Jamie Ingersoll
2/6/14
Pd. 6
Eva slid across the cold, ice and crashed into the hard metal wall. She had failed at her triple axel spin again! She was the second girl in the world to ever succeed the difficult move, but it was still only so-so. Her rival, Lucy Darnell, giggled as Eva walked off the ice. Lucy's music began and she started gliding across the ice with ease. Her small dainty figure made it easy for her to float through her routines. The routine was more of a dance, unlike Eva's. Eva Goudall was a power skater. There was nothing dainty about her. Her performances focused on key elements, all tied together with her speeding across the rink.
The two were opposites, which is why they were on the same team. The U.S. National figure skating team knew how to play to their strengths, which is why they tried to include the most variety possible. And that meant Lucy and Eva. They had been competing for years. They fought for many championships, world titles, and even an Olympic medal. It always seemed like Lucy ended up on top. But not this time. Eva had a plan.
A year and a half ago, Lucy Darnell won the bronze medal in the 1992 Olympic figure skating competition. Eva only placed 4th. Usually this was it for these Olympians, but they got lucky. To make the schedule between the summer and winter Olympics more organized, the Olympic committee had decided to hold the next Olympics in not 4 years, but 2.
Now, a year later, the team was training harder than ever. These lucky athletes were getting a second chance, more than most get. Eva was determined to win against her opponent this time, no matter what it took. She knew a powerful routine wouldn't be enough, even if she barely succeeded her triple axel spin (which she probably wouldn't). She needed an advantage.
After what seemed like the longest, least productive practice yet, Eva was finally walking out of the rink and towards the locker room. Gym bag over one shoulder, towel over the other, she unlaced her skates and slid on her old torn up Chuck Taylors. As she was leaving the locker room she heard giggling from the showers. It was Lucy and her crew. They were pointing at Eva and laughing. Eva didn't see what was so hysterical, until she turned around. There was a sign taped to the back of her light blue tee shirt. The sign read "I can't do a Lutz jump." How embarrassing! She tried to rip the sign off her back but her short arms just couldn't reach, causing Lucy's group to burst into another wild fit of laughter. Eva threw open the heavy wooden door and ran out to her husband's old pickup truck. Lucy parted with her clique, hopped into her boyfriend's Porsche and sped out of the small parking lot.
Some of the faded red paint chipped of the side of the door when Eva slammed it. "Whoa babe," Eva's boyfriend, Nathan, commented on her entrance. "You ok?" "Yea I'm fine, just a bad practice." "Don't let it get to you, k?" "Yea, I guess." Eva pushed the little black button to turn on the radio. Some awful pop song poured through the speakers. Eva flipped through channel after channel of static until she got to the country station. "Sunset, I bet there's a chance we can get curled up, tangled up, laid back, and lazy!" Eva and her husband half sing half shout in usion. The discouragement from practice quickly faded into a bright smile on Eva's face.
When they get home to their little farm, Eva grabs a granola bar and plops down on the old couch next to Nathan. "Did ya get your triple axel turn yet?" Nathan asks. "Nope," Eva replied, "and Lucy is getting closer and closer every day. There's no way I'm even going to place next year!" "Oh, now don't say that! I talked to John today and we have a little arrangement, if you know what I mean." Nathen said with a sly grin. "No, I don't know what you mean." "Let's just say Lucy won't be competing next year." "Really!? Nathan, I love you!" Eva jumped into a strong embrace with Nathan. She was excited but a bit unsure about if she liked what he was planning.
Lucy Darnell and her friend Elouane Morgans sat in Lucy's light blue bedroom. Lucy leaned up to the mirror to apply mascara and curl her long brunette hair while Elouane dug through Lucy's huge closet. She pulled out a dark blue skin tight dress. She slips into it, grabs a silver necklace and matching silver sandals then walks over and trades places with Lucy at the mirror. Lucy grabs a peach colored dress off her bed. It's fitted at the top then flows down to just above her knees. The dress really shows off her hourglass figure. She pulls her lucky golden locket off the shelf and slips on some sparkly gold heels. With the locket enclosed in her palm, Lucy strides back to the mirror for one last appearance check. Another layer of lipstick here, a spritz of perfume there, and she and Elouane are out the door.
Lucy clicks the lock to the car door then quickly struts across the road to the house. The large white mansion was complete with a manicured lawn and colorful garden. The perfectly cut grass was polluted with discarded plastic cups and couples making out. Although the front yard seemed to be a party of its own, the real fun was in the back. Lucy met up with her friends and exchanged greetings with their acquaintances. Her friend Kate grabbed her hand and led her through the crowd casually chatting with people they recognized on the way.
Even before they got out to the backyard Lucy heard the booming sound of drums and the shrill noise of a rocking guitar solo. They walked over to the bar where Kate met her boyfriend and went off to dance. Lucy and her boyfriend Andrew had had an argument earlier. What started as a small disagreement soon erupted into a wild fiasco. It ended with Andrew storming out. Lucy hadn't talked to him since. One reason she had come to the party was to forget the whole event, but apparently it didn't work.
She ordered a martini and went to go dance. She searched through the crowd for a familiar face when the song changed. What played next made Lucy want to break down and cry. It was her and Andrew's song. The crowd rearranged into couples slowly swaying to the gentle violin. The mob thinned and Lucy caught sight of something that made her freeze up. The crash of her martini glass shattering on the stone patio brought her back to her senses.
She rushed over to Andrew, who was dancing with some tall, tan, blonde girl. "Andrew, what the hell?!" Lucy exclaimed. She gave the girl a glare to which the girl responded with a look of disgust. "Chill!" Andrew replied. "I thought we were, like, over." "Ugh, I hate you!" Lucy screamed. She pushed through them and stormed away, tears streaming down her face. She found a dark corner not populated by the throng of wild party-goers.
She slouched down against the picket fence and sobbed. Sniffling, she wiped her eyes. Oh great, her mascara was probably running all down her cheeks. She got up and dried her face. She had decided to just go home, take a nice lavender bubble bath and go to bed. Besides, she had to be fully rested for tomorrow's practice. It was the final practice before the Olympic qualification tests. Kate would just have to find a different ride home.
She started to make her way back to the street when out of the shadows, three strange figures surrounded her. One gripped his fingers around a wooden baseball bat. The other two cracked their knuckles and cocked their heads to the side. They had aggressive looks on their faces and slowly and ominously inched closer to Lucy. She started to back away. "Uh, what's going on?" She was now very frightened. The man in the middle raised the baseball bat above his head. Lucy tried to run, but didn't make it far. The bat made contact with her skull and she cried out in pain. Another man kicked her to the ground. The others joined in and soon they were all beating the small girl. Tears pooled up in her eyes and blinded her. Her agonizing screams were drowned out by the loud music that people just yards away were dancing to; unaware of what was happening in the shadows. Lucy shrieked one last time before the throbbing pain in the back of her head engulfed her in an endless sea of blackness.
Eva sprayed her hair one last time to make sure it was secure. She couldn't have anything distracting her today. She double knotted her Chuck Taylors then ran out the door she hopped into the passenger side of the truck next to Nathan as he pulled out of the gravel driveway. The drive to the Olympic qualification ice skating ring was a long one, but at least they didn't have to fly. Eva went through her routine over and over in her head as she drifted off into a deep slumber.
When they arrived at the rink, Nathan shook Eva awake. She sleepily rubbed her eyes. She yawned, grabbed her gym bag, and then went inside. This was no small town community ice skating rink. This place was huge! There were a bunch of teams, all in matching warm ups. Eva was in awe of the amazing facility, but was snapped out of her trance by the calls of her teammates. She went to the concession stand to get a coffee, and then joined her team. They were all tying up their skates or doing their hair. She pulled her white leather skates out of her bag and pulled them on. She gave Nathan one last hug for good luck, then went out to sit on the bleachers around the ice.
Each athlete's name was called out one by one. The routines seemed to go on and on, but before she knew it, Eva's name was hollered through the loudspeaker. She took a deep breath and made her way out on to the ice. It was smooth and slick, not all scratched up like she was used to. She took her position in the center of the rink. She felt all eyes on her as her music began.
She sped down the ice and took a sharp double Lutz turn. Unlike most of the gentle, violin music the other skater had, hers fit her powerful performance. When the trumpet swelled up she knew it was time. She lifted her right leg in a high arabesque and started spinning. Her left leg left the ice and she was airborne. She landed back on her feet and finished the rotation. The tension escaped her body like air from a balloon. She had done it. She did her triple axel turn perfectly when it most counted.
She finished her routine and ended in a graceful pose. She ran off the ice into Nathan's arms. "That was amazing!" Nathan exclaimed. Eva beamed as she sipped her coffee. Her teammates came up to congratulate her and give her high-fives. A couple of hours later, once all the skaters had performed, the judges were consulting. About another hour later they called everyone to the lobby to call the names of the girls who would be going to the 1994 winter Olympics. This was it.
A judge named Marianne Jouness had the list in her hands. That list contained the names of ten of the hundred something girls here. As she called them out one by one the girls came up and joined. "Gwen Stevens, Lindsey Carter, Heather Jenkins, Katy Brown, Eva Goudall," No way. She had made it! She had actually made it to the Olympic Games for a second time. This was unbelievable! Her teammates gasped and patted her on the back in congratulations.
The judge continued. "Courtney Duncan, Bridget Crowley, Keegan Henson, Annette Wilde, and our last member of the 1994 U.S. winter Olympic figure skating team is…" Everyone was on the edge of their seat. Suspense hung like a low cloud in the air as the judge paused before calling the final name. Some girls had their fingers crossed. Others were down on their knees praying.
The judge cleared her throat. "And the final member of the U.S. figure skating team is… Lucy Darnell." Gasps and confused expressions spread through the crowd like wild fire. "But that's impossible!" some girl from a team in California called out. "Yea," someone else agreed. "She is injured, she can't possibly skate!" Some people were confused. Others were outraged.
"We have seen her before and we want her on the team." A male judge simply replied. "Surely she can make a full recovery in a year." The judges nodded in agreement. "But then she'll be way under-practiced!" a tall dark skinned girl from Chicago shouted. "We put her on the team because she belongs on the team. That is all." The judges left the enraged crowd.
Eva's victory had been slightly lessened by the unfortunate news of Lucy's spot on the team. But Eva didn't worry. This time she had an advantage. This time, she was going to win.