"Fear tastes like salt."
Silver sat in her dorm room with an ice pack strapped to her knee, still wearing her skating clothes, feeling more alive than she had in months.
"You're smiling," Riley observed from her desk. "Like, actually smiling. Not the polite fake one. The real thing."
"I skated." Silver couldn't stop the smile even if she tried. "I actually got on the ice and skated."
"We know. Americus has been live-texting us updates since you left for the rink." Maya held up her phone. "Quote: 'She's doing it. She's actually doing it. I might cry.'"
"I did not cry," Americus called from her bed, not looking up from her laptop. "I was merely experiencing overwhelming pride manifesting as optical moisture."
"You cried," Riley and Maya said in unison.
Silver laughed. It felt good. Easy. "My knee hurts like hell but I don't even care."
"How bad?" Riley's expression turned serious. "Should we call Dr. Chen?"
