Girls Only! (17 page)

“Oh, really?”

“Yep, and besides, I’ve been thinking that it’s time I start getting in shape.”

“For what?”

Her sister’s eyes were playful. “You know, in case I decide to go out for something like . . .” She stopped for a second, then continued. “Something like ice hockey or maybe even Alpine skiing, like your friend Miranda.”

Heather didn’t dare laugh. Even though Joanne’s eyes twinkled with mischief, Heather wasn’t sure just how serious her sis was. “Have you been thinking about this for a long time?”

Joanne’s head bobbed up and down. “Oh yes. I want to build up my muscle tone, start doing more sit-ups every day. Like Mommy does with her workout DVD.”

“That’s nice.”

“No, really . . . I
want
to be a healthy vessel for God.”

Heather let a tiny laugh slip past her lips. This was too much. “Don’t you mean a
willing
vessel?”

“Sure . . . that, too.” Joanne jumped off the bed and bounced toward the door, her long hair hanging loose around her shoulders. “So . . . will you help me?”

She had no idea where this conversation was headed. “What do you want me to do?”

“Help me get rid of my flabby muscles.” Joanne pointed to her upper arms.

“You’ve got to be kidding.” Heather eyed her sister. Slightly plump around the middle, but lots of six-year-olds had little or no waistline. Nothing to worry about. “You’re fine, Joanne. Kids your age are supposed to be chubby. Besides, when you grow a bit taller in a few years, you’ll slim right down.”

“But I don’t want to wait.” Abruptly, Joanne turned and left the room.

What’s that about?
wondered Heather, reaching for her teen devotional Bible.

Morning training sessions came very early in the Bock household. Both she and Kevin had a long day tomorrow, and Coach McDonald expected them to be prompt. After practice, they’d have to hurry home to shower, change clothes, and hit the books around the dining-room table, with Mom as their teacher. At the present time, one of their homeschool study units was personal hygiene and nutrition. Mom’s idea, as usual. She was a stickler for eating healthy foods and, in general, taking good care of “God’s property,” as she liked to refer to her children’s bodies.

Opening the pages to the devotional for the day, Heather was caught off guard. Surprised, really. The Scripture reading was 1 Timothy 4:8. “For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come.”

She thought of Joanne’s comments about wanting to get in shape. Had her sister been reading Heather’s devotional book? Joanne was a good reader, advanced beyond her years, one of the benefits of being schooled at home—you didn’t get stuck in a single grade level for a full year.

Hmm
. She wondered about her suspicions. Not that Joanne was ever known to nose around in her big sister’s bedroom. Mom was totally opposed to it. And the younger children—Joanne and Tommy, both—knew enough not to cross any of the clearly defined boundaries set up in the house. Joanne must have come up with the notion to work out entirely on her own.

Heather hurried to her dresser and picked up her brush, beginning her nightly ritual of brushing her shoulder-length hair twenty-five times on each side. As she did, she thought of the skinny-minny models she’d seen in the magazine at Dottie Forster’s Boutique. Did they exercise vigorously to look that skeletal, or did they go without eating? And what would cause a girl to want to starve herself that way?

Photo Perfect

Chapter Two

Heather flew through her day, dragging out of bed before dawn, dressing for practice. She breathed a prayer before rushing out the door with Mom and Kevin. “Help us meet our skating goals for today, dear Lord,” she whispered.

“You’re rehearsing your lifts today,” Mom reminded them on the drive to the skating rink.

“I’m ready,” Kevin said, grinning and proudly showing off his arm muscles. “I’m in great shape.”

Mom nodded. “You’re strong because you lift weights. Keep up the good work.”

Kevin groaned. Lifting arm and leg weights wasn’t his favorite thing to do, but it was essential to build and strengthen the upper torso, as well as a skater’s legs.

“Thank goodness I’m still shorter than Kevin,” added Heather.

“If you pass me up, maybe
you
can start doing the lifts, with me over your head,” Kevin said, laughing.

“No, thanks,” she replied.

When it came to lifts, there was no set rule that the guy had to be the one to lift the girl. Actually, a short girl lifting a taller partner would shock the judges. And no skater wanted to risk offending or upsetting a judge.

Heather was ready for anything today. Totally pumped and eager to work.

Mom pulled into the mall parking lot, pausing to look at each of them before opening the door. “I’m so proud of you both,” she said. “You work so hard.”

“Coach McDonald insists on it. We have no choice.” Kevin grinned at Heather, his blue eyes shining.

“Okay, so let’s get going.” Heather opened the car door and raced her brother to the mall entrance.

Coach greeted them with a grin and a wave and sported a bright red tie. He always wore a pressed white dress shirt and a bright tie when coaching. His trademark.

To warm up—to avoid tearing muscles—both Heather and Kevin did their off-ice training, working on calf, thigh, and hip muscles, as well as spine, shoulders, and neck. Flexibility was important, the foundation of all aspects of skating. Stretching and bending three or four times a day, for several minutes at a time, was crucial to good skating—something Coach McDonald had instilled in them. So was ballet class, which Heather took from dance instructor Natalie Johnston, along with three other Girls Only Club members.

Physical conditioning, the regular scheduled routine of exercise and repetitions, was their
protocol
. Heather and her brother trained this way without fail each day, except for one full rest day per week. In addition to that, one other training day was less of a workout day.

After the off-ice warm-ups, they laced up their skates and did some hard stroking on the ice, including high-speed skating. The stroking helped develop their upper-body strength. Holding arms at a level between the chest and waist, they skated separately for a full two and a half minutes, the time required for the short program.

“Judges like to watch for drooping arms,” Coach McDonald reminded them, “especially toward the final seconds of a program.”

Heather knew this to be true. Coach pounded away at certain things during each session. Practicing four days a week—every other weekend was spent training in Colorado Springs, at the Olympic Training Center—helped strengthen their late jumps and lessen the chance of fatigue happening in the upper body.

“Let’s work on your lifts,” Coach said, skating close to them. He followed them around the rink, spotting them, especially on the armpit lifts. Though they were the easiest group of overhead lifts, Coach liked to play it safe.

Today, Heather was going to practice something for the first time. She would spring off the ice, into the armpit lift. Once Kevin’s arms were completely extended and she was fully off the ice, he would lower her back to the ice, very gently, turning around while supporting her in midair.

Coach insisted on spotting her, even though she had done the less-advanced move with her hands resting on Kevin’s shoulders. “You’re absolutely ready for this,” Coach said, guiding them through as he skated backward, facing them. “Think through each step, every move and turn.”

They skated another half length down the ice. On cue, Heather sprang up and off the ice. Up . . . up she flew, resisting the urge to touch her brother’s shoulders. Yes! She could do this without assurance of a prop. No crutches needed.

Easy.

Then it happened. While she was being lifted, scary as it already was, Kevin caught an edge and fell backward. Head forward, Heather saw the ice rushing to meet her. She reached out her hands to catch her fall, and when she did, her knee hit the ice. She cried out as searing pain shot through her knee.

Instantly, Coach was there. Kevin got up and brushed himself off, seemingly not hurt, only stunned by the sudden fall.

Heather sat on the ice, holding her knee, trying to rub the pain away. She’d trusted her brother. Yet, in spite of their long history, knowing each other’s rhythm—in spite of that—she felt he’d let her down. Literally.

“I can’t believe you dropped me, Kevin.”

“It was an accident, and you know it.”

She was crying now. “You . . .
hurt
me!”

Kevin muttered, “Well, if you weren’t so heavy . . .”

“What did you say?” she shot back.

“Uh . . . forget it.”

But she’d heard him. “You think I’m fat?” she spouted. “Is that it?”

Coach intervened. “Nobody’s fat here. Things like this happen, even to the most experienced skaters.” He inspected Heather’s bruised knee. “I guess we’ll have to call it a day. Have your doctor take a look, and stay off the leg for a couple of days.”

“We won’t be trying
that
lift anytime soon,” Kevin said as Coach helped Heather off the rink.

“We’ll see how she’s doing next Monday,” Coach said.

Mom was worried, as usual, assisting Heather with her skates, getting her safely to the car. “Don’t worry, honey,” Mom said. “You’ll be as good as new.”

Yeah, right
, thought Heather, still upset.

What bothered her even more were Kevin’s words on the ice:
“If you weren’t so heavy.”
“Maybe it’s my partner who’s got the problem,” she whispered in the backseat.

Mom held her cell phone, waiting for the doctor’s office. “What’s that, dear?”

“Oh, nothing,” Heather replied.

But it
was
something. She felt absolutely rotten. Being accused falsely like that was . . . well, she
knew
she wasn’t too. heavy for her brother to lift. Not when they had the right momentum. Not when she helped him by bouriding off the ice, getting herself up in the air. Besides, he had done the move hundreds of times before. She refused to accept Kevin’s heartless comment. There was no truth in it. None.

Stopping by the doctor’s office took less than thirty minutes. “One of the benefits of living in a small town,” Mom pointed out on the drive home.

Heather nursed her knee on the living-room sofa, keeping it iced and elevated.
Two days out of training is disaster
, she thought. Especially with the July skate event coming up in the near future. Kevin, of course, could carry on without her, keeping in shape and toned. Knowing him, he would, too. When it came to skating, nothing kept her brother down. Not even minor injuries.

Meanwhile, she read and wrote her homeschool assignments while lying down, following both the doctor’s and Coach’s orders. At midmorning break, Joanne and Tommy came to check on her. Typically, she would have been pleased with their thoughtful attention. But today, after what happened at the rink, she felt annoyed by their kindness and concern. “I’m fine,” she snapped. “Don’t baby me.”

“Doesn’t look like you’re fine,” Joanne said.

“Nope.” Tommy stuck out his lower lip. “Your knee’s real messed up.”

She shooed them out of the living room. “Doesn’t Mom need you in the kitchen?”

Tommy shook his head. “She wants us here, with you.”

Thrilling
. What she preferred was to be alone, sulking about the dreadful morning—Kevin’s fall, his dropping her. The accident had spoiled everything.

Photo Perfect

Chapter Three

The members of the Girls Only Club met that afternoon. Jenna Song, team captain and award-winning gymnast, was their club president. Livvy Hudson, skater extraordinaire, was vice president. And Miranda Garcia, known as Manda, a first-class Alpine skier, was their newest member.

All three girls showed up at Heather’s house after school. In the past, they’d met at Jenna’s because her enormous bedroom was set up with a barre and a wall of mirrors on one side. The girls liked to do stretches, centerwork, and pointe technique together.

When the others had heard of Heather’s bruised knee, though, they quickly changed the location.

Heather’s mom was all for it. “We’ll have fun serving frozen yogurt with fresh strawberries,” she said, making a place for the girls at the kitchen table.

Joanne and Tommy pushed an extra chair up close to Heather, so she could prop up her leg. Then they scooted off, leaving the foursome snug in the large country kitchen. Mom closed the door behind her as she left.

“Wow,” whispered Livvy, “this is really great of your mom.”

“No kidding,” Jenna said. “Be sure to thank her for us.”

Miranda nodded. “Maybe we ought to rotate our club meeting locations.”

Heather wondered what everyone thought of that. But nothing more was said, and no one moved to put it to a vote. The truth was, Jenna’s remodeled attic bedroom was the ideal place for their meetings.

Livvy launched the touchy subject first. “How’d Kevin drop you?”

Momentarily, Heather relived the startling instant. “He caught an edge and went down backward. No fun.”

“And you came crashing onto the ice?” Livvy asked, the one club member who could relate most.

“Let’s put it this way: If I hadn’t caught myself, my head might be in traction right now . . . or worse.”

“Worse?” Jenna asked, her beautiful Korean eyes squinting nearly shut.

“Well, you know. . . .”

“No,
tell
us,” Jenna prodded, and Miranda leaned on her elbows, scooting forward.

“Ever hear of a concussion?” she asked. “Not a good thing for a skater.”

“Or
anyone
” said Manda, pulling on her dark hair. “Believe me, I know what I’m talking about.”

“You had a concussion?” asked Heather.

Manda nodded. “Yes, and it’s unbearable. Your head throbs, and you’re totally out of it.” She sighed. “The worst thing is everyone babies you because your skull and your brain collided.”

“Thank goodness Heather doesn’t have
that
.” Jenna reached over and patted Heather’s arm.