A Figure Skating Queen Who Can’t Be Lifted But I Was Born To Fly Chapter 02

A Figure Skating Queen Who Can’t Be Lifted But I Was Born To Fly Chapter 02

He looked at me, the faintest curve at the corner of his mouth.

“Your partner’s core strength is too weak. He can’t handle your explosive power.”

“He’s afraid you’ll pull him off balance, so he dumps the force early on every throw jump.”

“That’s the real reason your axis shifts.”

The air went dead silent.

Ethan’s face cycled between white and green.

“What the hell are you talking about? Some amateur con artist at a public rink, and you think you know anything about pairs skating?”

“I’m a priority development athlete at Crown Ice Club!”

The man finally shifted his gaze to Ethan.

His eyes held the look of someone inspecting a defective product.

“Priority development athlete?”

A quiet laugh.

“A priority development athlete who makes his partner starve to cover up his own strength deficiency?”

Ethan’s humiliation was visible to the naked eye, his fists clenched white-knuckle tight.

Scarlett Brown grabbed his arm.

“Ethan, this guy is just jealous of you.”

She whipped around and glared at the man, her voice dripping acid.

“If you’re so talented, why aren’t you in the U.S. Figure Skating system? Making money at a public rink like this, don’t you have any shame?”

The man didn’t bother acknowledging Scarlett Brown’s provocation.

He put his cap back on and gave me one long, deep look.

“Stop losing weight. Your frame was built to fly, not to cater to dead weight.”

With that, he turned and glided back onto the ice. His silhouette disappeared into the crowd within seconds.

My heart was hammering.

That phrase, “built to fly,” split through the fog in my brain like a bolt of lightning.

Ethan kicked the trash can beside him hard enough to dent it.

“You’re not actually buying that, are you? He was just saying that to make you feel better.”

“At your weight, you want to fly? Keep dreaming.”

I looked at him coldly.

“Was anything he said wrong?”

“At the last club test skate, you were half a beat late on the takeoff. That’s why I fell on the landing.”

Ethan stared at me in disbelief.

“It was because you’re too heavy. That’s why I ran out of strength. How is that my fault?”

“You can’t lose the weight, so you blame your partner. Unbelievable.”

He tugged irritably at his collar.

“I am not teaming up with dead weight like you for competition. Get that through your head.”

Then he turned to Scarlett Brown, his voice going soft.

“I’ve submitted a request to the coach to have you as my partner for the competition.”

My head rang like a bell had gone off inside it.

“You recommended who?”

I stared Ethan down.

The Northwest Regional Championships entry slot was something I’d nearly killed myself training a triple Axel to earn.

The coach had promised me. This time, I would compete.

No more sitting on the bench as an alternate, rotting away backstage.

Ethan avoided my eyes, his tone self-righteous.

“Scarlett is younger than you. She has more potential.”

“You’re too heavy, and you’ve never even competed at a Regional. You’d just embarrass us.”

“I’m thinking about the bigger picture for the club.”

I laughed, the kind of laugh that comes when you’re so angry it loops back around.

“The bigger picture? Or your own selfish agenda?”

“Ethan, that’s my spot.”

Scarlett Brown bit her lower lip, looking wounded, and tears spilled on command.

Ethan lost it completely.

“Chloe, are you done? With a body like yours, what kind of results do you think you’d get?”

I stood there, watching them walk away side by side.

The cramping in my stomach intensified until I could barely stay on my feet.

I looked down at the battered pair of skates in my hands.

Ten years. I’d poured every ounce of my youth and health into Ethan.

And all I got in return was the word “dead weight.”

I took a deep breath, turned around, and walked toward the subway station.

Tomorrow, I needed to go to the club.

It was time to settle some accounts.