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KAP 21
Kora's home was poorer than one could imagine.
The house in Michigan was less of a proper house and more of a cheap trailer. Made of thin plywood, the whole family had to shiver through the winter due to the drafts.
When Kora was fifteen, her family's fortunes declined further when her mother divorced her father, who had been habitually abusive.
Even now, Kora would bring leftover apples or food from the cafeteria to save on grocery money. Sometimes, she would wash her clothes by hand because she couldn't bear to spend the three dollars it cost to use the dormitory washing machines.
Poverty leaves traces.
Not just in frayed sleeves and worn-down heels, but in one's manner of speaking, eating habits, and tastes.
Since entering Chatsworth, Kora had been striving to bleach away those traces.
If she didn't, she would never be able to blend into this rigid class society, nor would she ever seize the chance to escape poverty.
People loathe mixing with those they perceive as being of a lower status more than one might think. Kora knew that fact more poignantly than anyone.
'Since you're human, you'll probably react the same way once you realize it.'
Kora looked at the message he had sent once more. Suddenly, his flirting felt bothersome.
Your casual interest is a bit overwhelming for me.
You just want to play with me like a toy in your mouth. Am I wrong?
Instead of replying, Kora gave his message a half-hearted "like" and tossed her phone onto the bed.
Tristan Lockwood was a reminder of everything she didn't have and could never have.
A person whose very existence amplified her deficiencies, constantly reminding her of how unfair this world was.
Of course, that wasn't actually Tristan's fault.
However, she didn't want to stay by his side and start dreaming foolish dreams—like winning the Powerball—just like the other girls.
'Besides, my neck hurts like crazy because I have to look up whenever we stand together.'
The wind and rain blowing through the slightly open window were exceptionally cold.
As she turned to close the window, her gaze happened to fall on a plastic card lying on the side table. It was Tristan's ice rink pass.
'Ah... right. I forgot I was supposed to give that back.'
I'll finish the group project with him reasonably, return this, and then keep my distance. Having made up her mind, Kora grabbed a towel and underwear and headed to the shower.
It was time to wash away the scent of his fabric softener that had clung stubbornly to her body.
Therefore, Kora's appearance at the hockey team's rink at 4:00 AM was an entirely impulsive act.
While checking the schedule for the group project with him yesterday, Kora had accidentally learned the hockey team's practice schedule.
"There's no practice on Tuesday mornings. That's the only break we get during the week."
That meant the Lockwood Arena was empty on Tuesday mornings.
In that moment, Kora automatically imagined herself skating alone in the empty rink. How happy would she be, skating in a silent rink with no one around...?
Thinking about it all night made her so restless with the urge to skate that she felt she might go crazy. It was clearly a withdrawal symptom, as it had been a long time since she had last skated.
After tossing and turning all night, Kora finally sat up in bed at 3:00 AM.
Pulling out the old skates she had hidden deep in her dresser, she appeared at the rink, clutching Tristan's pass as if possessed.
It felt like madness, but she felt she had to resolve this maddening conflict quickly.
'I'll just skate once and return the pass. Then I'll end this cleanly.'
It wasn't as if the ice would wear down from a little skating. As a student of the school, shouldn't she be allowed to use the school facilities?
Kora tried to console herself with that thought, but just in case, she put on a black hoodie and pulled the hood over her head. With a mask on top of that, she looked incredibly suspicious.
Arriving at the rink, Kora tapped the pass against the electronic pad and entered. Passing through the silent corridor and entering the rink, she placed her bag on one of the spectator seats.
When she took off the hoodie, she revealed a tight-fitting black performance tee and leggings. It was the simple attire she had always worn when practicing figure skating.
After stretching, Kora turned on only a few of the rink's lights.
Since the sun hadn't risen yet, there was no light coming through the windows, but the dim atmosphere was actually atmospheric and pleasant.
Tying the laces of her old skates tightly, Kora took a deep breath and stepped onto the ice.
Swoosh.
Kora let out a small sigh at the sound of the skate blades smoothly carving into the ice.
To her ears, the sound was like ASMR. It felt so good that goosebumps rose on the nape of her neck.
'How long has it been?'
She glided freely across the ice, performing warming-up movements.
Because of the surrounding darkness, she felt like a single fish swimming in the deep sea.
"Ha... this is great."
She felt free and happy.
The pure joy she had felt the first time she skated as a child filled her heart.
On a whim, Kora attempted a spiral. Smiling like a child, she glided elegantly on one foot with the other leg extended high behind her.
'My form is still there!'
Despite taking over a year off, it seemed her skill hadn't dropped at all. After finishing the spiral, she practiced spins.
A camel spin, rotating with one leg extended back. A sit spin, and then an upright spin.
Having perfectly executed a combination spin, Kora mimicked a bow toward an imaginary audience.
'Thank you, thank you. Now that I've done the spins, I will show you the jumps.'
Taking a deep breath, she glided backward rapidly, wrapped her arms around her body, and launched herself into the air by digging the toe pick of her skate into the ice. It was a toe loop jump.
Shhh.
After rotating twice in the air, she landed lightly on the ice.
"My body is fully warmed up!"
With a smile, she rode the momentum to successfully land a high-difficulty Lutz and a double Axel in succession.
"Oh, that was good!"
Had her condition actually improved because of the break? Her body felt light as a feather.
'Should I try a triple Lutz while I'm at it?'
Kora pondered as she crossed the ice.
The triple Lutz was classified as a high-difficulty technique among jumps requiring three rotations in the air.
While most jumps take off from the inside edge of the skate, the Lutz is the only one where the skater glides on the outside edge and then rotates in the opposite direction.
In other words, it was similar to riding a bicycle while leaning to the right and then suddenly switching direction to the left to launch into the air.
The only jump more difficult than the triple Lutz was the triple Axel, which very few female professional skaters could perform.
Therefore, in reality, how well one could execute the triple Lutz served as a very important factor in gauging a female skater's skill.
During her active years, the triple Lutz had been Kora's weakness. Especially after suffering an ankle injury while practicing it, her body would instinctively shrink every time she jumped.
But today, since she was on the ice for the first time in a long while, she wanted to give the triple Lutz a try.
'Let's do it.'
Having made up her mind, Kora glided backward diagonally across the ice, steadying her breath.
At the tense moment of takeoff, she held her breath and twisted her body to the left with all her might.
Three flashes of light passed in the air, and the moment she finished the rotation and landed—her ankle buckled to one side, and she fell flat on her backside.
Crash!
Sliding a great distance due to the momentum, Kora hit the fence with a loud noise.
"Ugh..."
The pain was so sharp she couldn't move. Eventually, Kora let out a hollow laugh while lying on her back on the ice. She would get a bruise, but she didn't feel bad.
'Still, the rotation wasn't bad. I think I just need to focus on the landing. But well, now that I've retired, it's all pointless.'
She lay there for a while, savoring the silence of the rink. It was a pleasant loneliness, as if she were the only person left on Earth.
How long had she been lying there? Before she knew it, the sun was slowly beginning to rise outside the window.
'I'd better get out of here before the cleaners arrive.'
Dusting herself off and standing up, Kora gathered her things and left the rink.
As she walked toward the exit, she noticed a faint light leaking through the gap of a door to a room down the hallway. Seeing this, Kora froze in place.
'...No way. Is someone inside?'
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