Chapter three

Meeting Miss Schneider

Anna's heart was pounding as she walked up to the restaurant.

Okay, stay calm, she told herself. There is absolutely no reason to stress about this. It's just a fake date with your sister. No pressure at all.

Now that was a damned lie. There was every reason to stress. What if someone who knew that they were sisters showed up and saw them? What if Kristoff was there? Oh god, what if He-

Her phone buzzed, derailing her train of thought. Her reminder had gone off, meaning it was 5:30, on the dot. Now she was officially keeping Elsa waiting. She took a couple of deep, steadying breaths.

It's okay, everything's going to be okay. If anyone recognizes us, they'll just see two sisters having dinner. If Kristoff sees us, it'll only help explain my behavior. And if He's here, Elsa will skin Him alive. So everything's fine.

She looked in the reflection of the windows and tried to school her plaits into a bun, but her hands were shaking too much. She felt a few hairs begin to slip out of the plaits, and gave up.

"You'll have to take me as I am, sis," she muttered to herself as she entered the restaurant.

Vito's Pizza & Pasta was, as always, bustling but not crowded. When their parents were away, Elsa would often bring her here when she didn't want to cook; thus, Anna had no trouble locating her at her favorite booth.

She was sitting there quietly, arms folded, but when she saw Anna, she smiled and gave a small wave. Anna waved back enthusiastically, before realizing how stupid she must look for doing so and dropped her arm.

Elsa was dressed regally, with a light green blouse and black pencil skirt. Anna couldn't see her feet under the booth, but she was probably wearing heels as well. Anna looked down at her red t-shirt, jean shorts, and faded white sneakers. She felt her face redden.

She looked up again. Elsa was still sitting there, patiently. She shoved her self-doubt to the back of her mind and walked, as calmly as she could, to the booth.

"Hey," Elsa said, smiling warmly at her. "You look good."

"Thanks, you too," Anna said as she sat down. "Sorry about my clothes, I just got out of-"

Elsa raised a finger. "First mistake," she said. "Don't call attention to your flaws. If your date didn't notice, you're just making yourself look worse. If she did notice, she's probably polite enough not to mention it."

Anna blinked. "What?"

Elsa lowered her finger, and giggled. "This is supposed to be a lesson for you, isn't it? I figured that since I'm helping you figure things out already, I might as well give you some tips about dating in general."

"Oh, okay," Anna said. It was a good idea – lesbian or not, she could use some dating advice. "Thanks, sis."

Elsa raised her finger again, this time with a smirk on her face. "Second mistake. Don't call your date 'sis', it'll just make things awkward."

Anna burst out laughing. "Okay, then, mystery girl."

"That's more like it," Elsa said.

The waitress arrived. "Welcome to Vito's Pizza and Pasta. My name is Mary, and I'll be your server today," she said. "Can I get you started with something to drink?"

Elsa looked at Anna. "I think we're ready to order," Anna said. Elsa nodded. The two of them didn't even need to look at their menus to decide.

"I'll have the chicken carbonara, minus the peas, and a White Zinfandel to drink, with a glass of water on the side," Elsa said, holding up her ID.

The server examined it closely, then said, "Certainly, madam. And what would you like?"

Anna looked at her. "I'll have the spaghetti and meatballs," she said. "And a Sprite."

"All right," Mary said, taking their menus away. "We'll have those out to you in just a moment."

"I've been looking forward to this," Anna said as the server walked away. "I haven't had their spaghetti in months.

Elsa quirked an eyebrow. "You don't come here by yourself?"

"No," Anna admitted, looking down. "Where's the fun in that?"

Elsa felt a pang of guilt once again. "I see," she said.

For a few seconds, neither one said anything. Eventually, Elsa broke the silence.

"So, uh, Anna…is that how you pronounce it? Ah-na?" she said, putting on a fake 'date' voice.

This managed to elicit a giggle from Anna. "Yes, that's correct," she said. "Good job, most people don't get it on the first try." She smiled wryly.

"Well, I'm glad. So, Anna. Tell me a little bit about yourself." Elsa steepled her fingers and looked at her intently.

"Well, my…my name is Anna Arendelle," she began, stumbling a little at first but quickly recovering. "I'm 18 years old, and I go to Pleasant Valley High School. I've been on the track and field team since sophomore year. I've lived in this area for basically my whole life."

Elsa waited a few seconds after she had finished talking. "Is…that all?"

"Uh, what do you mean?" Anna asked, feeling like she'd done something wrong but not knowing what.

"Well, for instance, what's your family like? Do you have any siblings?"

Anna chuckled. "Well, you know the answer to that."

"Do I?" asked Elsa innocently. "We've just met, after all."

"Right, of course," Anna said. "Well, my parents are both away right now. They're deployed overseas, but they'll be back next month. I do have an older sister. Her name is Elsa, she goes to Kent State. It's half an hour away from here, but she still comes by every now and then.."

Elsa smiled wryly. "What's she like?"

"Oh, she's the best," Anna said. "She's really funny, she always knows what to say in every situation, she's always willing to lend a hand when I ask…"

Elsa started to blush. Sensing that things were getting awkward, Anna changed the subject. "So, uh, why don't you tell me a bit about yourself?"

"Yes, of course," Elsa said, regaining her composure. "My name is Elsa Schneider."

"Schneider?" Anna interrupted, confused.

Elsa quirked an eyebrow. "Yes, what about it?"

"Uh, nothing," Anna said

Fake girlfriend, fake name. I guess that makes sense.

"Is that, uh, German or something?" she continued, trying to bring the discussion back on track.

Elsa shrugged. "Probably."

Anna snorted.

Elsa tried, and failed, to suppress a chuckle. "I just came up with it five minutes ago, okay?" she said.

"No, it's good. I get it," Anna assured her.

Elsa smiled. "Thanks," she said, smiling brightly. Such a warm, genuine smile-

"Uh, but I interrupted you, Miss Schneider," Anna said. "You were saying?"

"Yes, yes," Elsa said, composing herself. "I'm 21, and I'm a junior at Kent State. I'm majoring in Architectural Engineering."

"Really?" Anna asked. Elsa hadn't mentioned her major before.

"Yes, I'm hoping to be an architect."

"I never knew that."

"Well, it's not something you decide on right away," Elsa explained. "I hadn't figured out exactly what I wanted to do until my second semester. Some people take longer."

"That's interesting," Anna said, leaning forward. "I had no idea you could wait that long."

"It's the most important decision of your life, after all," Elsa said. "You want to know for sure that you won't regret it."

It was then that Mary came back, holding a tray with two plates and three glasses.

"That was fast," Anna remarked as the server distributed their food.

"They're always super fast here," Elsa said.

"Oh, right" Anna said. "I forgot."

Man, it really has been too long, hasn't it?

They both thanked the server, and she quietly departed. Anna twirled her for through the spaghetti and ate it. It was just as good as she remembered.

"So, Elsa-" she began.

Elsa held up her finger again. She didn't say anything, as she had also started eating, but Anna figured out the meaning behind it pretty quickly. She closed her mouth, chewed fully, swallowed, and then resumed.

"So, Elsa, what's Kent State like?" Anna asked.

Elsa swallowed. "Oh, it's great. It's a great campus in a beautiful town, and there's a lot of stuff to do on the weekends. Movie theaters, bars, bowling alleys-"

Anna raised her eyebrows. "You bowl?"

"Yeah," Elsa said. "There's an alley just east of campus, so I figured I'd give it a try. It's pretty fun, and I met some nice people there." She smiled. "That's where I first met Esmerelda."

"Oh yeah," said Anna. "You told me about her. What's she like?"

Elsa sighed dreamily, then caught herself and abruptly stopped. She suddenly seemed uncomfortable. "She's nice," she said, but she didn't elaborate. It seemed like she was regretting bringing it up in the first place.

Not understanding, but seeking to resolve the awkward situation, Anna spoke up. "You know, I used to be really good at bowling."

"Yeah? What happened?" Elsa asked, taking a sip of water.

"Well, they took down the bumpers," Anna said.

Elsa snorted, then coughed as water went down her windpipe. She continued coughing while laughing at the same time, making a noise that would've been comical if not for the pain that caused it. Anna stood to help, but Elsa held up her hand. She slapped herself on the back a couple times, and her coughs subsided.

Elsa took a deep breath, then looked at Anna. They were both silent for a moment, Elsa looking impassive and Anna looking worried. Then Elsa giggled. Anna giggled as well, and before long, they were both laughing heartily. The other patrons, who had turned to look at them during Elsa's coughing fit, returned to their meals.

"So, yeah, uh," Elsa said after her laughter had subsided. "Bowling."

"Right, bowling," Anna agreed, stifling her last few giggles.

Elsa cleared her throat. "The main trick I learned is, you have to move your arm like this, in a sort of scooping movement…"

Anna nodded as Elsa demonstrated. It was quite impressive, how her sister could jump right back to a topic like that, even after such a crazy moment.

Anna didn't have much to add to the conversation, so she simply ate while Elsa explained the finer techniques of bowling. It shouldn't have been interesting, but she was just so enthusiastic, with her sweeping hand gestures and excited voice, Anna couldn't help but be caught up in her enthusiasm as well.

Eventually, she reached the end of her description. "But enough about that. What have you been up to lately?"

Well, there's a sentence He never used.

"Oh, not much, really," Anna said. "I've been watching a lot of TV, mostly. Baseball season's started up again, so of course I'm into that."

"Oh yeah, baseball!" Elsa said. "I haven't really gotten a chance to catch up – what's happened so far this season?"

"Hmm. Quite a bit, actually. Clemson had a big upset against Notre Dame. They were tied for the first 6 innings, but then Seth hit a sacrifice fly…"

Now it was Elsa's turn to eat while Anna described the events of the first few games of the season. Their dad had gotten them into baseball at an early age, and he'd often let them stay up late just to watch the games, though Anna sometimes had trouble staying awake to the end. Even when he was deployed, the two of them would still follow most of the games. It had become something of a tradition, one of many that Anna had missed when her sister went off to college.

Elsa was as good of a listener as she was a speaker. She maintained eye contact well, and only interrupted with pertinent questions. When Anna described a particularly close game, Elsa's eyes would grow wide with anticipation, and she would erupt into a smile or a disappointed sigh, depending on the outcome. It made Anna feel special, to be paid attention to so well.

"So, Miss Schneider," Anna said once she had finished her recap, "What have you been doing in the evenings that prevents you from catching these games?"

Elsa straightened in her seat. "Well, I'm glad you asked…"

xxxxxxx

"And then," Anna continued, "she veered back towards the road and took out the stop sign!"

Elsa put a hand to her mouth. "Jesus," she said.

"The cops showed up shortly after that, and our bus driver decided it was safe to drive past. We all got a chance to look into her car, and there were, like, thirty cans of beer inside!"

"Wow," Elsa said. "We've had some drunk drivers on campus, but nothing that crazy."

"Good," Anna said.

She leaned back in her chair, which inadvertently put the sun in her eyes. She raised her hand to block it.

Hang on, how is the sun so low?

She checked her watch. "Wow," she said. "It's 8:00 already?"

"8:00?" Elsa repeated. She checked her phone and confirmed it. "Shit. I really should get back to the dorm – I was gonna study today."

"Oh yeah, finals are coming up," Anna said. She smiled sheepishly. "Sorry."

Elsa chuckled melodiously. "For what? Being such a good date that I lose track of the time?" She spotted Mary and mimed writing on her hand. Mary nodded, then walked to the register.

Anna idly tapped her fork against her plate, which had been empty for some time. "Yeah," she agreed. "This was a lot of fun. We need to do this again sometime."

Elsa blinked. "Pardon?"

Anna made a mental backspace. "Not the date," she said hastily, "the dinner. N-not even the dinner, actually, just…hanging out, like this."

'Oh, of course," Elsa said. "I should've realized that's what you meant. That's on me."

"No, I should've been more specific," Anna said.

Elsa stroked her chin. "How about tomorrow?" she said. "I don't have any evening classes tomorrow. I could come over, we could watch the game, maybe a couple movies…"

"That's a great idea!" Anna exclaimed. Then a sly smile crept across her face. "But…staying the night after just one date? You're quite bold, Miss Schneider."

Elsa laughed. "It comes with experience," she said.

Mary returned with the bill, and placed it on the table between the two of them. Anna reached for it, but Elsa slammed her hand down on top of Anna's. "Not so fast, Miss Arendelle," she said.

"W-what?"

"I asked you out, so I'm the one who's paying," Elsa said.

"O-okay," Anna stammered. Her hand, enclosed in Elsa's, didn't move, as if it was held in place by some kind of electricity.

Elsa waited a few seconds. "Uh, that means paws off, Anna,"

Anna shook herself. "Right. Of course." She withdrew her hand, and Elsa claimed the bill.

As Elsa filled out the bill, Anna regarded her hand curiously.

That was weird. She's held my hand before – lots of times, in fact. So why did it feel so…tingly this time?

She put it out of her mind. It was, after all, the first time they'd touched that evening. No wonder it felt so magical.

Once everything was taken care of, the two stood up and exited the restaurant. On the sidewalk, they shared a warm hug.

"You were right," Elsa said. "This was fun. It's been way too long since we've done this."

"Yeah," Anna breathed. "I missed you."

Their embrace was all too short, just a few seconds, but Anna still walked away with high spirits. Elsa gave the best hugs, the kind that stuck with you even after it was over.

"See you tomorrow," Elsa said with a wave, before heading for the bus stop.

"See you!" Anna said, waving vigorously.

This was just what I needed, she thought as she got into her car. Some quality time with my sister.

Oh, and Elsa Schneider is quite nice, too.