Free Breaking the Ice by Mandy Baggot

and Samantha was looking forward to being able to fit into the freezer again without having to breathe in.
    By the end of the show the crowd were all on their feet, screaming, cheering, clapping and insisting on an encore of the final group performance. Samantha had never seen the audience so animated after a show and some had even brought flowers to throw onto the ice for the performers.
    As the lights went up Samantha opened the set of double doors she was manning in order for people to leave the arena. She thanked people for coming and then saw Cleo and her guests preparing to leave, no doubt for the bar. However, just as she was starting to wonder where the slim line Connor had gone, she felt a tap on her shoulder.
    ‘ Hi Samantha,’ he spoke with a smile.
    ‘ Oh hello,’ Samantha responded.
    ‘ It was a great show, I’m glad Cleo invited me. I didn’t really think ice dance would be my thing but it was really very enjoyable,’ Connor told her.
    ‘ Yes,’ Samantha answered, not knowing what else to say.
    ‘ So, are you going to be finished soon?’ Connor enquired.
    ‘ Finished?’ Samantha queried.
    ‘ Working. I mean I’ve seen you escort people to seats, check tickets, skate around selling programmes and ice creams, now you’re seeing people out of the building. There can’t be anything else for you to do surely,’ Connor remarked.
    ‘ Oh there’s plenty to do. I have to help pick up all the empty tubs of ice cream, the used ticket stubs and other general rubbish the audience leave behind and I’m in charge of locking up,’ Samantha informed him.
    ‘ Well, maybe I could stay behind and help you. Cleo and Jeremy are going for an Indian, I said we might join them a bit later,’ Connor spoke.
    Oh no, he had done it. He had asked her out and he had done it in such a way that she was convinced Cleo had almost put the words into his mouth. Cleo had also probably told him that she hadn’t had a date in over a year and made her sound like the most desperate twenty four year old in the whole borough of Woolston. Samantha knew her sister meant well but she also knew she thought the only way to be happy was to be bedding men on a regular basis. Oh what a complete disappointment Samantha must be to her.
    ‘ No, I’m allergic,’ Samantha blurted out and she moved away from Connor, pulling the exit doors out wider and standing with her back against one of them.
    ‘ Allergic?’ he queried.
    ‘ To Indian food. It brings me out in a rash,’ Samantha explained.
    ‘ Oh, Cleo didn’t say. Indian was her idea and I thought…’ Connor began, his thin face looking puzzled.
    ‘ Oh that’s typical Cleo. She loves Indian food, she wouldn’t want any of my allergies getting in the way of her having a good vindaloo,’ Samantha answered.
    ‘ Any of your allergies?’
    ‘ I’m allergic to most food served in restaurant environments. Pizza, burgers, kebabs, pasta, Chinese, Cantonese, Thai, Pan Asian…’ Samantha started, desperate not to leave anything out.
    ‘ Fish and chips?’ Connor offered.
    ‘ I have a potato intolerance and an adverse reaction to omegas three and six,’ Samantha spoke quickly.
    Connor nodded and smiled at her.
    ‘ And, I won’t be finished until gone midnight probably,’ Samantha added.
    ‘ It’s OK, I get the message. It’s a shame though. I think we might have had a lot in common,’ Connor said putting his hands in his pockets, a signal that he was admitting defeat.
    ‘ It was nice to meet you,’ Samantha replied politely, glad he wasn’t being too persistent.
    ‘ If you do change your mind about how you feel about dating, Cleo has my number,’ Connor told her.
    ‘ How I feel about dating? What do you mean “how I feel about dating”? I date,’ Samantha exclaimed immediately.
    ‘ It’s OK. Cleo told me you’re a bit apprehensive about the whole dating thing,’ Connor answered.
    ‘ Oh did she. And what else did my sister tell you?’ Samantha wanted to