Girls Only! (25 page)

Kevin stayed close to Heather as they moved around the rink. Occasionally, he touched her elbow or waist the way he often did during their dance routines. Heather found it both annoying and amusing, thinking it was most likely second nature to him.

“Wow, she’s really good,” she heard him say.

“Better introduce yourself quick,” Heather suggested, “before she gets away.”

“Come with me, okay?” Kevin asked, looking unusually shy.

“No . . . you go by yourself,” she insisted. “This isn’t my thing anymore.” With that, she sped up, gliding across the rink.

“Heather, come back!”

Deep in her heart, she felt a stabbing pain. Never before in all her life had she turned her back on Kevin this way. She had done it twice, really. Once when she’d quit dancing with him and now today, when he’d asked for her input.

What’s wrong with me?
she thought.
What’s happening to us?

Then she remembered what Livvy had said about skating couples who split up.
“They mess up their relationship,”
Livvy had said.
“And sometimes set their careers off course.”

But Heather didn’t think she had to worry about spoiling their relationship. After all, she and Kevin were brother and sister. Nothing too terrible was going to happen. They lived in the same house, shared the same parents and the same younger brother and sister. She was sure things would be just fine.

Watching from afar, Heather found herself holding her breath. Kevin skated up to the girl in pink, and the skater burst into a big smile. Kevin was smiling, too.

Before long, he began skating with the girl. They talked and laughed, stroking leisurely around the rink. At one point they stopped, and he showed her a step sequence. The skater watched carefully, then imitated Kevin’s footwork almost perfectly.

Girls will be lining up to skate with Kevin
. . . .

The twosome skated around the rink two more times. But when they stopped to talk to her mother, Heather knew Kevin must be thinking seriously about auditioning the girl. Had he found his new partner?

“Cynthia’s strong and very athletic, don’t you think, Mom?” Kevin babbled all the way home.

“We’ll see how the two of you work together” came Mom’s answer.

“But she’s so expressive,” Kevin continued.

Mom nodded. “Yes, I noticed that. But she’s never had a partner before. That will take some getting used to.”

“So when can we start?” he asked, obviously eager.

“Let’s discuss it with Dad,” Mom replied. “He’ll want to meet Cynthia. So will Coach McDonald.”

Kevin grinned. “Fair enough.”

Heather was sure her brother had his heart set on the brunette skater. “She might be a good choice” was all she said.

“Might be?” Kevin replied, looking wounded. “Cynthia’s my age, for pete’s sake!”

Leaning against the window, Heather thought about her brother’s reaction to the prospective partner. She wondered if he was really all that excited about ice dancing with her. Maybe he was, but she suspected there was more to it. Kevin had all the signs of a major crush on Cynthia Whoever.

Best of all, though, Heather was soon to be off the hook. Ice dancing with Kevin was completely over. Now, if she could just make it till Monday morning and impress the socks off Livvy’s coach. And Mom!

A Perfect Match

Chapter Fourteen

Sunday after church Heather phoned Miranda Garcia. “How’s it going?” she asked, making small talk.

“Busy. You know how it is with ballet and school and stuff.”

“Do you have any extra time to, like, join a club?” she asked right off.

“What sort of club?”

“It’s called
Girls Only
. So far there are three of us,” she explained. “Jenna Song, Livvy Hudson, and me.”

“Really?” Miranda seemed interested. “What do you do?”

“Last month we presented a Christmas show for our families. Right now we’re working on a dance festival for spring. We like to practice ballet moves and, you know, hang out at Jenna’s house—that’s where we meet.”

“I heard she has a barre and a huge wall mirror in her bedroom,” Miranda remarked.

“That’s true. Jenna’s bedroom is in the attic. There’s lots of room for all of us to practice at the barre.”

“Good, then, count me in.”

“We’re mostly about athletic goals and Olympic dreams,” she went on to say. “I think you’ll get a better feel for it when you come.”

“When’s the next meeting?” asked Miranda.

“We get together on Fridays, right after school. And we always eat healthy snacks, so don’t worry about junk food or sweets.”

“Great. Thanks for inviting me,” Miranda said.

“Uh, you might wanna keep it a secret because so far it’s just the three of us—with you, four. But we’d rather not get too big, you know what I mean.”

“Sure do. Thanks, Heather. See you at ballet.”

“Okay. Bye.”

Heather hung up the phone.
That was easy
, she thought and hurried downstairs.

She found Kevin whispering in the kitchen with Tommy and Joanne. He turned around quickly, like he’d been caught red-handed. “Oh, it’s you. That’s okay,” he said.

“What’s up?” she asked, opening the fridge.

“Keep your voice down,” Tommy bossed.

Joanne was gesturing for her to come over. “We’re
talking about the tooth fairy’s birthday,” she said. “He’s turning the big four-oh.”

Kevin smiled. “We’re pooling our allowance,” he explained for Heather’s sake.

“To get something really special for Daddy,” Joanne whispered.

“Does Mom know?” asked Heather, glancing over her shoulder.

“It’s just our secret,” Tommy said. “And you have to promise not to tell.”

Heather laughed. “Oh, I’m good at keeping secrets. Trust me.”

The phone rang, and Kevin ran to get it. Heather stayed with Tommy and Joanne because she was certain the call was for Kevin. Probably from Cynthia, the skater they’d met yesterday.

“That’s Kevin’s girlfriend, right?” Tommy asked.

“Beats me,” she said.

“Kevin acts real silly all the time,” Joanne piped up.

Heather agreed but kept her thoughts to herself.

When Kevin came back, he looked mighty happy. “That was Cynthia. She’s coming to Alpine Lake tomorrow afternoon to meet with Coach McDonald.”

“Really, that soon?” Heather tried not to show her surprise.

“Yep. Everything seems to be working out.” Kevin opened the cupboard and pulled out some beef jerky. He
pulled it apart, dividing it into four pieces. “Who wants to share this?”

Tommy and Joanne did, of course. Heather refused.

The kids decided how much money the four of them had between them. All totaled: twenty dollars. Enough to buy a brand-name tie for their dad.

“A really
special
tie,” Joanne insisted.

Before church that evening, Heather went upstairs to her room and rested. She fell asleep, dreaming that she was skating alone under a starlit sky. One of the stars seemed so bright, she just assumed it was a spotlight. But when she looked again, she saw that it was the moon.

Livvy Hudson was at church that evening. She seemed delighted when Heather invited her to sit with them. “We’re one big, happy family,” Livvy said, sliding in next to Kevin.

“Better watch it,” Heather warned. “My brother’s got a girlfriend.”

“Who?” whispered Livvy.

“Tell you later.” And she did. Right after the benediction, Kevin got up and filed out of the church. But Heather and Livvy stayed in the sanctuary for a few minutes longer.

Quickly, Heather filled Livvy in on the latest. “Her
name is Cynthia Something, and she’s coming to meet Coach McDonald. Tomorrow!”

“Aw, phooey,” Livvy said, eyes downcast. “I was hoping he’d pick
me
for his skating partner.”

“You?”

“Sure! I’d love to skate with someone like Kevin.”

Heather could hardly believe her ears. “You’re the best free skater around here. What’re you talking about?”

“Gotcha,” Livvy said, wearing an ear-to-ear grin. “I think you’d better relax about this.”

“I’m trying. I really am.”

“Could’ve fooled me,” Livvy said as they walked toward the church foyer. “See ya tomorrow, bright and early?”

“You’re coming?”

Livvy gave her a hug. “I wouldn’t miss it for anything.”

“Thanks.” Heather went home and counted the hours, minutes, and seconds till her appointment with Livvy’s coach. But when she prayed, she told God she was definitely nervous. “But you’ll be there to help me, right, Lord?”

The moon was nowhere to be seen as she slipped into bed. The light from the back porch spilled out far past their snowy yard. The night was bright enough.

So was her future.

A Perfect Match

Chapter Fifteen

Heather and her mom arrived at the mall rink ten minutes early. She laced up the boots of her skates, keeping the skate guards on. Leaning on the rail, she watched a skater at the far end of the ice.

The girl skated across the ice toward Heather. With a solid, upward motion she brought her right leg up and forward, then shot into the air. Her legs flew apart into a wide, clean split high above the ice. Then she landed on one skate, dipping down to a sit spin position. Spinning around in a blur, she came to a stop with her hands raised overhead.

“Wow,” whispered Heather. “That’s exactly what I want to do someday.”

“You’ll have to work very hard,” Mom said, offering an encouraging hug.

“I know, and I’m ready for it.” She looked at her watch. “Coach Sterling’s late.”

“Here he comes now,” Mom said, looking over her shoulder. “And Livvy’s right behind him.”

Heather felt herself relax a bit. She knew she was psyched for this moment—had even worried that something might happen to prevent or delay the jump lesson. But seeing Livvy and her famous coach, Heather breathed a deep, confident breath.

She circled the rink several times to get the feel of the ice beneath her skates.
A single loop jump—an edge jump
, she thought. Livvy’s coach had picked the easiest jump of all.

Concentrating on her feet, Heather took a deep breath. She enjoyed the feeling of freedom. No one holding her hands or waist. She could move at will. On her own!

She was ready to try the jump. Off from the back, outside edge of her skating foot, she lifted herself up. One rotation—to form the look of a loop in midair—and down. She landed on the back, outside edge of her takeoff foot.

“Excellent!” Coach Sterling called to her.

The loop jump was too easy. She should try something
harder this time. And Livvy’s coach didn’t disappoint her. “Let’s have you attempt the flip jump next,” he said, motioning to her.

Listening carefully as Mr. Sterling described the jump, Heather remembered how the jump looked when Kristi Yamaguchi or even Livvy Hudson performed it. Same as the Lutz, but it took off from the back, inside edge of the skating foot—not the outside edge. And it was a toe pick-assisted jump.

When it was time, she stroked hard to build up speed. Then, turning backward, she glided across the ice. She used her toe pick to help her spring into the jump. But she fell on the landing. “I’ll try it again,” she said, getting up.

This time she landed on the wrong foot. But she wasn’t one to give up easily. She tried again—four times more. By the fifth try, she landed on the back, outside edge of her free foot.

“Yes!” Livvy shouted, clapping on the sidelines. “You did it!”

The flip jump hadn’t been perfect, but Heather was excited. And by the end of the hour, she’d landed two more single flips and was trying for the next hardest—the Lutz.

“You’re super incredible!” Livvy said, hugging her after the session.

“Thanks. I wanna get much better at jumping. And
soon.” Heather had to look down at the ice to make sure she wasn’t walking on air!

Coach Sterling was nodding and rummaging around in his coat pocket. “Here, Miss Heather,” he said, handing her a business card. “Give me a call when you want to get together again.”

Heather could hardly stand still. “Mom?” she pleaded. “Can we make another appointment?
Please?
”

“Absolutely,” Mom said, taking the card from Heather. “How about this Wednesday and Friday mornings?”

Mr. Sterling wrote in his pocket notebook. “I’ll see you soon, Heather.”

She walked to the mall entrance with Livvy. “Thanks for everything, Liv.”

Livvy frowned, shaking her head. “You did all the work. I’m super proud of you!”

“You shared your coach with me, and I’m so excited,” Heather replied, waiting for her mother to catch up.

“The sky’s the limit now,” Livvy told her. “Someday we’ll be in the same competitions.”

Heather hadn’t thought of that. “Wow—that’s hard to believe.”

Livvy’s eyes danced. “You’ve got what it takes. Coach Sterling wouldn’t be offering you lessons if he didn’t think so.”

“You’re probably right.”

“Well, I better get going,” Livvy said. “Coach’ll be waiting. I’ll see you at ballet.”

“Okay. Thanks again!” Heather held the door for her mom, and the two of them walked to the car. “Thanks for believing in me. You don’t know how happy I am.”

“I think I do. Happiness is written all over your face.”

Heather remembered what Kevin had said about her emotions showing on her face. He’d said,
“It’s easy to read you.”

Well, for a change, she didn’t mind. Not one bit! She was on her way to becoming a free skater. What had Livvy said about competing in the same events? Seemed next to impossible, but Heather thrived on a challenge.

“Are you coming to meet Cynthia Ganesford this afternoon?” Mom asked just as they pulled up to the house.

“I don’t know. Kevin might not want me there.”

Mom parked the car next to the sidewalk and pulled the key out of the ignition. “Well, I think you might be surprised.”

“What’re you saying?”

“Kevin asked if you’d come,” Mom replied. “He wants you to meet Cynthia.”

Heather wasn’t sure how she felt about meeting her replacement. “I’ll let you know after lunch.”