“You should get out there.”

Lyric looked up from her hot chocolate. She was leaning against the end of the concession stand, and she came face to face with Luke as he leaned over it. He was grinning and nodded at the window through which they could see the ice.

The crowd of kids had moved out there, and everyone seemed to be having fun. Not everyone was a strong skater, and some of the costume choices didn’t exactly lend themselves to coordinated movement, but still, there were smiles all around. Probably a very successful day for the rink.

“Lyric doesn’t skate.” Michael told Luke.

“Really?” Luke raised an eyebrow at her. “Never learned how?”

“My dad tried to teach me.” She shrugged, not really wanting to get into it. “Ice is just cold.”

She heard Luke laugh, and then he disappeared from beside her. A moment later, he had come around the corner with a pair of rental skates. “Alright Elsa, time to get you into your element.”

“What?” Lyric laughed.

Luke turned to Michael. “I grabbed a size 8, do you think that’s right?”

Michael nodded. “Spot on.” He grinned at Lyric. It wasn’t as terrifying as it could have been, since he had removed his face paint. Too many kids had been scared when they saw him, and he said it was making him feel guilty.

“But I don’t know how.” Lyric’s laughter was morphing into panic as she realized that they were entirely serious about this.

“Luke can show you.” Lyric spun to see Rick approaching, his limp working with his hunchback of Notre Dame costume.

Luke stared at Rick. “But I’m working. I can’t leave.”

“If you can get Lyric on the ice, you’re a miracle worker.” Rick laughed. “And that is something I would love to see.” He patted Luke’s shoulder. “Go for it.”

And that’s how, five minutes later, Lyric was wobbling against the boards.

“Spread your knees.” Luke told her, gliding backwards with his hands on his own knees. “Keep them shoulder width apart, not pressed together.”

She did what he said, but somehow felt even more off balance. She looked between Luke and Michael. “How do you guys glide so effortlessly on these things?”

Michael looked up from his phone, where Lyric was sure he was recording the whole thing. “Practice.” He shrugged. “I don’t know about Luke, but I’ve practically lived on skates since I was five, remember?”

“I practice every day.” Luke came forward and stopped right in front of her. “Here.” He held out his hands. “I’ll help you with your balance. All you have to do is push your feet to move.”

Lyric nodded and took his hands. Shifting her weight seemed like a horrible idea, but she tried it, giving herself a little push with her right foot. She glided forward a little. Strangely pleased, she looked up at Luke.

“Good.” He nodded. “Now keep going.”

She did, alternating between pushing off with her right and left feet in a small imitation of what she’d seen Michael do before. She tried not to think about the fact that Luke was skating backwards as they went.

“You’re doing it!” Michael cheered.

Lyric looked up at him and smiled. Then she noticed that, around them, many kids had stopped to watch her. She felt a little silly. What did they think, seeing her unable to skate without help?

“Focus.” Luke told her softly. “Ignore everyone else. What they think doesn’t matter.”

She looked at him, surprised. Did he know what she was thinking?

He met her gaze and smiled. “Worrying about how other’s see you is only going to prevent you from trying. It only holds you back.”

She nodded. She thought she could do that. Besides, they were just little kids. It’s not like they were her classmates who would mock her. She would probably never see these kids again, and even if she did, she wouldn’t recognize them and they wouldn’t recognize her.

With a deep breath, she returned her focus to her feet and getting used to the sensation of gliding on the ice.

“I have to send this to your dad.” Michael laughed. “He’ll call it a Halloween miracle.”

Lyric’s head flew up. “Don’t you dare!”

Michael made a show of tapping his phone.

“No!” Without thinking, Lyric tried to run at him. She found herself sliding across the ice, arms flailing, unable to stop. She let out a terrified cry.

Michael caught her with an arm around her waist. “Say cheese.” He laughed, holding out his phone and snapping a photo of them.

“I hate you.” She grumbled when she realized he hadn’t sent anything to her dad.

The sound of muffled laughter reached them and they looked up to see Luke covering his mouth. “That’s one way to learn to do it on your own.”

“Not a fun way.” Lyric pouted. But in the next moment, she was laughing as Michael helped her back to where Luke was.

“Come here.” Michael pulled Luke forward, sandwiching Lyric between them. He held out his phone again and took another picture.