Chapter 4 They already know my name
It was the next morning and it was time to prepare for lectures. I was walking across the open path near the library when I heard it.
“There’s the Ice Girl.”
The words came from behind me. Clear. Loud enough for people around us to hear. I kept walking like I didn’t notice. My bag suddenly felt heavier on my shoulder.
Footsteps came closer. A group of boys in hockey jackets. They walked like the ground belonged to them.
One of them slowed down until he was right beside me. Tall. Blond hair. That easy smirk already on his face.
“You really think you’re joining the team?” he asked.
I didn’t answer. I kept my eyes forward and my chin up.
His friends laughed. One of them said, “Maybe she got lost looking for the figure skating rink.”
Another one added, “Or maybe she just wants attention. Girls always do.”
I bit the inside of my cheek hard enough to taste blood. The cold air stung my eyes but I didn’t stop walking.
The tall one stepped in front of me, forcing me to slow down. He looked me up and down like I was something he found funny.
“What’s your real name, Ice Girl?”
I finally looked at him. My voice came out steady. “Move.”
He raised his eyebrows, still smiling. “Feisty. That won’t help you on the ice.”
One of his friends clapped him on the back. “Come on, leave her. She’s not worth the trouble.”
They walked past me, still laughing. The sound followed me all the way to the building doors. I could still hear it even after they were gone.
My hands were shaking when I reached for the handle. I curled them into fists so no one would see.
I told myself it didn’t matter. I told myself I expected this. But the words still sat in my chest like cold stones.
Class was worse.
I found a seat near the back and tried to make myself small. People were still coming in. Bags dropping. Chairs scraping. Normal first-week noise. For a few minutes I almost believed I could just be another student.
Then I heard it again. Soft at first. Then clearer.
“That’s her. The Ice Girl.”
Someone two rows in front turned around and looked at me. Then another person. Then another. It spread like a quiet wave.
A girl across the aisle whispered something to her friend. Both of them laughed behind their hands and glanced back at me.
I stared down at my notebook. The lines on the page looked blurry. My ears were burning so hot I thought everyone could see it.
The professor started talking but I couldn’t hear him properly. All I could hear was the nickname moving around the room. Ice Girl. Ice Girl. Like it had already become my real name.
Halfway through the class, a guy near the window said it loud enough for half the room to catch.
“Ice Girl’s in this class too?”
A few people laughed. Someone else made a small coughing sound that was clearly hiding another laugh. The professor frowned and told everyone to settle down, but the damage was already done.
I sat there with my jaw locked, counting every minute until the class would end. My pen was in my hand but I hadn’t written a single word. I just kept pressing the tip into the paper until it almost tore.
When the class finally ended, I packed my things fast. I was out the door before most people had even stood up. I didn’t want to give them another chance to say it to my face.
I needed air. I needed space. I needed the ice so badly my chest hurt.
I was halfway across the quad when I heard my real name.
“Ava.”
I turned.
Noah was standing near the path, hands in his jacket pockets. He looked like he had been waiting for me.
I didn’t smile. I didn’t stop walking.
He caught up easily. “Hey. Can we talk for a minute?”
“About what?”
“About what just happened back there.”
I kept my eyes ahead. “You mean the part where half the campus already has a nickname for me? Or the part where hockey players think it’s funny to block my path?”
He was quiet for a second. “I heard about both.”
“Of course you did. Everyone’s heard.”
We walked a few more steps in silence. The wind was sharper now. It pushed against my face like it was trying to stop me too.
Noah spoke again, voice lower. “Some of the guys are talking more than just jokes now. They’re not planning to ignore you if you show up. They’re planning to make it hard.”
I stopped walking and looked at him. “So what? You came to tell me to quit while I’m ahead?”
“No.”
“Then what are you doing?”
He met my eyes. His face was serious. “I came to tell you it’s going to be worse than you think. They’re not just going to laugh. They’re going to try to break you so you don’t come back.”
My chest felt tight. Anger and something else mixed together. “And you think I don’t already know that?”
“I think you’re angry enough to pretend it doesn’t matter.”
That hit harder than I wanted it to. I looked away. Students walked past us in groups. Some of them glanced over. I wondered how many of them already knew the name. How many of them had laughed at the messages.
Noah’s voice softened. “I’m not trying to stop you.”
“Then what exactly are you doing?”
He was quiet for a moment. Then he said, “I’m only trying to prepare you.”
The words sat between us in the cold air. I wanted to be mad at him, well part of me already was. And there was the proud part. The part that hated the idea of anyone thinking I needed help. But another part of me, the tired part that had been carrying everything alone was almost glad someone was being honest.
I started walking again. He stayed beside me without saying anything.
“I don’t need protecting,” I said after a while.
“I know.”
“I don’t need saving either.”
“I know that too.”
We reached the edge of the path. The arena was visible in the distance. Big and gray against the white sky. The place where everything was going to happen soon.
I stopped and looked at it for a long time.
Noah followed my gaze. “You’re still going to try, aren’t you?”
I didn’t look at him when I answered.
“Yes.”
He nodded once, like he had already expected that answer.
Then he said quietly, “Then you should know… they’re going to come at you with everything they have.”
I finally turned to face him. My voice came out steadier than I felt.
“Good,” I said. “Because I’m not planning to make it easy for them either.”
Something shifted in his expression. Not quite a smile. Something closer to respect. Or maybe understanding.
He didn’t say anything else.
We stood there for a moment longer, the cold wind pushing between us, before I walked away.
This time he didn’t follow.
And for the first time since I got to Frostwood, the nickname didn’t feel quite so heavy on my shoulders.
It still hurt, but it didn’t stop me.
