****
Time dragged at an agonizing rate as
we waited for our turn to skate. I paced back and forth in a straight line
between Sergei and Chris, blocking out their idle chatter. Our choreography ran
through my mind, and I tried to channel the emotion of each move. Sergei and I
had created the program together one night at the rink when we’d had the ice
all to ourselves. We’d played the entire thirty-seven minutes of Rachmaninov’s Piano Concerto No. 2 and just skated
around, feeling where the music took us, finding the right stanzas to explore. Every
second of the program had meaning to me, and I wanted to perform it perfectly
every time Chris and I skated.
Our team leader motioned to Sergei, so
he ushered Chris and me rinkside. I faced away from the ice so I wouldn’t see
how Maddy and Damien were skating, but I couldn’t shut out the loud cheers. The
more I heard, the more jittery my legs became.
Chris stepped in front of me and
grasped both of my hands. “We’re gonna nail this.”
I bobbed my head up and down, focusing
on Chris’s warm hands instead of the deafening applause surrounding us. We can do this. We WILL do this.
A minute later, we shed our skate
guards and took the ice. Adrenaline dulled my back pain, and I zoomed around
the rink, ears on alert for the Canadians’ marks. I’d studied all the numbers,
and I knew our top score for the season. Would Maddy and Damien top it?
The announcer read the free skate
score and then gave their combined total with the short program. My neck tensed.
Two points higher than our season’s best. We were going to have to land the
quad to win.
I slowed my pace as Chris skated to my
side. We stopped before Sergei, and he gave us a confident smile.
“You’ve improved this program at every
competition, and you’re ready to take it another step right here, right now.”
Chris
and I both took deep breaths, and Sergei locked eyes with each of us. “Show
them your determination. Show them your hearts.”
****
Jennifer, I am having Sergei Withdrawal Syndrome!!!
ReplyDeleteHehe! I've been slacking lately and haven't written any new Sergei scenes. Are there any moments you'd like to see? Maybe some new ideas will get me going :)
DeleteI know it's not in the book, but when Sergei first meets Emily.
ReplyDeleteCould it be anything from book 2? I would like to see Sergei's reaction to seeing Elena and Liza in Russia. And the wedding scene. :)
It can be anything in the books or not in the books :) I've had the first meeting between Sergei and Emily in the back of my mind for awhile. I really need to do that one! I'll start thinking about the ones from Edge of the Past, too!
DeleteYeah!!!
Delete