Crossing Blades - 4. Chapter 4

Heavily supported by her crutches she walked along the little padded walkway that the nurses had set up for her. She reached the end of the walkway and sat down on the chair.

‘I did it.’ Kathryn beams.

‘Congratulations sweetie.’ The nurse giggled. ‘You have a visitor.’

Ellie walked into the room and gave Kathryn a hug.

‘Hello darling. How are you doing?’ Ellie asked.

‘I’m great. Learning to walk. I know I can do it.’

‘I’ve come to tell you something.'

‘What?'

‘I’ve given Alesha your place in the regionals.’

‘What? She can’t even skate.’

‘She is my only hope. Sorry.’

There was a tense silence.

‘I should leave I’m sorry.’ Ellie quickly walked towards the door as Kathryn tried to stand with her crutches but fell onto the floor and started to weep. All her dreams were out of the window then. Out of the window.

‘I guess its back to square one.’ She just couldn’t find the confidence to walk again.

God how she hated the girl that broke her.

‘Come on dear. You can do it.’ The Nurse pouted.

‘I can’t. I just can’t.’ She began to sound like a whiny child…

‘Just don’t make me’. She uttered…

**

Ellie had skated out onto the ice showing Bruce a demonstration of one her speciality twirls and he took notes in detail.

‘Ellie, so I cross my right foot round…’

‘No.’ She shouted. ‘Like this.’ She demonstrated. She was getting much more stressed as the time for the competition was looming and none of them were ready.

Her star player, Bruce hadn’t even learnt his routine.

The door opened and there he was. His beauty wasn’t to be challenged.

His name was Roberto.

Ellie was shocked. She had never expected to hear from him again…

‘Roberto…’

‘Ellie. It has been too long since I skated. Do you have room for one more?’

‘Of… Of course I do… Do you have your own skates.’

‘Of course I do.’ He grabbed a pair from his bag, slightly rusted. ‘Used them in my last competition. You know I won with all 6.0’s’. He smiled. ‘Only person in a solo competition from the local area to do so.’

Bruce skated over to the edge and looked at him ‘Wow… I’ve heard so much about you.’

‘Shush. I am not here to be treated like a celebrity. I am just here to skate and enjoy myself.’ He put his skates on quickly and jumped over the edge of the rink border and started to skate with such a majestic style.

Roberto glanced after finishing his routine ‘So I hear regionals are next week?’

Ellie responded ‘Of course. I know they can all do it.’

‘As your coach always used to say to me, Ever since your foot touched the ice, you know that you are home. Guys just think about that.’.

After about an hour of talking, they were finished. And Roberto left without saying goodbye and Ellie was just stuck in a state of shock.

He had given the confidence with the training that she was a good coach.

She just wished that Kathryn would make it to the competition…

As everyone else was wishing.