She nods. “Okay. Does giving it away mean you’re not confident?”
Hannah hesitates. “No…”
“It means you’re gifting some of your confidence to someone else,” Vivian says gently. “So turn to the person next to you, and I want you to give that to them.”
I watch as Hannah turns to her left. Clara’s sitting there, already looking at her, a little unsure. Like Hannah may wrap that bracelet around her neck and she won’t be able to stop her.
But, Hannah holds out the bracelet and…wait a second. Do I see a little shadow of a smile on her face? “Here, Clara. I want you to have it.”
“Really? Thanks, Hannah.” Clara’s face lights up, like she wasn’t expecting that. “You can have mine,” she says, fumbling slightly as she passes hers over. “It’s positivity.”
Hannah takes hers and they both laugh, a little awkward, a little shy, and then—like it’s nothing—they lean in and hug.
“I’m sorry,” Hannah says.
“It’s okay,” Clara laughs as they giggle.
I stare at them.
Teenage girls. It’s official. I will never understand them. Those two were at each other all morning, ready to go to war over a missed pass, and now they’re sitting here trading bracelets and hugging each other like it’s the most natural thing in the world.
I glance up at Vivian, who winks at me. Of course this was the plan.
Bracelets start moving around the room, hands reaching, words trading places like they mean something bigger than string and beads.
“I’ve got courage—here, you take it.”
“Wait, then you get mine. It says teamwork.”
“No, you need mine.”
“Here. Patience.”
“Thank you!”
There’s laughter, a few shy smiles, more hugs. It keeps happening, over and over, like some kind of quiet chain reaction. I sit back, watching it unfold, trying to map it out in a way that makes sense. It doesn’t.
I picture the guys at the rink. Me standing in the locker room, holding up a handful of beaded bracelets.“Alright, everyone, pick a word. We’re going to talk about our feelings.”
I huff out a breath under my nose. Yeah. That would go over well.
A shadow falls in front of me, and before I can fully look up, Vivian’s there.
“And I want to make sure you have mine,” she says.
She takes my hand before I can respond, her fingers warm around my wrist as she slides the bracelet on. The word settles against my skin.
Peace.
I look down at it. Of all the words she could’ve picked…I don’t know her. Not really. But somehow she landed on the one I would’ve chosen without saying it out loud.
My gaze lifts back to her. “I guess I should give you the one I made?”
“You don’t have to,” says with a wink. “But it is kind of the rule. If you’re giving your friendship bracelet away, you’re making a friend.”
I hesitate for half a second, then reach for her wrist. Her skin is warm. Softer than I expect. I turn the bracelet in my fingers, guiding it over her hand, careful without really meaning to be.
“I give you strength,” I say.
