Ice, Rust and Steel

Chapter 1: Best In The World

I could not stop writing this chapter. As an ex-competitive figure skater, the events of the Olympics swirled around my mind. The story needed to be told and even though the names, places, dates had been changed the Olympics 2022 inspired this story.

Darla

"She is the best skater in the world right now. She has both technical and artistry and I'm very excited to see her short program next week. But for the team event tonight, she blew it out of the park," a famous commentator said on the TV. "Luna Trova is what we all live to see. The world is watching, and they cannot get enough of her."

There was a time when I watched this commentator in the Olympics myself. I was probably seven, and he stole the show, he was amazing, beautiful, talented. He made me want to try harder and now he was telling the world that I was the best, that I was a once in a lifetime skater. It made my heart soar with excitement.

"Luna, are you in there?" a knock on the door came, forcing my attention to turn away from the TV.

"Yeah, I'm here," I said as I turned the tv off, knowing that my coach Alyona would want me to stay away from it. It was just news, just drama, she told me, but I couldn't stay away. This news was about me, I was the best skater in the world, that was what everyone told me. I had spent 13 years training for this moment, skating since I was three to get here, to the Olympics.

The door opened to reveal my coach Alyona for the last five years. She was the one that found me training in a small down in Wisconsin and convinced me and my family to move to Michigan. My parents gave up their life because she promised us I would be the best in the world, and we believed her. After all those years of training, look where it got me, here, to the Olympics.

She smiled at me. "Were you watching replays of the team event?" she asked, her Russian accent still strong even though she had lived in the US for at least a decade.

I nodded shyly, unable to hide the lie. "I couldn't stay away."

Instead of telling me I shouldn't like she normally did, she just smiled. "Your program today was flawless. I'm proud of you."

Her words of affirmation lit a fire within me. She rarely complimented me and it made this night even better than it already was. She was proud of me and the work I put in. The whole US was proud of me, I gave them gold, the first gold medal of the games. All eyes were on me, and I knew I couldn't let them down.

"So I just wanted to check in with you about practice tomorrow. You should be on the ice by eight."

Practice ice times were already memorized, I knew when I should be there, but I would still let her tell me. I let her tell me everything because it got me this far already. "I'll be there."

She beamed at me as her phone rang. She pulled it out of her fur coat and answered with a hello. Quickly, her smile fell off her face as she started talking in Russian. "I'll be back later," she told me as she walked out of my room to tend to the call.

With a sigh, I got up from the bed and looked at my reflection in the mirror. My heavy competition makeup still hung on my face, reminding me what I just went through. At 16 I never thought I would be the best in the world. My long program was always my strength and tonight, I showed that. The world would not forget about Luna Trova, not any time soon.

In the commotion of the skate and the events afterwards, I just managed to change from my competition dress. Everything else remained, telling a story of what I would never forget. Knowing I should go to bed soon, I carefully I pulled my brown hair out of the tight bun I wore, causing it to fall around my face.

"I did a good job today," I said to my reflection.

All the sacrifices, all the missed friendships, empty social life, calorie counting, injuries, were for this moment. It was all worth it to be here.