Page 1 of The Fall

ONE

SAVANNAH

This can’t be happening. Really. This has to be a joke.

Max squeezes my hand, and I force a smile onto my face.

“I’m so excited for you,” I say, but unfortunately, it doesn’t sound sincere at all.

Coach Tati has decided that it’s time to retire. Or semi-retire, as she’s calling it. Her daughter just had a baby, and she wants to watch the baby while her daughter works. I get it. Tati has dedicated most of her life to ice dance. I’m sure she’s tired and ready for a break.

If it were anybody else, I’d be happy for her, but Coach Tati has been with me for almost ten years now and through two different partner changes. She and I, we’re a team. We were supposed to be a team at the Winter Olympics, and she’s giving up on me only two years before we get another chance to make that happen.

This ruins everything.

The feeling of my future going down the drain overwhelms me.

“You’re not excited, Savannah. You can drop the fake smile,” Coach Tati tells me. She can always tell when I’m bullshitting her and has no problem calling me out on it. This is one reason we work so well together. Sometimes, I think she knows me better than I know myself.

Occasionally, I can get a little over the top. My dreams of going to the Olympics for ice dance have consumed my life. I’m dedicated. I’m determined. I believe that it will happen. Or at least I did until this news was dropped on me.

I sigh. “I am excited for you, Coach. I’m just… surprised, I guess.”

“I understand. It’s not a decision I made lightly, and I’m not going away completely. I’m still going to supervise, but I’m going to hire a few more coaches to take most of the work off my shoulders. I won’t be part of your day-to-day practices, but I’m still a call or an email away. You and Maxim are a wonderful pair. Together, you can make it happen. I believe that with my whole heart.”

Max squeezes my hand again, and I look over to my partner. We’ve been skating together for four years now, and he’s the best partner I’ve ever had. We really work well together. I trust him completely.

I look back at my coach. “I’m going to miss you yelling at us every morning.”

She laughs. “Don’t worry. I’ve hired a new coach for you, and I have no doubt he’ll be doing just as much yelling.”

My stomach sinks. She’s already picked out a new coach? That means she’s been interviewing. She’d known for a while now she’d be leaving and didn’t mention a thing. That somehow makes it even worse.

“Who is it?” I ask.

She looks down at the time on her phone. “He’ll be here in about thirty minutes to meet with you. I don’t want to tell you who it is yet because I want you to keep an open mind.”

I scoff.

“Yes, I’m talking about you, Savannah. You know if I tell you his name, you’ll start looking him up online and coming up with an opinion before you’ve even met him.”

She’s… not wrong. But what else am I supposed to do? This unknown man is literally about to have my hopes and dreams in his hands. What if he’s terrible? What if we don’t get along? I’d have to leave Tati’s organization altogether, which I don’t want to do. I love all the coaches, choreographers, and PTs. Having this support system was one of the main reasons I left Nebraska to come to Colorado ten years ago.

“I wouldn’t do that,” I lie.

Max laughs next to me. “Yeah, you would.”

“Shut up. You’d be right there next to me, looking over my shoulder. Don’t lie.”

He smirks and shrugs a shoulder. I’ll take that as an agreement.

“If you’re worried about me searching for him online, that must mean I’ll find something bad.”

Coach Tati shakes her head at us. “You’re impossible. Trust me, this will be a good thing. You two go warm up, and I’ll come get you when it’s time to make the introductions.”

“Ok,” I say, my shoulders sagging in defeat. I was hoping by the end of this conversation, she’d tell me this was just a joke and that she was staying. Unfortunately, I can tell by the look in her eyes that she’s serious. She’s leaving us. She’s leaving me. After everything we’ve been through together. All the practices, the injuries, the wins, the losses. She’s always been there, and now she won’t be. I don’t know how to process this information.

Max tugs my arm, and we make our way toward the ice. We had already done our off-ice warm-up and stretching before Coach called us into a private room to talk, so we’re ready to get on the ice now. We remove our skate guards and step onto the ice.