Chapter 15 #2
It was an old saying, one that everyone in figure skating used before performances, because no one wanted to say “good luck” out loud and scare it away. But the blonde did it anyway.
Alisa took a deep breath, gathered all her courage somewhere inside herself and finally left the room.
The arena suddenly seemed huge. For one second there was only noise, voices, applause, the bright light above the ice, and then everything went quiet, and the announcer’s voice rang through the entire arena:
“Alisa Voronkova performs now on the ice!” The announcer said and the whole audience burst into applause.
Somewhere in the stands Lev and Hermann really were shouting louder than anyone else, and Alisa immediately noticed them because of that idiotic poster, on which they had somehow managed to print her face enormous and stretched wide, with such a serious expression that she looked less like a figure skater and more like some kind of Terminator who had come to destroy everyone in her path.
“Well, idiots… beloved idiots…” Alisa chuckled to herself. Her eyes stung for a second. But then she lifted her head high and stepped onto the ice.
She waved to the audience and slowly skated to the center of the rink. The arena immediately fell silent.
Alisa took her starting pose, with the smile of a warrior goddess who was going into battle and intended to win, and the second her hands rose and covered her eyes from the bright light, the music began.
Alisa entered the triple axel too early.
She understood it immediately, in the same second she pushed off the ice, when it was already impossible to change anything.
Too early.
In the air, her heart skipped a beat in horror.
For one endless second it seemed to her that she would fall, that now everything would collapse. But she landed on the right edge almost perfectly.
It was underrotated, but not much, just enough that Arkadiy would definitely notice it and hiss at her later on. Alisa clenched her jaw and skated on, because there was nothing else she could do.
The music and the program continued anyway and so did she.
By the middle of it, the arena had gone strangely quiet. At first, there had still been applause somewhere in the stands, someone clapping to the rhythm of the music, and then suddenly there was only the sound of her blades cutting across the ice and the music echoing under the loud speakers.
And she finally realized that for the first time no one was looking at her with pity. No one was thinking: poor girl, she used to skate in pairs, she probably won’t manage alone. No, now they were watching her seriously, especially the judges and the audience.
Today she was a rival, possibly a threat too. Maybe a someone who could really take that place. That realization made her chest tighten so hard she almost could not breathe.
But she finished the program.
She landed the last jump, spun the last spin, struck the final pose, and for one second remained frozen in the center of the ice, breathing so hard that she thought everyone in the arena could hear it.
Then the music ended and the applause crashed over her all at once. Alisa bowed automatically and then slowly skated off the ice toward the Kiss & Cry zone. Arkadiy and Dana were already waiting for her there.
Dana immediately grabbed her hand. Arkadiy said nothing at first, but he only looked at her, and that was somehow worse.
Alisa sat down between them and clasped her hands so tightly that her fingers hurt, she was the last skater, which meant that her score would decide everything.
The entire ranking.
Who would go to Beijing.
Who would stay here.
The highest score so far was 74.10. Alisa stared at the screen so hard that her eyes began to hurt.
The arena went quiet again.
“Alisa Voronkova…”
The announcer paused for one endless second.
“Seventy-one point forty.”
Third place.
For a moment Alisa did not understand since the numbers seemed wrong. They were too small and so far away.
Third.
Only third.
Which meant that maybe she really would not go anywhere after all.
Beside her, Arkadiy suddenly smiled and patted her shoulder.
“Well done,” he said firmly. “You skated almost cleanly, not counting the under rotation on the axel, and the quadruple lutz was not perfect either, but we’ll work on it, we’ll fix it, overall it was almost clean, very good, Alisa.”
What if it still was not enough?
Then, when she had already gone toward the locker room, Lev and Hermann caught up with her in the corridor.
“Well, can we congratulate you?” Hermann immediately began talking, although it was obvious that he understood absolutely nothing about how figure skating scores worked.
“This axel, what the hell was that, Alisa, awesome show?” he waved his hand indignantly. “And the quadruple lutz! Lev and I nearly died while you were jumping it, honestly, I don’t understand how you people survive this at all.”
Lev just shook his head with a small smile.
“The axel was almost good,” Lev only said quietly. “The two of us jumped them so well… and the quadruple lutz too… honestly, I’m surprised that you landed that one. Good job though, Arkadiy trained you well.”
“Thank you,” Alisa answered softly.
She nodded and was already about to leave.
“Listen…” he said, looking at her so seriously. “I’m sorry about that day. Sorry that I lost my temper and yelled at you, and it was so fucking stupid, because it wasn’t your fault at all, okay? I’m very sorry.”
“I forgive you…” Alisa answered quietly, and then immediately lowered her eyes because her voice trembled traitorously. “And I’m sorry too… I replied aggressively, and you needed support then, and I…”
She did not finish.
Lev simply pulled her into a hug with one arm and rested his forehead against her shoulder, she was almost exactly his height with the skates on.
“I’m sorry…” he repeated.
“And I’m sorry…” Alisa whispered back, and for some reason it made them both laugh a little through the awkwardness.
“Well, are you two moving on with your tragic reconciliation or what?” Hermann interrupted dramatically, raising his eyebrows and clutching the poster to his chest. “Because I’m standing here like the third wheel in some terrible romantic movie.”
“We are not lovers, Hermann.” Alisa said with a serious face and then finally looked at the poster again and burst out laughing.
They had really chosen the most ridiculous photo possible.
“Hermann, you’re an idiot,” she laughed.
“Thank you, I try.”
“Well, are you moving on with qualifiers now or what?” Hermann asked again. “Or are you done for today?”
“Hermann, of course not,” Lev rolled his eyes immediately. “Tomorrow is the free skate, then they’ll add up the points from both programs, and only after that the committee decides who they send to Beijing for the second qualifiers.”
“Ah,” Hermann nodded, although it was obvious he still did not understand anything. “Right. Damn, it’s so complicated with you girls, honestly, if I had to live like this, I would simply die from stress in advance.”
Alisa only laughed softly and hugged him too.
“Well then, boys, maybe wait for me after I change and shower? We could go get coffee.”
“I’m absolutely in favor,” Lev said at once.
“And I’m in favor too,” Hermann nodded importantly.
“Then wait for me outside the arena… Hermann, you have a car, right?”
Hermann immediately straightened up proudly.
“Well, of course. Miss, would you like me to drive you around the city?”
“Well, if you’re offering…”
“Undoubtedly, miss, anything for you today, if only to improve your tragic mood after your tragic third place.”
“Hermann!”
“What? I’m supporting you!”
“And speaking of mood…” Lev suddenly said, looking at Alisa again. “Have you already decided who will make your dress when you go to the qualifiers?”
“If I go,” Alisa corrected automatically.
“No,” Lev immediately shook his head. “I said when you go, and that is a completely different thing. So… have you chosen someone?”
Alisa shook her head. To be honest, she had not thought about the dress at all. She had not let herself think that far. Because to think about it meant believing that she would actually get there, and Alisa still did not believe in herself enough for that…
“Well then,” Lev smiled a little, “my mom will be very happy to sew you one. A separate dress for the qualifiers, and another one for the Olympics too, if you suddenly want a new image… and by the way, for the Olympics you’ll definitely need one more for the exhibition gala on the last day, because obviously you’ll be there too. ”
“Lev…” Alisa pressed her lips together, because once again she suddenly felt tears painfully rising in her throat.
Today there had simply been too many emotions.
“That’s… that’s wonderful, really.”
“Then when everything is decided, come over to our house,” Lev said with a smile. “Mom will be happy, we’ll drink tea, gossip about everyone, judge terrible costumes, everything as usual.”
“I’d like that,” Alisa answered quietly. “Very much.”
Then the boys finally went toward the exit, still arguing about something and dragging that stupid poster with them, while Alisa returned to the locker room.
And there, inside, the mood was completely different.
Someone was saying that there was almost no chance anymore.
Someone sat on the benches with their heads lowered and their hands clasped tightly together.
Someone was almost crying.
Because everyone understood perfectly well what tomorrow meant.
Alisa understood it too.
In the free skate she would have only one chance. Only one. Only one attempt to skate everything perfectly, to land every jump, to do more quads than Anastasia, who was now in first place, and somehow beat Anfisa too, who was in second and also had every chance to win tomorrow.
Everything would be decided tomorrow.
Beijing or nothing.
Because if she did not qualify now, then she would almost certainly never make it to the 2026 Winter Olympics.
Alisa closed her eyes.
Inhale.
Exhale.