It Never Took a Lot to Make This Hard

Daphne Monahan could practically feel her heart beating out of her chest. She pulled her dark red hair up into a loose ponytail as she watched Kelly Clark finish her near perfect run on the half pipe. She turned towards her cousin and mentor, Piper Lawrence, who was sitting behind her, and she shook her head. “Of course I have to go after Kelly and her perfect run,” she said, rolling her eyes, and Piper laughed at her, knowing she was only kidding. In reality, Kelly and her were really close and someone she looked up to immensely.

“You’ll do great,” Piper assured her, and she nodded her head, strapping her snowboard to her boots and putting her helmet on, scooting over to the edge of the pipe. She looked behind her to see Piper watching her, and then she looked at the bottom of the pipe to see Kelly cheering her on.

She took a deep breath, trying to calm herself. This was one of her first big competitions she had competed in, and it was one of the first that she had a legitimate shot at winning since Piper was no longer competing in half pipe competitions ever since she blew out her knee six months ago. Since then, Piper had been mentoring and coaching Daphne, which all led up to this moment right now.

She took one last breath before jumping into the pipe, the board running smoothly along the walls. As she got ready for her first trick, she bent her knees, trying to get as much air as possible. She cleanly finished the seven hundred twenty degree turn, and she continued her run, in her mind thinking that she might actually be able to beat Kelly’s score.

However, that all changed when she went for her last spin. As she was coming back down, she hit the lip of the pipe, tumbling to the bottom, falling on her back. She leaned her head back against the snow, and she could hear the crowd go silent, wondering if she was alright or not. She lifted her head, and cheers erupted as everyone realized she wasn’t injured. She stood up, angry at herself, as she got off the pipe, making her way over to Kelly.

“Nice try, kid,” Kelly told her as she put her arm around her.

Daphne smiled up at her. “Thanks,” she told her. “And, congrats,” she added sincerely, knowing that with her failed run, Kelly had just sealed the victory.

“Thanks, Daph,” Kelly replied. “I thought you were going to take that one,” she admitted, and Daphne gave her a small smile. “Next time,” she added.

Daphne watched as cameras surrounded Kelly, all wanting interviews with her. She felt someone put their arm over her shoulder, and she turned around to see it was Piper with fellow snowboarder, Louie Vito, standing next to her. “Daph, you almost had it,” Louie told her.

“Yeah, but it just wasn’t good enough,” she said dejectedly.

“We’ll work on it,” Piper promised her. At just twenty years old, she was still one of the youngest in the bunch, but with Piper mentoring her, she was one of the best ones overall.

“What do you say we go get something to eat,” Louie suggested, and Piper looked over at him. “What?” he asked her when he saw the look she was giving him.

“Don’t you need to get ready for your runs?” she questioned, knowing he had to compete later on that night.

“Hey, I’ve got to eat, don’t I?” he retorted, and Piper shook her head, giving him a knowing smile.

“Daph, go change and meet us in the lobby in ten, okay? We’ll go grab a bite to eat,” Piper told her, and Daphne nodded her head, making her way towards the hotel, still feeling angry at herself after her run today.

“Louie, just ask her out already,” Piper rolled her eyes at the boy standing in front of her.

“What are you talking about?” Louie asked, intentionally playing dumb.

“Daph. You like her. It’s completely obvious. Just ask her out already instead of tagging along with the two of us all the time.”

“Piper, you know she doesn’t like me that way,” Louie groaned as the two of them slowly began walking back towards the hotel.

“If you would stop being such a baby and just ask her out, she might actually say yes,” Piper pointed out, but Louie ignored her, continuing the trek to the hotel. Piper couldn’t help but smile at him. She had known him since she was twelve, and ever since he had met Daphne about a year ago, he had been in love with her. Though, for some reason that Piper couldn’t figure out, he would never ask her out. They walked into the hotel to see Daphne still in the lobby. “Daph, go change!” she called after her, and Daphne rolled her eyes at Piper’s bossiness before she did as told and made her way to the elevator to go up to her room. Piper sat down on one of the chairs in the lobby with Louie doing the same. “So, how are you going to do tonight?” she asked Louie.

“I’m trying for that silver medal,” he told her, flashing a cheesy smile at her that she couldn’t help but laugh at.

“And, why aren’t you trying for that gold medal?” Piper questioned. “We both know you’re good enough to get it.”

“In case you forgot, Shaun’s competing,” Louie informed her, referring to Shaun White.

Piper shook her head. “You’re just as good as him,” she said as Daphne made her way over to them, having changed her clothes.

“What are you guys talking about?” she asked.

“Where we’re going to go eat,” Louie supplied quickly, wanting to get off the topic of him. Daphne looked at him curiously, not believing him entirely, but she let it slide for the moment, nodding her head. “So, what are you hungry for?” he asked, standing up and making his way to the door with the two girls following him.

Thirty minutes later, all three of them were sitting down to eat at one of the few restaurants around the mountains. Daphne stared at Piper as she ate her salad. “How’s your rehab going?” she asked, referring to her knee. After the fall, Piper had had surgery to repair all of the major ligaments in her knee, along with her meniscus, all of them having been torn from the accident. She had been going to physical therapy since then, trying to restore the range of motion and strength of her knee.

“Great,” Piper replied sarcastically, not wanting to talk about it any longer. She was sick of everyone bringing up the accident and the injury, and she just wanted to get past it all. Though, she didn’t think that was going to happen anytime soon, especially with her now coaching Daphne. Every competition Daphne competed in, all anyone wanted to talk about was Piper and her injury. How was she progressing? Was she ever going to compete again? Did she even want to get back on a snowboard?

“Okay,” Daphne said, noticing her resentment.

“Let’s talk about your run today instead,” Piper suggested, and Daphne groaned, not wanting to relive the loss.

“I was terrible,” Daphne began.

“You just need a little bit more time and practice,” Piper interjected, knowing her cousin had the talent.

“Yeah,” Louie agreed, finally speaking up after having been quiet for a long time. Both girls snapped their head in his direction, almost forgetting that he had joined them. “You almost had Kelly. If you would have landed that last backside nine hundred, you would have won,” he assured her.

“That’s just it!” Daphne exclaimed. “I didn’t land it! I fell!”

“Daph, we all fall,” Piper said. “You just have to get back up and try again,” she told her.

“Yeah,” Daphne sighed, though she wasn’t really taking Piper’s words to heart. “I’m going to go to the bathroom, and then we can head out,” she said, noticing that everyone had finished eating.

Piper and Louie nodded their heads, watching as she walked to the back of the restaurant. Piper placed her head in her hands, her elbows resting on the table. “God,” she groaned. “Why do I feel like I’m talking to a five year old trying to learn how to ride a bike for the first time?” she questioned, and Louie laughed at her analogy. Piper picked her head up, staring at Louie. “You think this is funny? Did you hear the shit I just said? ‘Get back up and try again.’ That’s kindergarten talk. That’s never going to inspire her. I’m a terrible coach!”

“Piper, you’re not a bad coach,” Louie assured her. “I’ve seen how much Daph’s improved since you started working with her. You’re the only reason she’s doing so well in competitions right now. And, she’ll be fine. Just keep working with her on that backside nine.”

“That’s just it. I can’t really work with her. I can’t get on a snowboard and help her,” she said, motioning towards her knee. “Maybe I should find her a new coach, a better coach.”

“Did you not just hear what I said? You’re the reason she’s as good as she is now. And, if you need someone to show her on a snowboard, I can do it,” Louie offered.

“Yeah, because you love her, and any chance you get to be close to her, you’ll take it,” Piper teased him, just as Daphne came back from the bathroom, standing behind her seat. Louie closed his eyes, praying she hadn’t heard what Piper said.

Daphne grabbed her coat from the back of her chair. “You guys ready?” she asked, putting her coat on.

“Yep,” Louie said, following her actions, thankful that she hadn’t heard Piper’s words, or if she did that she chose to ignore them.