Sometimes the schedules at events were strange. While occasionally the victory ceremony was conveniently taking place right after the finished event part, the organisators of the year's European Championships had decided that it would be much better to make the ceremony for senior ladies and men right after another. What might be pleasant for the officials meant that the female athletes had to wait for several hours until they got their medals because the men's free program was scheduled to begin an hour after the ladies' free program.
To say the least Aglaya was not impressed. She didn't want to hang out at the stadium and wasn't eager to watch the entire male competition either. She was pretty confident that her cousin Anatoliy Tikhomirov would win this event. He had been in the lead after the technical exercise and, quite frankly, she didn't think he'd lose the free program.
However, going back to the hotel seemed rather pointless to her as well. What should she do there? Sleep? She knew she'd be tired before long but right now she still felt the adrenaline from her winning performance. Exploring Leknes did not seem a very alluring prospect either. When she was at competitions she was focused solely on her performances. A place, no matter how beautiful, was of little interest to her then – even when the actual competition was over, the medal ceremony had not taken place yet.
In the past she had spent the time with her family, talking about the event and discussing what she could still improve even if her performance had already been impeccable. There was always the possibility to do things even better, include riskier elements, be even more on point with the interpretation. Given that she was at the championships without a coach and without proper family support, she felt like it would be a sign of weakness to go and look for their company. They were probably looking for a nice restaurant in the close proximity of the stadium now and, truth be told, Aglaya felt that she could do with food as well.
Usually following a strict diet, the athlete did not really want to enter the first best place but she figured she could always take a salad and at least get
something into her growling stomach. Sitting in restaurants alone was not exactly anything the multiple champion wanted to do though. She'd risk attracting attention and she clearly didn't want people lining up at her table to ask for an autograph. In the end she decided to try out the canteen that belonged to the stadium. It was big, had some dividing walls put up so once she'd get her food tray she could sneak into a corner and hopefully be undisturbed.
She had taken a quick shower and changed into black jeans and a black silk top, thinking that black would, maybe, spare her being stared at. Then again she knew that her red curls did attract enough attention anyway.
Entering the canteen she was pretty happy to see that there were not many people around. Most were probably already going back to their seats or had decided against eating here. She picked up a tray and went along the food display, wrinkling her nose slightly. She didn't want anything substantial and didn't really like the look of the meat dishes. Apparently there was no decent salad to find, just miniature side salads. The redhead sighed and picked three side salads, a bottle of cooled water and made her way to the pay desk.
Nobody was there. She stood there for five seconds before hitting the little bell that was on the counter. From the kitchen behind the counter a voice said something in Norwegian. She hated to wait and certainly her time was more precious than that of a canteen chef. She tapped her foot on the ground and shook her head. What a bad idea this had been. Now there was even another woman filling her tray and would soon line up next to her.
@Casey Regan 
