“So what brings you here?”she asked, walking to the tables with Tallulah.“I’m a runner.”
“As am I.”She looked up and nodded, as if to invite someone else to join their conversation.“Eva and I ran track together in college.”
Eva Gardner didn’t accept the invitation.“I did shot put.You sprinted.We were not on the teamtogether.”Something about her tone indicated that this went beyond the two being in completely different events, but Eva walked away before Misty could ask more about it.She took a seat alone at a table in the back.
“Someone hasn’t had her coffee yet,” Misty joked as they made their way to a table with Tish, Marla, and some of the others.
“No, I saw a mug.”Tallulah let out a fluttery little laugh, but her smile looked forced.“In other words, she hasn’t changed a bit.”
“Good morning, ladies!”Ms.Coolidge was at the front of the dining room before Misty could ask any more questions.“I hope everyone got a good night’s sleep and a breakfast that’s going to carry you through the morning, because it’s going to be a busy one.When we get to the arena, we’re going to warm up with a round of calisthenics.Then we’re moving onto the ice to get you used to moving on it before we start sledding.Any questions?”
No one’s hands went up.“Then take this time to finish your food and get something warm to wear to the rink.We’re leaving for the arena at 9:30.”
The first workout of the morning, sprints interspersed with calisthenics, was nothing Misty wasn’t used to from her time at the gym.Hours later, though, any sense ofI am so in!came crashing down along with her ass on the ice.Instead of skates, they’d rented special shoes that would supposedly let them stay upright, though no one had succeeded in that for long.Even Tish couldn’t take two steps beyond the rink wall without falling, and the girls who’d gotten their start in winter sports were only faring a little bit better.
“Engage your core and grip with your toes!”Ms.Coolidge put on a short demonstration at the center of the ice.Last night’s Google search showed that she hadn’t competed since the early 2000s, but she looked like she’d just done this yesterday.
Tish stepped forward, wobbling a little but staying upright for the moment.“We can do this!Most of us are from places with actual seasons and cold winters, we’ve had to walk on an icy sidewalk at some point in our lives...pretend that’s what we’re doing now.”
Misty followed, holding the imagery in mind.She made it four steps before landing on her ass again.“See?”she called from the ice.“Doubled my record already!”
“Show-off,” Marla teased.She was doing pretty well, but came sliding down as she bent to help Misty up.
About seven or eight steps in, Angela jumped slightly and landed in a fall.She scuttled on her ass to pull herself up on the edge, take her phone out of her pocket, and send a text.“My daughter spilled some cereal, and my husband doesn’t know where we keep the Swiffer wipes,” she said to Misty’s questioning glance.
A few feet away, Tallulah had also fallen.Eva stood near her, smirking under a wool cap that hid all her hair.“If I was as rich as you, I would’ve bought a center of gravity instead of that pretty coat.”
As Eva turned away, her legs shot out from under her, and she landed on her ass.Because Misty simply could not resist, she sang a line from “Another One Bites the Dust.”Eva glared at her from the ice, but Misty didn’t care.She got back on her feet, managing a few more steps this time and repeating the song in an attempt to laugh at herself.
“Don’t you know any songs about getting up after a fall?”Lily asked, sliding down again.
Misty mulled it over, coming up with part of “Roar” as she walked around more of the ice.Everyone who could hear her smiled, and it helped her stay up a little longer.She had bundled up for the occasion, but her layers only went so far in terms of padding.She could only imagine how her ass was going to look at the end of this.
She didn’t get to confirm it until she was getting ready for bed that night.“Holy shit,” she muttered, looking over her shoulder at the black-and-blue marks in the bathroom mirror.
“It’ll go down,” Tish said, squeezing arnica gel into her palms.She handed Misty the tube before rubbing it into her ass.
“How bad is yours?”Misty asked, squeezing gel into her palm.
Tish grimaced and lowered her hands to show her friend.Her light brown skin was mottled with red bruises.“Oof.”
Once she was dressed again, Misty reached for her phone to take a first day of combine selfie.A text notification from Spencer was on the lock screen.
Spencer:How’d it go today?
At the sight of a timestamp from a few hours ago, a stab of guilt pierced her already sore body.There hadn’t been much time to sit around with her phone during the day’s workouts, and things were too engaging with the others during breaks.She sent a reply.
Misty:Busy but fun...or it will be once I can stay upright on the ice.
He replied sooner than she had.
Spencer:It’s all part of the process.
She stretched out on her double bed to reply.
Misty:How’s it going with you?
Spencer:I wasn’t on the ice, but I did give a client a core workout that’ll be good for balance.Pretty busy day.
