Free Laying Low in Hollywood by Jean Marie Stanberry

indignantly.
     
       “I certainly did get my jollies watching the most recent clips of your practice, though several of Ron’s falls were so bad, they jarred me to the core,” said Jorge, with a grimace.
     
       “Well I’m sure he’s feeling the pain today,” I told him, with a little smile.  I had to giggle when I thought about it, poor Ron, he had spent so much time sprawled on the ice, his butt was probably one big bruise!
     
       “If anyone can teach him to skate, it’s you.  I have full confidence in you,” said Jorge, smiling at me.
     
       “Thanks, that really inspires me,” I told him, shaking my head miserably.

Chapter 8
     
     
       When I finally arrived at the ice rink, I was excited to see that Ron and Elena were already on the ice, working on their stroking together.  I stood back and watched them for a few minutes, just so I could see how they interacted when they thought that no one else was watching.  It was almost a comical sight, Ron was so huge and clumsy, yet Elena was so small, she was struggling to keep him upright and shouting at him, what I could only hope, were helpful hints...in Russian.
     
       They were actually gliding pretty naturally, as long as they traveled in a relatively straight line.  Ron hadn’t mastered crossovers yet, so when they hit the corners the two of them seemed to flounder around the curve, completely out of control, Elena’s tiny body trying to steer Ron’s large, completely out of control body.
     
       After they had completed the turn at the opposite end of the rink and lived to tell about it, I started to head to the edge of the ice.  I paused when I saw that Elena had turned and was skating backwards in front of Ron now.  She was shouting commands to him in Russian.  He was definitely skating a bit better, though it seemed as if his skates were still hell bent on traveling in opposite directions.  He reminded me a bit, of the scarecrow in The Wizard of Oz.
     
       Elena continued to call out commands in Russian, even though I was pretty sure that Ron didn’t speak a word of Russian.  Even I, had no idea what she was about to have him try.
     
       As they clumsily rounded the next corner, Elena did a little spin, then she attempted to get back into step with Ron.  Like I said, Ron hadn’t mastered crossovers and unfortunately, he really didn’t have much of a rhythm, so he caught the back of Elena’s blade with his skate, and both Elena and Ron went down hard on the ice.
     
       Elena jumped up from the ice and glared down at Ron angrily. “Nyet!” she cried, shaking her head furiously at him.
     
       I skated over to them, shaking my head in amusement.  I was trying hard to suppress my laughter, I didn’t want them to think I was making fun of them.  I just thought the entire scene was unbelievably cute! 
     
       Elena spun around to face me, with her hands on her hips. She glared at me angrily, upset that Ron had brought her down on her bum.  I offered a hand to Ron and hauled him up off the ice.  He was giving me an embarrassed smile.  I gave him a wry smile and a little shrug, I had no expectations of him, at this point.  My team could only give me, what they could give me.
     
       “Theese ees eensane!” Elena cried angrily, stomping over to stand in front of me.
     
       “Elena, please have patience, it is only our second day,” I pleaded with her.
     
       “Heee eezz beeg and clumzeee...like ox.  Heee eeez bad.  We never ween,” she snapped, folding her arms over her chest and assessing me haughtily.
     
       “He will get better, in fact, he’s already gotten better.  We just need to practice,” I told her.
     
       “Nyet, I weel queet!” she pouted, with a shake of her blonde ponytail toward the cameraman, who was filming us, from just steps away.
     
       I frowned, she was providing drama for the cameraman, either on her own, or prompted, I wasn’t sure which.  I rolled