sacha-fowler:
“Well that’s good to hear, I sure hope it’s soon,” Sacha said with an awkward laugh, she was absolutely desperate for a good coach. Working by herself was fine for a couple weeks, but competition season was coming up and she needed the honest input from a coach, that would actually offer fixes to her problem moves and jumps rather than simply pointing them out. She knew she under rotated things and wasn’t getting the height in certain places, but she needed more instruction. Instruction that would take her to the Olympics.
“We’re staying at the Lodge for now, it’s really nice. Strange though to stay at a hotel for an extended period.” Usually holidays were only two weeks, and she was getting quite used to having food delivered and in house cleaners.
The woman behind the counter approached them, asking Sacha if she was ready to order. “Cheeseburger and fries, please, and a diet lemonade? Thank you.”
Sacha laughed at Lorelei’s easy agreement about the hockey team’s failings, shaking her head slightly in surprise. “Oh you’re friends with some of them? But at the same time, there’s bad blood between us all?” It was a little strange, but she’d go along with it for now. There must be more of a history than what she was understanding. “Are they mean or anything?” She nodded, “Sure, I suppose it might be quite amusing to watch them if they’re not doing that great. But best not let them have something to hold over me, like I’m actually interested.”
“I’ve stayed there before for weeks at a time too. It’s amazing how fast you get used to a life of luxury,” Lore smiled. Of course, Lore also came from a life of luxury... but that wasn’t such a surprising thing for people staying at the Astoria.
“The only tip I can offer you is that the gym is more packed in the early morning. Not surprising since winter sports are the thing to do here and everyone seems to be early risers, even the tourists. But... if you head there mid-day you might just have the place to yourself. Also, room service is happy to make you a hot fudge sundae at any time. At least, they were when I was twelve. And sixteen.
Lore’s stomach practically grumbled at just the words Sacha had mention in her order, but she didn’t let the idea of a burger and fries hang in the air for long. Not when it would disappoint her nutritionist and her coach. No, instead Lore was thrilled to continue her deep dive into an explanation of the skating and hockey rivalry. There was still much to be revealed to the newest member of Team Skate.
“My best friend and my brother are on the team. We’re all supposed to be rivals, but sometimes you form lasting bonds before you officially pick a side. You can’t be penalized for that. And they’re not really mean. They’re just sort of... there. All the time. I don’t think the feud would exist at all if we had more than one rink in town, but as it currently stands we can’t exactly live in perfect harmony. Technically one sport suffers each time the other takes the ice. Last time a skater tried to practice on the same ice as the hockey team the goalie ended up hospitalized and there was a lawsuit. If I remember correctly the puck came a little too close to the skater for comfort and uh... a battle of the blades ensued. Sometimes the rivalry is used for good, though. There’s an annual charity free skate night where we compete to see who can bring the most people to the rink and who can make the most money off of concessions. All proceeds go to the winner’s charity of choice.”













