The air was so fresh. It was a day when the January snow was melting, but you couldn’t be sure that we wouldn’t have another heavy snowfall. Cars scuttled through ponds of slush and the snow was the perfect sticky-snowball-making texture. I was warm in just a cherry V-neck sweater and jeans.
“Heads up!” I cry, launching a perfectly formed snowball towards Madeleine’s back. Our laughter quickly filled the street, but just as quickly, faded, as we saw an ugly-coloured SUV approach us.
The vehicle pulled up right in front of our path, and we tried to act normal. I whispered without moving my lips, “Guys, J-walk, now.” And we did, pretending it was something we needed to do to get to our houses. Our feet hurried over suddenly empty roads. The pale blue sky hung overhead, covered in wispy white clouds. A man stepped out of the car, lit a cigarette, and walked slowly in circles around his vehicle, never once taking his eyes off of us.
He was probably forty, with grey hair and unreadable eyes. His tan jacket resembled the one my Grampa had. I could tell by the sound of the cautious footsteps behind me and the lack of talking that Madeleine, Sarah, and Heidi were frightened.
I picked up a pile of snow and carefully formed a heavy-looking snowball and tossed it around in my hands, a sly smirk on my face, eyes narrowing in on the man. I slowed my walk, and suddenly spun around and chucked the snowball as hard as I could into the road. It landed smack in the middle of the mucky street, just a few feet away from the man. Sarah cast a giggle, and slowly we all erupted into laughter, and ran forward to the outdoor skating pond. When the man was out of earshot, I shouted, “Hide!” and I led the others behind a small hill that led up to the ice. We peeked over the edge, our eyes at pond-level, and watched the man burn out his cigarette, and return inside his car. He pulled a dangerous U-turn and squealed down the street. Heidi peered up at me, her eyes full of relief and excitement, and said,
“Nice throw.”