Disclaimer: I do not own YOI, just this fanfic.
Alright, guys, I'm getting a little scared for this story. A lot of stuff is coming up lately for me and I'm feeling really stressed and overloaded, with grade 12 courses being due soon and everything (the pressure of choosing courses for the last year of high school! Urgh!)
But I'm doing my best to update this story as regularly as possible. And please let me know your opinions on each of my chapters too. REVIEWS are what keeping me motivated right now. I'm just...so done with life now, buuutttt I gotta push on!
Ch. 8: A former student (Before YOI)
Wednesday. March. 20, 2013. St. Petersburg Ice Arena.
"26-year-old skating genius, Victor Nikiforov takes away the title of World Champion once again!"
"Another gold for Russia in men's figure skating! How long will they continue to reign?"
"And that's the fourth consecutive win at the Worlds for Vic—"
"Ah, give me a break." Mila Babicheva complained, turning the small radio player off.
It was near the end of the free skate session on Wednesday afternoon. The Worlds had ended about a week earlier.
Therefore, marking the end of the 2013 figure skating season. For many of the skaters here, this month would be the last time they will see the ice until around the end of April to early May.
On the ice, a few skaters were finishing up their practice and others were still working on jumps they had fallen on several times during the season.
But the center of attention was the silver-haired man in a dark attire, performing the last bits of a new choreographic sequence.
Yakov followed Victor around from a good distance on the ice, examining every move he makes. "Make that Choctaw quieter! Relax those wrists! Much better."
Victor ended his sequence and used a series of three turns to go into a flying death drop sitspin.
He increased his speed upon adding the pancake variation and then goes into a broken leg variation. He ends it all with a fast upright backspin.
Victor wiped beads of sweat away from his forehead as he looked over at Yakov for any comments.
Yakov nodded. "A bit rushed in some parts, but that's to be expected. You just made it this afternoon, after all."
"Actually, I was going for the rushed style. Most of my programs this season were rather smooth and lyrical. I needed something that's completely the opposite! Thanks for saying that my new sequence is perfect, Yakov!"
Yakov restrained himself from strangling him. Of course, Victor would say something like that...when had he ever listened to him?
"Well, that's it. Practice is over. Remember to come early on Friday morning, I scheduled the ice just for you so we can work on your flip." Yakov reminded him.
"Still can't believe I got a wrong edge call for that. It felt like an inside edge to me!" Victor began skating towards the exit.
Minutes later, all of the skaters left the ice and went into the locker rooms. Victor grabbed all of his belongings and tossed them into his bag.
Gloves, skates, skate guards, his program music CD...where was his Makkachin kleenex box?
Victor began frantically sweeping out his locker and then checking through his bag again. He suddenly felt a tap on his shoulder.
Victor turned around to see Georgi holding the Makkachin box of tissues.
"You left it here last night. I brought it to my home so it wouldn't get stolen. Here."
"Thank you, thank you, thank you!" Victor cried as he accepted the box from Georgi's hands and carefully put it inside of his skating bag.
And that was everything! He grabbed his jacket and phone before taking his bag by the handle and pulling it behind as he left the locker room.
"Bye, guys! See you tomorrow!"
A series of 'byes' came from everyone in the locker room. Victor saw the Zamboni halfway done cleaning the ice as he walked towards the exit of this arena.
Out in the front lobby, Victor saw the new skater who had just moved up to the junior level and had joined this ice rink. Yuri Plisetsky sat by himself at one of the snack tables.
Victor approached the preteen boy. Yuri. P looked up as he saw him walking in his direction.
"Hi, there! Yuri Plisetsky, am I right?"
Yuri. P nodded. "That's me. You're Victor—"
"Uh huh! No need for last names here, unless you want me to call you by yours."
Yuri. P shook his head. Victor smiled gently at him.
"Are you waiting for someone?"
"My grandpa, he usually comes to pick me up. He thinks I'm too young to take the bus by myself. I have to wait until I'm at least fifteen."
"That's sweet of him to care for you like that. I don't have any siblings, my parents were like that to me too when I was your age."
"I have siblings. It's just that some of them live with my aunt and uncle somewhere else, and another one lives with my paternal grandparents. My parents...don't really get along too well."
Victor kneeled. "Hey, you'll make it through. I know that isn't much, but I don't really have the power to fix things. You just have to stay strong."
"I guess so. You always seem to stay strong. Is there a trick to it?"
Victor laughed. "No tricks. Just lots of practice and experience."
He stood back up from kneeling and grabbed his bag as he turned around towards the front doors.
Out in the parking lot, Victor unlocked his car and put his skating bag in the trunk before getting into the driver's seat.
Starting the car, Victor drove out of the parking lot and down the road before turning into his normal route for going home. The narrow two-way street.
There was always something new for Victor to spot while he drove. Like a fallen branch on a tree or a new nest being built by another family of birds. But this time, what caught Victor's attention was the movements of a distant person who seemed to be skating at the outdoor rink.
Victor opened his window slightly and slowed down. He could barely hear the sound of a familiar old song play out against the calmness of the snow-covered trees and plants.
Eventually, Victor slowed down to a stop and pulled over to the side. Victor knows that this outdoor rink is usable, but he has never seen it being used by someone. At least until now.
The skater—a girl who appears to be in her early twenties—was skating to Sentimental Waltz. And the layout of it all...it reminded Victor of a program he once saw back in his early days.
What was it again?
The girl landed a beautiful triple loop. Victor suddenly remembered again. The layout of the girl's performance was similar to a short program Yakov once performed a long time ago. Except for some parts where she incorporated her own style and variations.
The music reaches its climax as the girl goes into her final combination spin. It was fast and well-centered. Spins were obviously her forte.
She ended it with a rapid backspin before going into the finishing pose, breathing deeply.
Clap, clap, clap.
Victor stood by the boards, smiling and applauding. The girl turned around to see who was clapping, and upon seeing the person, fell back on her skates and into her rear end.
"You ok?" Victor asked.
"Ye—yeah." The girl got back up and patted herself free from any ice shavings. "Well, that was embarrassing."
"That was Sentimental Waltz, wasn't it? You were skating to Sentimental Waltz?" Victor shouted.
"What?" The girl replied.
Victor gestured for her to come closer to the boards. "Why don't you come over here? Kind of weird having a conversation with you all the way over there."
The girl realized the distance between her and the boards.
"Right!" She immediately skated over.
Victor got a better look at her. The girl had classic oriental characteristics. With deep dark hair tied in a messy ponytail, pale skin, and dark brown eyes.
Victor asked his question again. "Was that Sentimental Waltz?"
"Yeah. You noticed?" She quietly asked.
"It's similar to my coach's short program back in the 1970s. Yakov Feltsman."
"Yakov Feltsman…? Wait…" The girl blinked twice at Victor's face. Instant recognition struck her brain. "Omigosh. Y—you're Victor Nikiforov!"
Victor tossed his head back for added effect. "Of course I am. That's no surprise. The real stranger here is you. You know my full name, but I don't know yours."
"Wait! Do you usually drive down here? Or was today just a coincidence?" The girl asked curiously.
"No, this is my usual way home. This is my usual way to the rink too. But I never saw you here before during all of my times when I passed by this area."
"Oh. I uh, literally just began using this rink. I think around maybe, last week?"
Victor nodded in understanding. "Well, that makes sense. Last week was the Worlds and I was competing there."
"The 2013 Worlds? I watched it on tv last week. Not too surprised when you won again, but I was a little bit when you came third in the short program."
"Yeah, well. It wasn't really my fault at all! My blades were too dull! I told Yakov that I needed to get them sharpened but he said that 'it would only affect my normal feeling of skating,'" Victor scoffed. "Yeah, right!"
The girl mildly laughed. "Easy for you to say. At least you can afford to sharpen your skates often. There are some of us who are forced to deal with dull blades. And we still land triples!"
Victor rolled his eyes.
"Wait. You still didn't answer my question from before!" He suddenly realized.
He whacked his head. "What was it again? Oh right! What's your name?"
"Olivia, my friends call me 'Liv.'" She replied.
"Last name," Victor demanded.
"Why? I know that you're not a complete stranger, but still…it's kind of weird?"
"It's not weird at all! It's only fair!" Victor countered. "You know my full name so I should know yours! It's called, 'evening things out!'"
Liv bit her lip nervously before answering. "Fine. Olivia Nguyen. How's that?"
Victor tapped his forehead, thinking deeply. "Olivia...Olivia...Olivia...wait a minute! Aren't you the silver medalist at the 2013 Russian Championships?"
Liv nodded. "That's me. I'm shocked that you actually realized. I'm not really that big of a deal here."
"I keep tabs on any skater that catches my attention," Victor said very matter-of-factly.
A slight blush formed on Liv's cheeks. Victor refrained himself from reaching out to pat her on the head.
"What's a senior level skater like you doing in a rink like this?" Victor asked.
"One word: cheap. I can't really afford for the free skate sessions back at my regular rink right now, so this is my solution." She explained.
Victor felt a wave of pity wash over him. It was sad to see a skater not being able to skate in quality training grounds due to cost issues.
"I see. And you're training by yourself too? Where's your coach? Or is this just a free practice day for you?" Victor asked.
"My coach is...not available. I'm kind of my own coach currently. But that ain't a big problem—at least for now! Anyways, my time here is up. I got to get home."
Liv opened the rink side door and stepped out, walking to the bleachers where a large purple skating bag was lying along with a red winter jacket. She undid her skates and put on her boots before going back to the barrier.
A cell phone and medium sized Bluetooth lay on top of the boards. She picked them up and stuffed the Bluetooth into her bag while putting the phone in her pocket.
Victor followed her at a good distance. Liv saw him still behind her and turned around.
"Is there, uh, anything else you want to talk to me about?"
"Yeah. When are you coming back here again?" He asked.
"Uh...probably Friday afternoon, around three? I rent this ice for every other day in the morning and afternoon. But Friday's are always afternoon practices."
"Is it alright if I come back here? That is, if you don't mind, of course."
Liv felt her jaw drop. Was this happening for real? "N—no! I don't mind!"
Victor grinned. "Great. I'll see again on Friday afternoon then."
He waved a goodbye to her before walking back to his car parked on the side of the road. As he started the engine, he could see Liv disappear into the parking lot next to the rink.
"Alright. Friday afternoon it is. I have my work cut out for me. That's beautiful potential right there. Can't let it go to waste."
Friday. March. 22, 2013. St. Petersburg Ice Rink
Victor had been working on his flip nonstop all day. It wasn't until the afternoon practice after lunch break that he had finally corrected his flat edge to an inside edge. He threw his arms up in the air for accomplishment.
"Finally!" He cried.
"Now let's see if you're still able to do your lutz without flutzing." Yakov challenged.
Victor looked at the giant clock displayed above the entrance where the Zamboni comes out from. It read 3:31. He scratched the back of his head.
"Actually, Yakov. I need to be somewhere today, so is it ok if I leave before five this time…?"
"A lutz doesn't even take two minutes, Victor. I'm not letting you go until you show me a clean quadruple lutz." Yakov said firmly.
Victor had a face that looked like a kid who wanted to go over to the ice cream booth but his parents both refused. Yakov didn't give in, he was used to this by now.
Sighing, Victor circled the ice to build up speed for the lutz…
Several minutes later…
"Alright, it's 3:48! Got to go!" Victor ran out the front doors of the rink with his bag dragged behind him and his jacket on his arm.
He threw them in the trunk of his car before driving down the direction towards the outdoor rink. It was a rather sunny afternoon, the sunniest it has been all week.
As Victor got closer to the rink, he realized that something was off. Slowing down and turning to enter the hidden parking lot, Victor realized that the outdoor rink currently was empty.
Disappointment filled him as he stared at the empty patch of ice. For a split second, he was tempted to go back into his car and leave, but he thought against it. Putting on his jacket and taking out his phone and earbuds, he leaned against the side of his car and listened to songs while he waited.
Victor shut his eyes for a few minutes while his music played in the background and then moved onto a new song. He had completely lost track of time, so he decided to check it again on his phone.
"She was here until around five on Wednesday. Maybe what she meant by afternoon is around four-ish?" He turned on his phone to see the time displayed on the lock screen, 4:05.
Victor put his phone back down. At the same time, he hears the sound of a car approaching from the distance. It was a small gray one that came closer and closer to the parking lot, before slowing down and entering.
Even from a distance, Victor could see Liv's face through the front window in the driver's seat. He waved at her. She waved back after parking in an empty spot and then getting out to grab her skating bag from the trunk.
Victor waited for her to come up to him. "Hey, Victor! Sorry, I'm late! You were probably here for how long?" She exclaimed breathlessly.
"Only a few hours, but it's ok! I haven't been waiting here for a whole day!" Victor laughed.
"What? Hours? When do you usually finish your practice?" Liv asked, shocked.
"I wasn't serious," Victor explained.
"I know. I used to train in a specialized environment too, remember? Normally, practices don't end until around five or six in the afternoon." Liv replied.
Victor shrugged, stuffing his phone away. "Just making sure that you're still in the game. Let's get started." He began walking towards the rink. "By the way, why are you late?"
Liv removed her jacket and sat down on the bleachers to tied her skates. "I had to finish an overdue assignment. For my 3D graphics class. I had no time at all! With all this chaos going around...never mind."
"Oh, right. You're still in school! How are old are you?"
"23. I'm taking a Master's degree, so I won't be graduating until I'm 24. You're already graduated, right? I mean, you are 26…" Liv asked as she stepped onto the ice and began warming up.
Victor watched as she circled the ice with deep strokes, crossovers, and turns. There something very balletic about her movements, all of her edges were so very quiet that it almost seemed like she wasn't even on the ice!
After a few more circles and alternating direction, Liv skated over to Victor by the side of the board.
"Yep. Studied data and business, and...a bit of geology." Victor explained. "So, yeah. What college do you go to?"
"Uh, Leora. It's somewhere in the north of the urban district. Heard of it before?" Liv asked.
Victor nodded. "Yeah, but never seen it. What's your field of study?"
"Digital media and technology. I like art, and nowadays it's all about CGI animation and motion-capture. If skating doesn't get me anywhere, at least I'll have a backup!"
Victor crossed his arms. "Don't start thinking like that. You're a cut above the ordinary, you don't see that?"
"Compared to skaters like the 2013 Nationals champion, Annie Vasin? I don't think I turn many heads around." Liv admitted.
"You turned my head around." Victor pointed out.
He nodded to the opposite end of the ice. "Show me a few of your jumps. Start from the double axel and work your way up."
Nodding, Liv skated around the rink before turning around to prepare for the first double axel.
An hour later.
Victor nodded when Liv performed another spread eagle into double axel with an arms-over-the-head variation. From what he observed today, Victor could see that Liv was a consistent skater. He also saw that she could spin both in the counterclockwise and clockwise direction when performing her favourite combination spin.
Her jumps were all landed, however, compared to the expectations at his regular training rink, they weren't as high as the other skaters'.
"That's really nice! I told you that you can do it! And you said that you'd underrotate with that arm variation!" Victor said.
Liv grabbed a drink of her water. "I'm just not used to doing moves like that. I usually keep things simple, lower on the risk level. It's safer for me to play it out this way at major competitions."
Victor didn't say anything back. He looked at the time on his phone. It was past five. "Olivia, you want to call it a day? It's five."
"It is!? I didn't realize! Shit, I need to be somewhere! I got to go!" Liv jumped off the ice and quickly untied her skates and grab all of her belongings.
"Wait!" Victor called out after her. "What's your number? We should communicate about when to approximately meet whenever you're coming down here."
"I'll type it in your contacts list, just hand me your phone."
Victor unlocked his phone and started added a new contact on his list before handing it over to Liv, who typed her information into the blank spaces that required it.
She waved goodbye. "I'll send you the time when I'm going to be here! I'll see you again soon!"
Victor smiled as she drove out of the parking lot and disappeared into the horizon. Olivia displayed something on the ice that Victor seldom sees in other skaters. And it was this something that made her seem unique and attractive.
"I better not be the only one who sees it," he said to himself as he got into his car and began to drive out of the parking lot too.
Monday. April. 1st, 2013.
Victor had been seeing Liv for Wednesdays and Fridays over the last week. This is the beginning of the second week since meeting her.
And it was this afternoon when Victor received the text from Liv that asked if he was able to pick her up from Leora after his practice.
Liv: I'm sorry to ask, but my car's out of gas and the prices for it just went up! Is it alright if you pick up me after your practice? If you don't know the location, text me back.
Victor smiled upon seeing the text, it was nice to know that Olivia is starting to be more comfortable around him. He knew where Leora was, so that's no problem, no need to text her.
Victor was already on his way out of the rink and had everything all packed up when he saw the notification of the new text.
He goes out to his car and instead of going down his usual way home, Victor turned in the opposite direction and went towards the location of Leora College.
It didn't take too long for him to get to the front parking lot of the main building. The entire campus was rather large and seas of students were already coming out of the doors and are either leaving the campus or are just talking to friends.
Victor catches a glimpse of a familiar red winter jacket and assumed it to be Liv. He got out of the car and put on sunglasses as he walked through the crowd of students towards the place where he thought he saw Liv.
But the red jacket was out of view when he got to the front steps of the building. Victor looked around for any sign of it.
"Excuse, me?" A female voice whispered.
Victor turned around to see a female student carrying a handful of textbooks in her arms look at him in awe.
"Um, are you Victor Nikiforov?" She whispered eagerly.
Victor barely nodded. "Try and keep it down low, ok?"
"Sorry, I'm a huge fan—well—I was wondering if I can have your signature?"
When Victor nodded again, the student plastered a giant smile on her face and began frantically searching for a good spot to keep the autograph on. She dumped out a pile of contents from her bag before settling on an empty sheet from a notebook.
Victor looked around to make sure nobody else was watching as he scribbled a quick signature on the blank lined paper.
Just as he was about to finish, he heard Liv's voice behind him.
"Victor?"
Scribbling in the last letter of his last name, Victor returned the pen to the student who pranced away while squeezing the notebook against her chest. He turned around to see Liv—wearing a blue jacket instead of a red one. She was carrying a bouquet of orchids in one arm.
"Olivia! There you are! You said you needed a ride home, right?" He confirmed.
She nodded. "Yeah, I honestly didn't think you'd show up at all! I was waiting forever in the back parking lot."
"The back? You never specified where to pick you up!"
"I thought I texted you that detail! I was afraid that you'd get—well—swarmed by people. That girl from a few seconds ago? Didn't she ask for your signature?"
Victor waved his hand away. "No biggy. Let's go, the car is that way!"
They made their way down the concrete path towards the parking lot. A group of students gathered around the girl who recently got Victor's signature. They were whispering incoherent sentences.
Suddenly, one of them pointed directly at Victor and cried, "there he is!"
"Who?"
"Russia's darling in the figure skating world! Victor Nikiforov!"
"I see him!"
"Omigosh, I need a pic!"
"I'm your biggest fan!"
Victor managed a nervous laugh. "Oh, great...run."
With a push, Victor encouraged Olivia to start booking for the safe refuge of his car as a sea of college students began running towards him with their phones and papers out.
"Love the attention, guys, but if you really are my fan, you'd save your strength to root for me at the next GPFs!" Victor cried before he entered his side of the car and began driving away.
A loud round of applause and cheering followed behind and gradually died down as they got further away from the campus.
Olivia put down her backpack before adjusting her seatbelt. She let out a low whistle. Victor laughed.
"I usually love the attention, but now's just not the right time."
"And that's why I said the back parking lot. Oh and, I'm also assuming you didn't receive this text either. Can you drop me off at the North Bay University Hospital first?"
Victor felt chills shiver down his back. Hospitals always meant that something horribly wrong is going on with a person. Does Olivia have some kind of terminal illness?
"Why?" He cautiously asked.
"I need to see someone and I—oh shit!"
Victor nearly pulled off to the side upon hearing that. "What happened?"
"The orchids I bought! The tops are crushed. Probably when we were making a run for the car...why did this have to happen?"
"You can buy another bouquet of flowers, there should be a gift shop in the hospital. No?"
Liv sighed. "Yeah, but orchids aren't available there."
The rest of the car ride was done in silence. Minutes passed before the giant white building of the North Bay University Hospital finally popped into view. Liv gave directions for Victor to park in the east parking lot.
They entered the entrance on that side of the building and Olivia immediately went up to the front reception desk. Victor politely tagged behind, looking around the brightly lit hallway of the hospital. It was quiet with the exception of phones ringing and elevators and doors opening.
The smell of antibiotics and sanitizer is strong in the air. Olivia returned from the desk and gestured for Victor to follow her. They went up the elevator to the third floor, where several patients undergoing chemotherapy stayed…
Thoughts of the worst possible circumstances flooded Victor's mind as they walked down the hall. Olivia suddenly began speaking without looking back.
"You asked me where my coach was the first time we met. I said that she's 'not available,' but I wasn't telling the whole truth."
They stopped in front of one of the doors to a patient's room. Victor stayed quiet for Olivia to continue talking.
"My coach, Angela Raskalov, has stage 2 breast cancer. She was diagnosed with it last spring and has been undergoing treatment ever since. That's why I had that substitute coach with me for the 2013 Russian Championships, she wasn't feeling healthy enough to go herself."
Victor could hear the pain in Liv's voice. It made sense now why she was upset over the crushed orchids. Those flowers were probably Angela's favourite. He wanted more than ever to give Liv a big hug right now.
"Oh...I'm so sorry to hear. It must be awful. Angela Raskalov is a well-respected coach here, I didn't know you were a student of hers." He nodded towards the door. "Go spend quality time with your coach."
Liv knocked on the door and introduced herself before entering the room, Victor patiently sat on the bench right outside.
From the tiny opening from the partially closed door, Victor could hear the conversation between Liv and Angela.
"Livvy-honey! How are you doing?"
"Other than getting an extension on another project and being late on my rent this month, I'm great! How are you, Angela?"
"I'm doing fine, I guess. This chemo treatment isn't the most comfortable thing for me but I'm doing my best. Oh, are those orchids? They're lovely!"
Victor smiled upon hearing the tone of the conversation going on inside. The relationship between the coach and student seemed to be very strong. They talked about events going on in Liv's life, many of which shocked Victor.
Turns out, that Liv came from Detroit, USA to live here due Angela persuading her to switch her nationality to Russia. And ever since then, Liv's competitive career has been going up and down. Victor listened in on their conversation about the 2013 Russian Championships.
"You won silver? That's great, Liv! A real improvement from last year's fourth-place finish."
"I wish it is. But the Union didn't pick me again for the international team. It's just the same as last year."
"Did you ask why? Because this ridiculous with your second-place finish unless there's an actual good reason."
"They said it was because of your current condition, and because they've also noticed my recent financial troubles. So they were afraid that competitions will only cause me more trouble..which is half-true. But I think it's mainly because they don't like me." Liv admitted.
All kinds of thoughts flooded Victor's thoughts. In all his years of competing, he had never noticed the Skating Union being biased towards its selection of skaters nor its competition results. Perhaps it's due to his own rank among the rest of the skaters.
This was the first time he's listened to someone else's point of view on the competitive skating world. And it honestly shocked him.
A few minutes later, Liv's visiting time was up and she left the room. Victor stood up from the bench where he was sitting upon and they exited the hospital together. Liv gave him the directions for her home address before they drove out of the parking lot.
The majority of the car ride was done in silence. Finally, at one of the traffic lights, Victor broke the silence.
"Are you going to compete in the 2014 Nationals?" He asked.
"Depends," Liv sighed.
"On what?"
"How I'm going to survive this country."
More silence. The light turned green. Victor continued to drive until they reached a little suburban neighbourhood with a few large apartment buildings and a small environmental park nearby. Liv directed him towards a simple red-brick building with no balconies and large windows.
She picked up her items and prepared to open the door. "Thanks for the ride. I owe you one. I'll try to not have this happen again."
"Olivia, where are you going to practice when the weather gets warmer?" Victor asked. "We should plan ahead of time."
"I got it covered already. The owner of the outdoor rink also has an indoor one just down the trail from the parking lot beside the outdoor rink. Price is about the same, the only problem is limited time for private ice times. I can only go on Thursday and Saturday afternoons—and they're from around four to six." Liv explained.
Victor nodded. "Great! Off-season is a great time to work on and prepare new skills." He paused for a moment. "I'd like it if you continued to compete."
Liv smiled weakly, she didn't counter back with a complaint. "I'll see you later."
Saturday. April. 13, 2013.
"Like this: really bend the knee before the takeoff and really use the arms to help with the lift." Victor demonstrated the preparation and takeoff for the lutz.
Liv watched closely on the ice, placing her hands on her knees to get a better view. They were the only two inside of the warehouse-like ice arena. Victor rarely gets this much ice space to himself other than the super-early morning practices Yakov forces him to go to every now and then.
Liv nodded and began building up speed for the lutz once again. She did a series of crossovers before going into the long outside edge glide. This time, she bent deeper in the knee and brought her right arm back more.
Launching herself into the air, Liv pulled into the backspin position as soon as possible and rotated for three revolutions before landing on the right back outside edge.
Victor tilted his head to the side. The second jump was a bit higher than her first one, but not by a lot. Liv's strength wasn't in her jumps, but despite that, her consistency was still rather high.
Her jumps weren't small but they weren't enormous either. To Victor, it's a miracle that she could fit in three whole revolutions at that height! The fact that she's able to was due to her rapid rotations while in the air. That made up for her lack of height.
"That's better than before, but I think we can get it higher. I don't know, what did Angela have you do before?"
"She wanted me to incorporate more difficult jump combinations like triple lutz/triple toe. But after the 2011 European Championships, we realized that I kept on getting deducted for underrotations with those jumps. So I made my programs safer for the 2011-12 season and well, I got scored exactly the same as before, only this time without underrotation calls. So in a way, it's better."
Victor shook his head in dejection. It was sad to see how badly Liv was being treated in the competitive world. He hates it when people can't appreciate something that is always looked down upon.
For the rest of the afternoon, they worked on fixing the ice coverage of Liv's jumps and different patterns of choreographic sequences and transitions. It wasn't until the end of the day that Victor realized Liv hasn't even started on creating new programs for the 2014 season.
They took a break in between to get some water and food. Victor asked about her home back in the USA.
"Detroit is great. I loved it there. Ugh! It's just—a really great city. Now it's not as flashy as someplace like, New York, for example. But it's not like a super small country area either. I don't know, I'm just speaking from my life growing up."
"Sounds interesting. You still keeping touch with your family and friends?"
"Yeah. I...really miss them. My parents and siblings, they were really worried for me when I decided to move with Angela to Russia. And now, I'm starting to worry for myself. Things just aren't looking up...for me and for Angela...I know that she's not getting any better. I'm scared."
Victor looked down at Liv's face. It had the expression of a lost puppy who had no idea which way was home.
"Let's call it a day. You have a lot of homework from your professors, right? I don't want to hinder you."
"Sure, ok. Thanks."
Liv's car had broken down sometime last week and Victor had to once again give her a ride between her home and the rink. She managed to get bus tickets to get to campus each day.
Victor parked in an empty space in front of Liv's building. He helped carry some of her items inside for her. She already had a stack of textbooks and a full backpack, combining it with a large skating bag was overkill for Victor to watch.
"My apartment is this one." Liv stopped in front of a door at the end of the hallway and unlocked it.
She turned on the lights and immediately, Victor saw the large assortment of suitcases piled in the living room. "Whoa. What's with all those suitcases?"
"Umm. I'm just packing things up, makes it easier to move out. You know? Nothing to worry about. Here, I'll take the skating bag, thank you."
Victor did not let it up. "Move to where? It looks like you're going on vacation or something."
Liv sighed and fiddled with her fingers before answering. "Back to America. I've been seriously considering going back for awhile now, and well, with Angela's worsening condition...there isn't much of a future for me here. I'll rejoin the USFSA again."
Victor felt his pulse suddenly speed up. This can't be happening. If Liv leaves, it means that the Russia Skating Union pushed her away. It would mean that they lost something that never truly saw as valuable. He had to do something.
"So you're just giving up? What about college? Aren't you planning to finish your degree here?"
"I can continue back in Detroit. Besides, like I said, there isn't much of a future for me here. I'm not even going to sugarcoat it Victor, but I've heard what other skater, coaches, and commentators had called me here." Liv clutched her arms as she repeated those exact words, in Russian. "'Why the hell is a foreigner competing for us?'"
Victor was taken back. Was this the reality of figure skating? All of those stories he often hears that talks about biased scoring and selection, prejudice and gossip. He realized just now, they were true.
"Olivia...I...I can't speak for everyone involved in the Union, but there will be people—even if it's just a little bit—who will be disappointed by your leaving. For example, Angela."
"Angela already knows about this. She said that she's supporting me no matter what decision I'm making. So that's that. I have another coach down at the Detroit Figure Skating Club, he'll be glad to have me as a student."
"What if Angela gets better? The chances may be small, but what if, Olivia? What if? Do you think you'll be able to face her again after your departure?"
"I miss my family, Victor! It's not just skating that's pushing me out of this country, but I'm truly homesick by now! Even if Angela gets better, I'll still want to go home, like a normal person! And I doubt she's going to recover anytime soon."
Liv slowed down her speech a bit. "So until then, I have no coach. And no coach equals to no season." She turned around to put her textbooks away.
Making up his mind, Victor exhaled and took a step forward.
"I'll be your coach."
The textbooks fell from Liv's arms and onto the floor. She turned around slowly, her eyes wide with shock and mouth slightly agape. Victor repeated himself. "I'll be your coach."
"But...why?" Liv asked.
Victor walked closer. "You have something many skaters don't. And I'm not talking about your way of jumping or the power of your strokes or your ability to spin in both directions.
"I'm talking about your presence. When you're on the ice, you don't skate. You create. I remember you saying that you like art. You take digital media at Leora, I see several papers out on the table behind labeled 'story ideas,' I see a digital piano at the end of the living room, and I see an underrated skater in front of me.
"Coaches are meant to use the blocks that make up their student and create something stronger, something better. That's exactly what I'm going to do. I'm going to have you paint over the blank canvases the judges always look at. Angela will always be your coach, I can't ever replace her, but at least let me support you, Liv."
Liv put her hands against her face, hiding her current expression. She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "You're going to help me, Victor? Really?" She looked up.
Victor smiled and nodded.
Liv pulled herself together and stuck out her hand, smiling gently. Victor shook it, confirming their new status. "First thing's first, you're going to need a new program for the 2014 Nationals."
Finishing this chapter ten fifty-five at night is not fun! But so is pushing it behind the scheduled date to post a new chapter. Well, I'm off to sleep! Please FAVOURITE, FOLLOW, and REVIEW for any reason you want!
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