Writer's Notebook

Dylan sat on the benches overlooking the rink watching the kids below him skating their heart out. These kids were having fun. He tried to remember when he'd last had fun on the ice rink. It must have been several years before he quit competition. As a kid it was his dream to become a champion skater. Ever since his Dad first took him onto the ice on the lake behind his house. He spent every spare hour skating and as soon as he could he started to take lessons. He quickly distinguished himself from the others and was soon entering championships. That was when he met Brian. Brian was one of the best skaters in the club. He was destined to become a real champion. Dylan knew he would never beat Dante. So when Brian brought Sheila along to the club, he started skating pairs and soon they were taking the county by storm. Brian was being tipped to make the Olympic team the next year. As for Sheila and Dylan they were still young, so when they only finished fourth in the trials, everyone knew their day would come. But Brian he was the big favourite. Dylan watched his last warm up before he went out onto the rink, just slowly going through some of the easier figures, getting himself ready. In any case, his program was an easy one. Brian had already mastered a triple salto and also a double Lutz, and was hoping to perform a quadruple salto for the Olympics.

All it took was that one simple jump to put an end to everything. Brian went up perfectly but then Dylan saw the concentration go out of his eyes. It seemed to him as if Brian stayed in the air for several minutes, prolonging the agony. Because Dylan knew exactly what would happen. And when the crash came, it was a terrible one. Not only would Brian never skate again, but he'd never walk. That was the last time Dylan ever held a pair of skates in his hand... until tonight. Now, looking down at the kids having fun, Dylan forced himself to put the skates on. His dream of ice-skating fame was forever banished, but he sure could still have a lot of fun.