Leaving Tracks (8 page)

“You should. I think, just fr
om what I’ve seen, you’d be great.” Hadley guzzled the rest of her coffee and set the cup in the sink. “Come on, let’s get started. Where’s your music?”

I
handed her a CD case. “It’s there. Both short and free as you requested. And I have these.” I handed her the papers I brought along. “I figured you’d probably want them.”

She studied the papers
I handed her as we climbed down the stairs into the rink space. I’d taken several of the skills tests already. My basics were done and I was halfway through my free skate tests.

I knew my
membership was valid and I was associated with the club in Fergus Falls to the north. That wasn’t surprising as Wheaton didn’t have a registered club–I knew Hadley had been associated with Alexandria’s club until her move to Georgia.

I
was skilled, but not as skilled as she had probably hoped. No matter. She would let me know what she thought when this was over.

“Well.” Hadley smiled and I didn’t like the way it looked even though it seemed innocent enough
. “Paper is good,” she said, “but let’s see what you can really do.” She tip toed up and kissed my cheek lightly. “Good luck.”

I
sat cross
-legged on the judge’s table with my clipboard and a very sharp pencil. The pencil was being tapped idly against the pressed fibrous board. He wasn’t what I expected.

I had worn the shorts on purpose to see his reaction. I wouldn’t be cold in the rink–the temp was kept at sixty and the ice at twenty
-four. Since I wasn’t skating, I wouldn’t get the chill of the ice directly thus the shorts. I had expected questions, at the very least a comment on my prosthetic. I hadn’t expected the slap of attraction and lust. In the almost two years since the accident, no one had looked at me that way.

I wasn’t sure if he had wanted me to see the brief flash of fire in his eyes when I stepped back from the light kiss, or notice that he swallowed nervously before meeting my eyes in the kitchen. I wasn’t sure how I felt about it. My toes, of all things, had tingled with his intense stare. And that tingle had spread as his eyes rose back up over my body. I was used to being studied, critiqued even. I would have to think it over in greater detail later. If I coached him
, attraction and acting on it could jeopardize his chances. I would have to eventually discuss that with him if we made it that far.

He’d have to take his level five tests by December,
I calculated reviewing his papers once again, and refocused on the task at hand. That was if we wanted any shot for him to be ready for Regional and State this season. He was currently ranked as a novice and that just wouldn’t work. I wished–slightly–he was already a Junior.

If he had competed at his lower levels
, I would have allowed him to continue competing as we built up but he needed to start from the gate as the best he could be since he was starting so late. It would be in time for Junior World but that would be a lot of pressure for a first real competition.

He’d have to take his level six
tests no later than May to skate in the next season as a Senior skater. This meant he had five months to learn and refine skills before the test. He could be a Junior skater in the Olympics but without the triple Axel, he wouldn’t win in the top three in my opinion. He needed that triple Axel before May. Not impossible. Hard, but not impossible.

I
had showed him how to latch and unlatch the door in the wall for the ice before I came and sat down. I needed some time to create his paper file that I would keep regardless if I coached and it gave him the time to focus and get ready to skate.

The panel to the audio system was built into the judge’s table, and
I popped in his CD and queued it up but didn’t hit play. After what I considered a decent amount of time for him to lace his skates up, I flipped a switch.

“Skaters
, please take the ice for your six minute warm up.” An automated voice requested.

I
saw North’s surprise before he shrugged, removed his blade safeties and stepped out onto the ice. If he were surprised by an automated voice, the scoreboard would really surprise him.

I
had no idea what he was skating to, nor had he provided me with a skate sequence. If he did well, I’d go over the paperwork with him later so he would understand it. The CD he had handed me simply said “Short–Free”.

I
couldn’t figure it out from his outfit either. He wore black pants–fat surprise there–and a semi loose white romance shirt. It was buttoned completely to the top and surprisingly had a cleverly tied scarf around his neck in bright red. I supposed back in the day that it would have been called a cravat. I hadn’t noticed when he applied the makeup but he had some smoky eye thing going that made the rest of his untouched face appear lifeless.

North
made a few laps, did some footwork, but did a pretty good job of keeping his skill and routine under wraps. I would know when he allowed me to know. I noted that he skated better on my uniform ice than he had on the lake.

“The
six minute warm up has ended. Skaters, please clear the ice.” The automated voice informed.

I
watched North shake his head and skate towards the door to step out. He shook his feet off, replaced the blade protectors, and then stepped out. He did a few squats and swung his arms around still limbering up.

I
flipped the switch for the other automated voice.

“
Skater please take your position on the ice for the short program.” It announced.

North rolled his shoulders, and then repeating his warm up routine–took o
ff the protectors, and stepped out, closing the gate behind him. He made a single lap, seemed to reevaluate the space before he took position within the ring of my monogram.

I
hit play and the music began. I recognized the boy band pop song right away. It was hard not to since it had been one of my favorites at one point in time.

The music video had the
boy band in a haunted house of some kind and the members had been dressed up as different paranormal creatures. Leave it to North to pick the vampire. But it was the simplest costume to reproduce. Points for simplicity and class.

With the start of the next season
, the music would be allowed. Currently, not. Vocal music was strictly prohibited. Something else I’d have to talk to him about.

I
continued to write, and watch at the same time. A skill I had mastered when I taught a class for a few months. I’d have to decipher it once North was done, but for the moment, it was sufficient.

It was only because of North’s position on the ice that
I saw the main door open and several people walk in. I didn’t see who, as I continued to track North across the frozen water and since they didn’t seem interested in interfering, I ignored them for the moment.

The music was loud. It wasn’t something
I had considered when I set up the audio system for this. I supposed it would have attracted attention.

He wasn’t as bad as
I had originally presumed. There were some raw moments–his hand came down on the ice landing a triple Lutz–but nothing that couldn’t be refined. His footwork was clean and very precise.

When he finished
, the applause drew both his and my eyes. Avala, Morgaine, Glory, and surprisingly Wesley sat in the little bleachers alongside the rink. North bowed to them, then turned and bowed to me before leaving the ice.

I
saw Wesley rise, but Glory touched his arm and gestured over to me. Leave it to my sister to explain–probably briefly–the process.

I
reset the switches in preparations for the long program before I studied my clipboard and reinterpreted my abbreviations and points. After doing the math, I calculated lowest score and highest score from mine, since I knew my score was always a few points below a regular IFS judge. Then I calculated an overall average before entering it all into the automated system.

“The scores for the short program.”
It announced.

I
watched North’s face come up in surprise. I noted he had already started to change. It was a good sign that he assumed he’d be doing the long program and began to change.

The cravat had already been removed and the collar opened up. Ice blue gloves covered his hands and he was in the process of knotting a scarf in the same color around his waist.

“The skater has earned a fifty two point two six in the short program.” The scoreboard behind me split the score in technical and component scores with the deduction number and total.

North winced and rolled his shoulders
and studied the score while wiping his eyes mostly clear of the smoky makeup. I liked the look on his face. He took the low score as a challenge to do better.

I
hit the switch for a shortened warm-up. He was already loose but since I had notes I wanted to make I needed the brief time.

“Skaters
, please take the ice for your two minute warm up.”

I
used the two minutes to clip on a fresh score page, check the sharpness of my pencil and make some observation notes on the short program sheet. I didn’t watch North stretch out a second time. Instead, I watched the people in the bleachers once my notes were done.

Morgaine was talking to Wesley who was watching North. Glory was leaned back, casually relaxed as Avala spoke to her. She was nodding to something then shrugged.

“The two minute warm up has ended. Skaters, please clear the ice.” The automated voice informed. I reset the switch so I wouldn’t forget to do it later.

“Skater please take your position on the ice for the free program.”

North was nodding to himself as he took position. He stood in an almost squat with his right knee resting on the heel of left skate. And his hands crossed over his face. The moment the music started so did he.

I
couldn’t help but smile at Vivaldi’s “Winter” on piano and I couldn’t recognize the other instruments but it was beautiful. Then not quite a minute in it softened into… I hummed along recognizing the song but not quite pulling the words to mind until the bass or cello entered the melody. The song from the new Disney movie, I realized. The one that just won the recent awards. The medley of Disney and Vivaldi was beautiful and North used its fast pace to his full advantage.

I
almost forgot to score as I watched. He had certainly taken the low score to heart and was trying his damnedest to not repeat it. The quad triple combination was a surprise. Many Senior skaters couldn’t manage a quad, and even though it was only a quad loop, it had been flawless. He had touched the ice on a second triple Lutz again, but the score from quad loop-triple Salchow combination would buffer the point deduction. When Vivaldi closed out the song, I already knew what my decision would be but I’d keep it to myself for the time being.

North bowed once more to his applause and to
me before skating off and sitting heavily into the chair close to the gate. I entered my numbers into the system and let the automated voice announce as I unfolded myself from the table and walked over to North.

“The scores for the free program,” the automated voice announced, “
the skater has earned one hundred and thirty four point seven five in the free program.”

I
saw North smile and nod. He should be pleased. It was a good score that many skaters never achieved. However, if he had the skills of a Junior skater he could have added ten to twenty more points to both scores.

Wesley
and Morgaine reached North before I was halfway across the space. I frowned at what looked like an intense argument between the brothers that Morgaine was trying to mediate. Wesley wasn’t having whatever Morgaine was calmly trying to explain, and North seemed to completely ignore his brother.

Everyone went silent when
I was within hearing distance. Wesley seemed furious with me but I couldn’t fathom why. North tilted his head and watched me but said nothing. They waited on me.

“If you don’t mind I’d like to go over North’s numbers with him,”
I said to the older siblings. “I’ve not eaten yet, so after I was going to come mooch from Avala.”

“It’s not mooching.” Morgaine retorted. “It’s your home too. I’ll let Avala know.” She grabbed Wesley’s arm and dragged him with her.

North stood and offered me his chair. “I’ll get another one. Hold on.” He disappeared for a moment into the gym then came back with another chair. He sat next to me and waited.

“I’ve got some score sheets here. Do you know what the abbreviations are?”
I began.

“Yeah, for the most part.” North answered and began unlacing his skates.

I sighed. “I’d really like you to pay attention.”

“Sorry, just want to put my boots back on since I’m done skating for today.”

I waited patiently for him to make the switch. “As I was saying,” I began again when he was done, “I’ve got some score sheets here. There are some numbers I think you’d like to see. As an IFS or USFS judge–I’ve been both briefly–my scores are always lower than the lowest of the other judges. I expect more I suppose. So I have my score here, and what I believe, and I’m pretty good at estimating, a regular judge’s scores, their lowest and their highest. Based on that, I also calculated the running average that would probably come from the other three to seven judges.”