Winter has arrived, with plenty of ice, yet a surprising lack of snow. Li isn't accustomed to the cold, Meilin even less so since, as she points out, she's wearing a skirt. Why the students still have to wear them in this weather? Beats me. Skirt or not, Sakura and Madison seem to love it, with Sakura taunting them by suggesting they should start on the bunny hill if they go skiing. Sakura notices the frozen-over road (road maintenance has been slacking off) and tries rollerblading on the ice. The result? A 7.5 point fall. Madison informs Sakura that they have the field trip to Ice Pond Palace for her to show her moves. Initially nervous, she brushes it off since she's great at sports, though she still needs Madison's support to get back home. The cracked ice shines ominously as they leave.
Tori taunts her about her skating "trip", suggesting she should take lessons as she could get hurt. Sakura claims she knows what she's doing and brushes off his advice. Someone's been hanging around Meilin too long.
She has the mysterious dream again, complete with shadowy Carmen Sandiego figure and ominous eye. She thinks she knows the figure and her big yellow catlike eyes (they looked more orange to me. Must be the shadow), but can't quite recognize her. She mentions the full moon, which leads Kero to suspect the mysterious figure known as "Yue". As she leaves for school, Kero mentally relays that someone is judging her, that she's so close to capturing all the cards, yet she still has so much to learn. But I thought it was just a matter of picking up after her own mess!
On the way to the rink, the bus ride is lightened up by Meilin's whining about the cold, going as far as wondering whether hypothermia is part of the curriculum. Li claims not to feel anything, but Meilin says it's just because he's numb. Nikki and Chelsea speculate they have never seen snow, and wonder how they had fun back home. Meilin claims they went swimming at the beach and continues her tirade, wondering if they stick their head in the freezer for fun.
Madison starts off on the ice, inspiring Sakura to follow suit. At first, she does okay, but she quickly slips and falls on her butt. Li seems to be faring a lot worse. Meilin can't even get off the rail, but Ms. Mckenzie decides to offer her some lessons and some hand-holding. Sakura decides to get some pointers as well, starting to get the hang of it. Li, on the other hand, refuses, even though he could most use the help.
Meilin, clad in a whole bunch of winter garments, tries to warm up in front of the heater. Sakura and Madison initially try to offer her hot chocolate, but her incessant whining convinces them to go elsewhere. While having lunch, Sakura finally realizes that with her constant falling, she really ought to take lessons. Suddenly, some pleasant pop music starts up as Ms. Mckenzie puts on a show. Unfortunately, I can't find the song right now, but it's rather nice, so I'll update this entry when I do find it. I think part of the lyrics goes "Hey y'all hon, We've just begun, We'll talk tonight We'll make everything all right...looking for another day..."
The girls have another skating run, with Sakura once again getting ahead of herself and falling over after trying to race with them. Mr. Terada tries to get Meilin to skate too, even helping her up, but she just complains about how she wants to go home. As he thinks about how hard Meilin has it for being the new kid, he notices it's strangely chilly too. He tries to get people to turn the heat up, but they tried already. Sakura's friends are also feeling the cold as the thermometer drops. Everyone heads over to the hot chocolate vendor to try warming up, but it's futile as every non-magical person in the room becomes encased in a sheet of ice.
Realizing what they used to think was merely the weather turned out to be a Clow Card, Li identifies it as The Freeze
◊ card. Ms. Mckenzie watches from the sidelines as Sakura and Li discuss matters. The spirit surrounds the pair with crystal stalactites, then pursues them. Sakura manages to use Jump to get off a particularly high one, and the two are forced to skate for their lives. The icy leviathan eventually knocks Sakura out as Li desperately tries to break its freezing effect on her and the Sealing Wand. Li studies its pattern, noticing that it swims under the surface, then rises to attack. Sakura understands, and as Li lures it towards her, he suddenly gets out of the way as it emerges, allowing Sakura to seal the card and Li to obtain it.
Everything goes back to normal as Meilin comes to a realization: she's too hot! Sakura and Li sardonically remark that the event was some skating lesson, with them learning under pressure. Sakura decides to help Ms. Mckenzie out by delivering hot chocolate to everyone on skates. Meilin, surprisingly, is finally having fun with this skating business, and even signed up her and Li for lessons. Li slips yet again, showing he sure is going to need them.
