Chapter 2

"Like so many things, it is not what's on the outside, but inside that counts."

~ Merchant, Aladdin

Tris POV

The next morning, I walked over to Christina's house. The skate is only for two hours in the afternoon. I just need to chill out. I could easily get stressed out by giving something too much thought. This was probably nothing. Will and Anna just want us to practice skating.

Turning, I reached Christina's house. After I knocked on the door, she let me in.

"Trissy!" she exclaimed. "So glad you could come."

"Okay, Chrissy," I tease back. "What do you want to do?"

"Oh…" she says. "Let's watch a movie."

We ended up ordering a pizza and watching The Lion King. I felt so relaxed. I laughed so hard when Timon and Pumbaa were dancing hula, and when they were crying. By the time the movie ended our giggles had subsided.

Looking at the clock, I realized that the practice began in twenty minutes. "Christina, I have to go home and change. If I don't go now, I'll never make it."

"See you there Trissy," she said as I exited her home.

I dressed quickly, and made my way to the rink. I saw Christina waiting with a few members of the hockey team.

Christina came over when she saw me come through the door. "We're skating with the hockey team. Will told me that we will get paired up with someone and skate. It's for practice. Everyone gets to skate with everyone. It'll be fun."

"Yeah," I say. I like skating, but not with strangers. I only pair skated once, and that was with my brother Caleb. I was teaching him how to skate that time. Well, the sooner it starts, the sooner I can get this over with.

Five minutes later, Will and Anna come up to everyone. "Thanks for coming!" Anna said. "This won't take that long, I promise."

After surveying the room, Anna says-"Oh my. It looks like we're missing someone."

"Yeah," says a hockey player. Al, I think. "Peter had something to do today, or he just didn't want to come. Bottom line, he's not here."

"Looks like someone's going to have to sit out every round. Maybe you can join them Will."

"No, I'm good." Will says.

Anna whispers something into Will's ear. "Fine," he said. "I'll go those two times because there's nothing to observe. But, I won't go any other time. I stink, remember?"

"You're not that bad," Anna replies. "So, we have Uriah, Zeke, Al, Four, Caleb, Christina, and Tris. First, let's have Uriah and Zeke skate together. Four will skate with Christina. Caleb, you skate with your sister. Al, you can sit outside the rink. You guys will skate for five minutes before we announce the new partners. Will and I will wait outside the rink at all times."

I skate onto the rink, and wait for Caleb. He has become a much better skater, though I'm sure he only learned how to skate so he could play ice hockey. Looking up, I see Caleb sliding on the ice. I wait for him to come over.

"Do you know what this is about, Beatrice?" he asks me. Everyone but my family calls me Tris. My family insists on calling me Beatrice.

"No," I said. "I thought you might know something."

"Well, you guess wrong. We haven't skated together since you taught me how to skate."
"I know. It was so much fun before. Now, I'm not sure I want to skate with anyone. Skating with you and Christina is okay, but I don't know anybody else."

"You'll be fine, Beatrice. Just try to have a good time. All of the hockey players are good guys. Peter does have a bad reputation, though. Some players don't like him, but he isn't here. Just relax."

"I'll try, Caleb. I'll try."

We skate around for a while, and then Will calls the partner switch. I quickly skate over to Christina. "I'm with Al this round," she says. "Four is okay. Are you going to be fine, Tris?"

"Of course," I say smiling. I skate over Zeke, my next partner.

Will POV

Anna and I were watching Tris and Christina skate with their partners. They were doing well for skating purposes, but not for our purposes. Anna and I stood away from Al so he wouldn't overhear our plan.

"They aren't right," I tell Anna.

"At least we still have more chances," she says. "We need to find their pairs today, Will. Or else they won't have enough time to practice for the upcoming Olympics. I fear it may be too late for them anyway."

"We have to try," I say firmly. "The head of the US Olympics wouldn't have contacted us if he thought we couldn't do it."

"Yes, but most people train with their pairs for years. If they make the team, I'll be surprised if the place. So far, we haven't found anyone."

Looking around, I see that the current pairs are worse than the others. "Yeah, this round is bad. Who should we have go next?"

"Let's have Tris go with Al, and Christina with Zeke. That way we have them out of the way."

"Okay. Let's go announce it."

Tris did okay with Al. It was better than all the other, though. She ended up pushing Uriah onto the ice. He landed on his butt, and that would make them lose. It was funny, but not what we wanted. Zeke was just as bad. I just talked to Tris when I skated with her. Anna filmed it, and we did okay, but not as good as Al, I hope.

The same went for Christina. Al was bad. Caleb didn't do great either. Zeke and Uriah… well, let's just say that I don't think they'll find a partner. Ever.

Finally it was time for the last pairs. I was stuck with Christina, and Tris would skate with Four. I didn't really want to skate with Christina.

I must've looked nervous, because Anna said, "You'll do fine, Will. I'll film it for you to watch. Have fun." She pushes me onto the rink, and announces the pairs.

Tris POV

I hear Anna announce the final pairs. I already know that I have to skate with Four though.

"Tris and Four." I hear Anna announce. While I skate over, I stop in front of Christina.

"I'm skating with Will," she squeaks. "Good luck with Four. He didn't say anything to me. At all."

"Will did the opposite of that. We talked the whole time." Christina and I skated away, towards our partners.

I see Four at the other side of the rink. I skate toward him, and fall next to him.

"Hi." I say.

He just nods his head as a greeting. Christina was right. He doesn't seem like he wants to talk.

"So," I say, "you know my brother, Caleb?"

"Yeah," Four says. "He's a good guy, and a good hockey player."

"What's your position?" I ask.

"I'm a forward," he says.

"Do you know what this about?" I ask.

"Not a clue," he responds.

Four speeds up a bit, and so do I. He skates as fast as I do, but I doubt he can do any tricks. I look over at Anna, who is smiling for the first time today. She looks over at me and smiles. Then, she glances at her phone, where it seems that she's recording Will and Christina. "We're done," she calls out.

"Nice skating with you," Four says as he skates away.

We all gather around Anna once we take off our skates. "Thanks for helping with this experiment," she says. "For the final part, we will call some of you back. Most of you won't get called back. I still need to discuss this with Will, of course. But as of now, these people need to come back. Christina, Four, and Tris."

I deflate as she mentions my name. I was hoping that I wouldn't have to continue with this experiment.

"Everyone else," she continues, "will not have practice tomorrow. You all can leave.

Turning to us, she begins to speak again. "As for you three, come from 8AM to 1PM. That should be enough to finish this. Will, you will come to."

"What is this about, Anna?" I ask. "I know we'll find out if it's successful, but I want to know what I'll be spending five hours doing."

"If you want to know, hang out here for a few minutes. I need to discuss this with Will first. It won't take longer than fifteen minutes." Anna beckons Will over to a side. They begin to chat, and Anna shows him some videos on her phone.

"You guys going to wait or leave?" I ask Christina and Four.

"I'll stay," Christina says.

"Same," Four says. "Five hours is a lot of time. I hope it's not for nonsense."

We walk over and sit down by the arcade. Christina leans over to me and whisper, "He actually talks!"

"Doesn't everyone?" I whisper back.

"Yeah, but he never answered my questions. He basically told me to back off."

I laugh, and wait for Will and Anna to come with the explanation we've all been waiting for.

Will POV

I follow Anna and she takes out her phone. "Here are the videos of the two most successful rounds. They happened when you were skating."

Suddenly, I was nervous. What if I had to skate with Tris? She's very serious about her work. At least she's dedicated. The only problem is that I suck. Christina is very nice, but I'm afraid things might get awkward after a while. At least she won't mind that I suck at skating.

The first video is of Four and Tris skating. They skate next to each other with ease, just like a pair skater would. They were just that good.

"They have to skate together." I tell Anna. "It can't be any other way."

"I agree. They're having a five hour session tomorrow. They will skate together the whole time along with you and Christina. Look at the video."

I watch the video of Christina and I. We skated pretty well. At least, we did better than all of the other pairs.

"I'll film the whole session from above," she says. "We can watch the videos after the session, and decide once and for all if all four of you have what it takes to become pairs. We can tell them either later that evening, or the next day. Are we agreed?"

"Yes. Now about telling them about the pair thing, are you up to it?"

"It's either today or tomorrow, Will. We have to tell them before we train them."

"They'll have less time to react at that point," I say. 'It'll be better for them, because they can't back out."

"After they've gotten over the fact that they'll be skating together, the quality of the skating will be better," Anna fires back. "We have to tell them. It'll be less bothersome for them anyway. Everyone has to show up. I'll tell them that it's required from the Olympic Association here in the US. They can't back out then."

Tris POV

I see Anna and Will heading over here. "Christina, Four," I say, "our questions are about to be answered."

We all stand up, and Anna greets us. "We have your answers. I'm sorry for the wait. I'm sure you guys want to relax. Will approved of our plan, so here it is. We have been requested to have a few pair skaters by the Olympic Association here in the US. So, we have chosen our pairs. Tris and Christina, all of this was to pair the two of you up with someone. We have found the perfect pairs with the guys on the hockey team. So, the pairs are Will and Christina, and Tris and Four. Tomorrow, you'll skate together. Will and I will look over the skate film, and come up with a final decision to see if these pairs will work. See you tomorrow." Anna exits the arena, leaving the four of us alone.

"Well, I have something to do," Will says, and he leaves.

"Exciting, right?" Christina says. One glance at my horrified face, and she changes her mind. "You'll be fine, Tris," she whispers. "Plus, you got the hottie."

"Stop that Christina." I say.

She laughs and walks out. Four is still sitting there. "So, I'll skate with you tomorrow." I say, still not really grasping the idea. How will I ever be able to do both at the same time?

"Yeah," Four says. "I'm sure it won't be that bad." He gets up, and leaves the rink. I follow him out of the rink, and go home, dreading the next day. Maybe Four is right. It can't be that bad, right?

Wow! Thanks to everyone who read this story! It was more than I could've imagined:) Virtual chocolates to everyone:) I'll try to update once every month. I'll definitely update once every two months.

Here's a horrible joke I found on a popsicle: Why didn't the hockey player want to pay for dinner? Leave answers in the review. I'll give a shoutout to the first person to get the correct answer. Rate and Review:)

~DauntlessPokemonRide.