Skating Showdown

by Jake Maddox

  For the next twenty minutes, Grace worked on her routine. She practiced her jumps and barely wobbled on her landings. She spun effortlessly. But then she made the mistake of looking at Lauren’s rink. Her jumps were perfect. She even did a flip jump, easily rotating a full turn in the air.

  Grace scowled. When she had tried that jump, she’d almost twisted her ankle. Her good mood started to disappear.

  Coach Roberts immediately noticed. “We still have forty-five minutes left of practice,” he said. “Stay focused.”

  Grace nodded. She sped across the ice with her arms open wide. When the music slowed, she did her camel spin on cue. She moved to do the catch foot, but as she did, she caught a glimpse of Lauren out of the corner of her eye. Grace immediately lost her footing and stumbled.

  “Grace, focus!” her coach yelled again.

  “I’m trying,” she mumbled. But even as she said it, her eyes followed Lauren’s perfect jumps.

  Coach Roberts looked irritated. “Let’s take it from the beginning,” he said.

  Grace got into position and started again. She wanted to do well. She pulled her arms in tight to get extra speed on her spins, but Lauren’s music was stuck in her head. When it came time for the Salchow, Grace tripped on the ice.

  “Let’s call it a day,” said Coach Roberts.

  They couldn’t be done already! “But we have thirty minutes to go,” Grace said, looking at the clock.

  “There’s no point in practicing for another thirty minutes when your head isn’t in it,” Coach Roberts said. “We’ll try again tomorrow.”

  Grace opened her mouth to argue, but she knew her coach was right. She slumped her shoulders and skated to the bench to change out of her skates.

  Grace grabbed her duffel and headed for the door. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Lauren watching her. Grace turned away. When she turned back, Lauren was focused on her routine again. Just like Grace should have been.

  CHAPTER 5

  AN UNWELCOME OFFER

  Two days later, Grace still couldn’t seem to focus. She sat in the school cafeteria and picked at her sandwich while her friends talked about the River City Winter Festival. Grace would have joined in, but she was too distracted.

  What’s the point of competing when Lauren is so much better than I am? she thought.

  “Hey,” someone said, sitting down beside her. “Can I talk to you a second?”

  Grace looked up and saw Lauren. “I guess,” she said, shrugging. It’s not like I’m doing anything besides feeling sorry for myself, she thought.

  “I’ve been watching you on the ice,” said Lauren.

  Grace looked at her in surprise. Why was Lauren watching me? she wondered. To see how much better she is?

  “So?” Grace said.

  “I noticed that you were having trouble with a couple of your jumps the other day. I think I might be able to help,” Lauren said.

  “Why would you want to help me?” Grace snapped.

  “I just thought I could give you some tips, and you —” began Lauren.

  “I don’t need tips from you,” Grace interrupted.

  Lauren looked surprised at Grace’s tone. “I didn’t mean —” she started to say.

  “Forget it,” said Grace. She picked up what was left of her sandwich and walked out of the cafeteria.

  It’s bad enough I have to see how much better she is on the ice, Grace thought. I don’t need her gloating at school, too.

  * * *

  Coach Roberts could tell something was bothering Grace as soon as she arrived at practice that afternoon. “What’s with the long face?” he asked.

  “Lauren stopped by my table at lunch today,” Grace told him. “She wanted to rub in how much better than me she is.”

  As she spoke, Grace grabbed her skates from her bag and angrily tugged them on.

  Her coach frowned. “Really?” he said. “That doesn’t sound like Lauren at all.”

  Grace tugged on her laces and one snapped. “Shoot!” she said. “Nothing is going right today.”

  “Maybe this isn’t a good day to practice,” Coach Roberts said.

  Grace’s eyes stung with tears. “You think I can’t do it,” she said. “Just like Lauren.”

  Coach Roberts sat next to Grace on the bench. “I know you can do it. You’re the only one who seems to think you can’t,” he said. “You psyched yourself out from the moment you met Lauren. Patricia told me Lauren thought she could help you with jumps, and —”

  Grace shook her head. “I don’t want her help,” she insisted, wiping away her tears. “I don’t need it.”

  Coach Roberts sighed. “You used to love skating,” he said. “You need to get that back. Take a few days off. Make sure this competition is something you still want to do. Don’t come back to the ice until you know if you even want to skate again.”

  Grace wanted to tell Coach Roberts she couldn’t afford to take time off. She didn’t need the time off. But she could tell from his expression that he wasn’t going to budge. Instead, she slung her duffel bag over her shoulder and walked toward the door.

  But as she walked out of the rink, Grace realized Coach Roberts was right. At the moment, she didn’t want to skate at all.

  CHAPTER 6

  KNOWING WHAT YOU WANT

  Grace spent the next few days moping. She hid the duffel bag that held her skates in her closet so she wouldn’t have to think about skating. In school, she couldn’t focus and avoided Lauren.

  After school one afternoon, Grace looked over at the closet door her duffel bag was hidden behind. She thought about the skating gear stored inside. She did barefoot crossovers on her carpet and missed the feel of her skates.

  Grace tried pushing away thoughts of skating, but it was no use. Skating was what she loved to do. It made her happy. She didn’t want to give it up.

  At dinner that night, she explained the situation to her parents. “What should I do?” she asked.

  “Grace, this isn’t our decision to make,” her dad said. “What do you think you should do?”

  Grace pushed the food around on her plate. “I miss it,” she said.

  “Well, then, that’s your answer,” said Grace’s mom.

  “But what about Lauren?” Grace asked.

  “What about her?” her dad replied. “I thought you said she offered to help.”

  “That’s what she said,” Grace said slowly. But she wondered if Lauren could have really meant it.

  Why would she want to help me? Grace wondered. I’m her competition.

  “Besides,” said her mom, “you need to think about what you want. It doesn’t matter what anyone else is doing.”

  Grace nodded. She knew her parents were right. It sounded just like what Coach Roberts had told her. “Then I know what I want,” she said. “It’s what I have always wanted. To skate.”

  CHAPTER 7

  A GREAT IDEA

  Coach Roberts was waiting for Grace when she arrived at the rink the next day. “I was hoping you’d come to this decision,” he said. “I added more spins to the routine to make it more fun. You up for it?”

  “Definitely,” said Grace. She looked to the next rink and saw Lauren practicing. She tried to push her worries out of her head. She thought about what her mom said. It’s about what I want, not about anyone else, she reminded herself.

  “From the top,” Coach Roberts said as he turned on the music.

  Grace skated across the ice, crossing her ankles in time to her music. She aced the camel spin and even nailed the Salchow.

  “That’s the Grace I know!” Coach Roberts shouted above the music.

  Grace grinned. It felt good to be back on her game. She’d missed skating like this. She did the catch foot camel spin, and Coach Roberts clapped.

  “Let’s try the two extra spins
now,” her coach called across the ice. “We haven’t done them in a while, but I’m sure you’ll be fine. The first is a sit spin, and the second is the layback spin. The most important thing in these spins is centering. Find a spot to focus on so you don’t get dizzy.”

  Grace let the music fill her head and told herself to center. She skated back to the center of the ice, gaining momentum for the sit spin. Then she crouched low, almost touching the ice. She raised her right foot off the ground and spun with her arms extended in front of her.

  “Very nice,” Coach Roberts called. “Now the layback.”

  Grace nodded. This time, she started upright. She bent her right leg high behind her. She arched her back and lowered her head back so it looked like it was reaching for the skate.

  When she finished, she heard applause again, but when she glanced over at the edge of the rink, it wasn’t just Coach Roberts standing there. Lauren was with him. Grace’s body stiffened.

  “You do great spins,” said Lauren.

  Grace searched Lauren’s face to see if the other girl was making fun of her, but she only saw encouragement in Lauren’s eyes.

  “Thanks,” said Grace. She shuffled back and forth on her skates. “Your jumps are amazing,” she finally said.

  “Thank you!” said Lauren. “If we could just put the two of us together, we’d win the competition for sure.”

  Grace saw Coach Roberts and Coach Patricia exchange looks.

  “Now that’s a great idea,” said Coach Roberts.

  CHAPTER 8

  PAIRING UP

  Grace flew through her front door after practice. She couldn’t wait to tell her parents about Coach Roberts’s great idea.

  “Well, this is a nice change,” Grace’s dad said when he saw her smiling face. “Did Lauren miss a jump or something?”

  “Dad!” Grace said at the same time her mom hollered, “Frank!”

  “Kidding! Kidding!” her dad said, laughing. “What’s up?”

  “Coach Roberts thought both Lauren and I could win the competition,” she explained. “There’s nothing in the rules that says we can’t do a joint routine. With Lauren’s great jumps and my awesome spins, there’s no way we’d lose.”

  Grace’s mom and dad grinned. “Teamwork. Imagine that,” Grace’s mom said with a smile.

  Grace blushed. “I know I’ve been kind of a pain,” she said. “I forgot why I started skating to begin with. I just got so jealous. Lauren really wanted us to help each other. That’s why she offered to help me with the jumps.”

  “We’re glad you’re back on track,” her dad said, “and that you girls found a way to work things out.”

  “Now, I have to build up my strength. What’s for dinner?” said Grace.

  “Broccoli, chicken, rice, and salad,” Grace’s mom answered.

  “Great! I’ll have double portions of everything,” said Grace. She already couldn’t wait to get back to the rink. She knew she and Lauren were going to tear up the ice.

  CHAPTER 9

  TWO HEADS ARE BETTER THAN ONE

  Grace and Lauren practiced together every morning and afternoon for a week. Coach Roberts was right. Having them work together showcased both of their best skills.

  Grace wasn’t jealous of Lauren anymore. She was grateful for Lauren’s tips, and glad she could teach Lauren something too.

  The day of the competition, Grace arrived at the rink a few minutes early. Lauren came running in at the same time.

  “Hi!” said Grace, smiling at her new friend. She couldn’t believe that just a few weeks ago she hadn’t wanted to talk to Lauren at all.

  “Hi!” Lauren greeted her. “Are you nervous?”

  Grace thought about all their practices and how far she’d come. She thought about how great skating with Lauren was. “Nope,” she said.

  “Me neither!” Lauren said happily. “Didn’t I tell you we’d motivate each other?”

  “Did you say that?” Grace asked, laughing.

  They ran through their routine one last time before the competition. Everything went off without a hitch.

  “We nailed it!” Grace said happily. “That was perfect!”

  Lauren smiled. “Yeah, we did!” she said. “If we do it the same way in the competition, we’ll knock everyone’s socks off.”

  “Or skates,” Grace said, giggling.

  CHAPTER 10

  WORKING AS A TEAM

  As she waited for the competition to start, Grace scanned the crowd for her parents. She spotted them in the first row. They waved and gave her a thumbs-up.

  Grace watched nervously as the first competitor took the ice. “She’s really good,” Grace said as the skater glided across the rink. She performed a variety of jumps and spins.

  “Definitely, but your spins are harder,” Lauren said. “And she wobbled a little on the jumps.”

  Finally, it was their turn to skate. Coach Roberts and Patricia both wished them luck, and Grace and Lauren took their places on the ice.

  When the music started, Grace did her mohawk sequence while Lauren performed a jump combination. The girls glided across the ice and performed swizzles and crossovers.

  Then Grace broke away to do her catch camel and sit spin. She had been practicing her Salchows all week with Lauren’s help. She knew she could do it. Grace flew into the air for a double Salchow and landed effortlessly.

  Lauren went into the Axel. It was the hardest jump of their routine, and Grace couldn’t do it. Lauren pushed herself off the ice with her right foot. She rotated one and a half turns in the air before landing on her left foot. It was perfect.

  The crowd cheered as their routine came to an end. Grace and Lauren grinned at each other as they skated off the ice to wait for the results.

  “That was great, girls!” Coach Roberts said as they sat down to watch the other competitors.

  When the last skater finished, everyone waited for the judges’ scores. The results could not come fast enough.

  “I’m so nervous,” Grace whispered to Lauren.

  “We did the best we could,” Lauren said.

  The crowd grew quiet as the head judge stepped up to the microphone. “First, I’d like to congratulate all of our skaters on their wonderful performances,” he said. “You were all great. And, now, the results you’ve been waiting for.”

  Grace squeezed Lauren’s hand as the judge read off the names of the second- and third-place winners. The crowd cheered as the skaters accepted their medals.

  The judged cleared his throat as he got ready to announce first place. “First place goes to a unique routine that included not only a high level of difficulty, but also the ability to work together as a team,” the judge said. “Congratulations to Grace White and Lauren Smith! Girls, please come up and accept your medals.”

  Grace squealed. She and Lauren jumped up and hugged before running up to get their medals.

  “I already know what I’ll be doing for next year’s competition,” Grace said, smiling at Lauren.

  “Oh, yeah?” Lauren asked.

  “Yep. An Axel,” Grace said. “And I’m going to need my teammate to help make it happen.”

  AUTHOR BIO

  Margaret Gurevich has wanted to be a writer since second grade. She has written for many magazines and currently writes young adult and middle grade books. She lives with her husband, son, and two furry kitties.

  ILLUSTRATOR BIO

  Katie Wood fell in love with drawing when she was very small. Since graduating from Loughborough University School of Art and Design in 2004, she has been living her dream working as a freelance illustrator. From her studio in Leicester, England, she creates bright and lively illustrations for books and magazines all over the world.

  GLOSSARY

  competition (kom-puh-TISH-uhn) — a contest of some kind

  dedicated (D
ED-i-kay-tid) — fully committed to something

  exhibition (ek-suh-BISH-uhn) — a public display

  motivate (MOH-tuh-vate) — to encourage someone to do something

  patience (PAY-shuhnss) — the ability to put up with problems and delays without getting angry or upset

  pivoted (PIV-uht-id) — turned suddenly in a different direction

  routine (roo-TEEN) — a set of moves a skater performs

  sequence (SEE-kwuhnss) — the following of one thing after another in a fixed order

  DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

  1. Talk about how the relationship between Grace and Lauren changed from the beginning of this story to the end.

  2. Why does Grace’s coach tell her to take a few days off from skating? Do you think he made the right decision? Talk about your answer.

  3. Why is Grace so reluctant to let Lauren help her? Talk about how you would have behaved if you were Grace.

  WRITING PROMPTS

  1. Have you ever had a rival when it comes to sports or something else? Write about what happened and how you resolved things.

  2. Grace’s first impression of Lauren isn’t a good one. Write about a time your first impression of someone was different from what that person was actually like.

  3. Write about Grace and Lauren’s first meeting from Lauren’s point of view. How do you think it was different? How was it the same?

  FAMOUS FEMALE FIGURE SKATERS

  Dorothy Hamill: Known as “America’s Sweetheart,” Dorothy Hamill began figure skating on a pond behind her grandparents’ house when she was eight years old. During her career, Hamill was known for her graceful jumps and excellent technical skating abilities. In 1976, she took home the gold medal for figure skating in the XII Winter Olympic games in Austria and went on to become the most sought-after skater in history.