To Dream or Not to Dream

Tired

Author's note: Another chapter I wrote on my phone. Sorry for grammatical errors. Please comment and vote 😀

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Chapter Six - Toronto Canada

Isabella let out a weary sigh as her head hit the pillow in her motel room. She spread her body out on the thin mattress, wincing when the springs squeaked.

She supposed she should be grateful that this cheap motel even had a mattress.

As she stretched out on the worn bedding, her foot gradually maneuvered down the side of her other leg, using the least amount of energy possible to coax her shoe off.  

It hit the floor with a muted clunk.

Isabella was exhausted, physically and emotionally. The last two weeks had been a challenge for her, between group practices and her private lessons, pushing her past her limits. She had thought she was in decent shape, but her body screamed otherwise every night she came back here to rest. Maybe this was what joining the army felt like.

A small smirk formed as she imagined Coach Tracy as an army drill sergeant.

She shook her head.

No, Tracy was too kind for that.

If the past few weeks taught her anything, it was that everything in her skating style needed work. It was a humbling experience to witness children half her age displaying more potential than her. What added to the sting was their remarkable ability to swiftly pick up new skills. Isabella swore they only needed half the time she did to learn new techniques.

Determined not to be left behind, Isabella made it a habit to stay late after every practice session. The extra hours on the ice were necessary for her to keep up. She understood that, in order to bridge the gap, she had to put in that much more effort.

Isabella groaned, flipping her body over on the mattress.

Money was another issue. 

Skating at the rink most certainly was not free and she had been forced to find the first job she could find in the evening hours, after practice. When she was not at the rink, she was busy waitressing at a local mom-and-pop shop just to get by. This arrangement turned her regular eight-hour day into an exhausting fifteen-hour marathon, factoring in the travel time.

This situation was more difficult than Isabella had imagined.

Isabella's eyes closed for what felt like a brief moment, before her alarm clock was blaring in her ears, signaling the start of another day where she would have to repeat the entire cycle.

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Yuzuru smiled as he entered the ice rink of the Cricket Club. These early morning sessions, where the ice was all his, had become his sanctuary.

Because he swore that group practice was getting on his very last nerve.

Although Yuzuru knew he could go overboard with his serious nature towards skating, his demeanor at the club used to be playful, at times.  Of course he focused intently on his skating, but when he met his goal, he loved to be around the people who shared the same passion as him.

At the TCC, he was with kindred spirits.

All accept one glaring misfit - Isabella Lawson.

Her presence there aggravated him more than what was probably reasonable.