Free Leaving Tracks by Victoria Escobar Page B

for the other automated voice.
    “ Skater please take your position on the ice for the short program.” It announced.
    North rolled his shoulders, and then repeating his warm up routine–took o ff the protectors, and stepped out, closing the gate behind him. He made a single lap, seemed to reevaluate the space before he took position within the ring of my monogram.
    I hit play and the music began. I recognized the boy band pop song right away. It was hard not to since it had been one of my favorites at one point in time.
    The music video had the boy band in a haunted house of some kind and the members had been dressed up as different paranormal creatures. Leave it to North to pick the vampire. But it was the simplest costume to reproduce. Points for simplicity and class.
    With the start of the next season , the music would be allowed. Currently, not. Vocal music was strictly prohibited. Something else I’d have to talk to him about.
    I continued to write, and watch at the same time. A skill I had mastered when I taught a class for a few months. I’d have to decipher it once North was done, but for the moment, it was sufficient.
    It was only because of North’s position on the ice that I saw the main door open and several people walk in. I didn’t see who, as I continued to track North across the frozen water and since they didn’t seem interested in interfering, I ignored them for the moment.
    The music was loud. It wasn’t something I had considered when I set up the audio system for this. I supposed it would have attracted attention.
    He wasn’t as bad as I had originally presumed. There were some raw moments–his hand came down on the ice landing a triple Lutz–but nothing that couldn’t be refined. His footwork was clean and very precise.
    When he finished , the applause drew both his and my eyes. Avala, Morgaine, Glory, and surprisingly Wesley sat in the little bleachers alongside the rink. North bowed to them, then turned and bowed to me before leaving the ice.
    I saw Wesley rise, but Glory touched his arm and gestured over to me. Leave it to my sister to explain–probably briefly–the process.
    I reset the switches in preparations for the long program before I studied my clipboard and reinterpreted my abbreviations and points. After doing the math, I calculated lowest score and highest score from mine, since I knew my score was always a few points below a regular IFS judge. Then I calculated an overall average before entering it all into the automated system.
    “The scores for the short program.” It announced.
    I watched North’s face come up in surprise. I noted he had already started to change. It was a good sign that he assumed he’d be doing the long program and began to change.
    The cravat had already been removed and the collar opened up. Ice blue gloves covered his hands and he was in the process of knotting a scarf in the same color around his waist.
    “The skater has earned a fifty two point two six in the short program.” The scoreboard behind me split the score in technical and component scores with the deduction number and total.
    North winced and rolled his shoulders and studied the score while wiping his eyes mostly clear of the smoky makeup. I liked the look on his face. He took the low score as a challenge to do better.
    I hit the switch for a shortened warm-up. He was already loose but since I had notes I wanted to make I needed the brief time.
    “Skaters , please take the ice for your two minute warm up.”
    I used the two minutes to clip on a fresh score page, check the sharpness of my pencil and make some observation notes on the short program sheet. I didn’t watch North stretch out a second time. Instead, I watched the people in the bleachers once my notes were done.
    Morgaine was talking to Wesley who was watching North. Glory was leaned back, casually relaxed as Avala spoke to her. She was nodding to something then shrugged.
    “The two minute warm up has ended. Skaters,