CHAPTER 10
As she waited for the competition to start, Grace scanned the crowd for her parents. She spotted them in the first row. They waved and gave her a thumbs-up.
Grace watched nervously as the first competitor took the ice. “She’s really good,” Grace said as the skater glided across the rink. She performed a variety of jumps and spins.
“Definitely, but your spins are harder,” Lauren said. “And she wobbled a little on the jumps.”
Finally, it was their turn to skate. Coach Roberts and Patricia both wished them luck, and Grace and Lauren took their places on the ice.
When the music started, Grace did her mohawk sequence while Lauren performed a jump combination. The girls glided across the ice and performed swizzles and crossovers.
Then Grace broke away to do her catch camel and sit spin. She had been practicing her Salchows all week with Lauren’s help. She knew she could do it. Grace flew into the air for a double Salchow and landed effortlessly.
Lauren went into the Axel. It was the hardest jump of their routine, and Grace couldn’t do it. Lauren pushed herself off the ice with her right foot. She rotated one and a half turns in the air before landing on her left foot. It was perfect.
The crowd cheered as their routine came to an end. Grace and Lauren grinned at each other as they skated off the ice to wait for the results.
“That was great, girls!” Coach Roberts said as they sat down to watch the other competitors.
When the last skater finished, everyone waited for the judges’ scores. The results could not come fast enough.
“I’m so nervous,” Grace whispered to Lauren.
“We did the best we could,” Lauren said.
The crowd grew quiet as the head judge stepped up to the microphone. “First, I’d like to congratulate all of our skaters on their wonderful performances,” he said. “You were all great. And, now, the results you’ve been waiting for.”
Grace squeezed Lauren’s hand as the judge read off the names of the second- and third-place winners. The crowd cheered as the skaters accepted their medals.
The judged cleared his throat as he got ready to announce first place. “First place goes to a unique routine that included not only a high level of difficulty, but also the ability to work together as a team,” the judge said. “Congratulations to Grace White and Lauren Smith! Girls, please come up and accept your medals.”
Grace squealed. She and Lauren jumped up and hugged before running up to get their medals.
“I already know what I’ll be doing for next year’s competition,” Grace said, smiling at Lauren.
“Oh, yeah?” Lauren asked.
“Yep. An Axel,” Grace said. “And I’m going to need my teammate to help make it happen.”