No More Big Fish

The humbling on ice skates continued last night. It was my first Beta A class and I was ready to impress. My new ice skates were on and I took to the ice. I knew about the process of breaking in new boots, but I didn't know the extent of it. The skates were hard and rigid and although the sharp blade was a major improvement, the boot would not give and made what used to be easy moves a lot more difficult. To add to that, there was a new person in class. While everyone else was struggling to go backwards, she was literally skating circles around us all. I could barely pick up my foot to begin a backwards crossover and there she was--around and around and around. I tried to focus on myself, remembering all the troubles I had with front crossovers and realizing it would be the same but probably even harder doing them backwards, but still this woman kept circling. I couldn't stop staring at her, she was good, real good. Light years ahead of anyone else in class. My teacher, Kelly, noticed my fascination. "Looks like you're no longer the big fish in a small pond," she laughed as I tried without luck to pick my new blade off the ice.