Ice Bound (#Wattys2018)

Chapter 7

Chapter 7

The summer seemed to drag on. Melissa had finished touring her new school downtown. The school wasn't half bad. It was definitely different. The thought of a uniform cursed her brain, but the idea of it would grow on her eventually.

Now, she was off to the rink. Which meant Indie, Ren, and that stupid ginger Ciera were going to be there. Melissa was also convinced that her mother was going to kill her one day. The woman was naggy. She didn't associate herself with the rink moms and kept to herself. However, she would sit and film her daughter and attempt to coach from the sidelines

Melissa stepped out of the car, "I'll run in and lace up." She shut the door and ran around to the trunk. To be honest, she was slightly excited about the artistry class she registered for. Melissa knew that she lacked artistry in her skating. Everything was too technical. She had enough to slide by, but wanted more.

She tugged her bag behind her as she dashed to a free table. Melissa threw her jacket on over her shoulder and began to gear up. Once her skates were laced, she began to stretch. Her mom made it inside just in time to help her with a few arabesques.

"Good news... Ish. Want to hear it?" Indie leaned on the wall next to Melissa.

Melissa jolted. Her hip muscle turned the wrong direction, "What is it?"

"Ciera is sick with a nasty Pneumonia." Indie smirked, "Less punishment for us today."

Melissa silently cheered. One less person to put up with. Her mom had dropped her leg a little too quickly. "Punishment? Do you cause trouble Mel?"

"I swear I don't. Ciera gets everyone into trouble, no joke." Melissa turned around and waved her hands. "She's a piece of work."

"Go have fun out there girls." Her mom sighed and let the two girls be on their way.

Indie nodded in agreement. She pushed her thick glasses frames up, "You'll like the coach today. Marisa is so much nicer than Cindy." She stretched her arms.

Melissa looked at Indie in disbelief. One bad apple can spoil the entire tree.

"You don't believe me?" Indie raised an eyebrow, "Welp, you'll see for yourself I guess." She stopped by her bag and grabbed a headband and slipped it on. "Here, I got another pack, so you can have this one." The ginger tossed a second headband to Melissa. "Token of friendship."

"You sure?"

"Yep! You'll want it anyways. Wind chill gets pretty bad this time of day in here." Indie held the door open the the rink entrance. She followed in after Melissa and took her blade guards off.

Melissa handed her yellow ticket to the assistant coach and stepped onto the ice. She followed the standard warm up pattern everyone in the class was doing. Classical music played over the speakers, creating friendly atmosphere. There was a quiet chatter as everyone skated. It was already ten times more welcoming. Indie was right. It was different.

She followed the ginger around and listened to her rant about working all the rink birthday parties and how Ren was lucky to get out of them. The music stopped and everyone began to gather at center rink. Melissa stood there with her arms crossed, happy she was able to blend in for once. Her club jacket had officially been replaced.

"My two favorite skaters in the class." Someone had come from behind and used Melissa and Indie's shoulders as a support.

Unable to keep herself balanced, Melissa's legs buckled underneath her. She stood up and glared. "Ren..." She growled.

The coach approached the trio. "See you brought a friend, Indie, Ren." She smiled.

Melissa internally groaned. Caught red handed. "I'm actually new to the rink." She took a deep breath, "Melissa Sadent."
"Ah, Cynthia's sister. Heard a lot about you. It's a pleasure to see you here. You can call me Marisa." Marisa shook hands with Melissa. "Ren, help Kelly lead a group in the chassé sequence. Indie, help Melissa make sense of herself." The woman was off with those words.