The+Devil+and+Erika+W.

The Devil and Erika W.

In a small town, about an hour away from Chicago there was an ice rink, inside was a bunch of teenagers skating in formations, they were twirling and jumping and having a great time. One of the girls named Erika was lacing up her skates and getting ready to get on the ice and perform. A group of sixteen girls skated onto the smooth ice. The music began and they started off, the routine was amazing. Erika knew that she was doing a great job, but all she could think about was her double axle, which she had to do next. Erika’s heart was racing so fast she was sure that everyone could hear it. She took a deep breath and skated forward.

Here it goes,” thought Erika, and just as her foot was about to leave the ice her fellow teammate Maria skated right in front of Erika. Before Erika new it she was face down on the ice, and her whole body ached.

“That did not just happen. I //have// to be dreaming.” Erika softly said to herself, starting to cry.

She shut her eyes and reopened them, but sure enough she was awake, and the fall really did happen. Erika got up, smiled, wiped the tears off her face, and skated off the Ice as if nothing had happened. As soon as Erika felt her skate touch carpet she couldn’t keep her tears in much longer anymore. Erika cried while her friends all hugged her. Maria walked by and acted as if nothing had happened, but Erika knew she made her trip on purpose. The only thing left to do was to forget about it.

After practice, Erika wiped her red, tear-streaked face and packed up her skating bag. She pulled on her warm winter coat, pushed open the heavy glass door and stepped out into the cold and frostbitten winter air. All of the other skaters had already been picked up, so there Erika stood, all alone outside of the ice rink. All of a sudden, Erika heard someone come up from behind her.

“Hello, excuse me, but are you Erika W.?”

“Hi, yes, I am Erika.” Erika said while turning around to look at a tall woman with jet black hair, and red rimmed glasses.

Although this woman was kind of mysterious looking, Erika couldn’t help but feel comfortable around her. The Mysterious woma n explained that her name was Rose Davy and that she was a talent scout at the Ice Valley Academy.

“I was wondering if you would be interested in studying with our academy this summer” Ms. Davy explained. “Thanks”, said Erika, “but it really depends on how much it will cost.”

“Don’t worry about it,” she told Erika, smiling.

“There is a scholarship opening, and I think you are perfect for it.” Erika didn’t know what to say, she was speechless, and all she could do was smile, “Tell you what, how about you talk this over with your parents and give me a call, here is my card.”

Ms. Davy handed Erika a solid black business card with Red writing on it. Erika thanked Ms. Davy and got into her mothers car.

After a few weeks of discussing the opportunity with her Parents, Erika and her mom decided to meet Ms. Davy for lunch to discuss the scholarship. Erika and her mother walked into Olive Garden. Inside, already waiting at a booth in the back, was Ms. Davy. Erika could spot her a mile away because of her unique look. Erika’s heart began to race with excitement, and she couldn’t wait to hear all about the Ice Valley Academy.

“Hi, I am Helene W., you must be Ms. Rose Davy. Nice to meet you but please excuse me while I go to the washroom.” Erika’s Mom replied. Erika took a seat across from Ms, Davy. Ms. Davy told Erika that she had a confession to make.

“Erika," she said, pausing to make Erika anctious, "I wanted to let you know that I am really the devil.” There was a long pause before Erika said anything, as a result of being shocked. After the initial shock, Erika felt scared in some ways, but calm in others.

“Um….I don’t understand, why would the devil be a talent scout for Ice Valley Academy?” Erika finally asked.

“I took over the body of Ms. Davy, but only for the time being, I will soon leave and all Ms. Davy will remember is that she wants to give you a scholarship, but I am not going anywhere until I get what I want.” Said the devil with an evil smile.

Erika was confused but knew that she had to ask what the devil wanted. The devil told Erika that she wanted her soul.

“No way! Erika yelled at the women sitting across from her, "I will not give you my soul if there is nothing in it for me!”

“Well” the devil thought, “haven’t you been having some problems with a girl named Maria?”

Erika slowly nodded her head.

“Well then, I also know that you and her are both equally talented and that only one of you can go on to be a great skater, maybe even a professional one day.”

Erika’s heart sank. All she had ever dreamed of was becoming a professional figure skater one day, and maybe even winning a gold metal in the Olympic games.

“I have an offer to make to you. I will make sure the real Ms. Davy gives you a full summer scholarship at Ice Valley Academy which, by the way, will make all your dreams fall into place. And I will also make sure that Maria’s skating career doesn’t last long. But if you agree to this you have to sell me your soul. What do you say?” The devil smiled that same evil smirk.

Erika took a deep breath, held out her hand shook the devil’s hand and said, “Deal”.

“Good choice”, replied the devil.

Arriving back to the table, Mrs. W. asked, “Sorry, what did I miss?”

“Not much mom, just telling Ms. Davy about school.” Erika said smiling at her mother. The rest of the lunch Erika’s mom and Ms. Davy signed papers, and everything was set for Erika’s scholarship over the summer.

The next morning Erika eagerly awoke and got dressed for her usual Saturday skating practice. When she got there, the girls skated on the ice and to practice their short program. Just as the routine was about to end Maria skated to the front to do her double axel, but she felt something pull in her leg and she fell down screaming with pain. After the paramedics looked at her and found out that she had torn her ACL. The paramedics told her that she could never skate again. Erika’s heart suddenly started to race, when the devil told her Maria’s skating career wasn’t going to be long she didn’t think it was going to be because of an injury. Erika walked up to Maria and told her that she was sorry about her injury. Maria just rolled her swollen red eyes and continued to cry.

Erika tried everyday to try to talk the devil, and ask her to take everything back, but no matter how hard she tried she was never lucky enough to actually talk to her. Erika grew up to be a beautiful woman and was soon a professional figure skater, just as she had always dreamed of. She had been part of the skating team representing the United States, and competed at two of the Olympic games, she even had won four gold metals, one silver, and one bronze. What else could Erika ask for? Her life was perfect, but still, she was never happy. Erika lived the rest of her life regretting the decision she had made when she was fifteen and she dreaded knowing that when she dies she will not go to heaven with the rest of her friends and family, but go to a much worse place.

Erika spent the rest of her life helping the poor and donating to charities. Some say she thought that if she was good enough, the devil wouldn’t want her. But the truth is, you can never hide from the devil, and a deal is a deal. The moral of the story is to be careful about who we make deals with; No matter how good Erika lived her life, she is now in hell with the devil forever.1197300794