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Just moments before her pupil was introduced, Jill Barnett had one last thing to say to Amy. “Good luck.”

The public address announcer began speaking a few seconds later. “Our fourth contestant tonight comes from Seoul South Korea. Will everyone please give a big hand to Yu-Na Cho.”

Spells R Us- Since I found You Part Four

By Danielle J

 Synopsis- A figure skating competition gives Chad the best chance yet to help Amy overcome her stage fright.

Thank you to Puddin for her help with this installment.

During Amy’s last week of skating camp, she and a few of the other skaters begin to become friendly. After a hard day of training, to be able to talk or play games with friends made life much more enjoyable.

Teresa Blake of the United States sparked the change by simply asking Amy over lunch what music she liked to listen to.  Amy replied and within minutes three other skaters joined the conversation.

The recreation room at St. Ludwina’s had a small collection of board games and on Monday, July 21st, before going to bed, Amy, Teresa, Carolyn Zhang, Joy Felton, and Kaari Jokinen joined together to play a game of Trivial Pursuit.

On Tuesday night the same skaters, with the exception of Teresa Blake, decided to play the game of Life. Like Trivial Pursuit, it helped to pass the time while they chatted and the girls had started to like each other.

Amy won ‘Life’, finishing the contest with over a half million dollars in cash, a husband and three kids. By some strange coincidence, her career for the game was athlete, but in order to finish the game, Amy and the three other players had stayed up a half hour past lights out.

Four skaters staying up past lights out didn’t go unnoticed by the powers to be at St. Ludwina’s. Amy and the others were called out once breakfast was finished on Wednesday morning. They were told to assemble in front of the dorm house.

“It has come to my knowledge all of you have disobeyed lights out,” Mr. Frey said to the four skaters who were lined up before him  and who were told neither to move or say anything unless told to do so. “Do you have anything to say for yourselves?”

“No, Mr. Frey,” Amy weakly replied. As a punishment for violating lights out, they were required to clean bathroom A that night.

Thursday July 24th was the first day for the St. Ludwina’s skating competition. The ten remaining girls in camp would compete against each other over the next four days. Those who finished first, second, or third, would get a trophy.

There should have been one more skater in the competition, but Kaari Jokinen had to pull out of camp on July 23rd. She and the rest of the skaters were having a classroom session, when a St. Ludwina’s director came into the room and asked the Finnish skater to come outside with him.

After class was over, Amy saw Kaari sitting in a nearby office with her skating coach. Kaari was crying and appeared very upset.

Later on in the day Amy asked Jill Barnett what had happened.

“Kaari’s mother and younger brother were in an automobile accident back in Finland,” Jill explained.  “Both of them are in the hospital at present.”

“Will they be all right?”

“They hope so, Amy. Kaari will be flying home tonight to be with them.”

Amy was sorry to see Kaari Jokinen go.  She had been the one Amy had grown to like the most among the ten skaters at camp.

While she slept all right the night before the competition began, Amy came down with a bad case of the jitters the morning of the July 24th.  Chad had to keep giving her a pep talk.

‘You’re at least as good as anyone here if not better. Don’t be frightened; what is the worst that can happen?’

The voice in his head, that Chad considered that of Yu-Na Cho, spoke back to him. ‘I would lose on Sunday.’

‘There is nothing wrong with losing as long as you try your best. Yu-Na, you’re not going to lose but instead we will win this thing. Believe in yourself.’

Amy and her coach had been thinking about the competition for a week by then, and Amy had chosen a particular piece of music she liked for the performance, Eye of the Tiger, which became the subject of some debate.

“The dance routine for this music  requires a great deal of skill, Yu-Na.”

“Yes, Coach, I know,” Chad picked this music because she heard at least three other skaters would be using her other choice.  Besides, he thought Yu-Na skated better to this particular music.

“All right, Amy. Eye of the Tiger it is.”

At 10 a.m. on the 24th the drawing was held to determine the order of skaters for the short program. Amy picked lot number four.

Yu-Na wouldn’t skate till approximately 7:45. By choice, Chad chose to have only a very light snack before competition began. A full and nervous stomach was the last thing he needed.

The Opening ceremony would start at 6 p.m. but Amy and her team arrived at the rink at 3:30 sharp. She would need every single one of those hundred and fifty minutes to get ready.

The first thing Amy did was get into her outfit, a lilac skating dress with silver sequins and matching diamond solitaire earrings that caught the lights and accentuated her movements perfectly.

Getting her hair ready was one of the simpler tasks for Amy that afternoon. Her straight black hair, which fell to about two inches below her shoulders, was tied up and then clipped into place at the back of her head with a large diamond-studded barrette. 

Amy was now dressed and her hair was set, but the most time-consuming task still lay ahead of her. She had have her makeup for that night’s performance done in the poorly-equipped dressing room.

The amount of makeup a figure skater puts on before competing was just astounding in Chad’s opinion. It was up to Danielle Potvin to transform the appearance of Yu-Na ‘Amy’ Cho into something appropriate for a figure skating competition, first protecting her outfit from the makeup by covering her from neck to toe with a sheet like the ones Barbers use when giving someone a haircut.

She first applied a foundation of a slightly darker skin tone with a natural fiber fan-shaped makeup brush, making sure the tone blended with the neck and avoided the appearance of an orange line.

Next came powder foundation to smooth the skin. This helped to keep the base in place and also enhanced Amy’s natural beauty.

Then Danielle went to work on the skater’s eyes, expertly applying eye liner, eye shadow, and mascara. While this was being done, Jill Barnett, Henri Vashon, and Sylvester Buczek were all ready to give their opinion, particularly if they thought the makeup on Amy was still in need of improvement.

After her artistry with Yu-Na’s eyes was complete, Danielle turned her attention to the task of highlighting the figure skater’s cheekbones. This was done with blusher, applied with another fan shaped makeup brush.

Last but not least was the preparation of Yu-Na’s lips. Lipstick and lip liner were applied. The later to prevent the former from bleeding into the creases and cracks of the smile Chad would wear later that day on ice.

It was around 5:45 when Danielle felt her work was done. “Amy, what do you think?”

Chad looked at his reflection in a dressing room mirror. The face he saw was barely recognizable. He looked like some doll now.

Amy had a different opinion. “It is pretty, Miss Danielle. Thank you.”

“You’re welcome, Amy,” Danielle replied. Then, a knock on the door reminded them that she would have to begin lining up for the Opening Ceremony in five minutes.

The master of ceremonies introduced all ten skaters in alphabetical order, so Yu-Na Cho was the second skater.

As she waited, Amy began to get jittery again. Chad tried to give her courage. ‘We have worked so hard together for two months, Yu-Na, and you will do great tonight.’

‘I will try.’

When the name Yu-Na Cho was called, Amy came onto the ice and began to skate her introduction. She did a simple dance sequence as she completed one circle of the rink. When finished, she bowed and smiled to the audience before taking her place next to the first skater introduced, Teresa Blake.

When the opening ceremonies were done, all the skaters left the ice. Amy went straight over to where Coach Barnett was waiting.

Jill Barnett was not an advocate of last minute advice from coach to pupil. A figure skater at the level Amy was at shouldn’t need last minute instructions or reminders.

Instead Jill tried to make her pupil feel less nervous. “Amy, the audience tonight is your family, remember that. They will all love you if you try your best.”

“Yes, Coach.”

At 7:10 the skaters began performing their short programs in the order of their lot in the drawing. When finished, those watching would applaud the figure skater to show their appreciation, and some people would throw flowers and stuffed animals onto the ice rink.

That meant that after every performance, cleanup work had to be done. This was accomplished by a group of young boys and girls who went to St. Ludwina’s at other times of the year. Once the ice was cleared, the next performer was up.

By the time the third skater of the evening was done, Amy was already waiting in the wings. Coach Barnett was standing next to her.

Just moments before her pupil was introduced, Jill Barnett had one last thing to say to Amy. “Good luck.”

The public address announcer began speaking a few seconds later. “Our fourth contestant tonight comes from Seoul South Korea. Will everyone please give a big hand to Yu-Na Cho.”

Amy skated out onto the ice, gently waving and smiling at the people in attendance that night. When her short warm-up skate was finished, Amy stood at the center of the rink. She then waited for the music to begin playing.

‘Yu-Na, we’re going to knock them dead.’ Chad told the other voice just a second before the music began playing.

“Risin' up, back on the street.
Did my time, took my chances, 
Went the distance, now I'm back on my feet. Just a man and his will to survive”

Amy skated to the music, performing her dance moves in sync with the beat.



“So many times, it happens too fast. 
You change your passion for glory
 Don't lose your grip on the dreams of the past, 
You must fight just to keep them alive.”

Amy, who was already skating fast, turned it up another notch in order to prepare for a leap at the appropriate musical cue.  



“It's the eye of the tiger, it's the cream of the fight
 Risin' up to the challenge of our rival”

To perform the Axel, Amy approached the jump on a right back outside edge in a strongly held check position before stepping onto a left forward outside edge. She then vaulted over the toe pick of the left skate and stepped up into the jump with her right leg.

Amy then brought her left leg through to cross in front of the right in a back spin position to bring her center of gravity and rotation around to the right side of her body in mid-air, allowing her to nail a perfect triple axel.

“And the last known survivor stalks his prey in the night
 And he's watchin' us all in the eye of the tiger” 

Amy’s landing was as near to perfect as any she ever done in her life.  On landing, she uncrossed her legs which then allowed her to come out of the jump with good speed.

This was important because Amy wasn’t done yet. She repeated the same steps again, to complete a triple-triple, one of the most difficult ice skating routines there was.

If the overwhelming applause from the crowd in attendance was any indication, Amy had performed the triple-triple magnificently.

Amy couldn’t stop to bask in adoration being paid her. The short program she was performing still wasn’t finished.

“Face to face, out in the heat
 Hangin' tough, stayin' hungry
 They stack the odds 'til we take to the street
 For we kill with the skill to survive.

 Risin' up, straight to the top Have the guts, got the glory
 Went the distance, now I'm not gonna stop 
Just a man and his will to survive
 The eye of the tiger.”

About thirty seconds before her camel spin completion to the short program, Amy did another triple-triple. This time Chad thought he was off just a tiny bit from the first.

Before starting the camel spin, Amy did a couple of back crossovers in a circle. These wound her up, which is important in order to gain the proper momentum for a camel spin.

Then Amy stepped over into the center she created and reversed directions. With her shoulders level and her knee bent deeply, she began to spiral.

Every figure skater who does the camel spin, has their own signature version. Like her countrywoman Yu-Na Kim, Amy used the great flexibility of her legs and arms.

As her spin neared completion Amy took hold of her skate. The cheers from the audience were now deafening.

‘We did it, Yu-Na.’

 Amy began to decelerate, letting go of her skate as she did. When the camel spin was done, Amy was upright again. Her left arm raised into the air as she concluded her short program.

When finished, Amy gave the audience the biggest smile she could. After that she bowed. It wasn’t till the announcer said her name again, that Amy began to leave the ice.

“That was South Korea’s Yu-Na Cho.”

With her short program finished, it was time for Amy to get her results, waiting for them in the kiss and cry area.

The name, ‘kiss and cry area’, originated in the 1980’s. At an event in Finland, television commentators wanted a name for the place figure skaters wait to get their results at. Finish figure skater Jane Errko gave it a name that still sticks to this day and has even become a term used in International Skating Union regulations.

Jill Barnett was already at the kiss and cry area when Amy arrived. “You did very well.”

“I tried my best.” Amy said before taking a seat on the bench provided for her and the other skaters. Jill Barnett sat down beside her.

The gifts that were thrown onto the ice for Amy were being collected. Many of them were stuffed animals. Just as when she had skated at the New Hampshire and New England Championships, these gifts would be given to a charity supplying toys to children of military personnel serving in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Amy was both physically and emotionally drained from her performance. The five minute wait for results seemed like an hour to her.

“Look, Amy.” Jill Barnett said after she looked up at the scoreboard.

Amy was speechless when she saw her score. 70.80, over one point better than any skater so far. It was also her best ever short program score.

As her results finally sank in, Amy began to cry. ‘I wish my Mom and family had been here to see me today.’

Amy was in second place when the short program skating was finished. Natasha Gordorov with a score of 71.00 was in first. Joy Felton of Halifax Nova Scotia was in third with 70.10. No other skater in the competition scored above 68.70.

As good as Amy’s score was, the scoring part of the competition was only half over. The free skate program was scheduled for Saturday night, July 26th. Almost two full days would pass before any celebration could begin.

In the meantime, many things took place. For one, Amy got moved into a different room at the dorm on Thursday night. Chad was glad for this, he wouldn’t have put it beneath Natasha to place some tacks on the floor for her rival in the morning. The Russian was as competitive as she was nasty.

“I will beat shit out of you tomorrow,” Natasha said as she bumped into Amy outside Bathroom A on Friday morning. As the Russian walked away from her, Amy showed some rare anger. Chad had coerced her into giving Natasha the finger.

‘Yu-Na, there are some people who aren’t worthy of respect or being treated nicely,” Chad told the other inner voice of the body he was in. 

On Friday afternoon, all the figure skaters were taken to the home of Jacques and Miranda Martin. It was a big donation from Mr. Martin that made the figure skating camp possible. As a form of re-payment for what had been done for them, all the girls put on a dance show they had been rehearsing the last two weeks when they were not skating.

After the show was finished, dinner was served. Miranda Martin was from the Philippines, and it was from there the menu for Friday night originated also. Roast pig, also known as lechon, was served with rice and mixed vegetables. Amy found the food quite delicious.

Amy enjoyed the party, but was very shy throughout. She did open up when introduced to the Martins. Other than that she preferred to sit quietly with her skating team.

Jill Barnett did not have Amy skate much on either Friday or Saturday before the free skate program began. Instead the coach had her pupil work on her dance moves with the help of Henri Vashon.

Amy arrived at the skating center at 5 p.m. Saturday afternoon. The same routines that took place on Thursday were repeated all over again. For her free skate program, Amy had on a sky blue skating dress that featured a large butterfly.

The order of skating on Saturday was set by the standings with the lowest-scoring skaters first. Amy would be the next to last skater in the free skate competition.

Amy began to feel scared again.

Chad tried to supply what she needed, a pep talk and courage. ‘Don’t be scared.’

‘I will try.’

This exchange seemed to repeat itself over and over again through Friday and Saturday.

Jean Pierre and his son Luke were in attendance. He said, “Amy, I want to wish you good luck.”

Amy was then given a big but gentle hug from her coach’s cousin. “Thank you, Monsieur Jean Pierre.”

Luke Levet also wished Amy good luck. Then he also added. “Amy you look so cute tonight.”

Unlike Thursday, there was a good turnout from the local media. Saturday night’s free skate programs would be videoed and shown on a Montreal television station at a later date.  With Amy in second place, she was sure to be featured in the broadcast. This only made her feel more nervous.

Amy’s case of nerves only grew worse as the time for her to skate approached. She managed not to look at the scoreboard after Joy Felton finished her free skate program. If she had, Amy would have known she was all but guaranteed a third or higher place finish.

Chad had Amy take a deep breath just seconds before the announcer began the next introduction.

“Next up is Yu-Na Cho from Seoul South Korea.” Like the night before, Amy did a short warm-up skate before completing it at the center of the rink to wait for her cue.

The music for the free skate program, as chosen by Amy and her team, was highlights from the Musical ‘Les Miserables’.

As soon as the first note was sounded, Amy began to skate. Her program was a study in balletic control, neither too loose nor too tense.

The first big test came less than thirty seconds into the program. Amy did a triple axel. The landing was as near as to perfect as the ones in her earlier dance set.

‘Let’s keep it up, Amy. There is no one here tonight better than us.’ 

Amy did a triple lutz soon after that, then a triple combo, the applause ringing in her ears after the successful completion of both. She also did other leaps and spins, as parts of the program Amy had been rehearsing for months.

The free skate ended with a Biellmann spin, rather than Amy’s signature camel spin. A Biellmann is a figure skating spin in which the skater executes a one-foot spin while holding the other foot extended over her head and behind her body, with both hands, forming a teardrop shape with her leg, body, and arms.

The ovation Amy got when she finished the free skate program was thundering. After she bowed and smiled to everyone in attendance, she skated off the ice. Now the wait for the results would begin.

Before she left the ice, Amy passed close to where the Levets were seated. Luke was chanting.

“Amy! Amy! Amy!.......”

Just as on Thursday, Jill Barnett was waiting for her pupil. She would sit again with Amy in the kiss and cry area. Cameramen and video photographers crowded in and as a result Amy had little space.

When Amy’s overall score of 125.20 was posted, she began to cry. This wasn’t just an all-time high for her, but a score greater than some medalists achieve in events like the World Juniors or The Cup of China.

Jill Barnett gave her pupil a warm hug as she whispered. It is all right, Amy. You are a champion.”

“Is there anything you want to say, Yu-Na?” a television reporter asked.

Amy tried to control her emotions before speaking.  It proved to be a losing battle.

“My Mom. I love you.”

The reporter tried to ask Amy more questions, but she could only mutter a few weak replies. With Natasha Gordorov about to begin her free skate program, it was time for Amy and Jill Barnett to move elsewhere.

Amy watched Natasha’s program but her mind was elsewhere. She wasn’t even trying to ascertain if she would win that night, though a waxel by the Russian skater all but guaranteed a victory for her.

Instead, Amy was thinking of her Mom and Dad, her Aunt and Uncle, and where her figure skating would take her next if only she could stay brave and not let her fears become overwhelming.

‘Chad, please stay with me.’

‘Amy, I can’t.’

With a combined score of 196.00, Amy won the St. Ludwina’s skating competition. Joy Felton finished second with a score of 193.70. Natasha Gordorov was third at 192.80.

Amy’s award, a trophy not a medal, wouldn’t be presented till late Sunday afternoon. Before then, a closing Exhibition program was to be skated.

For the Exhibition, Amy had chosen the song ‘Just a girl.’ As she prepared to take the ice, Chad began to wonder about the meaning of that selection.

‘Yes, Amy we’re just a girl but I’m going to be a boy again very soon.’

Actually, Just a Girl was a popular choice for junior female figure skating programs. Yu-Na Kim often did her exhibitions to the song.

The Exhibition wasn’t part of the overall competition but it was still important. Another strong performance and Amy would be sending a loud statement. She was ready to compete as an international figure skater.

After feeling the warning signs of its impending arrival for almost a day, Amy’s period arrived late Saturday night. Chad told himself he would have to endure this, the least enjoyable part of being Yu-Na Cho, just one last time.

For Sunday’s exhibition, Amy put on a cranberry red dress. Chad joked to himself that any menstrual blood overflow would just blend right in.

In attendance for the exhibition were over fifty children from a Montreal children’s hospital. Before and after they skated, all the St. Ludwina’s contestants would sign autographs and pose for photos with the very ill youngsters.

Since it was Chad’s last time to compete as a figure skater, he gave the Exhibition program some extra panache.

“Take this pink ribbon off my eyes.
 I'm exposed 
And it's no big surprise. 
Don't you think I know
 Exactly where I stand?
 This world is forcing me
 To hold your hand,
 'Cause I'm just a girl, little 'ol me, 
Don't let me out of your sight 
I'm just a girl, all pretty and petite,
 So don't let me have any rights.

 Oh...I've had it up to here!
 The moment that I step outside, 
So many reasons 
For me to run and hide. 
I can't do the little things I hold so dear
'

'Cause it's all those little things
 That I fear.

 'Cause I'm just a girl I'd rather not be.
' Cause they won't let me drive. 
Late at night I'm just a girl, 
Guess I'm some kind of freak, 
'Cause they all sit and stare
 With their eyes.

 I'm just a girl.
 Take a good look at me,
 Just your typical prototype.
' 


'Oh...I've had it up to here!
 Oh...am I making myself clear? 
I'm just a girl.
 I'm just a girl in the world.... 
That's all that you'll let me be!
I'm just a girl, living in captivity.
 Your rule of thumb
 Makes me worry some.

 I'm just a girl, what's my destiny?
 What I've succumbed to'

Is making me numb.
I'm just a girl, my apologies,
What I've become is so burdensome.
I'm just a girl, lucky me.
Twiddle-dum there's no comparison 

Oh...I've had it up to...!
 Oh...I've had it up to...!! 
Oh...I've had it up to here!”

As the cheers filled her ears after her exhibition program ended, Chad silently spoke to that other voice in her head. ‘Ok, Amy, you deliberately picked this song, didn't you?’

‘Why not? I’m just a girl and so are you.’

Amy got to speak to her Aunt and Uncle plus her father on Sunday night. All were very happy to hear of her accomplishments in Canada.

“Koko, I will be there to watch you next month,” Jung-Sun said in a voice full of emotion. No mention was made in either phone conversation of Amy’s possible adoption.

As she had spent most of her tears at the ice rink the last few days, Amy was more in control of her emotions than Jung-Sun Cho was. “Yes, Father, I want to skate my best ever for you.”

Jill Barnett had made it official as she and Amy had dinner earlier that night. “Amy, I feel it is time for you to begin competing.”

“I am ready, coach.” Amy said bravely.

“You will travel to Seoul next month. The qualifier for the Asia-Pacific games starts on August 25th.”

“Will my Aunt and Uncle come?”

“I am not sure.”

Something just occurred to Chad. “When will we leave?”

“I am not sure yet. Maybe August 15th but I’ll know more after speaking to your family.”

Chad knew what this meant. He’d either have to do the out maneuver, or some how get back to that magic shop on August 14th precisely, something that could be tricky in light of how he had no car. Yu-Na was going to be in South Korea past the one-hundred day limit for the reversal spell, and Chad didn’t trust the Wizard to give him an extension.

Even after her St. Ludwina’s victory, Amy kept having those self doubts. Chad liked the figure skater, she was a warm hearted, kind, loving person with a quiet but very funny sense of humor.

Amy was also very humble. When he became male again, Chad would try to emulate that particular trait of Yu-Na Cho and how she was always so thoughtful of others.

The biggest flaw in Yu-Na’s character was she worried too much about what others thought of her and feared she would not meet the expectations of her family and friends. Chad thought that this was ridiculous. She was incredibly talented at figure skating and her other personality traits were something to admire and cherish.

Chad kept coming back to the challenge given him by The Wizard. He thought Yu-Na’s skating had improved with his help. Her total score in the just finished competition was her highest ever. It was Chad’s opinion that Yu-Na’s performance level was nowhere close to peaking yet.

The biggest cause for the improvement in Amy’s skating appeared to be the confidence given to her by Chad. Would she be able to maintain it once he left?

Did Chad even care? Yes, he cared and not just for the selfish reason that he wanted to be a better hockey player. Chad had become Yu-Na Cho’s biggest fan.

“Then I can see my father again.”

“Yes, you can. Amy. Tomorrow, I have some business to tend to. I will need you to fly home to New Hampshire on your own.”

Amy quietly listened as her coach explained further. Jill Barnett had planned all along to give her a pupil a few days rest after the camp at St. Ludwina’s was over.  Beginning Monday, Amy would get four days to rest. She would begin training for the Asia-Pacific games qualifier on Friday.

“Coach, that is all right. I will be strong.” 

Amy left for New Hampshire on Monday after being taken to the airport by Jean Pierre. The return plane trip was the same as the one that brought Amy to Canada, and was totally unremarkable.

Aunt Kim and Uncle Roger were waiting for their niece when she came out of the arrival area. Amy gave them a hug and kiss each.

“How was your trip? Amy asked her American family as they all began walking to baggage claim.

“We had a very good time.” Kim and Roger had only arrived back in New Hampshire the day before. A mechanical problem had made them miss a connection, so they’d  had to overnight in Boston on the way home.

Aunt Kim and Uncle Roger were both getting over a bad case of jet lag but were glad to see Amy.

“I hear you went to South Korea. Did you say hello to Allison for me?”

“Yes Amy, we did. Allison says hello and gave us a gift for you.”

“I don’t deserve a gift,” Amy said before she joined her aunt and uncle in getting on a escalator.

Roger and Kim had taken the first steps on the road to adopting Amy. The lawyer in Seoul they met the week before would be able to arrange the adoption on the South Korea end.

As for the United States, Roger had an appointment with a Manchester New Hampshire law firm that handled both immigration and family law cases. The free consultation was scheduled for August 12th.

It wouldn’t be till after the consultation took place that Roger and Kim would have a talk with their niece. They didn’t want to raise Amy’s hopes if only to see them dashed if an adoption wasn’t possible. 

“No, Amy, this is how Allison wanted to thank you for the birthday card you sent her in May.”

“I want to bring gift to Allison when we go to Seoul next time. Are we really going next month?”

“Yes, Amy. Your uncle and I decided this after talking to Miss Barnett,” Aunt Kim said as she, Roger, and Amy got off the escalator.

“Will you both be coming with me to Seoul?”

“No, Amy, just I,” Aunt  Kim replied.

Uncle Roger could see his niece was disappointed as they begun the wait for her luggage. “Amy, I would really like to be there for you but the college semester will be starting soon.”

“I understand, Uncle. You and Aunt Kim do so much for me. That is why I want to have my highest ever score in Seoul.”

“We’re happy to do anything for you, Amy. Coach Barnett said you skated wonderfully at the camp.”

Amy was modest. “Coach, Miss Danielle, Monsieur Vashon, and Mr. Buczek worked very hard with me. Did you get the video yet?”

Aunt Kim shook her head. “No, Amy. Coach Barnett said we should receive it and the trophy later this week.”

The baggage from Amy’s flight began to come out. As usual, impatient passengers scurried to get their belongings.

Aunt Kim told Amy of some phone messages that her niece received while she was away for three weeks. “Stefan called. You should return his call.”

“Did anyone else call?”

“Wendy and Lori left you messages.”

Chad was looking forward to one last lesbian tumble with Lori before becoming male again. “I will call them all back.”

Amy’s baggage still hadn’t finished coming off when near disaster struck. A passenger pushing a luggage cart almost ran over her left foot.

Only quick thinking by Uncle Roger saved his niece from serious injury. He had to yank Amy to the side in order to clear a path for the impatient passenger.

“Be more careful next time,” Roger yelled at the stranger only to be given the finger in reply by the man.

Amy hadn’t escaped injury. She had banged her left foot against the baggage carousel after having it saved from being run over. “Ow!”

“What’s wrong, Amy?” Aunt Kim asked. Any foot injury was potentially serious to a figure skater.

“My toes hurt,” Amy said as she tried hard not to cry. Her toes were in a great deal of pain.

“Can you walk?” Uncle Roger asked. His attention now focused on Amy.

“Yes, Uncle.”

“I’ll look at it when we get to the car,” Aunt Kim told her niece. Less than five minutes later all of Amy’s bags had arrived and she and her aunt and uncle were ready to go home.       

By the time Amy arrived at the Crawford house, the fourth toe on her left foot was black and blue. She could walk on it, but doing anything else was too painful.

Kim took her niece to the doctor the following day. An x-ray was taken, which fortunately showed no break. The orthopedic doctor did advise Amy to rest her foot for at least a week.

Danielle Potvin agreed with the doctor’s prognosis when she examined Amy’s toe in the presence of Jill two days later. Skating would only aggravate the injury.

“I want to train,” Amy said. The toe injury had highly upset her. It could endanger the upcoming trip to Seoul and with it the chance to see her father.

“No, Amy, you must rest. We will re-evaluate your toe next week,” Jill told her pupil.

Amy, at the urging of her Aunt Kim, called Stefan the very first night she was home from Canada. She still didn’t know the severity of her toe injury at the time.

“Congratulations on your win.”

“Thank you.”

“When you get a chance, please send me a video of your skating in Canada.”

“Yes, I will ask Aunt Kim to mail it to you. How is Washington?”

“It is all right. I am almost done here.”

“Yes, you will go to Dartmouth soon?” Amy had been accepted by the University of New Hampshire but Aunt Kim and Uncle Roger had yet to determine how many classes their niece would take yet, if any. It would all depend on Amy’s skating schedule.

“I’m coming back to New Hampshire the night of August 13th. Would you like to go out again?”

“Yes, I would,” Amy replied. Chad’s opinion of Stefan remained the same. He still thought the guy was really weird. At least he’d have to put with Stefan only one more time or with luck not at all.

August 14th was the ninetieth day for Chad as Amy Cho. There were only a little over two weeks left.

Before they were through talking, Stefan asked Amy if she had any photos from her recent trip. She did, and promptly sent some of them in an email to her boyfriend.

“You look pretty,” Stefan said after he viewed the photos sent to him. Amy liked being called pretty.

Wendy Williams had a unique proposition for her friend. “Amy I met this nice guy while I went to see my grandmother.”

“I am happy for you,” Amy told her good friend. Wendy had a very pleasant personality, that if the world was fairer, guys would pay more attention to than her very plain appearance. “What does he do?”

“Vince goes to Harvard.”

Amy knew Wendy had family in the Boston area. “He must be smart.”

“Yes, Vince is, and so is his brother Val. They’re twins.”

”Can you tell them apart?”

Wendy laughed her head off at Amy’s joke. “Yes, because they aren’t identical. Val is nice too and I told him about you. Vince is coming up here next weekend. Would you like to do a double date?”

“I have boyfriend now too. His name is Stefan.”

“That’s great,” Wendy said before she and Amy went on to talk for a little while longer.

Last, but not least, Amy got around to calling Lori. “I get home today.”

“How was your flight?”

“My arms are tired,” Even if Amy’s joke was weak, it still caused Lori to laugh her head off.

“Give them a rest then. I’m even willing to help you REST.”

“I’d like that. Tomorrow I will talk to my Aunt. Will your parents allow me to come over?”

“Of course they will!” Lori said excitedly.

Amy had already told Lori about the scheduled trip to Seoul. There wasn’t much time left for the two friends to get together again.

Chad wanted to have sex with Lori again as much or more than Amy did. Two women making love was incredibly hot in Chad’s opinion, especially when he was one of the two women.

“I finished setting up the website. Take a look at it and tell me what you think,” Lori told Amy.

“Yes, but let me do it tomorrow. It is late and I am sleepy.”

Amy liked the website Lori had set up for her. Four people had already signed the guestbook. 

Before Amy and Lori could get together, The Crawfords had other plans for their niece and themselves. Seeing as she was a little depressed after her airport accident, Aunt Kim and Uncle Roger decided to take Amy to Rhode Island and pay a visit to Andrea Wong.

Amy had been to Rhode Island three times before but the novelty hadn’t worn off. The United States was such a big country, and she liked to travel around it. It was Amy’s biggest non-skating dream to see all fifty states in her lifetime.

The visit to Rhode Island helped to cheer Amy up. Andrea was already in her fourteenth week of pregnancy, and the extra life she was carrying for had begun to show. So she, her mother, and Amy spent a great deal of time shopping for maternity clothes and baby related items. While the women in the family kept busy, Roger and his son-in-law Harold played eighteen holes of golf together.

When they arrived at the mall, Aunt Kim got a wheelchair for Amy.

“I don’t need that.”

“No Amy I insist,” Aunt Kim said firmly. “You really must keep as little weight on your toe so it will heal properly.”

Amy didn’t argue with her kind Aunt. Kim pushed her niece around both malls the Crawford family women visited before they returned home around 4 p.m. 

“You will have the baby January 27th? Amy asked Andrea as they began to put the purchases away. Her aunt was downstairs getting dinner ready.

“It is just an estimation.  I could deliver a few days before or after.”

“I’m very happy for you and Harold.”

Andrea smiled. “Thanks, Amy. I’d like you to be here when I give birth if it’s possible.”

“Yes, I would like that.”

“That was a great performance you did in Canada,” Andrea said. On her arrival back in New Hampshire, Jill Barnett gave Amy a DVD recording of her St. Ludwina’s skating programs. Just the night before she and her family had sat down to watch it.  

“I still have to work hard for Olympics.”

“You will make it, Amy. I will tell people one day my sister won the gold medal at the 2010 Olympics.”

“We are cousins.”

“Not for…..Oh shit.” Andrea exclaimed.

“Oh shit what?”

Andrea let out a nervous laugh. “Mom and Dad told me not to mention this but as I brought it up already, here goes……”

Amy listened as Andrea told her about the planned adoption. As she did, tears began to well up in her eyes. “Aunt Kim and Uncle Roger will really adopt me?”

“Yes, if the courts will let them. Dad is going to see an attorney some time soon. Your father in Seoul already said yes.”

Amy was really beginning to cry now. Andrea sat her sister down on the bed and hugged her. “Speaking not just for me, but Amanda and Allison too, we’re very happy to have you as our sister.”

“Aunt and Uncle do too much for me already.”

“Mom and Dad love you, that’s why.”

“My adoption will cost money?”

“Yes, but I have no idea how much,” Andrea could see how Amy felt ashamed. “Don’t feel that way. Mom and Dad want to do this for all of us.”

Kim came in the room a few seconds later. “Is there something wrong?” 

“Mom, I think you and Dad need to talk to Amy tonight.”

Harold and Roger were home less than ten minutes later. Andrea offered to take over the cooking in order for her father and mother to be able to talk with Amy.

Roger spoke first. “Amy, as your sister told you, your Aunt and I would like to adopt you. When we were in South Korea last week, we spoke to your father. He has given us his blessing.”

Amy was speechless at both the actions of her father and the generosity of her Aunt and Uncle. She didn’t know if she was worthy of this display of love.

“We didn’t speak to you about it because your Aunt and I aren’t certain we can do this. I am seeing an attorney the week after this to see what we can do.”

“Amy, I didn’t want to get your hopes up in case the lawyer says no,” Aunt Kim said. “Do you want us to adopt you?”

A reply was slow in coming from Amy. In the meantime, Chad felt amazed by the love the Crawfords had for their niece.

“Amy?”

“My Father?”

Roger answered. “Amy, your father wants what is best for you. You like it here in the United States?”

“Yes, I do but I don’t want to forget my family.”

Aunt Kim smiled at her niece. “Amy, you are not turning away from them. I don’t want to replace your mother, your Uncle Roger won’t replace your father. We just want to give you the best possible future, one we hope you will like.”

There was only one answer Amy could give to this incredible display of kindness. “Yes, I want to be adopted.”

From that point Amy began referring to her Aunt and Uncle as Mom and Dad. In return for the love they supplied her, she would continue to set high standards for herself.

Amy and her new parents returned to New Hampshire a few days later. Danielle Potvin and Jill Barnett visited the Crawford home the following day.

“How does it feel?” Danielle asked after examining Amy’s injured toe. It wasn’t black and blue any more.

“It feels much better. I want to skate again.”   

Coach Barnett asked Amy to give a brief ballet demonstration. It soon became obvious the toe was still healing.

“Amy, I think you should rest it for another week,” Danielle Potvin said.

“I want to skate. Maybe I can take pill.”

Coach Barnett spoke. “No, Amy, we won’t do that.”

“I want to skate in Seoul this month.”

Aunt Kim re-assured her niece. “Amy, you will skate again when your foot is all better.”

It was decided that Amy would rest till at least August 12th. On August 11th Danielle and Coach Barnett would visit again and re-evaluate Amy’s condition

Before Jill Barnett left the Crawford home, Amy had a question to ask her. “Coach, have you heard anything about Kaari?”

“Yes, Amy, I have. Her mother is home now but her brother is still in the hospital. They will both be all right.”

“That is good,” Amy replied. “I would like to send Kaari a card if I can get an address.”

Jill Barnett smiled at her pupil. Amy Cho wasn’t just an excellent ice skater, but a complete sportswoman also.  “I can get that for you, Amy.” 

After Danielle and Jill Barnett left, Amy talked about what she would do the next few days. “Lori invited me to her house.”

“You can do that, Amy. Your Dad was going to give you another driving lesson today. Would you like that?”

“Yes, Mom, I would.”  

Lori picked up Amy at 8:30 on Wednesday morning. Before that, they spoke on the telephone Tuesday evening in order to decide what they would do the next three days.

“Wow,” Was the one word reply Lori had for her best friend’s appearance. Amy was wearing a set of jeans shorts and a tank top with tropical fish designs on it.

“I’m glad you like it,” Amy said as she finished climbing in Lori’s Trans-Am. “We’re going to your house first?”

“Yes, if you don’t mind. We can drop your things off when we get there.”

The Trans-Am was about two blocks from the Gault home, when Lori and Amy took a moment to share a brief kiss. “I been missing you something fierce.”

“Me too.” In fact Chad was mostly behind the plans she and Lori had for the next three days. Amy was feeling very reluctant.

Amy and Lori didn’t stop at the Gault house for long. All they did was drop off the bag and exchange it for a large cooler full of drinks and food.

“Where are your Mom and Dad?” Amy asked as Fluffy came over to say hello.

“They’re out right now, but will be back later,” Lori explained as she watched Amy pet Fluffy. “Mom will be in and out all day. We will have time later.”

“I look forward to having fun with Lori.”  Before Amy and Lori left the house, they took time to kiss long and passionately. If not for the unknown schedule of Mrs. Gault, the two teenage girls may have retired to the bedroom.

“That’s really great what your Aunt and Uncle are going to do for you,” Lori said once they were back in the Trans-Am.

“Yes, it is but I want to still respect my other parents.”

“You will, Amy.”

Amy had a difficult topic to bring up. “Lori, you should find another girlfriend.”

“Why, Amy?” Lori asked with a frown.

“I have no time for you.”

“Amy, I understand your training leaves you little free time. I’m also willing to share you with Stefan.” Lori wasn’t ready to settle down and she also understood the restrictions Amy lived with. “When we can find time to be together, let’s enjoy it.”

“Yes, but maybe you should look for girlfriend at Boston College.”

“Amy, if you have a free weekend this winter, I’ll drive through a blizzard just to spend one day with you,” Lori said.

Amy laughed at this, and Lori joined in.

Amy then told Lori about how popular she was with boys now. Namely the double date Wendy almost arranged for her and the unwanted attention she received from Luke Levet.

“Amy, it’s a curse sometimes to be popular.”

“Yes, you tell me that once,” Amy replied. “A few months, ago no boy asked me to prom. Now I have to beat them off with hockey stick.”

Lori cracked up at another one of Amy’s jokes. “You are so funny.”

“I have you and Fluffy now too. What is the saying, when it rains it pours?” Amy again made Lori laugh very hard.

Amy and Lori spent Wednesday at a state park, went to the beach on Thursday, and the mall on Friday. Every evening they either went to a movie or stayed around the Gault house to watch television in Lori’s room.

Lori was still working on the ‘We love Amy Cho’ website.

Amy approved of the way it was set up.

“I’m glad you like it.”

“My favorite part is the page you made for my mother,” Amy replied. According to the hit counter, ‘We love Amy Cho’ was getting between 100-150 visitors a day. Lori said that would increase with time.

Before going to bed with Lori on Wednesday night, Amy had to ask a question. “Are we safe?”

“Absolutely. Mom and Dad sleep on the other end of the house and they never come in here at night.”

Amy slept with Lori and they had sex all three nights. The two girls would wait till Mr. and Mrs. Gault retired for the evening around 10-10:30 pm before getting under way.

Chad didn’t fall asleep right away on Thursday night. As Lori snored at a very low volume, he found himself thinking of what life would be if he remained Yu-Na Cho. It wouldn’t be half bad between Lori, the possibility of Olympic glory, The Crawfords, and a few other reasons.

The daydream continued till Chad was almost ready to close his eyes and fall off to sleep. What he termed male logic finally sunk in.  ‘Stop thinking with that vagina, and use your brain for a minute. Getting screwed by a beautiful lesbian isn’t going to compensate for what you’re going to lose. Remember you’re Chad Ellis, a man, no matter what body you’re presently occupying.’  

On Friday night, Lori was impatient, so barely minutes after coming home from a movie and after saying goodnight to her parents, she jumped Amy the moment the bedroom door was closed. “I love you Amy.”

“Dad and Mom will do work around the house today. I feel I should help,” Amy said to Lori as the two girls lay in bed early Saturday morning.

“Amy Cho, always the good girl by day,” Lori said before letting out a loud laugh. “But a bad girl at night.”

“Besides I tell Mom I will come home today. Lori, I promise to call later.”

“Please, Amy, do that for me,” Lori said as she drew imaginary circles around Amy’s breasts with one of her fingertips. “I will miss these.”

While Lori prepared her breakfast, Amy packed her belongings. When this job was accomplished, she went to the kitchen area. 

“Who called?” Amy asked when she finally got to the kitchen. While packing her clothes, she heard the main phone in the Gault house ring twice.

“Don’t know, my Mom or Dad must have answered it,” Lori replied. “Apple Cinnamon Oatmeal sound good today?”

“Yes, Lori. Thank you for making it for me.”

While Lori and Amy had breakfast together, Mr. Gault came to the kitchen. He wanted another cup of coffee.

“Thank you, Mr. Gault, for allowing me to stay over.”

“You’re welcome, Amy.” Mr. Gault returned to the master bedroom a few minutes later.

About fifteen minutes later, Amy and Lori were through eating and had begun to clean up the kitchen area. Mr. and Mrs. Gault came out while this was going on.

“Bye, Daddy,” Lori said as she hugged and kissed her father.

Mrs. Gault just hung around the kitchen in silence.  The only time she spoke was to exchange a brief hello with Amy.

After her father left the house, Lori spoke to her mother. “Mom, if it’s all right Amy and I are going to listen to some music till Mr. or Mrs. Crawford get here.”

Mrs. Gault, who had a serious look on her face the entire morning, gave Lori other instructions. “Lori, go get Amy’s belongings and put them in the front hallway. I want to have a word with her.”

These orders from her mother and look that came with them, stopped Lori in her tracks. After a two second pause, she said. “Yes Mom.”

Amy just stared at Mrs. Gault as Lori left the kitchen area. An American expression had just come to her mind. ‘The shit is about to hit the fan.’

Mrs. Gault wasted little time in addressing Amy. “You and Lori are much more than friends. Am I right?”

Amy didn’t say a word. She just hung her head.

“I thought so. Amy, you don’t know how much you have disappointed me. I expected much more from you.”

Amy felt ashamed. She hadn’t just made her best friend’s mother angry but had been disrespectful to people who welcomed her into their home.

Mrs. Gault continued. “What you have been doing will not be tolerated in this house ever again. If you can not obey the rules I and Lori’s father lay down, you won’t be permitted in this house.”

“I’m sorry, Mrs. Gault.”

“Do you understand what I just said?”

“Yes, Mrs. Gault.”

“I won’t say anything to your aunt and uncle this time. If you should ever break the rules another time, I WILL have a word with them.”

An awkward silence that lasted about two minutes then began. In the meantime, Lori Gault came out of her bedroom with Amy’s belongings. She placed them in the front foyer.

Lori then returned to her bedroom, passing Amy on the way. Neither girl said a word or made eye contact with the other, as if both of them knew their friendship was at an end.

Mrs. Gault spoke one last time. “Amy, your Aunt Kim will be here in a few minutes. You may wait for her by the front door.”

“Goodbye, Mrs. Gault.”

Amy was in a car driven by her Mom less than five minutes later. It only took Kim a few seconds to know something was wrong.

“Is something wrong?”

Amy felt both ashamed and scared. Ashamed, because she had angered Lori’s mother. Scared because she feared Mrs. Gault may tell her parents even though the woman said she wouldn’t.

It was going to take a great deal of courage for Amy to tell her Mom what she had done. “I made Mrs. Gault angry at me.”

Kim was surprised by Amy’s admission. In the almost two years she had cared for her niece, the girl had rarely disappointed her.

They were almost home when Kim spoke again. “Amy, are you sorry for what you did and have you apologized to Mrs. Gault?”

“Yes, Mom.”

Kim took a second to look over at Amy. “Then I don’t need to know anything more, Amy.”

“I promise to be good.”

As they got out of the car, Kim spoke again. “I know you will.”

Both Chad and Amy were surprised by the mother’s reaction. They had feared for the worst. Mrs. Gault never spoke to Kim or Roger Crawford about what she discovered.

Lori didn’t speak to Amy either. Three days came and went without so much as a phone call. On Sunday night, Amy tried to call but her friend’s cell phone was turned off. An email went unanswered also.

By Monday night, Amy knew she had lost her best friend.   There would be no more fun and games, vocabulary lessons or joking with Lori Gault.

Chad felt he was to blame for what happened. He had pushed Amy too hard.  Any goofy notions in his head about remaining Yu-Na ‘Amy’ Cho had burned off like an early morning fog.

On Monday August 11th, Danielle Potvin and Jill Barnett paid a visit to the Crawford home. An examination of Amy’s foot and some practice ballet moves, showed the fourth toe on her left foot to be completely healed.

“You will begin practice again tomorrow,” Jill Barnett said.

Amy was excited to go back to figure skating. “I am ready, coach.”

Before going to sleep that night, Chad had another one of those conversations in his head. “I’m truly sorry for messing up your life.”

“We did it together,” The voice of Yu-Na replied. “I am at fault also.” 

Chad had come to his final decision. Before August 12th was over, the young man who had lived as a female figure skater for three months would be back living in his real body.

A phone call on Monday night from Stefan proved to be the clincher. He would be in Durham for dinner on Wednesday August 13th.  Knowing Aunt Kim like he did, Chad would get have little chance of going to the mall before her scheduled departure for Seoul on August 16th.

Chad would therefore have to do the out maneuver. That or be a woman till the day Yu-Na ‘Amy’ Cho died.  

Amy was woken by her Mom at 7:30. After getting ready for the day, Chad went to have his final breakfast with the Crawfords.

“Good morning, Amy,” Roger said as his niece came over to greet him with a kiss and hug. “Sleep well last night?”

“Yes, Dad, I did,” Amy said before greeting her Mom also.

Kim had a poached egg and half an English muffin ready for Amy. “Your Dad will take you to practice.”

“I will work hard,” Amy said after sipping some juice.

“Amy, have you thought over what we discussed on Sunday?” Kim asked as she took a seat at the table. The mother had already eaten breakfast.

The matter Kim had just referred to, was if Amy would like to join the church her adoptive parents belonged to. The Crawfords were Roman Catholic.

Amy gave a truthful answer. “I don’t know, Mom. When I go to Seoul, I want to talk to Father.”

Kim understood.  It wasn’t just a matter of Amy wanting to respect her birth parents, but also her coming to believe in the Roman Catholic religion. The mother wouldn’t push the issue with her adopted daughter.

That’s if the Crawfords could adopt their niece. On the way to the ice rink, Roger reminded Amy of what he had planned for the day. “I will go see those lawyers right after I drop you off. Mom and I will talk to you tonight about I have learned.”

“All right, Dad.”    

Coach Barnett asked her pupil to report for practice at 10 a.m. Amy got to the rink ten minutes early.

Once in the locker room, Amy took off her street clothes. The last day Chad would figure skate as a woman saw him wearing the same clothes as he did the first time.  The midnight blue top, black leggings, white skates, and black gloves were identical.

‘After I pop back into my old body, what happens to Yu-Na?’ Chad asked himself as he walked out of the locker room. He remembered what Danny said about the figure skater living in Canada before he had become her.

Danielle examined Amy’s injured toe before she put her skates on. It looked completely healed and when asked if it still bothered her, the skater said that it didn’t.

Then Amy got on ice and began her warm-up routine. She did it a little slower than normal. This in order to test her foot.

“Amy, how does it feel?” Coach Barnett asked about two minutes after her pupil began skating.

“It feels fine, coach,” Amy replied. She then picked up the pace a little. As she did, Danielle put some music on.

Amy continued to test her foot as she also shook off the rust that accumulated from two weeks of no skating. She was very glad to be back on the ice.

“Very good, Amy. Continue to practice like you are doing now.” Jill called out to her star pupil.

After Amy’s initial warm-up was complete, she came over to get a drink and take a short breather. Danielle had a bottle of Evian water waiting for her.

“Coach, I am ready to try the short program. My foot does not bother me.”

“All right, Amy, we’ll start the music when you’re ready.”

Amy went to the center of the ice and took her stance. Chad Ellis was ready. In approximately four minutes he would be male again.

‘I wonder what my real body is doing right this moment. Nothing bad I hope.’ Chad thought to himself. Then the music began.

It wasn’t ‘Eye of the Tiger,’ but the other song she’d considered using for her short programs, ‘Through the Eyes of Love,’ sung by Melissa Manchester, which was first featured in the movie ‘Ice Castles.’

“Please, don't let this feeling end, 
It's ev'rything I am, 
Ev'rything I wanna be; 
I can see what's mine now, 
Finding out what's true, 
Since I've found you 
Lookin' through the eyes of love'



'Now I can take the time, 
I can see my life 
As it comes on shining now; 
Reachin' out to touch you, 
I can feel so much, 
Since I've found you 
Lookin' through the eyes of love.'



'And now I do believe, 
That even in a storm, we'll find some light; 
Knowin' you're beside me, 
I'm alright. 

Please, don't let this feelin' end, 
It might not come again; 
And I want to remember 
How it feels to touch you; 
How I feel so much, 
Since I've found you 
Lookin' through the eyes of love.”

Amy successfully completed a triple-triple about forty seconds into the program. Coach Barnett called out to her pupil.

“Excellent work, Amy. Keep performing as you are.”

These words of praise from her demanding coach, made Amy press harder. She wanted this practice program to be every bit as excellent as her performance in Canada had been.

Amy completed a triple lutz a minute later. As she came out of it, she saw someone in the stands.

Lori Gault was at the rink and was watching Amy practice.

‘Good for you, Amy. I’m going to be out of here in about a minute.’ Chad told himself as he prepared to do the closing camel spin one last time.

After Amy did her introductory leap, the camel spin began. Gradually gaining speed, Amy’s right leg at head level, her right arm raised in the air for six spins. Then the right leg bending downward as her right arm came level.

To complete the spin, Amy brought her right leg back level with her head and right arm. Her hand now grasping the skate.

The time to do the out maneuver had finally arrived, but before that could begin, Coach Barnett had some more words for Amy.

“That is excellent Amy. This camel spin will make your dreams come true some day.”

These high words of praise from her coach meant a great deal to Amy. A skater who once been to the Olympics herself thought she too would participate one day in that legendary sporting event.

Letting go of the skate for a moment, Amy brought her right leg high into the air. For the out maneuver, the leg would have to be bent as far forward as possible

‘I dream to take part in the Olympics one day. Like my idol Michelle Kwan. I want to do this for my Mom who is gone, my Father, and my new Dad and Mom. They will be so happy. I will be happy too.’ Amy thought to herself.

Then with his right hand Chad grasped his right skate and with his left hand he touched his knee. The out maneuver countdown then began.

‘One Mississippi.’

‘I dream to be in the Olympics but the pressure, the people. They scare me.’ Amy thought.

‘Two Mississippi.’

Chad again heard the self doubts that so consumed Amy. She had to beat them.

‘Three Mississippi’

Then the two voices inside the same head began talking to one another. Just like they had in Canada.

‘Chad, I need you.’

‘Four Mississippi.’

‘Amy, you are the best skater I ever saw. Believe me when I say it. Look what you did in Canada last month. You beat that Russian bitch.’

‘Five Mississippi.’

‘I beat them with you, Chad. You gave me the courage I need. Please stay.’

‘Six Mississippi.’

‘Amy, are you nuts? I want to be a man again.’

‘Why, Chad?’

‘Seven Mississippi.’ Chad continued to stay in the out maneuver position. She was almost halfway done.

“Amy, stop that at once,” an annoyed Jill Barnett called out.

“I just don’t want to,’ Chad said speaking again to the Amy voice in her head.

‘Chad, are you telling me you are afraid to be a girl?’

‘Well…..yes.’

‘Eight Mississippi.’

‘Why, Chad? Has the last eighty-eight days been that bad?’

‘No, they haven’t.’

‘Then stay. We’ll be champions together.’

‘Nine Mississippi.’

‘I’d like to play hockey. Hang out with my friends.’

‘Are you really that good a hockey player?’

‘I’m all right.’

‘If you stay with me, you can win a Olympic medal.’

‘Ten Mississippi.’ The countdown was now two thirds complete.

‘You can hang out with Lori instead. Don’t you see her smiling at us now?’

‘I see Lori but….’

‘I love her, Chad. You love her too. Now let go of that skate. You don’t have much time.’

‘Eleven Mississippi.’

‘Amy I don’t want to be a girl.’

‘You are a girl now. Are you afraid?’

‘Yes.’

‘Don’t be.’

‘Twelve Mississippi.’ Chad was fighting hard to retain his grip on the skate. It was beginning to slip. ‘Hold on!’

‘I will give you courage, Chad. You give me courage too. So I can win the medal.’

‘How about Lori? Will you be true to yourself if I stick around or do the chickenshit thing?’

‘I promise to try being brave. Now stay with me.’

‘Thirteen Mississippi.’

Chad had to make a quick decision as time was almost out. Amy has a nice life, a good family, a beautiful girlfriend. Hell, the last eighty-eight days had more highlights than lowlights. It was a good life living as Yu-Na ‘Amy’ Cho.

‘This is unfair, Amy. You gave me seconds to decide the rest of my life.’

‘No, Chad. You’ve been thinking about it for a few weeks now. Haven’t you?’

‘Yes.’

‘Four….’ Chad then let go of the skate before bringing her right leg back down to the ice.

‘You will stay with me now?’

‘Yes, Amy, I will stay.  I will give you courage.’

‘I will give you courage too, Chad.’

Jill Barnett was positively barking at her pupil by now. Amy, no longer able to ignore her coach, skated over towards her coach.

“Amy, you really must not do that maneuver.”

“I won’t coach. That will be the last time,” Amy said. Chad Ellis had accepted womanhood and she began to feel pleased with the path she was on now.

“Here’s your change,” The Wizard said to his customer. “Just drink the yellow root tea as instructed. I assure you, the weight loss you will experience will be greater than anything you imagined.”

“Thanks,” Brian McCabe said as he took his purchase and then exited Spells R Us.

Danny who had been busy in the backroom, had a question for her boss once he joined her. “Another satisfied customer?”

“Only if Brian don’t mind waking up as a eighteen-month-old girl in rural China the day after tomorrow.” The Wizard said with a grin.

“That certainly is a greater weight loss than he could have ever imagined.  You gave the customer what they deserved, right?”

“Exactly. Now what do you have to show me?”

Danny re-wound the tape she just made of Yu-Na ‘Amy’ Cho and re-played it for her employer.

“Very good, Amy,” The Wizard said after the tape was finished playing. “I look forward to watching you in the Olympics one day.”

“Chad won’t be coming back?”

“No, he won’t. It doesn’t surprise me either. Chad accepted my challenge three months ago and very few men who aren’t transsexual to begin with would have done so.” The Wizard explained.

Danny suspected her boss was holding something back. “If Chad had come back, would you have applied the countering spell?”

“When have you known me to be dishonest with a customer?” The Wizard asked with a raised eyebrow. “Of course, if Chad fulfilled all parts of the agreement, he would have returned to his original gender. After all, I signed a contract with the young man.”

Danny had a few more questions to ask. “Will Yu-Na be adopted by the Crawfords? Will she win the gold medal in 2010? Who will Yu-Na choose, Lori or Stefan?”

With a click of his fingers, a January 2010 copy of Sports Illustrated appeared in the back room of Spell R Us. It was open to an article located on page forty-four that was titled- ‘Will the Vancouver 2010 Olympic games be the battle of the two Yu-Nas?’  Danny picked up the publication and began to read.

The article detailed how the two South Korean born figure skaters born less than two years apart were then looking to be on a collision course.

In the previous seventeen months, Amy had tallied an impressive number of international figure skating victories. Among them were:

– Five consecutive ISU Junior Grand Prix titles
– The 2008 ISU Junior Grand Prix Championship, which had taken place in South Korea with Jung-Sun Cho in attendance.
– The 2009 World Junior Championship in Sofia Bulgaria!
– The 2009 Skate Canada Championship where Amy out-dueled Yu-Na Kim
– Second place in the 2009-10 Grand Prix Finale.

On the home front, Roger and Kim Crawford had successfully completed the adoption of their niece in April 2009. Yu-Na Cho was renamed Amy Cho Crawford in the process. The Sports Illustrated article reported on this as an American success story as well as a Korean one.

*****

“I have changed name but the love I have for my Mom and Dad who brought me into this world is the same,” Amy Crawford said in a recent newspaper interview. 

So the battle is now set for Yu-Na vs Amy. Or is it? Back in South Korea some fans still call Amy by her birth name.

“She will always be Yu-Na to her many fans here in Korea. Yu-Na’s name changed but her roots cannot,” said one fan, who runs a unofficial Yu-Na Cho fan website out of his Seoul home.

So who will come out on top at Vancouver? Figure skating expert Dick Schaffer says it is too tough to call.

“Yu-Na Kim is one of the most talented people ever to put skates on and her list of accomplishments to date is incredible. On the other hand, Amy Crawford’s meteoric rise that culminated in her win in Canada last November, shows she can be a match for Yu-Na any time they compete against each other. Right now I don’t know who to pick.”

Dick Schaffer then joked. “At least the confusion about these two skater’s names has been cleared up.”

Danny had gotten some of the answers she wanted. One question was still un-answered. “Will Amy choose Lori or Stefan?”

“What do you think?” The Wizard asked enigmatically.

Amy was happy to see Lori, she just didn’t know how to react towards her friend. Over three days without a word and the warning from Mrs. Gault made Amy wary.

“Hi, Amy,” Lori said to her friend. “Can we talk for a couple of minutes?”

Amy drank a little bit of water before looking over at her coach for approval. Jill Barnett nodded her head. “Yes, but I got to return to practicing soon.”

Lori and Amy went to the other end of the rink so they could talk in private.

“You probably been wondering about me.”

“Yes, Lori, I was,” Amy admitted.  Chad found that he could still think for himself. What would happen when the spell became permanent? Would his and Amy’s minds merge or would there always be another voice in her head?

Lori gave Amy the short story of what happened the last few days. “I needed time to think over things. Last night I told my parents I was gay.”

Amy was a little shocked by this news but hid it well. “What did your parents do?”

“Nothing, I’m alive.”

Amy laughed “I see that.”

“And I am still living at home. So far as I know.”

“That is good,” Amy said before looking over at Jill Barnett. The ice skating coach showed no sign of impatience, so Amy continued talking to Lori. 

“My Mom is so in denial over her own feelings and she wants to make me miserable too. I won’t let her. This morning we had a big fight. I told Mom I was coming over here to watch you skate.”

“What did your Mom say?”

“Nothing, because I said if she ever does anything to me or you because I’m gay, I’d out her to Dad. Mom saw that doctor from Poland again last June when she and Dad went to Bulgaria. I got the emails to prove it.”

“Lori is very brave,” Amy said. Chad may have added the girl was taking a very risky course of action with her mother. To blackmail someone who is blackmailing you can backfire in a very ugly way.

Amy quietly listened as Lori told her more. “I’d like us to still be friends. Can I buy you lunch today?”

“Yes, Lori, but I will have to ask my coach first,” Amy said.

Amy didn’t know it yet, but Jill Barnett only had an abbreviated practice session planned. The skating coach did not want to risk re-injuring Amy’s just-healed toe.

“That’s all right, Amy,” Lori said as a group of visiting junior figure skaters went by then.

An idea suddenly sprung into Chad’s mind as Amy noticed how one figure skater looked familiar.  Then she called out “Mindu!”

One dark skinned girl immediately turned around. Amy called for her again. The girl then walked over to where Amy and Lori were talking.

“Yu-Na, my name isn’t Mindu,” said the girl who had been staying in Durham for over a month. “She is my cousin.  My name is Paretha.”

“Hello, Paretha, I met Mindu in Thailand four years ago.”

“Yes, I know. Mindu thought you were the greatest skater she ever saw.”

Humble as she was, Amy couldn’t keep herself from smiling at the compliment. “You and your cousin look so alike.

“We have friends who say that to us all the time.”

“You’re a skater too?”

“Yes, I want to skate in Shanghai games next month.”

“Let me wish you good luck then,” Amy then took Paretha by surprise by giving the girl a hug and kiss. “I know you will finish well.”

Paretha thanked Amy for the compliment and then went back on her way. As she watched her, Chad and Amy’s minds slowly began to merge. 

The kiss and hug had been the work of Amy, but Chad approved of it. There would be no going back to being a boy now. For the girl she had just kissed was from Bhutan.

Lori was about to speak up but didn’t. Jill Barnett had just called Amy’s name.

“I got to go. Talk to you later,” Amy said.

Lori then watched as her friend re-joined her coaches. 

“Amy, I want you to work with Henri next,” Jill Barnett said to her pupil.

“Yes, coach.” These were the last words Chad Ellis would say before the mental merger of his mind with Amy Cho’s was complete, but before the process reached its conclusion, Chad had one last thought

‘I’m just a girl. Lucky me.’ 

The End