Double Twist

Chapter One "Most kids spend their summer holiday sunbathing on a beach in Spain," Jack Lee muttered to his younger sister Laura. "So how come you're standing here shivering at the side of an ice rink?" "Because I'm a child star!" Laura said with a grin. "A genius on ice!" Jack zipped his jacket up to his chin. "Says who?" "Says Mum." Laura waited impatiently for the public session to end so that she could skate onto the ice for her private coaching lesson with Vera Mozer while Jack went to play soccer. Their mum was due to pick her up later. "Where's Patrick?" Jack wondered out loud. "Don't worry-he'll be here." Laura watched the little kids on the ice. They whizzed around the rink like demons, in and out of the grown-ups, who wobbled and crashed down like dominoes. One or two older kids tried out turns and spins, taking the whole thing more seriously. "Patrick's never late," she added. Jack glanced back at the entrance, spied Laura's tall, serious ice-dancing partner, and yelled out his name. "Hey, Patrick, over here!" Now he could dash. Patrick joined them. He was wearing a thick padded jacket and a scarf wound high around his neck. "Hey," he said quietly. "Where are your folks?" Jack asked. "Mum and Dad? They dropped me off and then went to the bank. They'll be back in a few minutes." "So is it okay if I head off?" Laura and Patrick nodded. Laura was grinning at the sight of another grown- up biting the dust. A middle-aged woman squealed as she went down, smack on her bottom. "Oops!" "Don't laugh!" Patrick bit his lip and looked away. "She's down! Now she's up and brushing the ice off herself. . . . Oops, she's down again!" Eventually, the poor woman made it to the edge of the rink and clung onto the rail. "Why isn't she at home watching TV and knitting woolly scarves for her grandkids?" "Laura!" Patrick shook his head, glad when the siren sounded for everyone to clear the ice. At least now Laura wouldn't be able to make fun of the old ladies. "Lighten up!" Laura giggled, saying hi to a couple of kids she knew from school as they came off the ice. "Hey, Georgina! Hey, Abi!" "Are you here to practice?" Abi asked as she bent down to take off her skates. "Yep. Why?" "Just wondered if you wanted to join us at the cafe." "Thanks. I'd love to, but we've got a big competition coming up. Gotta keep on practicing those twizzles!" "Poor you!" Abi grinned. "Where are you jetting off to this time?" "Montreal, in just under a month." "Canada?" Abi's jaw dropped. "Wow!" "Junior Grand Prix," Patrick chipped in. "We're in the running for a medal if we work hard." Georgina tugged on her friend's arm. "C'mon-I'm starving!" "Well, good luck!" Abi said to Laura and Patrick. "Wow, Canada . . . cool!" "Laura, you need more leg and foot extension in that third section!" Vera's eagle eyes didn't miss a thing. "Patrick, you were too close to the boards on the synchronized leg swing!" "Sorry!" Laura told her partner under her breath. They'd beenKing, Donna is the author of 'Double Twist ', published 2007 under ISBN 9780753460238 and ISBN 0753460238.