𝐥𝐨𝐬𝐭

sixteen

Delphine

The café was buzzing with the usual morning crowd—students half-asleep over their coffee, professors prepping for lectures, and the faint hum of background music just loud enough to fill the gaps between conversations. I stirred my tea absentmindedly, watching the steam curl up from the cup. Across from me, Eliza was animatedly describing her new routine, her eyes wide with excitement.

"So then I was thinking," she said, tapping her fingers against the edge of her cup, "if I do a triple toe loop right after the axel, it'll give the routine this seamless flow, right? I mean, it'll be super hard to land, but imagine how impressive it'd look!"

I nodded, not really hearing the details, just catching her energy and enthusiasm. I envied how easy it was for her to get excited about things, how her eyes lit up like everything was possible. She kept going, her hands moving as if she were skating right there in the café.

"But you know," she continued, her voice lowering as if she were letting me in on some big secret, "Coach thinks it's too risky. Says I should go for something safer, something more consistent. But I want to push myself, you know? Like, what's the point of skating if you're just going to play it safe?"

"Yeah," I replied, sipping my tea. "Makes sense."

She didn't seem to notice my lack of enthusiasm, too wrapped up in her ideas. I was glad, honestly. This wasn't something I wanted to get into. Not after this morning. The way Coach had pushed me, screaming at me to push past limits I didn't even know I had, was still fresh in my mind. And then, Kaiden had walked in. The thought of him seeing me like that—the frustration, the anger, the way my body had given up on me—made my stomach twist.

Eliza launched into another tangent about her footwork, and I tried to stay focused. But my mind kept drifting back to that moment on the ice. I could still feel Kaiden's eyes on me, that judgmental stare, and it made my skin crawl. It felt like he'd caught me in some vulnerable moment, like he'd seen through every wall I'd carefully built.

"And then for the final spin, I'm thinking of holding it just a bit longer. You know, really drawing it out for the audience," Eliza said, snapping me back to the present. "It'll be hard, but it's worth it."

"Right," I replied, nodding again. I could feel myself zoning out, the weight of this morning settling into a dull ache. "Sounds... ambitious."

Eliza leaned forward, lowering her voice. "Is everything okay? You seem a little out of it."

I blinked, forcing a small smile. "Just tired. Long practice, that's all."

She nodded, sympathy in her eyes. "Oh, I totally get it. Coach was pushing me hard, too. You know how he gets. But I think it's because he sees potential in us. Like, he wants us to be the best we can be, right?"

"Sure," I muttered, not really convinced. The truth was, it didn't feel like that anymore. It felt like I was a puppet on strings, pushed and pulled until I'd break.

Eliza reached across the table, giving my hand a quick squeeze. "Hang in there. We're in this together."

I managed a small nod, pulling my hand back to my cup.