On Thin Ice (Editing)

Chapter 6

“You landed a triple axel yesterday?” Missy asks the next evening as I take a seat in her office.  I nod and she grins, shaking her head.  “Only you, Violet, only you could do that after taking so much time off.  Did you know that Diamond didn’t land her first triple until a year ago?  And it’s still kind of wobbly.”

“Actually, can we talk about that?” I ask, bringing up the question that’s been on my mind since I saw Diamond practicing a few days ago.  “She’s really good.  What kind of chance do I have at actually beating her out for Nationals?”

Missy explains that Diamond has only made it to Nationals once, while I’ve gone four times.  Yes, she is projected to win this year, but I could be the one to stop that from happening.  “Someone needs to knock her down a few pegs,” Missy sighs.  “She’s my best skater, but that was only after you and Allyson left the team.  The good Lord knows how much pain and suffering I’ve gone through trying to whip her into shape.”

I smile, for this conversation is setting me at ease.  Two months is a lot of time to perfect a routine.  I might actually be able to do this.  Missy and I spend the next hour laying out a routine, which is for once, mostly my input.  Growing up, Missy had always planned my routines from start to finish, getting upset if I altered even the tiniest detail.

We discussed that while I do want to compete, I don’t want a strict coach - that was another part of the reason that I’d quit before.  I love Missy, and I know she wants what is best for me, but I can’t handle that pressure.  So, she’s simply helping where needed.

Now, I’m standing center ice, a fun playlist booming through the speakers as I do some easy, backwards hops, incorporating dances as I go.  This is my favorite part of competition, because nothing has to be exact.  While jumps and spins have to be perfect, the dances in between are fun and light-hearted, since nobody knows what you’re supposed to be doing anyway.

“Mind if I join?”

I spin around, still dancing, to see Duncan gliding onto the ice in a pair of hockey skates.  Grinning at him, I nod and he skates towards me, trying to mimic my moves.  “Hockey Head can dance?” I tease.  He’s been gone most of the day at a rink a few towns over for a pre-season game, but we discussed ahead of time that we could hang out after hours, while I’m practicing.

We keep dancing, turning it into a battle of sorts at some point.  “You could say I’ve got some moves,” he laughs.

“Oh really?”  I add in some hip shakes and spins, shimmying towards him.

“Okay, I can’t do that,” he says, smirking.  “But I’m perfectly content standing here and watching you do it.”  I smack the back of his head before grabbing his hands and pulling us in a circle.  He spins me around by my fingertips and we glide back and forth together.  “You’re in a really great mood today,” he comments, smiling down at me.

“I guess I just don’t have a reason not to be.”  He nods and we continue in this manner for a while.  “How was the game?” I ask.

“We sucked,” he sighs, shaking his head.  “The guys were all over the place today.  We gave up three easy points just for being knocked off balance.”  I nod, and continue to listen as he rants about all the things that went wrong in the game.