Of Flower, Fish, and Fille Française - Abby/Gunnar/Constance

(This is part one of two posts. All credit for this story goes to Abby, Gunnar, Constance, and, of course, me, the narrator. Credit for all song lyrics belongs to their respected creators.) Of Flower, Fish, and Fille Française (Part I) December 11th, 2011 "Roses are red, Gunnars are blue Connie is sweet, this is all true!" On a peaceful winters day, Miss Rose "Abby" Thorn was sleeping soundly in her bed. After all, this was her birthday, and she should be entitled to some comforts. She had nothing to do and nowhere to go. Today she was going to sleep in, and no one was going to interfere with her plans *Insert evil laugh*. Abby was living in a moment of bliss. But that peaceful moment, when everything was perfect, was broken by the sound of a phone. Fate had another plan for Abby on that winters day. ♫ You tear me down and then you pick me up You take it all and still it's not enough ♫ ♫ You try to tell me you can heal me But I'm still bleeding and you will be the death of me ♫ Abby startled out of her peaceful slumber. She gazed around confusedly for a few moments. Her room was still pitch black, except for the light pollution that came in from the street. She glanced at the clock and saw it was 5 o'clock. On normal days she would have popped out of bed and started the day. But she figured today she could have a few more hours of sleep. She waited a few minutes, only silence filled the room. Pulling her covers close, she turned over and began to drowse. ♫ Can't you hear my call? Are you coming to get me now? ♫ ♫ I've been waiting for You to come rescue me. ♫ ♫ I need you to hold All of the sadness I cannot ♫ ♫ Live with inside of me. Her hand blindly fingered around on the top of her nightstand in search for the creator of this unwanted disturbance. She had almost grasped it, but one mistouch and the cellular phone fell beyond her reach. Abby groaned and covered her head with a pillow. At first she was tense, but as the minutes passed, she slowly relaxed. ♫ What doesn't kill you makes you stronger Stand a little taller ♫ ♫ Doesn't mean I'm lonely when I'm alone. What doesn't kill you makes a fighter ♫ ♫ Footsteps even lighter Doesn't mean I'm over cause you're gone ♫ ♫ What doesn't kill you makes you stronger, stronger Just me, myself, and I ♫ ♫ What doesn't kill you makes you stronger, Stand a little taller ♫ ♫ Doesn't mean I'm lonely when I'm alone" Her heart jumped a little as the racket started up again. "Oh, Cruck!" She waited through another chorus, realizing that each of her relatives must be trying to contact her. A strong urge to throw her phone out the window filled her, but she pacified it when she thought how expensive it was. ♫ I was lost in the night time. How am I a stranger to you when we're friends? ♫ ♫ I am young and I've made awful mistakes. You are older and you'd do the same. ♫ ♫ You'd do the same. Finally she drowsily pulled herself out of the warm bed, and put the phone to her ear. "Hello?" Her ear was met with a chorus of voices singing a German Birthday song. It overwhelmed her, still, sleepy head. She couldn't quite keep track of all the voices and the million Birthday wishes that were given when they finished singing. The phone was passed from one relative to another, each told her of the Birthday festivities that they were doing in her honor, or what they had been doing since, well, years ago. She couldn't even recognize everyone, was it a cousin? cousin's cousin? First cousin once removed? Why should she even care what they had been doing during the past few years? Funny they should finally call her after so long. Maybe they thought it was special enough to celebrate the quarter mark in her life. Finally she was able to close her phone. Her mouth dropped down slightly as she saw it was 7 o'clock. That definitely isn't going to make my phone bill very pleasant... The room held a chilly feeling in it and it was still very dark. She was tempted to get back in bed and sleep the whole morning away, but now she didn't think any of her plans would work out. Out of bed she sprung. In but a few minutes she was on her way through the still sleepy dorm. The gym was deserted when she came. She liked it that way. O-O-O Two hours later she returned to her room. She wasn't completely surprised to see a light beneath her door. She pasted a cheerful smile on her face, and entered. Constance Kitlyn had set her alarm clock a bit early that day. December 11th was her friend's birthday, and Connie was determined to make this birthday a special one. She had leapt out of bed, dressed, and fixed her hair all in the record time of an hour and a half. She had then raced over to Rose Thorn's dorm with the intentions of cooking breakfast for her dear friend. When Connie arrived at Rose's room, she silently slid through the doorway, flipped the thermostat up a notch, and then glided into the kitchen. The kitchen was very tidy, with the pots and pans just so and not a speck of dust to be found. Connie meandered over to the fridge to see what types of food her friend kept. Opening the door, Connie gazed onto the contents. There were some tasty looking foods, which Connie had never seen before in her life, and there were the foods which everyone would keep in his or her fridge. Giving a quick glance towards the exotic foods, Connie reached for some eggs and something which resembled sausage. After placing the foods on the counter, Connie took on the task of finding a frying pan. Connie opened a few cupboards before finding the pan. The frying pan was sturdy and cast-iron; just the type Rose liked. Although there were a few big dents in it, Connie decided that the pan would work just fine. Connie set it on the stove and placed a few eggs and the sausage-thing into the pan. She turned on the heat and then set off to make some pancakes. At that moment, the door opened and Connie swung around to see Rose entering. "Happy Birthday!" Connie greeted her friend with enthusiasm. It was just as Abby had expected. Connie's face beamed a sweet welcome. And there was a warmth now about her room. The smell that filled the room was actually pleasant. "Thank you, Connie." Abby was about to envelop Connie in a hug when she noticed the pan in the kitchen. "Oh my! Connie, your pancakes!" She dashed over and pulled the pan off the stove, momentarily forgetting that it was cast iron. She dropped it abruptly, pulling her hands back with a cry of pain. The pan fell with a loud clatter to the floor. Abby bit her lip. "I'm sorry about your pancakes, Connie." Connie rushed to the sink and turned the cold water on. "Oh, your poor hands. Quick, come rinse them in the water, and then we shall take a look at the damage" Glancing down at the pan, Connie shrugged. "Those were actually the eggs and... umm... sausage. The pancakes I'm still fixing" Connie picked up the pan and set it back on the stove. "The eggs look burnt, but the sausage still looks dandy". Abby viewed the remains with a passing glance of suspicion as she rushed towards the sink. This has not been a good day, she thought, already labeling it a failure. "Oh well, we can cook some more eggs without much trouble." The cold water felt soothing and painful to her hands. "Where did you get the sausage?" She added, still eyeing the remains with curiosity. Connie looked down at the sausage. "I found it in fridge, on the top shelf", she answered, wondering now if it really was sausage. "Oh!" An amused expression formed on Abby's face. She removed her hands from under the cold water and retrieved a jug of sickly green liquid out of the fridge. She poured herself a cup. "Would you like some?" She asked, more out of politeness than anything else. Connie gave the strange liquid a long look. She thought she saw chunks of... of something floating in it, and it even looked luminous in places. "No thank you, Rose" Connie said politely, making a squeamish face. Even fearless Abby squirmed a little as she doused the whole glass down. "Really good for the stomach." She smiled at Connie's horrified face. "Uh huh..." Connie agreed, but she looked as though she didn't really believe her friend. Connie walked over to the bowl which she was mixing the pancakes in. The batter looked about how it was supposed to; though she could have mixed in the baking powder better. "I think the pancakes are just about ready to cook", she informed Rose. Abby came and looked over Connie's shoulder. She took the bowl from the counter and beat it a few times before plopping the batter in the pan. It immediately began to sizzle. "Do you suppose Gunnar would like to come for breakfast?" "I'm sure he would. Guys always like to eat", Connie replied, looking at the clock. "Though he might not be awake this early. A lot of people are sleeping in since it's the holidays". "Of course." Abby pulled her cellular phone out and began to dial Gunnar. She hadn't gotten very far when there was a knock at the door. Thank God I didn't try to sleep in. Gunnar stood casually at the door with a navy blue duffel bag slung over his shoulder as he waited to be let in. All he wanted to do was tell her he would be gone for a few weeks. Then he would ask her if she would hold on to some of his personal things before he left the States. "Come in!" Abby called. She didn't turn her head to see the incoming visitor. Honestly, she really didn't want to have to restart breakfast over again. Gunnar found it odd that Abby would so quickly invite him in. He turned the knob and slowly cracked the door open just enough to stick his head inside. "Abby? Abby? Is it a good time for...?" He stopped when he saw Connie in the room and grinned nervously. "Forlåt mig. Hallo, Miss Constance." "Oh?" She turned and saw Gunnar looking awkward, as usual. "Gunnar, I was just calling you. Connie here made breakfast for me. I was wondering if you would like to join us." Gunnar was not sure if he had just been invited, so he remained in the doorway and tried to explain that he had only come by on a short errand. "Faktiskt, came I here only that to ask you something. I would not interrupt the breakfast." "You wouldn't hurry off before sharing my Birthday breakfast, would you?" She was quick in continuing as she remembered how Gunnar often didn't take teasing well. "I wouldn't want to keep you. I'm sure it must be something important to bring you down the hall to visit." She turned back to flip the pancakes. "Please come in and shut the door, though." Gunnar checked. "Today...is your birthday?" He felt very badly for not knowing. "Happy birthday," he wished her. "Yes, it is. Though, there isn't anything to be particularly happy about growing a year older." Abby handed the pancake turner to Connie and made her way to the door. "So, what can I do for you, Gunnar?" He casually tried to push his bag behind himself so it would not draw her attention. "Ah, nothing. Nej, it is your birthday. I need nothing of you." He paused. "I should maybe celebrate with you, yeah? A party needs a Swede." "I didn't say there was a party. But no doubt, Swedes do make parties better. Come eat breakfast with us." She waved towards the table, which had been set by a beaming Connie. It was then that she couldn't help but notice the bag Gunnar held, or had been trying to conceal. "What's the bag?" Gunnar slipped into the room and gently closed the door behind himself. "The bag? Has nothing." He set the bag lightly on the floor by the doorway. "But I wanted to ask about that you could hold my bag safe while I am away." He frowned. "I...have no gift for you." "Gift? I don't need anything." Abby glanced at the bag, then back at Gunnar. "Promise I won't get shot at for keeping that for you?" "Haha," Gunnar scoffed. "Visst, of course not so. The bag is important to only me." He sniffed the air and wrinkled his nose. It was quite a strange smell coming from the kitchen area. "Hmmm...My curiosity is piqued. But you have my word, I won't look in it." Abby took it from his hands. It felt bulky in her hands, though hardly heavy for its size. She put it in the corner. "Come, if it's not too much trouble, and eat breakfast with us." She then took a seat beside Connie at the small table. Gunnar accepted with a nod and sat in the chair opposite Connie and Abby. He was a bit hungry, now that he thought about it. Abby was about to start piling up a plate of the hotcakes and sausage when she checked herself. "Connie, would you ask the blessing?" It was more of tradition to Abby above anything else. When she was small they always asked the blessing before meals. Besides, Connie's family had always done the same. Constance lowered her head and gave a short and sweet prayer. Her uncle, who was a pastor, had always said that "It is never wise to keep a hungry man from his food by praying for longer than a minute", and Connie took this advice to heart. Gunnar didn't look hungry enough to do anything drastic if the prayer went very long, but Connie was a little afraid Rose might die from starvation if she meandered. Besides, Connie reasoned, God doesn't really mind how long a prayer is. He just likes to hear from you. Gunnar bowed his head with the other two at the table, if only to be polite. It had been a long time since he had been around anyone who had prayed before a meal. His father only did so on special occasions, such as Easter and Christmas dinners. He considered it more than just a ritual, but that was not habit otherwise in his family. When Connie had finished, he gently smiled and observed his meal. It looked very well-prepared, and Gunnar would admit that he was anticipating trying something Connie had fixed. It was also refreshing to have a meal that he did not have to cook--or, as usually, a meal that he had not messed up. "Bother." Abby reached out for the salt shaker only to find it empty. "I guess I'll go fill this up." "Let me fill it, Rose. It is your birthday after all", Connie offered, as she snatched the shaker off the table and glided out the door calling, "I'll be back before you blink. Don't you all wait on me to eat". Abby hungrily began to eat. Although it only had been twelve hours since she had last eaten, she felt starved. Looking up, she watched Gunnar gaze at his plate for a few moments before following her example. Gunnar took a large bite of a hot cake. He nearly choked on it and did his best to quickly swallow it before washing it down with his entire glass of milk. "Very hot," he said, trying to make an excuse for not eating any more for the moment. Abby eyed him suspiciously for a moment. His "cleverly" disguised choking could not fool her. She sent him a dark glare, and her fists tightened threateningly. If she put her gestures to words it would have been, "You say a word to Connie and I'll kill you." Gunnar was not afraid of Abby. Or, rather, he was not afraid of getting hit by her. But he knew not to cross the line if he wanted to ever talk to her again. He decided to move on to the sausage. Constance came swinging back into the room with the newly filled salt shaker in her hand. Plopping the shaker on the table, Connie perched herself into a chair and shot a quick glance at the others. They seemed a little quiet, and Connie wondered if Rose had been talking about something not suitable for breakfast conversation. "Gunnar", Connie broke the awkward silence, "Do you have time to go ice skating before you head off" Connie scooped up her glass of milk. "It would be perfectly wonderful! I have heard you are quite good, and I do so wish for something special on Rose's birthday" Connie looked Gunnar's way, anticipating his response. Gunnar quickly cut off a bit of a hot cake and ate it to try to convince Connie that he was actually enjoying her cooking. He smiled half-heartedly and gulped down his bite. "Ice skating... I am some bit good with that. But--" He looked at Connie's ecstatic eyes. He hated to let people down. "I can...maybe...ice skate." Connie turned toward Rose. "What do you think? It would be SO much fun!". Rose tried to brave a smile at the way things were going. "That sounds delightful! But I'm sure Gunnar needs to leave. We don't want to mess up his family plans." Gunnar sensed the uneasiness in Abby's tone, and he realized the mischievous desire within him to play on it. "I leave when the clock is eleven, in the night. It is plenty of time until then. We can go and ice skate." He smiled amiably at Connie, and then deviously at Abby. Constance hadn't been ice skating in a few months. Now she looked forward to the opportunity. Ice skating was one of her hobbies. She had competed in figure skating tournaments when attending high school, and this was a wonderful chance to relive the past while spending time with friends. Connie gave a beaming smile. "It's a date then!" ---- Of Flower, Fish, and Fille Française (Part II) Abby had passed the public ice skating rink many times, but had never had time or wished to take time to go ice skating. When she was in her teens, she had gone many times with Constance since the younger girl liked doing it very much. Some disturbing memories from those times always came up as she passed the building. Of all the places she had lived, this was the only city that kept an ice skating rink open on balmy evenings. Just her luck. Abby smoothly parked her black 2006 Ford Fusion, and was out of the car in a moment. The others would follow, she assumed. Connie snatched up her purse and popped out of the car as soon as it came to a rest. The rather large building rose in front of her like a mountain just waiting to be conquered. She stood there for a second, absorbing every moment. Ice-skating she compared to cheerleading or playing soccer in that it would never fail to make her feel truly alive. An enormous, happy smile came to Connie's face and she glided toward the door where Rose was waiting. Gunnar struggled and contorted himself to escape the vehicle. He ducked out the door and stumbled out wildly. The girls had made him--the tallest member of their small party--sit in the backseat, and he had been sore for the whole ride, scrunched up with his knees nearly to his chest. He scowled at the car as he shut the door behind him. The girls were well ahead of him by now, and he decided to walk at a casual pace, with the intent of aggravating them in exchange for the discomfort they had brought upon him. Entering the building with Rose, Constance took a moment to familiarize herself with the rink. It was a large structure. There were tall, rather uncomfortable looking bleachers surrounding the ice rink, which appeared to double as a hockey rink on occasion, and, in one corner, there was a large door that led to an area in which a person could warm herself as well as buy a variety of foods or drinks. Connie glanced back over her shoulder but could not see Gunnar. I wonder if he got lost, she pondered. Turning to mention his absence to Rose, Connie found that her friend was already making her way to the cashier counter. Hurrying after Rose, she pushed past her friend to reach the counter first. "You aren't going to pay on your birthday, Rose!". Constance dug into her purse and retrieved a 20 dollar bill. She held it up for the cashier. "Hi! There will be three of us for skating". Abby let her friend pay for once. Personally, she wondered what had happened to Gunnar too. She smiled mischievously as she drew the picture of him in the back seat into her mind again. She needn't feel guilty. He offered. Anyway, it wasn't nearly as crowded back there as he made it look. Once her friend had paid, Abby pulled Connie along to find some ice skates. Offhandedly, she told the person at the cashier counter, "The third of our party is coming shortly. He's tall and awkward; you won't miss him." Gunnar sauntered in through the front door and walked up to the desk and pulled out his wallet. "How much costs it to borrow skates?" The person behind the cashier counter looked up with a smile. "Your friends already paid." She then pointed to Abby and Connie over trying on ice skates. "Ah, ja. I know," Gunnar lied as he moved away from the counter. "I wanted to know so I could count how much money is left for videogames." He awkwardly turned the corner to find his counterparts applying their borrowed skates. Her heart beating with excitement, Constance pulled the final skate on to her foot and tied the laces down nice and tight. She slowly stood up on the wobbly skates and took a peek out at the many people upon the ice rink. It was crowded this particular night. There were a few families with children, who seemed to be no older than three, as well as hordes of teenage couples out for a date. Pulling her dark green sweater closer to herself, Connie awkwardly made her way to the edge of the rink where she immediately placed one foot upon the ice and slid gracefully out toward the center of the lovely white arena. Abby was still struggling to tighten her skates when Gunnar came around the corner. She had been momentarily distracted by watching Connie start flying across the ice with the dozens of teenagers and kids. "Ah, there you are, slow poke," She said with a smile, having decided that no matter what her friends chose to put her through she would take it good naturedly. They were friends and actually wanted to spend the day with her; that must count for something. "Are you prepared for skating, or should we only stand away and play videogames, Abby?" Gunnar jabbed back at his friend as he received a suitably-sized pair of hockey blades from one of the rink workers. "Every day with good ice is not to waste, as the friends said in Karlstad." He much-too-casually flipped off his shoes. Abby laughed off his poke. "Maybe after a little skating. I bet I could beat you at any of them. If I do beat you, you'll have to take Connie and me out to dinner." He laughed while pulling his skates on and fixing each relay of the laces to be as tight as possible. "I will be generous and let you to combine your scores with Miss Constance." "You really do want to take us out to dinner..." She finished and stood up. "Connie and I used to go downtown and play videogames with the guys when we were utterly bored. We actually became insanely good and started beating the video game sharks. Then they stopped paying for us. It was such a sad day." She bit her lip; there was nothing quite so frustrating as trying to walk on ground in ice skates. "Coming?" "Of course," Gunnar replied, with a wicked smile. "I would not miss this experience." He tread on his blades behind her with familiar ease. Abby gave him her *Gunnar thinks he's so funny smile* before stepping out onto the ice. The moment she did a wave of teenagers rushed by almost knocking her to the ground. "And that," she muttered. "Is why I don't like to ice skate." Connie skated quickly across the rink. She could feel every ridge and cut that littered the ice as they were conducted from the metal in her skates to her body. The speed at which she glided caused a pleasant, cool breeze to whip at her face. This is perfect, Connie thought as she tried a simple spin. Her heart leapt inside as she completed the figure skating move. There were few things in the world as enchanting and joyful to Connie as skating on a quiet winter's day. True, it wasn't exactly quiet that night and the 60 degree temperature of San Francisco didn't really feel like winter, but she chose to ignore these subtle facts. Tossing her short, dark hair back, Constance tilted her head towards the sky and closed her eyes to savor the feeling of being free while flying across the ice. Quickly reopening them, she easily dodged a young boy who had just then fallen in her way. Connie gracefully doubled back and helped him up to his feet before starting off on another round about the rink. Seeing Rose and Gunnar stepping on to ice, she flashed a large, happy smile and waved enthusiastically in their direction. The overgrown boy slid onto the scuffed ice and sailed along the walls, circling about the hockey goal creases and weaving through the crowds of less-skilled skaters. For a brief moment, he felt memories of an old friend, stinging. But he shook it off and instead began to think of new ways to tease Abby today. An ice skating rink was a golden opportunity. Abby elegantly slid around the ice rink. Every once in awhile she hit into a section of deep ruts that threw her off balance. All the way her eyes kept on every movement of the people on the rink. She couldn't count on two hands all the times she had fallen because of people's carelessness, but that could really be a metaphor for the rest of her life. The laughter from the other groups couldn't rub off on her or make her spirit lighter. In a way, it just left her feeling sour. Birthdays simply weren't her days. The smile was merely a disguise to make her friends feel good. Jumping and spinning along the way, Constance glided towards the middle of the rink again. Out of the corner of her eye she noticed a group of about ten young adults preparing to play a game of "Crack the whip". Watching them brought back a flood of memories from her freshman year of high school. She and her friends would often play this game, among many others, as they spent hours upon the ice during the many days of winter. She never enjoyed "Crack the whip" though because she always seemed to get stuck on the end of the chain, which was not a joyful experience at all. Connie shivered at the thought. Although she envied their fun, she did not envy the poor soul who would be sentenced to suffer on the end of the dreaded whip Gunnar had made only two passes about the rink when he caught back up to Abby, at which point he shunted his left blade into the ice and ground to a halt, spraying powder onto Abby's coat. "Is it no skating in Deutschland?" he prodded. Abby leaned over and scooped up a handful powder then placed it atop Gunnar's head, rubbing it in a little. She gave him the *Gunnar thinks he's so funny smile* again. "Of course there is iceskating in Deutschland. I was thinking perhaps you hadn't really ice skated in Sweden; you looked a little stiff." Gunnar cringed and swept the ice off his head. "Stiff?!" He subtly scooted his right foot back and forth to see how his movement was lacking in fluidity. He furrowed his brow. "Are you so mean to everyone for your birthdays?" Abby reached up and gave Gunnar's head a good sweep off before turning and starting to skate again. "Always. It's sort of a reaction to a lesson I learned." She glanced at him. "I think it was on my 12th Birthday that I learned it. Life doesn't stop sucking just since it's your birthday." "My motto..." Gunnar muttered as he kicked after her. "But you should really celebrate. I like to run away from people for celebration." He waved at Connie across the rink. "Celebrate what? Look around." She swung in front of him and stretched her arms around her. "There's only two people in the whole world who would spend my birthday with me. A guy who I can hardly spend 10 minutes with before getting into a fight; and a girl who loves me so much that I feel like somehow I'm taking advantage of her. With either one, I feel like I'm walking on a thin wire." Gunnar's smirk disappeared quickly, feeling guilty about his behavior. "I meant to be fun..." He looked away from his friend, nervous about making eye contact for the moment. He smiled for two seconds. "I fight with my sisters like so, if you mind that." Shut up, Gunnar. "You know, Gunnar, the funny thing is I don't really mind be compared with a sister. I actually appreciate it. I---" At that moment, the sound of screams, yells, and laughter became louder; the whip of ice skaters had come around the rink and it was heading towards them now at an alarmingly fast speed. The leader saw Gunnar and Rose too late. He tried to change the direction, but an ice whip consisting of a near twenty people is not known for its maneuverability. The middle of the whip ran straight into Rose who toppled onto Gunnar, knocking him off his feet and propelling him backwards onto the ice. Abby landed with great force on top Gunnar, which, in her opinion, frankly hurt more than if she had hit the ice itself. The rest of the whip followed Abby's lead and piled on to Gunnar, sandwiching her between seven people and... a rock. Connie, who had been following behind Rose and Gunnar, attempted to skate away from the catastrophe-in-progress, but one of her feet was caught and she was flung into the air, landing on the very top of the newly formed ten person pile up. The touchdown was fairly comfy, besides one especially nasty ice skate which jabbed into her back. She could hear people groaning, and something, possibly a bone, made a popping sound deep within the mound of tangled people. Worry for her friends flooded her mind and she frantically called out, "Rose! Are you alright? Gunnar?". Abby had thought that she had missed death by a hair when the pile on top of her finally quieted. She had suddenly grew a new understanding of those with paralyzation, for it felt like every bone in her body had been wrapped like a mummy or cemented around. In plain words, she couldn't move at all. Her breath was short and choppy because her chest was unable to rise, and she felt like her cheek had been firmly implanted with an impression of Gunnar's chin. She was surprised that it (Gunnar's chin) hadn't gone ahead and broken a few teeth while it was at it. She'd live. Then it happened. Something or someone else must have landed atop the pile. It might have been a leaf as far as she was concerned, but that extra weight seemed to expand as it pressed down each level of the pile. When it landed on her a loud pop vibrated through her body, and the pain increased sevenfold. She gritted her teeth hard and couldn't imagine how she was going to take another breath. Somehow above all the noise of groaning, laughing from the stupid spectators that somehow thought this whole pile up was some sort comical scene, and the pain that rang out in her ears like an air raid siren, she heard Connie's voice. Pushing aside the blaring pain and growing feeling of claustrophobia, Rose began to jab at those above her with her elbows. "Get off, you idiots!" "Are you talking to me?" Gunnar snidely replied, pushing himself up off the ice and--rather carelessly--trying to jounce people off him. He then directed his speech to the younger skaters on top of the pile. "When I was your age, we played icegames away off from other persons which were not playing our games. Americans..." Gunnar felt his back bruised, and his bottom lip was slowly bleeding. He had instinctively protected his legs from suffering serious injury, but he was furious that he was on the ice, under a few hundred kilograms of human weight. He made one last move to elbow people off of himself and his friend, then rolled over and dumped a teenager off of himself. Gunnar had, perhaps unintentionally, dislodged himself, leaving Abby to fall face down onto the ice. Well, isn't this nice. Grasping for a full breath, she detached herself from the last random limbs that trapped her and rolled onto her side. A pain located near her ribs stabbed sharply. She gritted her teeth and concentrated on the pain to keep from spilling out a multitude of less-than-nice words to the other people, even Gunnar. Taking a few more difficult breaths, Abby attempted to get up, only to find herself helplessly falling back onto the ice. Constance saw Rose fall to the ice again. Tossing her ice skates away, she rushed over to where her friend lay. She could see Rose was obviously in some sort of pain and came to the conclusion that Abby must have twisted her ankle in the disaster. Kneeling down on the ice, Connie placed a hand on Rose's shoulder and then noticed her breathing. It was short and labored, clearly abnormal. A wave of newfound concern came sweeping over the young nurse and she tried to catch her friend's attention. "Rose. Hey, Rose! Where are you hurting?" Rose did not look up at Connie immediately but continued to stare intently at the ice. Stupid ice. Finally she did look up at Connie for fear that her friend would start freaking out. "You might want to get a pen and paper for that, Connie. In fact, a few pieces of paper." Breathe. Breathe. Smile. Breathe. Repeat pattern promptly. Breathe. Breathe. Smile Breathe. "I'm alright, Connie. I just need a few minutes to gather my bones back together. It doesn't feel so good getting a taste of what it's like to be caught under a car." Abby struggled with her ice skates, and when she finally got them off, she flung them wildly towards the spectators. Disappointingly they fell short and only caused herself pain. Again Abby tried to get up. This time she made it to the sitting position with only a little bit of dizziness. "Honestly, Connie, right now I just want to go back to my room." Or I could go over and smash a few of those idiotic spectators out... "Are you sure you really should go back to the dorm?" Eyeing Rose skeptically, Connie helped her friend stand up. Rose winced a little and her breathing still appeared labored. "You might have broken something. We should take you to get X-rays". Pivoting around, Connie called in the direction of Gunnar. "Help me get Rose to the car. We need to hurry over to the medical center". "Connie, I really am fine. X-rays are not needed, trust me. They'll just uncover all the other problems I may or may not have which I already know about. Gunnar, you just continue enjoying yourself over there." Gunnar finished his form of cursing and looked at Abby. "Gunnar, help me move Rose to the car". Connie's voice was small but commanding in a quiet, timid sort of way. Gunnar looked at Connie. "Gunnar, you stay where you are." He looked back at Abby. "Gunnar...." Connie looked pleadingly in his direction. He looked at Connie again. "Gunnar...." Abby gave Gunnar a threatening glare. "Sorry," he said, and scooted over to his ‘birthday friend'. He glanced at Connie to see if she had determined it safe to lift Abby. Supporting Rose with one hand, Constance nodded to Gunnar and addressed Rose with a slightly scolding tone. "It's inevitable, Rose! You are going to get X-rays! If you hurry, it will be over sooner". "Blast it! I can walk perfectly well." To prove her point, she determinedly started across the ice. She couldn't believe that, with all the discomfort everywhere else, she could still feel the cold biting into her socked feet. "Alright Rose, you can walk". Connie allowed her friend, but she and Gunnar followed closely beside Abby on each side, just in case she thought about attempting to take a tumble. Abby didn't let Connie or Gunnar help her much as she struggled into her own shoes. She didn't let them assist her into the car either and, in all other conditions, she would not have let Gunnar drive her car to the hospital--even if he actually had a license like he said he did. As for the hospital, Abby decided it would be less painful for her to submit to going than to be forced by them to go. Who knows, she might have arrived at the hospital with two broken ribs instead of one if she had resisted. All hope of salvaging any joy on this day was now out of the question. It was a silly idea that one of her Birthdays would actually turn out right for a change. No, there seemed to be a curse on her. She would always hate Birthdays (Thanks for reading!!)