Chapter 3 Ice Girl
I heard laughing before I even touched the door.
It was the kind of laugh that cuts. Girls. Loud. Like they already decided something about me.
I pushed the door open anyway.
A girl sat on the other bed with her phone in both hands. Curly hair. Bright hoodie. She looked up and smiled like we were already friends.
“You’re Ava, right?”
“Yeah.”
She turned the phone toward me. “You’re that girl.”
My stomach dropped. “What girl?”
She laughed again. “The one everyone’s talking about. Look.”
I didn’t want to look. But I did.
It was a group chat. Messages flying fast.
Some new girl thinks she’s joining the men’s hockey team.
Is she for real?
Ice Girl is here.
Someone needs to stop her before she embarrasses herself.
Ice Girl.
The name hit me hard.
The roommate watched my face. “That’s you, isn’t it?”
I put my bag down slowly. “How do they even know?”
She shrugged. “Someone saw you walking toward the arena with skates earlier. Word moves quickly here.”
I sat on my bed. It felt hard. Everything felt hard.
She kept scrolling. “They’re being mean. One guy said you should stick to figure skating. Another said the only ice you belong to is in a cup. People get bored and turn nasty real fast.”
I said nothing.
She looked at me longer. “You’re really going to try, aren’t you?”
“Yes.”
She blew out a breath. “Wow, that's brave. Or dumb. Not sure yet.”
I pulled my knees up to my chest. The photo of me and Dad was still in my bag. I wanted to hold it. Not in front of her though.
She put the phone down. “I’m not trying to be mean. I’m just saying this school isn’t nice to people who stand out. Especially girls who walk into boys’ things. They’ll eat you up.”
“I know.”
“Do you?” She tilted her head. “Once they call you Ice Girl, it sticks. You’ll hear it in the dining hall. In class. In the hallway. Every time you walk past the rink. Is it worth it?”
I stared at the wall. The paint was a little chipped near the window.
“Yes,” I said. Quiet. Sure.
She shrugged. “Your choice.”
Then she put her headphones on and went back to her phone. Like the talk was done.
I sat there with that name looping in my head.
Ice Girl.
I started unpacking slowly. Clothes in the drawers. Books on the desk. I left the skates in the bag. I didn’t want her eyes on them.
When the room got too small, I left.
It was getting dark outside. Cold air bit my face. Students walked past in groups, laughing, talking normal first-day stuff. I kept my head down and walked until the noise of campus faded.
The outdoor rink sat behind the big arena like it was hiding. Lights were on. The ice was empty. Clean and white. Waiting.
I sat on the cold bench and put on my skates. My fingers were shaking. The second the blades touched the ice, something inside me loosened.
I skated so hard. Faster than I needed to. Sharp turns. Big stops that sent snow flying into the air. Trying to outrun the group chat and the roommate’s voice and my mother’s last look when she left.
For a while it worked. Then I heard another pair of skates. I slowed down.
A boy stood at the far end of the rink. Stick in his hand. Dark hair. Quiet face. He was watching me like he was trying to figure something out.
I stopped near the boards, breathing hard.
He skated closer. Not too close. Just enough.
“You’re the one they’re calling Ice Girl,” he said.
My face got hot. “Don’t call me that.”
“I didn’t start it.” He rested his stick on the ice. “I’m Noah.”
I didn’t say my name. He already knew somehow.
He nodded at my skates. “You’re good.”
“Thanks.”
“Most people would stay away after reading that chat.”
“I’m not most people.” A small smile showed on his face, then left.
“Yeah. I can see that.”
We stood there in the cold. The floodlights made everything look sharper than it was.
“Why are you out here alone?” I asked.
“Clearing my head. Same as you, I guess.” He pushed a puck back and forth slowly. “You really planning to go for the team?”
I looked at him. “Yes.”
He was quiet for a long time. Snow started falling again, soft and slow.
“They’re already talking,” he said. “Some of the guys don’t want a girl on the ice with them. They’re not going to make it easy.”
“I figured.”
He watched me. “You still going to do it?”
“Yes.”
The word came out steady. Stronger than I felt.
Noah nodded slowly, like he was deciding something about me.
We skated side by side for a while without talking. It felt strange. Not bad. Just strange. Like the ice had room for both of us in a way the rest of this place didn’t.
After a long time he stopped near the boards again.
I stopped too.
He looked at me really serious.
“It’s going to get hard,” he said. “Harder than you think. People can be cruel when they feel like something is theirs.”
I wiped my glove across my face. “I’ve been through hard before.”
He studied me for a second. “Yeah. I think you have.”
The wind picked up. Snow blew across the ice between us.
I didn’t know what else to say. Part of me wanted to keep skating. Part of me wanted to ask him why he was being nice when everyone else already decided I was a joke.
Instead I just nodded.
Noah tapped his stick once on the ice.
“Well… good luck, Ava.”
It was the first time he said my real name. Something in my chest pulled tight. I watched him skate away toward the gate. He didn’t look back.
I stayed on the ice a little longer. Alone again. The nickname still sat heavy in my head.
Ice Girl.
I looked up at the dark sky and whispered the only thing that felt true.
“I’m still going.”
