"What'd ya do to yer face?" Martin Wells gestured with his ice cream cone as he walked Tami to the school entrance, his cargo pants flapping noisily with each step he took in his unlaced high tops.

Her hand flew up involuntarily, "Nothing. I just scratched it," she said, recalling with a shiver the furry touch on her face when it happened.

"Hmph." He slurped away at his cone, hoping to finish before he got inside. 

The school bell was ringing when they reached the doorway, and with a hasty wave, Tami left Martin gulping his cone and ran down the hall to her classroom. Her friend Gloria was just entering the room and she paused to wait as Tami arrived. Staring at the mark, Gloria grinned and started to speak, but Tami pursed her lips and shook a tilted a warning finger at her friend. Undeterred, the persistent Gloria just snickered, "Was that from Allen?" She teased, taking her seat, still giggling.

"NO!" Tami hissed. "And don't you ever tell anyone it was." She bustled to her own desk and sat down huffily, slamming her textbooks down. She would have felt a lot better if it had been from Allen. The thought made her redden and she heard her girlfriend giggle.

      At lunch break, Tami spent most of the period explaining to a noisy circle of inquisitive friends exactly what had happened to cause the mark on her face. Disappointed in the lack of potentially juicy gossip, the chatter finally turned to other topics- boys, and their shortcomings. By the end of the day, as Tami and her friend walked home from school, discussing plans for the coming weekend, the scratch was forgotten.

"Christine said she's meeting us at the rink after dinner." Gloria walked with an exaggerated swing, schoolbooks clutched to her chest.

"Well I can't be there any sooner anyway. It's so neat being able to ice-skate at the arena all year 'round, don't you think?"

"I bet Allen will be there." Gloria sang teasingly.

Tami rolled her eyes and countered, "And I bet Martin will be right along with him." She knew Martin liked Gloria but all he seemed to do was bug the life out of her.

"Ugho!" Gloria mewled, "He's such a goof."

"Oh Glor, Martin's all right. He's just - well, Martin."

"Thank you Miss Einstein for such penetrating insight."

Tami laughed and turned into the driveway of her home, "Call me later. We'll do some homework over the phone."

Gloria nodded and swished off down the street, dancing around the puddles from the previous night's rain.

      By seven o-clock Saturday night the arena was packed with school kids, parents with wobbly toddlers, and show-off ice cops weaving their way backwards through the round of skaters. The blue lines, imprinted in the ice for the occasional hockey game played there, acted as boundaries for the younger boys racing through the throngs of pleasure skaters. Their reward was a whistle blast and a reprimand from one of the rink's policemen, who managed to execute several leaps, spins and stops, spraying a shower of snow before arresting each transgressor. Non-skaters and those just content to watch, or participants who wanted a break, occupied the reserved area of the mezzanine overlooking the rink. Skates without skate guards were not permitted. A variety of drinks and confections were available from a busy stand at one end, catering to dutiful parents and impulsive youngsters. Vladia lounged at a small table against the railing, sipping at a glass of mineral water as she followed the circuit of the crowd below. Her brilliant green eyes glistened in the blaze of the huge lamps above the ice surface.

      "Say hey ladies!" Martin, gliding backwards in front of the three girls, spun clumsily and hit the boards with an awkward thump

"Nice move Martin." Gloria commented snidely.

"Hi Martin," the others offered with a little more compassion.

"Seen Allen yet Tami? He's here you know." Martin hitched his out-sized trousers away from the backs of his skates.

"Oh really?" Tami feigned indifference.

"Turn around Williams," one of the ice cops warned, flashing a look of authority as he blew past the group.

"Aye, aye, captain," Martin saluted, skipping around and landing flush on his backside, "Ooomph!"

      The three girls coasted along the sideboards and stood laughing as they watched him regain his skates amid the throng of people.

Christine waved the skate guards she held in her hand, "Oh look, over there, with Peter. There's Allen."

Tami darted a quick, nonchalant look to where her friend pointed, picking out Allen's tall figure gliding gracefully between the slower skaters. A blue wool toque was snugged down over his brown hair, and his silver windbreaker flashed like a strobe light as he passed through the crowd.

"He's coming this way Tam," Gloria nudged her abruptly.

Skidding up on one foot to a complete stop, Allen smiled brightly at the fidgety girls. "Hi. Hello Tami."

"Hi Allen," her two friends dripped, "Tami's been waiting for a skate." They both beamed mischievously. "Sure Tam, c'mon." Allen smiled brilliantly taking her warm hand in his.

      Blushing, she allowed him to lead her into the ring of skaters. A sharp backward glare at her snickering friends was greeted with coy waves and saucy signals.

Vladia watched the performance with some amusement, considering how she might isolate her quarry for the completion of her purpose. A blast of rock music pounded out of the overhead speakers for the benefit of the younger crowd, the thudding base reverberating along the railing and jarring Vladia to her toes. She sat back in the chair finishing her water, and stared unblinking at the young couple, now gliding around the ice arm in arm. Uncharacteristically, she experienced a yen, briefly wondering how it might feel to be one of them... without he music.

      After several numbers, Allen and Tami went back to join the others. Christine and Gloria were lounging against the boards with Martin, and Peter, who was holding Christine's hand.

Martin tugged the waist of his pants up and, clapping his hands shouted, "What's next gang?"

"Why don't you get some pants that fit," Gloria chastised.

"Hey Glor, these are hot. Hot. Hot!"

"Yeah. Well they're also huge, huge, ridiculous."

"Eeeew, nasty one." Martin snaked his arm around her shoulders and squeezed her to him.

In spite of the look on her face, Tami noticed that Gloria did not attempt to pull away.

"Let's go up and get something to drink," Peter piped up.

"You can't go up without skate guards." Christine pointed out.

"Real men don't wear skate guards." Martin boasted.

"Then you should definitely have a pair." The rest of the group chorused, laughing at Martin's expression.

Allen spoke up, still smiling, "I think we're probably finished here anyway. We'll get our shoes and meet you upstairs. Grab us a table, ok?"

      The six of them crowded around a small table by the railing drinking cold pop and leaving a growing puddle of melting snow from their skates piled on the floor at their feet. Below the tabletop, Peter still managed to have a grip on Christine's hand. The music had finally softened to something more suitable for the weary parents who still hauled their untiring kids around the rink, and conversation returned to a more practical volume.

"Hey," Martin whispered, "check out the lone ranger a few tables down. Boy could she use some sun."

      Casually they each turned to see about whom he was talking. Vladia returned their gaze, smiling calmly, but fixed her eyes with those of Tami.

"Man, that's a little spooky." Peter said, as they huddled their heads together, "See her eyes?"

Tami shivered. "It feels like she's staring right through me."

Allen patted her on the shoulder, leaving his hand there, "She's probably just day dreaming. It only looked like she was staring."

When they turned back again, Vladia was gone.

"Where'd she go?" Gloria twisted around, scanning the mezzanine. "That was wierd."

"OohOOHeehooh." Martin sang, crossing his eyes and curling his fingers into claws.

Gloria punched him unceremoniously on the arm.

"Eleven 'o-clock gang. Closing time. Time for me to head home," Christine said, reaching down awkwardly for her skates while still grasping Peter's hand.

"Yeah, me too," everybody seemed to reply together, gathering up their things and heading back downstairs to the exit.

      Outside, streams of cars, carrying over exercised parents and their families, were filing out of the parking lot. The group stood chatting on the sidewalk in front of the arena for a few moments then split up, waving a noisy good night. Allen slipped Tami's skates off her shoulder and shifted them to his, cementing the fact that he was walking her home.

"That was fun," he mused, stepping around the odd puddle on the sidewalk.

"I still feel uncomfortable about that woman staring at me." Tami confessed.

"Us Tam. She was staring at all of us - if anything."

"I don't know, I- I still feel weird somehow." She glanced instinctively over her shoulder for reassurance.

      They scuffed along in silence for the rest of the way until arriving at her house, fumbling an awkward good night at the gate. Allen handed Tami her skates, stepped back offering a short wave, and said, "Okay Tam, well uh, thanks for the skate. Are you doing anything tomorrow? Maybe I'll uh, see you tomorrow." He dipped his head and tracked backwards a few steps before waving goodbye again.

"'Night Allen. Thanks. I don't know about tomorrow," she called after him, "we'll see." Somewhat perplexed, she closed the gate behind her and ran up the steps into the house.