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A quiet morning in Circhester is something Gordie enjoys seeing. While the normal hustle and bustle of life that persists late into the night is what lulls him to sleep sometimes, a calm morning is always well taken. Today, Gordie's got something... bigger in mind.
He places a gloved hand against the front of his Gym doors, pausing for little more than a second before pushing the doors open-- someone's here early, though Gordie isn't sure who. He doesn't mind at all-- probably Ollie getting some early morning training done-- and instead, Gordie heads across to his locker room.
For a few minutes, he's just messing around with the settings for the Gym-- yes, he's meant to be manning it in just over three hour's time, Summer's always a rough time with the early openings and late closings-- and he finally settles it onto... Ice mode. He watches through the Roto-Drone cameras as the main pitch freezes over-- sometimes Gordie wonders how, and if it actually does the AstroTurf underneath any good-- and he pulls a bag from his locker, heavy and almost professional-looking, out with him towards the pitch.
Why is it, Gordie thinks to himself, I feel like I can only do this in private?
From the bag, Gordie procures a set of clean and sleek ice skates. Not a pair he wears out much-- far too expensive for frivolity like that-- and he's careful to put them on, as if halfway uncommitted to what he's about to do. He can't deny though, the solid five inches of extra height is enough to let him challenge Piers; he doesn't have to look up as far, not to mention how much it puts him over Milo. Maybe it could be fun to find out which Gym Leaders can ice skate, and which ones can't-- though Gordie has enough of a hunch already, it'd be fun to see him proved wrong, or hilariously right.
But, Gordie pulls the skates on, standing at the edge of the pitch for a moment before skating out into the middle, much as would be expected from a professional figure skater. He doesn't exactly have a routine in mind, just a few things he wants to try out before he has to run the Gym, that he couldn't try anywhere else.
Safer here than out on Circhester Bay, right?
His hands are gloved for a reason. A few warmup toe loops, and he's already setting his sights on something big, to show off to an audience that isn't there.
After all, he hasn't practiced since that night on Circhester Bay. Those thoughts had been catching him off guard...
Gordie's still graceful as he lands lutz after lutz, a y-spin into a flip jump, that same waltz jump, half-revolution double axel that caught him last time, changing instead into something a lot... different from expected.
Normally, when hands touch ice in a skating routine, it's a sign of failure.
But not today.
As Gordie lands the double axel, he leans himself back, further and further, until his fingers grace the cool ice.
What the hell are you even doing? You look like you're trying to crab walk , and all that weight isn't doing you much g--
"Ggh-- ha! " Gordie lets all his weight pass onto his hands, still moving with the momentum of his double axel, before he springs himself into a backflip .
God, he's glad that he told the Roto-Drones to record this-- he doesn't know if he'll land that again.
His main issue is the friction-- a from-running front flip isn't hard, but from skating might be more difficult. He'll stick to what he knows, for now. A camel spin, triple toe loop, half-revolution, one-footed axel-- a salchow, and he's pushing himself hard again, the sound of his skates against ice, the only thing staving off thoughts prompted by his former ice skating teacher.
The lights are on in the Gym. Anyone could see that the place was open, if they wanted to come and watch-- and if they were up so early. Though Gordie hasn't noticed it, some of his fans have already started filling seats, watching enamoured as he practices something he shows off so little. Amongst them, a few unexpected faces-- his own Gym Trainers, some of the staff in the Gym, hell! Even Ball Guy seems to be watching-- and tucked amongst them is Melony.
Somehow, everyone in the stadium is silent, watching with bated breath as Gordie pushes himself. He goes into a scratch spin, and as he exits, he skates forwards and leaps from the toe picks, landing a front flip with relative ease. While the crowd is still silent, the excitement is overflowing, his fans looking between each other and Gordie with a look in their eyes that could only be described as awe.
Gordie still has that triple axel in mind. Notoriously difficult to land. The final piece, to prove to his peers, his former instructor, to Melony , that he's more than what anyone's expected of him. That he's unbeatable. That he can do anything that he puts his mind to. That he's Gordie Jones, son of Melony Alver, Rock-type specialist, and that he's fat, and that's a good thing, it's not something that holds him back and it never will be, and that most importantly--
Gordie leaps. His eyes are shut, out of concentration, and fear. He can feel himself spinning, and he's waiting, expectant to crash out, that his foot will miss its mark, and he'll go sprawling across unforgiving ice--
The blade hits ice, and Gordie lets his legs carry him into a corkscrew spin, before he morphs it into a sit spin.
When the momentum of it dies down, he's left stood on the ice, eyes still closed, as if waiting for applause-- approval-- he doesn't expect to come. That silence stretches on for five or so seconds, before a single voice speaks up.
"Woo! Go Gordie!"
Gordie feels his stomach drop . Maybe he's lucky-- maybe only my Gym Trainers saw it, that was Wendy, right? Maybe I don't need to worry -- but as he opens his eyes, he's greeted by at least a hundred fans, all of which who'd been watching.
As soon as one had started, the rest of his fans erupt into cheers, to the point it must be near-deafening for anyone in the stands. His eyes are fixed on Melony as she stands, clapping in that way that once made him so, so angry-- but now, he doesn't feel that. All he can feel is... relief. He did what he'd been told he couldn't do, and people saw it happen, they'd been taking videos of it, and surely, the other Gym Leaders would likely hear about it as gossip--
A small grin works its way onto his face.
Man, I can only imagine how stupid my instructor looks right now.
With that energy in his body, his grin splitting wide, Gordie shouts out to the crowd. "Good morning Circhester!" He really, really can't help how wide he's smiling, now. "We've got a big day ahead of us! Let's make it count!"