put both bouquets into vases in my dorm, which Tygrys very much appreciated. He buzzed around the flowers with glee, though he seemed to like the white ones more. Jasper was chugging champagne, while Ozzie cheered him on. Jasper had won his competition, and was going to the European Championships alongside us. I was glad to have a friend accompanying me to the competition, as going alone with Gabby wasn’t my idea of a good time. Amantha had managed to pull off a great long program after her disaster of a short, and gotten fourth place overall.
About an hour into the party, I noticed Igor skulking about, looking for Odette. My mood instantly turned nasty. Odette was near me, so I tugged on her sleeve and pointed to Igor.
“What’s he doing here?” I asked scathingly. “This is a student party.”
“I invited him,” Odette said. “I wanted him to come.”
I groaned. “Odette, why are you still with Igor? I thought you wanted to break up.”
Odette stuck out her lip. “But I love him. He makes me feel good.”
Gods help me. She’d just said the opposite a few weeks ago. “Odette, that is like, the worst excuse ever.”
“Oh, he’s gotten better,” Odette piped up. “We had a long talk about everything, and he’s changed, I swear. He isn’t like what he was. We’ve been working on our relationship, and it’s going so well.”
I resisted the urge to roll my eyes. “If you’re happy, I’m happy.”
“Oh, I am,” Odette said, but her words didn’t quite ring true. There was an elasticity to them that threatened to snap.
Odette poofed her hair. “Anyway, I shouldn’t be talking about this. Igor doesn’t like me discussing our personal problems with other people. He wants to keep things between us.”
Yeah, because he’s worried someone else is going to point out his bullshit. I bit my tongue and wrestled back my sass. Whatever decisions Odette made, I had to support her. She was my best friend, so I’d stand behind her. No. Matter. What.
The rest of my friends had noticed Igor had arrived, and were trying to move the other way— save for Theo, who leaned against the wall and muttered curses under his breath.
“I have to use the bathroom,” Odette told me. “Can you tell Igor to hold on, just for a moment?”
She scurried off. I did my best to keep a look of indifference on my face, though it was probably closer to resting bitch face. Igor spotted me.
“Do you know where Odette is?” He frowned. “I’ve been here quite a while, and honestly, I don’t know what I’m supposed to do here.”
Then you shouldn’t have come, I thought, but said, “She’ll be back in a minute. She’s in the bathroom.”
“Oh, I see.” Igor cleared his throat. “I saw your competition, you know, on the big screen. Watched it at home. Your performance was adequate. I feel the placings were fair.”
I frowned. “What do you know about figure skating?”
“I’ve watched dozens of competitions. I’m a spectator, though I don’t quite get it,” he drolled.
What was there to get? “I’m not sure what you mean.”
“Isn’t it obvious?” He gave a tinkling laugh that made me want to punch his throat. “You lost because you didn’t focus on the right elements. Add in a few more jumps next time, and I’m sure you’ll do better. Obviously you didn’t have enough technical moments in your short program to maintain the top spot. Clearly, as a skater, you have no idea what the crowd really wants.”
By the gods. This guy thought that because he was Odette’s boyfriend, he had the right to mansplain to me how to do my job. I didn’t know how Odette got him to look away from the mirror long enough to have sex, because Igor was clearly in love with himself.
“Have you ever had skates on your feet?” I asked bluntly.
“Well, no,” Igor flustered. “But I’m sure it can’t be that difficult. I bet I could be at your level in a year or so.”
It’d taken me my entire life to get here and not a day less. Seeing Igor try to get one lap in around the rink would make my day. “Maybe after you’re done telling little girls to starve themselves, you can give it a shot.”
Igor scoffed— he was so full of himself, he hadn’t heard me. “I don’t understand why they have you skate to music, or wear costumes. It’s just a jumping contest. Why don’t they get rid of all the