Frostbite

Laiken

"Get your leg up higher on that spiral, Laiken! You're slacking this morning" coach Vaida shouts at me from across the ice. One thing I loath about figure skating is having to wake up at five o'clock in the morning to make it to the rink for my early morning private before school. Coach Vaida is always complaining about how tired I am. Nothing I do seems good enough for her Olympic-style standards. Her goal is to get me through to Skate Canada 2025 Nationals. And when I say her goal, its because I don't know what my future plans are yet.

My parents put me in figure skating when I was three years old. They wanted me to do a winter sport as it always seems to snow here in Calgary, Alberta. At least, it feels like it's always snowing here. They thought I'd be better off skating year round compared to playing softball or something. I skate five days a week here at Lake Stellar Figure Skating Club. The arena is shared with the AAA hockey team, so Coach and I schedule our private sessions early in the morning so we avoid conflict with the hockey players. Only thing is, one of those hockey players is actually my boyfriend.

Cole Beckett has been my boyfriend off and on for about three years. He and I have commitment issues, mainly due to our extremely busy skating schedules. He's usually away every weekend playing hockey and I'm busy practicing for nationals. Coach Vaida doesn't think dating a hockey player is in my best interest, but I'd like to think he's worth it. Cole and I were best friends before we started seeing each other. We like to keep our relationship on the down low, just to avoid confrontation from both of our coaches.

I skate towards coach and use my hands to abruptly stop myself once they hit the boards. Leaning over the ledge, I try to catch my breath after rehearsing my four minute freestyle routine. After I grasp ahold of my breath, I make eye contact with Vaida. "How do you plan on acquiring first place at nationals with such sloppy technique, Laiken? I've seen you skate better. You were so close to qualifying last year. Don't repeat the same mistakes". I take my hands off the boards and stand up tall, wiping the sweat off my face with the sleeve of my Skate Stellar competition sweater. "I don't know why I'm so tired today, coach. I promise I'll get more sleep and I'll be back on track tomorrow". Coach Vaida dismisses me from the ice with a nod. I grab my water bottle and skate guards, then made my way to the ice rink half door.

Class starts at eight fifteen. I get to school just in time for the first warning bell to go off. Pacing through the busy hallways of Saint Augustine High School, I take note to stop by Cole's locker, which is just down the hall from mine. Cole is leaning against his locker chatting with a couple of his friends from his hockey team. Cole spots me coming down the hall and shoos his friends away. "Hey Laik! How was practice?" he hoots. I stop right in front of him, holding my skate bag in one hand and books in the other. "It could've been better. Just tired today for some reason. How was your hockey game this weekend? Did you win?" I ask. Cole smiles. "What do you think? We always win". I roll my eyes in doubt. "Count you're blessings, Beckett. One day you'll lose a game and you'll have nothing to brag about". Cole takes my books and follows me to my locker. "I don't know how you can play hockey every weekend and have so much energy, let alone time to do your homework. Coach is making me skate five days a week this year and I'm still trying to juggle studying, skating and more importantly, our relationship. We rarely see each other anymore!" We reach my locker and I enter my code into my lock. "I'm sorry, Laiken. I'll make it up to you tonight. Meet me at my place after school. Practice was cancelled tonight anyways". After putting my things away and close my locker, Cole grabs my hand and we walk to home room together.