CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE

December 16

It was almost ten o’clock when we pulled up in front of the rink. I spotted the Carvin County School bus in the parking lot and knew that my class was already inside. Pancakes flipped inside my stomach as I thought about tying up my skates and stepping onto the ice.

“Do you want me to come in with you?” Mom asked. “I can help you with your skates.”

I shook my head. “Mom, I’ve done it loads of times. I take lessons, remember?”

Mom smiled. “Okay. Do you have your gloves? Warm socks? Jacket?”

I held them up.

“Well, have a great time!” Mom leaned over and kissed my cheek. “I’m so glad you decided to go.”

“Thanks, Mrs. Smith,” Andy said as he got out of the car.

“Be there in a minute,” I said to Andy. He shut the door, and I watched him walk up to the entrance. Then I reached into my pocket. I pulled out my Best Friends necklace and dropped it into Mom’s hand.

“It’s broken,” I told her. “Do you think you can fix it?”

Mom looked down at the necklace, then closed her hand tight. “Pansy,” she said, looking back up at me, “this is one necklace I will find a way to fix.”

I gave her a quick wave and got out of the car. A blast of cold air greeted me when I pushed open the doors to the rink. I joined Andy at the counter, and we both picked up our skates and walked over to a bench to put them on.

As we were lacing our skates, I looked up to see the last person I wanted to see tying his boots.

“Your friends were wondering where you were,” Zach said to us both.

“Really?” I asked. “Who?”

“You know, Madison, Emma, Daniel, Hannah.”

“Oh.” I waited for Zach to say something rude. Instead, he finished tightening his skates and gave us a little wave before he took off across the rink.

You could almost call it a friendly wave.

Andy and I exchanged looks. Had speaking up to him really worked? Was he going to stop being mean to me and Andy from now on? Had Zach really changed?

Andy stood up on wobbly feet. “Ready?” he said, holding out a hand to me.

I stopped thinking about Zach, focusing on what I had to do next. I pulled the top lace and it snapped off in my fingers. I groaned. “I’m going to have to get another pair. See you on the ice, okay?”

Andy nodded and made his way to the entrance while I took off my skates and returned them to the counter. A few minutes later, my next pair laced, I got to my feet.

It was now or never. I walked to the entrance to the rink and stepped onto the ice unsteadily. Immediately, I hugged the rail.

What happened to all of those weeks of lessons? My ankles felt wobbly after being off the ice for a while, and it felt a lot like starting from scratch.

Was I completely nuts? I should have stuck to my instincts. I never liked skating to begin with, and here I was, in front of my whole class, attempting to ice-skate when I’d just recovered from an ankle injury.

Suddenly, I heard a voice in my mind. Come on, Pansy! My eyes snapped shut. I saw Anna’s sparkling eyes, her face lit up in a smile. You can do it! I took one hand off the rail, and I felt Anna’s hand in mine.

I stood up taller, held my head up high, and steadied myself on my skates. I bent my knees and held one arm out, the way Trina had taught me. Then I opened my eyes and glanced down. No Anna beside me—only the cool air brushing against my cheeks. I blinked, the air stinging my eyes.

“Pansy!” I heard my name again. “Hey, Pansy!”

I looked across the rink and saw my friends—Madison, Emma, Daniel. Even Hannah was hanging against the edge. Andy had made his way over and was pulling himself along the rail. Madison waved both arms above her head. Her feet slipped out from beneath her, one, then the other, and she landed smack on her butt. Madison broke into a giggle, and everyone laughed along with her.

A grin tugged at the corners of my mouth.

You can do it, Pansy. A whisper, and this time it was my own voice I heard. “You can do it.”

It was time to try out my own legs, no matter how shaky they were. I waved back at my friends. Then I let go, gliding on a single blade across the solid ice.