On Thin Ice

Chapter #1

"Again," said a loud stern voice that echoed through the empty stadium. Ludmila Palovna circled around me, looking at me intensely in her vest and scarf.

I had been going all out for a whole two and a half hours with barely any breaks. The room was cold, but I was burning up. My white ice skates slid on the ice. I picked up my speed and did a spin in the air. My knees were already buckling under me. I landed it but tripped and nearly fell.

"Again!" She frowned. I wanted to look at the time to see how much more I had to push, but I knew if I did that, she'd yell at me.

I did it again and nailed it perfectly. I heard the door to the stadium open, and a group of people began talking. The hockey boys began to arrive.

"Training is over for today. Get some rest tonight. I expect you to be fresh and ready tomorrow," said my coach as she headed to the gate of the ice rink.

"Yes, ma'am." I sighed deeply, finally being able to take a breath and headed to the gate too.

The hockey group seemed like they were having fun. The men laughed and hit each other with their sticks. I got off the ice and sat down next to my stuff and began to take my skates off.

My coach and the hockey coach shared the skating facility, but strangely, Ludmila Palovna never liked the idea, despite the fact that it made rent much cheeper.

"Stay away from those hockey boys. They are no good," she grumbled as she walked away and out of the stadium. I unlaced my skates, picked them up, and made my way to the break room where my coat and bag waited for me.

When I opened the door, I found more hockey men inside getting their jerseys on. And one of them, in particular, had looked at me. I knew the boy. Well... Not exactly personally. I had seen him enter the hockey team from a very young age. Almost the same day as I began my figure skating, but we never really spoke to each other. Just an exchange of nods. He was around the same age as me, maybe a bit older.

I smiled as I walked past him and gave him the traditional nod. He returned the favor.

"Aight. Let's go," said one of the other men with a lisp. He had his mouthguard in. They all headed out of the break room, and I was the only one left. I packed up my stuff. I threw on my short coat and wrapped a scarf around my neck.

I got my headphones out and turned on the song "505" by Arctic Monkeys.

Sure, my passion was being on the ice, but music was my escape. I opened the door and began walking to the exit of the stadium with my gym bag slung over my shoulder. As I walked to the door, I caught a glimpse of the game. Ice particles flying everywhere, slamming, and growling. I saw my coach sitting in the far corner of the stadium also observing the game. She looked even colder than usual, if that was even possible. I took out my headphones and headed to her.

Her gaze not once leaving the game. Her hands and legs were crossed.

"Coach," I said as I stood next to her, looking at the game too. "I thought you don't like hockey," I said as I looked at her, noticing there was a hint of sadness in her eyes that betrayed her cold, judgmental stare.

"The ice is far too delicate to be treated this way," was the only thing she said as they called half-time on the practice round. "I will go home now. I suggest you follow my example and don't stick around here too long." She said, and her gaze went cold again. Maybe I was wrong, and it was just my imagination, but I had a feeling it was more than the ice that made her feel this way.

The men got off the rink, and I felt like that was my cue to leave too. I walked down from the bleachers and headed to the door. My hand reached the handle.

"Lady, wait up!" Someone exclaimed from behind. I turned around to find one of the hockey boys behind me. "You forgot something," he said, breathing hard because he ran after me in ice skates. He handed me a water bottle. I looked at it.

"That's not mine," I said as I looked back up at him. The man was wearing a helmet, making it hard for me to tell which one of them it was.

"Oh..." The man then took it off and looked at the water bottle in his hands, revealing his green eyes and slicked with sweat, almost like a mullet cut, dark hair. It was the boy I nodded to for the past twelve years. I smiled and proceeded to step out. "Well, of course, it's not. It's mine." He laughed nervously. "Wait, wait!" He said as he opened the door. "Could I at least know your name?" He said with a nervous smile, breathing hard. His teeth looked a bit silly, his canines a bit longer than the rest of his teeth, his lateral incisor teeth were a tiny bit on top of his front two, but it looked kind of cute.

I looked at the man a bit wide-eyed. I've seen him for at least the past ten years, and he just now found the nerve to ask?

"I uhh... I'm Natalia Zimina." I smiled at him. He finally straightened his posture and ended up nearly a foot taller than me, a bit less. And I myself was pretty tall. His smile became warmer.

"Natalia." He repeated with that same smile. The half-time bell rang to inform the team break was over. "Oh shoot, I better get going. I'll see you tomorrow, Natalia." He ran back in, smiling like an eight-year-old child.

"Wait, but what is-!" The door closed behind him. "Your... name." I said and then chuckled to myself.

And just like that, for the first time in twelve years, we had our first interaction. I laughed again and headed outside. Knowing full well that now I won't be able to get him out of my head until I found out his name.