Caught Inside

Chapter Nine

"Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God." – Philippians 4:6

When Maya stepped from the muggy outside air into the coolness of the Ice Palace, she was surprised at how cold it actually was. She squeezed her arms tighter against her body, thankful for the sweatshirt and jeans she was currently wearing.

Jake gave a little tug on her ponytail. "This way," he sang.

She followed him to the front counter and sidled up alongside Hannah, their friend from school. Hannah and her boyfriend Benji were doing a double date with Maya and Jake.

"What size?" the man behind the counter asked Maya, interrupting her thoughts.

"Six," she replied, waiting for him to rummage around in the back of the room before he returned with a pair of white ice skates.

"You have such small feet," Hannah remarked, holding up her own size nine skates. The girls took a seat on a nearby bench and slipped off their tennis shoes before lacing up their skates. They placed their belongings in a locker and stepped carefully towards the ice rink.

"You guys ready?" Maya called over her shoulder. Jake and Benji were obviously feeling awkward in their skates as they waddled nervously towards where the girls were standing. Hannah, on the other hand, couldn't be more excited. Because she used to take classes and compete regularly, ice skating for their double date had been her idea.

"Let's go!" she said brightly, stepping onto the ice and immediately joining the flow of people circling the rink. Maya followed, though not as gracefully—she had to keep one hand on the railing while she attempted to glide across the ice.

Meanwhile, Hannah was already halfway around the rink, her hands hanging loosely at her sides while her legs propelled her forward. She casually turned around and skated backwards, balancing on one leg before swinging forwards again. She eventually lapped Maya and paused a few feet in front of her.

"Showoff," Maya said.

"Hey, you got this. Take your hand off the railing and just glide."

Maya reluctantly let go of the railing and took a few wobbly steps forward. She felt extremely unbalanced as wave after wave of people rushed by her. How did they make it look so easy?

"You're doing good," Hannah said, smiling. "The guys, on the other hand, are doing horribly."

One glance over her shoulder told Maya that the guys were, in fact, terrible at ice skating. She witnessed Benji lose his balance, latch onto Jake's shoulder, and send both of them tumbling to the ice. Ouch.

It took a few minutes for Maya to get the hang of skating, and once she did, she felt confident enough to go all the way around the rink without holding onto the railing. Though she couldn't skate backwards like Hannah, she had found her rhythm and balance and was doing just fine.

The guys were a different matter. The girls lapped them twice before coming to a stop in front of them. Benji was still hanging onto Jake's arm, his feet slipping and sliding all over the place.

"Benji," Hannah laughed, "relax. Put your hand on the railing and stand up straight."

As she instructed her boyfriend, Maya skated over to Jake's side and looped her arm through his elbow. "Having some trouble?" she asked.