Finding a job was easier said than done.

Luke sighed heavily and dug his hands into his pockets. The only thing he found there was a pen that he had mistakenly taken from one of the stores that offered him an application to fill out. He hadn’t finished the application, either.

Everywhere he went, they wanted to know his address, or a phone number, or a social insurance number. Luke didn’t have any of that. Anything of that nature that he had once had belonged to a dead girl.

Adding to his difficulty was the fact that he hadn’t showered in a very long time, and it was getting harder to pretend he had. The last few stores he had been to, the cashier or manager had taken one look at him, wrinkled their nose, and thrown him out. At this rate, he would starve to death in the night.

He clenched his jaw. That would still be an improvement over his other option. The one thing that kept him going was the knowledge that nothing could be worse than going back.

He was passing the arena, so he picked up the pace. He hurried past the building every time he had to pass it. He didn’t want another run in with the owner. Being mis-gendered was not something he had any interest in experiencing again. Especially with how defeated he was feeling.

But this time, something caught his attention. There were people coming and going from the arena, and they had skates with them. Luke was pretty sure it was still summer, judging by the amount of sweat trapped under his hoodie. He knew the arena was open all year, but most people didn’t use it until October.

Then he saw it. A poster was hanging on the front entrance. Today only, no entrance fee. Even if the fee was only something like two dollars per person, it made sense that people wanted to take advantage of not paying anything.

Luke itched to get on the ice. He took a step toward the arena before remembering that he didn’t have skates. Admission might be free, but he still couldn’t afford the rental cost. He heaved another sigh. Skating was one more thing he would have to sacrifice to be himself.

Then another thought hit him. The arena would be crowded, and people wore sweaters and hoodies when they skated. He would go completely unnoticed inside.

He may not be able to skate, but he could still slip into the locker room and use the showers.

He smiled and started toward the entrance. Slipping in behind a family of four.