by ✦ nemuri » Wed Feb 01, 2017 2:59 pm
Things passed quickly for Cheng-Guang and Alice. I was getting ready by the time Janet took her place on the ice, and she didn't particularly seem to be in a good position. Although America was known for producing superior athletes, Janet was only seventeen, and she was going up against Viscets who have had years more experience than she had. If I was Janet, I'd definitely be nervous to the point where I wasn't able to stand straight.
Yekaterina placed a paw on my shoulder again, before tilting my head to make me face her. "Listen, ignore the audience. If you let the pressure get to you then you're done for," she whispered, as I brushed her paw off my shoulder. I knew all that already and by now it was seared into my memory, but every competition Yekaterina made it a habit to remind me time and time again. At this point I had gotten used to it, but sometimes I pretended to be annoyed by it.
"I know," I commented nonchalantly, adjusting the tightness of my scarf once again. As I turned to face the ice again, I winced as I saw Janet over-rotate her triple axel and fall onto the ice. I didn't know Janet very well, since she moved up into the senior bracket only two years ago, but she didn't seem to be the type to let nerves get the best of her. Maybe the American Viscet was in a similar position as Tsumiko, where a loved one had left her recently. It honestly didn't seem like it though, since Janet made no sort of Instagram post saying about such things, but again, maybe she wanted to keep that fact to herself since it was most likely personal. Who was I to assume anything about others, though? I know nothing about their lives, I'm probably completely wrong, and I'd understand if I'm wrong.
Watching the younger Viscet do a quadruple toe loop-triple toe loop combination jump, I swallowed the lump in my throat back and glanced towards Yekaterina. "Do you know where my water bottle is? I'm kinda thirsty," I said, removing the ear buds from my ears and shrugging off my jacket. Janet preformed her last twirl before ending off with a step sequence. When her routine ended she collapsed onto the ice, burying her face into her paws. At first I felt a shred of sympathy for the younger Viscet, even though I couldn't really relate to the experience. I watched as the American Viscet slowly rose and made her way towards her coach, before heading towards the kiss-and-cry. After a few moments, Janet's score of 74.93 came out, and I let out a small hum of dissent before stepping onto the ice. I remained at the side, grasping onto the edge of the wall as Yekaterina came over and gave me a small nod.
"Remember, stay calm-" The rest of her words were cut off by having my name announced, followed by the name of the song, and the thunderous applause from the audience. I gave her a small thumbs up, before making my way towards the center as I skated around a little to get used to being on the ice again.
As I stopped at the middle, I adopted the pose that started off my routine. When I heard the first few piano notes trickle out from the speakers, I started to move again. Inhaling the cold air on the ice, I did the first few steps of my program. My arm shook involuntarily as I lifted an arm to preform the first jump element, the triple flip. Sliding across the ice, I flipped my scarf back as I narrowed my eyes, determined to score higher than everyone else in Skate Canada. I had a reputation to live up to, and I will not tarnish it.
"What a beautiful triple flip! Svetlana exhibits such grace and elegance, but that's to be expected of a veteran skater like her!" The commentators shouted out, and I pursed my lips as I continued on with my routine. Gently lifting and lowering my arms like the ethereal aurora borealis with a serpentine step sequence, I exhaled slowly and breathed normally from that point on as I launched myself into the air and gathered myself into the flying sit spin position.
"Uhh, a half loop and a Bielmann spin is next, I think," I thought to myself, before rising and skating a half loop around the rink, before lifting a leg to preform the Bielmann spin. The crowd cheered, but it didn't register very well in my mind as I continued to fervently skate my program. Preforming a triple axel while lifting an arm again, I exhaled harshly as I wobbled slightly and almost fell. "I over-rotated," I mumbled to myself, eyes narrowing into a displeased frown. Doing a hydroblade, I inhaled as my paw brushed along the sharp surface of the ice. I wasn't wearing gloves, but thankfully I was able to prevent myself from earning any new nicks.
Rising from my less-than-comfortable position, I did a Mohawk turn and pushed off the ice to preform a triple toe loop. When I landed I pushed off again, doing a double toe loop right after. The crowd started to clap and cheer again, and the commentators said something, but I wasn't aware of their words. "Stress is getting the better of me," I thought to myself, and I clicked my tongue against the roof of my mouth when I realized that I had forgotten to raise my arms for the combination jumps.
I had finished most of my routine save for a few more steps, and I continued on by doing another loop around the rink, raising and lowering my arms like the northern lights. Clicking my skates against each other, I skated in a circular motion, performing a circular step sequence. When I executed the final jump, a quadruple flip, I raised both arms frantically, and loud cheers greeted me from the audience. Nearly slipping but catching my balance in time again, I continued on with a last flying sit spin. Making my ways towards the center, I continued to spin. When the last piano notes died down I rose with my legs crossed and my arms spread out, panting.
The commentators said something again, but it didn't register in my mind. I saw stuffed animals being thrown onto the ice, and a stuffed teddy bear landed not to far away from me. Skating over to it, I picked it up and smiled. "How cute," I said aloud, before pressing a paw against my chest, trying to steady my breathing. I skated over to where most of the Russians where gathered, before bowing. Loud applause met my actions, and I raised my head and bowed to the other sections as well. When I was done, my head was throbbing from the thunderous clapping, and I stumbled into Yekaterina's arms. "Kill me now..."
"Psh, once you get some water you'll feel better," Yekaterina commented offhandedly, before handing me my jacket and my water bottle. Heading towards the kiss-and-cry, I slumped down, put on my jacket, twisted the cap open from the bottle, and took several deep gulps. The water refreshed me, and once I capped my bottle I noticed that the cameras were staring at me. Running my tongue over my dry lips absentmindedly, I lifted my teddy bear and made it wave at the camera. Smiling wearily, I stared, hoping that my results would come out soon.
As I stared at the cameras, I let out a small yelp when Yekaterina suddenly turned and embraced me. "103.97! You're currently in first place!" my coach yelled, as I stared at her, dazed. That certainly wasn't my highest score, but it was quite good for my first skate of the season.
Smiling again, I waved my arms enthusiastically. "Thank you!" I shouted out, not quite sure who in particular I was thanking. Squeezing my teddy bear again, I turned to face Yekaterina and was about to open my mouth to speak when I saw the pile of flowers and stuffed teddy bears next to her. Horror written all over my face, I pointed shakily at the pile of things. "Are those seriously all the things that were just thrown out for me...?"
"Yes, you'd better believe it," Yekaterina huffed, before standing up and grabbing me by the arm. "Come, now. How long do you think they're going to let you sit in the kiss-and-cry, hmm? It's about time that we left." Taking a large bag that was placed next to the items, she started to pile the flowers and the bears in one by one. "Find a place for them. Better yet, rent a storage house and throw all of your stuffed bears in them. How many do you have now? Four hundred?"
"Before this competition, there were around three hundred and sixty-six bears," I mumbled, gathering up a few bears before placing them in the bag as well. When we were done, we headed back into the lounge room, and I collapsed into a recliner. "Ahh! As expected, figure skating really does take a chunk of energy out of you..."
As I lay in my recliner, I watched the nearby screen as Dusana from Czech Republic started her program. Her program was already several seconds in, and I could tell that she had been practicing for this very moment. Dusana's short program was a blur, but I caught sight of the Czech Viscet jumping with both arms raised, and the fur on the neck raised slighting in hostility. I was aware that I wasn't the only Viscet who would raise arms whilst jumping, but seeing Dusana do so right after me was irritating.
"Well, damn. The short program belongs to Dusana, alright," I mumbled to myself, eyes narrowing at the screen. True to my belief, the Czech Viscet ended up scoring 105.27, two points or so higher than I did. Clicking my tongue against the roof of my mouth again, I hummed in displeasure. I knew Dusana would end up popping in my face more so that she used to now that she scored a measly two points more, and I'd be lying to myself if I said that I didn't care in the least.
"There's still the free skate. There's still time to turn things around," I mumbled to myself, cracking a knuckle or two. Yekaterina placed a paw on my shoulder and pressed down. I wasn't sure if she was encouraging me or telling me to back down, but I wasn't going to go down without a fight.
