Elegantly, the dancers tiptoed to their icy stage. The audience shivered from the cold crawling through the doors.
Sparkles from their skirts blinded everyone around them, including Joan, who was watching through the window. She hadn't any money with her, and had skipped a day of secondary school to watch the performance and listen to the orchestra.
Frost was embroidered into the ground and walls, but Joan didn't care the slightest bit. Cold or not, she had to see every performance that day. After all, it was almost Christmas.
She had persuaded a few of her classmates to say that she had a doctors appointment, even though she hated the doctors. Joan hated the needles and other things, although she'd never really been there. Apart from when she was born.
After a while, snow drifted upon the quiet town. It seemed magical, but it was just snow. Once it started, everything seemed to go silent, which was very annoying for Joan, who was listening to the music.
The school day neared an end, but Joan didn't have a watch on. As the clock struck 3, Joan covered her ears so that she could hear nothing but the performance.
What was most unfortunate was that she soon had to go home when the dance had finished. Her plans were to watch everything on that day, but it would seem odd to her parents if she came home very late.
It was probably time to walk home. It was getting even colder outside. The moment Joan stepped away, a swarm of angry classmates crowded around her. Strange, school was supposed to end in around 20 minutes.
"Why didn't you come to school? We skipped all of our classes to look for you!" One screamed.
"I'm sorry, who on Earth are you?" Joan asked.
"He joined today. He's Carl," they replied.
If he just joined why does he care? Joan thought.
"Isn't that a bit extra of you all? It's not like I ever talk to any of you—"
"You talk to me! Or do you hate me now," another interrupted.
"Okay. I was here. Happy now? The school day is over now anyway," Joan answered. "I'm going home. You lied to me anyway. You were supposed to tell the class that I was at the doctors."
There was a silence for a while after that. Joan rolled her eyes then left. On the cold walk home, stress crowded her mind. Her gut was screaming as if it was being stabbed.
