Alright I know it's been forever but I've just been crazy busy with lots of work to do but now it's summer so I have a bit more time to update! I'm also finding this story to be super challenging to write but don't worry I'm not going to stop writing it. So boom, here's chapter three!
Disclaimer: Don't own
Cool air blows across her skin as soon as Annabeth enters the rink. Her footsteps are heavy, being weighed down by the skates she had on. Trying to walk as steadily as she can, she leads the other figure skaters over to the bleachers where she could see Christina and Coach Hedge standing alongside one another at the base of the steps. Their faces hold firm expressions. Annabeth and the other skaters take a seat on the right hand side, the blades of their skates clank on the metal benches while they climb the bleachers.
They were alone for only a minute before the sound of thick hockey skates and wooden sticks making their way into the arena filled their ears. Percy led the team over to the opposite side of where the figure skaters sat. They were dressed in their usual heavy padding consisting of shin guards, hockey socks, elbow and shoulder pads, gloves, hockey pants, a neck guard and a mouth guard. They all wore large grey practice jerseys and held their black helmets by the chinstrap in one hand, the other carried their hockey sticks.
Annabeth was thankful that she didn't have to wear all that gear for the sport she practiced. She knew it had to be heavy and it probably wasn't the most comfortable thing to wear either. Especially in Leo's case, since he played the position of goalie he had to carry a larger stick, wear large goal pads that covered his legs, thicker padded pants, a different kind of helmet designed for goalies that had a facemask, a chest and arm protector, the list went on and on.
Annabeth wore a pair of black leggings that covered the tops of her white skates and a snug fitting, dark purple quarter zip that kept her body heat in but also allowed her to move easily. Her shoulder length hair was up in a simple bun. A couple hairs had fallen out of it and now framed her face. The other figure skaters were dressed similarly, their hair being up in either ponytails or buns to keep it out of the way.
The two groups refrained from speaking to one another. They settled for scowls instead because talking would lead to arguing and arguing would lead to more practices where they would have to share the rink. If either of the coaches saw them already starting to argue it would just prolong the torture of only getting half the rink to skate on. The high pitch sound of Coach Hedge's whistle blows, stopping all conversations that had started. Looking satisfied with the silence, he gestures for Christina to begin.
"Alright. Well I'm sure Percy and Annabeth have filled you in on why you're all here in the same rink."
Displeased whispers and murmurs break out from both ends of the bleachers. It was hard to tell which side was more disturbed by the new arrangement.
A whistle sounds again as Christina calls for everyone's attention, her arms crossed on her chest. She could be pretty scary if she wanted to be which made everyone quiet down and focus their attention back on the two.
"For whatever reason you all can't seem to get along. In attempt to solve this issue both teams will be practicing on the same rink. Now don't think you can all pretend for a little while to like each other before going back to how it was before, it doesn't work that way. Both groups will be working together. That's right, you heard me. No individual practices held on either side of the rink-together." Christina shouts loudly up into the stands.
Immediately realizing what this meant, arguments emerge. The shouting was deafening as both groups shared their opinions, protesting the news. Percy and Annabeth hadn't been informed of this the night before so it came as a shock to them as well. Not using a whistle this time, Coach Hedge placed two fingers in his mouth before blowing out, creating a loud sound that momentarily stopped the noise.
"Shut up!" He bellowed, grabbing the attention of everyone before continuing.
"No room for arguments! You will be skating alongside one another. Both teams can learn from each other. Boys you will be improving your balance to maintain better control during games. Girls you will be enhancing your speed to strengthen your performances. You will be doing drills together and you will not be complaining. Understood?!"
A chorus of yes's follows as Christina speaks again. This was worse than Annabeth could have imagined. Not only did they have to share one rink, they had to actually practice drills with one another. That was crazy.
"Today focuses on balance. Monday will be speed and Tuesday will be whatever we decide. The cycle repeats on Wednesday with balance and so on. You will be allowed the last half an hour of each practice to work on your respective skills while splitting the rink." Christina explains.
"The small rink next door will be used only for individual practice. If at any point we find more than one person practicing in there you will face the consequences. We've come up with a schedule of what times during team practice each one of you will be allowed to leave and practice alone for thirty minutes. Yes, thirty minutes. We need to be able to accommodate as many people as possible. Those who do not have individual practice one day will have it the next. The way it will work is figure skater for thirty minutes, hockey player for thirty minutes, figure skater for thirty minutes and so fourth. Any questions before we start practice?"
For a moment no one said anything. It was so quiet you could probably hear a pin drop. As the news began to sink in Annabeth felt like she'd just been slapped across the face. Regionals were only in a few weeks time and she only had thirty minutes every other day to practice individually. In her mind that was equivalent to teaching someone how to swim and then making them race in a meet two days later. Maybe Christina would allow her to stay a few minutes after each practice so she could have more time on the ice. She could only hope.
"Ok then. With that said, everyone on the ice!" Coach Hedge barks with one last blow of his whistle.
"Balance. Now I'm sure you all know it's vital in figure skating but what most of you probably don't realize is how important it is to hockey as well." Christina starts, skating slowly from one side of the rink to the other with her hands clasped behind her back.
All the skaters were spread out along the width of the rink facing towards their two coaches. Percy's body itched to start gliding across the ice. He had ADHD so it had always been hard for him to sit still for too long. It was hard, but he managed to stand still and pay attention as the figure skating coach continued.
"Balance is important for both sports because without balance you don't have control and you don't have power."
"It's also important for shooting and stick handling. If you're off balance when shooting you're not going to have good weight transfer and your shot is not going to be a powerful one." Coach Hedge adds, looking pointedly towards his team.
"We're going to start with a basic simple drill. Each of you will be skating back and fourth across the length of the rink on one foot. Every time you get to one of the lines you will switch feet and skate on the other foot. The purpose of this drill is to make sure you're completely comfortable skating on either foot even if it's not your dominant one. And on that note, lets get to it."
The exercise is simple enough. All the skaters form a line and skate behind each other, switching the foot they were skating on each time they crossed a line. Annabeth noticed a few of the hockey players stumbling slightly when they switched to their non-dominant foot. She was the first one in the line, followed closely by Percy who seemed to be one of the hockey players doing the best during the drill.
When the coaches call them all back after a few minutes Annabeth stops skating, using her toe pick to come to a complete stop. Percy doesn't expect the sudden action. Before he can do anything to stop, he crashes right into the blond haired skater, knocking her over onto the hard ice. He almost falls himself but manages to keep himself upright.
"Ow! What the hell-" Annabeth looks up to see Percy standing above her. She glares up at him, brushing the flakes of ice off her shoulder. For a second she could swear she sees a look of apology on his face but it soon disappears and is replaced by his usual annoying smirk as he tries not to laugh.
"Oops. In my defense, you could give a person a little warning when you're going to stop like that. I'll help you up anyway though because I'm just that nice." He replies cockily, sticking his hand out toward her to help her up.
"I don't need help from a conceited jerk thank you very much. I can get up just fine on my own." Annabeth replies, pushing herself up off the ice and ignoring his outstretched arm as she skates back towards the group.
She hears him skating behind her before they both join the others in front of the coaches. She notices Piper come back from the small rink while Leo exits the rink for individual practice. Annabeth had almost forgotten about the separate practices and wondered when she was going to get called. She doesn't have much time to think about it because Coach Hedge starts explaining the procedure for the next drill.
"The next exercise will be somewhat similar to the first one. You'll be jumping over the lines first with both feet then with one. A stable landing is very important to have so make sure you're focusing on that. There will be two groups this time lead by Percy and Annabeth."
The coaches make sure to split up all the skaters so that not all the figure skaters are with Annabeth and not all the hockey players are with Percy. Annabeth had done this drill countless times before when she was practicing for a big competition last season so she was completely comfortable with it.
The drill goes by pretty smoothly with the exception of slight tension being present in the air. No one was talking to each other, it was silent. Usually during practice Annabeth and the other figure skaters would talk and make jokes with one another as they practiced drills together as a team but now it was as if no one knew each other.
"Annabeth." She hears her coach call. She skates silently over to her while the others continue with the drill.
"You're up to skate on the small rink. You'll have thirty minutes to practice by yourself and then Percy will be after you." She explains. Annabeth nods and turns towards the door where she could see one of the hockey players coming in.
She leaves the big rink, smiling at Calypso who's taking a water break as she passes her. The small rink was about half the size of the big one. She wasn't one hundred percent sure why there was a small rink and a big rink instead of two big rinks but she thought it might be because the youth hockey and figure skating teams used it for games and competitions. That was one thing she loved about the place. You could basically sign up to be part of a team or league from the age of four.
When Annabeth stepped onto the ice she noticed the many skate marks and scratches from the others who had been here before her. She steadily skated around the rink a few times, pondering which jumps she should work on while she had the space to herself.
She decides to continue practicing her triple Lutz, not being completely comfortable with her landing just yet. She also works on her axel and double axel. She falls multiple times but always gets back up and begins again. Before she knows it, it's been half an hour and she has to go back to the big rink where everyone else was. She nearly bumps into Percy when entering.
"Just can't stay away from me can you Princess?"
Anger boils up in her. Gods he just infuriated her. Putting a hand on his chest, she stops him from walking any further out the door. He looks at her surprised, his eyebrows raised suggestively.
"Alright lets get something straight. First off, my name is Annabeth and just because our coaches say we have to practice together doesn't mean you get to come and act like you own the place. Just stay away from me and I'll do the same to you got it?"
"You got it…Princess." And with that, he pushes past her and makes his way towards the small rink, leaving Annabeth to glare at his retreating form.
Ok so I know Percy is kind of like a huge jerk but there's more to the story I promise. So how did you guys like it? Like I said this story is super hard to write so I'm sorry if some things aren't that accurate but I like a challenge. I can't believe how many reviews I've gotten in only two chapters you guys are freaking amazing! I'll really try to update faster.
REVIEW, REVIEW AND REVIEW!
-M