Gradually the food arrived, and Aibek immersed himself in his world with the notebook in his hands; he could only manage to add details to the eyes, to that lovely face, but a clear voice pulled him out of his universe. There was his coach again, which made him let out a soft sigh.
"I'm sorry... Taishi Sama," he apologized, leaving everything aside to eat what he had ordered. Thus, the two of them dined in a silence that turned out to be comforting for the Kazakh, who made the effort not to pick up the notebook again.
"Tomorrow you will train... after that, you'll have a break, and you'll be able to go to your interview," Taishi mentioned while organizing his skater's schedule. The boy furrowed his brow, annoyed that his dinner was being interrupted by the next day's duties.
"Why now?" he asked, dedicating an almost murderous look to his coach. The older man seemed slightly unfazed by his pupil's threat, but let out a serious laugh, shaking his head.
"You're not a child anymore, Bek; I must inform you of everything. So, I will have everything ready for you: your sports car and then your costume. I had it designed just as you asked; it turned out spectacular, but of course, I want it to be a surprise because of the details I added." Although the announcement almost made the skater choke from the impression, deep down he hoped it would be a beautiful suit. "I'm sorry... you'll still have to wait until tomorrow, though I'll give it to you sooner if you fulfill your obligation to go to the interview."
"Oh! You always set traps for me! That's not fair!" he almost exclaimed with a marked pout on his dark-eyed face. Resigned, he dedicated himself to eating his dessert: a delicious chocolate cake that seemed to melt the Kazakh with every bite.
"Shut up and just eat your dessert. It's late and you need to sleep well, so go on, keep eating," Taishi asked him while smiling softly. Soon after, he almost saw his pupil fall asleep over the table; however, the boy seemed determined to finish his cake before hitting the bed, so he left him for a while longer until they both concluded dinner.
"I'm dying of sleep..." Bek sighed, rubbing his face while in the elevator taking him to his floor, with Taishi behind him, watching his swaying steps.
"Careful!" The coach managed to catch him by the arm and wrapped his left arm around his abdomen to carry him better to the room, carrying him bridal-style, although his pupil tried to protest weakly at being carried that way.
That was how he let him change and made sure he got into bed, picked everything up, and left him to rest. Then he withdrew to his own room, which was right next door.
Aibek was able to fall asleep quickly because his hunger had been satisfied and his exhausted body demanded rest; he dropped like a log onto the bed without anything or anyone bothering him. That was until the alarm clock rang at six in the morning, making him grunt like a bear that wanted to continue sleeping in its hibernation state. Just when he was about to cover his face again, the loud thud of the door opening startled him awake, leaving him almost standing and dizzy from the effort.
"Wake up, sleepyhead! Take a bath! I'll take care of your backpack!" Taishi seemed more like a father than a coach to the Kazakh, who almost grunted back, but ended up doing what he was told. While showering, he thought about the possibility of seeing the Canadian again and felt a horrible desire to skip training; but he had to polish some jumps, he felt nervous, so he preferred to calm down and look at his reflection in the mirror while drying his long hair. He had to compose himself.
"Bek... everything okay?" asked that voice in a soft tone so as not to scare or disturb the named youth, who stepped calmly out of the bathroom.
"Everything's fine, calm down..." With that, he smiled softly while sitting on the bed to apply a cream scented with red berries that suited him very well. Once he was dressed in his tight-fitting athletic gear for training, a sandwich of his favorites and a can of chocolate at room temperature awaited him on the table, since, of course, it was cold outside.
"Eat breakfast, we still have time... besides, the car isn't ready yet..." With those words, Taishi handed him a separate backpack where the Kazakh carried his drawing tablet and an extra memory stick to store his digital works.
"Thanks..." Only when they fell silent could they both hear the door across the hall closing. Of course, the Canadian was leaving his room to head to his own training.
"Well, it's time to go, the car is already downstairs and... it seems we're running a little late," the coach mused, looking at his watch. Bek let out a sigh, taking the last bite of his sandwich as he got up from his seat beside his coach, who was carrying his pupil's suitcase.
"Alright..." he sighed with resignation; he didn't want to run into the other skaters, and much less into Jake, because he still didn't feel ready. He walked in silence behind his coach and got into the car as soon as they left the hotel.
Gradually, the journey felt eternal to the Kazakh, who was becoming impatient. He would only do a couple of laps around the rink to memorize it, but he wouldn't practice his full program; he didn't feel it was the right thing to do, as it was something very personal, so he would only focus on practicing the jumps.
"We're here... come on... let's go in," spoke the coach calmly, who went ahead to process the accreditations and hang one on the Kazakh. The latter put it on in silence, observing the rink carefully; most were already there, faces he already knew...
"Will I only do a couple of laps and then we'll go for a walk?" he asked, looking at his coach, but he simply shook his head, although inside he knew that if the tension got worse, he would have to take his pupil out to clear his head.
Aibek had put on his skates on one of the bleachers while his gaze traveled discreetly toward the entrance of the rink. There was a Swiss skater talking animatedly with another skater; the Kazakh had no intentions of socializing, but it proved inevitable.
"Well, look who we have here!" the green-eyed boy smiled happily, expressing something that caught the attention of those closest. And to the black-haired youth's misfortune, purple eyes were watching him from afar: the Canadian was there.
"Edward... as energetic as ever..." Bek murmured in response, making a move to take off his headphones, but the Swiss skater let out a laugh.
"And you as animated as ever, Bek..." added Edward, feigning a sad grimace at the Kazakh's dull exclamation, only to end up being ignored, which broke his heart in a dramatic fashion.
Thus, the younger youth glided across the rink, doing a few laps in silence while listening to his music. He began to get into the rhythm and his body moved with charm until, suddenly, he executed a flawless quadruple jump, leaving the others surprised, even his coach, who broke out of his shock, smiling with pride.
A certain Canadian looked at his opponent with genuine surprise. He couldn't hold back and entered the rink, skating behind the Kazakh who, sensing someone at his back, made a bad turn and ended up falling to the ground with a thud.
"Bek! I'm sorry!" agitated, the Canadian approached to support the dark-haired youth. The latter, stunned by the impact, let himself be helped; it had been a long time since he had suffered such a fall, but he was grateful for the support until he left the rink, where his coach checked him from head to toe to rule out any serious injury. "I'm sorry... really..." Jake apologized again before unconsciously taking the Kazakh's hand.
"It's alright... calm down..." although Bek tried not to get nervous about the grip, neither of them had realized that the photographers were already taking pictures of them, turning them into the center of attention for the entire arena.
"Boys... it's better if you go somewhere private," murmured Taishi, Aibek's coach, who had managed to notice perfectly everything that was happening around them.