Built on smoke and mirrors

Chapter 10

"Telvi, get up and try that again," Irena said as I fell again onto the ice. 

I frowned at the clock, hoping the time would pass quicker. I was still getting used to the new blades and boots and skating the last few days has not been easy. With a sigh, I scraped myself off the ice and skated over to where Irena was. 

"Those boots are still not working for you, are they?" 

I shook my head.

"Why don't you take off an hour early. Just wear those skates around your dorm room."

"Thank you." 

"Oh, and take this." she handed me a paper. "It's a weight chart. I want you to start following it. Just weigh yourself every morning and give me this paper. We might need to stick you on a diet."

I looked at the paper with a grid and dates on it. I considered myself small. Kol always begged me to eat more. Most people in Hell ate what was given to them. A diet was not in our vocabulary. 

I gave her a nod. 

"Good. Now take a lap and get off. I will see you tomorrow." 

I followed her instructions and got off the ice to take my skates off. 

As I stumbled to an empty bench, I head my name called. My head snapped up to see Ezra waving at me. 

"Hey!" Ezra said with a smile. 

I waved to him, welcoming the hello. Most people here didn't bother to even look at the other, but he was so friendly.  

"Nice to see you here."

I smiled again with a small chuckle. I was always here. This is where I trained. This was my home for the time being. But I wondered why he was here. 

He sat down next to me and looked at my skates. "You know, I used to come here and skate sometimes. Used to play hockey." 

"Why did you stop?" 

He frowned. "Wasn't good enough. The thing is, if you aren't that good at a sport, they make you stop, save room for the scouted talent." 

"That's terrible," I muttered.

He shrugged as he picked up one of my skates and wiped the snow off with his fingers. "It's just life. That's how it is in Regal." 

Silence filled the space between us as I tried to come up with something to say. "So since you were born here. What is your favorite thing about Regal?"

He chuckled. "Honestly, I don't know. It's all I have ever known so I have nothing to compare it to. What to you like about Hell?"

"The snow and cold and fresh air," I admitted as I cleaned the snow and ice from my blades.

"I can't say I like the cold. I always wanted to go to Eydis' city. It's warm there and so much culture. I would like to see it."

"Can't you go then?"

He chuckled as he shook his head. "You think the Commonwealth citizens are the only people that are trapped. We cannot leave the Motherwealth. I am stuck here until the day I die."

I hummed in understanding as I thought about my neighbor Mr. Green. If it was so hard to leave, then how did he go to Hell? 

"Maybe if I play my cards right, I can take a talent seeker trip with my father to a city. That is one of the reasons why I am here today. He has a meeting and I want to show I am interested in the things he does."

"If you want to be a talent seeker, can't you just sign up to be one?" 

He shook his head. "It's never that simple even if you know the right people. You cannot always pick the thing you actually want to do. Sometimes outside factors choose your path."