The day has come for the Free Program event here at the Cup of China. This time, the Ladies event was before the Mens
Here I am, jogging the length of the backstage with my earbuds in. I'm determined today. So determined. Last night I decided that I need to beat Evgenia in the free no matter what. This program is vital to me
As I jog back and forth with "Requiem" playing on my phone, I can still hear someone jog up behind me
Yuzu
"Charlie-san" he calls from behind me, but I'm too mad and too concentrated right now to answer him. I play it off as an "Oh sorry my music was too loud, couldn't hear you" kind of thing and continue jogging
"Charlie-san" I hear again, this time I speed up a bit
I know it's kind of rude giving him the cold shoulder, but I need him to know I'm mad somehow. I continue running, hoping he gets the hint that I don't want to talk right now
"Charlie-san,please" I hear him call a third time
This time I turn around and pull an earbud out. I can hear the hurt in his voice as he calls my name. I know I wanted him to know I was pissed but I just can't leave him like that. My heart says so
"Yes?" I say trying not to sound mad
"I just wanted to wish you good luck on your free program. I know you can beat Evgenia" he says quietly
Oh sure he does. He probably told her the same thing didn't he?
"Thanks. Same to you" I said before shoving my earbud back in and turning around
"Wait! Charlie-san, your not mad are you?" He ask tentatively
"No, of course not" I reply, hoping he'll leave me alone
"Are you sure?" He asks again
"Yeah" I reply simply, turning around to continue jogging
I make my way back over to where Coach is and I begin warmup up with him
"Charlie, make sure you don't get too tight on the jumps ok? You need to retain your rank" he says
I don't need to be told twice as I spring into my triple toe loop
On the other end of the backstage, I can see Evgenia laughing with her Coach and then jumping into her double axel
"Don't worry about her, ok? Focus on yourself and the competition" Coach says when he notices me starring at her
I nod my head and begin stretching my legs
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"Ladies, please line up for your 6 minute warm-up"
"Good luck Charlie, I hope we end up on the podium together" Evgenia says turning to look at me as we stand together waiting to get on the ice
"Thanks, you too" I reply emotionless
It's almost hard to hate her since she's so sweet. Sickeningly sweet
I skate a lap around the ice forwards then backwards and proceed to practice my jumps
As I skate into my triple axel, I watch from the corner of my eyes to see Evgenia jump into her triple lutz combination, landing it smoothly
Now I know I need to beat her
This is war
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"The scores for Evgenia Medvedeva of Russia; 148.87. The total score is 225.72. She is currently in first place"
"Alright Charlie, don't let that distract you ok? I believe in you. You have the power to win this competition and come on top again, you hear me?" Coach stresses
I nod my head and skate off once I hear the announcer call my name
"Please welcome to the ice, the next competitor representing Canada; Charlotte Akagi!"
I push off of the boards, letting my blood red dress flow with the wind as I skate to middle of the ice
I got my new dress a few weeks ago after Skate Canada, letting go of the Armani dress Romano gave to me
The classical sound of Mozart fills the rink as I let the energy fill my body. Right from the get-go, I bring my body to the other end of the ice jumping into my triple toe triple toe landing effortlessly
I move down the ice and gear up for my triple axel, entering off a spread eagle, landing and letting my body go into an almost backwards spiral-like position
As I go to enter my first spin, I can see Evgenia and Yuzu chatting like they did during my short
Maybe this is her way of distracting me?
Whatever
This is war
And in war
You have to be cold to be Queen
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"Charlie, I said it once and I'll say it again. Wow" Coach laughs pulling me into a hug
"Thanks Coach, I really did put all my effort into that free" I say hugging him back
"Now I can't wait to see these scores. Huge I tell you. This free was absolutely phenomenal, I don't know how you did it Charlie" he says handing me my guards and my jacket
The two of us make our way over to the Kiss & Cry and await the results that are soon to come
In the mean time, the two of us wave to the cameras and I shake the bear that someone in the crowd tossed to me
"The scores please,for Charlotte Akagi of Canada..."
"Here we go Charlie" Coach says looking up at the score board
"...156.98. The total scores is 235.21; she is in first place. This concludes the Ladies free skate event"
"Wow" Is all I can say
"Wow indeed Charlie, you blew her away. Almost at least 10 points above her" he says pulling me into another hug
I walk back to the change rooms with Coach while Yuzu and Javi join us
"Great performance Charlie! Two golds in the bag for the Grand Prix circuit" Javi says raising my hand like they do in boxing
"Thanks for the love buddy!" I say pumping our intwined hands in the air
"Charlie-san! That was a perfect performance" Yuzu says, pulling me from Javi and bringing me into a hug
Just as I hug him back, I hear someone behind us
"Charlie! We're on the podium again together! Congrats on the gold"
Of course it's Evgenia
"Oh thanks Evgenia. Congrats to you too" I say pulling on a smile
I go to shake her hand when she pulls me forward and into a hug
"I always admired your skating Charlotte. You're lucky to have Yuzu. I know you said you guys aren't dating but I hope you guys get together" she whispers in my ear
She slowly pulls away and before she walks away she waves and says, "See you guys at NHK!"
I watch as she leaves our sight, her figure disappearing as she rounds the corner
Maybe she's not that bad