I think we all breathed a sigh of relief after that.
While she was talking to Victoria, she mouthed the word, “second,” at us with a smile.
“Second?” Nick looked taken aback. “What the hell? She deserved first.” He looked to me for confirmation, but I just shrugged. I wasn’t sure how this all worked.
“She did,” he pushed, and looked to her parents for confirmation.
Her mom just smiled wryly at him and patted his shoulder. “That’s figure skating for ya,” she reasoned.
“Wait a sec. No one gives my girl second,” he mumbled before stalking over to look at the results sheet.
When he came back, his jaw was set. “Who’s this Gary East guy?”
“Dude, chill,” I whispered to him.
“Nah,” he shook his head. “Think I need some words with this guy.” He started looking around for God knows who, because how the hell would he know what this Gary guy even looked like. “My girl works her ass off, has an awesome program, gets ones straight across the board, and then this asshat prick gives her a last place mark. For what? She deserved first.”
Sav walked back toward us then and broke into our circle between me and Nick.
She patted him on the stomach, seemingly amused by his reaction. “It’s okay,” she pushed. “Thank you for yoursupport.”
But that didn’t settle him down. He sat there shaking his head, bouncing on the balls of his feet. He looked down at her skates. “Nah, babe. Give me your skate guard.”
“What?!” She cackled. “You’re going to attack an old man with a skate guard?”
He tried to keep a straight face but struggled. Her laughter eased the trouble whirling inside of him. “Maybe. Couldn’t hurt to bash his windshield in.”
“While I greatly appreciate that…” She looked from him to me, “Griff, please don’t let him get banned from all future USFSA sanctioned events. I want you guys to come watch me at Regionals this fall when I make it to the final round.”
“That’s my girl,” he said proudly and leaned down to give her a quick kiss. “I’ll definitely be there, babe.”
In my mind, I didn’t doubt it. Nick would drop anything to be there for her, even if that meant skipping a crucial game.
12. Sav
No wonder I was feeling so gross through the competition weekend.
I got my period for the first time in about a year. Skating made me irregular, I was sure of it. All the girls in the locker room said the same thing– they only got their periods like once every couple months, and they were usually pretty bad ones when they did come… which was what I was experiencing right now.
I tried doing a downward dog yoga pose on my bed to help myself a little, but it wasn’t working. My insides still felt like they were being ripped apart.
Duke threw my bedroom open and peeked his head in. “The boys are here.”
I groaned. There was no way I could suffer through practice with cramps this bad. How was this normal?
“I don’t think I’m coming today,” I told him.
“Oh shoot,” his little face cringed. “You sick?”
I winced against the next wave of pain. “Yeah.”
“Shit. Am I gonna get sick?” He asked with wide eyes.
I sighed. “No. I’m not sick.”
“But you just said-” he protested with an arm pointed in my direction.
I rolled my eyes at his dramatics and cut him off. “Tell them it’s a girl problem.”
