10/9/14
Tonya successfully landed her signature triple axel to complete her routine then turned to the judges. Clarence noticed how confident she looked while waiting for the scores. A nine; good. Another nine, and another. An eight? That jerk always scores tough. And the last one? A ten! Yes! That gave her the lead. Now, if the last contestant didn’t beat her score Tonya would be in the regional semi-finals.
Clarence was seated right against the rail of the rink. He liked a clear view of each skater’s every move. He had developed an interest in watching this sport last year when his mother pushed him to leave his computer and “go do something outside.” She said he wouldn’t meet anybody real if he never left the apartment. So wandering down the block he ventured into the arena to get out of the snow and found a figure skating competition in progress. One look at Tonya in her frilly tutu and he was hooked.
Today’s last contestant had begun her routine and was rapidly approaching Clarence as she circled the rink. He called out to her, “Hey!” and raised his hand. He didn’t speak loud enough for the judges to hear, of course; but it was enough for her. It was also enough to make her miss the mark for her first leap. That bad landing then led to another and ruined her performance. With Tonya assured of first place he grinned and quickly exited the building. He didn’t want to meet that girl’s family.
A night of research on the computer told Clarence that another semi-finalist, Katerina, was favored to win the regionals and move up to finals. He also learned she liked to practice each evening at the pond in Founders Park. It would only be a twenty-minute bus ride for him to go see how good she was.
The accident which put Katerina out of contention just two days before the match was called bad luck. As she was leaving the park a jogger didn’t see her in the dusk and ran into her from behind. The collision then pushed her into the path of an oncoming cyclist and the resulting pile-up left her with a broken leg. Doctors were confident she would eventually return to skating though. Clarence checked the news several times but it seemed no one recognized the jogger. He had run away while the by-standers tended to the skater and the cyclist.
The finals would be held in Capital City in a month, and would be a three part competition over two days. This presented a challenge to Clarence. He’d have to travel the day before, then spend at least two nights there. He could search online for the cheapest hotel and restaurants, but it wouldn’t be easy to talk his mom into giving him that much money. Oh! Maybe he could tell her he was going for a job interview. She’d be willing to pay if it were for that.
Clarence spent the intervening month researching the other finalists and trying to find some company he could actually visit while there and drop off a resume’. Five finalists would be competing for the title. Two of them looked to be no threat, but Olga and Sally were going to be tough. What’s more, both lived far enough away that he couldn’t go see either of them before the finals.
At long last he was in a front row seat for the first event. Olga and Sally had both scored well on their runs, and the other two girls were slated to go after Tonya. Clarence watched Tonya intently. He was proud of how far she had progressed since the first time he saw her. He wondered if she had noticed yet that he came to every performance.
As she glided past a thickly accented voice called, “Look out!” Several seats to his right a man waved at Tonya but couldn’t break her concentration. She just kept skating smoothly, like the professional she was. Even so, Clarence was upset and walked over to the man.
“Why are you trying to distract Tonya during her routine?”
“Nyet!” the man responded. “I did nothing wrong.”
“You did. I heard you. Hey, didn’t I see you standing with Olga’s team before the match?”
“You can not make proof for that.”
“That’s enough, you two,” came a gruff voice behind them. “Be quiet or you’ll have to leave.”
Looking around they saw a large policeman. The man who had spoken turned pale and sat down, so Clarence went back to his seat. The policeman moved a short distance away but was clearly alert for any more disturbance.
The first match ended with Tonya scoring slightly ahead of Olga and Sally while the other two trailed well behind. There was a three hour break before the second event so the arena began to empty. Clarence lingered near the hallway to the contestant area hoping to catch a glimpse of Tonya. The crowds were mostly gone by the time she came down the corridor.
A moment later there was a yell as a man sprang from behind a column and rushed at Tonya. Raised over his head was a short length of lead pipe. Tonya screamed. Clarence jumped in front of the attacker while Tonya ran for the exit. He immediately recognized the man as the one from earlier. With Tonya now gone the man fled. Then seeing the same policeman approaching, Clarence dashed out the door too.
A few hours later Clarence was with the crowds returning to the arena. A familiar voice made him look, and he saw a couple of guards holding a figure he knew too well. The man had changed clothes and pulled a ball cap low over his head, but the sharp-eyed policeman caught him anyway. Clarence smiled to himself and continued forward.
“You!” he heard behind him. He too had been recognized despite his own change of shirt. “Neither of you are going back in there today!” Clarence opened his mouth to protest but the policeman’s look changed his mind. They were then escorted out the doors and told, “Don’t come back.”
Back at his hotel room, Clarence searched the TV channels until he found coverage of the figure skating competition. The second event ended with Tonya behind Olga and only a little ahead of Sally. Clarence could tell she was still shaken from the attack. If only he’d been at the match perhaps his presence would have made her feel safe.
The next day Clarence was determined to get into the third event. He couldn’t let Tonya down again. He put on the suit his mother made him bring in case of an interview and slicked down his hair with a little of the conditioner the hotel provided. He was sure he looked different enough to get past ol’ Eagle Eye. Besides he had only been told he couldn’t go back in that day. Soon he entered the arena by walking alongside a large group arriving by bus. He noticed many more security guards present and was glad they were taking Tonya’s safety seriously.
To open the final match the five contestants were lined up before the judges table and presented to the spectators. During Olga’s introduction Tonya looked toward Olga’s team and suddenly became angry.
“That’s the man!” she shouted. “That’s the one who attacked me!”
Olga faced her and shouted back. “No! That’s my uncle. He would do no such thing.”
“Yes he did. He did it so you could win!”
At that Olga slapped Tonya forcefully. Tonya then shoved Olga backwards causing her to fall. Several officials rushed forward to separate them. Olga’s uncle attempted to leave but a guard stopped him.
Clarence knew he had to help. He pushed his way along the aisles until he reached the judges table. “She’s telling the truth,” he called out to them. As the officials looked to him Tonya screamed again.
“That’s another one! Keep him away. He’s been stalking me for months.”
The strange events of this final competition were discussed for months. Sally was crowned the new champion. Tonya and Olga were both disqualified for unsportsmanlike conduct. Olga’s uncle and Clarence were arrested for assault.
When Clarence went to trial he was cleared of the charges involving Tonya and was even shown to have protected her. However, after his photo was shown on the news, Katarina came forward and identified him as the jogger who caused her injuries. In the end Clarence was ordered to stay away from Tonya, Katarina, and all figure skating functions.
He retreated back to his bedroom and computer, and felt lucky to have avoided prison. He wanted no more to do with figure skaters. But shortly afterwards while watching online videos a new sport caught his attention.
The gymnast Nadia was very cute and her leotard was rather titillating. And when she did the splits — Oh, wow! Maybe … Hmmm.
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