THE POLITICS OF DANCING (Novel 104)

Warren and Sophia did make it to the bookstore, in a mall near campus. They bought all kinds of books on pregnancy and parenthood. Warren bought a couple of romances to read on the plane to London for Worlds.

"You're the only guy I know that reads romances," Sophia giggled.

"Hey, I like 'em."

They went to the food court to get some lunch.

"Ah, this is so nice," Sophia said as they sat down with their meals. "Just to take an afternoon to go shopping. Since we got back from the Olympics, we've done nothing more than study and practice skating for Worlds."

"Yup. But Worlds is the week after next, and then we'll get to rest a bit. Especially when school ends."

"Yeah, then I just get to have a baby. Some rest."

"True, but you'll get to rest before the baby comes. You'll have me to wait on you hand and foot, remember."

"Oh goody!" She took a bite of her salad. "Olga and Nikolai aren't going to Worlds, that's been confirmed. They're pros now."

"Which makes us the favorites."

"Yeah, but I don't count on that. Not until I see the judging panel," Sophia said.

"Good point."

"Hey, look over there!" Sophia said.

"What?"

"A maternity shop!"

"You want to look around after we eat?"

"Yeah! I do need maternity clothes."

"Sure, if they've got the summer ones out."

They did, and Sophia found quite a few things. "You know, some of this stuff is cute!" Sophia said. "I figured I'd be looking for the best-colored tent, but these are actual clothes. Bigger, but actual clothes."

"Yeah, you picked out some good stuff. Of course, you'd look good in a burlap sack."

"You just keep remembering to flatter me when I get all fat and uncoordinated."

"Won't forget it for a second."

----------------------

Sophia was 3 1/2 months pregnant by the time Worlds started, but she still felt fine. "No problems," she told a group of their friends at lunch before the competition started. "The morning sickness is gone, and I'm not big enough to get any of the aches and pains yet, and my energy is fantastic."

"And we've been skating really well," Warren added.

They nailed all their practices, and were ready for the compulsories. They finished second, behind the Canadians Damphier and Gaudler, in the first compulsory.

The second compulsory was the quickstep, one of their better ones, but it was also a good one for Renee and Christian. "Second would be fine," Warren said. "We'll be right where we want to be."

They didn't finish second. They didn't finish first. They finished fifth. They skated perfectly, a compulory that a month earlier had defeated every couple here except Renee and Christian--and, here, it finished fifth.

"Fifth! They've got to be kidding!" Warren fumed backstage.

"Look at the panel," Kathy, one of their coaches, said. "Russia, France, Germany, Ukraine. On a CD panel with only seven judges, that was enough. The other three judges had you in second."

"In other words, it was rigged," Sophia said.

"You got it."

"Thus endeth all hopes for a world championship," Warren said disgustedly.

The judging panel for the OD and free dance ended up with enough judges from the Judging Mafia to control the panel. Warren and Sophia managed to finish second in the OD, but still weren't happy. "No way that OD should ever lose to Yatserova and Vaglach unless we fall down three times," Sophia said.

"Yeah, and they set it up so that the French can beat us in the free dance, and drop us down to third."

That's exactly what happened. Yatserova and Vaglach won the gold medal, with the French in second. Warren and Sophia finished third.

"Unbelievable," Warren said.

"The good thing is, I heard a couple of officials from the USFSA making one hell of a stink," Kathy told them. "Won't change the results, but……."

"Sometimes this sport gives me an ulcer," Sophia said.

They were fairly mild-mannered in the television interview, but admitted they were "disappointed and baffled by the results," as Sophia put it.

"Do you think that there is collusion amongst certain judges?' the interviewer asked them.

"What we think is that the ISU should be asking those questions, that's what we think," Warren said.

"When do you think you'll be back skating after the baby is born?" the interviewer asked. "By Nationals?"

"Definitely by Nationals, if not sooner, but that's if we decide to come back," Sophia said.

"You might not?" the interviewer said, surprised.

"We need to decide if the aggravation is worth it," Warren said.

------------

Flying home from London, they were determined not to get down about it.

"Hey, we won a silver medal at the Olympics, so it's been a good year," Warren said.

"Yeah, and we'll knock 'em dead with Riverdance next year!" Sophia said.

---end of chapter---