1: The Breaking Point
Three Weeks Before National Winter Showcase
Alexei stalked out of the rink, his face unreadable, jaw locked tight like he was holding back the rest of himself from spilling out. His bag bounced against his shoulder with each determined step.
“Alexei!” Lina’s voice echoed down the corridor. “Alexei, wait!”
He didn’t stop.
She chased after him, breath catching, boots clicking sharply on the concrete. “Stop, you don’t want to do this.”
Alexei finally turned, his green eyes cold but tired. “There’s nothing left to say. I am not doing this charade any longer. I quit.”
Lina took a step closer, her heart pounding. “Alexei, this is craziness. The National Winter Showcase is less than a month away. Let’s sit down and talk this out. Don’t do something you’re going to regret later.”
“There’s nothing to talk out.” His voice was flat. He slung his bag higher onto his shoulder and stepped back. “I quit. Good luck.”
And with that, he walked away, out of the hallway, out of the partnership, out of the fragile peace they’d barely managed to hold together.
I'd love to hear more about what you think of the story here if that's cool :) . Inkitt is a great site for reader feedback and communication :) . Since you mention how much you like the story it would be great to hear what exactly you liked about it since you mentioned you read the whole thing, right? :)
thanks for the offer but I rather keep it to Inkitt. Sometimes people will reach out to me, pretending they're reading my story just to try to sell/scam me leading me to some offsite link. Here on Inkitt everything is transparent. I feel pretty peaceful here :)
I like how you put the reader immediately in the setting and the conflict. And I really like how you don't use dialogue tags, instead using action beats and sensory details to show who's talking. It's a personal style choice that I love to see 😄