Ballet on Ice

While Shevonne was sitting with the canvas in his hands, he couldn't stop looking at such a masterpiece. Suddenly, Valerie approached him and took a peek at the canvas. "So she's an artist, huh? So you're into artists now? I thought you were into girls who skate?" Valerie said with an upset tone as she stared at Shevonne.

"Who said I liked her, idiot?" Shevonne stood up and walked away, but Valerie followed him. "I know you do, just admit it!" Shevonne paused, stared at Valerie, and said, "Why are you so annoying? I don't like you, keep that in your mind," in an upset tone before walking away.

Shevonne was sitting outside waiting for his coach. When his coach arrived, they both hopped into the car and drove off. As they were heading to Shevonne's house, they saw someone familiar walking. When the car stopped, it was Ehvermaia walking back home. "Hey, Ehvermaia, come hop in. It's dangerous walking alone. I'll send you home." Ehvermaia hopped inside the front seat.

"Is this how much you hate me that you won't sit beside me? I'm so hurt," Shevonne said teasingly as he giggled. "Don't get me wrong, just because I drew you doesn't mean I like you. And Valerie doesn't have a face on the canvas because I couldn't see her face from afar and I forgot what she looks like," Ehvermaia said, looking at him from the rearview mirror with a straight face before gazing outside the car.

"Well, I'm thankful you didn't draw her face. But wow, so you memorized my handsome face now, huh?" Shevonne leaned closer to the front seat.

Ehvermaia rolled her eyes and looked away. "Of course, how can I forget your annoying face?"

Coach Lee suddenly interrupted while looking at Ehvermaia beside him. "How's your mother, Ehvermaia? It's been five years; is she oka—" Before Coach Lee could finish his question, Ehvermaia interrupted. "She's dead, and don't even ask about my father," Ehvermaia said, looking at Coach Lee with a pissed look.

Shevonne, who was listening from the back, leaned back in his chair. Coach Lee was stunned into silence, glancing at Ehvermaia before continuing to drive. "So, I heard you draw. You must love drawing so muc—" Ehvermaia interrupted again. "I don't. I never did. I'm disappointed. I can't draw without any references. I can't draw without looking at something. I'm upset I forgot what my mother looks like. I can't even draw a single feature of her."

Coach Lee let out an awkward scoff, unsure of how to respond, so he didn't say anything else. Once they arrived at Shevonne's house, Shevonne got out of the car. Suddenly, Shevonne's mother came out of the house. "Shevonne, call your coach and let him come in. I'm inviting him for dinner."

Coach Lee got out of the car, looking at Ehvermaia as she also exited. "Thank you, Mr. Lee. I can walk back home now." Before she could walk away, Shevonne's mother called out, "Oh dear, please have some dinner first before you go." She smiled as Ehvermaia mumbled to herself, "How did I end up here?"

When they went inside the house, they all sat and ate dinner. Shevonne looked at his sister, Shaylene. "Oh right, Shay, she's the one who painted me." Ehvermaia stared at Shevonne with her eyes saying, "Why the heck would you need to tell her that?"

Shevonne's mother, Shella, gasped. "Oh my! Really? The one where you look so real?" Shella stared at Ehvermaia in shock.

Ehvermaia laughed awkwardly. "Yes, I did," she thought to herself, "Why did he have to say it was me?"

Shaylene looked at Ehvermaia, confused. "But I've never seen you before," Shaylene said while staring at Ehvermaia eating.

Ehvermaia was also confused and responded, "Of course you've never seen me before, because it's my first time seeing you either."

Shevonne interrupted with a small, awkward giggle. "Oh no, Ehve, my sister is a famous artist, and she knows all the artists here. She's just confused because she doesn't know you."

"So it's either confusion or an insult, huh?" Ehvermaia stared at Shaylene before looking at Shevonne and continuing to eat.

Shaylene raised an eyebrow and stopped eating. "I guess you aren't famous at all, but the way you painted my brother is next level. You're more talented than me."

Ehvermaia thought to herself, "Wow, so it's both an insult and a compliment. What a dumbass. I wish I had just walked away when they invited me."

Shevonne's father, Arthur, then stared at Ehvermaia, noticing her lack of response. "So let me guess, you might be studying fine arts? It's expensive; mostly it's a four-year degree. By looking at you, you don't seem like the type to have that much money."

Shevonne was embarrassed and shocked by his father's questions. She stopped eating and stared at his father. "Father, what kind of question is that?"

Ehvermaia suddenly smiled. "Oh well, it's really my huge flex that I can't afford it, but the school told me I don't need to pay because I'm the greatest artist in this area. I always win first place in art contests. The school is so proud, but I'm still not famous. But it's alright; at least I got in for free, right?"

"I like your energy, young lady," Arthur smiled sarcastically.

Once they were done eating, Coach Lee sent Ehvermaia home. As she arrived home, she took a shower and went to bed.

As Ehvermaia was lying in her bed, she remembered her father during her visits to him in the mental hospital. "He's a dumb shit," she thought.

There was a time when Ehvermaia visited her father at the mental hospital, where the rules were strange—you could only enter a patient's room if you were a family member. Ehvermaia went into her father's room and lay down on his bed as her father sat nearby. "This bed isn't comfy at all," Ehvermaia said.

"Of course it's not going to be comfortable. This is a mental hospital, not a hotel," her father responded.

Ehvermaia and her father shared a sarcastic sense of humor and were quite similar in many ways. But when Ehvermaia's mother died, her father had a mental breakdown and needed to be admitted to the mental hospital. Ehvermaia could no longer attend ballet classes because she couldn't afford them, and with her mother gone and her father unemployed, it was impossible to continue.

As Ehvermaia was deep in thought, she suddenly fell asleep. The next day was Friday, and there were usually no classes, but she ate breakfast as usual and then walked to school. As she was walking, she heard Shevonne calling from afar, "Hey! Wait for me!"

"Ugh, why is this happening to me?" Ehvermaia muttered, stopping to wait for Shevonne to catch up. He bent down, hands on his knees, catching his breath. "Gosh, that was a long run. I don't like that."

Shevonne and Ehvermaia walked to school together, but Ehvermaia didn't care to say anything. "I'm sorry about what my father said last night. He can be a crazy bitch sometimes."

"You're also a crazy bitch sometimes, but I never heard you say sorry to me for your actions," Ehvermaia said sarcastically.

As they kept walking towards the school, many people saw them and ran towards them, screaming. Ehvermaia suddenly ran, not wanting to get surrounded by people. Seeing her run, Shevonne followed. Ehvermaia noticed him behind her. "What the fuck?! Go away! Don't chase me, you motherfucker!"

"But I'm not! I'm just getting away from the crowd!" Shevonne yelled, catching up to her. "Why the heck do you run so fast? Slow down!" Ehvermaia heard him but didn't slow down at all.

They ran away from the school, Ehvermaia ran towards an empty playground and went to hide inside the slide. Shevonne was confused but found it cute and followed her inside.

"Great hiding spot. No one would ever think to look in the most obvious place."

Ehvermaia was startled as she was sitting inside the slide. "You just startled me," she said. Shevonne sat beside her; the space was tight.

"I kinda don't like that you're taking all my personal space, Shevonne."

Shevonne made a weird face as he stared at Ehvermaia. "Oooh, it's my first time hearing you say my name," he said in a teasing tone as he moved to give her some personal space. Minutes passed without any conversation, and Shevonne was getting uncomfortable with the silence. "About last night, I'm sorry."

Ehvermaia leaned over inside the slide, staring at Shevonne, who also leaned the opposite way, putting them face to face. "Sorry about what exactly?"

Shevonne looked away, hesitating for a second. "For my father being a hypocrite and my sister being a bitch."

Ehvermaia let out a small scoff as she looked at Shevonne. "I wish I had just walked home last night."

"Well, I'm sorry alri- AHHH!" Before Shevonne could finish, he yelled as he fell into the slide. Ehvermaia watched him slide until he hit the ground. "Idiot," she muttered as she also slid out.

Shevonne stood up, wincing. "That hurts like hell."

Ehvermaia walked away to ride a swing as Shevonne watched her. "You sure are immature."

He then joined her on the swings. Ehvermaia raised an eyebrow. "Looks like you are too."

Shevonne went behind her and gently pushed her. "I guess so."

As Shevonne kept pushing her, he asked, "What is your future job?"

Ehvermaia was stunned by the sudden question. "I used to dream of becoming a lawyer, but then I started to like ballet."

Shevonne was curious. "Didn't you stop? I heard it was five years ago."

Ehvermaia let out a small sigh. "My mother died, and my dad got unemployed. I couldn't afford to continue ballet, so I researched which schools offer free scholarships if you're great in the course you choose."

Shevonne was stunned and stopped pushing her. "I'm sorry about your parents, but I didn't know there was this free scholarship thing." He sat down on the swing next to Ehvermaia.

Ehvermaia pushed her feet to swing. "First day I applied, I already went into a contest, and I won. I can't draw anything without looking, so I drew the five judges in front of me."

Ehvermaia stopped pushing her feet to stop swinging and looked at Shevonne. "What about you?"

Shevonne stared at her as he thought about what kind of job he wanted in the future. "I just want to continue doing figure skating."

After Ehvermaia heard his answer, she nodded and kept swinging. After a while, she told Shevonne that she wouldn't go to class since it was also Friday and there were no classes. An hour later, while they were still at the playground, Valerie, Shevonne's figure skating partner, spotted them. "What are you both doing here? It's so hot," she remarked.

Ehvermaia and Shevonne simultaneously replied, "We're not some Disney characters you see," and then glanced at each other. "Jinx," Shevonne added while looking at Ehvermaia.

Curious, Ehvermaia asked, "What does 'jinx' mean?"

Shevonne laughed it off and didn't respond. Valerie kept looking at them and suddenly approached, sitting on the vacant swing beside Shevonne. Ehvermaia was curious why she hadn't seen Valerie at school. "Do you go to a different school?"

Valerie rolled her eyes at Ehvermaia. "I do, why?" Ehvermaia wondered to herself, "It must be a private school, but why isn't Shevonne there instead of in a public college?"

Shevonne then addressed Ehvermaia directly, "You might be wondering why I'm not in a private school, right? Coach Lee is the best figure skating coach, and he's at a public school, so that's where I am too. The school's reputation will soar once they realize they have a great figure skater like me," he teased, letting out a small giggle. "He really is a mind reader," Ehvermaia thought to herself.

Valerie stood up and walked away, looking back before leaving. "I don't like the hot temperature," she commented with a roll of her eyes.

Ehvermaia watched Valerie walk away, murmuring to herself, "She's pretty. Her skin is so fair."

"What the hell? You think she's pretty? Are you out of your mind?" Shevonne jabbed a finger toward Ehvermaia.

Ehvermaia slapped his hand away and shot him an irritated look. "You're so annoying."

Shevonne stared back at her as she stood up. Ehvermaia scoffed, "I'm just jealous of how fair she—" Shevonne cut her off, "Fair? Come on, she's practically translucent. What's wrong with your own fair skin?"

Ehvermaia burst into laughter, covering her face in disbelief. "Now you're admitting you're not that handsome either. You two have the same complexion!" She doubled over, clutching her stomach.

"Laugh all you want, you bitch," Shevonne retorted, suppressing a smile. "But seriously, teach me ballet—on ice."

Ehvermaia, still giggling, stood up, her face red from laughter. "Sure, because pirouettes are definitely easier when you're sliding around on blades instead of dancing in shoes on solid ground."

Shevonne chuckled, not bothering to mention that ice pirouettes were a thing. He offered Ehvermaia his hand. "Come on, the stadium is nearby. Let's walk there."

They arrived at the stadium, where Shevonne borrowed ice skates for Ehvermaia. After changing, they stepped onto the rink. Shevonne held Ehvermaia's hands to steady her. "Feel balanced now? Try skating."

Ehvermaia cautiously let go and started to skate slowly. "It's so slippery," she remarked nervously, with Shevonne following closely behind.

Suddenly, Shevonne skated backward, pulling Ehvermaia along. "Think of it like roller skating," he suggested with a grin.

"This isn't roller skating, and I'm not dumb enough to act like it is! Besides, I don't know how to roller skate, you idiot!" Ehvermaia shouted as Shevonne slowed down, laughing.

"Okay, okay," Shevonne said, stopping to demonstrate proper form and technique to Ehvermaia.