Shivers

Chapter 5

(Last Dance By Donna Summer)

Emerald's Pov

I've been avoiding Luke as much as possible. I drive to school with June, and sit with a different group of friends at lunch. I felt bad for blowing up on him, but I couldn't bring myself to talk to him.

"Emmy, you need to get out of your head." Lauren said, putting both hands on my shoulders.

I let out a breath and blinked a couple times.

"You got this. I know you do, but you need to believe that you can do it." She spoke in an encouraging tone.

I tightened my laces on my ice skates and nodded my head. This was nerve wracking. This was my first big competition. A lot of people weren't here because it was homecoming night too, but that didn't bother me.

I'd rather have nobody here than people that don't care. The dress I was wearing was a shade of neon blue. It came down to my thighs, and it was flowy. It was beautiful. I was going to keep this. I looked around in the crowd and saw Aunt Mel.

She didn't notice me but she was holding a giant smile on her face. Josie and Ciara were sitting next to her and I felt my heart rate pick up.  June was sitting next to Luke. They both were in suits, probably to go to homecoming afterwards. 

I turned and brushed my hair out of my face and Lauren slicked it back more when she noticed.
The routine for the person that was performing ended and I was now up. Cheering erupted as I started to get nervous.

She was good. Her routine was solid and she hit everything perfectly except for a couple moves. It was almost perfect and that terrified me. I lifted my shoulders and dropped them before leaning my head to each side.

"You got this, Emmy!" Lauren cheered as I skated out on the ice.

"Now taking the ice, Emerald Emrani!" Could be heard through the speakers.

My hands shook with excitement and nerves. The cold hit my skin, but it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. When I was on the ice, I felt like a completely different person. I felt like a kid, and I felt like it was only me in the world.

The music started off slow first. I made sure to keep my head up, but make sure it wasn't too stiff. I made sure my posture was straight, and I was holding myself up correctly as I went. Skating on one foot was my favorite thing.

I don't know why, but it was. I turned and started to skate  backwards. I had to bite back a giant smile, but I let myself smile a little. I picked up speed and I could feel the air move through my hair, fingers, and around my body. It was exhilarating.

Right as the beat started to change, I landed an axel. That was always something that I struggled with and I hit it perfectly. I could hear Lauren screaming from the sideline, extremely loud, and that only fueled my adrenaline more. My back outside foot pushed off, and helped me gain more speed.

"Yeah Emmy!" I heard Lauren shout as I started to skate back to the gate.

When the gate opened she launched herself into a hug and I laughed. I grabbed the towel from her hands and wiped my face. Though it's cold in here, I am still sweating. She then handed me a water bottle.

"You won that, no doubt." She said with a smile as I took a sip of water and shook my head.

"Don't get too big of an ego. We still have to wait for the scores." I reminded her and she nodded.