Katie and Nicole hurried to get into the slightly warmer ice skating rink and out of the cold. Sunday turned out to be bitterly cold and nasty, and it was almost unbearable to be outside in.
"I hope we get snow for Christmas." Katie said excitedly as they opened the doors.
"We usually don't, but we might." Nicole said, ripping her hat off.
"I hope we do." Katie said. The lobby area was packed with at least a hundred kids she recognized from school.
"I hate snow." Nicole muttered, ripping off her gloves.
"Well I want some."
"What for?"
"It never snowes in California, or at least the part I lived in. I've only seen snow like, four times." She said.
"Well it gets old...fast." Nicole said.
"Nah...I still want some." Katie said.
She saw Zac and waved him over. "There's Zac." She said.
"Oh yeah." Nicole said. "Oh, who's that with him?" She asked, raising her eyebrows. Katie looked at the boy who was walking with Zac.
"I don't know." She said.
"Hey." Zac said as he approached them.
"Hey." Katie replied.
"Hello." Nicole cooed, eyeing Zac's friend.
"This is Adam." Zac said. "We ride dirtbikes together."
"Hey." Adam said, giving them a small wave.
"I love dirtbikes!" Nicole said.
"Really? We'll have to go riding sometime." He said.
"I'd love to." Nicole said. Katie caught Zac's eye and rolled her eyes. He laughed.
"Well, let's go get our skates!" Nicole said.
"Oh yeah." katie said. She stuck her hand in her pocket and winced.
"What?" Zac asked.
"Oh no....I forgot to get my money from Judy..."
"You did?" Nicole asked.
"Yeah..." Katie winced.
"Nicole, can I bum some money?"
"Sorry. I only brought four bucks for my skates." She said.
"I'll pay for you." Zac said quickly.
"Zac, no. I'll just.....call her." Katie said.
"With what money?" Zac asked with a smirk.
Katie rolled her eyes.
"It's no problem." He insisted, taking out his wallet. Katie felt terrible as she accepted the five dollar bill from Zac.
"I'm paying you back." She insisted.
"Nonsense." He said. "It's five bucks."
"I know...." Katie said.
"Don't worry about it." He said, patting her back. He let his hand rest there a moment, and Katie looked at him from the corner of her eye. Zac dropped his hand immediately and preteneded not to notice. Katie turned away and smiled to herself.
"Oh my god, Emily, I'm gonna fall!" Katie screeched.
"Me too!" Emily said. Katie was not having the best of luck with ice skating. Zac had turned out to be a pro at it, and he and Adam were busy skating around the rink with about five other guys from school.
"I hate this!" Katie giggled, wobbling.
"I hate it too!" Nicole said. Katie had found about six other girls from her school she knew that were terrible at ice skating and they were gripping the wall with all of their might.
"My knees are going to be soooo purple by the time the day is over." Jessica whined.
"Mine too." Katie said.
"Why are the guys so good at this?" Nicole asked out loud.
"I don't know." Erin said, letting go of the wall for a second before slipping and falling on her butt. She hit Nicole on the way down, and Nicole grabbed Katie, and they all six of them went down in a heap.
The girls giggled and struggled to get up. Katie managed to sit on her butt and try to pull herself up by using the wall but to no avail.
"Need a hand?"
Katie looked up to see Zac outstretching his hand out to her.
She gave him a sheepishlook and then took it. "yeah." She replied as he pulled her up off the ice.
Zac stood with her for a moment while she got herself together.
"Great, now my butt is freezing cold." She whined.
"I'm sorry." Zac said with a grin.
Katie just glared at him.
"It would help if you didn't sit on the ice so much." He joked. Katie broke into a smile.
"Shut up. You're so mean." She giggled.
"Am I?" Zac said.
"Yeah."
"Well I must not be, cuz I saw you were having some trouble and I came to help you." He said.
"yeah." She said, rolling her eyes playfully.
"Come on." he prodded, motioning for her to join him.
"Zac, I can't. I can't let go of this wall." She said, gripping the wall.
"Sure you can." He said, gliding over to her. He pried her hands off of the wall and took them both in his, and he started to skate backards while pulling her slowly along.
"No fair!" She said.
"What?" He asked.
"You can skate backwards too!" She said.
"Well I rollerblade a lot, so that helps." he said.
Katie laughed and he continued to pull her along. She kept her eyes focused on the ice, trying not to trip. She gripped Zac's warm hand in hers as he pulled her along.
"I suck at this." She said.
Zac just laughed. "Do you just want to go get an icy?" He asked.
Katie laughed. "Sure."
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