Ice Queen

Chapter 9 ~ "I won"

Sasha

I'm so nervous.

Today is the qualifier for sectionals and I need to place first or second today. There's plenty of girls here and most of them are very talented. I'm warming up looking over to Kate who gives me a wink. She was the only thing keeping me from absolutely losing my mind.

We hadn't changed much, we kept my music and the same order of steps just changed a few of them to slightly more complicated moves and we changed the transitions. I knew he would notice they were different but I was just so excited about the new spins and tricks in my program that I couldn't wait.

"You're going to do great alright? Me and Johnathan are in your corner." She says and I nod giving her a hug. 

They'd worked overtime with me this week and we polished up my triple axel. They gasped when I landed it the other night at rehearsal and wanted to know how I'd done it. I told them I just cleared my mind at my morning practice and I'd finally managed to do it.

Kate had submitted my new program with the axel in the long section. I was nervous that if I couldn't land it today everything would be a wash. I was hoping a jump like that would be enough to keep dad from killing me.

We left the short the way it was, figuring he might take it easy on me. I get ready and skate out for the short, moving around the rink before taking my place in the centre of the ice. I can't deviate from my jumps in this so I'll just have to skate with as much feeling as I can.

As I skate I think about Nate and I on the ice the other morning. Him spinning me around and telling me everything would be alright. The text conversations we'd been having most of the nights since then. But they were never as good as hearing his voice.

Before I knew it I'd finished getting a strong round of applause from the crowd and seeing my score. Before I'd even changed anything about my routines my score was much higher than my short two weeks before. 

"That's better Sasha, these are the scores I know you can get." Dad says with a straight face. He nods walking me back to remove my skates. I can't remember the last time I'd seen dad smile, he wasn't the smiling type. I usually knew he was happy when he wasn't visibly frowning or yelling.

My last skate is approaching, I'm almost ready to throw-up I'm so anxious. I take a few deep breaths when my phone vibrates.

*Good luck today Sasha, I know you can do it*

The text is from Nate and it helps me forget about everything else. I take a deep breath knowing I  can do this. This needs to be done and I know what it will cost me if I don't.

I step out onto the ice and take a deep breath looking at the judges before getting ready. I start my routine ready for the small changes we'd incorporated. I practiced a few of my new things the other morning with Nate so it was easy to think back on the two of us on the ice. 

I fall into my layback position then gradually bring my leg to the side, then behind me, then I hyperextend it. Candlestick.

I move through the new routine with fully developed confidence, it was nice to switch it up. Then the dreaded triple axel I get ready spiral around and then remember how it felt when I landed it with Nate this week. I remember the feeling now as I go for it and I can hear the room holding their breath.

I land it skating out of it and I hear a big round of applause follow. The rest of my routine feels all too easy after that. I close out by doing a big spin and raising my arms over my head before stoping in the rink and doing my final pose. I smile feeling excited that I'd really just done a triple axel in a competition.