Chapter 92: Aplomb and Gravitas

{Rink | 6th, March 2018 | Act 5 | Scene 8 | Take 1}

The Grand Palais couldn’t have been any louder.

Beneath its towering glass dome, thousands of spectators watched, their murmurs reverberating through the historic venue as some waved flags and banners for their chosen skaters.

As the cameras flashed and a palpable sense of excitement hung in the air and throughout the venue.

"And now," the announcer’s voice echoed throughout the arena,

"The last contestant from the Elite Bracket, Noah Bennett!"

The applause that followed was immediate, a typical pleasantry that was given to all competitors as Noah pushed himself onto the ice and proceeded towards the center.

With his usual air of optimism, the youth grinned, not towards the cameras, or the judges, but for the audience whom had come to watch and himself whom was simply was happy to be there.

Dressed in a sleek, sky-blue apparel fitting for the occasion, Noah settled into his starting pose, one hand resting gently on his chest and the other at his back.

Quickly, the noise lulled to quiescence as the spotlights rested on him. Then, the opening notes of his music drifted across the arena.

Gently, he began, his form perfect, his footwork elegant and his edges clean as he danced to the music.

Yet, there was that unmistakable signature of his, those tiny gestures and little movements that seemed almost playful as he carved across the ice and executed two double axels in quick succession.

Naturally, the audience reacted, cheers and whistles rippling across the arena.

Then... just as the song began climbing halfway through his performance, he accelerated.

One crossover, then two, three... and then a sudden shift into a familiar setup before he had clutched the right momentum...

Howard’s eyes widened from the coaches’ section, the man muttering as he stood up from his chair;

"That..."

At the same time, Elias whom was watching from backstage, immediately recognized it as he equally spoke, his pupils dilating much the same;

"It’s the one..."

The very same entry Noah had attempted months ago after a group of kids had dared him to try a triple axel.

The same one he’d crashed spectacularly before laughing from the ice.

Only this time...

His takeoff was perfect as he spun into the air.

One rotation.

Two.

Three.

And then with a perfect little flourish--a signature touch of his own, his blade kissed the ice with a flawless landing.

The audience burst into applause, several wows rippling through the venue!

Yet, without hesitation, Noah flowed directly into another setup, executing yet another triple axel.

With just as much perfection as the previous spin, he landed perfectly, his grin only widening by the second!

By now, the commentators had already begun raising their voices.

"Such unbelievable control!"

"He hasn’t put a single foot wrong--!"

Then, almost as if to make a statement, he linked into another setup, his speed and timing pitch perfect as he launched into the air once more!

A third triple axel! Three beautiful rotations! The cleanest landings possible!

The arena exploded this time, the cheers, applauds and whistles invigorating his being as he flowed and danced across the ice with a perpetually childlike grin on his lips.

Even before the technical panel updated the score, everyone knew. This routine had just won first place in his bracket.

By now, Howard was clapping--same as everyone else--as he slowly exhaled whilst remarking;

"That’s it. He has it in the bag."

Backstage, Elias too nodded almost imperceptibly, a few words escaping his lips;

"Not bad kid. Not bad."

Still, despite all these, Noah continued on with his flawless performance, his form executing a camel spin that gradually phased into a layback spin and evolved once more into a perfect Biellmann spin!

By now, the crowd was simply in awe, their cheers rising by the minute as they kept screaming!

Soon enough, Noah slowed down, the music softening as his program had reached its final sequence.

It was supposed to be a simple ending, one that didn’t need to do anything spectacular as he had already gotten the gold medal without any reasonable doubt.

Yet...

Noah didn’t head toward his planned entry.

Instead...

He carved a wide circle across the ice, his grin assuming that peculiar childlike grin as the audience seemed to quiet down in curiosity.

Howard on the other hand frowned, as did Elias.

"Noah?" the coach muttered in confusion.

"What is he doing?" Elias slowly pushed off the wall he was leaning on.

The judges too looked at one another. The commentators hesitated as well.

Yet, Elias’ eyes had long widened by now as he watched Noah smile, and go into yet another crossover, and another, and another as his speed built.

"No..." the man muttered, recognizing the setup instantly as his heart skipped;

"That’s mine..."

It was the exact same approach. The exact same line. The exact same form that was leading into a jump they’d talked about and he’d been criticizing himself about in Howard’s office months ago.

As he watched on with clenched fists, time seemingly crawling to a stop...

Noah planted his toe pick and launched into the air.

And for the briefest of moments, everyone seemed to expect yet another axel... only for Noah to tuck and invert into a backward rotation!

A backflip, so to speak!

The entire arena collectively seemed to hold their breaths as eyes seemed to want to pop out of sockets and gasps swept across the Grand Palais like a tidal wave!

It was a forbidden move that had been banned for fifty years. One guaranteed to incur automatic deductions. One that would cost him his already perfect gold.

Yet, in that moment, Elias caught it.

That very same grin. That very same optimism.

It wasn’t one of someone whom would ever chase victory. Rather, it was the smile of someone so unfettered, they’d completely shed off the entire world in that one moment.

Yet, at the same time, it was the smile of someone who remembered. It was also why, Elias suddenly recalled in that brief instance of time;

But I’d argue that the best figure skaters weren’t remembered because they never failed to land a move...

Rather, I’d like to believe they were remembered because they found a reason to get back up and try again until they did.

Elias had never seen Noah practice this move before. Yet, he was a veteran enough to know that it didn’t just come with talent or practice.

Rather, it came from someone who had the courage to innovate, despite understanding the risks of failure.

And in that moment, Elias’ gaze reflected that of someone whom had finally broken free of the restraints he’d shackled himself with by believing he ever needed to prove anything to anyone.

Noah’s blades seemed to slowly meet the ice in tandem to that... his landing clean as he effortlessly absorbed its impact before flowing straight back into the music as though he’d done nothing unusual.

For perhaps half a second, silence reigned.

Then,

The arena detonated as people leapt to their feet!

The applause became utterly deafening!

Screams vibrated the Grand Palais!

And the commentators?

They had long since abandoned all professionalism!

"I DON’T BELIEVE WHAT WE’VE JUST SEEN!"

"HE KNOWS THE DEDUCTIONS!"

"HE HAD THE GOLD!"

"AND HE GAVE IT UP!"

Raising his arms in a flourish, Noah skated the final few seconds of his program, a relaxed, joyful and vibrant smile plastered on his visage as his music ended.

Then, he bowed to that very same audience.

Yet, even despite having lost the gold, not a single person in the Grand Palais cared.

The ovation only grew louder.

Because at the end of the day, medals only measured execution, not the truest sense of the sport itself.

And Noah...

He had just reminded everyone watching why they had ever fallen in love with figure skating in the first place.

"Cut!"

-

Despite Murray’s command, none of the extras actually seemed to care as they kept cheering on, all of them watching as Niall held his ending pose, his head facing down, his breathing heavy and a genuine smile of exhilaration on his features.

Though a lot of them weren’t even figure skating aficionados, that performance had to be one of the most beautifully exhilarating things they had ever witnessed.

The only set of people whom had managed to respond to the director, were his cinematographers and lighting technicians.

Even most of the crew remained shell-shocked as they had never seen the performance up until today.

As for Matthew and Howard, they were much the same, their faces reflecting how amazed they were as they continued to clap alongside everyone else.

Even Murray himself had joined in, the man sporting one of the brightest grins he had ever given to an actor.

Noah Bennett might have been a prodigy... but Niall Parker who portrayed him was even more of prodigy for bringing him to life with such aplomb and gravitas.

That said, the only person who wasn’t reacting like everyone else, was none other than Louis Hoffman.

Despite being utterly shell-shocked by the performance, especially since he had never actually seen Niall perform before, or even had the knowledge that he was the one doing his stunts, that twisted sense of jealousy in him only seemed to fester even more.

Yet, completely unaware of it, Niall slowly raised his head up, his Gift of True Aptitude finally washing off of him.

And with that, he had filmed his very last scene as Noah Bennet in [Rink].

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/Caer07