Scars On Ice | Charlie Conway

t h i r t e e n

When the phone rang on Sunday afternoon, Aspen was already standing in the kitchen. While she was supposed to be doing her homework, she was instead procrastinating until Joey got home and was able to help her. Her oldest brother had been gone all day, and it was majorly interrupting her schedule. Of all of the days he could choose to actually have friends, why did he pick Sunday?

She put aside her glass and crossed the room to the phone on the wall. Her hand was already on the receiver when her father hollered for her to pick up the call. Rolling her eyes, she cleared her throat before answering. "Hello?" she asked clearly, her eyebrows subconsciously furrowing.

"Aspen?" a very feminine – and very familiar – voice responded. Relief flooded the girl's tone. 

Aspen nearly squealed. "Hi Mei!" she cheered, a wide smile falling onto her lips. She hadn't spoken to the older girl in months, and after Caine's comment a few days prior, she definitely wasn't expecting to any time soon. Over the years, Mei had become the older sister that Aspen never had. She was just happy to hear her voice. After her excitement subsided, she suddenly realized that the older girl was most likely not calling to talk to her. "Do you want me to go get Caine? He's just upstairs, I can–"

"No, no, no," Mei quickly covered. There was a rush of panic in her voice, and Aspen was immediately aware that whatever had happened between her and Caine was more severe than the boy had let on. Mei cleared her throat awkwardly, "I don't want to talk to Caine. Trust me. I just... I remembered that you were a freshmen this year, and I wanted to check in."

A sentimental pout fell onto Aspen's lips. It meant a lot to her to find that she had been able to forge a friendship of her own with the older girl -- one that had nothing to do with Caine. "High school is... pretty much exactly what I expected," Aspen admitted.

Mei giggled for a moment before her tone evened. "I'm sure Joey has been helping, at least?" she asked.

"Oh, of course," Aspen mused. A bashful blush crept onto her cheeks as she scratched her neck. "I'm pretty sure I'd have an F in math if he chose not to help."

Aspen could envision Mei rolling her eyes as she scoffed. "Aspen Olivia, you are the smartest person I've ever met. I highly doubt you'd be failing anything, especially not this early in the year."

Aspen smiled softly to herself at the compliment. She knew it wasn't true -- Joey was without a doubt the most intelligent person either of them knew, and Mei herself was all but brilliant. Aspen just happened to get good grades. "I suppose," she tittered, not interested in sparking a playful argument. She always became sheepish when faced with compliments. She didn't intend on prolonging any discussion that focused on her. She cleared her throat, a bundle of nerves settling in her chest. "Hey Mei, can I ask you a question?"

Mei was quiet for a moment, and Aspen assumed that she already knew where their conversation was headed. "Of course," she finally murmured, her anxiety seeping into her cracking tone.

Aspen took a deep breath, hoping that it would settle her nerves. She didn't want to make Mei uncomfortable, but she had to know. "I don't want to pry or bother you, but Caine hasn't told me anything, and I know you guys don't talk much, and-"

A sigh from Mei's end of the call made Aspen pause. Her sentence died off, and she made no effort to revive it. She had said enough, and they both knew it. The newfound silence was drawn out over a few seconds before Mei spoke softly. "It's no big deal, Asp. We just drifted apart, that's all. He changed, I changed... High school didn't leave much room for our friendship." Her excuse was reasonable enough, but there was something about the way that she said it that left Aspen unconvinced.