Scars On Ice | Charlie Conway

t e n

Aspen and Jay walked with Elle to the cafeteria, a trend that had been put on pause for a few days as Jay had lunch in his dad's room. But their third musketeer was back now, his enthusiasm not dwindled by his dad's watchful eye. He wouldn't say much to either of his best friends regarding the contents of his meetings with Mr. Penn, but he had told Aspen that her name popped up in conversation.

"My name?" Aspen had asked, her eyebrows raised, more in surprise than in suspicion. She couldn't begin to imagine what Mr. Penn could've possibly asked Jay that he couldn't have just asked her.

Jay just nodded, his jaw set firmly. "Yeah. You and Joey. And Caine. I don't know. My dad is really invested in your lives. It's kinda weird." He had tried not to let his bitterness show, but an awkward air settled between them anyway.

Mr. Penn had always been like another guardian to the Folsom kids, but his worrying about them had multiplied following Aspen's accident. Most adults had just given Aspen extra attention and sympathy (something she hated), but Penn had also begun to spend more time fretting over Caine and Joey. Caine ignored him for the most part, but Joey seemed to at least give the man the time of day. Joey visited his classroom on occasion -- whether it be to ask for advice or just say hello, Aspen had no idea.

That was all well and good, but not when it took away from his time with his own son. Jay never said anything or complained, and Aspen never asked, but she had a sneaking suspicion that his relationship with his father was becoming strained. For that reason, their lunchtime meetings made her nervous. For any other student with a parent who was a teacher, it would be normal. But not for Jay.

Regardless, Aspen was happy to have him back. Spending time with just Roland and Peter was getting exhausting. It was hard to have an intelligent conversation with Roland when Peter was butting in every five seconds, and it was equally as difficult to make fun of Peter with Roland constantly telling them to be nice. Jay was a good buffer. A necessary buffer.

When the trio entered the cafeteria, Aspen cast her glance towards their usual table just to find it empty. Jay seemed to notice too, as he rolled his eyes. "Are those two ever on time for anything?" he muttered, earning short laughs from both of his friends.

"No worries," Elle said, steering her friends towards the ducks' table by their elbows. Aspen gave her a confused look, to which she responded with a smile. "You can hang out with us until those two losers get here. With any luck, you'll finally decide that we're more fun and abandon them."

Jay snorted at that, seemingly uninterested in the idea. However, Aspen just nodded, falling back into step with the girl who was honestly not giving them much of a choice. Elle took a seat at the table, offering greetings to the boys around her. Connie was gazing over her head, already grinning at Aspen and Jay. "Hey guys!" she cheered, her eyes crinkling happily.

Aspen and Jay both greeted her warmly, though Jay stood rather stiffly at Aspen's side. She wanted to pull him aside and tell him to relax; that this was just a group of their classmates that they hadn't really gotten to know yet. But she knew how ridiculous that would look, and she didn't want to chastise him as though she were his mother. So she went on allowing him to be uncomfortable.

Connie seemed to pick up on his discomfort and refused to let her smile waver. "Thanks for coming to our game last night, Jay," she offered kindly. Her smile shrunk a bit, "Sorry it wasn't exactly the outcome we wanted."

"It was a good game," Jay insisted, his voice sounding a bit forced. Aspen dared a glance up at him to find that while his body was still tense, his face had softened. The ghost of a smile danced onto his lips. "You guys definitely are as good as everyone chalked you up to be."