There had been a few quads. There were more to come.
Mark folded his arms beside us, his gaze fixed on the monitor. “Come on,” he muttered.
My pulse kicked up again. I hated this part, always had. You skated, you finished, and then your entire life got reduced to waiting for strangers to attach numbers to it.
Beside me, Ethan nudged my shoulder. “Relax.”
Easy for him to say.
Then my scores appeared.
107.96
For a second, I genuinely stopped breathing.
The arena exploded.
Mark slapped the back of my neck hard enough to jolt me forward while Ethan shouted something completely incoherent beside me.
And then the standings flashed up.
Results – Men’s Short Program
USA (10 pts)
Velkarya (5 pts)
Then the updated overall standings flashed up:
Team Standings After Men’s SP
Canada – 20
USA – 18
Velkarya – 14
The pressure inside the building shifted instantly.
USA was back in striking distance.
“Looks like Velkarya are still in the running for their first ever team medal in this event.” Mark glanced at me.
I barely had time to process that before my phone buzzed in my jacket pocket.
I already knew who it would be.
Luka: Congratulations. Unfortunately this means your country is becoming difficult again.
Warmth spread through me, and I typed back before I could think too hard about it.
Funny. We were just saying the exact same thing about Velkarya.
The typing bubble appeared almost immediately.
Good. Rivalry should remain healthy.
Three dots appeared again.
