Promises || Road To Nationals

|17| Provincials (Part 1)

Faith's POV: 

   After weeks of waiting, here we are. About to duke it out for a spot in the Nationals. The wait is finally over. I wonder what tricks she'll have up her sleeve this time. I'm practically trembling with excitement. This is going to be a day to remember, alright. 

   "Hey, Fay, quit staring at the sky. You're gonna get snow in your eyes. It's time to go. I don't want to be late like every other year," Jill calls out, taking my hand and leading me to her car. 

   I look at the boy sitting in the back seat of her Kia Soul, a big shit-eating grin crossing his lips. "I think I'd rather walk," I say, shooting him a glare. 

   Jill sighs. He looks away when she turns her attention to him, "Can you two please learn to get along? It's a ten-minute ride to the rink, and I didn't want to make him walk. Just ignore him or something," she says as we inch closer to the car. The thought of being civil with him makes me want to barf. Isn't having to relay with him enough? 

   "Me, get along with him? You sure have an active imagination. I mean, the asshole's ego is so big that he thought he was too good to skate at the Classic." 

   "You're one to talk about egos," Jill mutters under her breath. 

   "What was that?" I say, looking down my nose at her. 

   "Nothing, nothing," she corrects herself, letting go of my hand and putting some distance between us, "Ten minutes. That's it," she says, opening the trunk for me. 

   I place my skate bag neatly on top of hers and as far from his as possible. I climb into the passenger's seat. This is going to be the longest ten minutes of my life. 

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Jordan's POV: 

   During the Classic, I felt like I was going to throw up. Like the world forgot which way to spin. But now, I hold my head high. I have a team that believes in me. And then there's Faith: she's depending on me to give her a show. And if it's a show she wants, then I'll give her one to remember. 

   We arrive back at the same rink we raced at during the Classic. The walls are still gray bricks, the only life that's being brought in is the snowy light that the sunlight shine down. People run back in forth; some warming up, others playing tag, and then there are parents frantically searching for their kids, waving their helmet covers over their heads. They kind of remind me of my dad. 

   I take in the warmth of the building, grabbing a fist full of my necklace. This is the first step to keeping our promise. Wherever you guys are, I hope you're watching. 

   "There are a lot more people here than before," I say, looking around as we walk the halls of the arena. There's only one team I don't recognize, but Meteor, Toronto, and Golden all seem to have more skaters than last time. I keep an eye out for Faith as we walk, but I don't see her yet. I guess she'll find me when she wants to. 

   "That's because you need to podium here to qualify for Nationals," Angel explains as we enter the food court. We've got some time to kill before warm-ups start. 

   "So just like back home," Dre comments, sitting down at one of the big round tables. We all take a seat. The only person we've yet to see is Coach. 

   I take a seat between Kai and Vex, "So to qualify for Nationals, I need to place in an individual event?" I ask. 

   "Yup," Vex says, leaning back in her chair and throwing her feet on the table. I take a mental note not to eat here, "But the relays work a little differently. Say one of our relay teams place, but one person didn't qualify in any individual event, then that person can race the relay at Nationals but none of the individuals," she explains. It's a little different from how it worked back in the U.S.