I looked back across the lake; the fog was back.
A second later the shadow girl skated through it.
I watched her do a flip and I started to skate towards her again. When I got to the center of the lake she did an axel and faded into the fog. I skated around on my side of the ice, watching the fog for a while, but she never came back.
I didn’t get to skate on Thursday or Friday, but Saturday afternoon I was back out there and so was the fog. I waited for a few minutes and when I saw the shadowy girl spin across the fog and do an amazing double axel, my skin tingled and I started again to skate towards her. The wind whipped into my face, making my eyes sting, but I still wobbled forward, holding my hand a little in front of my eyes to block the wind. After a few minutes I crossed the center of the lake and when I brought my hand down the fog had disappeared again.
And so had the shadow girl.
But I kept going.
A moment later I skated into the fog. The wind danced around me like it was trying to spin me in a circle and it got really hard to know which way I was going. I could only see a few feet in front of me but in the corner of my eye I caught a glimpse of a wispy figure twirling in the grayness. When I turned my head, there was nothing there. I called out, “Hello,” but my voice sounded like a high-pitched whisper in the wind.
My tired legs trembled and my heart raced. I kept skating though, and a few seconds later the dark frame of the bench appeared. I skated towards it and when I reached the edge of the shore I saw a flat, white stone under the thin layer of snow in front of the bench. There were words etched into the stone. I knelt down and brushed away the snow.
In memory of Michelle Laser, 1998-2010. May she skate forever.
I turned around and the fog was gone. A gust of wind pushed at my side and I balanced myself by bracing my skate into the ice. Looking over the lake I saw what looked like a few kids around my age stepping onto the ice at the far west side. I leaned forward and started to skate towards them.
And even though it was sad knowing the girl had died so young, I’d be back tomorrow to watch Michelle’s ghost.
After all, she was the only one I knew who could pull of a perfect double axel.
1:27 a.m. Officially the arcade closed at 1:00 a.m. but I’d let a few of my buddies stick around and finish their air hockey tournament. I didn’t mind though. My wild Uncle Sam owned the place and had hired me last week to work the late shift. He’d barely told me anything about the job—Sammy was a gambler and a pretty carefree guy—but it was a sweet gig. Play video games, listen to music, hang out with friends—it beat the hell out of working at the burger joint. In fact, all I really had to do was keep an eye on things, make a note of any games not working right, and close up at night. Easy stuff.
With everyone gone now, I killed the music and started cleaning up the place. Under the red neon lights that ran across the ceiling were six rows of eight games with more games lined up against the wall around them. I grabbed the broom and dustpan from the supply closet and began to sweep up the black, carpeted aisles between the games. As I made my way down the second row my heart jumped when the laser blasts of Star Crashers shot through the arcade. The games stayed on at night but went into a sleep mode where the screens went dark and the sound went off. I set the broom against the racing game, Track Burners, and listened. I was positive everyone was gone, but maybe some kid had snuck in when I was talking with the guys before they left. Rubbing my hands together, I walked over to the middle of the sixth row where Star Crashers was.
The game was on all right, but no one was there.
I pulled the plug out of the floor socket and then went back to my broom. I didn’t know much about how these things worked but I figured it was possible their wiring could get tripped up once in a while and turn them on.
I began sweeping again and the laser blasts started right back up. I ran to the game to see the plug back in and the game going. Somebody was in here and having a good time messing with me. I quickly stepped past the games to the little flight of stairs that led to the manager’s booth that overlooked the arcade. Inside was a monitor that recorded all the visual and audio that went on in the place and I could rewind it and see who the little brat was. When I got inside, I stopped and looked through the window at the floor below. I couldn’t see anyone and had no idea where anyone could be hiding. It didn’t
