Thin Ice

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JULES POV

I finish tying the laces of my skates, remembering to flip down my leg warmers.

I used to not wear leg warmers but ever since Kiara started wearing them and gave me one of her old pairs, I'm never seen skating without them.

My headphones slide down over my ears as I make my way over to the ice.

I slip my guards off and rest them on the edge of the wall and glide onto the ice.

The ice is slick and wet as the zamboni just went over it. Roy, the owner of the rink, must have just been here to open the place up.

He always lets me come in early to practice before school starts. I arrive at four, every morning. It gives me time to warm up, go over my routine once or twice, practice some skills, and still have time to get ready for school.

It doesn't take me much time to get ready for school because I don't care too much about how I look or how others see me. I mean, I live in a small town so everybody knows everybody. I have no one to impress.

I grab my phone from my pocket and scroll through my music until I find my competition song, "Young and Beautiful" by Lana Del Rey. I chose this song because it's really pretty and has a deeper meaning to it unlike my last couple of competition songs. It has a slow beat to begin with and then it speeds up when the chorus hits which is great when it comes to making up choreography.

I lay my phone on the edge of the wall and play my music, rushing back to the center to begin.

The first line of music plays and I fade out of my starting pose.

I immediately start gliding across the ice, taking slow graceful spins every other quick beat.

When the song begins to sing, I slightly force my body forwards as if I'm falling which turns into a spiral, still making sure to keep emotion in my face.

For the next couple of seconds, I skate half a lap around the ice, spinning and gliding on the outside edge of my skates with purpose.

As the chorus begins, my body changes direction and I do a quick backwards scratch spin into a lutz and then skate around the middle circle, gaining momentum.

When I'm in the center, I let my body begin a sit spin and then rise into a camel spin.

I break out of the spin as the bridge of the song begins.

My body runs freely, adding in some improv movements as before.

When the voice of the music changes, I complete a layback spin.

Thirty seconds of my routine, still left to choreograph. My coach is teaching me the rest of it later today but I need to fill in this empty space or else I'll feel incomplete.

I'm going to try an axle again..

My body releases a deep breath, allowing myself to relax before gaining speed.

I make sure my hands are in the correct position and the same for my feet.

My body skates forward, bringing my ankles closer together. I make sure I'm on the right outside edge of my skate.

I gain some confidence and then lift my right knee up into the air, jumping upwards.

My hands are placed downwards as I attempt to turn myself inwards to complete the spin.

As soon as I think I've done it correctly, I land on the ice, butt first.

"Ugh!" I scream, letting my voice echo throughout the empty rink. The sound bounces off each wall, circling back to where it first started.