The Legend List

Chapter Four

If Emmy had just decided to give me a regular, non-offensive superlative, Gwen and I would be half-way through a deep dish pepperoni and a rom-com marathon right now. Instead, we're walking into the Lincoln Arena where we're definitely not dressed for the sudden blast of cold that hits us right in the face.

"God, it smells so gross in here." Gwen pinches her nose. "Any chance we can just skip the actual counting part and get a picture with the linguini driver?"

"Zamboni." Seth laughs. "And skipping the counting would mean cheating, which would mean our friend Harper here hadn't actually finished the list. Would you really be okay with your best friend's legacy being a scam?"

Gwen groans, zipping her sweater right to the top. "Fine. Can we make it quick, then?"

I don't want to remind her just how massive the ice rink is, so I just nod and follow the creepy, dark hallway ahead of us. I hadn't been skating since I was a kid and Gwen's parents would bring us on the weekend for something to do. The only time I had been here since, the rink had actually been melted down so that they could build a stage and crown Mom 'Miss. Washentaw County' a few years ago. I'm pretty sure they had picked up the crown and sash at Party City the morning of the event, but Mom was pretty psyched that she'd get to make an official appearance at every festival and fair in the county for a few years, until they found someone else in the Midwest who was famous enough to pass the title on to.

I had forced Seth and Gwen to come with me that day- it was only fair that if it had to be burned into my brain forever, my best friends also suffer the same consequences. It must've stuck like I'd hoped because as we step out of the dark hall and into the actual arena, Gwen climbs up onto the bleachers and walks the length of the bench while demonstrating her best beauty queen wave.

"I don't buy it. You don't seem excited enough." Seth hops up behind her. He holds one hand to his heart and fans his face with the other as he struts along the bench. "Me? Miss. Washentaw County? Why, this is the greatest honor of my entire life."

I walk over to them. "I don't remember her making that ugly crying face. But other than that, you nailed it."

We each take one more turn on the makeshift runway before we walk out onto the ice.

"This is lethal." Gwen slips for the fourth time, holding onto the boards for dear life. "I swear to God if I die on this stupid ice rink, you better finish this list, Harper."

"We'll just shimmy around the edge. Don't lift your feet off the ice, it'll make it a lot easier to stay upright." Seth says as he loops his arm through hers.

"How are we counting?"

Seth claims that he once heard that the average distance between people's legs when they were spread all the way apart was about two meters. That meant that if we lined ourselves up together toe-to-toe, we took up about six meters. All we had to do was keep track of how many times the three of us could fit around the edge of the rink and do the math to get our answer.

We take it slow and steady, and by the time we reach the half-way mark, Gwen has already almost wiped out more than once and is trying her best to make a case for her 'not actually counting' plan. She's so desperate to get off the ice that she even suggests flashing the zamboni driver which was so ridiculous that Seth choked on the gum he was chewing and we all lost count and had to start again.

On Gwen's request, we all agree to keep the chatting to a minimum the second time around which obviously just makes Seth and I want to do the complete opposite. We take turns humming Christmas carols until Gwen threatens to storm out.

Seth smiles at her and says, "How are you going to storm out when you can barely stand up?"

I can tell by the look on her face that if we were on non-frozen ground right now, she'd be chasing him around trying to touch his earlobes- her favorite way to torture him. Seth has a very weird thing about anyone touching his earlobes, for any reason.