She Lost Her Balance, Not Her Place on the Team
Brian Armer
The wheels stopped around Jo before she had decided whether to get up. One moment she had been following the drill; the next, she was on her knee pads, staring at a scuff on the rink floor. She could hear her own breathing inside her helmet. “Sorry,” she said, without looking up.
A pair of skates rolled back into view. Dani bent her knees and held out a hand. “For what?” “Stopping everybody.” “We’ve stopped for worse. Someone lost a wheel last Tuesday.” “That was you.” “And yet they let me come back.”
Jo looked up. Dani was still holding out her hand, not rushing her. Behind them, their captain asked whether she was hurt. Jo took a moment to check. Her pads had caught the fall; what stung most was being the newest person in the room and having everyone turn to look. “I’m okay,” she said. “Just embarrassed.” “That part wears off,” Dani said. “Usually before the laundry dries.”
Jo took her hand. Once she was steady, they rolled off the track together while the others reset the drill. From the bench, Jo watched the formation move past. For weeks she had been trying to learn where to put herself without getting in anyone’s way. The veterans seemed to know where one another would be before they got there. She was still thinking about every foot.
Dani sat beside her and loosened a wrist guard. “Want me beside you for the next one?” “Won’t I slow you down?” “It’s practice, Jo.” She nodded toward the track. “That’s what we came for.”
When Jo was ready, they joined the next drill. Dani stayed alongside her through the part that had sent her down, close enough to offer a quiet reminder, not so close that Jo couldn’t find her own balance. This time they made it around together.
On a later lap, Dani’s wheels clipped together at the turn. She caught herself on her pads, and the formation moved past her. Jo slowed, stepped clear of the moving skaters, and turned back.
“Are you hurt?” Dani shook her head, then checked her knees before looking up. Jo held out her hand and waited. “Sorry,” Dani said.
Jo smiled. “For what?”
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