Scars On Ice | Charlie Conway

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"Another Folsom?"

"Please tell me you're the last."

"Folsom, huh? Take a seat in the front, won't you dear?"

"At least this one's a girl. I don't think I could take another Folsom brother."

Aspen had spent her entire life hearing the same old tune. But that didn't make it any less embarrassing.

The key to her survival, she found, was to fly under the radar as often as possible. Of course, she stuck out like a sore thumb once you actually noticed her, but if she could avoid your attention for just long enough, eventually she just became another member of the crowd.

Too bad her brothers sucked.

In every class, the snickers began as soon as the teacher called her name. All eyes were on her immediately, expecting a blushing, nervous mess. Instead they found a blank expression, brown eyes set firmly on the teacher calling her name. Then the laughter died down for some time. As soon as she walked to her desk, it started right back up again.

People love to make assumptions. Aspen supposed that must've been some part of human nature. That didn't make it right, but it made it reality. And to Aspen's dismay, she woke up to the same reality every single morning. Sometimes she thought it was just a bad dream, until she had to manually drag her left foot out of bed. The realization of the numbness she felt was always what seemed to bring her back to earth.

Freshman year was supposedly one of the scariest years of everyone's lives, yet Aspen wasn't the least bit nervous. She figured she had already gotten the worst year of her life over with. She doubted Eden Hall could be much worse. Besides, she had two popular big brothers looking out for her. In theory.

Eden Hall was the Folsom brothers' playground. Caine, taut and handsome, was the youngest player on the infamous Eden Hall varsity hockey team. He followed in the wide footsteps of his older brother, Joey, who had made quite a name for himself in their locality by leading his AA team to the championships three years in a row. Everyone adored the Folsom brothers, and with good reason. In addition to being charming and athletic, they were raised right. They were kind and wholesome and polite. They were a special breed that was rare to come by.

The plan had been for Aspen to be right up there with them, but the universe felt differently. The once rambunctious teen had quieted drastically as she aged. One injury altered her entire world, and she changed with it. Her bum leg permanently damped her spirits. She was no longer the bright, arrogant child her brothers had melded her into. She was instead a serious student, absorbed in academics and tight-lipped. She minded her manners, and focused on pointing out the good in the world to others. She had spent too long living in the dark. High school was her chance to pull herself back into the light.

There was one teacher that didn't have to read the roll to recognize the young girl. Without batting an eye, her math teacher nodded at her as she entered the room. "That seat near the door is yours, Aspen," he said nonchalantly, as if the fact that he immediately knew her wouldn't raise a few eyebrows.

Aspen nodded, trying her very best to avoid the dozens of gazes that had swiveled to focus on her. "Thank you, Mr. Penn," she finally mustered, remaining stoic as she placed her backpack on the ground and slid into her seat.

The older man nodded in response before divvying up the rest of the seats in his classroom. A brunette girl was placed in the seat next to Aspen. The pair had another class together, something that Aspen had failed to notice. Her new partner, however, hadn't forgotten the familiar face -- or rather, the familiar limp. She was tentative in sitting down, careful not to bump the other girl's leg. Noticing her apprehension, a sigh left Aspen's lips. "I'm not going to shatter if you bump me," she advised sharply. The girl's face reddened, but she picked up her pace in arranging herself in her new seat. They remained quiet as Mr. Penn began to review the syllabus.