Figuring it Out

T W O | T W I Z Z L E S

Twizzles: A multirotational one foot turn in figure skating. In Ice dancing, it needs to be in synch with one's partner    

Rosaura stood on the top of the empty bleachers watching the hockey practice on the ice. She knew that her and Val were meeting up later however, she loved watching the Zamboni clean the ice and, so she had opted to come at an even earlier time then was required. Originally, Rosaura stood outside the practice venue but the owner, a dear friend of her coach Marceau, had let her in and allowed her full access to the facilities.

So, Rosaura had wandered around before ending up in the bleachers watching the London Knight's hockey team. They were running three-on-three drills and trying to get the puck past the goaltenders that stood on either side of the ice. Rosaura couldn't see their faces since they were shielded by helmets so the only way she could identify the players was through their jersey numbers on the back.

She could see that number twenty stood out from the rest of the group. He was fast, and quick on his feet. The other players would often need to double up on him. The coach blew the whistle twice and the players came to a halt.

"Time to pack up boys," she heard him say even from her distance.

Immediately there as a flutter of activity as the players made their way off the ice. However, a couple of them remained behind to pick up the nets and pucks that had been placed on the ice for practice. Among them was once again, number twenty. Rosaura was hoping to get a glance of him, but his helmet remained in tact until he disappeared into the locker room. She remained seated and watched the Zamboni driver come on the ice to begin cleaning the surface.

Only when she saw that all the players had gone into the locker room did she make her way down to the bleachers and begin to stretch. She was trying very hard to avoid meeting any of the players. Rosaura knew how to put a show on the ice but when it came to meeting people, she was very awkward.

Rosaura stretched her legs and that's when she heard a cough behind her. She spun around, almost face-planting into the ground because of her speed. In front of her stood a middle-aged man wearing a coaching jacket. Rosaura immediately knew that he was the team's coach.

He extended his hand, "Hi. It's nice to meet you. I'm Julian Reed—coach of the London Knight's."

Rosaura gave him an awkward smile before extending her hand to shake his. "It's nice to meet you. I'm Rosaura Simmons."

Julian laughed. "I of course know who you are. My daughters are huge fans of yours. They have been cheering for you to get the chance to go to the Olympics."

Rosaura smiled softly at his words. Thought she loved skating and it was her passion, she also loved inspiring young girls into doing something they loved. "That's the dream. You could bring your daughters around to one of our practices. I'm sure my partner wouldn't mind."

Julian beamed. "I'm sure they would love that."

Rosaura nodded. "I'll talk to my partner and get back to you then."

"That would be perfect."

He gave her one last smile before disappearing into the locker room with the rest of the players. Rosaura turned her attention towards the ice to see that it had been smoothed over. She slipped on her figure skates and removed the skate guards. Just as she was about to step onto the ice, she felt a breath on her right shoulder. "I hope you weren't about to get on without me."

Rosaura yelped in surprise as she nearly tumbled on the ice. Turing around she glared at her partner. "Valentin Semenov, that was not a nice thing to do!"

Val simply laughed at her before aiming to scramble her hair as he had done hundreds of times before. She tried dogging him to no avail. So, she was left to straighten out her now messy hair.

"Could you be a little less annoying sometimes?" she asked him in a rhetorical manner.

He laughed before he began lacing up his skates. "What would be the fun in that?"

Rosaura smiled at his comment. He always knew how to brighten her day. He had spent years cracking jokes and making Rosaura laugh. She had move many places, visited many cities, but one thing had remained constant in her life since the tender age of 8—her ice dance partner Valentin. He had been there for her when she couldn't adjust to life at school. Always watching over her, like a guardian angel.

"So, what were you doing here so earlier?" he asked.

Rosaura shrugged her shoulders, "I wanted to watch the Zamboni clean the ice."

One of Val's eyebrows quirked up. "Are you sure you didn't want to see the 'cute' hockey players practising?"

Rosaura shook her head even though she could feel her skin warming up. She had not come solely to the rink to watch the hockey players practice! She had just stumbled upon them and it wasn't her fault that the owner had let her roam freely.

"Don't be ridiculous," Rosaura replied trying to keep her voice calm.

Val only shook his head and said in a light teasing tone. "I could always find a way to introduce you to some of them."

Rosaura shook her head. "I don't have time for relationships. The nationals are only four months away and then it's on to the Olympics."

Val sighed before taking her hand in his. "Fine, I'll let the topic drop but only if you can beat be in a lap around the ice."

Rosaura barely had time to comprehend the words that had come out of his mouth before he was skating away leaving her behind. She laughed and joined him as well. By this time, she could see many of the hockey players exiting from the locker room. She could feel their gaze on her and Val and it made her feel very self-conscious. She had always had a hard time with people watching her which was very ironic because as an ice dance, she always performed in front of a crowd. However, the energy then was different because during the performance, she and Val both had a role to play and they were no longer themselves.

"The boys are staring," Val whispered into her ear.

She was about to say something in reply when she heard another pair of skates joining the ice. Looking up from the ground, she was relieved to see that Marceau, one of her two coaches had arrived. Val and her both skated towards him before greeting him with a hug.

"Ma chère," he said before giving a kiss on either check. "You're looking much better."

Rosaura nodded. Her muscles had been sore and tense which is why she couldn't perform the routine to perfection.

"Are you ready to try the free dance first?" Marceau asked.

Rosaura and Val both nodded and skated into position. When the music started, Rosaura blocked out every sound and solely focused her efforts onto Val. He was looking deep into her eyes as well, as if he could see a part of her soul. When the dance ended, both her and Val were out of breath. They turned to Marceau expectantly.

"It was better than last practice," he began. "Although you both need work on the twizzles. They aren't in unison. Remember to keep a straight line between the top of your head and the blade. Try it again."

Val looked at Rosaura before they went to the centre of the ice. Feeling that someone was staring at her, she looked up to meet the brown eyes of what she assumed was one of the hockey players. He was very handsome—was Rosaura's first thought. Her second thought was that she had just missed the music cue which meant they would have to start the dance all over again. Breaking her gaze from the stranger, she gave Marceau an apologetic smile before telling him to start the music over again.

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I haven't updated in a while because I was having some technical difficulty with Wattpad. This chapter is in honour of my favourite ice dancing pair, Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir winning their eighth ice dancing title. Please tell me if you like this book as always, votes and comments are appreciated.