Page 55 of Interference
Cora gets off the stool and links her arm with Emery’s.
“Come on, let’s go sit at the table and make these assholes serve us,” Cora tells her.
“I thought it was your morning to cook?” Emery says to her.
“The guys decided to let me have the morning off,” Cora tells her.
“I put her water on when I came down,” Wyatt tells me.
I look over and see that the electric kettle I bought with her in mind is ready to go on the counter.
“Thanks, man,” I say as I slap him on the shoulder.
Once breakfast and her tea are ready, the guys and I take it all to the table, joining the girls.
“Can I ask how your coaches took it? Your team?” Cora asks right as I set her cup down in front of her.
“Thank you,” Emery tells me before looking back at Cora. “Honestly, it wasn’t as bad as I was expecting it to be, but it wasn’t great either.”
“What did they say?” Kellan asks as he sits next to his girl, and I drop into a chair next to mine.
“I mean, the usual bullshit that coaches say when something like this happens, but what got to me was that you could tell that they were disappointed. I swear the disappointment was so thick you could choke on it. I left the meeting so frazzled that I took it all out on Brett when I ran into him afterward.”
“Which is understandable,” I tell her.
“Are they being supportive, though? And your team?” Wyatt asks.
“I honestly haven’t heard from any of them since I’ve told them. I’ve seen a couple of the girls, but let’s just say things are tense right now, and I get it, I let them down.” She looks at her plate.
“You didn’t let anyone down,” I tell her.
“Agree to disagree,” she says.
“Can I ask you something?” Cora asks as she takes a bite of bacon.
“Sure.”
“Is figure skating as toxic as I’ve heard it is?”
Emery tilts her head to the side as she thinks about the question.
“It can be, especially for skaters like me who do individual skating. We are all pitted against each other from day one. The chance of injuries are high, and there are other issues, but that’s typical in sports. Are there bad coaches? Absolutely, but you also have some really good ones, which I was lucky enough to get.”
“Do you think you’ll keep your trainer when you get back on the ice or find someone new?” Cora asks.
“I don’t know. Time will tell, I guess.”
A little line forms between her eyebrows, and I hate it so, I change the subject.
“I talked to Coach yesterday,” I say, making everyone look at me.
“And…” Cora says.
“He wants me to start.” I shrug as if it’s not a big deal.
“Brett, this is fantastic!” Emery says, slapping my legs as the other two idiots across from me high-five.
“Fuck yes!” Kellan cheers as if he didn’t already know.
