Both of them then approached Valerie, Shevonne's ice skating partner, and they practiced for three to six hours, the sound of their skates cutting through the ice and the cold temperature filling the rink. Valerie looked at Shevonne, smiling. "Do you know people think we're dating?"
"That's just disgusting, my lady. Please don't say that again," Shevonne smirked sarcastically, hearing Valerie's words as she rolled her eyes.
After their six-hour practice, Shevonne skated to the edge of the rink to sit down, feeling exhausted but without the usual sweat due to the cold temperature inside. He removed his ice skates and changed into regular shoes. Valerie followed him and stood beside him. "That was a great practice. I wish we could be partners forever, both on the ice and in real life," she said, smiling down at Shevonne. To her disbelief, she realized Shevonne was wearing a headset and couldn't hear her. She grabbed the headset from his ears without asking, angering Shevonne. "What the heck, Valerie? Stop being so naive," he snapped, retrieving his headset and walking away.
Their coach approached Valerie, amused by the scene. "Don't mind him. I think he's interested in someone else, and it's definitely not you," he teased, walking away and leaving Valerie bewildered. "He's interested in someone else?? Who could it be?"
The coach didn't look back as he quickly caught up with Shevonne. "You should bring Ehvermaia here tomorrow. She's always interested in stepping on the ice."
Shevonne scratched the back of his head, looking at his coach. "We have different shoe sizes. Do you think ice skates are cheap? I don't think so," he said, hopping into the back of the car along with the coach. "Maybe my daughter has a pair. They might be the same size, and they're around the same age, I guess."
The car drove off towards Shevonne's house. The sky had darkened, and as Shevonne gazed at the stars, he suddenly dozed off. They arrived at his house moments later, and his coach tapped Shevonne on the shoulder to wake him up. Shevonne opened his eyes, grabbed his bag and the painting, and headed straight inside, thanking his coach for the ride. Inside, his sister noticed the painting in Shevonne's hand and immediately grabbed it, staring in surprise. "Is this why you asked me to buy art materials earlier? I won't believe you if you say you painted this."
Shevonne took the painting from his sister. "Stop it, Shaylene. Of course, I didn't paint it," he replied, hanging the painting in his room. He sat on his bed and stared at it. "How I wish I could paint like that," he muttered to himself, lost in thought. A knock on his door suddenly brought him back to reality. He opened the door and found his sister telling him dinner was ready. He went downstairs and had dinner with his sister, mother, and father as usual.
After finishing dinner, he took a bath and then went to his room to change into clothes before going to bed. The next morning, he had breakfast as usual, and his father drove him to school. As he entered the school, people surrounded him, taking pictures and asking questions, such as whether he had a girlfriend and about his relationship with the artist girl.
While walking, he didn't see Ehvermaia around. Passing by her classroom, he peeked inside but didn't spot her. People were curious about whom he was looking for and continued to follow him, which annoyed him. He couldn't walk freely because of his fans, but there was nothing he could do about it. Suddenly, he heard music coming from a ballet room, which intrigued him. He carefully opened the door and saw Ehvermaia wearing pointe shoes, with her friend Ehrie watching her dance. When he entered, Ehvermaia and Ehrie turned to look at him.
Ehrie was stunned and excited to see him. "Oh my god, can we take a picture? I've never been this close to you!" she exclaimed. Shevonne agreed, and he smiled as Ehrie took a selfie of them together.
Leaning against the wall, Shevonne looked at Ehvermaia. "So, you really do ballet," he said. Ehvermaia turned away, avoiding eye contact but accidentally seeing him more clearly in the large mirror in front of her.
Ehrie smiled at Shevonne. "Yes, she's talented in both ballet and painting. Isn't she amazing?"
Shevonne smiled back at Ehrie and then turned his gaze to Ehvermaia. "Do you want to come with me to the ice rink later for my practice?"
Ehrie enthusiastically urged Ehvermaia, "Say yes! Imagine being friends with a famous person!"
"Why would I? I'm not your fan," Ehvermaia replied, turning to Shevonne with an irritated expression.
Shevonne straightened up and approached her. "Coach Lee is eager to see you," he said with a smile, noticing Ehvermaia's annoyed expression.
Ehrie interjected, "You always make the wrong decisions, Ehvermaia! You should go!"
Shevonne chuckled at Ehrie's words. "I agree. Your friend here always seems to make the wrong choices," he teased, looking at Ehvermaia.
With that, Shevonne left the room, closing the door behind him. Ehrie was thrilled and flattered, looking at Ehvermaia and shaking her shoulders. "He talked to me! We even took a selfie! Please take me with you if you go later!"
Ehvermaia sat down, unmoved. "Then go by yourself."
She packed her bag, stored her shoes, changed out of her pointe shoes, and put on regular shoes. Standing up, she left the room. "Let's go, class is starting soon," she said to Ehrie.
Ehrie stomped her feet as she walked. "Ugh, you're so boring. What kind of guy do you even like?"
Ehvermaia stopped walking and looked at her to answer. "I like a guy who draws. I draw people, but I've never experienced someone drawing me. Get it, Ehrie? I'm not into guys who do figure skating, especially when it involves a lot of physical contact. You'll see why. Let's go watch their training, and you'll understand."
They arrived at the classroom as the class began. While minding her own business, Ehvermaia overheard Ehrie saying, "It's so hard to choose a career path. Should I become a fashion designer or an animator?"
Ehvermaia gave Ehrie a puzzled look. "Choosing a career is tough because humans love complicating things. Ever seen a dolphin stress over whether to specialize in acrobatics or marine biology? I don't think so."
After an hour, the bell rang, and they went to the cafeteria with everyone else. Afterward, they returned to class, and once it was over, they packed their things and walked out together.
Scratching her head, Ehrie looked at Ehvermaia and sighed. "Do you know which ice skating rink he went for practice?"
Ehvermaia gave her a stern look. "Do you think I'm a magician who knows everything? I'm studying fine arts, not magic," she replied sharply, walking toward a nearby ice skating rink.
Ehrie followed, saying, "That was harsh. I was just asking! Plus, I'm just excited."
Ehvermaia crossed the pedestrian lane, glancing back at Ehrie. "Excited, my ass."
As they arrived at the nearby ice skating rink, they hesitated to go inside, feeling somewhat embarrassed. Once they entered, they spotted Shevonne with his partner and the coach. The coach made eye contact with Ehvermaia and skated towards her.
"Ehvermaia, it's been so long since I've seen you! How have you been?" Coach Lee greeted her warmly.
When Shevonne heard his coach mention Ehvermaia's name, he looked back and skated over to them, leaving Valerie behind. "Oh, look who's here!"
Ehvermaia nervously scratched the back of her neck. "I'm fine, I'm doing okay... I guess."
Coach Lee was delighted to see her again. "So, you're not doing ballet anymore? It's been five years since I last saw you."
As Shevonne joined them, he stopped abruptly, accidentally spraying ice on Ehvermaia with his skate. "Oh, shoot, I'm sorry," he apologized, though his actions seemed deliberate. Ehvermaia looked at him with a displeased expression. "Do you think I wouldn't know you did that on purpose?"
Shevonne laughed, and Valerie approached them curiously to find out who they were. Ehvermaia glanced at Valerie, who returned her gaze to Shevonne. "Would you like to try stepping onto the ice? I brought my daughter's ice skates with me. Would you like to give them a try?" Coach Lee suggested with a smile, looking at Ehvermaia.
Ehvermaia smiled and agreed. Shevonne was charmed to see her smile. "I didn't know robots could show emotions," he teased, looking at Ehvermaia. Valerie, standing beside them, looked annoyed. "Hey, let's go train now," she said with a frown.
"Not yet, I have something to take care of first," Shevonne replied, waiting for Ehvermaia to change. Once Ehvermaia was ready, Ehrie was also wearing skates. "Oh, you know how to skate, young girl?" Ehrie smiled at him. "No, but this mister here told me he would teach me."
Shevonne's attention returned to Ehvermaia as he took her hand. "Come on, step onto the ice now. Don't tell me you're afraid of falling — especially for me," he teased, skating away gently while holding Ehvermaia hands, leaving Valerie stunned by their interaction.
Ehvermaia rolled her eyes as Shevonne held her "This is quite challenging for me. The first problem is you, and the second problem is how to balance on the ice."
Shevonne chuckled as he held her hands and skated backwards. "So I'm one of your problems now, huh? Interesting. Just imagine this is like balancing on roller skates with wooden floors," he suggested playfully, releasing her hands as Ehvermaia stood in the middle of the rink.
"What the heck! Wait! Don't leave me here! I might crack my head open! I'll kill you!"
Shevonne chuckled as he watched Ehvermaia standing in the middle of the ice rink. He began to skate in circles around her. "Just think of roller skates; it's similar, but roller skates have wheels and ice skates don't."
Valerie, annoyed by Shevonne's attention on Ehvermaia, skated towards her and stood in front of her. "So you don't know how to skate? Then why are you here?"
Shevonne noticed Valerie approaching Ehvermaia and became irritated by her comment. Before Ehvermaia could respond sarcastically, Shevonne yelled at Valerie, "Are you dumb? When you first came here, you didn't know how to skate either, so stop ruining things, dammit!"
Ehrie, practicing with Coach Lee not far away, shouted towards Ehvermaia, "Hey! What did you mean earlier at school about why you don't like guys, especially when it's—"
Before Ehrie could finish her sentence, Ehvermaia suddenly skated towards her and covered her mouth. Shevonne and the others were stunned. Shevonne skated over to them, leaving Valerie behind again. "Whoa! That was fast. How did you do that? Isn't this your first time skating?"
Confused, Ehvermaia kept her hand on Ehrie's mouth. "What do you mean?" She realized she had skated quickly. "Oh, that... I didn't really plan that."
Coach Lee chuckled and looked at Ehvermaia. "Maybe you didn't want this little girl here to finish her sentence, so you skated over here so quickly. But you didn't realize you were on the ice. Care to share what this 'little girl' was talking about?"
Ehrie pulled Ehvermaia's hand away from her mouth. "Little girl? Just because I'm short doesn't mean I'm little. Well, maybe I am, but I'm 18, old man!"
Coach Lee apologized and instructed Shevonne to warm up for practice. "Can we just practice later? I was just having fun now," Shevonne replied. When Valerie heard what the coach said, she rushed towards them. "That's a great idea. We should start practicing now."
Shevonne rolled his eyes and skated away to warm up. Ehvermaia and Ehrie took off their ice skates and sat down. As they rested, Ehvermaia looked at Ehrie. "Why were you yelling like that? Don't do that again, you dumbass."
Sitting beside her, Ehrie suddenly glanced at Valerie and Shevonne warming up. "That girl looks so pretty. I'm so jealous Shevonne gets to hold her every day."
Ehvermaia laughed and made a weird face at Ehrie. "Don't be. She's so annoying."
"So, this is why you don't like dating men, especially when it involves sports partners and touching," Ehrie said, leaning back in her chair with a sad expression.
Ehvermaia leaned back too. "Why are you so emotional? You should stop. It's annoying."
Ehrie suddenly stood up from her chair as she yawned. "I should go; it's getting dark," she said.
Ehvermaia looked at her as she nodded, and Ehrie left. Ehvermaia took her canvas and art supplies in her bag and looked at Valerie and Shevonne practicing. As she finished painting, she put the art supplies back in her bag and placed the canvas on the chair as she left. Shevonne noticed her walking away as he sighed. Valerie noticed and looked at him with a pissed face. "Ugh, what's so special about her, huh?"
Shevonne let go into Valerie's hands as the coach said that they can rest and they can go home. Valerie was annoyed by how Shevonne didn't respond to her question at all.
When Shevonne went to take a seat where Ehvermaia was seated earlier, he noticed a canvas, and he looked at it. He was amused at the painting; there was him lifting a woman with no face in the rink. "She sure is something."