Natalie On Ice

[Dionysian]

Natalie's ice skating competition finally gets underway!

[18:42] * Joel has just arrived at the ice skating rink, and he's hoping that he isn't late. Judging by the line of people outside, he hasn't missed anything. Joel sighs and hurries out of his car, his ticket in the pocket of his jacket, then hurries to the back of the line. He promised Natalie he would see her perform, and he's not going to break that promise. He just (c)
[18:42] <Joel> hopes he can get to see her in time!
[18:49] * Natalie was in the locker room with the other girls getting ready.She had on : http://www.figureskatingstore.com/images/614.jpg and he favorite pair of snow white ice skates.She was really nervous about this but at the same time she was excited to preform.She had been working so hard on this for two months now and she hoped it would pay off in the long run for her.She sat on the wooden bench in the locker room (c.)
[18:50] <Natalie> As she finished tying on her ice skates. Not yet with the metal piece in the bottom so she could walk on flat ground.
[18:55] <Joel> In the locker room, most of the other girls are chatting amongst each other as they get dressed and put on their ice skates, keeping within their own little circles. All of them exude an aura of confidence and beauty, goddesses from Mount Olympus about to descend to Earth. Several girls, however, approach Natalie, all of them bearing smirks which are none too friendly. One of (c)
[18:56] <Joel> them, a slim brunette girl named Maria, crosses her arms and smirks at Natalie “Well, hello there... Natalie.” Maria's voice is cocky, taunting, the voice of somebody who intends to start trouble. Her friends flaunt her like bodyguards, henchgirls
[18:59] <Natalie> "oh..hey maria.Shouldn`t you be under a rock or something? or at least that`s where I thought skum like you would live." She didn`t look worried at all by the outnumber of girls.She didn`t care if there was two of them or twenty she wouldn`t be intimidated by them.
[19:05] <Joel> Maria puts a hand over her mouth and gives a coquettish chuckle at Natalie's attempt at standing up for herself. Is that really the best she can come up with? “Don't tell me you actually CAME to the competition, rabbit girl. Don't you know this competition is only for real people?” Several of the girls behind Maria snicker “What's foster home trash (c)
[19:06] <Joel> like you doing here anyway? You KNOW you don't belong here.” With one quick motion, Maria reaches out to flick Natalie under the nose, but stops just short. She's not stupid enough to physically touch somebody before a competition... but will Natalie take the bait?
[19:11] * Natalie gave a tiny sigh. "You know how much I`m going enjoy watching you cry after I beat you today?" she stood up as Maria almost fliched her broughed her fist back but stopped short.Enough to make her flinch though.She wanted to hit her so badly..but she promised she wouldn`t get into any more fights.She put her fist down.She was the one who she had beat up before so she would probably be afraid of what
[19:15] <Natalie> she was going to do at first since she had done it already once. "Your not even worth the trouble."
[19:20] <Joel> "You'd better back off before you get hurt, you little-" one of the other girls growled, advancing forward, but Maria stopped her. "Stop it. We're not getting disqualified." Glaring fire and brimstone at Natalie, Maria hissed, “After this, you're gonna wish you never met us, trash. You're not gonna be able to face that dump you call a home ever again.” Turning to (c)
[19:22] <Joel> her 'friends' she said, Come on, girls. Let's amscray. The group left Natalie to herself. As she was left alone, a voice came over the intercom came, calling, “First Competitor: Lauren Morris to the ice! All competitors prepare! Final call!”
[19:25] * Natalie headed out to the rink as she watched the girl called start her prformance from the sidelines.She was ready for today.She wasn`t even worried about what they said,as she was focused on was winning today.
[19:32] <Joel> On the ice, a small girl with fluffy blond hair and bright blue eyes has begun her form. She starts by skating out into the center of the rink on one leg, then spins around several times on one leg. Lauren takes several leaps to the edge of the rink and twizzles around the edge. At last, she ends by skating back to the (c)
[19:34] <Joel> center and does an aerial spiral to the center, landing on one foot, and completing her work with a bow. She exits
[19:35] * Natalie blinks.Woah she was really good O_o;; she didn`t expect that from her at all.
[19:37] <Joel> Outside, Joel has finally made it to the ticket booth. His heart is beating in his chest like a bass drum, nervous with anticipation! If he misses Natalie's performance, he'll never forgive himself... and she won't either! Joel hands in his ticket, then heads into the building, weaving in between everybody (c)
[19:38] <Joel> trying to find a seat.
[19:40] * Natalie looked through the crowd trying to see if she could find Joel.But she didn`t see him anywhere.
[19:40] <Joel> The intercome sounds again Next competitor: Sherry Frone! Please step forward! A relatively thin-underweight, actually-girl steps onto the ice, dressed in a full bodied blue and white jumpsuit, almost like an olympic skater. Her dirty brown hair is tied back in a ponytail, and she stretches out her arms like a bird, preparing for her form
[19:43] * Natalie turned her attention back to the girl who was on the ice.She was guessing Joel couldn`t make it because something had come up.
[19:48] <Joel> Sherry starts out her form with a spiralling leap into the air, rather unusual for a beginning move, and lands neatly on one leg, bending over on one leg, then suddenly turning around without landing and launching herself off at an angle, her hair flying back behind her. All of a sudden, she leaps up and performs, of all things, a split jump, landing down and executing a mohawk turn. She whips around and skates back (c)
[19:50] <Joel> around, executing an aerial spin, then landing in a bow. Her performance is over
[19:52] <Natalie> jeez this girl was really good too.Her hopes on winning were slowly starting to fade.
[19:56] * Joel has finally located the skating rink itself. Hopefully he can find a seat somewhere in this crowded mess of people. Joel begins to make his way down the steps, looking for his assigned seat. He hopes it will be close enough for Natalie to see him. Just to see if she can see him, he waves a hand up through the crowd, hoping she spots it from wherever she is
[20:01] * Natalie didn`t see him at firs,it took at little bit before she realized it was him.She gave him a tiny wave back. ^^
[20:01] <Natalie> first
[20:02] <Joel> Once again, the intercom sounds. Next Competitor: Maria Nolan. Please step forward! Maria steps past Natalie, giving her a brief sneer. “Don't choke, scumbucket.” She steps out onto the center of the rink as music begins to play
[20:04] <Natalie> "Break a leg Maria..literally." she called to her quietly as she headed onto the ice
[20:06] <Joel> Maria begins to skate, and from the way she's moving, she's not going to make things easy for the rest of the girls. She begins to immediately twizzle around the edge of the rink, then suddenly whirls toward the center of the rink, doing something nobody would expect: a lutz jump! As she lands, she immediately performs a (c)
[20:08] <Joel> walley jump, then rotates around in a circle, performing another walley jump, and then ending with a split jump, landing with her arms spread eagle! She finishes her form with a bow, and the audience can only stare at this.
[20:08] * Joel is taken back by this-even a little taken back-but he has not lost his confidence in Natalie. She still has her turn to go, and you shouldn't count somebody out until they go
[20:10] <Joel> Maria skates back toward Natalie and steps back onto land, tossing her hair arrogantly at her, her eyes glittering slits like those of a demon “Top that... trash” Maria struts off into the shadows, seeming to lurk in them like a gargoyle
[20:10] <Natalie> "I plan to" she shot right back at the girl.
[20:18] <Joel> The intercom sounds again, and now it announces the name that two people were both anticipating, and perhaps even dreading. The bells of Hell have sounded, and now it is time to face King Minos. Next up, Natalie Monroe: Please Step Forward!
[20:19] <Joel> As Joel sits down, he feels his heart begin to beat like a guitar riff again. This is what it's all been building up to. At last, he'll be able to see what Natalie has been training for. He'll be rooting for her all the while! He raises his hand in the air and waves to her, making sure not to call out to her so she doesn't get distracted
[20:22] * Natalie took a deep breath as she headed out onto the ice.Most of the girls did their routinines to classical music with no lyrics to them.Natalie had a different idea about this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dr4Rd...eature=related . The music started playing and the lights dimmed as she stood in the center of the rink.(c.)
[20:25] <Natalie> She slowly spun around till she was on one foot,gliding acoss the ice going by the lyrics to guide her.She then speads it up a bit with her pace as she preforms a Salchow jump landing perfectly.Then goes into an Axel jump.She looked beautiful as she graced the ice sending tiny bits of it into the cold air (c)
[20:30] <Natalie> She crouches down and does numerous spins,until her hands are cupped and held close to her chest as she slowly comes up.Finally she does a nice trick to rap up her final jump,its an inside edge spiral in a catch-foot leading to Lutz jump with a twist to it,at the last second in air she does another turn in mid air.Landing once again,perfectly.She is done with her performance now.
[20:36] <Joel> The entire audience is in silent awe at this absolutely sensational performance, but Joel is especially amazed. Natalie looked utterly beautiful as she danced across the ice, her form flawless, her body rivalling a wushu practitioner. Joel knows he must break the silence! He begins to applaud. Soon, another person does likewise, then a second, followed by a (c)
[20:37] <Joel> third. Soon, the entire audience is applauding Natalie, even cheering her. Joel is especially proud of Natalie, and even though a good deal of people are standing up by this point, he's doing his best to look prominent for her
[20:39] * Natalie blushes a little at everyone cheering for her.She is proud of herself for doing so well.
[20:50] <Joel> The competition continues for some time, multiple girls performing multiple forms to different kinds of music. All of them display varying degrees of skill and finesse, and of course, costume. At last, the competition is over, and the time for judging has come. The competitors are ranked according to their skating skills, transitions, performance and execution, choreography, and interpretation. They are (c)
[20:50] <Joel> lined up on a platform while the judges bring out medals, the main three being bronze, silver, and gold
[20:51] * Natalie looks a little nevous as she waits for the judges to come to a result.
[20:56] <Joel> On a large computer screen, the scoreboard ticks down the scores for the competitors. After eliminating the rest of the girls with their scores, it awards Sherry Frone a score that earns her the bronze medal. She smiles and steps forward, allowing the judges to place the ribbon over her neck. Now it's between Maria and Natalie
[20:57] * Joel can feel his pulse quickening, and he's in a cold sweat. “Come on, Nat', you can do this, kiddo! I know you can win this!” Joel thinks to himself. He has his hands clenched in his lap like tourniquets, he's so anxious!
[20:57] * Natalie took a deep breath.She was happy she didn`t get third place but she really wanted to win this.
[20:58] <Joel> Maria gives Natalie a leer out of the corner of her eye that says 'Better luck next time.' She's confident this contest is hers, even though the score hasn't been tallied yet
[20:59] * Natalie wasn`t paying attention to Maria at the time.She was too worried about the scores now.
[21:00] <Joel> The score finally ticks down, the numbers whizzing by like the hands of the judgment clock. Second place goes to... Maria! Maria has been given the silver medal! An evidently shocked Maria steps forward to receive the silver medal, leaving Natalie to receive the gold!
[21:01] <Natalie> "I..I won? Oh my god I won! I won!" she couldn`t believe it at first.She headed down to get her medal.She was so happy
[21:10] <Joel> One of the judges raised up the gold medal, a shimmering golden trinket embellished with a woman leaping high into the air on it, and laid it over Natalie's neck. Once again, Joel is the one who gets everybody applauding, but this time, he goes up to the front of the stands and waves to Natalie, even calling out to her. He knows he shouldn't, but darn it, sometimes being a fool is acceptable just so long as he doesn't run
[21:11] <Joel> out on the ice! “Way to go, Nat'! I knew you could do it, girl!” Joel calls
[21:16] * Natalie blushes.as she skates over to joel. "thanks joel.I didn`t even think I could win this."
[21:20] * Joel leans over to Natalie and smiles at her “I had faith in you this whole time, Nat'. I knew you'd do it. Now look at what you've earned!” Joel winks at her “Whaddya say? Wanna go somewhere to celebrate?”
[21:28] * Natalie nods "sure!"
[21:32] <Joel> “I'll be waiting out front, Nat'. Take your time!” Joel gives her a smile and a nod and turns to go. He's grinning like a cheshire cat, his pride for Natalie swelling like a balloon. She's done it! He knew she would! Just wait until everyone at home hears about this!
[21:33] * Natalie nods as she heads to the locker room to get changed.
[21:37] <Joel> In the locker room, the rest of the girls are getting changed back into their day clothes. They say winning isn't everything, but most of the losing girls have somber expressions on their faces. Just competing never really did anything for people! The only one with an optimistic expression is Sherry, and she's (c)
[21:38] <Joel> keeping to herself. As for Maria and her cohorts, they're keeping well away from Natalie. Being beaten by the underdog seems to have had a decidedly negative impact on them.
[21:41] * Natalie blinks as she enters the room to know one talking to her.She sighs a little as she goes over to sherry and Maria. "Good job guys." ^^ she wanted to rub it in that she won but she felt bad now to make her so sad about this.
[21:45] <Joel> Maria shoots Natalie a glare that could cut a steel girder in two, but says nothing. She wanted to humiliate Natalie in this competition, and instead, she was defeated! How can she take pride in that? Sherry, on the other hand, smiles at Natalie
“Hey, thanks. Y'know, personally...” Sherry takes Natalie aside so they can talk in private “I think (c)
[21:45] <Joel> you're a great skater, Natalie. How did you manage to do an axel?”
[21:47] <Natalie> "alot of pracitce.and falling." X_x; it was the truth,it took so much time for her to learn how to do that
[21:53] <Joel> “Well, I think it's wicked cool.” Sherry leans against a locker “Look, I dunno if we'll ever meet again, but if we do, do you think you could teach me to do an axel? It'd really look great next competition “
[21:54] <Natalie> "Sure!I`m sure we`ll meet again."She smiled.Then finished getting dressed and headed outside and found joel
[21:58] * Joel waves Natalie over to his car “Heya, Nat'! Aah, I knew you'd do it! Way to go, sweetie!” Joel grabs Natalie in a tight hug, just unable to control his joy for her!
[21:59] * Natalie oof`s as she is pulled into a tight hug. "J..joel not in public!" D: jeez he was worse than an over protective dad
[22:01] <Joel> “Oh, sorry, Nat!” Joel lets go, blushing a little “Well, Nat, you won! I can't tell you how proud I am of you! How do you feel?”
[22:03] * Natalie blushes a little."Thanks,I`m happy that I won." she smiles.
[22:05] <Joel> “Where do you wanna go to celebrate, champ?” Joel leans against his car
[22:06] * Natalie doesn`t really know where to go. "You pick,I have no clue where to go." ^^;;
[22:07] <Joel> “Then I know the perfect place to go for ice cream. Come on, Nat'!” Joel gets into the driver's side of the car
[22:08] * Natalie hops in the passange seat. "Hey Joel,you think I could drive?" it was worth a shot!
[22:09] <Joel> “Lemme think about it... no way!” Joel chuckles
[22:11] <Natalie> "awwe.Pleease?just to the ice cream shop and you could drive home."
[22:13] <Joel> “Sorry, Nat', but you're not old enough yet. You can renegotiate when you're sixteen! In the meantime, just chill and enjoy the moment!” Joel turns on the radio “What station, champ?”
[22:17] <Natalie> "98.5 ^^" they always had the newest songs on.
[22:19] <Joel> “Sure thing, champ” Joel switches to the appropriate station. Truth be told, he's not very fond of 98.5, but for Natalie, he'll play the music, especially since she's earned it. With a smile, he starts the car, pulls out of the parking space, and drives off
[22:44] * Natalie smiles "I remember what you told me.When I was out on the ice I kept remembering what you said to me."
[22:48] <Joel> “You did?” Joel looks surprised as he turns out of the ice rink and onto the road “That's advice I was told growing up, y'know. I'm glad I could help, Nat'. Any way I can”
[22:50] * Natalie nodded ^^
[22:54] * Joel smiles and gives a sentimental sigh. Natalie is really becoming like a daughter to him. He's going to have to start spending more time with her. If only he wasn't so wrapped up in his studies... well, maybe he can put them off a little bit! Joel drives off with Natalie, the music playing in the car, and toward their destination