Audiobook demo - (girl-next-door, fun, playful, wholesome)
Description
Vocal Characteristics
Language
EnglishVoice Age
Teen (13-17)Accents
North American (General) North American (US General American - GenAM)Transcript
Note: Transcripts are generated using speech recognition software and may contain errors.
Chapter one March 2009. There was nothing quite like the sound of 10,000 people gasping at once, especially when it was because my butt had just slammed into the cold hard ice. I scrambled to my feet and caught up to my partner Mark as fast as my skates could take me. I dreamt of this day, all season skating in front of our home american crowd at the World Championships in Los Angeles. But the dream had quickly become a nightmare. Two falls already in our free skate and we still had one more throw jump remaining. Courtney, Elizabeth Carlton, You are going to land this throw, if it's the last thing you do. Mark set his hands on my hips and we glided on a backward curve until he sprang me into the air. The bright lights and the large staples. Center crowd blurred around me as I pulled my arms in tight and spun three times my right blade hit the ice for the landing, but my body tilted dangerously forward. A surge of panic took hold of me, shaking me into action. I touched the ice to steady myself and I sighed with relief as I avoided splashing again. Small moral victory, the final furious notes of Tchaikovsky's First Piano Concerto guided us to the end of the program and the crowd gave us a warm and sympathetic ovation. Mark lowered his eyes to the ice, his sandy brown curls flopping over his forehead. He was already blaming himself for our mistakes. I had skated with him for nine years since I was 12 and he was 14 and I could read him better than anyone. I reached up on my tippy toes and put my arms around his shoulders at five ft four. I was tall for a pair skater, but Mark still towered over me. He gave me a tight hug in return and we took quick bows to all four sides of the arena. I was thankful my dad hadn't been able to get away from the boston accounting firm where he worked. So only my mom was in the audience. Hopefully dad hadn't found a live internet feed of the event. He had enough stress to deal with at his job without watching us give our worst performance of the season. Our coaches Emily and Sergei greeted us with quiet hugs as we exited the ice. I held on to em and let her familiar lavender perfume surround me. She'd always been as much like an older sister as a coach to me and I needed her comforting embrace now more than ever. I don't know what happened on the flip. I mumbled against her blazer, thinking back to my fall on the first throw jump, she patted the back of my beaded gray dress. Well look at it on the replay while we made our way to the kiss and cry the designated area where we'd wait for the scores. I noticed a grim look passed between em and Sergei, The young married couple had coached us our entire career so I could read them just as well as I did my partner and I knew exactly what that look was about. Our placement here along with that of the other american team would determine how many pairs the U. S. Could send to the olympics the following season in order for the US to feel the maximum three teams, Mark and I needed to finish no lower than seventh or eighth here. The current US champions had already skated well and had done their job in helping to secure three spots. No, everyone was looking to us to do our part but with our two falls, the chances of us finishing top eight were well I'd go out on a thick limb and say less than zero. The four of us squeezed onto the bench in the kiss and cry and the camera in front of us lit up. Mark lifted his hand in a feeble wave. Hey everyone back home, love you Zoe! He blew a kiss to his longtime girlfriend. I peered up into the stands searching for Kyle, my own significant other who was a competitor in the men's event. I'd had to miss his short program earlier but we'd met up at the hotel and I have been ecstatic to hear he was in second place. At least one of us had given the home crowd a reason to cheer. The image of Mark and me and the kiss and cry appeared on the supersized video board hanging over the rink and are weak smile showed clearly on the HD screen. I looked down and smooth my blonde hair and the two braids woven through my up to next to me. Mark fiddled with his water bottle and muttered questions to em about our failed jumps. The judges were taking an extremely long time with the scores. When the numbers finally came up on the screen, my stomach dropped. They were worse than I'd expected. I bent forward and held my head in my hands while Sergei rubbed my back, peeking through my fingers. I got a glimpse of our placement and cringed at how far we've fallen in the standings.