Dark Night

Hello

"Greg, Jane, Stan, frankly I'm not equipped to work with this more intensive plan," Brian Duval, Stan's coach said. I perked my head up. "I think that I've done what I can for Stan. If he wants to go farther, he's going to need a new and better coach." I could just picture my dad biting his lip the way he does when he's presented with a problem. And a big problem was that there weren't any other elite coaches in the area. I started biting my lip.

"I'm concerned about the cost of all of this," my mom said bluntly. "I know Stan loves skating and I think he's very good, but do you really think that he's good enough to take this farther?"

"I do," Mr Miller said seriously. "We haven't had a champion who really impacted popular culture for a couple of decades now, but we in the national team think that Stan has the potential to revive figure skating again and Stan could go very far in the sport, barring a career-terminating injury, of course. And the camera just loves him. If he's an Olympic champion, he could conceivably become a TV commentator, or coach or choreograph, if he's inclined, once his career on the ice is over. There are ice shows, of course, if he wants to skate professionally."

There was more talk about specifics, what Stan would need to get in order to serious. Finally, my dad asked, "Stan, what do you want to do? This would be a huge commitment on your part, so if you're not willing to put in the work, now's the time to put your cards on the table. It doesn't sound like you'll be able to have a normal high school experience, so factor that in too."

There was a silence as all the adults waited on Stan's answer. I erased a wrong calculation, but I knew what his answer would be.

"I know it's a lot to ask, Dad," Stan said tentatively. "But I love it. It's the best feeling in the world to be out on the ice. I'm willing to give everything I have." Somebody exhaled, loud in the silence.

"We're prepared to help out," Mr Warren said. "We can get Stan a sponsorship for his blades and boots, and the association is prepared to provide a stipend. There is also an exciting new program in California that Stan would be eligible for. Duke's Crossing is a town in the northern part of the state. They've got a new ice rink and there's a skating club there, which enables the skaters to get discounted ice time. Mikhal Petrov is moving there to be one of the club coaches." Huh. Petrov had retired maybe a decade ago as one of the most winning skaters in history. He was probably the best of the Russian legends and had taken up coaching. He'd stayed in Russia, though, so this move was interesting. "And his wife, Ekaterin Volkov, will be doing choreography for him. He's broken with the Russian figure skating organization, so this is a massive opportunity for us. They've got interest from several of the top US skaters as well as some from other countries. The club has a goal of providing coaches for all four disciplines, and a pairs coach is on board, with an ice dancing coach in discussion. It's going to rival the Olympic center in Colorado Springs in importance, if not surpass it." They started to give particulars about the set up: there were two high schools in Duke's Crossing, and one of them was prepared to work with the skating club to make it possible for the skaters to attend a normal high school. There were dance studios around, so Stan could take ballet to increase his flexibility and grace and expression, and it wasn't far to San Francisco, where there were excellent sports medicine doctors and facilities. It would be a terrific opportunity for my brother in terms of the magnitude of goodies at this club as well as the opportunity to befriend other elite skaters.

Didn't sound so awesome for me, though. I didn't want to go to California, leave all my friends. And there was this guy. My parents wouldn't let me go on dates unless it was in a group until I was sixteen, still a few months away, but he'd be in the group going to the movie tonight. His name was Heath, and I really liked him. I picked up my phone and slipped out the back door, going around to the side of the house, where I called my grandpa.