The Sound of Ice

23

I step outside of my math classroom and rub my eyes. Everyone in the hallway is cheering and laughing and talking loudly - the last exam, math, just ended. It's officially winter break. 

Ethan is making out with Lacy against my locker. Lacy has straight blonde hair that spills down her back and long, red fingernails. I clear my throat as I glance around the halls. People are cleaning out their lockers and slamming them shut, airy conversations echoing through open doorways. 

Ethan notices me and grins. "Hey, dude!" he says. He has a faint smudge of lipstick on his lip.

"Hi Cameron," says Lacy sweetly. She wraps her arm around Ethan's waist and he pulls her tight. "Are you excited for World Juniors?"

"Hey guys," I say. "You bet."

"He's leaving on Christmas Day," Ethan says, sticking his free hand in his sweatshirt pocket. "Disrespecting Jesus Christ on his birthday. How much lower can you get?"

Lacy looks horrified.

"Yeah, yeah," I say. "The tournament starts the 26th. I don't have a choice." Mom is kind of mad about it. My flight isn't until the afternoon though, so I'll be here to open gifts and stuff.

"Well," says Lacy, fluffing her hair and pulling it in front of her shoulder. "My family and I will be cheering for you."

"Please tell them I said thank you." 

Ethan pulls out his phone and glances at the time. "Okay, we should go," he says to Lacy. "Cameron, I'll talk to you later?"

"Sure."

He punches my shoulder. Jesus, that hurts. "By the way, how do you think you did on the exam?"

"Eh."

"Yeah, same." He flashes a grin at me. "Okay, see you." 

"Bye." 

Lacy smiles and waves as they head down the hallway, and I rub my eyes again. I have a bad feeling in my stomach about the exam. 

Outside, I dig through my pockets for my car keys, my boots sinking in the shallow layer of snow. The sky is a deep grey, and the air smells refreshingly cold and of pine trees. 

"Cameron!" 

I glance over my shoulder as I pull out my keys, swinging them on my finger. "Hey. Want a ride?"

Sam smiles and shivers, walking fast to catch up with me. "Okay," he says, his cheeks flushed and his eyes bright. "I'm coming over later anyway, right?"

"Oh, yeah."

"I told Hailey we'd make gingerbread cookies. My mom had this cookbook with a bunch of good recipes in it."

"Well, I'm excited to eat them."

Sam smiles, and I smile too. "When do you leave for World Juniors?" he asks.

"Four days. Christmas, remember?"

"Oh, right."

I unlock the car and slide in behind the steering wheel, rubbing my hands before twisting the ignition on.

Sam studies me from the passenger seat. "Are you okay? You seem quiet."

"I'm just tired."

"Why, was the exam bad?"

I check my mirrors. "Maybe. I don't know."

Sam sits quietly and waits for me to keep talking. 

"I might've failed it."

"What?" Sam grins and shakes his head. "We studied together. You knew your stuff. There's no way you failed it."