Ties of Skis and Skates

Chapter 1

Faster and faster, he did laps around the iced rink. Having caught the image of someone waving at him from the corner of his eye, the young man skidded to a side stop and gave a few pushes to glide over to the rail.

"Any faster and I think you're going to sly out of the rink, Kaiden," the other young man said. A helmet with a pair of gloves, a neck warmer, and a ski mask balanced precariously on the railing of the skating rink.

"Very funny, Sky. My sides are going to split," Kaiden De Rege huffed indignantly. His lungs felt slightly frozen from going around the rink so fast. I have got to start wearing a thicker jacket during practice! He thought.

Swiping the ice particles from the bottom of his pants, Kaiden exited the rink and pulled his skates off. "You don't usually come to the rink without a good reason," the Italian's light accent bounced off the walls of the skating building as he spoke.

Sky gasped dramatically. "I can't even come see my best friend without him suspecting me of something heinous! How cruel!" The blue haired boy laughed as he picked up his ski helmet by the chin strap and followed after his friend to the silver lockers. "Joking aside, I think I found the perfect person for what you need."

"Really?" Sky had finally caught his attention. "Who is it?"

"A Skiing Department student: Glaucia King," the faux coloured hair teen announced. He ruffled his hair as if to get some invisible dust.

"She's perfect... Except for the fact that she doesn't skate!" Kaiden threw his gear into his abnormally large, black suitcase. "She's in the Skiing Department for a reason." He took a deep breath and stood up.

"She transferred over! Are you wanting a partner or not?" Sky waved his arms around like a maniac.

"Sì, Sì, Sky!" Kaiden snapped. "I'm just a bit skeptical. Why did she leave the Skating Department? And if she left, why would she want to come back?" The dark haired male picked up his case and started towards the door with Sky behind him.

Deep in his contemplation, Sky almost slipped in his ski boots that were now covered in water instead of chunks of ice. "Well... rumour has it that her previous partner left, and it seem he dropped her a lot. In skiing, you don't have to worry about being dropped because you rely solely on yourself. Another rumour is that she had prior experience in skiing on top of doing it longer than skating, hence the reason why she switched departments without any complications."

"Is she any good at skiing?"

He sighed. "A group of students, me included, got together for a mock race since we had an Alpine Speed test coming up. It took place on a double black diamond called World's End and she just happened to show up." Sky continued, "She practically tore us all a new one. I have never seen someone ski with such speed and precision in my life." Kaiden rolled his eyes in disbelief at the exaggeration.

"Fine, I'll think about it." The duo had stopped without realizing it. Kaiden then continued walking, but was stopped by Sky's hand on his chest.

"Trust me on this one. If she's half as good at skating as she is at skiing, then you are going to have one hell of a partner," Sky admitted. They both suddenly realized what excitement they were causing in the rink. Like typical teenagers, the other students inside the rink had been listening on the males' conversation. "Crud, I've gotta head back to the slopes... Crud, again! I left my Dynastar Speed Course Ti skis with the guys! I've gotta run before they mess with my bindings again!"

"See you at dinner!" The skeptical skater glanced over to see his friend run off, almost slipping in his K2 boots. "Don't be late!" Kaiden called as he finished retying his shoelaces on his new black tennis shoes so the laces wouldn't get dragged in dirty snow. Sky had already left the rink before Kaiden could finish his statement.