Conversations at the Ice Skating Rink

The kids in the change room at the local skating rink are talking about university. Have they applied? No, they will soon: this very weekend in fact.

Out on the rink, teenage chatter drifts in and out of my hearing. A girl with crinkly red hair, wearing jeggings, is learning to skate and her friend, in glasses and baggy sweats, is a sweet and patient teacher.The red-headed girl says, rather sharply, to her friend: “Don’t say that about yourself…