"No time to stand around, Sydnie, let's go!"

I roll my eyes and push myself off the wall. After losing the last competition, Coach Hardin has been working me extra hard. It's not like I even lost, though. I placed second, but that's never good enough for her.

I glance at the large clock on the wall of the ice arena. It's not even noon yet, which means I'll be here for at least another hour.

I do a couple of laps around the rink before running through my routine again. Coach Hardin barks orders at me, telling me to fix my posture and form. I keep my thoughts to myself and comply. 

By the time practice ends, my legs are so sore I can barely reach my car. I turn the heat all the way up as I drive home. I've been ice skating almost since I could walk but the cold still bothers me. 

It's not even seven, so I stop by my boyfriend Adam's house before I go home.

His mom opens the door, and her face lights up when she sees me.

"Sydnie, daring how are you," she asks. 

I sit with her for a few minutes before I go upstairs to Adam's room. He's lying on his bed watching some horror movie. 

"Hey babe," I say. 

His eyes don't leave the screen, but he pats the empty side of the bed next to him. I lay next to him and he slides his arm around me. 

"You're freezing," he says, kissing my hair.

"I just finished practice," I tell him.

We lie down and watch the movie in silence. It may seem weird, but it's our dynamic. Neither of us are big talkers, but the silence is always comfortable.

"That was something," I say as the end credits roll. All of the characters ended up dying a gory death. 

Adam shrugs.

"What do you want for your birthday, Syd?"

Now it's my turn to shrug.

"We should take a trip," I suggest. 

My birthday usually falls within spring break, so neither of us will have school.

"Where," he asks.

"It doesn't have to be far. We can go to Buffalo," I suggest. 

Buffalo is a six-hour drive from the city, but it won't be bad if we take turns. 

Adam sighs. 

"How would that work with..you know..your parents?"

My parents are the most strict people on the parents. On top of that, they don't even know Adam and I are dating. They think I come over here for his sister Kayla, who's the same age as me. Adam is a year older. 

That's not entirely untrue though, I come to see Kayla all of the time.

"I'll make something up," I say. "If I tell them it's a competition they'll probably let me go."

I've gone further by myself for competitions before, so it won't be unbelievable.

"Okay, but they'll be expecting an actual competition," Adam says.

I do a quick search and find a local competition happening that week.

"I found one, but it's kind of smaller than the ones I usually do,"

Adam and I continue working out the details for the next half hour until my phone rings. 

"It's my mom."

I sit up and answer.

"Hey Mom-," I start.

"Sydnie, where are you?" she asks me.

It's a rhetorical question. She can see my location.

"I'm at Kayla's," I tell her. 

She snorts. "Well, Kayla just dropped by looking for you."

Damn. I forgot we were supposed to do homework together tonight.

"Yeah, I know, I'm running late," I say. "She was already on her way so she told me to stop by and grab some of her books."

I hold my breath, hoping she doesn't realize I'm lying my ass off. 

"Okay, well it's rude to keep people waiting," she says.

I hang up and look at Adam.

"That was too close," he says. 

I nod in agreement and get up. Adam walks me to his bedroom door and plays with the strings on my hoodie. 

"I'll see you tomorrow at school, okay?"

I nod and reach up and kiss him. His fingers wrap around the back of my neck as he slowly pushes me against his door. For a second I forget I'm supposed to be leaving. 

After a few minutes, I break away.

"I need to leave," I whisper, and open the door.

I say goodbye to Adam's mom and race home.

I'm sure there's a glow on my face when I walk in but I don't care. I race past my mom and up to my room where Kayla is waiting for me. 

It's not until I'm in my bed later that night that I realize I didn't even bring any books in with me.