Author's Note: This story is the original 'Recycled Dreams' that I wrote ten years ago. Hopefully my writing has improved since this story was written and published in a fanzine for the Starman fandom. I did do a rewrite of this story, which I started to post in the 'Touched By An Angel' section here on the site. Today, for personal reasons, I removed that incomplete story so that the original plot idea could be presented here, all the while staying in tune with fan fiction net's rules.

I hope that if you remember this particular universe, you will enjoy this first posting of strictly Starman material here. If you like it, give a shout out so that I will know to post more, because I do have a great deal more stories that I would like to share.

Enjoy and overt mistakes I'll try and correct as I go.

Recycled Dreams

A Starman Story

By: Yva J.

Not intended to Infringe on any previously held copyrights.

The Harrisburg, Michigan ice rink was filled to capacity. The city's annual figure skating competition was in full swing. Two local sports reporters and a photographer were mingling with the crowd waiting for the competition to begin. The skaters were separated by their genders for the final competition in the Novice division. 12-year-old Stephanie Zimmerman stood next to her mother, Teresa, and waited for the final four skaters in the group of 16 to be called. She was one of the favorites to win in the 'Ladies event', but after struggling in practice for the entire week with a triple toe loop, and touching the ice on it during the short program, she was now in second place behind a 13 year old named Patty Fischer.

Now was the time for her three-minute program. She had selected music from her favorite musical, 'My Fair Lady', and now it was the moment of truth. Her black and white skating outfit resembled the dress Audrey Hepburn wore in the movie, and it had a thin flowing skirt. She wore her blond hair in a tight bun and the make-up she wore made her look much older than she actually was. In five minutes the four skaters in the final group would take to the ice for their final warm-up.

Once the announcers voice was heard, the 100 or so people began to cheer. It was time for Stephanie to take her six-minute warm-up. She took off her jacket and handed it to her mother who followed her doggedly towards the ice.

She glided out onto the ice, and began to warm up. The three other girls were also there, and she wondered if they were thinking the same things she was. She was nervous, but not really about the competition, but about making a mistake which would send her mother into another tirade.

Ever since she was 5 and began to skate, one of her coaches made the mistake of telling her mother that if she worked hard enough, she could one day compete at the senior's level in a national competition. Now, she skated more for the satisfaction of her mother than for her own. She simply wanted to have friends and do the things other pre-teen girls did. This other girl, Patty Fischer, was the only friend she had, and her contact with the other girl was strictly monitored and controlled by her mother because two girls were supposed to be rivals.

Stephanie began to practice her footwork during the warm-up. She usually didn't do any triple jumps then, but waited until she would present her program to the judges. She used the time to get used to the feeling of the ice beneath her feet. Once upon a time, she had enjoyed the feeling of competing, but now she despised it, and didn't really care if she won or lost. All she cared about was giving a performance that wouldn't anger her mother.

Patty whizzed by Stephanie, "Good luck, Stephy," she called out.

Stephanie nodded and smiled, "You too, Patty." Here was a girl, who remained kind towards her regardless of the rivalry between them. It didn't even matter who the better skater was. Stephanie really envied Patty for other reasons, mainly because Patty had the freedom to be herself, and not be the molded ice princess that she felt like she had to be.

When Stephanie finally turned around, she saw her mother standing along the railing of the rink. She was scowling at her daughter, and Stephanie's brief smile disappeared. She sighed deeply as the announcer informed them that there would be only one minute left in the warm-up. When she looked back over towards her mother, she executed a perfect triple toe loop, which had been shaky all week in practice. This brought a small smile to her mother's face, but after a second, it disappeared.

The crowd cheered and Stephanie skated over to where her coach, Jake McCall was standing against the railing. He smiled assuredly at her, but what she noticed was about three feet behind her coach, there was a teenage boy leaning against the railing, and he was smiling at her. She blushed self-consciously and attempted to concentrate on the words of her coach, but her eyes again fell on the movements of the stranger who had smiled at her. He must be someone special because he was hanging around the 'kiss and cry' area. Not that that was anything major, she thought, the local rink had simply roped off a section near the concession stand for the skaters to sit as their marks were being posted.

"What's wrong Stephy?" Jake was asking, his voice breaking into her thoughts.

She shook her head, "I don't know, I guess my mom's mad at me for speaking to Patty. But, Jake, she wished me luck, and I only returned the sentiment. I don't understand why my mother doesn't like Patty, she's nice."

"Concentrate on your skating, OK." Jake said to the girl, but he could see that her thoughts were about 1,000 miles away. He could see the troubled look in her eyes, and knew that there was something wrong with her. Instead of focusing on the problems she was having, he smiled reassuringly at her. "Try to block out those other things."

"Skaters please clear the ice!" The voice of the announcer brought Stephanie back down to earth and she looked up at the kind green eyes of her coach.

"Listen, Stephy, you're first, and that's the best position to be in. If you want to win, you have to concentrate, but above winning, you should have fun skating. Of all the things I have tried to teach you, enjoying yourself is the most important." Jake squeezed the arm of the girl, and watched as she skated to the center of the ring. Her three-minute presentation was about to begin, and for better or worse, this was it.

"On the ice, Stephanie Zimmerman!" This was her indication to move into position so that she could begin her routine.

The people in the stands began to cheer, but when she looked out at the crowd, she suddenly felt like a dot on a snowy mountain, and rather than feeling important, she felt insignificant and alone. She got into her starting position and waited for the music to start.

Once it began, she closed her eyes, and tried to remember the time when she really enjoyed figure skating. When she opened her eyes a second later, she began to skate.

Teresa Zimmerman approached Jake as Stephanie executed her first jump, a triple Salchow. The people politely applauded when she landed the jump successfully.

When the applause died down, Teresa spoke to her daughter's coach. "What do you think you're doing allowing Stephanie to talk to her rivals?" Teresa's voice sounded about as cold and chilling as the ice, which Stephanie was skating on.

"I didn't see anything wrong with her wishing Patty luck," Jake said. "Stephy is a 12 year old girl, and most of the girls I've coached have been friends with each other. It's important for these girls to have friends even if they are competing against one another. Not to mention, with her heavy training schedule, there isn't time for her to meet other teenagers and if they become friends with others in the sport, then they share something in common."

"Mr. McCall, I didn't hire you to be philosophical, I hired you to train my daughter to be a good skater. I don't like it that she talks to Patty Fischer when she is supposed to be skating against her today. And as her coach, I think you should at least be concerned about it." Teresa's voice became even icier, and she ended the exchange by diverting her attention back onto the ice as her daughter executed a double Lutz.

Jake said nothing. He believed that Stephanie's only hope to become a successful skater would be for her to have a coach who wasn't an arrogant snob like her mother. He had seen too many skaters have breakdowns because the parents tried to live out their own dreams through them and he didn't want to see that happen with Stephanie.

He refrained from answering Teresa's accusations with any facts. The woman was just impossible to deal with. If it had been any other girl but Stephanie, he'd have quit his job as her coach a long time ago.

He turned away from Teresa to see Stephanie finish her routine with a flying camel spin. He smiled broadly as she stood in the center of the rink and took her bows. A number of spectators tossed flowers onto the ice and Stephanie grabbed a bouquet that had slid over next to her feet. She waved the flowers at the audience.

Once off the ice, she headed towards the 'kiss and cry' area where she would be getting the rest of the flowers, which had been collected, and receive her marks for the performance. She glanced over and saw the young man again, as well as an older man holding a camera.

Once in the designated area, she sat down in the chair between her mother and her coach and waited for her scores to come up. As everyone guessed, she received fairly high marks for the performance and was now in first place. The man with the camera took a couple of pictures of Stephanie after her scores were read. Once the scores were out, Teresa Zimmerman ushered her daughter quickly out of the area and behind a large curtain. This was what separated the rink from the lobby, which extended into a hallway that led outside.

Stephanie looked back in the direction where she had seen the teenage boy, but instead of making eye contact with the boy, her gaze came to rest on the soft blue eyes of the man holding the camera.