9~ Hans and Elsa Leave Home
It was a week after Hans and Elsa made the nationals team. They were at the gym, practicing as usual, when coach Kai walked up to them.
"Hey you two," said Kai. "I just got off the phone with the head coach from the National's training camp."
"What did he say?" asked Elsa.
"You guys will be leaving this coming Tuesday," said Kai. "He's excited and is thrilled to have two new addictions to the teams."
"It seems so soon though," said Hans. "I knew we'd be leaving soon, but not this soon."
"I know it's going to be rough," said Kai. "But you two can handle it. I see it in you."
Hans and Elsa looked at each other. "This is it," they thought. Then, Elsa did something she hadn't done before, she walked up to Kai, and hugged him.
"Thank you, for everything," she said.
Hugging her back, Kai said, "You're welcome Elsa. I'm very proud of you, very proud."
And both Hans and Elsa knew it was true.
"But I don't want you to go!" Anna said sadly hugging her sister when she told Anna, her mother, and her father the news.
"I have to Anna," said Elsa. "It's the sacrifice of the sport."
"Are you sure you want to go through with this?" Adgar asked.
"Yes, I'm sure," said Elsa. "Actually, right now, I feel more sure than any other moment in my life."
"We want you to be safe and happy," said Iduna. "Your father and I don't want you do this just because Hans is doing it too."
"I'm not playing follow the leader," said Elsa. "I've thought about it, and I want to go. I've made the women's national team. I have to go."
Adgar and Iduna looked at each other, then they looked back at Elsa.
"Whatever happens Elsa, know that your father and I love you, and we want to see you succeed. However, don't think that if this Olympic stuff doesn't work out, you suck or Dad and I won't be proud of you, because we are always proud of you, it's when you don't put effort in is what makes a difference," said Iduna.
Elsa shook her head. "I know." She said. "I understand."
Upstairs, Elsa began to pack her bags. As she did, her phone rang with a call from Hans.
"Hello?" she answered.
"Hey, just checking to see what you are doing," said Hans.
"I'm packing, you?" asked Elsa.
"Yeah, I am," replied Hans. "You should have heard my brothers earlier, I think they are thrilled at the idea of me leaving." He sighed in disgust.
"Don't worry about them," said Elsa. "You know they'd love to see you fail."
"No kidding," replied Hans. "With the way things are at home I'm actually glad to go away."
"Well, don't get too upset," said Elsa.
"I won't," said Hans.
The two talked for a few minutes, then they hung up. Elsa finished packing her bags.
The day before the trip to leave, Hans and Elsa stopped by the convenience store to grab some candy and soda so they could snack on the way. As well of course, they could stop and get something to eat. A lady named Gerda, who lived down the street, offered to drive Hans and Elsa to the national training camp in Vadsø. Gerda had been there before, she had a cousin who lived there, and also she thought it would be safer for her to take them, rather than Hans and Elsa to take the bus on the long trip by themselves. In any other case, Hans and Elsa's parents were grateful.
The next day, they woke up at seven in the morning. They got dressed, ate breakfast, and made sure they fully packed their bags. Gerda stopped by Hans's house to pick him up first. Hans gave his mother, father, and Lars a hug, nodded goodbye to his other brothers, then left, just like that. But even though Hans couldn't see it, Lars and his mother had tears in their eyes when Hans walked out the door with his belongings and rode off with Gerda. Elsa was in the hallway tying her shoes, with her bags beside her. Elsa had her hair tied back in the bun, and she wore sweatpants. She enjoyed being comfortable on long car rides.
"Elsa, Gerda is here," said Iduna, who had been looking out the window.
"Alright," said Elsa picking up her bags.
They all headed outside, and Elsa greeted Gerda and Hans, then she put her bags in the trunk. After Elsa closed the trunk, she walked back up to her mother and father and looked into their teary eyes. She gave them a big, strong hug, and they wrapped their arms around her.
"We love you, be safe," said Adgar. "Come back soon."
"I'll try," said Elsa. "I love you both so much."
Then, Elsa walked over to Anna sitting on the front step, her face and eyes turning red from crying. Elsa kneeled down in front of her sister and hugged her tight.
"Please don't go!" Anna cried. "Please stay!"
"I have to go," said Elsa. "I love you Anna. Keep up your skills, keep practicing your flyaway on bars, your layout on floor, and back handspring step-out on beam."
"I will," said Anna sniffing. "Oh Elsa!" she started to cry again.
Elsa teared up as well, as her mother and father came over, and they all group hugged. At long last, Elsa had to go. She wiped her face, picked up her bags, and walked to the car. She climbed in the back seat with Hans, and then Gerda waved and they drove off down the road. Elsa looked back at her family standing outside in the front yard, and kept watching until they turned around the corner and disappeared from sight.
The ride to Vadsø was long, but comfortable. Hans and Elsa talked, they slept some, they listened to music, they ate their snacks. At one in the afternoon, Gerda stopped by a fast food restaurant and they picked up something to eat. After they ate, they used the bathroom and then got pack on the road. They reached their destination by four-thirty in the afternoon. Hans and Elsa knew they were there when they saw the large, vast, building they had visited once before. Also, the sign was out in the front of the building. Gerda parked the car in front, and cut the engine. She popped the trunk and Hans and Elsa got out to grab their bags. Once they got their bags out, they pulled open the glass doors and walked inside. In a way, the training center looked like a hotel or a boarding school. The lobby Hans and Elsa stood in wasn't big, except for a few tables and chairs with some magazines, and some fake flowers on the tables. There was a desk to the left, and a middle-aged lady with glasses sat at the desk, typing away at the computer. Gerda, Hans and Elsa walked up to the lady at the desk.
"Hello, how may I help you three today?" asked the lady.
"Yes, we're looking for the head coach here of this training center. We have two new gymnasts here," said Gerda gesturing to Hans and Elsa.
"Oh, how lovely!" the lady said smiling. "I'll call him and let him know you two arrived."
Gerda, Hans and Elsa waited patiently as the lady dialed a number on her phone, and called the head coach. Then she hung up and said, "He'll be here in just a few minutes."
When the head coach arrived, he smiled and greeted Hans, Elsa, and Gerda.
"Welcome," he said. "My name is Coach Aaron, it's a pleasure to have you two added to the national team and to come here to my training facility."
"This whole place belongs to you?" asked Elsa in amazement as she looked around.
"Theoretically, it belongs to Martha, the national team coordinator, since she's the one who got it started all those years ago, but since we hardly ever see her around, and I usually keep up with all the bills and income, you can say this place is mine as well," said Aaron.
"That's cool," said Hans.
"Well, I guess I better get going," said Gerda. She gave Hans and Elsa a hug. "You two take care now, do good, I'll be watching as well as your family."
"We will," said Elsa.
Then Gerda left the building, got in the car, started it and drove off. She would spend the night in a hotel, get some food, a hot shower and rest and be ready to travel home by morning.
"What are your names?" asked Aaron.
"I'm Elsa, and this is Hans," said Elsa gesturing to him.
"Well Elsa, well Hans, how about a tour?" asked Aaron.
"Sounds like a plan," said Hans.
They picked up their bags and followed Aaron down the lobby where they took a right down a hall, and Aaron showed them the library, the cafeteria, and the entertainment area. Then, he took them out back of the training center where they saw a pool.
"Huh? I don't remember a pool here from the last time we visited," said Elsa.
"We just built this pool last year," said Aaron. "Our gymnasts were so grateful for it."
"Oh, cool," said Elsa. She knew she would love to go swimming.
Aaron took them back out to the lobby then, where they turned down the left hallway, and he showed them the classroom with long tables and chairs inside, and a dry erase marker board. Then, he showed them to the stair case that led upstairs to the dormitory.
"You two can take the elevator if those bags are too heavy," said Aaron.
"I think we got it," said Elsa. "We can carry heavy things."
They walked up the two sets of stairs and at the top, there was a sign on the wall in front of them, with a left arrow and a right arrow. On top of the left arrow, it said, "boys", and on top of the right one, it said "girls". So Hans and Elsa knew that to the left was where boys left, and to the right is where girls slept.
"Alright, so here are the rules," said Aaron. "Lights out at ten PM. No food or drink in your rooms unless it's water, or you are sick and can't leave the bed. We've had problems with roaches before."
"Yuck," said Elsa.
"Breakfast is at eight, lunch is at twelve, and dinner is at six. However, the times do vary depending on practice," said Aaron. "If you are a person still on the high school level, you are required to attend daily classes in the classroom. We monitor to see who actually is going. Be respectful to the people and the equipment here. The other gymnasts here are your teammates, and you all work together whether you like it or not. This means, no arguing, definitely no fighting. No name calling, and no tattletaling and blaming other people for your actions. This isn't kindergarten. When you know something's serious, report to me immediately, otherwise, let it go. And as for the equipment, I'm sure you all know that it is strictly for training only. No playing around like you are at the jungle gym. Please careful of what kind of things you place on the dressers in your rooms, what you put on the bed, as things can easily get scratched and torn. No breaking of the things in the leisure room, as some of the things here are very costly. Please be respectful of the things in the leisure room."
"This is a lot of rules," said Hans.
"I'm almost done," said Aaron. "Now, as for the dormitory, it clearly says so on the sign, the left hall is for boys, the right is for the girls. Please, no being sneaky and trying to go to the girl's or boy's bedrooms. You may not think someone is watching you, but we are, and I make a nightly run checking through all rooms at light's out. Please be respectful to me, to Martha, and to yourselves. This is a gymnastics training facility, not a hook up camp."
Elsa snickered.
"Has anyone here ever tried to do that?" asked Hans.
"Oh yes, once," said Aaron. "Caught her and the boy red-handed."
"Ouch," said Hans.
"But so far, we haven't had that happen but only one time. When you are focused on your training, it's kind of hard to get distracted by boys or girls," said Aaron.
"You'd be surprised," said Hans.
"Oh I know it," said Aaron. He pulled two keys out of his pocket and handed them to Hans and Elsa. "These are your keys with the room numbers on them. Please keep track of where you place your keys as they can get easily lost and you can get locked out your room. Always lock your door before you leave the room, even carry it with you to the bathroom and showers. Also, be mindful of how you place your belongings, we don't want you to lose any clothes. Every Sunday we go to the Laundry mat so don't think you won't be able to wash your clothes. And finally, last but not least, if we catch you doing something unruly or inappropriate, first time you are let off with a warning. Second time, you are placed in timeout from at least one day of practice. Third time, can result in being kicked out, and in severe cases, you are not allowed to come back. And that's about it for the rules. Seems pretty straightforward, right?"
"Be respectful, no sneaking around, no being mean to others, be mindful of the equipment and furniture, and lights out at ten PM, got it," said Elsa.
"Good. There's a copy of the rules on your dressers so in case you are about to do something, and you can't remember a rule, you can look at the paper," said Aaron.
Hans and Elsa went to their rooms to go check it out and put their bags down. They inspected the dressers, and sat on the beds. It felt nice and comfortable. In her room, Elsa took out a picture of her family and put it on her dresser. After Hans and Elsa got settled in their rooms, they followed coach Aaron back downstairs where he showed them the gym where the other gymnasts were training inside. The gym was bigger than the one back at home. It had two tumbling floors, one yellow, the other blue. It had an Olympic sized trampoline, the ones with the red square in the middle and you could bounce thirty feet in the air with. Two sets of bars, two vault runways with tables, and a long row of balance beams. Hans and Elsa greeted their new teammates, then they warmed up and got started, showing everyone their skills.
Hans and Elsa were on their way.
