant to say sorry for the other day. I didn't mean to start something that I didn't know for a fact."

Not much of an apology, since she knew the truth. "You shouldn't be apologizing to me."

She put her blonde hair into a ponytail as she tried to figure out what to say. "It's just easy when no one at the rink you skate with is competing at the same level as you."

I nodded, understanding that, but that shouldn't justify her actions, and she knew it. She had a point, and I was lucky. I looked at her and her dyed blonde hair and realized like everyone else at the rink; we were all stressed and all unsure of ourselves. We all just wanted to be the best, but in a world of judging and a million other skaters, there was no chance to be the best but yet we still tried. It was some big lie we told ourselves every time we got on the ice to give us motivation to go forward until we got a good score at a competition.

"I saw that double axle. It looked solid."

She smiled but then frowned just as quickly. "Yeah, but who knows what it will be like tomorrow."

<>

I was at least willing to work with her a little. I could see she was trying, and I had to at least give her that. "Positive thinking would do some good for you."

She smiled as her ride came up to the curb. And just like that, our friendship started healing. "I'll see you at the rink tomorrow."

I wouldn't have anywhere else I rather go. "I'll be there," I said as she got into the car with a few other skaters from the rink.

The one driving rolled down the passenger window and smiled at me. "Hey El, we are having a movie night on Friday. Want to come?"

I forced a smile, knowing they were only inviting me because I was the leader at the rink. They were trying to spend more time with me, getting on my good side since they skated in the afternoon, whereas I skated in the morning when hardly anyone was there. Normally I would go to these kinds of things, but I had the interview to go to instead. "Thanks for the invite but I can't."

The girl frowned, disappointed that I brushed her off so quickly. "Well, if your schedule opens up, let me know."

It won't. It never does. "Thank you. I'll give you a text if it does." No, I won't.

She smiled, happy with this response, then said, "have you studied for the chem test?"

"The one for tomorrow?"