"For the last time, Kongo, she can't skate."
A sigh escaped her lips, hands going to her face as she rubbed her frustration away. Euclasia Suleth looked up to the tall man, a frown set on her face as she slowly crossed her arms. She was a figure skating coach, known to teach anyone and everyone, no matter the size or looks. However, for the very first time, she just can't help.
Kongo frowned more when he heard that news, his tired eyes moving to the window where he saw the small blonde head of his daughter. She sat outside of the office, seemingly watching kids her age skate around on the ice she yearned to be on. He sighed. Oh, how he failed her again if he were not to defend a bit more.
He turned back to Euclasia.
"Please, Euc. You taught Cinna at such a young age… Why can't you give her a try?" He pleaded, keeping his voice low to not bring attention.
"Phosphophyllite can't skate. If she falls and breaks half of her bones, I will be sued for it. To avoid adding more problems onto my list… I just cannot teach her. She'll just… get hurt. I really do not know why you're still trying, Kongo."
"She has to try! Everyone who had turned her away hasn't even tried. How can they just be so skeptical when they haven't even seen her try?!"
"Kongo!" Euclasia shouted, watching him quiet down. The small child who was watching the skating kids turned back and looked into the window, her blonde hair bouncing off her shoulders as she looked in. Euclasia looked over to Phos and sighed, looking back at Kongo. Her eyes showed sadness. "I love that kid. I was there when she was born and you know this, but… I just can't stand her getting hurt from something she loves. She could break her legs and never use them again. Then she definitely couldn't do it… You see what I mean? I don't want to shatter her dreams… not just yet… So go out and try to find a coach who is willing."
Kongo's face grew sorrowful, his deep gaze looking over to Phos, who stared curiously from the window. He gave a weak smile and waved to her, to which she happily waved back before looking back at the kids. He sighed as he looked back to Euc.
"I understand… I will keep searching. Thank you, Euclasia."
Euc hummed as a welcome before she walked to the door and opened it, nodding for him to exit. With heavy steps, he walked, heading back to his little girl.
Phos looked over to Kongo when he seemed to be done and jumped off the seat, squeaking as she almost fell. After Kongo recovered from his minor heart attack, he gratefully took Phos into his arms and lifted her up, holding her close with a small, forced smile. Phos looked over his face before she pouted.
"That makes number twelve." She said before she hugged her father, eyes down casted as she tried to sound hopeful. Even at six, she had a bright mind. She knew from his eyes. "We'll find someone soon, right, Daddy?"
Kongo felt his breath hitch in his throat when Phos asked such a thing, the man taking a moment before he slowly closed his eyes and held the girl close. With a sigh, he nodded.
"Tomorrow, we'll find you a coach. I promise."
"I don't believe you but okay. Only to make you happy."
"Sweetie, this is about you, not me… I just want you happy."
Kongo pulled away to look at his daughter, staring into her eyes to find if she was upset or not. To his surprise, she seemed fine.
"My happiness will come when you are happy!" Phos said as she smiled brightly. The man took a moment to gather his thoughts, absolutely shocked by her saying such a kind and thoughtful thing. Slowly he smiled and nodded, feeling a bit better about the situation.
"Thank you, Phos. Now… lets continue our search, yes? I'm sure there is someone out there willing to teach you." Kongo said as he pulled Phos a bit higher before placing her on his shoulders, walking towards the exit of the skating rink with a giggly little girl.
As they left, the kids finished up practice, a few going to their friends and giggling with their jokes on how many spins that had done. All but one seemed happy, and that one little girl, more serious than most, watched the man and girl leave with narrowed yet dull eyes. Blue eyes that would scare anyone… seemed soft. How she wondered what they would be in the future.
"C'mon, please!"
"Absolutely not, Phosphophyllite, you KNOW the school won't like this!"
Phos huffed as she crossed her arms, standing in the sidelines of the school's hockey team's rink. She figured that if she couldn't try figure skating, she'd at least try out hockey! A chance to be on the ice! But… she could see how this was a worse idea. There's so much fighting and bumping. She'd break. So, standing with a sorrowful expression and crossed arms as she heard the scolding from the hockey coach, the small freshman in highschool hung her head low. At this point, she was tired of all the denials.
The scolding continued, every word sounding like venom to the freshman as it poisoned her mind and mood. Her once happy outlook turned sour as she kept her head anywhere but from looking at the coach, tears forming at the brim of her eyes. In the end, she couldn't handle it.
"I get it, I GET IT!" Phos snapped as she turned away and stomped to her backpack, interrupting the scolding given to her before swinging the bag around her arm and rushing out of the room. The head coach was left with a sigh.
The students on the ice, either of the hockey team or just practicing their ice skating, all stopped. Their eyes peered over to see the angry freshman leave. Some laughed, some just sighed in pity. A Sophomore girl who just seemed to be skating sat in the corner, watching this angry girl leave with teared eyes, causing her sharp gaze to soften. And yet another denial… Why didn't she give up?
The whole school knew of the poor girl's situation and her dream. Some look at her with pity, while others laugh at her sad attempts. The poor girl who was small for her age moved around the hallways with haste, seemingly agile from how she missed all the students who almost bumped into her. Her dream was something that meant so much to her and defined her as a person, but… These days she only received pity and insults. She would have gotten bullied for it if it wasn't for her scary senior friend who always hung around her.
Speaking of her scary senior friend.
Phos stomped down the hallways as students went to their first block, which was around 95 minutes on a normal day. She kept her head bowed, trying her best not to bump into anyone. It was only when her friend Cinna pinched her arm was when she looked up, face in pain for a second and fear. She looked to her red head companion and relaxed before sighing, leaning her head on her shoulder as comfort.
"Cinnaaa… They didn't take me in. Again." Phos whined, immediately causing Cinna to roll her eyes.
"Of course they didn't. I told you that you should have known. Now you're all mopey and its annoying." She means well, and Phos knew that, but in the long run she couldn't help but get even more sad. She just pouted as she hugged Cinna's arm, causing the red head to blush in embarrassment. While trying to pry her friend off, she grunted. "C'mon, don't give me that! You're being all pathetic and its not appealing to the boys."
"Boys?! Where?!" Phos gasped as she looked around, squeaking as Cinna pushed her off and she began to fall with a yelp. Cinna luckily grabbed her backpack before she could hit the ground and sighed, lifting her back up to her feet. The blonde looked to Cinna before she smiled awkwardly. "Wrong move?"
"You're such a moron… One mention of guys and you go crazy… What makes you think any would even be interested in you?" Cinna asked, mostly teasing as she raised an eyebrow. Phos whined as she hung her head, her blonde hair falling off her shoulders and hiding her face. She gave small complaints here and there before she looked back up at Cinna with a pout. Cinna blushed a bit once again before she looked away with a sigh. As you could tell, she got embarrassed easily.
"Ugh… I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said all that…" She mumbled before looking back at Phos, who seemed to be smiling now. It was a relief to see and Cinna was glad she wasn't sad anymore, so she sent a gentle smile back as well.
"It's okay, I know it's the truth anyway. Especially for you~" Phos said as she got her quick revenge, rushing off to avoid the rage she was about to get from her best friend. After hearing the scream for her to get back to her, Phos giggled and turned around the corner when she reached the end of the hallway, rushing to go to the stairs and rush up of them. Cinna huffed as she reached the stairs and stood at the bottom of them, stomping her foot down before she looked away and went back to her class with a grunt. She'll deal with Phos later…
The blonde girl stopped at the top of the stairs, looking back to see if Cinna followed, giggling when she saw her give up and retreat to her class. After her small giggle fit, she walked into her first class of the day, humming as she sat down in her seat. Very back, near the window. As always. She stared out the glass pane for a few seconds, the bell ringing as she sighed and looked to the front of class. There, whispers of her classmates caught her attention as she looked over in confusion.
Another one of her friends, the school's sweetheart, Diamond, walked into the room. The girl who was usually a brunette now had white hair with an array of colorful highlights. The classmates all whispered to each other, some up right complimenting the girl on her hair. As usual, she blushed gently and laughed, giving a soft and kind thank you. Phos was amazed, finding the new look quite… beautiful. Stunning.
She kept her eyes on her friend as she walked to the back and sat in her usual spot as well, the desk right next to Phos'. That's when Phos decided to indulge.
"Dia…" Phos whispered to the girl, who looked over in curiosity with that gentle smile of hers. Phos only blushed more from her hair seeming to glow a bit. What the world? "I love your new look! What did you do?..."
"Awe, Phos… Thank you!" Diamond said as she smiled brightly before she placed a hand on her pastel rainbow hair, humming. "I recently got it done as a birthday gift from my mom. But my birthday isn't for a few more days, so I was quite surprised." A giggle left her lips as she spoke, a hand going to her mouth next as she gave a cute tilt of her head. No wonder why the school adored her friend so, she was downright cute and kind to the bone.
"How do you feel? With a new and sudden change like that?" Phos asked, her eyes still on the colorful hair in amazement. Her jaw would be on the floor from how wide her mouth was.
"Me? Oh, why… I feel excited!... Everyone seems to like it and… I feel more sure of myself! So very happy and confident!" Diamond said with a hum, looking down at her book bag as she placed it down and her smile softened. She began to pull out her books for the class, since the teacher was finally in. "By the by, dear, Phos, I looked up the origin of your name…"
"My name?" Phos blinked. Out of everyone in the school, only three of the students there had a name with a rock base. Phos bet there was more, but none to the extent as her, Diamond, and even Cinna. Diamond, which was obvious, was named after the rare material that goes on jewelry. Cinna was named after the gem Cinnabar, a very weak gem on the mohs scale with a 2. As for Phos… She was named after a Phosphophyllite. Mohs scale of 3.5. She was basically cursed with the brittle bone disease from how she was named after such a weak gem.
"Yes, your name!" Diamond said as she picked up her notebook and showed a page after turning to it. There, she had a list of names followed by colors. Phos' name was there at the top, in bold. Right next to it was the color 'mint green', causing the girl to blink in surprise. "Your name is the gem Phosphophyllite! It has a mint green or teal color! That's the color I think you should dye your hair in! I am recommending anyone to dye their hair like mine! It just makes me feel so confident! After all, a change is good! And I think you'd look so cute in a new hair color!"
"Mint green, huh?..." Phos mumbled as she placed a hand on her long blond hair, running her fingers through it with a distant look. After a few moments of silence, her expression became one of determination. She's been so down in the dumps with her denials of her dreams recently, that maybe she does need a change like this. She nodded to her friend before she pointed at her nose, then Diamond's then back at her's. She looked back at her books and excitedly went to work. Diamond laughed, knowing that look before she looked back to the front of the classroom with a gentle smile. She was glad to get her friend out of the dumps…
Winter time was the worse. The cold got your nose all cold and runny, and it hurts to breathe sometimes if you don't warm it up. Your eyes sting from the chilly air and your shivering gets painful after a while. Phos hated it. The now senior walked in the city park with her father, Kongo being the one to look around the park. He only stopped when Phos did, as she shivered and complained a bit. She was now a senior in highschool, having four years passed by and fewer friends than most. Clumsier and more able to break. And her dream? She had given up on it. She was planning on going into college with an art major. A drawing career could be in easier than the old one she wanted. She only gave up finally in her sophomore year, when she was finally bullied for her hope. After being punched and sent home with a broken jaw, she knew exactly that it was just impossible with how easily she broke.
So here she was, on Christmas break with her father as they decided to do a family bonding walk in the park. The only people here were those who loved the snow and the cold and those who just loved being outside. Family bonding.
Kongo stopped at a bench, patting the seat for Phos to sit on before he pointed to the food trucks. He mentioned he was going to get them something to eat, the girl nodding in agreement. She was rather hungry. After flashing a bright smile and saw her dad walk away, she sighed, pushing her mint green hair back under her hat to keep her head warm. She sat there in silence, humming gently as she looked up at the trees. She found herself smiling again.
She may have hated winter, but man she can't deny that it was beautiful.
But not as beautiful as the skater that caught her attention.
Every Saturday, the city park of New York City held a skating show off, where every one of the best skaters in ice skating come by and show off what they got. Phos was always thrilled to see it until three years ago. Finally seeing it again, she was practically entranced.
There, she stood and slowly walked to the rink, where people had gathered and watched the gracefulness of the skater. The Skater was a young female with bright white hair that was short and messy, who eyes a piercing blueish grey as she skated on the ice, doing triple toe flips and axes galore. Her hands rolling over her hair and elegantly moving left, right, up, down… Her foot work was just so graceful.
Phos was just downright amazed, eyes wide and full of the lost wonder she thought she had lost all those years ago. And she swore her heart skipped a beat when their eyes met, the mint green haired girl gasping in air as she tried to control the blush on her cheeks, which only grew from her amazement. Her eyes were practically glimmering.
She wanted to ice skate again.
The performance was done in those next few minutes and Phos sat and watched the whole thing. Kongo stood behind her, holding two trays of food that he bought. He had seen Phos looking at this skater in such wonder that he didn't dare try to get her attention. All he did was watch her and the skater with a smile. He was relieved to see his daughter get her hope back. She had been much too pouty these past years.
The skater moved out of her ending pose, where most of the people around clapped and cheered, but she had her attention on something else. As she gracefully moved to the edge of the rink, she grabbed a towel and a drink from who seemed to be her father, listening to the compliment her needy father gave. She sighed when she was done drinking her water, seemingly mumbling something to him before her sharp eyes looked over to Phos.
As a response, Phos squeaked and blushed deeply out of embarrassment. Why was she looking at her with such a glare?!
The skater threw the towel back to her father and skated over to Phos, the two standing face to face with the only thing separating them being the small wall put up for safety. Phos stared with wide eyes, that still glimmered in such a way that you'd think she was a child again. The skater's eyes narrowed for a bit, as if in thought, trying to remember something.
Then she spoke.
"You…" She started, a think accent, that Phos couldn't pick out, being heard. "You're that girl. The girl who is always denied of skating, yes?"
Phos blinked rapidly, utterly shocked.
"W..wh-"
"I've been watching you." She said as she tapped her own head. The skater's intimidating glare turned to one of kindness as she smiled a bit. "I never seen someone so passionate for skating… Even when you've been denied. However, I haven't seen you try in these past years…"
"Y-Yes ma'am!" Phos shouted out with a bright red face, causing Kongo to gently chuckle at his daughter's outburst. "I-I uh… I always wanted to skate since I was a kid, but… What do you mean you've been watching me?..."
The skater just smiled.
As they left, the kids finished up practice, a few going to their friends and giggling with their jokes on how many spins they had done. All but one seemed happy, and that one little girl, more serious than most, watched the man and girl leave with narrowed yet dull eyes. Blue eyes that would scare anyone… seemed soft. How she wondered what they would be in the future.
Phos blinked at the smile, her confusion growing. Slowly she opened her mouth to speak, but nothing came out. The skater closed her eyes with a hum.
The students on the ice, either of the hockey team or just practicing their ice skating, all stopped. Their eyes peered over to see the angry freshman leave. Some laughed, some just sighed in pity. A Sophomore girl who just seemed to be skating sat in the corner, watching this angry girl leave with teared eyes, causing her sharp gaze to soften. And yet another denial… Why didn't she give up?
"Like I said. I've watched you. You never noticed me, for I was on the ice, but whenever I was on that ice, you would come to whoever was teaching that day and ask them to teach you. They'd always say no, and you'd leave in sorrow, only to come back. I expected you to come back after my own father denied you, but you never did. Though, I did hear you were in the hospital with a broken jaw… A rather strange reason, but I did not question much more than that. Strange."
"You…" Phos was utterly amazed. Someone she never met before… had always been watching her and she didn't know for how long?! Just how-
"Phosphophyllite Adamant." Her thick voice caused Phos to stand at attention, causing another snort from her father. "From this day forward, I will be your coach. Practice is every morning from seven to nine. Do not be late, for I love a good morning of exercise and practice." The skater said with a wink, causing Phos to blink rapidly. She was still comprehending all that was said in a matter of minutes, eyes wider than ever before as she tried to understand. "I am Antarcticite Zima. It'll be a pleasure to teach you."
"WHAAAAAT?!"