Elsa

Six

Pierce stares at me, and I can't decide what I'm reading in his eyes. Frustration? Confusion? Of course he's confused, who wouldn't be confused when they're around me?

"You can trust me, Elsa," he says.

My heart skips at the word. Trust. He doesn't know that I haven't trusted anyone in years. I can't trust him. It's not his fault. It's just how things are.

"Please don't make me," I say, my words breaking off. I sound so weak and pitiful. I hate it. But he backs up a step and watches me for a second, then turns to leave the room.

He stops at the door and looks back. "You're stronger than you know, Elsa."

***

I stare in the mirror. My eyeliner's off again.

It's too late to scrub it all off and start over. Ski lessons start at 10 o'clock, and it's five till. I grit my teeth and fix it best I can, then grab my coat and head out the door. I meet Ariana going down the stairs.

"Hey sweetie," she says. "I love that shirt."

I look down at the blue sparkles and lift the hem. "Thanks."

Everyone's gathering in the living room. I look around for Pierce, but he's on the far side of the room, leaning against the fireplace. It would be weird to walk all the way across the room just to casually stand over there. So I just stand by the doorway.

"Hey, Elsa," someone says. I look to my right and see the couch boy.

How does he even know my name? Is he in one of my classes or something? Should I pretend like I recognize him from somewhere?

"I'm Jack," he says, extending his hand. I hesitate a second before shaking it. "I like your shirt," he complements, smiling.

I glance at Ariana and back at him warily. "Thank you."

"Yeah. As if the snow wasn't reflective enough, now we've got you to get the sun in our eyes," he jokes. His buddy standing next to him elbows him in the side and they start talking to each other in what I assume must be Fraternity Boy Talk, because it's so slurred and quick I can't even understand most of it.

"So dope, man," his friend chuckles.

Jack turns back to me. "This is Olaf. He's in my house." I nod, and Olaf raises an eyebrow. 

"Ollie," he says, extending his hand. When I grab it, he gives it one big shake that nearly jerks my arm off.

"What house are you in?" Jack continues. "Gamma Beta?"

I shake my head. "Oh, no, I'm not- I'm not in the Greek system." I shrug. "I live in the Anderson dorms."

Jack looks sympathetic but I can tell he's trying not to. This always happens. The Anderson dorms are fine but they're still dorms. No one really wants to live there. So I understand the pity in his eyes, and I totally agree. But honestly, a dorm sounded like a better choice for me than a bunk room with thirty other girls.

"Anderson's... close," he says lamely. "Close to everything on campus. That's good."

"Yeah, the mold on the wall really improves the face value," I comment dryly.

He laughs, but his croney Ollie wasn't listening, so I watch as he retells it in their weird boy language.

"Hey, there's mold on our walls, too. Especially the basement. Dude, that place is shady," Ollie says, as if that will somehow comfort me.

Our trip leader, Moon, calls us to attention. "Today, we're going to have everyone in a group lesson," she says. "We'll assess your skill level and then tomorrow, you'll be paired up with someone and you'll be able to do runs or have a lesson from the instructor or whatever you need for the rest of the week."