That was the only bad thing about being the youngest in the family. The way his sisters (and Rodion too, sometimes) talked as if they were way more experienced and mature than he was, and tried to explain stuff to him. At the back of his mind Ruslan accepted that he really shouldn't be saying anything unflattering about their rivals, but the talk about having bad days, needing to deal with disappointment... He told his face to keep a neutral expression, the one that he used when a trainer was telling him something that he wasn't sure about but knew he would have to do it anyway. Bad days, disappointment... "I know. I understand" he said, thinking that he knew how it felt to be annoyed with himself for making a mistake in training, it would just feel worse if lots of people were watching. It didn't cross the boy's mind that the day might come when he didn't come out on top.
Then Zhenya handed him her bag and he realised he was glad they were leaving. He wanted to see everyone else to hear what they'd thought about it...except he now remembered that they wouldn't be able to just go back to their rooms and chat. There would be the press conference for the adults and maybe Zhenya as well now, he supposed, and reporters who would always ask the same questions and his aunts and cousins had to sound like they'd never heard those questions before and answer with enthusiasm. Nobody ever wanted to talk to Ruslan of course; if he was in the room he was expected to sit there quietly and be well-bhaved and be 'a credit to the family'. He hoped that bit would be over quickly, because after that would be dinner, and the family would talk about everything that went right and what could be improved. Those parts were always interesting because he could learn things just from listening to what was being said, and he didn't mind that people didn't ask him anything beyond 'are you proud of your brother?' or 'don't you think your sister did well today?'
As they prepared to leave though, what he actually fixated on was something else entirely. "Ice cream? Is there gong to be ice cream?" he asked excitedly, hefting Zhenya's bag onto his shoulder and holding it there with both hands as he spoke "If we ask to be excused dinner after the main course can we get room service? Can I come into your room and we can all order ice cream later?" Ruslan asked happily as if that was the most interesting thing that was going to happen today. He continued to talk about what they would do once the formalities were over as he followed his sisters down the corridor as they headed off to find the rest of the family.
[out]
