Thin Ice

Chapter Five

Devin:

    She's definitely hiding something, but I don't think she's comfortable talking about it. Cassie seems so confident in herself it's like she doesn't want to admit that something's wrong. I know it has something to do with skating and her friends. She snapped as soon as I started pressing the matter which I do feel bad about. I, of all people, should know to be gentle with people and their issues. No one likes feeling like they have to be forced to talk about their problems. I glance over at her scraping the bottom of the cup and trying to slurp the rest of her milkshake out. After that little blip, she switched back to normal in record speed.

    When she did break, I wasn't really offended because I knew she was doing it in defense. I don't have any best friends anymore, and she knows that, but there's something about her that she won't tell me. I wonder if she's had a bad fallout or if Jenny is actually nice. Cassie seems popular, so I don't think she has any trouble with having a lot of people around her, but I do wonder if she's close with any of them. She said she knew a couple with anxiety and depression though, so she has to have quite a few who trust her enough to talk about it. Then again, Cassie seems like a very trustworthy person, I feel like I can tell her anything and she won't judge me.

    "We have to head back soon, my mom's going to pick me up any minute now," She says while placing her empty milkshake cup in mine. I look down at the cups and wonder if we're going to do this again soon. I think I might try another flavor if we do.

    "You don't have a car?"

    "No," She says, but then quickly adds, "I know how to drive though." I look at her and wonder if she thinks it's embarrassing if someone doesn't know how to drive. I know some people who don't get their liscences because they say they'll just walk everywhere. Besides, she hasn't judged me other than for my movie and ice cream choices, so why does she think I would judge her?

    I pull out, looking at the ocean one more time. The sun is setting over it, and a hazy glow lights up the water, "How far away from the rink do you live?"

    "The one I practice at, we live five minutes away from," She says it, but something sharpens in her tone. So she doesn't like that they live close by? Or maybe she wants to be closer? I doubt it considering the fact that even though she says she likes skating, her actions tell me she doesn't. She never responded to my other questions about her life as well, like what she wants to do in the future or if she has other hobbies. I want to ask those questions again, but I think I should stop pushing her buttons for today. I don't want to make her upset, and I really want to keep hanging out with her. If I make her mad, there's a chance she won't want to do this anymore and she'll leave me in the dust.

    "Alright. Oh, I hate cauliflower," I say, and Cassie laughs for a second. My heart warms a little at her laugh, and I relish in the fact that I can do that sometimes. Make her laugh, that is. I don't think I've had anyone laugh at something I've said in a long time. I guess I haven't had anything funny to say. Or maybe I have, but no one's been there to hear it.

    "Why?"

    "They're like if broccoli lost all of its interesting features. Cauliflower isn't a fun color, it has no flavor, and it doesn't look like a mini tree."

    "Those are all good points," She admits, "But cauliflower does have flavor."

    "Maybe if you drown it in butter. Besides that, there's nothing. It's like eating air with a faint taste of vegetable," She laughs again.

    "So vegetables have a distinct taste? How would you describe that?"

    "Healthy," Her laughs are endless, and I love them. I would keep them forever if I could. Record a video, trap them in a bottle, or just remember them, but those don't seem like they'd be enough to encapsulate her and the beauty of the sound. Every time I look at her, I see perfection. Long, perfect hair. Shiny blue, perfect eyes. Perfect skin. Perfect hands. Perfect nails. Gosh, I'm being creepy. It's like I've never seen a girl before or something. The thing is, I've never seen a girl like her before.