Shredding Ice

chapter three

The left wheel on the janitor cart gave off a high pitched squeak with every rotation. The mop bumped around in the attached water bucket as Elliot pushed the cart by the handles. He thought he should invest in a can of WD-40.

The red haired man walked near the wall, careful to stay out of the way of screaming children rushing by. A birthday party was ending and the zamboni had finally made it onto the ice for the first time that day. Elliot was headed to the tables near the back of the building, where balloons and left over paper plates could be seen.

The hosting family was still in the party area, collecting gifts and picking up a few presents. Elliot's coworkers were there too, being thanked by the family for serving all the kids.

He began with the tables, folding the plates and crumbs into the plastic table cover, and dumping the big ball into the trash bin on his cart. Once all the tables were done, he unhooked the broom and tray.

Elliot was sweeping the floor around the first table when a woman came up to him. He thought he recognized her as one of the parents from the party.

"Hello! Sorry to interrupt, but I didn't want to miss you before we went." She reached into her purse and held out a few folded bills. He saw one was a ten. "Thanks for your work, Cameron had a great time."

Elliot stared at the bills. No parent had ever offered him money after a party; he usually waited to clean until they were gone but he didn't have the spare time that day.

"Uhm, no thank you." He turned back to his work.

"What?" Elliot didn't think she meant to say that outloud. "Are you sure? I'd really like to thank you."

He stopped sweeping so he could make eye contact with the woman. "You're welcome." He offered a quick smile and started sweeping again.

"Well...alright." She left him, and he was glad to have some peace and quiet.

It wasn't until he was just finishing that he realized she left behind the money. She had stuck it right on top of the push handles, where she knew he would see it. How stubborn.

On his way back to the janitor's closet, he stuck the money in the tip jar of the drinks station.

"Elliot! You headed out?"

Walter was a large, bloating man. His steps were heavy, and if he wasn't in the cool air of the rink all the time he'd probably sweat like a pig. Sometimes he still did. He owned the rink, and gave Elliot a job even though he hadn't gone to college.

"Yes. The meeting starts soon."

"Alright, well take care." He noticed another worker who was about to leave and waved Elliot off. "You can pick up your paycheck tomorrow."

Elliot thanked him and hurried to the closet. He was desperate to get out of the jumpsuit. Ironing it could only do so much when he was mopping up spills all day. His black slacks, crisp, white dress shirt and slim black tie was clearly a great step up.

The man almost became frustrated when he was stopped again on his way out. He had to take a big gulp of air when he realized who it was.

"Hey! It's you. I remember you, you fell yesterday, all the way down those steps with your mop and bucket." It's the boy who wouldn't stop talking. "Don't you remember? Of course you do, it was a rough fall. I've been meaning to ask you—well, I wanted to ask you since that sounds like we see each other a lot and are friends but I've only seen you once—wait, great idea, do you want to be friends? I'm a really good friend, I'm really good at listening, and giving advice, and I answer texts super quickly all the time unless I'm in a practice because Coach Stern told me if I ever have my phone on during practice again that she'll run it over with the zamboni."

And he kept talking.

Elliot opened his mouth a few times, itching to cut him off. Once he had the opportunity, but then he thought it would be rude to cut off a stranger. He couldn't be late to his meeting though; was it worth it?

As the man talked a mile a minute, Elliot's eyes caught on a quick glimmer. Ear rings? He hadn't noticed those yesterday. They were little flags, like a rainbow. Oh.

His eyes traveled down then. The boy had slippers on. In public! His joggers were nearly sagging, revealing a bit of his stomach and the shirt was so tight it practically molded to the boy's body.

"I apologize," Elliot finally spoke up. He had the boy's hopeful attention. "I have to go now." He tried to walk around the man, but his hand shot out to stop him.

"Wait, wait! What's your name? Maybe I'll see you again since you work here! I'm here almost every day because I have my figure skating lessons. Oh! I have a competition tomorrow, here! You should come, will you be working?"

Elliot's eyes must have taken up as much room on his face as the boy's lips did on his own. He needed to leave.

"Sorry, that wouldn't be appropriate. Now I have to go, goodbye." He managed to make it past the boy this time, his eyes locked on the doors leading outside.

"My name's Sunny!" the boy called from behind. "I hope I'll see you later!"

As Elliot walked the two blocks to his Kingdom Hall, he prayed to Jehovah. He preferred to perform these prayers while alone.

He prayed that he would not see the man again, and that the man would be prevented from sharing all of his opinions and ideas. He also prayed for the woman who had given him money even after he declined. Elliot knew she was being kind, but he hoped she would direct that kindness toward literally anyone other than him. He didn't need charity from her.

The Kingdom Hall was made of red bricks, and shaped almost like a small cottage. Metal letters painted gold were plastered above the doorway, proudly stating what the building had been used for in the past thirty-two years.

Elliot went to at least three meetings a week. This one would be his fourth. He felt like he needed another after the incident with the stairs. The dirty water had left him too dirty to show up to a meeting the day before.

He made sure to straighten his tie before entering and smoothed out his shirt to get rid of any wrinkles (there weren't any). His hands ran through his red bush of hair, and then he finally felt presentable enough to enter.

The whole building was just one room. A small, three foot stage was in the very front of the room, where someone would stand while preaching. Waiting room chairs were set out in a dozen rows, nearly touching from wall to wall except for the small aisle along the right.

An elder stopped him almost right away. Richard. He was dressed similarly to Elliot, but with a suit jacket as well. He had been selected as an elder years ago, and now had gray hair and a bald spot on the top of his head.

"Elliot, nice to see you." Richard's smile was warm and welcoming. "You've been here a lot this week."

The younger man gave a polite nod, and stood out of the aisle so others could pass to find a seat. "Yes, I have. My work schedule has allowed me some spare time."

"I see. Well, it's nice to have you here." He waved to a young woman as she entered. "Will you be preaching today?"

"Uh, no." Elliot tugged at his tie. He knew it had been a while. So did Richard. "I think I'm here more for guidance than anything today."

The elder nodded and folded his hands in front of his stomach. "Well I hope you find that guidance." He motioned to the seats with his clasped hands. "Go on and find a seat then. Maybe you can preach next time."

Elliot agreed and thanked the elder for his time. He ran a hand through his hair as he found a seat near the middle and let out a breath of air.

He really needed the extra guidance.