"Jolena's up next!" Pippa cried excitedly as Jolena appeared on the TV screen.
The dolls at home watched. They shouted, "Go, Jolena!" and "We're with you!" and "Don't fall!" and "You can do it!" (although there was no way Jolena could hear).
Jolena stood ready at the top of the run. She was busy pretending she could feel her heart beating fast.
Jolena jumped onto the course. She turned around on her skis, so she was skiing backwards, then sped down the slope, looking over her shoulder to see where she was going. Suddenly, she went up into the air, flipped over and spun around, grabbing one of her skis with one hand.
Then she straightened out and landed, facing forward and on both skis, continuing down the slope, ending the course on the edges of her skis, throwing snow up into the air, all while the dolls watched her on the TV at home.
"That was magnificent," Pippa exclaimed, clapping her hands in delight.
It was pretty magnificent, they all agreed. On the TV, they could see Jolena taking off her skis, goggles and helmet. Then she stood and waited.
Finally, they announced that Jolena had made a score of 78. She seemed happy with it. She waved at the camera and then left.
"She qualified (QUAH-lihf-eyed)!" Mandy exclaimed.
"What does that mean?" Pippa asked.
"It means she got a high enough score to go on to the finals," Mandy explained. "Everyone who got a 70 or above gets to go on to the second run."
At the end of each skier's turn, some dolls called judges gave the skier a score. Then the scores of all the judges were averaged. That means they were all added up and divided by how many judges there were. All of the skiers went up in the air. Some did the kind of trick Jolena did. Some did something different. Each one received a score from the judges.
The dolls at home watched as the other dolls who were competing came down the course. They were from all over the world. They were made by different companies. They all did amazing tricks. Some held onto their skis for longer than others and got more points. Some spun and flipped in the air more times than others and got more points. Most of them landed correctly, but some washed out, which meant they landed on their side or their rear ends or some part of their body other than their skis. If they did that, they ended up with a much lower score. (The judges didn't like to see that.)
, All the dolls who received 70 or above got to run the course again. This time, the winners would be announced. The TV camera paused to show each doll who qualified as they stood just outside the warming hut.
"Look!," Pippa cried. "There's Jolena!"
After a quick break for a commercial, the final runs began.
At home, the dolls watched as each qualifier went down the course a second time. "They do different tricks this time," Billy said.
"Jolena forgot her poles!" Pippa cried when Jolena got into position for her run with no poles.
"It's OK," Mandy told her. "For these events you can use your poles or not. Jolena told me the special trick she planned to do if she made the finals was easier for her without the poles."
"I hope she doesn't wash out!" Pippa exclaimed. "Don't wash out, Jolena!" she shouted, waving her finger at the TV, as if she were scolding Jolena.
Jolena started down the course as all the dolls at home watched. Suddenly, she went up into the air. She spun around and then flipped over....
....and over....
....and over....
....and over....
....and over....
Jolena's landing was fine, though. She did not land on her head. Her head remained attached to her body. She skied to the bottom of the course with a big spray of snow and came to a stop. She took off her skis, helmet and goggles again to wait for her score.
Finally, the score was announced. "She got 82!" Emil shouted, as they watched Jolena smile, wave to the camera again and leave. "That puts her in first place!" he added.
"Yes," Mandy agreed. "That's a great score, but some of the best skiers still have their turn."
When all the other skiers had had a turn, Jolena's score put her in fourth place, a great position, but not enough for a medal. The dolls at home were disappointed for her.
"Let's give her a call," Veronika suggested, "so she knows we thought she was great."
They all thought that was a good idea.
Jolena answered on the first ring. She was ready for their call. "Did you see me?" she shouted at the phone.
Veronika had Jolena on speaker, so they could all talk to her. They all said that they had seen her. They told her how wonderful her performance had been.
"That's the best I've done that trick," Jolena told them. "Coach said so!" (Coach is what Jolena calls her ski teacher.)
"Were you disappointed not to get a medal?" Veronika asked.
Jolena thought for a moment before answering. "Well," she said, "you always think about how nice it would be go get a medal, but the most important thing is to do your best."
"That's the first time I've had a score over 80!" she told them excitedly.
"You were in first place for a while," Billy said. "That was good."
"Yes," Jolena agreed. "That was fun, but I knew the best skiers still had their turn. Still, when I walked off to the warming hut, where we all got together after our runs, the others looked at me with respect. Some of them gave me high fives and hugs, even the skier who had been in first place before my turn."
"They sound like great competitors," Mariah said.
"Good sports," Charlotte added.
All the dolls thought about that.
"Let's have a party to celebrate!" Pippa suggested, after they had ended the call with Jolena.
"That's a great idea," Billy agreed, "but let's wait until Jolena comes home."
"Yes," Pippa agreed. "We will need her to make the food for the party. Then we can all wash out after the party."
"No, Pippa," said Mandy. "We can wash up, but we should fix the food, too. Jolena will be the guest of honor. Besides, she will be pretending to be tired from her trip. She will pretend to have jet lag, because she has been in another part of the world, where the time is different."
All the dolls were happy, because they had something else fun to look forward to. Jolena would be home soon, and they would have a party.
Veronika: Götz Classic Kidz Vroni
Mandy: Götz Happy Kidz Katie 2015
Jolena: Götz Happy Kidz Lena in Aspen
Charlotte: Götz Happy Kidz Anna in Paris
Mariah: Götz Happy Kidz Mariah, "Chosen" from My Doll Best Friend
Billy: Götz Happy Kidz Lily at London
Emil: Götz Happy Kidz Emilia
Marmalade: Purrrfect Cats from KTL
"The Doll's Storybook" is not affiliated with Gotz Dolls USA Inc. or Götz Puppenmanufaktur International GmbH.
Watch for the next story each Friday afternoon at 1:00 PM Pacific Time.
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