Chapter 25 #2
The arena erupted into applause, and Alisa seemed to release some of her aggression through the performance, which was overall well-executed.
She rose from her knees and glided toward the center, bowing in all four directions. As she did, she brushed the ice particles from her legs, shaking them off quickly, trying to leave the moment behind.
As she stepped off the ice, Arkadiy immediately gave her the pink protectors for her blades and patted her firmly on the back.
“Not bad, not bad,” he said calmly, and together they walked toward the Kiss & Cry area to await her scores.
Alisa was shaking her leg slightly, trying to calm it down, but her heart refused to slow. Meanwhile, the judges were reviewing slow-motion replays of her elements, deciding where to deduct points and where—if anywhere—to give credit.
A minute passed. Then another. Or maybe three.
Why are they taking so long?
And then the announcer finally spoke: “So, the scores for Alisa Voronkova…”
A pause.
“85.42.”
The arena broke into applause again. Alisa nodded with a faint smile, while Arkadiy added quietly, “Not bad, not bad… but you know you’ll be overtaken today.”
“I know,” Alisa hissed through her teeth, then leaned back slightly, forcing herself to relax in the moment. The program was done, there was nothing left to fix.
Alisa sat in her Team’s Box and watched the other skaters perform.
She was especially waiting for Tora’s program.
Her face remained expressionless, but her eyes carried something sharp—anger, fixation, refusal to look away.
Her nostrils flared slightly with restrained aggression, and her jaw stayed clenched as she waited for her girlfriend…
my girlfriend, my fucking rival… to step onto the ice.
She still couldn’t believe it.
How could she?
She wanted to scream, but she didn’t. She had to hold her expressions and posture. There were cameras everywhere, capturing everything. Alisa couldn’t afford to become a disgrace to her country, so she gritted her teeth, took a deep breath, and kept watching as the competition continued.
Her own program had been mostly successful, one fall had cost her valuable points, but she still had a strong technical base to fight back in the free skate, especially with multiple quadruple jumps in her arsenal. It wasn’t over yet.
Still, the thought lingered, tomorrow.
Training on the same ice with Tora before the free skate.
And in that moment, the thought was simple and sharp, and uncontrollable: She was so ready to kill her.
* * *
Tora stepped onto the ice with a smile and waved at the audience, and the arena immediately responded with cheers.
She skated toward the center of the rink where her program would begin, waiting for the music with an easy, almost playful confidence, sparkling with mischief and happiness at simply being at the Olympics.
Obsessed by Mariah Carey began to play.
Alisa’s eyebrows lifted sharply. Her mouth opened slightly.
Did she really choose this song? I’m shocked…
She crossed her arms and watched her opponent’s performance from the side, her gaze fixed and unblinking.
Everything had returned to normal, at least on the surface.
On the lyrics “Why are you so obsessed with me?”, Tora mirrored the phrase in movement, lifting her hands in front of her as she spun lightly with a bright smile, looking out across the arena.
The crowd erupted instantly. The reaction was overwhelming, simple gestures from Tora seemed to electrify the entire stadium. She was, undeniably, captivating.
She glided forward, tracing a clean circle on one foot, then turned smoothly backward, hands briefly covering her face as she arched slightly through the movement. She released the position, straightened, and with a light jump stepped into the next phrase of choreography.
She flowed across the ice, her skating was light and continuous, each step riding the edges with control. With her arms lifted above her head, she turned like a ballerina, then transitioned backward, building speed toward her first jump.
She set into rotation and launched into a triple Axel. It was difficult to fully track in real time, but she landed it cleanly, immediately flowing out with a smile.
Alisa felt it sting, Tora didn’t even break her expression.
The crowd applauded after every element. It was unlike anything that usually happened like the arena had already chosen its favorite. She had, in a way, already won them over simply by that effortless charm.
Tora continued forward into a swallow position, lifting her free leg high and then transitioning smoothly into a Biellmann position, drawing a wave of excitement from the audience.
She skated past the judges with a bright, composed smile, acknowledging them briefly before preparing for her second jump.
The triple Lutz came next, executed cleanly. The applause returned instantly.
Alisa mentally tallied the elements, calculating under her breath, and slowly realized the uncomfortable truth, it already looked like she was falling behind.