Thin Ice - Book 1: Starting at the Beginning With You

Chapter Three

"The best therapist has fur and four legs." - Unknown

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"How's school been going for you the last couple of weeks, dear?"

Lacey and Alice were on their hands and knees, scrubbing out kennels. This could be a filthy job, depending on what sort of cat had previously occupied the quarters. Both of them had considered themselves lucky, however, to have adopted two cats out the same week, which was a rarity, so Lacey would happily do this any time.

It was the first chance she and Alice had to talk in the week and a half since school had started, and Lacey knew the question was coming. All adults seemed to feel obligated to ask this.

She sighed and sat back on her heels, wiping her sweaty forehead with the back of her gloved hand. "Oh, it's...you know, school."

"But senior year! Do you have any dances planned? When are they taking pictures? Oh, and isn't hockey season starting soon for Max?"

Alice continued to scrub as she peppered on the questions. Lacey felt a little guilty that this woman who was nearly three times her age could work circles around her, but she absolutely had to take a break for a few minutes.

"Um... I honestly don't know. To both of the first questions. And as far as Max's hockey season, yeah, I guess it is."

"It won't take us long to finish this, you know," Alice's voice echoed from the back of the kennel she was leaning into. "Or is it something else that's got you so blue?"

Lacey sat and thought for a moment. What was it, exactly? "Oh, I mean, I'm not blue really, just...," she struggled to find words to express what she'd been feeling latel--what she'd felt at the Eden Hall party, on the first day of school, and each and every time Max came over.

Bored.

The word surfaced again for the third or fourth time that very day. But how could she voice it? No one would understand. She didn't even understand.

"I think I'm just tired," Lacey finally finished.

"Oh?" Alice crawled back out of the kennel and dropped her soapy sponge back into the water. "Am I working you too hard? You know, if you need me to reduce your hours, I'm happy to. It's not that I don't need you around here, of course," she added quickly, pulling off her gloves. "But you should enjoy this fall. It's your last year of high school, and one day you'll look back on this time and wonder if life will ever be like this again."

God I hope not.

"No no, I'm not working too much. Trust me. Sometimes I think this place is the only thing keeping me sane," Lacey smiled ruefully, hoping the older woman wouldn't ask her too many more questions.

But Alice paused. Not a good sign.

"Lacey, tell me. What would make you happy?"

Taking a cue that they were finished, Lacey began to pull off her own gloves. "I'm sorry?"

"It's just that you don't seem terribly excited about anything, really," Alice tilted her head. "And you're far too young to be so unstimulated."

Lacey didn't know what to say to this, so she just shook her head. "Really, it's not anything like that, Alice. I just have a whole lot to do and think about. Like you said, senior year..." She stood up and held a hand down to help Alice up behind her.

"I can still do that myself, thank you very much." Alice pushed herself up after grunting a couple times. "I have an assignment for you."

"Oh, not another one," Lacey giggled. Her last assignment from Alice had been to yell less at Ariel. When was she going to learn not to air her grievances aloud at Cat's Cradle?