Page 92 of Chasing Gold, Catching Her

Clean and controlled jump.

And getting the highest score for that specific jump alone…

Without hesitation she went straight into a triple axel as a cascade. At the end of the program!

Tora felt something inside her drop, because this was the final minutes of the choreo and Alisa still had the strength for these jumps, still had that precise control?

“Oh shit, she is really going to the Olympics with these quadruple jumps and this program…”

But after admitting that she suddenly, without being able to explain it even to herself—

She felt like she had already been defeated.

Chapter 19

Alisa was sitting in the Kiss & Cry area with her coach, while Anfisa stood next to her. Alisa kept her hands clasped together on her lap, fingers intertwined tightly as if in a restrained handshake, trying to hold herself together while waiting for the points that would decide everything… what place she held at that moment, even though not everyone had performed yet, because it wasn’t enough just to lead now, she had to stay in first place after all the others, and that thought alone made her sit tense, biting the insides of her lips to keep from shaking.

Then the announcer’s voice rang out:

“So, Alisa Voronkova receives a total score of…”

A pause.

The entire arena seemed to freeze in that moment.

Everyone froze.

Alisa instinctively searched for Tora in the stands and found her almost immediately, her gaze fixed on her, just as worried and then Tora smiled and gave her a small nod. Alisa answered with the same, before turning her attention back to the screen in front of them, where the numbers were about to appear.

“265 points! First place!”

Alisa shot up from her seat instantly, unable to hold it in, starting to jump in place, and Anfisa and the others rushed toward her, grabbing her into a chaotic, laughing embrace, jumping together in a burst of relief and joy, while Arkadiy stayed seated for a second longer, smiling quietly, nodding to himself, before standing up and pulling all of them into one large almost clumsy group hug, turning it into a circle of movement and laughter.

“You did it! That was incredible! If this holds, if no one in the next groups scores higher, then we have the quota, do you understand, Alisa?!” Anfisa was practically glowing, jumping beside her, unable to stay still.

A few minutes later, Alisa was gently pulled away from the celebration and sent back to the locker room, where she quickly took off her skates, changed into something more comfortable, and packed everything into her bag almost automatically, before heading back to the stands, where the final groups—D and E—were about to compete, and only ten skaters remained, and after that it would be decided whether their country would get the quota or not.

Sitting there, Alisa couldn’t keep still, her leg shaking uncontrollably as she tried to follow what was happening on the ice, occasionally glancing toward Tora, who was sitting almost directly across from her, though she tried not to look too often, because there was always that quiet fear that someone might notice, but every time their eyes met, Tora smiled, her hand pressed lightly to her chest, clearly happy for her, and that alone made something warm spread through Alisa, even if the anxiety never fully disappeared.

Anfisa noticed it immediately and placed her hand on Alisa’s thigh, pressing lightly as if to ground her.

“If you don’t stop shaking like that, we’re all going to end up back on the ice,” she said with a quiet laugh, patting her leg.

Alisa exhaled and forced herself to still. “Sorry… Anfisa, I don’t know, I’m just… worried.”

“It’s okay, baby. You’re in first place. For now,” Anfisa smiled, turning her attention back to the ice.

Alisa nudged her lightly, but Anfisa immediately raised a finger to her lips. “Shhh, the performance is starting.”

“What performance? What are you talking about?”

“Shhh! My favorite Japanese skater is coming out.”

“Anfisa!” Alisa pursed her lips in mild annoyance, but stayed quiet, watching as the arena slowly fell into silence, all attention shifting toward the entrance, where the skater’s photo, her country’s flag, and her season’s best scores appeared on the screens.

The girl stepped onto the ice, waving shyly to both sides, and then began her program and almost immediately it was clear why Anfisa had been waiting for her.

She moved with such lightness as if she barely touched the ice at all, she was like a feather carried by its own rhythm.