Being Free
Swoosh, Swoosh. Hope’s ice skates glided across the ground as she skated around the rink, faster and faster, gaining momentum, and launching into a perfect triple axel before landing with perfect form and grace. She had spent the whole afternoon skating her worries away, all her problems seeming to disappear with every twirl and jump she performed. This was her arena, the place where she could be herself, where she could be away from all the worry and stress that had been following her relentlessly the past couple of days. She was swamped with grades, and studying, and the pressure on her was so much she was sure she was going to explode! Thankfully, she was able to escape her disappointed parents for just a couple of hours.
“Whoo! She skates she glides, Hope Wilson in the house!” Her brother Freddie hooted from his perch on the bleachers. She glided to stop just before she hit the glass isolating the ice from the actual ground, as her brother approached her.
“Thanks for this Freddie, I needed it,” She said, expressing her immense gratitude. He had always been there for her, cheering for her when she won, and a shoulder to cry on for when she lost. It had been his idea to come up to the rink today, sensing that she needed to clear her mind for a bit.
“Ha! You didn’t need anything, everybody knows that you’re going to ace this competition tonight.” He said enthusiastically.
“I didn’t mean that and you know it” She said jokingly, “but I doubt it. There are going to be tons of great ice skaters out there! I don’t know if I’m prepared for this!”
“Come on! You should’ve seen yourself out there, you were amazing, in fact you were so good, I think you made some new enemies,” he said, pointing to a group of girls who were whispering and pointing at them in turn. She hid a smile and shook her head, Frankie was ridiculous.
“I know what you’re doing Frankie, go on, go be gross and flirt!” she said.
Frankie grinned sheepishly, and ran off to find his next conquest.
She turned her attention back to the rink, took a deep breath and began her routine from the top, the competition at the forefront of her mind. She honestly couldn’t believe that she was even eligible for this! Only a select few got into the program and she couldn’t believe her ears when she heard her name being announced over the loudspeakers. She had stood frozen amid the roar of the crowd, unbelieving that it had been her name that was announced.
