The Perks of Being a Freak (Editing)

85. I've Never Gone Skating Before

The next morning, I was roused by someone yanking me out of bed. Literally.

From the ground, tangled in a blanket that smelled like Simon, I glared up at Jaeb. She grinned cheekily.

“Go take a shower and get dressed,” she told me. “Simon is taking you out.”

I followed her instructions, showered, towel-dried my hair, and dressed myself in the clothes that I had worn to bed. My shirt was creased, but I really couldn’t care. I combed the snarls out of my hair with my fingers, and inspected my face in the mirror for any trace of tears. To my pleasure, there were none.

And then I was ready to do whatever Simon had planned.

Fifteen minutes later, and I was driving. Apparently Simon didn’t have his license yet. I put that on my list of necessities for them in the future. 

He led me down streets I had never been on before, until finally we pulled up in front of a small pond, only fifty or so feet across, and frozen solid.

“I’ve got ice skates in the back, you ever try it before?” Simon asked, taking my gloved hand in his. I grinned and shook my head, fighting the thoughts of the Freaks that threatened to drag me back into a lake of tears.

“I haven’t,” I admitted, hopping out of the car.

“Well then I’ll teach you,” Simon offered me a pair of hockey skates. Judging by the green laces, they were Jaeb’s, and maybe a size too small. It wasn’t a huge deal, just barely uncomfortable.

Almost as soon as my feet touched the ice, I was skidding and slipping. Simon laughed, and chased after me. I waved my arms in huge windmills, laughing and screaming as I hurtled towards a snow bank.

Simon caught my hand in the nick of time, and swung me in a huge circle. Laughing, I collided with his chest, and we both tumbled into the snow.

This process repeated several times, until I could skate once around the pond without falling or stumbling. It was a success.

What was even more successful was the fact that my gloves became soaked, and then they froze. I could freeze water. I showed Simon, excited for a new power, and he grinned excitedly and congratulated me.

And then we skated, and I forgot about the anger of my Freaks, and the hurt that they felt.

Instead I thought of Christmas, only a little over a week away, and the present I had stashed under my bed for the boy that I loved.