The Freshman Crush [[On Hold]]

Chapter 6

    We should go to the ice rink. Everybody who is anybody is going tonight! Ben exclaimed in a text Saturday morning.

    I don’t know. Doesn’t sound like it’s that interesting. I responded.

    Who cares if it’s interesting. EVERYBODY from school is going. Ben replied.

    Alright, what time do we want to go?

    How about now?

    Ben’s mom picked me up at about noon. She drove us to Alton where there was an ice rink not too far from the school. The building didn’t look that big, but the ice rink inside was pretty huge. My school’s hockey team played their home games there. The ice rink had a concession stand and a game room for those who didn’t prefer ice skating. As Ben’s mom dropped us off in the parking lot, I could see that Ben was serious when he emphasized the fact that everyone was going.

    Music blared from inside as we opened the door. There were two long lines of people waiting to pay. Ben and I waited patiently in line for several minutes. Almost every single person in the lines I recognized from school.

    Ben and I finally got to the window where a younger woman stood and took our money. She stamped our hands with ink to prove we paid and we went in. Ben and I were in agreement that we weren’t going to start off skating, but just hang out with other people first.

    “So what was your problem yesterday?” Ben asked.

    “What problem?” I asked defensively.

    “Lets see, the one where you were staring randomly into space yesterday at lunch, the one where you didn’t even eat anything and decided you were done, the one where you totally just disappeared after school? You have acted weird ever since you found that stupid note.” Ben explained.

    I was quiet for a moment, deciding if I really wanted to tell Ben what I knew. We walked through the game room and entered the outside ring of the ice rink. Other students lined the bleachers along the left side wall. As we began walking across the bleachers, a beach blond girl, who looked very familiar called out Ben’s name and greeted him. It gave me more time to consider my approach about telling Ben.

    “Well? Are you going to say anything?” Ben asked after the girl walked away and Ben turned his attention back to me.

    “Okay, here is what happened, I-” I came to a complete stop. My entire mind and body stopped. My entire thought process stopped. I was in complete shock, as well as agony. My heart raced and my mind speeded up. They were there at the top of the bleachers.

    Cassie had her hair down. She wore a blue jacket and blue jeans. She was probably the first to notice me since she was the only one who was already facing me as the girls sat in a circle. I watched her face brighten up as she noticed me after I noticed them all first.

    Following Cassie was Brittany, who seemed to follow Cassie’s eyes in my direction. Her hair was pulled into a messy bun and almost placed on the top of her head. When she spotted me, she seemed almost surprised. She had her legs crossed as she sat on the bleachers, with her back to me. When she seen me, I feared she would fall backwards and off the bleachers.

    Brittany’s eyes wandered over to Dana, who must have said something because Brittany turned her head back towards me and the three remaining girls all followed Brittany’s stare till they all at once had their eyes on me. All at once they all seem a bit surprised to see me. Was it really expected that I not come?