Frostbite

Laiken

My alarm sounds at five O'clock in the morning. I open my eyes just enough to be able to see the snooze button. It gives me ten more minutes of sleep before going off again. This time, I force myself awake. My stomach is nauseous. I assume its because I didn't eat dinner last night. Its nothing that concerns me enough to stay home from practice though. After getting ready for the day and packing both my skate bag and school bag, I grab a protein bar and quietly head out the front door. Both of my parents are still asleep in their room. The drive to the Lake Stellar arena is the most peaceful part of my day. Everything else from here on out is utter chaos. I'm still trying to find time to have some peace and mindfulness through my busy schedule of skating and school.

Coach Vaida unlocks the arena doors for me as soon as I pull into the parking lot. She meets me in the front lobby. "Good morning, sunshine!" She sings cheerfully. I am not a morning person unlike her. "Morning, coach" I huff. We lace up our skates and do a couple laps around the ice to warm up. I practice my Russian stroking, footwork and edges. Coach waves me over to where she is sitting on the bench. "Today, I'd like you to work on your triples. Get that knee up and snap tight as soon as you lift. No time for slacking. We only have a few more months until sectionals. You need to win this. Your parents are counting on you. They don't see what you are working on until you get on that ice competition day. Its a shame they're missing out on such a fine, talented young lady you are" coach Vaida scoffs. Its not my fault my parents work their asses off for me to be here. I'm their only child and they both work twelve hour days so I can live my dream as a national level figure skater. Though, considering how I've been feeling these last couple days, I doubt I'll even make it to nationals now.

Coach Vaida dismisses herself to the washroom while I'm working on my jumps. I quickly check my phone at the boards, seeing if anyone texted or called me last night while my phone was on 'do not disturb'. I received two texts from Cole.

Cole: I was thinking about our future together around the fire the boys and I had last night. I enjoy spending every second with you when I do find the time to see you. I love you and I wish you could come to all of our bonfires. You're all that's on my mind when I'm hanging out with the others. Good night, baby.

Cole: Also, please remember to eat something this morning so you can stop feeling so run down.

Another thing I check is Facebook, which isn't that fascinating. It's just filled with posts from last nights fire at Cole's and figure skating advertisements. I scroll through the posts. I spot some girls I know from Cole's automotive class that I attend sometimes on spare. One is Natalia. She's cuddled up next to Cole, probably because it was cold out. On the other side of her is Hannah. She's in my Chemistry class. Hannah's pretty cool. We used to be friends when I was on the dance team. I quit when juggling that and skating was becoming a bit much for me physically. Last thing I had the chance to check was my period tracker. I took a quick glance at it just as coach Vaida walks back into the rink. It read '10 days late' and prompted me to add my cycle in. Not really thinking much of it, I quickly close the app and shove my phone back under my sweater that was sitting on the bench.

Coach has me practice for an extra twenty minutes this morning, making me late for home room. This also meant I had no time to talk to Cole at our lockers this morning. As soon as I enter the classroom, Mrs. Stamos takes my late slip and motions for me to take my seat. At least my homework is done. She took it from me to grade quickly, then continued on with her class lesson. We're assigned group projects this time. I'm paired up with Brian and a girl named Kayley. They're fairly easy to work with. I look over at Cole's group. He's in a group with Darius and Reese. That'll be something. My group project is a three way debate on how many hours of social media is too many before it starts affecting you're brain activity. Social media doesn't have too much of an influence on me. I really only use my phone to text Cole or mom and occasionally I'll scroll Facebook. This should be an easy project to bust out in an hour or two at most.

The lunch bell rings at eleven thirty. Cole meets me at my locker. "Hey beautiful" he says while giving me a hug. "Hey Cole. What's the plan for lunch today? Did your group discuss your debate topic yet?". Cole chuckles. "Fuck no. We'll probably talk about it a bit during practice tonight. Let's go have lunch outside. Its nice out". Cole holds out his hand for me to grab onto and he leads me out into the courtyard.