Fraser Mountain - Living the snow life

Chapter Fourteen

Taz and I rounded up Dan and Stevie on the way to the Arena for some hockey action and they couldn’t wait to come along. Our boots crunch on the frozen snow as we walk and it’s bitterly cold in the dark of the early evening. I breathe in and immediately start coughing and spluttering as the icy air goes down into my lungs. I’ve never experienced cold like it, wearing twelve layers and still feeling frozen.

Dan stops and places himself between Taz and I, linking arms with both of us. ‘So, young Tazzy… A little bird tells me you’ve been fraternising with a young man by the name of Travis.’

Taz smiles shyly, looking down at the floor as we walk and refusing to meet his eye.

‘So? What’s the goss?’ he pokes her in the arm. ‘We want to hear all about it, don’t we, Lexie?’ he winks.

‘Don’t drag me into this!’ I say, trying to release myself from his grip. I throw an imploring glance at Stevie, who just shrugs and smiles before he carries on walking ahead of us.

‘Rack off, Danno!’ Taz laughs, releasing his grip on her. ‘A lady never tells.’

‘Lady? I don’t see a lady? Do you see a lady, Stevie?’

‘Oi!’ Taz cries, skipping away and scooping up some snow, moulding it in her gloves to form a ball.

‘Aw! Come on, mate! We want to hear all about it!’ Dan cries, obviously not ready to give up on his quest for gossip. He almost gets a face full of snow but ducks just in time to avoid a missile.

She gives me an exasperated look. ‘Whatever happened to female solidarity? You could at least defend me.’

‘What?’ I say, holding my hands out. ‘Are you pissed off that you missed or that he’s asking about Travis?’

‘Both.’ She grins, making another snowball.

‘Okay, okay. Time out.’ I say, standing in front of Dan and giving him a push backwards. ‘Dan – leave her alone. She’ll tell you all about it when she’s good and ready.’

‘Oh, come on Taz! What happened? Just a few details? Please?’ he pleads, peering over my shoulder, as I walk backwards, nearing the door to the rink. ‘Did the frothy hot-tub jets of lurve find their targets and pummel your hearts into a frenzy of romance?’ He asks, before he starts making kissy noises.

Taz sighs. ‘Danno, there’s no way I’m going to tell you anything, particularly in front of all these people.’ she replies, as we join the back of the queue to get in.‘Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have other friends to meet. So you can forget all about the ‘frothy jets of lurve’ for the time-being.’ She flings her scarf over her shoulder, gives me a wink and walks in the direction of some people in the line ahead who are waving in her direction.

‘Who are that lot?’ Dan asks, gesturing with his thumb.

‘I recognise a few of them – other lifties, I think. They’re quite a tight bunch already, which is nice for Taz.’ I smile as Taz joins her group and wave back. ‘It’s good that she’s made some more friends. And by the way, that was a nice analogy – “pummelling their hearts into a frenzy of romance”. Do you read your mum’s Mills & Boon collection regularly?’ I ask, grinning at him.

He sniffs loudly and turns his nose up at me.‘I can’t help being a lyrical genius.’

‘You are full of surprises, Dan… full of them.’ I mutter.

The line moves quickly, depositing us into the welcoming warmth of the arena. The entire population of Fraser seem to be inside, and yet again, I have to wonder where all these people disappear to on an average day because it’s always so quiet in town. There are small children running around, pushing through the crowds as families chat away, grabbing hot-dogs and beer. There’s a distinctly celebratory mood in the air as we move through the throng to the rink itself, which is surprisingly big. We zone in to where a group of fellow season workers are already sitting on the front row and I spot Emily, moving along the benches to sit next to her. She gives me a kiss on the cheek before ruffling Dan’s hair, getting an annoyed look in return as he tries to shake her off, smoothing his perfectly tousled style back to its normal position.