An Unlikely Match

Chapter 1

The lights went down and the crowd started to settle down, I took a breath feeling it catch in my throat, before stepping out onto the ice. My knees were trembling and threatening to collapse beneath me and I skated quickly into the middle of the rink. I could feel the adrenaline in my system telling me to run as far away as possible.

The commentator's voice boomed around the stadium, "Up next Fleur Garcia for the United States of America." At even the suggestion of America the home crowd erupted into applause once again. Once I got to the centre of the rink I moved into my staring position, digging my right skate into the ice behind me and raising my arms above my head. 

I tried to steady myself and glanced out into the crowd, I saw my parents on the front row holding a cardboard sign alongside my brother, who for once wasn't staring at his phone. They were smiling and cheering with the rest of the crowd. 

The first notes of my music echoed throughout the lofty stadium, and I took another deep breath as the crowd hushed. Then the world started to spin around me, I tried to take a step to balance myself but my skate was stuck in the ice. It all seemed to be in slow motion the shock of the crowd and the music that kept playing in the background as I fell, before it all went black.

I shot up in my bed covered in sweat, I stifled a sob before throwing the covers off me. Letting my toes sink into the plush carpet I walked over to my bathroom.  "Calm down Fleur, you idiot," I muttered under my breath while pulling my light brown hair back into a messy ponytail and washing my face wincing slightly as my hand brushed my black eye which was still sore and slightly purple. 

The one thing I could get used to about my new life as a failure was the lie ins, five extra hours of sleep a night is always nice. Stumbling back into my bedroom I grabbed my faded blue Goldcrest rink hoodie and pulled it over my head before wandering down the stairs and into the kitchen.

Our home wasn't large, but then again it wasn't small, my parents both had jobs that paid well and our house could have been a lot bigger if my parents hadn't invested so much in my budding skating career. Still I guessed that wasn't going to be a problem anymore seeing as my future was pretty much finished.

My mum was sitting at the table reading a newspaper and eating a bowl of porridge with fruit, her face was looking more tired since the events of last week. She was a former beauty queen which is probably where her competitive side came from, which she had now distilled in me.

I walked over the fridge to grab some orange juice before pouring myself a glass, then I grabbed a granola bar from the cupboard. My mum saw me and hurriedly folded up the paper and covered it with her arm. 

"I'm guessing I'm still on the cover then", I said as I walked over to sit next to her at the table. I stretched out my legs underneath it and yawned. Suddenly I reached out to grab the paper from under her arm but she was faster than me and slammed her hand down on top of it.

"Don't honey it will only upset you," she stood up taking the paper with her along with her empty bowl. She put the bowl in the dishwasher before dumping the paper in the bin.

I took a bite of the granola bar as I watched her clean up, "I'm glad they're not letting anyone forget what a failure I am," I mused to myself out loud, twisting a strand of my hair around my finger.

"Fleur, don't say things like that." my mum chided, I glared at her as she dashed around the kitchen frantically trying to find her keys. Eventually she plucked them out from behind the fruit bowl and turned to me, "I'll be back late tonight, make sure your brother finishes his homework before he plays video games and there's lasagna in the fridge for dinner." She grabbed her bag which was by the door and gave me weak smile.

Just before she walked out she turned around, "If you're feeling up to it Jeff called and wants you to go down to the rink today and remember no one is angry with you." I nodded, knowing that it was a lie. With the amount of time and energy that had been put into my training they were allowed to be angry, I had made a stupid mistake. I knew better than to skip breakfast on a competition day but I had been distracted by other things.

After she had left I stood up and walked over the window, watching her car pull out of the drive before opening the bin and retrieving the newspaper. I wrinkled my nose at the smell and unfolded it.

'Olympic Hopeful In Hiding After Collapse', I rolled my eyes, Goldcrest was a small town and obviously I was the only news story this month. I glanced at the photo taken at a previous competition and smiled before throwing it back into the bin.

Self consciously I rubbed the front of my head which was still sore from falling so hard onto the ice. All I could remember was the first notes of the music starting and then waking up two days later in a hospital bed with a massive bruise on the front of my head.

My parents had told me later that the doctors had been worried that I had suffered a life threatening brain injury due to my fall. So I guess in the scheme of things it could have been far worse, I got away with a small cut on the top of my head which had to be glued together, as well as a black eye which was starting to go down.

I took a sip of orange juice and padded upstairs to my bedroom slamming the door. I looked across at my trophy cabinet which was full of medals and trophies all of which meant nothing now, it had all been leading up to the only medal that mattered, and Olympic one. I had been ice skating since I could walk, because my father had won an Olympic silver medal for France in speed skating. My mother's competitive side was matched only by my father's and for as long as I could remember I had been told that I was destined for the gold.

The competition I had been taking part in was my last chance to qualify for the Olympic selection trails which were due to place in 3 months time where the top 3 skaters would represent the USA in the next Olympics. Due to my 'accident' I had missed out and now would have to wait four years until the next Olympics, during which time younger skaters who are at their prime would probably be able to beat me.

I was content to spend another day in my pyjamas catching up on the all the shows that I had never had time to watch thanks to my relentless training schedule. I grabbed my phone and sat on my bed scrolling through my Twitter timeline and trying to find something to cheer me up.

Just after I'd finished watching the fifth cat video in a row I heard a knock at the door. Running down the stairs I opened the door to find and grey haired man of around 50. He was dressed in a sharp grey suit and smelt of expensive cologne.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Fleur Garcia I presume, I've heard so much about you. May I come in?" He spoke with a British accent and I was sure I had seen him before. I squinted at him trying to think where I knew him from.

I then realised that I was standing with a stranger at my door, my phone was upstairs and our house was far apart from our neighbours, "I'm not supposed to talk to strangers," I said hurriedly while trying to close the door. Swiftly he put his foot in the way taking a step inside.

He smiled slyly, "I was upset to hear about your accident, I hope that you're feeling better?" I nodded in response, fighting the urge to rub my head again.

"Now, I came here today to talk to you about a proposition I have for you."