Shredding Ice

chapter six

Elliot waited outside the rink until the rush of skaters, coaches and supporters dwindled to nearly nothing. He couldn't attend the competition, so he had to be sure it was over before going inside.

He was also avoiding a certain figure skater with pierced ears. That boy Sunny.

Elliot recalled the boy inviting him to the competition the last time they had spoken. Not that he had ever even considered going, but the invitation made him want to evade the whole rink at all costs even hours after to not run into him.

When no one came out of the building for nearly ten minutes, he decided to go inside. Even so, he checked all around before taking almost every step. Almost as if he were expecting a sudden flood of music and cheering.

There wasn't any though. He finally got inside and workers were collapsing foldable chairs and collecting papers that were used to sign in contestants. His steps were quick as he passed them, his head low to avoid any unwanted conversation.

Elliot practically raced to the janitor's closet. There were still people mulling about the building, chatting with friends and competitors. Maybe he should have waited outside longer, but his shift had started half an hour before. Apparently the competition had run long.

The jumpsuit was definitely not his favorite outfit. It wasn't very flattering and made him have to always act extra nice to balance out his level of decorum. But it was better than getting his dress shirt and tie dirty while he cleaned.

He knew he was going to have a lot to do, so got the larger cart ready. He double checked that the bin on it was empty and the bucket was full of clean water. Then he checked the amount of product in all of the cleaning supply bottles, and that he had enough trash bags to replace the ones in the bins around the rink.

When he was finally ready to go, he released the brakes on the large cart and walked backwards with it to pull it out of the large doorway. And then the instant he opened the door, he shoved the trolley right back in the closet and slammed it shut.

The boy was out there.

He was just down the hall, holding a big trophy and talking with a woman and a girl. The girl looked like a skater as well—no wonder.

Elliot didn't think he'd been seen, but he didn't want to chance going out again. They looked like they were getting ready to leave, so it shouldn't be too long if he just stayed in the closet and waited it out.

It's not like he had any other option. After last time, he had no doubt in his mind that if he stuck a single red curl out of that closet, and the boy caught a glimpse of it, he'd be stuck running away from the boy for his whole shift.

Eventually, Elliot cracked the door open and looked down the hall. It was empty except for a few spare workers who had stayed to help clean up equipment. The boy must have left.

Elliot ventured out again, this time pulling the whole trolley out of the closet. He turned away from the front entrance just to be safe. Maybe he'd start with the bathrooms to get them out of the way; those were always the worst.

The bathrooms were in a small alcove, with the men's room on the left and the women's on the right. A water fountain sat between them.

Elliot parked the cart just next to the entrance alcove, in case anyone needed to use the opposite restroom he was working on or to get a drink of water. He grabbed his gloves and a few rounds of toilet paper, deciding to start with the easy stuff as he checked out if there were any big messes.

He rounded his cart then to enter the alcove and nearly bumped straight into someone. "Oh, sorry—"

Of course.