Passion

Chapter 6

        Carma and I always went to a public skate after practice so that we could practice what we had learned. Zoe usually accompanied me, but she was going on a trip to Australia with her family today and had to leave soon after practice.

        We never go on any family trips, I thought. Sometimes, just sometimes, I wished that I had a family like that. One that was complete, one that could travel the world together. One that was happy.

        I guess it just isn't meant to be.

        I shook my head, sighing, forcing my mind to wander to other places as I waited for the zamboni to cut the ice. It was a lot more crowded today, so I couldn't practice my routine, but I didn't need to anyway. I had to nail those prep steps.

        I waited a bit longer to let the little league hockey players and figure skaters get on the ice; I'd rather wait in a line of first-timers than get trampled by little kids with knife shoes. Carmella didn't wait though, since most of the kids in the crowd were her friends. I was often envious that she could make friends so easily, but I was more or less content with my friends, however clingy they both may be. I was clingy too, so I couldn't complain too much.

        I was waiting in the increasingly sizeable line when I felt a gentle tap on my shoulder.

        I turned to see a guy about my age, his hands holding onto the rinks wall with a vice grip. He was a few inches shorter than me, with gorgeous ice blue eyes and rich, dark brown hair. His hair was newly trimmed, the sides slightly shorter than the top, but still messy and all over the place. It was a nice look for him in my opinion. His cheeks were still slightly round, but showed signs of squaring out, and he had dots of acne riddling his face. The guy was looking down, shuffling his feet as best he could in the awful rental skates.

        He spoke softly at me, doing everything in his power to avoid eye contact. "Um, you know how to skate, right?" His voice was slightly shaky, and it cracked, betraying his nervousness. I nodded, seeing where this was going already. "Could you, uh, could you help me?"

        I was a bit hesitant: I had no idea how to teach. If I helped him, I probably wouldn't have enough time to practice...but I did have plenty of other sessions I could go to. I didn't want to reject him, though; it seemed like it took a lot to pluck up the courage to ask me--I couldn't just shut him down.

        Coming to a conclusion, I gave him a small nod and grin, signalling my agreement. I was surprised at how elated he was at that, but I wasn't about to judge. Deciding I still wanted to practice, I questioned him.

        "Do you think I could practice a bit while you try to get it down?" He gave a quick nod and bounced a bit, but quickly lost his balance, toppling over sideways. Luckily, I had decent reflexes, or he would've cracked his head open on the metal bench built into the wall. I hastily grabbed him by the wrist, his muscles tensing even more at the contact.

        As I helped him regain his balance, I smirked playfully, then hardened my glare and crossed my arms like a strict coach would.

        "Lesson one: don't do that." He chuckled, rubbing the back of his neck, embarrassment staining his cheeks. I didn't want to keep thinking of him as nameless, so I spoke up.

        "So I should probably know your name if I'm gonna teach you. What is it?"

        "Charlie, you?"

        "Alex. I should...probably tell you that I dont really know how to teach you, so I might not be very helpful..."

        "Oh...that's alright! Any help at all will be enough."