Go Figure
Chapter Two
Spiral
I collected my trash and handed it to Toph as she expertly threw them into the trash-can twenty feet away. When done she turned to grin at me, and we accompanied each other back to the ice for more of today's lessons.
"What is a spiral?" Trish asked as we all grouped together on the ice.
"A spiral is an element in figure skating where the skater glides on one foot while raising the free leg above hip level." Azula explained this as if she were talking to three-year-olds.
"Very good." Trish praised. "What is everyone's favorite spiral? That's what I want you to tell me." She scanned her audience for willing particapents. "Katara?" Trish called on me first.
"Charlotte spiral!" I blurted out without thinking. I had seen many skaters perform Charlottes on TV, but I had never tried one.
Trish looked happy. "A Charlotte? Could you demonstrate?"
I nodded timidly and glided out to the center in fear. What if I fell? What if I wobbled? What if I can't get my leg high enough? What if I'm too scared to o it at all? I decided to let go of all the what-ifs and start the exercise. Cautiously I skated forward, picking up enough speed to get me to the other side, then, even slower, I raised my right leg as high as I could and dropped my torso so that I was looking at my supporting leg.
Quicker than I thought I would, I swung back up and put my leg down before I made a fool of myself. There was applause as I finished, but not from Azula.
"Very good, Katara!" The instructor praised. "On Ji?"
On Ji didn't need time to think. "Fan spiral!"
Wow! Fan spiral? That's got to be about the hardest spiral for me. I held my breath as On Ji paced herself by skating around the edges of the ice. Gracefully, she turned herself out, dipped back, and raised her leg incredibly high. I let out my breath in admiration whilst watching On Ji glide across the ice beautifully. I was almost sad when she came to a closing.
"Beautiful, On Ji." Trish voiced everyone's thoughts. "Azula?"
"Spread Eagle." Azula answered flatly. I watched intently as she skated out into a perfect straight-leg spread eagle. I have to admit, I was fairly impressed when she leaned her torso back halfway through it.
"Very nice Azula," Trish said, to which Azula grimaced. "Toph?"
Toph had already begun to skate out. "Biellman." She displayed this as any other skater would have, but what made it so amazing was that she looked as if she wasn't even trying. Like skating was just like breathing to her. That adds an extra burst of life to it somehow.
"Lovely, Toph," It was visible that Trish was amazed. "Tylee?"
"Y-spiral." And so it was that the last skater was Tylee. I had never heard of a Y-spiral so I was immediately interested. Tylee skated in an elegant circle before starting her spiral. Gliding out on one foot, she raised her leg slightly, making me believe that a Y-spiral was just another boring variation of an arabesque, but at the last minute Tylee hoisted her leg even higher, almost behind her head, and caught it with the opposite hand. Now I understand why they call it a Y-spiral; because with your leg up, your body looks as if you were a giant Y, but with Tylee's flexibility she managed to make herself look like letter-I. We all applauded as she came to a nice finishing pose.
"Wonderful." Trish skated backwards past us. "All the spirals you each have chosen are going into your routines." When this was said, the rink erupted with cheers. "Now girls, I want you to come and practice whenever you have free time, because Regionals are only three months away."
We all nodded in agreement, but none of us were really going to spend all our free time here in the rink. We have lives. But then, as I was thinking this, realization dawned on me. "Yikes! Regionals in three months?" It seemed impossible, but it was true. And before I knew it, Trish was dismissing us for the day.
I hopped off the ice and headed toward the bleachers with a slight wobble because of my skates. Sitting down, I sighed and began to take off my skates. While doing so I took the time to examine everyone else. On Ji I decided was very beautiful; she had dark brown hair held in a ponytail, golden eyes, and nice bright white skates. I wondered if they were new because they had no apparent scratches or marks. Tylee had nice features; brown hair in two braids, big expressive grey eyes, and a nice small nose. Her dress was pink and purple; the only person in the world who could pull off dressing like a toddler was Tylee. Azula was very scary-looking; eyeliner that pulled away from her golden eyes, slick black hair that fell down her back, and blood red lips, nails, and dress. Toph was nice-looking, I concluded, as I slipped my skates into my bag. She had grey-green eyes and dark hair that called attention to her pale skin.
Before I could react, Toph had grabbed my bag and was now hauling me through the bleachers. "Where are we going?" I asked.
"Locker room." She answered.
The locker room was more than its name. It did have too many lockers for its residents, but it also contained showers and bathrooms too. "Wow…" I said when we entered.
"Wow what?" Toph asked.
I shook my head. "Nothing."
She shrugged and handed me two quarters. "What are these for?" I stared down at the silver coin.
"You new locker." Toph answered as she pulled a key from her bra. "You insert two quarters, open it, take out the key that's inside, close it, and that's your deal." She opened her locker and began to empty her bag's contents into it. "It makes things easier; so you don't have to lug a bag around all the time. You keep your stuff in here and use your key to open it every time you come back. If you loose the key, your screwed."
I nodded and followed her simple steps; adding the quarters, opening the small door, taking the small copper key, unloading my stuff into it, and closing it back. I mimicked Toph and slid the key slightly between two of the peeping holes in the locker.
Silently we stripped down to our bra and underwear and wrapped ourselves in the towels they had folded on the benches for us.
"Now let's hit the showers." She signaled me to follow her.
The showers at the rink were basically like the ones you would find in a community pool. Tiles on the floor, drains in the tiles, curtained off sections for showers, ect. There was steam everywhere, and all the showers seemed to be running. On the wall beside each curtained-ff area, there were built in shelves; one for the towel, one for your clothes, and the last for any extra thing you might need (Complementary soap, shampoo, and so on). Toph put her clothes on one shelf, her towel on the other, and then began to strip down to bareness. I turned away and tried to do the same, but for some reason I just felt my face going red.
Quietly I slipped behind one of the curtains and turned the shower on. The hot water on my skin felt so good after the cold of the ice. I let my hair out from its braid and let it cascade down my back. I thought I'd use one of those shampoos, so I reached my arms out of the curtained area to the shelves and felt around for it. Once I retrieved what I was looking for, I pulled my arm back in and twisted open the cap. Immediately the scent of oranges and mangos filled the shower. "Smells good!" I concluded.
Once I lathered, rinsed, and repeated several times, I felt ready to go. I turned off the showers, dried my hair, and wrapped the towel around me. After dressing and leaving the showers I stepped into the locker room. Azula and On Ji were retrieving their cellphones from their lockers, and Toph was bent over tying her shoes.
"Katara! There you are!" Azula turned to me. "Nice Charlotte!" And then she walked away, laughing along with On Ji.
"Ignore them," Toph stood straight. "They're jealous."
"Of me?" I asked while pulling my key from it's hiding place and unlocking the door.
Toph rolled her eyes. "No, Katara, not you."
I nodded in realization of the fact that she was being sarcastic. Who would be jealous of me? I pulled out my sneakers and headband. After tying the laces and putting my headband in place, I was ready to go.
"Got any brothers or sisters?" Toph asked as we headed out.
"One brother… his name's Sokka, he's sixteen." I answered. We stopped at the snack bar as Mai was finishing up.
"My shift's over," She said, putting a dry rag in a trash bin. "Anywhere for us to go?"
"We could catch a bite to eat." I suggested.
Mai climbed over the counter and walked with me and Toph to the door. "Good idea," she agreed. "I'm hungry."
Toph shook her head. "If I was working the snack bar, there would be no snacks left in the bar."
"I'm trying to keep a job, here." Mai pointed out. Toph and I nodded in recognition.
Mai turned to me. "So what school are you going to this year, Katara?"
"Um, Sozin High," I answered, hazily remembering the name of the school my dad had signed me up for.
"So's Azula, Tylee, On Ji, and I." Mai gave a hint of a smile.
"What about you?" I asked Toph.
"Home schooled." Toph said. "Parents are way protective because of the blind thing." She ended the sentence by waving her hand in front of her face, emphasizing the fact that her eyes showed no suggestion that they say anything.
As we walked out the doors of Twin Oak ice rink, I turned to glance at Mai. I swore I had seen her somewhere before. "Do you skate?" I asked her.
"Nah," She shook her head. "Never got off too well with it."
I shrugged inside of my head. Maybe Mai was one of those people with familiar faces. Who knows, anyway?
"How do we get there?" I asked, looking side-to-side. Outside in the rush of the city there was no apparent car to give us a ride.
"Man, you are new, huh?" Toph shouted over the bustling noises of New York. We walked to the corner in the nice, post-summer weather. Toph put her fingers to her mouth and gave an ear-splitting whistle. I covered my ears as it pierced the air. Immediately a taxi cab pulled up hot on our toes. We had to take a few steps back for fear that it would come up on the curb. We opened the doors and jammed ourselves in together. I gave Toph my twenty-dollar-bill and Mai handed a twenty also.
"Take us to the closest restaurant you can with sixty bucks." Toph said to the driver, handing him our money plus hers. "Don't keep the change."
He nodded and we careened with a screeching noise back into the street, this mad us all lurch forward.
"I might loose my lunch before we get it." Mai commented.
I couldn't help but agree as we sped toward our unnamed destination.
A/N: YAY! Second chapter after so long. Sorry for the wait. Review, please.
~Rosey ;-