𝐈 𝐃𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐘𝐨𝐮

Althea

"Again, Thea." Coach's voice echoed against the cold walls of the rink, making her seem louder than she actually was. We had been practicing this move for the past hour and still, I couldn't stick the landing.

I drew in a deep breath and raised my arms. I performed the move in my head, envisioning where I needed to be and the speed I needed to obtain in order to get there.

It's not that fucking hard, I thought to myself. I had done this move close to a million times at my old school; so why was I suddenly having trouble now? Perhaps it was the fact this was a new school and I was experiencing first day jitters.

Coach Bentley had asked me to come to campus a day early and show her my abilities so she would know who to pair me with once classes started. I had arrived at Maybanks University yesterday and had spent the majority of the evening and this morning decorating my half of the dorm.

My roommate hadn't arrived before I left for the rink so there was a slight possibility that she would be there when I finished. Depending on whether or not I finally stuck this landing would determine my attitude for the rest of the night, if not the rest of the week. And I really did not want her first impression of me to be a bad one.

I pressed forward on my toes, propelling myself across the ice. Following the figure of myself in my head, I quickly picked up speed before leaping into the air, twirling three times before my skates made contact with the ground again.

My chest rose and fell heavily as I lowered my arms. A round of applause came from Coach Bentley's direction and I felt my cheeks burn at the sound of her approval.

"Great job, Thea. I will have the sheet with the list of pairs posted on the wall outside my office tomorrow." She gave me a smile. "I know just who to pair you with." Coach gave me a small squeeze on the arm before exiting the rink, leaving me alone on the ice.

"Whoo!" I exclaimed, racing around the rink. I had actually done it; which meant I wasn't going to be a total bitch when I met my roommate.

"Hey! Good job!" A voice broke through my victory lap and I turned to see a tall, dark haired girl skating towards me. She had a wide smile on her oval face and she held out her hands to me, probably expecting me to take them. I reluctantly did, taking her cold hands into mine, our body temperatures matching.

"I'm Gemma, you must be Althea Beckett!" Gemma's almond eyes sparkled and her grip tightened. Although her hands were slim, her grip was almost painful and I winced inwardly.

"Thea is fine, really." I replied, doing my best to return her smile. Gemma squealed and if it weren't for her skates, she would probably be jumping with excitement right now.

"Ah! I believe we're in the same dorm building. The Chembrooke Building, right?"

I nodded and nearly jumped out of my skates as Gemma squealed again. I could already see how incredibly different our personalities were. I knew that I could be a team player, but I was never really one to make friends out of my teammates. And Gemma seemed as if she really wanted to be friends.

"So, every year before classes start, one of the buildings will host the annual Rink Party-"
"Rink Party? What's that?" I asked as she looped her arm through mine, leading us towards the sidelines.

"It's this giant party, exclusive to only skaters; so that includes the entire figure skating team, both women's hockey teams, and then the men's hockey team." She explained, sliding on the rubber blade covers over her skates.

"It's huge, we always have a few crashers though; a lot of the skaters are dating guys from the football team and some just bring their partners. It's essentially a giant icebreaker; a great way to get to know your teammates before we're all stuck together for an entire year. You should come!"

I swallowed and groaned internally, maybe also externally. This was exactly what I did not want.

"Oh, I'm not big on parties, besides I really need to get caught up before tomorrow." I stuffed my towel and gloves into my bag before catching the wave of disappointment that washed over Gemma's face. I half figured she would pull the sad puppy dog eyes and the alligator tears.

Please don't start crying, please don't start crying.

She didn't cry, instead she tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and shrugged. "If you don't show up, the rest of the team will think you're stuck up. I mean, most of them already think you're just some spoiled, rich brat from New York." She slapped a hand across her mouth after the last sentence before mumbling out a small "sorry."

Ouch. I had to admit that I had already seen this coming. I mean, it isn't every day a figure skater on track for the Olympics transfers from one of the most prominent schools in the country to the middle of West Virginia. I also have to admit that my family did live pretty comfortably, probably more comfortable than most. Perhaps in her eyes, I was rich. But I wasn't spoiled, or a brat.

I wasn't necessarily stuck up, just introverted and quiet. Not to sound completely cringe, but I'm more of a lone wolf kind of person. But even the lone wolf gets lonely, right? My mom was always telling me that it was time I made actual friends; being a loner in college was never fun. Perhaps she was right.

I glanced back at Gemma and forced my best smile onto my face. "Sure, why not. I'll come." It couldn't hurt, I mean it was just one party. I could always just leave if things got out of hand.

Seconds later, Gemma practically crushed me with a hug; my lungs felt as if they were actually collapsing and if she squeezed any tighter, I think they might break under the pressure of her slight body.

"Wonderful! The gang is super excited to meet you!"
Oh, God. There were more of her?
"The gang?" I questioned as we made our way out of the building and towards the parking lot. Gemma nodded, trotting beside me; her sleek, black ponytail swayed back and forth in the brisk wind.

"Yes. It's me, my older sister Bela, and our friends; Daria, Stella, and Jonesy. We were all in the same building last year and quickly became friends so we requested to be put in the same one this year as well."

I nodded, trying to keep up as she continued.
"Bela, Daria, and Jonesy all play hockey, while Stella and I are both figure skaters. With you now as a part of the gang, we'll finally have an even number!"
Oh, boy.

I had no intention of being a part of "the gang." At least not right now, so soon. I had known Gemma for all of twenty minutes and already she was adamant that we were destined to be friends.

I gave her a tight lipped smile before reassuring her that I would show up at the Rink Party. After exchanging numbers and Gemma promising to send me the party details, we went our separate ways. I couldn't help but let out a sigh of relief when she left. Gemma seemed like an incredibly sweet person, but her personality was a little too bubbly-too energetic- for my taste.

  I quickly made my way towards my dormitory, anxious to see if my roommate had arrived or not. Thinking back on the list of names Gemma had listed as a part of her friend group, I wondered if any of them were my mystery roommate.