Lock down on Ice

Chapter 5

Vanessa was so excited by Perri's progress. Her mind raced as she lay in bed thinking of all the complicated choreography he could perform, he remembered anything she taught him almost immediately. She was sure she had a finalist on her hands. She especially knew she had to do him justice as his best friend and judge was looking closely at them. She just had to make sure she could keep up with him. He was much fitter than any of her previous celebrities. She waited for him to join her inside the rink this time, but he was late which was unlike him. She checked her watch, it was eating into her practice time.

When he finally arrived, he wasn't his usual self, she guessed he must have had a bad start to the day but she could see that he didn't want to talk about it.

She took him through the basic skate moves again to make sure they were firmly stored in his brain. She marveled at him moving across the ice. It didn't seem like he was a beginner at all. He looked strong and steady. He was also fast, faster than some who had practiced for years not weeks. Then she saw him...doing a handstand against the rink barrier, his hands must have got too cold and he pulled one up to blow on it and collapsed in a heap. She let out an exasperated huff to force the giggle down and skated over to help him untangle his long limbs and get him off the ice before he froze to death.

She was enjoying teaching Perri, he absorbed new information like a sponge and never took more than two tries before whatever she taught him was perfected. She checked the rink clock and was shocked that nearly all their allocated time had flown by. She decided to broach the subject of more difficult moves from the security of warm, dry land. He was in his comfort zone and she knew he was capable of more but she also knew he had a lot on his plate with tours, pantos and his presenting work. She waited til he had his trainers on before she clapped her hands in exaggerated excitement.

"So I think we should try some basic lifts" She said, she couldn't resist hopping on the spot a little. She was already brimming with performance ideas and she couldn't wait to get him to a level where they could try them out. She took his arms and showed him what to do, it was a very simple lift, he would put his hands under her arms and lift her up until his arms locked. Her previous partners were bigger than Perri and had more bulk, although Perri was the same height she wondered how he would find picking her up so high. She knew her muscles meant she wasn't a featherweight. She needn't have worried though, Perri hoisted her up with barely any effort, locking his arms in place with her high above him.

"Very good" she enthused as he lowered her back down. She taught him more and more challenging lifts and she hadn't found one that he couldn't do until now. He couldn't get his balance each time he tried. She tried to get him to attempt it again.

"No, I don't want to." Came his stubborn reply, his face darkened and he turned away from her. It dawned on her that the man in front of her didn't encounter failure often.

"Come on Pel, just give it another try." She laughed tapping him on his back. Suddenly the usually mild-mannered celebrity snapped, he whipped round to face Vanessa at lightning speed, causing her to flinch. He towered over her breathing hard, his nostrils flaring as he glared down at her.

"I hate overhead lifts, I've had a long day and have been up since four this morning, everything has gone wrong, the last thing I want to do is end up on my arse. I can't do them alright, so get off my case and drop the subject."

The small woman wasn't sure what to do so she froze, she didn't know him that well and from her perspective, over half a foot shorter she just knew a man that strong could be dangerous. Her eyes flitted nervously to his muscular chest then his powerful shoulders and finally his strong arms. He wasn't shouting, but his voice was low and so full of bass she could feel it in her chest. Oblivious to her mounting fear, he continued his rant maintaining eye contact the whole time, she wasn't even sure what he was saying. Unbeknownst to her, Perri was simply releasing his pent-up stress and after his outburst he felt much better. He turned on his heel and stormed out of the room.

Vanessa stretched out her arm and watched her hand shake. She blinked back tears and tried to think about what provoked that display of fury so she could make damn sure she never triggered it again.

Perri was waiting for Vanessa as she left the changing room. She stopped nervously when she saw him. The celebrity immediately raised both hands in surrender. "I'm really sorry V," He said. "I shouldn't take out my bad days on you." He tipped his head down a little and pouted. He widened his eyes and looked like a lost little boy. Vanessa couldn't believe he was the same man that was so terrifying moments ago. She sighed as she realised that he was always going to get his way with her with that face.

"We'll leave it for now Perri but if you want to win, you have to try hard things." She replied. She watched him nod slowly before turning around. They headed towards the exit but were stopped by a man calling out.

Vanessa recognised the man standing by the reception desk, it was the show's artistic director. She greeted him happily. "Hi Dan, what are you doing here?" The man smiled nervously and looked at the man next to him as if to encourage him to explain as he covered his face with a cloth that he looped behind his ears. The man sighed and pressed his hands together then released them and put on his face mask too.

"Hi Vanessa and Perri, hope you're well?" he nodded towards Perri who was trying not to look as confused as he felt. "So you have probably heard on the news about this virus in China." Perri nodded slowly, wondering if one of them was sick. "Well one of the show execs has just returned from a government briefing and he says it's really bad, the virus is extremely contagious and deadly. Countries all around the world are locking down so that people are not allowed out of their houses and there are rumours that the UK will follow very soon."

"Don't tell me this year's show is cancelled!" Vanessa blurted in a panic. She grabbed hold of Perri's hand and squeezed it hard. Perri was surprised at the strength in her grip.

"No, hopefully we will be ok but," The man took a breath as he looked between the two skaters, all our contestants need to protect themselves and production as much as possible so...you will have to lockdown together." He paused to see if the pair had taken anything he had said in, he concluded from their blank faces that they needed more explanation. "You need to not catch this thing as it's dangerous plus you will be out of the show, so if you stop mixing with anyone else and only live and skate together, you will avoid catching it from other people."

"I have to live with Perri?" Vanessa repeated slowly.

"Yes!" the man said, grateful for some understanding at last. "There will be an email about it, but we wanted to make sure you knew now because production have started the lockdown today. I've just emailed you both the address of the flat, you need to go home and pack and avoid contact with anyone, if you must be in a room with other people, please ensure they and you wear these." He handed them a box of disposable face masks each. There was more silence as Perri and Vanessa absorbed this information and looked at each other. Vanessa had a slightly panicked expression which Perri took to be a bad thing. Did she hate the idea of being trapped with him? His mood crashed, fueled by the pain of rejection and it wasn't long before his face looked like a thundercloud again. They left the production team members and went outside for some much-needed fresh air. Vanessa looked at her charge. He still looked angry.

"I'm not that bad to live with." she said as she tried to lighten the mood. The dancer looked at Vanessa, who was smiling up at him, and melted a little.

"I bet you take forever in the bathroom." He said cheekily. Vanessa had never been so pleased to receive an insult.