Frozen belongs to Disney
Chapter 2
Elsa squinted and looked up at the overcast sky; dark clouds swirled and threatened a torrential downpour.
"It's been two weeks, and nobody has recognized you yet," she thought, "maybe you can chance it? Come on, if they were going to recognize you, they would have done it by now, even with the sunglasses. Besides, you can't wear them the entire semester."
Despite getting lost on her first day, she'd managed to find her way around campus well enough, and now it was almost second nature. At first, she'd felt strange sitting in the back of classrooms, indoors, with her sunglasses and hoodie on, but other than an odd glance or two, nobody seemed to care. Tentatively, she removed the large, heavily tinted glasses and hooked them into the v-neck of her shirt, and pulled the hood down to reveal her platinum blonde hair. She felt naked and exposed without them, but she forced her eyes forward, forced herself to avoid looking at the ground. If someone recognized her, so what? As she walked through campus though, students and faculty alike completely ignored her; she was all but invisible.
"That's the whole reason you came to this little school, so nobody would recognize you, remember?" she thought.
She took copious notes during morning classes and sat outside on a bench overlooking the quad to munch on a simple ham and cheese sandwich. A light breeze rustled the leaves of the tree she sat beneath and calmed her thoughts. So far, she had avoided entering the rink again, ever since nearly being caught by that redhead.
"Christiansen," she thought as she recalled the name on the back of her jersey, "going there was a mistake." She had only wanted a glimpse, just to see if she was any good, but then the shooting gallery had been there, all but begging her to take a few practice shots.
Her phone rang and snapped her out of her reverie, and she glanced down at the screen: Father. She rolled her eyes.
"That'll be more of the same," she thought.
She pressed the button to ignore the call and send it to voicemail, then set it to airplane mode so she wouldn't be interrupted again. Her mood spoiled, she wiped the corner of her lips and tossed her napkin and paper bag in the trash, then headed to afternoon classes. The threatened rain never arrived, and after class, on her way back to her car, she'd almost forgotten about keeping a low profile and her concern she might be recognized, when a man called her name from behind.
"Miss Anderson."
She refused to turn around.
"Damn, should at least kept the hood up to cover my hair," she thought.
Footfalls echoed from behind her, and she quickened her steps. Her blue rental waited just a few feet away, and she already had her keys in hand, but whoever it was managed to catch up just before she got there.
"Excuse me, you are Elsa Anderson, aren't you? From Norway?" he asked.
She stopped, closed her eyes, took a deep breath through her nose, and turned, then opened them to get a look at who had accosted her. He wore a dark suit, and his ginger-blonde hair bore significant grey at his temples. She stared up at him but didn't respond.
"It is you," he said. She waited for the inevitable insult or slur, but it never came.
"I'm Professor Westergard," he said, "pleased to meet you, and uh, welcome to Arendelle University."
He held out a hand to shake, and she grudgingly let him wrap his fingers around hers, if only to avoid being needlessly rude.
"I'm with the Finance Department, but uhh, more relevantly, I'm also the coach of the women's hockey team here," he said.
"Oh," she thought.
"I don't play anymore," she said.
"We have a decent program," he continued, undeterred, "but with someone of your talent, we could take it to the next level. It would mean a lot for the girls, too."
"The girls," she thought, "that redhead, Christiansen. No, Elsa. Stop. You have to keep your distance, from everyone."
She shook her head. Westergard was still talking.
"I looked into it," he said, "Your past issues won't a problem, and you could really make a difference-"
"This guy can't take a hint," she thought. Blood rose and her eyebrows came together.
"I said I'm not interested," she said, "now, if you'll excuse me."
She turned away to walk the remaining ten steps to her car and prayed he wouldn't continue to follow her. Thankfully, he merely stood there and watched as she slid into the driver's seat and reached for her seatbelt. He remained rooted to the spot as she drove past him towards the campus exit.
Anna picked the top card from the pile and read the hand-written phrase.
'A male porn star'
"What the hell?" she thought, "how am I supposed to act this out?"
She set the card down and thought for a second. Her two dark-haired teammates, Olaf and Marshall, the first a nerdy boy with thick black glasses, and the other a heavy-set giant of a man, waited for her to start.
"Clock's running," Olaf said.
"Yeah I know…" Anna said. She adjusted the way she walked to give herself some swagger, leaned back slightly, and held her arms up a bit to pretend she had massive shoulders and pecs.
"So ma'am, I heard your pool needs cleaning," she said in as deep a voice as she could muster, "you won't mind if I… take off my shirt."
Someone in the crowd whistled, but Anna ignored them.
"Gigolo!" Olaf shouted, and Anna shook her head.
"Oh, by the way, is that the camera?" she asked, "I hope you're shooting in wiiide screen format."
She put one hand in front of her crotch and extended it out in front of her. Olaf and Marshall's mouths dropped open in confusion.
"Male porn star?" Olaf said.
"Yes!" Anna said as she pointed to him.
"Woo!" Olaf said, and Marshall pumped a fist. A series of groans went up from the rest of the club.
"Okay, and that's the game," Belle said, "Good one you three, and hopefully everyone had fun. Next up, we're going to do the talent exhibition, to get some practice performing in front of a group. No pressure, you don't have to come on stage if you don't want to."
Belle volunteered to go first, and she played a recent pop song theme on the violin. She finished with a flourish and bowed to a smattering of applause. One kid played the guitar, another two played a piano duet. Three kids sang an acapella number, one boy juggled five beanbags at once while walking around the stage, and one girl tap-danced, which was interesting because she'd obviously come prepared with tap shoes.
"Do you really want to do this?" Anna thought, "screw it, what are you doing here if you can't get up in front of two dozen people?"
As the applause died down, she put her hand up.
"I'll go next," she said.
She stood up on the small raised platform and looked out across the classroom at the small group of theater geeks and their wildly individualized clothing and bags. She stood still and thought of her dog, Sparkles, who she had known since the age of seven when he was just little puppy, and who had passed away just two summers ago. A few whispers started among the crowd as the familiar pain came to her eyes, and her vision blurred, then tears spilled over and down her cheeks.
"Whoooaaa," Marshall said.
"You can cry on demand?" someone asked. Anna sniffled and nodded.
"Yup, that's my talent," she said. She hopped off the stage and returned to her seat next to Olaf and Marshall.
"Are you okay?" Olaf asked. He handed her a tissue.
Anna laughed.
"Yeah, it's just acting!" she said with a smile, but she accepted the tissue and wiped her cheeks anyway, "thanks."
Drama club wrapped a few minutes later, but as they exited the classroom, the sound of rain battering the windows reached her ears, and a flash of lightning lit up the hallway, followed by heavy rumble of thunder. Most of the students had parked at the rear of the building, or had friends who drove a car and could drop them off at the dorm. Anna, Olaf, and Marshall were the only three who ended up at the front door, facing the quad. Anna pulled her beat up old umbrella from her trusty bookbag, the same one she'd used in high school, and Olaf pulled one out of his own.
"You don't have an umbrella?" Anna asked Marshall.
He shook his head, and she held hers out to him.
"Nah," he replied, and turned his collar up. Then he was off, sprinting through the drenching rain, downhill towards the lower parking lot.
"Lunatic…. I'll see you next week?" Olaf asked. His dorm was the opposite direction from hers.
"Yeah, see you," she replied.
She considered trying to wait the storm out, then remembered she had study group at eight, and she needed to eat before then. They pushed against the driving wind to open the door, and unfurled their umbrellas simultaneously. Anna hefted her bookbag by its one remaining strap and turned uphill, while Olaf followed in Marshall's footsteps.
The gusting wind tugged at her umbrella, and she held onto it with two hands to keep it in place. The lower half of her jeans soaked through in less than a minute, and her canvas sneakers started to squelch in the puddles on the walkway. She was a little more than halfway around the quad when, with an audible snap, the remaining strap of her worn out bookbag gave way, and the whole thing splashed to the ground.
"Shit!" she said.
Her books cost her an arm and a leg; she couldn't afford to let them get soaked. She bent over to pick up the bag but realized the zipper had come partially undone. As she tried to balance her bag on her thigh to stop the books from falling out into the soaking rain, and keep hold of her umbrella at the same time, a gust of wind flipped half of it inside out.
"Shit!" she said again.
She yanked the zipper and somehow made the situation worse. It was only then she realized the bag was open behind the zipper, and to top it all off, the damn thing chose that moment to jam. She struggled to get it moving again as raindrops battered her shoulders and back. She grit her teeth as drops ran down her shirt; it wouldn't be long before it was completely soaked through.
"Stupid…. Fucking…" she said. She dropped the umbrella as a lost cause and focused on trying to save her books from falling out of her bag. Lightning flashed as she balanced it on one knee, and several pencils clattered onto the pavement as Anna's efforts continued to open the gap even wider. Suddenly, with the sound of raindrops against a tarp, water stopped pelting her, and she realized someone stood next to her with a gigantic umbrella, easily large enough for two. She looked up to see a braid of blonde hair, a concerned expression on feminine features, and a familiar looking grey hoodie, which she now realized had the words 'New York' in bold blue letters on the front.
She pointed a finger up at her savior's admittedly very pretty face.
"Hey, I know you!" Anna said as blue eyes widened in surprise.
"You were watching hockey practice," Anna thought.
"You asked me for directions at the frat house," she said instead.
"Y-yes," the blonde replied, "I remember. You look like you're having some trouble. Do you need a hand?"
"Oh… yes, I umm," Anna said, "my bag broke and-"
"And I can't afford a new one," she thought.
Emotion suddenly threatened to overwhelm her.
"Snap out of it Anna, what's wrong with you?" she thought.
"Here," the blonde said, "let me take one or two."
Together, they managed to transfer a pair of Anna's books into the blonde's bag without losing control of the umbrella.
"I'm Elsa, by the way," she said.
"Anna," she replied, "thanks so much for this."
"Anna," Elsa repeated, as if finding the solution to a puzzle, "where were you headed?"
"My dorm, it's at the top of the hill," she replied, "but you don't have to-"
"It's okay," Elsa said, "let's just get out of the rain."
As they shared the umbrella and climbed uphill, Anna continued to fiddle with the broken zipper of her bookbag. Curiosity nearly burst from her chest, an insistent demand to learn about this individual who she was sure was the one watching hockey practice that one day, but she managed to keep her mouth shut. They arrived at the large overhang in front of the dormitory and Elsa shook her umbrella, then folded it up.
"Thanks so much. Um, do you want to come upstairs for a little bit, until the rain stops?" Anna asked, "I have… chocolate."
Even as she spoke, her offer seemed woefully inadequate, but it was the only thing that had popped into her head. She pushed her soaking wet hair away from her face.
"Chocolate?" Elsa asked.
"It's good chocolate, trust me," Anna said, "If you don't want to, that's fine, I just thought I should kind of repay you for-"
"I'll come," Elsa said, "I mean… I have your books anyway. Lead the way."
Anna smiled as she used her ID card to tap on the sensor to unlock the door, and she led Elsa into the common area. A couple students played chess on the coffee tables, and several others sat in room in the back watching TV from a large couch. Anna's drenched clothing drew a few glances, but nobody really seemed to care. She led Elsa to the brick stairwell and up to the second floor, to her room.
"Here it is," she said as she unlocked the door, "home sweet home."
Her unmade bed glared at her, as did her equipment strewn about the room.
"Oh crap, what a mess. Thank God I washed the pads recently," Anna thought as she quickly scanned to check if she'd left any underwear lying around.
"Ah, haha. I'm on the hockey team, as you can see," Anna said, as she kicked some of the equipment towards the space under her bed, "do you play?"
Elsa didn't respond, except to move closer to the only poster in the room, taped to the wall above her bed.
"Who's this?" she asked.
"That's… Katy Perry?" Anna replied, "I mean… I'm not a huge fan, but the poster was free and the wall was boring otherwise."
"Hmm," Elsa said, and she looked at the other bed in the room, currently empty.
"You have a room to yourself?" she asked.
Anna wasn't sure if she was impressed or not.
"Oh, yeah. My friend Rapunzel was going to be my roommate, but she got a job as an RA and so… she moved out and I guess they didn't find anyone to take her spot," Anna said, "lucky me."
Then she perked up.
"Speaking of Rapunzel, I almost forgot, chocolate," she said. She opened the micro fridge next to her desk and pulled out a single precious bar wrapped in gold foil and red paper.
"Is that…" Elsa said.
"From Switzerland," Anna said, "Punzie brought it back for me. I've been saving it."
Elsa blinked.
"You're sharing your special chocolate with me?" she asked.
"Sure, why not?" Anna replied, "you saved me from the rain, after all. Stupid bookbag."
She nudged the offending bag with the toe of her sneaker. She was going to have to replace it, somehow, but that was a problem for another day.
"I mean, I just happened to be at the cafeteria and I saw you in trouble. Anyone would have done the same," Elsa said. She unzipped her bag and set Anna's books on the desk, while Anna unwrapped the chocolate bar and broke it in half.
"Ready?" Anna asked. Elsa gave her a small nod. They each broke off a small piece and popped them into their mouths. Anna closed her eyes as the rich flavor spread across her tongue, and Elsa leaned against the bed.
"Mmm, so good," they said simultaneously. Anna giggled and Elsa smiled, but that simple expression transformed her face, and to Anna it practically glowed. Her heart skipped a beat and she quickly broke off another piece and jammed it into her mouth. She desperately wanted to know more about this person who shared her love of chocolate, and a thousand questions burst into her mind all at once.
"So… where are you from?" she asked.
"Norway," Elsa replied.
"Whoa," Anna said, "I was expecting more like… New York."
A look of confusion crossed Elsa's features.
"New York? Why would-" she said, then she looked down at her hoodie, "Oh. I picked this up when I landed, to try and blend in more, but I wasn't in the city for more than a few hours. What about you?"
"Oh, I'm a local girl… you know," Anna replied. Admitting she went to Arendelle high school and now attended Arendelle University seemed woefully boring compared to being from Norway, "so… what made you come here?"
"I don't know. I just… I saw the brochure and…" Elsa said as she looked away. Anna got the feeling there was more to the story, but she wasn't about to press her new acquaintance.
"Well, it's a good thing for me and my schoolbooks you came," Anna said, and then the conversation paused. Elsa took another bite of chocolate and stared at the ground. The silence stretched, and Anna shifted her weight from one foot to the other.
"Soooo… what are you studying?" she asked.
"Transportation, logistics, business administration," Elsa replied, "you?"
"Wow," Anna said, "I'm in Education. I think I can be a really good elementary school teacher, you know? I like working with kids. Acting too. I love being on stage. If I can figure out a way, I'd like to get a minor in drama, but that'll be tough. Maybe I can take a few classes over summers, we'll see."
Anna realized she had started rambling, but Elsa didn't seem to mind. In fact, she was smiling again. With a start, Anna remembered she still had to eat, and chocolate as a meal, as enticing as it sounded, was probably not wise.
"Hey, I have to eat something before study group, uhh… do you want to get dinner?" Anna asked.
The smile faded.
"Oh, I'd… I'd better not," Elsa replied, "I have a prior engagement."
"Okay well, maybe we should trade numbers, you know, just in case," Anna said.
Elsa looked confused.
"In case of what?" Elsa asked.
"I don't know… that's why it's just in case," Anna replied with a grin.
Elsa smirked.
"Okay," she replied. She pulled out a touchscreen from her jeans pocket.
"Nice phone," Anna said as she opened her old flip phone, and they exchanged phone numbers. A quick glance out the window told them the rain had stopped except for a few drops here and there, and Anna walked Elsa to the front of the dorm.
"Thanks again, really," Anna said.
"Of course," Elsa replied, "and thank you, for the chocolate."
She held up the remainder of her half of the Swiss chocolate bar.
"Sure, anytime," Anna said, "see you later."
Elsa smiled at her again, then waved and exited through the glass doors, as Anna watched her go.
"I think I just made a friend," she thought.
"Christiansen, my office after showering," coach Westergard said.
He left the bench before Anna could ask what it was about.
"Uh oh, that can't be good," Chloe said. Anna glanced at her smug smirk and a coiling fear took hold of her belly. She hadn't scored since her first game, but she'd had several assists, and she didn't think she'd been playing that badly.
She showered in a daze, and the coiling sensation in her stomach became full blown nausea by the time she knocked on her coach's office door. She pressed the lever to open it and attempted to slide inside, but ended up dragging her bag through the door instead as it tried to close on her. Westergard's office was small, with a few diplomas and a certificates mounted on the wall behind his desk, and a boxy computer screen set on one corner. Several grey filing cabinets occupied one side, and a small window looked out onto the rink.
Anna set her bag down in front of the chair and waited for Hans' father to stop typing on his keyboard.
"Hey," he said, "remember that mystery visitor a few weeks ago?"
"Elsa?" she said.
"Y-yeah," coach Westergard said, "how did you know?"
"We met up yesterday, randomly," Anna replied, "I don't think she knows I saw her at practice though."
"That's perfect," coach Westergard said, "I have a job for you. I want you to get closer to her, see if you can get her to join the team."
Anna furrowed her brow in confusion.
"I can ask her-"
"No no, don't ask her," coach Westergard said, "I already did, and for some reason she doesn't want to."
"So… if she doesn't want to, then-"
"Because she's… you have no idea who she is, do you," he said.
Anna shook her head, and he sighed.
"Elsa Anderson played for the Norwegian Olympic team two years ago. They lost in the final against Canada. She was the youngest member of the team and the second highest scorer, but she didn't play the last game," coach Westergard said.
"Holy crap," Anna said.
"Yeah, she's a world class center and an Olympic silver medalist. Imagine if she played for Arendelle. We'd make the playoffs for sure, maybe even knock off a few big schools. The sky's the limit," he said.
Anna's eyes widened slightly, then she blinked.
"But… then why doesn't she want to play?" Anna asked.
"I have no idea, but that's where you come in," he said, "if you can get close to her, convince her to join, I'll move you to top six forward and put you on the first power play unit. That'll mean more ice time, and more goals."
"Holy… holy crap, so… I get to make a new friend and play more hockey? Win!" Anna thought.
She smiled.
"Okay, I'll see what I can do," she said, "I have her number…"
Coach Westergard gave her a thumbs up.
Elsa's phone buzzed and she checked the screen: Anna. Her heart skipped a beat. She'd contemplated calling the redhead a dozen times, and a dozen times she hesitated because she had no idea what to say… and now here she was calling her. Elsa slid the bar across the touch screen and held the phone to her ear.
"Hello? Elsa?" Anna's slightly distorted voice asked, and Elsa felt herself smile at the sound of it.
"Hi," Elsa said.
"Hey. Hi," Anna said, "listen, uhh, there's a few people, some of my friends, we're headed into town tomorrow afternoon. Do you want to come with?"
"Into town? Oh. I… I don't know…" Elsa said. The idea of mingling with a group of strangers in an unfamiliar town didn't exactly sit well with her.
"Really? I know all the best spots," Anna said, "but seriously though, no pressure. If you don't want to come, that's fine. Or if you want to come and then change your mind, that's fine too, I'll even leave with you."
"You'll leave your friends behind?" Elsa asked.
"Sure, I see them all the time," Anna said.
"She's really going out of her way," Elsa thought, "…you've hardly spoken to anyone since you arrived… plus it would be rude to say no."
"Okay, I'll come," she said.
"You will? I mean… sure, sounds great. I'll meet you in front of the cafeteria at two?" Anna asked.
"Two o'clock," Elsa said.
"Cool beans, see you there!" Anna said. Elsa couldn't help but smile as the call ended, even though she knew she was getting herself into trouble, even though she knew she should cancel. The problem was… she ached. Four weeks alone in a foreign country, with no friends, no one to talk to, no one to spend time with, had left her feeling even more despondent than when she'd arrived.
"Perhaps it's time you got out and met some people," she thought, "maybe you can handle it this time."
The following day, Elsa stood in the cool autumn sunshine on the corner of the patio, near the steps of the school cafeteria. She wore her grey hoodie but forced herself to keep the hood down and her head exposed. Her sunglasses helped her see better, or so she told herself, as she scanned the groups of students coming and going, looking for Anna Christiansen. She spotted her walking from the lecture halls by the quad, backpack apparently repaired, her carrot top hair done up in a pair of braided pigtails. Two others were with her, a pretty girl with long blonde hair, and a burly guy with haphazard sandy brown locks that fell to his ears.
Anna spotted her from below and waved up at her with a smile. Elsa's stomach nearly leaped into her throat. Her heartbeat started thumping in her ears, and she took a deep breath to try and tamp it down.
"It's just an outing with some of her friends. Try not to do anything to make them hate you," Elsa thought.
Anna skipped up the steps ahead of her friends, and the sun glinted off a series of safety pins holding the broken bookbag strap in place.
"Hi," she said, and turned back to her friends, "so this is Elsa, she's the one I told you about, who helped me out of the rain? This is Kristoff, and this is Rapunzel."
She motioned to her two friends in turn, and Elsa gave them each a small wave.
"Hello," she said. They smiled and nodded and said their hellos.
"Okay… Kristoff drives, so, we can all take his car?" Anna asked. Elsa realized she was looking at her.
"Sure, that'll be more fun, right?" she said.
"Yup, okay, let's go!" Anna said, and she led the way to the other end of the patio, back towards the quad. "Come on," she added as she turned and waved to them.
"I wonder what she's going to do when she gets to the car without me," Kristoff said quietly.
"As funny as that would be, Flynn is already there waiting for us," Rapunzel said, and Kristoff nodded.
"That's your boyfriend?" Elsa asked.
Rapunzel nodded.
"And you and Anna are together I guess?" Elsa asked.
"Who, me?" Kristoff said, "no no, we're just friends. Practically grew up together. She's dating Hans."
His cheeks quickly turned bright red.
"Okay," Elsa said with an amused smile, "just asking."
"Damn, boyfriend," she thought, "…not like you should be trying to be with anyone at the moment, Elsa."
She couldn't help herself though. After just two minutes with Anna, she found herself wanting more.
"Come ON," Anna said, "it's going to be dark before we get there."
They walked across the quad to the rear of the Science and Technology building, and Kristoff led them to his car, a beat up old grey Honda Civic. A sizable dent marred one door, and the paint had worn off or been scraped away from a good portion of the trunk.
"Old Bettie, don't mind the battle scars," Kristoff said as he unlocked the doors. Anna and Elsa slid into the back seat while Rapunzel and Kristoff tossed their backpacks into the trunk, then sat in the front. With a rattle, the engine turned over, and Kristoff backed out of the parking spot and guided them off campus, towards town.
"Oh, shoot, I forgot to ask if you ice skate," Anna said.
"Do I… we're going ice skating?" Elsa asked.
Punzie twisted around.
"You didn't tell her we're going ice skating?" she asked.
"I guess, I might have… forgot?" Anna said sheepishly. She unzipped her backpack a few inches to let Elsa see the skates inside.
"Ohh…." Elsa said. She opened her mouth to speak, but Anna must have sensed her mood shift.
"I'm so sorry, it's okay if you don't want to go," she said, "we can do something else. I don't mind."
Kristoff slowed to a crawl near the edge of campus and looked at her in the rearview mirror, and Elsa looked at Anna, her teal-colored eyes apologetic and completely non-judgmental.
"It's not hockey, it's just skating. Don't be a party pooper, and don't pull her away from her friends," Elsa thought
"It's fine. I don't have skates here, so I'll have to rent," she said.
"Okay, whew," Anna said, "so, Kristoff's dad works at the rink, and he gets us free admission all the time. Today's opening day, and it's kind of a tradition for the three of us."
"Opening day?" Elsa asked.
"It's an outdoor rink. They have to close in the summer," Anna said.
Actually, that sounded interesting.
They drove around the outskirts of Arendelle town and past a mall. Trees lined both sides of the road, and the leaves had just started to turn shades of yellow, a promise of the cascade of colors to come once autumn got fully underway. They pulled up to a small strip of shops near the outdoor rink. Lamp posts surrounded the open area where people already glided around, and beyond that lay a grassy field, and woods in the distance. They parked and walked up the wide concrete path towards the ticket counters, while Anna practically skipped with excitement. A flock of geese flew overhead in a V-shape, calling to one another.
"Hey Sven, four," Kristoff said to the boy working the counter. The boy wordlessly printed off a few tickets and handed them to Kristoff, "oh, and we need a rental, too."
He printed off one more slip of paper and passed it over.
"Thanks man," Kristoff said, and Sven nodded wordlessly in response. Kristoff handed out the tickets as they passed beneath the roof of an open structure. At the far end, a series of snack bars served up fast food and ice cream, and on the near side stood rows upon rows of lockers and the skate rental counter. Beneath the roof, dozens of tables sat, about half of them filled with families taking a break from the ice. Upbeat pop music played from speakers hidden somewhere.
"I'll look for Flynn while you get your skates," Rapunzel said. Elsa nodded, and Rapunzel and Kristoff wandered off into the sea of tables. Anna stayed with her.
"Sorry again for not telling you we were skating," Anna said.
"It's fine. I don't know if I would have come if you had told me up front," Elsa said.
"Why not?" Anna asked.
"I just… I don't know, I haven't skated in a long time," she said.
"Oh. Well, it's like riding a bike," Anna said. Elsa smiled in acknowledgement, and focused on loosening her shoes as they waited. She placed them on the counter when they arrived at the head of the line.
"Figure or hockey skates?" the pimply kid at the counter asked.
Elsa hesitated for a second.
"Hockey," she replied.
He returned with a pair of the most beat up old hockey skates Elsa had ever seen. The leather was so soft it barely held up under its own weight. She shook her head and scraped a thumbnail across the edge of one of the skate blades; they were so dull she'd be sliding sideways. She turned to see Anna watching her curiously.
"Damn, she saw me check how sharp the blades were," Elsa thought. If Anna thought anything of it, she didn't speak her mind. Elsa, careful to keep her stocking feet away from the small puddles of water here and there, followed her to the lockers and benches. There, Anna opened her bookbag and fished around the front pocket.
"Ah hah," she said, and pulled out a rectangular whetstone, "I did bring it. It won't be a full sharpening, but it'll be better than nothing. Whaddya say?"
She held out a hand for Elsa's rental skates, and Elsa handed them over with a grin. She watched as the redhead, with practiced motions, pressed the grey stone down both inside and outside edges of each skate. Elsa checked the blades again and a small bit of her fingernail scraped off this time. It was like Anna said: not a full sharpen, but better than nothing.
"Thanks," she said.
"Anytime," Anna replied. They laced up their skates and Anna shoved her sneakers into her bag, then they stood up to search for Kristoff and Rapunzel. Elsa spotted Kristoff's bulkier form first, near the rink, and Rapunzel held another guy's hand. He was somewhat shorter and slimmer than Kristoff, and Rapunzel had a somewhat sour expression on her face.
"Heads up, Flynn told someone and now half of ADA frat is here, and Chloe and Jessica," she said.
"Well, if you'da told me it was a secret, I wouldn't have said anything," Flynn said.
"It's not, really. It's just sort of a tradition for Punzie, Kristoff, and me," Anna said, "well, the more the merrier, I guess."
Elsa sensed the uneasiness rolling off the redhead though.
"I'm sure it'll be fine," she said quietly. Anna looked back at her with a smile, and nodded.
Anna stepped onto the ice first, where dozens of townsfolk already circled around the large, frozen surface. Unlike a normal hockey rink, there were no lines here, only a single white sheet of ice. A few puddles of water marred the surface here and there where the coils beneath the ground couldn't keep the water fully frozen in the mild early autumn afternoon. Rapunzel, Flynn, and Kristoff took off on a quick lap while Anna waited for Elsa. She took a single step onto the ice, and the instant her blade touched the frozen water, her awareness opened like it always did. She felt where everyone was on the ice: every child toddling about, every kid hanging on to the boards, every figure skater practicing spins in the center, every hockey player zipping around the straightaways. The feeling of ice beneath her skates, even if they were the cheapest and most well-worn skates she'd ever stepped foot into, took her back, back to practice, back to hockey.
"Back to that day," she thought.
Anna skated backwards away from her.
"I thought you could skate," the redhead said.
"I'm taking it easy because these aren't my skates and I don't want to fall into any puddles," Elsa replied.
Anna opened her mouth to reply, but they were interrupted by a spray of snow as a pair of guys slid to a stop near them.
"Hey babe," one of them said, a muscular jock-looking type with ginger-blonde hair. He grabbed Anna by the hands and spun her around, and envy crawled up from somewhere in Elsa's gut.
"Hans. Flynn said you were here. I thought you were busy, otherwise I would have invited you too," Anna said. The other man, even bigger and stronger looking than Hans, openly leered at Elsa. She stood up straight and stared right back, and he smirked.
"Hans, Gaston, this is Elsa," Anna said, "she helped me out the other day in the rain."
"Ah yeah, you mentioned," Hans said as he looked her up and down, "from Norway, right? Welcome to Arendelle."
"Thank you," Elsa said.
Two girls slid to a stop near them, and one of them sprayed Anna's skate with some snow.
"Oops," she said.
"Aaand this is Chloe, and Jessica," Anna said. Elsa said her hellos, but she got the feeling there was no love lost between Anna and the two other girls. In fact, the blonde, Chloe, kept eyeing her with an almost disgusted expression.
"Now now, play nice," Hans said. He turned his attention back to Anna.
"So, we're going to have a race, you want in?" he asked.
"A race? Why?" Anna asked.
Hans shrugged.
"For fun," he replied.
"Aren't there… people and kids skating here?" Elsa asked. She looked around at the slow moving, non-hockey players drifting around.
"It's not that crowded. Besides, that's part of the fun," Hans replied, "do you skate?"
"Not really," Elsa replied, but she didn't want to spoil Anna's fun, and she turned to her, "you can go though, I'll watch from the side."
"Are you sure?" Anna asked.
Elsa nodded, and she drifted off to stand near the boards at the edge of the rink. About ten skaters lined up near the end of the ice and waited for a break in the crowds. At some unseen signal, they all took off, sprinting furiously.
"They're all decent skaters, which… I guess makes sense, since they all play," Elsa thought.
Several of the boys led the pack, including one impish kid who was clearly faster than everyone else, followed by Anna and Rapunzel. They weaved and dodged around the other skaters on the ice, but around the third turn, Kristoff and Hans nearly collided. They both lost their balance and almost fell, which forced Gaston to swerve to the outside to avoid hitting them. That left Anna and Rapunzel free to cut the inside corner and come in second and third, just ahead of Chloe and Jessica. Elsa drifted over to the group, where Rapunzel and Anna laughed and traded jokes. Anna's cheeks were rosy from exertion, and she grinned at Elsa as she approached.
"Second behind Peter, not bad," she said.
"Yeah, that kid can really fly," Elsa said.
"He's the fastest on the men's team, so I don't feel too bad losing to him," Anna said. The speedy forward gave them a thumbs up and a grin.
"Ah, you got lucky," Hans said, but there was no malice in his words; it all seemed like good natured fun. The blast of an airhorn interrupted them.
"Ladies and gentlemen, please clear the ice for resurfacing."
Elsa, feeling very much like an outsider now that Anna's boyfriend had joined them, followed along as the group staked out a pair of tables. Most of them headed up to buy snacks, which left Anna and Elsa to hold the seats.
"So, I guess you're pretty good," Elsa said.
Anna smiled.
"I'm okay, but if my dad were here he'd be all over my case, asking why I'm not practicing or hitting the gym," she said, "still, I love hockey."
Elsa smiled at that.
"You love hockey?" she repeated.
The redhead's face lit up as she started talking.
"I really do," she said, "it's like… the perfect game, and it's played on ice, how cool is that? I can't believe I get to play for my school, too. There's no feeling in the world like getting the puck on a breakaway, and it's just the goalie between you and the net…"
Her words blended together, and Elsa didn't so much listen to what she was saying as take the opportunity to observe every little detail about her face and commit it to memory… the freckles on her cheeks, the slight upturn of her nose, the captivating blue-green color of her eyes.
"I love playing, it's the best," Anna said.
Her earnestness reminded Elsa of her younger days; the enthusiasm was infectious, and Anna continued talking.
"I guess it started with my dad, he always wanted to play professional but I guess he didn't quite make it," she said, "I mean I know he means well, but he's a… super strict, conservative type, you know? Anyway, I guess if it wasn't for him, I wouldn't be on the team now so, I guess I owe him that."
Elsa nodded.
"I know all about having a father with high expectations," she said.
Anna gave her a quizzical look.
"Really? How so?" she asked.
Elsa's smile faded.
"Maybe another time," she said.
"Okay," Anna said, but she bounced her knee as if talking about her chosen sport had infused her with even more energy.
"Hey babe," Hans said as he arrived with a tray filled with fries and chips, "Kristoff's asking which drink you want."
He motioned with his head.
"Be right back," Anna said as she stood up and moved towards the snack bar. Hans watched her go for a moment, then looked back to Elsa.
"So, Elsa from Norway?" he asked.
"That's right," she replied with a nod.
"You got any American in you?" he asked.
She shook her head.
"No, I don't think so," she replied.
"You want some?" he asked with a wink and a grin.
It took her a moment to realize what he meant, but before she could respond, Flynn and Rapunzel returned with trays, followed by Kristoff, Anna, and the rest of the group. Hans acted like nothing had happened, and Elsa found herself questioning whether he had really just hit on her, or if it was some kind of bad joke.
"He's Anna's boyfriend," she thought, "should you say anything?"
Conversation continued around her. One of the frat brothers flung a fry at the other, but rather than retaliating, he picked it off his shirt and popped it in his mouth, then flipped off his 'brother'. Anna smiled up at Hans when he put his arm around her, and Elsa frowned.
"She might not even believe you, and then where would you be?" she thought.
He caught her staring at him, and, unnoticed by anyone else, with his arm still around Anna's shoulders, he winked again.
"Fucking pig," she thought. Anna seemed like such a good person, and she instinctively wanted to protect her.
"It's none of your business, though," she thought.
The rink announced the reopening of the ice, and Elsa followed the rest of the group out, but she stared down at the white surface as she glided and contemplated.
"Hey, everything okay?" Anna asked as she slid in next to her.
Elsa looked over at her and nodded.
"Let me know if you're ready to go," the redhead said, "I can tell Kristoff and he'll take us back to campus."
"I wouldn't want to take you away from your… friends," Elsa said.
"It's fine. I told you; I see them all the time," Anna said, "do you want to go?"
Elsa looked into her earnest turquoise eyes for a moment, then nodded once.
"Okay. I'll get the others," she said as she skated off. A few minutes later, they changed out of their skates and Elsa exchanged the beat-up rentals for her flats, and then they were back at Kristoff's car. Rapunzel had stayed with Flynn, and Anna took the front seat.
"So did you have fun?" Kristoff asked as he looked at her in the rearview mirror.
"Oh… yes, it was fun," Elsa replied, "but the skates were…"
"Oh yeah, rentals," Kristoff said, "I get it. I was done anyway. I mean, we're on the ice every day as it is."
He drove them back to campus, and Elsa stared out at the woods passing by.
"Should I drop you at your car?" Kristoff asked. They had arrived back at campus and she hadn't even realized.
"Sure, just over there," she said. They rolled to a stop near her rental, and she opened the car door and stood up. Anna followed suit.
"Hey, don't be a stranger, okay?" Anna said, "see you again soon?"
"Of course she's worried you're unhappy," Elsa thought. Again, she considered warning her about Hans, but again, she determined nothing good would come of it.
"Sure. I had fun," Elsa said.
"I had fun… with you," she thought, "Stop, Elsa. She has a boyfriend, even if he is a jerk."
"Me too! Okay, talk to you later!" Anna said, still full of bubbly effervescence. She waved and ducked back into the car, and Kristoff cruised off towards the dorm at the top of the hill.
Elsa slid into the driver's seat and pulled the door shut behind her. She sat for a moment and replayed her interactions with Anna over the course of the afternoon, then sighed, buckled up, and drove the twenty-five minutes to Concord. It was the nearest medium sized town to Arendelle, and also happened to be the capital of New Hampshire. She pulled into the parking lot of her hotel, and headed up to the governor's suite, which she had booked indefinitely.
"You shouldn't hang out with them anymore," she thought as she dropped her keys on the table, "but… it's been a long time since you had an incident. And if you joined the hockey team like Westergard asked, you'd definitely get to see more of Anna."
A musty smell reached her nostrils, and she realized the rental skates had infected her socks. She quickly threw them into the hotel provided laundry bag and pulled the drawstring shut, then took a hot shower. Room service delivered a hot chamomile tea, and, clean and naked beneath her silk bathrobe, she sat at the large window as the sun dipped below the horizon.
"They don't know about what happened, and Westergard said it wouldn't be an issue. You could have a fresh start," she thought as she took a sip.
She shook her head.
"It's not safe; what if someone finds out? Or worse, what if someone else gets hurt?" she thought, "but come on Elsa… do you really think you can go sixteen weeks without talking to anyone and not fall into some kind of depression?"
The image of Anna's smiling face and rosy cheeks came to her again, and she felt the corners of her own mouth turn upwards.
"There's nothing there," she thought, "not for you."
She placed the teacup back on the platter, leaned forward, and held her head in her hands. Images came to her, playing on a line with Anna. Scoring a goal. Celebrating afterwards, Anna's ecstatic face inches away from her own… changing in the locker room… showering.
"I wonder if her freckles go all the way down," she thought.
She leaned back in the chair with her eyes closed and let her tired mind drift to visions of freckled skin and soft curves. She startled awake some time later to the fleeting vestiges of a redhead's smile, and a warm tingling sensation between her legs. She blinked in the darkness; the only light in the room came from the digital clock on the bedside and whatever filtered in from the streetlights outside. Elsa stood; her leg had fallen asleep. She pulled the curtains closed, shed her robe and left it on the chair, then slipped beneath the covers. Still drowsy from her nap, she closed her eyes and drifted again, hopefully to continue her dream, but as sleep called, she equally wondered if morning's light would bring any clarity.