“It’s not that.Too close to my next session.Still working along with him, and I’ll cramp up if I eat too much.”He set the rest of the cookie on a napkin and rushed off, trying to shake the daze that had set in at the taste of coconut.
Chapter Twenty-Three
“Good job, everyone!”Ms.Coolidge’s voice rang across the ice.Seeing as everyone had stayed on their feet more often than not today, Misty felt it was warranted.
“I’d like to introduce you to someone else you’ll be working with closely over the next few weeks.”A set of doors on the side of the rink opened, and a group of burly employees pushed a plain silver bobsled in.Misty felt her eyes bulge at the sight of it, and she wasn’t the only one.A ripple of awe went up around the entire group.
“Before we take it out on the track, we’re going to learn to maneuver it in here,” Ms.Coolidge said.“During this time, you’ll have the chance to try all the different positions.”
“That’s what she said.”Damn!The speaker behind Misty had beaten her to it.
A round of snickers went up, but Ms.Coolidge ignored them.“Not only will this give you an idea of what you might like to do, but it will help me see who’s the best fit for which position.I will certainly take people’s preferences into account when choosing the team, but you are by no means guaranteed the one you want.”
Her expression turned solemn.“That especially goes for the pilot.This might sound like the most exciting position, but it’s the one that comes with the greatest responsibility.Whoever I choose for this must know every inch of the course forwards, backwards, and every which way.By getting in the driver’s seat, she’s assuming responsibility for the lives of everyone else in the sled.If you think you might want that responsibility, please step forward.”
Misty felt the pressure of that like the free weights on the sled all those weeks ago and stayed put.She wasn’t surprised when Tish stepped up, though.All those years of track team captaincy must have prepared her for something like this.
“Good,” Ms.Coolidge said when it looked like all the potential pilots had stepped up.“We’ll start with you eight” — she sliced a hand in front of three extra girls — “and give you a chance later.For now, line up behind a pilot to make groups of four.We’ll start by practicing push starts and getting in and out.”
Misty lined up behind Tish, and two others joined them.Everything else they’d done over the past week and a half had felt as if it could have applied to any sport, and it had turned suddenly specific.She was excited to start and nowhere near ready for it at the same time.
“Go!”That sucker was heavier than anything she’d tried to push at the gym, and yet that might have worked in her favor to help it move faster once they put some force into it.
At least, that was what Misty thought.She didn’t remember enough from high school physics to explain why that was.What she knew was that at least this time, she wasn’t bearing the weight alone, not with the others pushing alongside her.
As Misty kept going, she felt muscle memory kick in from the first time Spencer had had her try this.Her grip on the bobsled’s bar was different, but everything else was similar.She bent lower, drawing on his advice for more speed, and everyone else picked up speed.
When they pulled up at the end, she looked up to see Ms.Coolidge’s appraising look.
“Remind me again of your athletic background?”the coach asked.
“Track and kickball.Why?”
Ms.Coolidge didn’t answer, but her eyebrows remained up as she called the next group forward.Tish looked similarly awed.
“Spencer had me do sled training at the gym.”Eva Gardner’s stance on the ice indicated that she was familiar with the concept, but her groupmates looked less sure of themselves.
