Black Ice

The snow crunched under Olivia’s feet like ice being ground in a blender, sharp and loud. It was the melody of her Monday in the cold Nebraskan winter. A blizzard passed through just a week prior, painting the world around her in a scene out of a Hallmark snow globe. It was the type of weather that Olivia would rather see than experience. The cold chilled her bones and made her want to hide under the cheap twin bedding she had bought from Walmart. Yet there she was, trudging her way through the snow to get her mail on the other side of campus.

Black ice coated the ground like a layer of glass, so thin that it was invisible to the naked eye. Even with years of practice in the snow, Olivia had never uncovered a knack for finding the frozen water. Placing one foot slowly in front of the other, the eighteen-year-old dared to cross the parking lot; if she could make it to the footpath, she would be safe.

“Come on, Olivia,” she mumbled under her breath, “you are being ridiculous.”

One foot. Another foot.

Olivia could see the edge of the concrete walkway, her path to freedom and the warmth of the mailroom. With her eyes the color of the sky in summer, she looked onward towards her goal. One step further and the world flipped upside down. Placing her foot on a clear path of ice, Olivia flailed her arms like a bird ready to take flight. The last-ditch effort to stop the fall was futile and soon her back hit the snowy asphalt.

“Ow,” Liv groaned, eyes still shut in shock that she had just ate it in the middle of the university parking lot.

Time moved slowly, seconds feeling like minutes as she tried to catch the breath that had left her lungs like a cloud in the wind. Snow soaked through her jeans and cut through the leggings underneath. Layers were no match for the icy ground, and she felt the chill cut through her like a kid in line for ice cream. Snow caught on her dark eyelashes as she dared to open her eyes. Taking a deep breath, Liv pushed her palms against the hard earth and sat up. For a moment, the freshman thought she was safe, that the only ones to witness her failure were the snow and the sleet.

“Are you alright?” a disembodied voice asked.

“What?” Olivia replied, blinking in the darkness of the streetlights.

“Did you hit your head?”

“I don’t think so?”

Rubbing her eyes, Liv blinked, looking around to find a skinny, blonde boy standing behind her. He rather looked like a bean pole. Not that she was about to tell him that. The light from the lamps reflected off the snow, making her blink some more. This of course, only brought more words of worry from Bean Pole.

“Should I get the nurse? They might be in the clinic still; it is only six.” He looked at a watch that looked too large on his wrist. Liv swore it looked like a tire around a pencil.

“No, I am fine. I’m fine!” She tried to retort, fixing the beanie on her head, her dark brown curls tangled with snow.

To emphasize her point, the freshman tried her best to stand up. However, the ice was still very much there, even if she couldn’t see it. Liv struggled to stand like a doe taking his first steps in the wild, although she had snow boots, streetlights, and didn’t even have to deal with hunters chasing her. If anyone should have been more coordinated, Olivia assumed it would be her. Feet slipping and sliding, the Bean Pole reached out to grab her arms.

“Woah!” he said. “Best not let you hit your head a second time.”

“I didn’t hit my head.”

“Are you sure? You seem a little out of it.”

“I’m fine. Just forget this ever happened, okay?”

Bean Pole didn’t look convinced but nodded anyway. Beneath his black beanie grew a mass of golden curls, the type that made Liv want to reach out and pull one. This thought made her sigh, because perhaps he had a slight point. Arms still caught by his gloved palms, Olivia looked up at Bean Pole.

“Okay, so maybe I did hit my head. I don’t think so but I guess it wouldn’t hurt to go check.” Nose scrunching in disgust, she wanted nothing more than to get her ridiculous mail and go back to the comfort of her Walmart sheets and obnoxiously load roommate.

Bean Pole grinned in obnoxious triumph. Olivia assumed he was the horrible sort of person that was stubborn and always had to be right all the time. In giving him this victory the brunette knew he might assume to have many others as well. Liv had no intention of admitting he was right ever again, especially if he looked so smug standing there in the snow.

“Wipe that grin off your face,” she mumbled, “and please forget this ever happened.”

Olivia looked like a child learning how to ice skate for the first time. With arms reached out, hands gripping his arms, she stepped, stumbled, and slid the rest of the way to the sidewalk. Bean Pole was patient and steady, like the vegetable stick he was born to be. If he wasn’t so smug, Olivia thought she might even come to like him.

Safely on the sidewalk, the brunette let her hands fall back down to her sides. The wind had picked up, cutting through her damp clothes and making her shiver. Teeth chattering, she mumbled a quick, “Thank you.”

Liv turned on her heels, trying to walk as quickly as she could towards the warm light of the mailroom.

“Wait!” Bean Pole called after her. His long legs helped him to easily catch up with her and match her stride. It was always annoying to Olivia how tall people could just catch up in a few paces when it took her twenty.

“Yes?” The word painted the night white.

“Aren’t you going to the nurse?” he persisted with genuine concern.

“I am freezing. I need to get my mail. I feel fine.”

“But what if you have a concussion?”

“I am walking in a straight line just fine!” Liv placed her hand on the door handle, having finally reached the light.

“That isn’t how it works,” Bean Pole retorted, catching the door from her as she stepped inside.

Olivia simply ignored him and walked to her mailbox. Her freezing fingers tried to get the combination just right. She hopped on one foot and then the other to try and warm up. Bean Pole stood beside her, clearly not giving up on making sure Olivia wasn’t hurt.

“Come on,” Liv mumbled, trying the combination one more time. It gave a sudden click, and she exclaimed, “Got it!”

“Good job. Now can we get your head looked at?”

“You are harassing a stranger to go see a medical professional. Maybe you need your head looked at,” Liv retorted, gathering up her mail and stuffing it into her snow soaked backpack.

What she had said had seemed to shut him up, and Olivia would be lying if she said she didn’t feel slightly guilty about it. Bean Pole stuffed his hands in his pockets, his cheeks as red as the fire in the student commons. Perhaps he was just cold, or maybe she had embarrassed him. Taking a breath, she blew it out before shutting the little locker.

“I didn’t mean to annoy you,” Bean Pole replied. Turning on his heels, he headed towards the door in defeat. “Sorry.”

Olivia rested her head against the cold metal, weighing the pros and cons of speaking up. He could be a good friend, or he could annoy her to death. There was something genuine about Bean Pole, and it was that genuine kindness that made her groan and set her pride aside.

“Wait.” The brunette lifted her head from the peeling paint of the metal locker. Walking after the blonde, she added, “I didn’t mean that. I’m sorry. How about we compromise?”

Turning back to look at her, he leaned a little like a cornstalk in the wind. “What do you propose?”

“You stop insisting that I need to go to the health clinic, because I do feel fine. And I stop being a jerk and maybe buy you some coffee as a thank you for helping me out.”

Reaching out a long thin hand, Bean Pole grinned. “I accept your deal. I don’t drink coffee though. Is tea or hot chocolate on the table?”

With a little snort, Olivia nodded and shook his hand. “Sure, why not? Let’s go, Bean Pole.”

“Bean Pole?” he echoed with a raised eyebrow.

“Yeah,” Olivia retorted. This time her cheeks looked like strawberries. “I don’t know your name and it seemed fitting.”

“Well,” Bean Pole started with a laugh, his hand pulling open the door and letting the ice surround them once more. “My name is Kai.”

“Nice to meet you, Kai. My name is Olivia,” she replied before tightening her pale-yellow scarf around her neck, her footsteps painting the fresh fallen snow. The warm glow of the coffee shop peeked back at her from up ahead.

For a moment, the pair fell into a comfortable silence. Liv looked up at him, and he just happened to peek right back. She smiled and snow caught in her hair. “Just so you know—” He gave her his full attention. “— I am still going to call you Bean Pole.”

Laughter filled the night like black ice in the university parking lot, clear, crisp, and completely unexpected.