He didn’t turn left. He turned right, down a narrow hallway with a sign that said Staff Only.
I stayed far enough behind that he wouldn’t notice me. My heart was beating so hard I could hear it. He went past the mechanical room, past a door marked Electrical, down another short hall that smelled like ice melt and engine oil. I had been coming to this rink for nine years, and I had never seen this part of it.
At the end of that hallway, he stopped in front of a closed door. Through a small window in the top, I could see a light was on. He opened it and slipped inside.
I stood against the wall with my hand pressed flat against the cold cinder block. I waited a few seconds. I told myself to go back to the car. I told myself he was sixteen and entitled to his privacy and that whatever this was, I should give him the chance to tell me himself.
