Legend of the Edge

“Ella, there’s something in the mail for you,” my mother says as she hands me an envelope. The envelope is a fancy gold color and has my name written in intricate cursive on it.
“Thanks.” I tear the envelope open carefully.
The envelope reads,
To Miss Ella Grace Harper
Dear Ella,
We would like to congratulate you for being accepted into the ladies figure skating division of the FSA School of Moscow. For the past 35 years, FSA School of Moscow has produced over 500 Olympic, World, National, and Regional figure skaters. Our mission is to provide all of our figure skaters with a professional, individualized instruction that allows each skater to reach his or her furthest potential. We were very pleased by your skating during your audition, and we are even more pleased to develop you into a well-rounded athlete and individual. Once again, congratulations. We will see you in March. A code of conduct, an athlete/parent handbook, tuition, and other information is attached to this paper.

Sincerely,
Artur Mishenko
Director of FSA School of Moscow

“Well, may I take a look?” My mom peers over my shoulder, trying to catch a glimpse of what the letter states. I hand her the letter, and I go upstairs to mark my calendar. March 2016. Only one month until I would be leaving Blue Ridge Figure Skating Club, leaving Colorado, and leaving America. I am so pumped for this. Except, I would really miss Maddie, Svetlana, Todd, Mrs. Felix, and all of the other skaters who I’ve known for the past 12 years.
“Can you come downstairs, please?” My mother asks.
“Sure.”
I come downstairs and sit down at the dining room table.
“We have quite a bit to discuss,” my mom and dad say with their arms folded and serious expressions on their faces.
“Okay. What is it?”
“First of all, read these packets after we're done talking.”
“Got it.”
“Okay. The next thing is your tuition. Now, you understand that this school is not cheap. Without a scholarship, you wouldn’t be able to go. However, Tatiana and her staff adored you, so they gave you a full tuition
scholarship.”
“Really? That’s awesome!” I squeak.
“Well, the thing is, is that you will have to pay for your own food, clothing, phone bill, skate services, and anything else that you need. We aren’t coming to Russia with you,” my parents say with a wince.
“Wait...you’re not?” I am in disbelief. How would I live in a foreign country alone?
“You're capable of living on your own. You’ve proven to us that you are a mature, responsible young lady and you can keep things under control. Plus, you will have roommates and a dorm just outside of the rink.”
“Phew. Who are my roommates though?”
“Jenna Jashinski, Sarah Walters, and Claudia Couvert.”
“Oh, I know Jenna. We’re pretty good friends. The other two, I don’t know them.”
“Oh well. Hey, you’ll make some new friends!” My parents laugh.
“Your dorm house is #2. Your dorm room number is 115. Girls dorms are numbers #1, #2, #3, and #4. Next, we’ll discuss the training.”
My parents laid out this whole itinerary right in front of me, just so I could see how gigantic it was.
“First, you will wake up at 5:00 every morning. Breakfast is served at 5:30. Then, you skate from 6:00 until 9:00. During that time, you will have a lesson with Tatiana. At 9:00, you will leave the ice and go directly to your off ice conditioning, which will end at 10:00. Afterwards, you will skate from 10:00 until 1:00, having a lesson with your choreographer, Sergei Volkov. At 1:00, you eat lunch. At 1:30, you will have ballet until 2:30. When it is 2:30, you will go to the library to meet with your tutor for school classes until 4:30. At 4:30, you will have a stretch class until 5:30. 5:30-6:00 is dinner. Finally, you will have another lesson with Tatiana from 6:30-10:00. You’ll go back to your dorm afterwards to get ready for bed. Bedtime is 10:30.”
“Woah.” I step back, feeling perplexed.
“Welcome to professional figure skating,” my mom says.
“Is that it?”
“For now, yes. Read that handbook and code of conduct! Make sure to sign it!” My mom calls after me, as I head back upstairs into my room.