The Heat of Ice

2.

Kara loved early mornings on the rink. The peace of knowing that no one is around you and you have the freedom to just warm up for the day and feel the ice under your feet is what Kara loves most about skating. The last Olympic qualifiers, she quit skating indefinitely to help her mother when her father passed. Although she quit competing, she would start out every morning with her headphones and take an easy skate to just clear her mind. This became a habit that she religiously followed, even now. Knowing other skaters have really early mornings, she made sure to get a time when she knew no one else would be up. 3am. It is just something she needs for herself. Without coaches, or Maggie, or other teammates.

Sneaking away from Maggie was easy enough. She just knows she has to get back before Maggie is awake. 

As she is moving lightly to the rhythm of her music she wishes sometimes that competition could feel this way. Kara had never done super well when it comes to the pressure of others watching her perform. Sometimes she wished she had an alter ego that goes out confidently and destroys the competition. She knows she has the skill set, the grace, the movements, but when she is in front of an audience there is always something off to ruin her moment to win. 

As some time passes, she continues to listen to her music and ponder her journey here. She knows she wants to continue Clark's legacy. She wants to master her quads and be the first female figure skater to perform a quad axle at the Olympic Games successfully. But considering her age in this sport, it doesn't seem likely that she will continue the sport after the next few years. 

What does Kara want? When this is all over, Kara wants to be a sports reporter, just like Cat Grant. In a male dominated world, Kara wants to follow in Cat's footsteps and really get inside scoop on a plethora of sports. Kara grew up an enthusiast for several sports, gaining just as much knowledge as others in the field. Knowing it is harder to become a sports reporter as a woman, becoming an Olympian will definitely give her more credibility, making it easier to get into the profession. 

Just as Kara's thoughts were wrapping up and she was slowing her skate, she heard a loud noise of the door. 

Not seeing who the skater was, Kara says brightly, "Well, I guess we had the same idea to get on the ice before anyone else.!"

Then the skater walks into sight, revealing herself to be Lena Luthor. Kara's face drops in shock.

"Oh, uh, sorry I didn't mean to interrupt your skate," Lena says as she realizes she is talking to Kara. 

"It's no problem, I was just finishing up here," Kara says as she slowly circles back to the entrance of the rink to grab her stuff. She notices Lena's security isn't with her. 

"Um, if you could..." Lena starts, grabbing Kara's attention to her, "Can you not tell anyone I was here alone?"

"Uh, sure," Kara responds, understanding she snuck away, "same for me, please."

"Sure no problem," Lena says with a slight grin and hopping onto the ice as she puts her earbuds in to effectively end the conversation.

Kara removes her shoes, changes quickly, and leaves to hurry back before Maggie is awake.

Lena is left feeling shaken. Why was Kara without her security? Is she going to report that they were together alone? This could potentially be a problem if anyone found out they were both sneaking around their guards and were alone. Although Lena is worried, she cannot seem to shake the look of the other competitor, how her face dropped as she noticed Lena. Well, at least she was used to it by this point. Lena continues her warm up for the day before the rest of the day of training and interviews.