“He’s something, all right.”
“This is the only time I am going to condone your general shitty attitude to humankind. I want you to be cautious around Mark. I don’t think he’ll be an issue, but we don’t need any unnecessary drama with him.”
“Agreed. I wasn’t planning on it anyway.”
“Good.” Jack retook his seat on the sofa. “He’s known us for all of three minutes and starts bad-mouthing his colleagues?” He shivered, as if physically shaking off the conversation with Mark.
“Kind of dramatic, isn’t it?” I scoffed, trying to hide my laugh.
“He gives me bad vibes. I don’t likeit.”
“I can’t say I’m surprised, really. Everyone in the industry pretends to like each other so that they can one-up themselves.”
“You know, I’d normally agree with you.” Never one to stay still, he stood again and walked over to the vanity, studied one of the products, then put it back. “But everyone besides Mark seems to love Matilda.”
“We only saw her interact for ten minutes. Could just be niceties…” I paused. “Stop messing with her things, man.”
He dropped her lip gloss and held up his hands in mock surrender, eyebrows raised.
“It’s distracting,” I explained.
He huffed out a quick laugh. “Come on, let’s go. We’re meeting Matilda soon, and I need to get a coffee and something to eat. I’m starving, so you must be too.”
I was untying the laceon one of my skates when my phone vibrated from my bag.Again.I imagined it had been ringing the whole time I was on the ice, too, but at least I could plead that I had been training. After our morning briefing, I’d joined the other skaters on the practice rink as we hadn’t all had time to catch up before our partners were revealed. We weren’t allowed to skate on the TV rink used for filming until dress rehearsals, so we’d be spending a lot of time at the different practice rinks across the studios.
The morning skate had given me time to get my head on straight about the next few months. Long enough to remember that this might be my chance to get the winner’s bonus.
My phone stopped vibrating, only to start again a few seconds later. I pulled off my other skate, zipped it up in my boot bag, and pulled my phone out of my kitbag.
“Hey, Mum.” I leaned forward on my knees and rubbed my temples, hoping to ease some of the tension building there.
“Who are you partnered with?” She jumped straightin.
“Luca Vasvault.” I tried keeping my voice light, not wanting her to detect I was stressed. “Good, right?”
“The American actor?” Her voice dropped, dissatisfactioncoating her words. “You’ve been partnered withhim?”
“Yeah, I think it will be good. He’s the biggest star we’ve had yet, so it will definitely give us a better chance at winning.” While I believed my words, it didn’t help the anxiety swarming my stomach.
“You shouldn’t be winning because of his celebrity status, Matilda.” She tutted through the phone. “You should win from your own merit.”
“Yes, Mum, but you know that the celebrity status helps with the public voting.” I checked I had everything in my bag before zipping it up. Hairbrush. Keys. Lip gloss. Sweatshirt.
“It just feels so cheap. This is why you should have stuck it out with the Olympics.”
“I didn’t qualify, remember?” I tried my hardest to hide my frustration. My mother’s disappointed face as I skated off the ice at my Olympic trials still haunted me. As an Olympic figure skater herself, one whose career had been cut short thanks to a very complicated birth with yours truly, she wanted nothing more than for me to continue her legacy.
“You could have tried again.”
“I know.” I rolled my eyes at the conversation we’d had a million times already. The first few times, it had ended in an argument and my being excluded from family dinners. Now, I just let her win. “Maybe I’ll try again for the next Olympics.” After purposefully throwing the trials last time, there was no chance I was going through it again.
A soft exhalation carried through the phone, resignation and satisfaction mingling together. “So…Luca?”
“Yes, Luca. It’s a good thing, Mum.” I wasn’t sure whether I was trying to convince her or myself. I slung my bag over my shoulder and headed out of the practice rink.
“I don’t condone using his celebrity to help you win, but it’sabout time that you made it past week six.” Her words hung in the air, an unease settling in my stomach at the uncomfortable truth. “If you’re right and you can’t avoid his status helping you, then make sure to bring your best to the table.”
“I always try.”
