‘Hi,’ whispered Issy, kneeling down and stroking his pale-blue back. He blinked with pleasure, blowing ice crystals from his nostrils.
His mother appeared, swooping down and picking him up. Taking him back up to the nest again, she placed him on its edge. Issy watched as he paused for a moment, looking nervous – and then he jumped! His wings flapped wildly as he tossed and turned in the air. The little dragon landed in a heap in the snow, but as soon as his mum picked him up and put him back in the nest, he tried again. And then again and again, until he managed to fly right round the tree!
Looking delighted with himself, the baby dragon landed back in the nest. Issy was so pleased, she felt like clapping him, but she didn’t want to scare him or the others.
The girls watched the ice dragons for ages, laughing at their antics. Finally they sensed that the mother dragons were becoming restless at having them there and they stole quietly away.
‘Sophy, thanks so much,’ said Issy, squeezing her friend’s arm. ‘That was the best surprise ever.’
Sophy grinned at her. ‘I had a feeling you might like it!’
But as the turrets of the school came back into view, Issy’s high spirits faded. Seeing the baby ice dragons had been wonderful … but she still had to perform in the competition that afternoon. She shivered.
‘What’s wrong?’ asked Sophy.
Issy took a deep breath. ‘It’s just … well, you were right,’ she confessed. ‘I’m scared of doing double axels now. And I’ve tried so hard!’ She described how she had sneaked down to the skating rink the night before. ‘I’m so afraid of falling again that I freeze up,’ she finished sadly. ‘I get to the jump and I just can’t do it.’
‘But Issy, that happens to everyone sometimes!’ exclaimed Sophy.
Issy felt like crying. She wiped her eyes with her mitten. ‘Well, it’s never happened to me before. I don’t know what to do. Even Madame Letsworth said she couldn’t help me, that I had to do it myself. Well, I can’t. I’m hopeless.’
Sophy stopped and faced her. ‘You’re not hopeless,’ she said firmly. ‘You just have to keep at it!’
Issy sighed. She knew that Sophy was trying to make her feel better, but she had tried so many times already! ‘Anyway, I suppose it doesn’t matter how I do,’ Issy said sadly. ‘I obviously don’t have what it takes to be the Ice Princess after all. She has to be brave and I’m so not.’
Sophy gave her a friendly nudge. ‘Don’t be daft! My dad always says that being brave doesn’t mean not being scared. It means being scared, but doing something anyway.’
Issy’s forehead creased. It was kind of Sophy to try and cheer her up, but how could you be afraid and brave at the same time? It didn’t make any sense!
She could hear the other girls practising their routines in the distance. ‘Come on, we’d better get back,’ Issy said reluctantly. ‘The competition will be starting soon.’
Chapter Eight
The Amber Skates
Half an hour before the competition, the changing room was busy with girls getting dressed and doing their hair. Gazing in the mirror, Issy put on a little bit of make-up, which they were allowed to wear for competitions. First pulling her thick blonde hair into a ponytail, she put on blue eyeshadow, lipgloss and mascara, and then stroked silvery glitter on to her cheekbones.
Finally she pulled on her bright-blue costume. She did look nice, she thought. If only she wasn’t so scared! Biting her lip nervously, Issy laced up her skates and then tied a blue scarf round her ponytail. When she had first planned her costume, she had imagined the scarf fluttering behind her like a bird’s wings. Now all she could think of was it hanging limply from her hair as she froze on her double axel!
‘Aargh!’ shrieked Jo suddenly. She jumped up from her bench, shaking out her skate. Water and slushy snow dripped from it. ‘There’s – there’s a snowball in my skate!’ she spluttered in disbelief.
‘Gosh, I wonder how that got in there,’ said Cecilia innocently. Her eyes sparkled.
Everyone stared at her for a moment and then started howling with laughter – Jo loudest of all! ‘Good one, Cecilia’ she said with a grin. ‘You got me.’
Despite her worries, Issy smiled at Jo, glad she had taken the joke in good spirits.
The frost fairies zoomed forward, quickly drying Jo’s skate for her. Then it was time. The girls headed out towards the ice. Sophy squeezed Issy’s hand. ‘Good luck!’ she whispered.
‘Thanks,’ Issy whispered back. I’m going to need it, she thought glumly.
Issy waited nervously by the edge of the rink as the competition started. As last week, the judges were the three skating teachers. They sat behind a big table while other ice sylphs watched from the seats round the rink.
Only it’s not like last week at all, thought Issy. She had actually been excited about performing then. It seemed hard to believe now. She swallowed hard and wiped her damp palms on her skirt.
Maisie was first on the ice. She glided out and took up her position. As the music started, she flung herself into a very showy routine with lots of spins and jumps, all performed dead on time with the beats of the music. Everyone clapped loudly as she finished. Cecilia was next, dancing a surprisingly tricky-looking routine. She’s really improved, thought Issy, watching her. Jo went after Cecilia. She barrelled around the ice like a dynamo, doing lots of high-speed jumps and turns. She fell over three times and lost her way once, but didn’t seem to mind.
After each girl finished, the teachers consulted for a moment and then the frost fairies shot up into the air, forming the numbers of each girl’s score. So far, Maisie was in the lead, with Cecilia second and Abigail from the Frost Fairies dorm third. Issy licked her lips nervously as it got closer and closer to her turn.
Glancing at the ice dragons in their music box, she thought wistfully about how lovely it had been out in the woods that morning with Sophy. The baby ice dragons had been so cute! She smiled as she remembered how nervous the one who landed at her feet had been, and then how he had flung himself into the air anyway.
Suddenly a shock went through Issy as something clicked into place. That’s exactly what Sophy had been trying to tell her! You could be brave even though you were scared. The important thing was trying, whether you were frightened or not … just like the baby ice dragon had.
‘Issy! It’s your turn!’ whispered Sophy, shaking her arm. Issy’s heart was thumping as she skated out on to the ice. I’m scared, but I’m going to do it anyway, she thought, lifting her arms into position. If I fall, I fall … but I’ve got to try!
The music started. Issy took a deep breath and began. To her surprise, she found herself getting into the music as she did her first spin and then picked up speed. Coming to her first double axel, she didn’t give herself time to even think about her fear. She just put her weight on her left outside blade and jumped, spinning in the air.
Issy was so surprised to find herself actually doing the double axel that her foot wobbled as she landed and she went sprawling! She jumped back up again, joy rushing through her. She had done it! Even the fact that she’d fallen again seemed OK. She hadn’t hurt herself at all!
With a big grin on her face, Issy went through the rest of her routine. Stepping with her left foot into a Flying Camel, as she spun round faster and faster, she lifted her right leg up and pulled her arms back along her body. She felt wonderful – as if she owned the ice. Starting to skate backwards again, she prepared herself for her next jump.
As the happy music reached its climax and Issy came to her second and final double axel, she threw herself into it with no hesitation. She wobbled again as she landed, but didn’t fall this time. Yes! she thought, only just stopping herself from punching the air.
She finished her routine, throwing her arms back on the beat. The ice sylphs applauded and she saw Madame Letsworth smiling at her. Issy’s own smile was huge as she skated back to the barrier.
‘You did it! You did the double axel!
’ squealed Sophy.
‘Well, you did wobble a lot on it,’ said Vanessa unkindly.
Issy ignored her. She might have wobbled, but she was just too thrilled to care. She had done the jump as she had planned – that was all that mattered!
Jo gasped and pointed to the frost fairies. ‘Look! You’re in the lead, Issy!’ She hugged her. ‘That’s brilliant!’
To Issy’s amazement, it was true. She was first now. By the time the other girls had finished, Jessica had taken over from Cecilia in third place … but Issy was still the winner.
‘I can’t believe it!’ she gasped. The girls crowded round, congratulating her. At the judges’ table, Madame Letsworth stood up and motioned for silence.
‘Well done, everyone,’ she said. ‘You’ve all worked hard this week and it shows! You were judged on two things today: accuracy and your bravery in pushing yourself. Our winner this week is Issy who, as you all know, took a bad fall when doing a double axel earlier this week. Unsurprisingly she was then extremely nervous about trying that jump again.’
She paused for a moment and silence fell across the rink. Issy felt her ears turn hot with embarrassment as Madame Letsworth went on.
‘This sort of fear is something that all skaters have to deal with at some point and it takes a lot of courage to overcome it. So, without a doubt, our winner this week is Issy. Well done, Issy. Come and get your prize!’
In a daze, Issy stepped back on to the ice and skated over to the table. She could hear her friends cheering as Madame Letsworth handed her a glittering pair of skates that were decorated with rich amber jewels.
‘Thank you!’ she gasped.
Madame Letsworth squeezed her shoulder. ‘I told you that you’d have to find your own way, Issy, and you’ve done it very well. I’m proud of you.’
Issy skated back to her friends, her heart light. Perhaps Madame Letsworth was right and she had found her own way … but she knew that she could never have done so without Sophy’s help. And the baby ice dragon, of course! She grinned as she thought of him.
The girls all crowded around her, exclaiming over her skates as she stepped back through the barrier.
‘Can I borrow them sometime?’ Jo asked.
‘Of course,’ said Issy, smiling at her.
As everyone started drifting off to get changed, Issy and Sophy exchanged a smile. ‘I wonder what next week’s competition will be?’ said Sophy.
Issy shook her head. ‘I don’t know,’ she said. ‘But I can hardly wait to find out!’
She gazed down at her sparkling honey-coloured skates. She could still hardly believe it. She had been so afraid, but she had tried anyway … and it had been the best feeling in the world!
And this is the best school in the world, Issy thought happily. ‘Come on,’ she said to Sophy. ‘Let’s get changed and see if the others want to have a snowball fight!’
Sophy giggled. ‘Better not mention snowballs to Jo!’
Linking arms, the two friends headed towards the changing room. Another week over, thought Issy. And the next week would bring even more adventure. She couldn’t wait!
Skating School: Amber Skate Star Page 4