Snow Angels

chapter three ☆ the ice fairy

The echoes of blades cutting through the ice resonate through the chilly air as Jamie and I wander into the indoor ice rink in the early evening, for Jamie to explore her passions of ice hockey whilst I catch my breath after many hours of socialising and exploring the campus.

From afar, we can see two people engaging in a very casual game of ice hockey.

One of them gracefully glides in front of the other, teasing them as they steer the puck around with the hockey stick, playing petty little tricks on their partner.

I quietly watch them as they jokingly play fight on the ice, chasing each other and giggling merrily like small children playing Tag.

'Show off!' The chaser accuses whilst laughing, as his partner elegantly glides in front of him, manoeuvring around him teasingly.

The figure skater suddenly removes her helmet, and her icy waves fall out from being crammed underneath the helmet. I catch a glimpse of her face, and it was none other than Quinn, the gorgeous figure skater chick from earlier.

I assumed the other one was her foul-mouthed boyfriend, who was folding his arms as his girlfriend teased him lovingly.

Quinn suddenly noticed me and Jamie, watching from afar, and her face lights up.

'Jamie! Evelyn! Hey!' Quinn calls, her voice echoing from across the large arena. She begins to skate in my direction, grinning.

'We've just been playing hockey. Fancy joining?' Quinn invites whilst panting as she skids to a stop.

'Yes!' Jamie accepts enthusiatically, her eyes sparkling with joy. 'Where can I grab a pair of skates?' She asks.

'I'll show you.' Quinn skids over to aid Jamie, showing her where the rental skates are kept, whilst I'm left alone with Quinn's strange boyfriend, Michael, the one who screamed at me earlier. He glares at me darkly.

I instictively glance behind my shoulder as I anxiously wait for Quinn and Jamie to return.

'Why are you so obsessed with me and Quinn?' Michael spits harshly at me, his eyes narrowed into a nasty glare. A spark of anger flickers inside of me, pissed by Michael's words. I prepare myself to lash out back at him, but when I try to speak, I choke on my own tongue.

I sneer a harsh insult back at him, out of spite, but not a single sound comes out. Still seething, I spitefully shoot him a foul glare back. He sneers at me.

We immediately pretend nothing happened as Jamie and Evelyn return, chatting happily amongst themselves, carrying two pairs of rental skates.

'I brought you a pair of rental skates, Evelyn, just in case you wanted to play as well?' Quinn offers kindly.

'Thank you.' I quietly reply, wondering if I should risk making a complete fool out of myself by joining her on the ice, and give Michael something to bitch about, or just quietly spectate.

I vividly remember when I went ice skating with my classmates when I was 14. I remember the harsh burn of the ice against my swollen, bruised body as I painfully body slammed against the ice in front of loads of people. It was complete humiliation.

'Evie?' Jamie grabs my attention as I space out, my eyes dullening. I flinch stupidly, and smile weakly at her. Quinn gives me a look mixed with concern, empathy and pity. Pity.

'Eves, come join us on the ice!' Jamie prompts again, waving to grab my attention. I blink, squeezing my eyelids shut for a second, overstimulated by the bright lights and the demands. I allow myself to take a deep breath to reassure myself, exhaling slowly, before responding to the stimuli.