Hey...I have finally gotten done with this chapter...I made it pretty long to make up for me taking so long to write it.
Thanks for all the great reviews...and your thoughts and prayers for my friend's family (read the top part of the last chapter if you are confused). Everyone at my school is doing a lot better. So thanks again.
Here are a couple reminders:
1.) Maire is Ellie's "skating name" so when I use the name Maire, I mean Ellie.
2.) I do not own any of these charactors...I do not get payed for writing it.
3.) Enjoy this chapter since it took me forever to write!
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For the next month, Ellie continued to workout with Lizzie and Miranda and then go to skating practice after school. Just like she used to.
But one thing was different. Kate now hung out with them. Both Lizzie and Miranda had been able to forgive Kate for being so rude to them in the past and excepted her back into their group of friends. So now their "crew" consisted of Lizzie, Miranda, Ellie, Kate and Gordo. They always hung out on the weekends and after school.
Finally the day had come, it was time for Ellie to pack up her skating gear and get on the plane to go to Detriot, Michigan for the US Nationals to compete for one of the three places on the Olympic Ladies Figure Skating team.
But of course she wasn't going alone. Of course her coach and physical theorpist (sp?) went with her. And she had begged Lizzie to come along with her for moral support incase something went wrong, or to calm her down when she was freaking out backstage. And as she had planned for months, Ethan came along too.
"Wow, this is amazing Ellie!" Lizzie exclaimed as they walked into the skate arena for Ellie's final full practice. The next two nights she would be skating with all the eyes on America on her and several other female figure skaters.
"Isn't it just goregous!" Ellie said.
"Well lets not stare at the ice all day!" Timothy told Ellie. "You need to go get your skates on and get out there!"
"Oh right!" Ellie said. She then began to walk towards the women's locker room.
Lizzie and Ethan went to go sit in the bleachers to watch Ellie like they always did.
"It was really cool of you to come with is Lizzie." Ethan said as they sat down.
"Thanks Ethan." Lizzie smiled. She still thought Ethan was cute, but moved on to someone else.
There was a pause as they sat there and watched several girls skate on the ice. It was amazing how even though their where almost eight girls out there, they never ran into each other or anything.
"So, aren't you going out with Claire?" Lizzie said trying to start conversation.
"No." Ethan said. "We did for a little while and then we broke up."
"Oh, I'm sorry about that." Lizzie said.
"Don't be." Ethan said. "It wasn't like we were serious or anything." There was another short pause. "Aren't you going out with Gordo?"
Lizzie blushed. "Yes...." She giggled. "How did you know?"
"Listening to Ellie's phone conversations." Ethan told her with a smirk on his face. "How come you didn't tell anyone at school?"
"I didn't want to tell everyone I had a boyfriend, just a few of my closest friends." Lizzie explained.
"Well, thats cool." Ethan said.
"Yeah, this year is so weird." Lizzie said. "And if Ellie does go to the Olympics, it will only get weirder as time goes on."
"True, but it will be a cool sort of weird." Ethan said.
"Yeah, I guess it will be." Lizzie smiled and then watched her friend skate again.
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The next night was the big night. The short program for Ellie. With the way it was set up, Ellie had to place within the top five to even have a chance at getting a spot on the Olympic team. But she was pretty sure she could make the pass through.
After Ellie had warmed up, she changed into her black and red dress. It was 3/4 sheevles with ruffles on the ends, and she had a matching ribbons that she tired around her bun that was on the top of her head. She put the skate guards on her skates and constantly tapped her foot as she sat on the bench, just to somehow calm her nerves.
"Alright Ellie...You're up next." Jerry, who was in charge of running everything backstage, called to her.
Ellie stood up. She was the third to last skater to go. She began to shake her hands as she walked toward the ice.
"Ellie, you'll do great!" Ethan encouraged. He and Lizzie were allow to be with her backstage while she waited to go on.
"Thanks Ethan." Ellie smiled at her twin.
She then walked through the door and stepped on the carpeted place where she was did her last minute stretching while America's 'Ice Princess', Taylor Johnson, skated to her short program. Ellie knew that unless Taylor was to fall in either of her programs, she was definatitly had a spot on the Olympic team.
Taylor was ninteen years old and had stormed the skating world since she was sixteen years old.; since then she had won several medals and never placed lower than fifth place in any competitions. She and Ellie always placed one behind the other for the past two years since Ellie had been competing at that level. But although they had a heated rivaly on the ice, they were pretty good friends off ice.
Taylor finished her short program and the crowd cheered her on. She waved to them as they threw flowers for her onto the ice. Taylor then skated off the ice to get her scores.
Ellie then went onto the ice for her last minute warm-up while Taylor got her scores. Ellie did not even hear them, she was much too focused on her final warm-up. But with the response that the crowd had, Ellie knew Taylor's scores very good. She shook it from her mind as she skated over to where Timothy was standing at the side boards.
"Remember Ellie, you can do this." Timothy told her. "You have just nailed all your jumps...You can do this!"
Ellie nodded and smiled. "I can do it." She said to encourage herself.
"Now get out there and show them what you are made of!" He encouraged.
Ellie smiled and turned away as she took a deep breath.
"Skating next is Maire Craft." The voice over the intercome announced as Ellie skated out to center ice.
Ellie smiled thinking how great it was to finally be competing once again. She then crossed her left foot over her right and placed her hands on her hips. Her music selection, which was a the prelude to "Carmen" began to play and it filled the arena. Unlike many skaters programs that began slow and got faster, her routine was very upbeat in the begining and then got a little slower, then fast again.
She began to skate forward as it began and quickly went into her footwork, which was different from all the other skaters in her group. She then quickly went into a double axel and landed it cleanly. Then she skated backwards and went into her triple lutz, double toe combination. She was happy that she was able to pull off the triple lutz correctly, lately she had been making the mistake of turning it into a "flutz." (A/N: In skating a lutz jump is when the skater takes off from the outside edge of their skate, and a flutz is when the skater takes off from the inside edge of their skate which judges are able to deduct points for). She skated the rest of her program flawlessly. She finished her program with a y-spin and then ended in the same pose she began with.
Ellie looked up and smiled at the crowd. She loved seeing them cheering for her. She bowed and waved for a moment then skated off the ice for her mark.
Ethan hugged her as soon as she got off the ice. "That was great!"
"Thanks Ethan." Ellie smiled. She then looked at Lizzie and got a hug from her as well.
"Oh my gosh girl!" Lizzie squealed. "That was amzing!"
Ellie smiled. She loved every moment of the competition, except the part that was up next...Waiting for the scores.
Ellie sat down next to Timothy on the gray couch in the "Kiss and Cry" area to wait for her scores. Ethan and Lizzie sat on her other side.
"Look." Timothy said to Ellie. He pointed to the small moniter by them which was showing the routine Ellie had just gotten done skating to.
Ellie watched it. "Look at that!" She pointed to the screen as she watched herself do a triple flip jump. She smiled brightly.
The loud speaker then cracked. Ellie grabbed Ethan's hand. She was so nervous about her scores as always. She knew she just skated her very best, but did the judges think so as well?
"Um...Ellie...That hurts..." Ethan said as Ellie was clenching onto his hand very tightly. "Ou!"
Ellie ignored him as she wanted for her scores. She bowed her head and closed her eyes to say a small prayer while she waited.
"And the scores for Maire Craft..." The speaker said. "Techinal Merit..."
Ellie held her breath as she still had a firm grip on Ethan's hand and he looked like he was in much pain from it.
"...5.7, 5.7, 5.6, 5.5, 5.6, 5.7, 5.8." The speaker announced. A lot of cheering came from the crowd. "Preformance...5.8, 5.8, 5.7, 5.9, 5.9, 5.7, 5.8. Judges ranks...2nd, 2nd, 1st, 1st, 2nd, 2nd, 1st." More cheering came from the crowd. "Current placement...2nd."
Ellie watched the scores come across the small monitor. She squealed when she saw them and finally let go of Ethan's hand. She then jumped up and hugged her coach. She then turned to hug Lizzie and Ethan. She was so happy she had gotten such a high placement.
They got up and began to move to the backstage area when Ellie was stopped by ABC sports for a quick interview. Which Ellie agreed to.
"Alright, we are here in Detriot with silver World medalist, Maire Craft..." George the reporter told the camera. "Hi Maire, how are you doing?"
Ellie smiled. "I'm doing pretty good."
"Thats good. So are you happy with the way you just skated?" He asked her.
"Yes, I am very happy with it." Ellie said.
"Now, it is said that two spots on the team have been taken by you and Taylor Johnson. What do you have to say about that?" George asked her.
Ellie hadn't heard that comment before. She thought she had good chances at making the team, but she didn't think about it that way. "Well..." She began a little unsure. "I'm not sure what to say about that, I mean I would like to go on to the Olympics, I would like to win this competition, but right now nothing is written in ink so I can't really say its a sure thing."
"Well good luck to you tomorrow night." George said.
"Thank you." Ellie smiled again and then turned and began walking back to the locker room.
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The next day, Ellie had her final practice for her long program. She was very confident, but still very nervous as she put on her long sheelved, black sparkly dress for the long program that night. She was tying her skates as the tech crew came into the locker room to tell the last eight girls it was time for their final warm-up. Ellie and the other final eight girls left the locker room and stepped onto the ice.
Ellie began to slowly skate to her routine, making sure she was watching out for the other girls around her. But one of the other girls, Jessica Hudson (who was one of the skaters who thought she was great skater, but thought too highly of herself) suddenly came out of no where and she and Ellie ran right into each other just as Ellie was about to go into a triple lutz.
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"Oh my gosh!" Miranda exclaimed as she saw Ellie collide with Jessica. She had invited Gordo, Kate, Matt, and Andrea all over to her house to watch Ellie skate.
"What?" Gordo asked as he came back into the room with a bowl of popcorn and sat down on the couch.
"Jessica Hudson and Ellie just ran into each other." Miranda told him.
"I really hope she's alright." Kate said sounding very worried for her friend.
They all went back to watching their friend who was for the moment lying on the ice, but then a girl in a light green dress with brown hair went over to Ellie.
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When the two girls ran into each other, Jessica stumbled forward and was barely hurt. But Ellie fell sideways and then fell onto the ice on her left side, she clearly had the wind knocked out of her.
"Ellie!" Taylor called. She skated towards her once she saw what was going on to see if Ellie was alright. She knelt down next to her. "Are you okay?"
Ellie nodded. "Yeah..." She turned on her stomach and tried to push herself up, but couldn't support herself.
"Oh no!" Taylor said. "Come on." Taylor stood behind Ellie and pulled her up. She then put her arm around Ellie and helped her over to the side boards. All the other girls had stopped to watch was had happened.
Ellie was handed off to the EMTs who took her over to one of the couches and sat her down. She finally was able to stand up on her own, but she did not know if she could do her routine. She went back to the locker room to wait for her turn. They began fifteen minutes late, but it seemed much too fast for Ellie. She sat backstage with Lizzie and Ethan just wondering how she would be able to do her routine. It got closer and closer for her time to go. She was going to be second to last to go, and then Taylor would go last.
Jerry (guy in charge of everything backstage) came up to her about a half hour later. "Ellie, do you think you can skate?"
Ellie stood up. "I don't know if I can skate, but I sure am going to try my hardest." She told him.
"Alright." Jerry said. He then led her out to the carpeted area.
Ellie tried to loosen her extremely tense muscles as Lindsay White finished her routine. She then waited for Lindsay to get off the ice so she could get on their and do her final warm-up.
Ellie stepped onto the ice and she felt refreshed. She knew she could do it. She told herself that she was not going to wait another for years for a second chance at the Olympics. She was going to the Olympics that year, she was determined.
Ellie went to get some last minute tips from Timothy over at the side boards. She was surprised to see Ethan standing next to Timothy.
"I can do this!" Ellie told them as she skated over towards them.
"Yes you can." Timothy said. "And remember, nothing prefect. Just give it all you got. I don't think I have met anyone with your determation Ellie."
Ellie smiled. "Thanks coach."
"Now I think Ethan wants to say something as well." Timothy said.
Ellie turned towards her brother and smiled. "Whats up?"
"Ellie, I just wanted to tell you that win or loose..." He began. "You are still the coolest sister ever. Not to mention one of the best friends I have ever had."
Ellie smiled. "Thanks." She said. "I mean I guess thats what brothers and sisters are for..."
"Life time best friends..." They said in unison. They both laughed as soon as it was said.
Ellie hugged her brother. "Thanks."
"Now get out there and show them what you are made of!" Ethan told her.
Ellie saluted her brother. "Yes sir!" She then smiled as she turned and skated towards center ice.
"Skate next is Maire Craft." The speaker said.
Several fans cheered loudly for her as she smiled at them and then crossed her right foot behind her left and put her hands across her chest. While she waited for the music to begin she realized something, it didn't matter if she made the Olympic team. What really did matter to her in life she already had. A loving family, great friends, and a best friend that would be there with her forever. Although it would be really cool to make the Olympic team.
Finally her music finally began. Her routine was "The Breaking of The Fellowship" from the "Lord Of The Rings" soundtrack. She began to slowly skate to it. Her whole routine was prefect for her, she had the facial expressions, the passion and the grace that no other skater could top. She went into a triple flip jump and landed it cleanly. She kept her excitement in knowing that was only one of the seven jumps she had to land within that four minute period. She contined to skate and began to skate backwards and then went into her triple lutz triple toe combination and landed those perfectly. She continued to skate flawlessly. She then went into a skid spiral and ended her program with a y-spin. Her program ended, Ellie stood with her arms extended out as she looked up at the ceiling. She did it...She skated her whole program flawlessly. She knew she had made the team.
The crowd rose to their feet cheering for Ellie. She just stood there a moment.
"Am I dreaming all of this?" She asked herself. She then smiled and waved to the crowd. Watching everyone cheer for her was amazing. She never wanted the moment to end.
Eventually she got off the ice, knowing that it was going to be the longest minutes of her life as she waited for her scores.
"You did it!" Timothy exclaimed as she got off the ice.
"I don't even know how I did...But I did it!" Ellie exclaimed. She looked around and noticed that Ethan and Lizzie were no where to be seen. "Where are Ethan and Lizzie?"
"The crew told them to go backstage because it was getting cramped out here." Timothy told her.
"Oh..." Ellie said. She really wished her friends where there. But she went to go sit and wait for her scores in the Kiss and Cry again. Her stomach was doing flip flops.
She was watching the monitor when she noticed that a camera was right in front of her. She smiled and waved to it. "Hi mommy and daddy!" She smiled. "Miranda, Gordo, and Kate you better be watching this!"
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"Did she just say our names?" Gordo asked as they all watched Ellie wait for her scores. They all wanted to know the outcome of her skating.
"I think she did..." Miranda said.
"Oh be quiet...They are about to read her scores!" Kate scolded them, then went back to staring at the TV.
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The speaker crackled and Ellie's stomach tighten yet again. She just wanted to hear her scores...
"And the scores for Maire Craft...Techinal Merit..." The speaker announced
.
Ellie began to listen fully as she watched the monitor. The suspense was killing her...Did she make the team or not?...
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How good are Ellie's scores? Does she place high enough to go to the Olympics? Review and you will find out! (Sorry...I just wanted to throw something into this chapter that would turn into a real cliff hanger.)
Thanks for all the great reviews...and your thoughts and prayers for my friend's family (read the top part of the last chapter if you are confused). Everyone at my school is doing a lot better. So thanks again.
Here are a couple reminders:
1.) Maire is Ellie's "skating name" so when I use the name Maire, I mean Ellie.
2.) I do not own any of these charactors...I do not get payed for writing it.
3.) Enjoy this chapter since it took me forever to write!
********************************************************************************************************
For the next month, Ellie continued to workout with Lizzie and Miranda and then go to skating practice after school. Just like she used to.
But one thing was different. Kate now hung out with them. Both Lizzie and Miranda had been able to forgive Kate for being so rude to them in the past and excepted her back into their group of friends. So now their "crew" consisted of Lizzie, Miranda, Ellie, Kate and Gordo. They always hung out on the weekends and after school.
Finally the day had come, it was time for Ellie to pack up her skating gear and get on the plane to go to Detriot, Michigan for the US Nationals to compete for one of the three places on the Olympic Ladies Figure Skating team.
But of course she wasn't going alone. Of course her coach and physical theorpist (sp?) went with her. And she had begged Lizzie to come along with her for moral support incase something went wrong, or to calm her down when she was freaking out backstage. And as she had planned for months, Ethan came along too.
"Wow, this is amazing Ellie!" Lizzie exclaimed as they walked into the skate arena for Ellie's final full practice. The next two nights she would be skating with all the eyes on America on her and several other female figure skaters.
"Isn't it just goregous!" Ellie said.
"Well lets not stare at the ice all day!" Timothy told Ellie. "You need to go get your skates on and get out there!"
"Oh right!" Ellie said. She then began to walk towards the women's locker room.
Lizzie and Ethan went to go sit in the bleachers to watch Ellie like they always did.
"It was really cool of you to come with is Lizzie." Ethan said as they sat down.
"Thanks Ethan." Lizzie smiled. She still thought Ethan was cute, but moved on to someone else.
There was a pause as they sat there and watched several girls skate on the ice. It was amazing how even though their where almost eight girls out there, they never ran into each other or anything.
"So, aren't you going out with Claire?" Lizzie said trying to start conversation.
"No." Ethan said. "We did for a little while and then we broke up."
"Oh, I'm sorry about that." Lizzie said.
"Don't be." Ethan said. "It wasn't like we were serious or anything." There was another short pause. "Aren't you going out with Gordo?"
Lizzie blushed. "Yes...." She giggled. "How did you know?"
"Listening to Ellie's phone conversations." Ethan told her with a smirk on his face. "How come you didn't tell anyone at school?"
"I didn't want to tell everyone I had a boyfriend, just a few of my closest friends." Lizzie explained.
"Well, thats cool." Ethan said.
"Yeah, this year is so weird." Lizzie said. "And if Ellie does go to the Olympics, it will only get weirder as time goes on."
"True, but it will be a cool sort of weird." Ethan said.
"Yeah, I guess it will be." Lizzie smiled and then watched her friend skate again.
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The next night was the big night. The short program for Ellie. With the way it was set up, Ellie had to place within the top five to even have a chance at getting a spot on the Olympic team. But she was pretty sure she could make the pass through.
After Ellie had warmed up, she changed into her black and red dress. It was 3/4 sheevles with ruffles on the ends, and she had a matching ribbons that she tired around her bun that was on the top of her head. She put the skate guards on her skates and constantly tapped her foot as she sat on the bench, just to somehow calm her nerves.
"Alright Ellie...You're up next." Jerry, who was in charge of running everything backstage, called to her.
Ellie stood up. She was the third to last skater to go. She began to shake her hands as she walked toward the ice.
"Ellie, you'll do great!" Ethan encouraged. He and Lizzie were allow to be with her backstage while she waited to go on.
"Thanks Ethan." Ellie smiled at her twin.
She then walked through the door and stepped on the carpeted place where she was did her last minute stretching while America's 'Ice Princess', Taylor Johnson, skated to her short program. Ellie knew that unless Taylor was to fall in either of her programs, she was definatitly had a spot on the Olympic team.
Taylor was ninteen years old and had stormed the skating world since she was sixteen years old.; since then she had won several medals and never placed lower than fifth place in any competitions. She and Ellie always placed one behind the other for the past two years since Ellie had been competing at that level. But although they had a heated rivaly on the ice, they were pretty good friends off ice.
Taylor finished her short program and the crowd cheered her on. She waved to them as they threw flowers for her onto the ice. Taylor then skated off the ice to get her scores.
Ellie then went onto the ice for her last minute warm-up while Taylor got her scores. Ellie did not even hear them, she was much too focused on her final warm-up. But with the response that the crowd had, Ellie knew Taylor's scores very good. She shook it from her mind as she skated over to where Timothy was standing at the side boards.
"Remember Ellie, you can do this." Timothy told her. "You have just nailed all your jumps...You can do this!"
Ellie nodded and smiled. "I can do it." She said to encourage herself.
"Now get out there and show them what you are made of!" He encouraged.
Ellie smiled and turned away as she took a deep breath.
"Skating next is Maire Craft." The voice over the intercome announced as Ellie skated out to center ice.
Ellie smiled thinking how great it was to finally be competing once again. She then crossed her left foot over her right and placed her hands on her hips. Her music selection, which was a the prelude to "Carmen" began to play and it filled the arena. Unlike many skaters programs that began slow and got faster, her routine was very upbeat in the begining and then got a little slower, then fast again.
She began to skate forward as it began and quickly went into her footwork, which was different from all the other skaters in her group. She then quickly went into a double axel and landed it cleanly. Then she skated backwards and went into her triple lutz, double toe combination. She was happy that she was able to pull off the triple lutz correctly, lately she had been making the mistake of turning it into a "flutz." (A/N: In skating a lutz jump is when the skater takes off from the outside edge of their skate, and a flutz is when the skater takes off from the inside edge of their skate which judges are able to deduct points for). She skated the rest of her program flawlessly. She finished her program with a y-spin and then ended in the same pose she began with.
Ellie looked up and smiled at the crowd. She loved seeing them cheering for her. She bowed and waved for a moment then skated off the ice for her mark.
Ethan hugged her as soon as she got off the ice. "That was great!"
"Thanks Ethan." Ellie smiled. She then looked at Lizzie and got a hug from her as well.
"Oh my gosh girl!" Lizzie squealed. "That was amzing!"
Ellie smiled. She loved every moment of the competition, except the part that was up next...Waiting for the scores.
Ellie sat down next to Timothy on the gray couch in the "Kiss and Cry" area to wait for her scores. Ethan and Lizzie sat on her other side.
"Look." Timothy said to Ellie. He pointed to the small moniter by them which was showing the routine Ellie had just gotten done skating to.
Ellie watched it. "Look at that!" She pointed to the screen as she watched herself do a triple flip jump. She smiled brightly.
The loud speaker then cracked. Ellie grabbed Ethan's hand. She was so nervous about her scores as always. She knew she just skated her very best, but did the judges think so as well?
"Um...Ellie...That hurts..." Ethan said as Ellie was clenching onto his hand very tightly. "Ou!"
Ellie ignored him as she wanted for her scores. She bowed her head and closed her eyes to say a small prayer while she waited.
"And the scores for Maire Craft..." The speaker said. "Techinal Merit..."
Ellie held her breath as she still had a firm grip on Ethan's hand and he looked like he was in much pain from it.
"...5.7, 5.7, 5.6, 5.5, 5.6, 5.7, 5.8." The speaker announced. A lot of cheering came from the crowd. "Preformance...5.8, 5.8, 5.7, 5.9, 5.9, 5.7, 5.8. Judges ranks...2nd, 2nd, 1st, 1st, 2nd, 2nd, 1st." More cheering came from the crowd. "Current placement...2nd."
Ellie watched the scores come across the small monitor. She squealed when she saw them and finally let go of Ethan's hand. She then jumped up and hugged her coach. She then turned to hug Lizzie and Ethan. She was so happy she had gotten such a high placement.
They got up and began to move to the backstage area when Ellie was stopped by ABC sports for a quick interview. Which Ellie agreed to.
"Alright, we are here in Detriot with silver World medalist, Maire Craft..." George the reporter told the camera. "Hi Maire, how are you doing?"
Ellie smiled. "I'm doing pretty good."
"Thats good. So are you happy with the way you just skated?" He asked her.
"Yes, I am very happy with it." Ellie said.
"Now, it is said that two spots on the team have been taken by you and Taylor Johnson. What do you have to say about that?" George asked her.
Ellie hadn't heard that comment before. She thought she had good chances at making the team, but she didn't think about it that way. "Well..." She began a little unsure. "I'm not sure what to say about that, I mean I would like to go on to the Olympics, I would like to win this competition, but right now nothing is written in ink so I can't really say its a sure thing."
"Well good luck to you tomorrow night." George said.
"Thank you." Ellie smiled again and then turned and began walking back to the locker room.
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The next day, Ellie had her final practice for her long program. She was very confident, but still very nervous as she put on her long sheelved, black sparkly dress for the long program that night. She was tying her skates as the tech crew came into the locker room to tell the last eight girls it was time for their final warm-up. Ellie and the other final eight girls left the locker room and stepped onto the ice.
Ellie began to slowly skate to her routine, making sure she was watching out for the other girls around her. But one of the other girls, Jessica Hudson (who was one of the skaters who thought she was great skater, but thought too highly of herself) suddenly came out of no where and she and Ellie ran right into each other just as Ellie was about to go into a triple lutz.
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"Oh my gosh!" Miranda exclaimed as she saw Ellie collide with Jessica. She had invited Gordo, Kate, Matt, and Andrea all over to her house to watch Ellie skate.
"What?" Gordo asked as he came back into the room with a bowl of popcorn and sat down on the couch.
"Jessica Hudson and Ellie just ran into each other." Miranda told him.
"I really hope she's alright." Kate said sounding very worried for her friend.
They all went back to watching their friend who was for the moment lying on the ice, but then a girl in a light green dress with brown hair went over to Ellie.
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When the two girls ran into each other, Jessica stumbled forward and was barely hurt. But Ellie fell sideways and then fell onto the ice on her left side, she clearly had the wind knocked out of her.
"Ellie!" Taylor called. She skated towards her once she saw what was going on to see if Ellie was alright. She knelt down next to her. "Are you okay?"
Ellie nodded. "Yeah..." She turned on her stomach and tried to push herself up, but couldn't support herself.
"Oh no!" Taylor said. "Come on." Taylor stood behind Ellie and pulled her up. She then put her arm around Ellie and helped her over to the side boards. All the other girls had stopped to watch was had happened.
Ellie was handed off to the EMTs who took her over to one of the couches and sat her down. She finally was able to stand up on her own, but she did not know if she could do her routine. She went back to the locker room to wait for her turn. They began fifteen minutes late, but it seemed much too fast for Ellie. She sat backstage with Lizzie and Ethan just wondering how she would be able to do her routine. It got closer and closer for her time to go. She was going to be second to last to go, and then Taylor would go last.
Jerry (guy in charge of everything backstage) came up to her about a half hour later. "Ellie, do you think you can skate?"
Ellie stood up. "I don't know if I can skate, but I sure am going to try my hardest." She told him.
"Alright." Jerry said. He then led her out to the carpeted area.
Ellie tried to loosen her extremely tense muscles as Lindsay White finished her routine. She then waited for Lindsay to get off the ice so she could get on their and do her final warm-up.
Ellie stepped onto the ice and she felt refreshed. She knew she could do it. She told herself that she was not going to wait another for years for a second chance at the Olympics. She was going to the Olympics that year, she was determined.
Ellie went to get some last minute tips from Timothy over at the side boards. She was surprised to see Ethan standing next to Timothy.
"I can do this!" Ellie told them as she skated over towards them.
"Yes you can." Timothy said. "And remember, nothing prefect. Just give it all you got. I don't think I have met anyone with your determation Ellie."
Ellie smiled. "Thanks coach."
"Now I think Ethan wants to say something as well." Timothy said.
Ellie turned towards her brother and smiled. "Whats up?"
"Ellie, I just wanted to tell you that win or loose..." He began. "You are still the coolest sister ever. Not to mention one of the best friends I have ever had."
Ellie smiled. "Thanks." She said. "I mean I guess thats what brothers and sisters are for..."
"Life time best friends..." They said in unison. They both laughed as soon as it was said.
Ellie hugged her brother. "Thanks."
"Now get out there and show them what you are made of!" Ethan told her.
Ellie saluted her brother. "Yes sir!" She then smiled as she turned and skated towards center ice.
"Skate next is Maire Craft." The speaker said.
Several fans cheered loudly for her as she smiled at them and then crossed her right foot behind her left and put her hands across her chest. While she waited for the music to begin she realized something, it didn't matter if she made the Olympic team. What really did matter to her in life she already had. A loving family, great friends, and a best friend that would be there with her forever. Although it would be really cool to make the Olympic team.
Finally her music finally began. Her routine was "The Breaking of The Fellowship" from the "Lord Of The Rings" soundtrack. She began to slowly skate to it. Her whole routine was prefect for her, she had the facial expressions, the passion and the grace that no other skater could top. She went into a triple flip jump and landed it cleanly. She kept her excitement in knowing that was only one of the seven jumps she had to land within that four minute period. She contined to skate and began to skate backwards and then went into her triple lutz triple toe combination and landed those perfectly. She continued to skate flawlessly. She then went into a skid spiral and ended her program with a y-spin. Her program ended, Ellie stood with her arms extended out as she looked up at the ceiling. She did it...She skated her whole program flawlessly. She knew she had made the team.
The crowd rose to their feet cheering for Ellie. She just stood there a moment.
"Am I dreaming all of this?" She asked herself. She then smiled and waved to the crowd. Watching everyone cheer for her was amazing. She never wanted the moment to end.
Eventually she got off the ice, knowing that it was going to be the longest minutes of her life as she waited for her scores.
"You did it!" Timothy exclaimed as she got off the ice.
"I don't even know how I did...But I did it!" Ellie exclaimed. She looked around and noticed that Ethan and Lizzie were no where to be seen. "Where are Ethan and Lizzie?"
"The crew told them to go backstage because it was getting cramped out here." Timothy told her.
"Oh..." Ellie said. She really wished her friends where there. But she went to go sit and wait for her scores in the Kiss and Cry again. Her stomach was doing flip flops.
She was watching the monitor when she noticed that a camera was right in front of her. She smiled and waved to it. "Hi mommy and daddy!" She smiled. "Miranda, Gordo, and Kate you better be watching this!"
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"Did she just say our names?" Gordo asked as they all watched Ellie wait for her scores. They all wanted to know the outcome of her skating.
"I think she did..." Miranda said.
"Oh be quiet...They are about to read her scores!" Kate scolded them, then went back to staring at the TV.
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The speaker crackled and Ellie's stomach tighten yet again. She just wanted to hear her scores...
"And the scores for Maire Craft...Techinal Merit..." The speaker announced
.
Ellie began to listen fully as she watched the monitor. The suspense was killing her...Did she make the team or not?...
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How good are Ellie's scores? Does she place high enough to go to the Olympics? Review and you will find out! (Sorry...I just wanted to throw something into this chapter that would turn into a real cliff hanger.)