Prologue
*Maya*
The crisp winter air brushes against my rosy cheeks as I glide across the ice, I love that we have a lake near our home where I can skate almost every day in the winter.
My heart is pounding with excitement and just a hint of nerves. I’ve been practicing my double spin for weeks now, and today, the ice feels like my stage. The bustling crowd of skaters around me fades into a blur as I focus on the smooth, glistening ice beneath my trusty, yet worn-out skates.
With a deep breath, I pick up speed, feeling the thrill of the moment surge through me. I bend my knees slightly, ready to launch into the spin that’s been eluding me. Just as I’m about to take off, a sudden jolt from behind sends me sprawling forward. The cold ice slams against my body, and a sharp pain shoots through my elbows and knees.
Dazed, I look up to see Savannah towering over me, looking down at me with all the disdain a ten year old can master. “Oh my gosh, Maya, I’m so sorry! I didn’t see you there,” she says, her voice dripping with a sweetness that feels more like poison.
She is wearing brand new professional skates, and designer clothes. But why wouldn’t she, her father Mr. Quinn owns the local hockey team and her family is rich.
As I struggle to rise, feeling the sting of the ice against my palms, I hear her whisper to her friends, just loud enough for me to catch every cruel word. “Can you believe she’s still using those old skates? And look at her clothes, they’re practically rags.” The laughter that follows sends a flush of embarrassment to my cheeks, making them burn even hotter than the cold air around me.
I glance down at my skates, the ones that have faithfully carried me through countless practices, the ones I have kind of outgrown but my mom can’t afford to replace. My clothes, lovingly chosen from thrift stores, suddenly feel like a glaring spotlight on the fact that my mom is a single parent who cleans at the local skating arena trying to give me a good life.
The giggling girls skate off and just as despair starts to creep in, a shadow falls over me. It’s Jaxon, a boy from the class above mine, his eyes filled with genuine concern. “Hey, Maya, let me help you up,” he says, offering his hand.
I am slightly surprised he knows my name. Jaxon’s family is also among the wealthier around here, and I know he is a talented hockey player. So we do not really hang in the same circles.
His touch is warm and reassuring, a stark contrast to the cold ice and Savannah’s icy demeanor. With his help, I manage to stand, brushing off the ice and snow from my clothes.
“Thanks, Jaxon,” I murmur, grateful for his kindness.
“No problem,” he replies, shooting a disapproving glance towards Savannah and her giggling friends. “Don’t let them get to you, Maya. You’re an amazing skater. Nothing wrong with old skates.”
“Except them being too small,” I say with a sigh, instantly feeling bad towards my mom. “But I manage.”
He nods, “I could talk to my mom, my sister skater for a bit, but it Was not really her, I think we still have the skates…”
“I am not a charity case,” I cut him off. I hate the idea of being in dept to anyone.
He looks a bit surprised, then shakes his head, “I did not mean it like that.”
With a renewed sense of purpose, I turn and skate back to the center of the lake. “Watch this,” I tell him, a smile breaking through my earlier embarrassment. I pick up speed, bend my knees, and this time, I launch into the double spin with confidence. As I spin, the world blurs into a beautiful whirl of colors, and when I land, the applause from Jaxon drowns out the distant giggles of Savannah and her friends.
From that day on me and Jaxon became friends, he even convinced me to accept his sisters skates, even though I insisted in working for them, helping his mom sort some boxes from the attic.
I might even have grown to kinda have a crush on him over the years… but like most things our friendship broke, and then he moved away to a highschool with a better hockey team… and I haven’t seen him since.
