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 Posted: Sun Dec 03, 2023 1:08 pm
Tilly didn’t really know how to skate…but it was the weekend. It was December…if there was ever a time to learn…it was now. Besides. It would help improve strength and balance and…well. Lena had agreed to go with her to the ice rink, so that was where they were now. Skates had been rented and Tilly was…maybe having a few second thoughts as she laced the boot up, looking at her friend.
“I know I pitched this to be like, super good training…but is it really going to be training when I’m doing nothing but falling on my butt? Was this really a good idea? Maybe we should have done something else…have you gone skating before?”
Nerves always made her talk more than was necessary, and now wasn’t an exception to that rule. Her stomach churned and she gave a slight, worried grin. “Think your cousins will be impressed with us if we do get stronger from this?” It was sad that such a thought was the only thing that was going to keep her stable through this.
Sometimes, she had the worst ideas.
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Posted: Sun Dec 03, 2023 1:30 pm
"I've watched it on TV," said Lena, like that counted. "The Olympics? Oh, and I watched an anime about it once." That meant nothing, and she knew it. She could daydream all she wanted about gliding across the ice like some kind of winter fairy, which she had been doing for the last hour or so, but when she actually stepped on the ice, there was still a pretty good chance that she was going to fall don and bust her knees. "But the boys definitely can't do this, so when we figure it out, we can rub it in their faces." Maybe Tilly's mysterious rival could ice skate. She didn't know, but her cousins didn't seem like the type. "It looks like there's a learning rink where we can practice?" It had mostly kids in it, but it was fine.
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Posted: Sun Dec 03, 2023 1:43 pm
“We’re better than the boys. Absolutely and that’s such a good mantra to have…I…I mean…”
Tilly looked at the beginners rink and hesitated, looking back at the real one and shaking her head slightly. “I think we should just…go for it…hug the wall and if we fall a lot before we make it around…we’ll change course and do the beginners rink?” She finished making sure that the first boot was on, and that it was good and tight before she moved to the next one, taking the same amount of care.
“I think we can do it. We’re both strong, amazing girls and there’s no reason we should relegate ourselves to a kids rink just because we have no idea what we’re doing…we’ll be just fine hugging the walls, or even better, you and I will simply be perfect at this from the very start and we’ll just…glide.”
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Posted: Sun Dec 03, 2023 2:56 pm
"Um." Lena looked at the big rink. She would have rather gotten her feet in the practice area, but she couldn't say that when Tilly had latched onto her ideas about girl power. "Okay," she said, instead. She pulled the plastic protectors off of the blades of her skates, and at least that part worked the way she thought it should. She left them on the bench, and then she stepped onto the ice. And, she was gripping to the wall, white knuckled, because just like that, her legs felt like jello. If she looked down, she could see them shaking. "Better than the boys," she whispered to herself, but she didn't push off. If Tilly was feeling super brave she could see how that went for her!
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Posted: Sun Dec 03, 2023 3:40 pm
Reaching out, Tilly took hold of Lena’s hand for a moment and squeezed it, inching herself onto the ice as well and managing a small, slight half glide before she felt the sharp blades slip from under her, and she landed right on her bottom.
“Better than the boys, absolutely. They wouldn’t have lasted half as long as I did…and that was without the wall!”
Getting up was going to be tricky, but she managed, her feet sliding as she latched onto the wall for support. “...Now what, we just…try to walk? Like, those people make it look so easy...I’m a little jealous…”
But then again…if they didn't do great, there was a nice concession stand here…with lots of hot chocolate and some really nice looking pretzels that they could use to make themselves feel better so…it was still a win, no matter what.
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Posted: Sun Dec 03, 2023 4:33 pm
Lena almost laughed when Tilly fell right on her butt, but she made sure that it didn't look like she was laughing by the time Tilly looked back at her. "Practice," she said, thinking of the anime. "Hard work. Determination. Friendship?" She let go of the wall for a second and her legs still felt like jello, but she did at least catch herself before she started to fall. "You're doing great," she said, because they could figure out how to slide after a while. They'd get there, they just had to go forwards. "We're gonna get victory snacks, not consolation ones."
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Posted: Sun Dec 03, 2023 4:50 pm
“Victory snacks!”
That sounded…wonderful actually, and Tilly took a moment to draw in a breath and then pushed herself off of the wall just slightly, trying to walk in the skates…to really glide. “You’re doing great too, Lena! We got this…and one day, after we’ve practiced how to do this right, we’ll bring the boys here and they can think it’s new for all of us and we can show off how great we are.”
And they would be ashamed…and it would be glorious.
That…well. That right there was absolute motivation.
They could, and would do this. Absolutely.
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Posted: Sun Dec 03, 2023 5:28 pm
Tilly was starting to glide, and Lena was watching her. Okay. She could do this. She didn't have to be afraid of falling. She could always get back up, and try again, and again, and again, until she found her feet. That was what always happened to the heroes in the stories. They kept trying and trying until they came out on top. Lena stepped away from the wall. She could hear her skates on the ice. For a second, it felt like she was floating, like she was powerful, and magical, and free. She was Jack Frost from Guardians of the Galaxy. She was Elsa, letting it go. Then the jello legs came back, and she was fumbling, and then she landed on her knees with a squeak. Still, when she got up, she was smiling.
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