[april mp] quality time [anna]

Durmstrang Spring break had co-incided with the Senior Artistic Flying Open. Valera smirked when ve thought of it that way, as if it was some kind of amazing series of events that had occurred to allow the students access to watch the performances. No, of course it was vir relatives who had planned it that way, publicised the event and the showcase that would follow just a few weeks later. Valera enjoyed the preparation, fitting out the shop with vir own displays (and fielding questions about why the latest broom still hadn't been unveiled). This time though ve felt more nervous than ve could remember ever being before.

When ve had flown, nerves had hardly been an issue. The broom and Valera seemed almost extentions of each other and though the moves were a lot simpler than those performed by Aglaya these days, there had been a grace and an elegance that ve missed even now. But never had ve experience anything like stage fright or anxiety.

Now, though, the situation was rather different. Valera hadn't realised how much harder it was to watch someone you loved perform, especially now that Anna was taking her own flying a lot more seriously. Previous Spring breaks had been spent relaxing, but this year vir daughter was spending far more time in the practise arena, and they'd had far less time together. Vir daughter was growing up too fast, and ve wasn't sure ve liked it.

So they were going to lunch. Maybe a little shopping afterwards, a nice chat. A proper parent-daughter activity. It seemed to Valera as if months had passed since they had last spent any time together just...being. Ve had closed the shop a little early for lunch in order to meet Anna as soon as she was through with her morning training session, and now ve waited just outside the arena, for all the world looking like any of the other parents who waited dutifully for their own offspring to finish their classes.

@Anna Filimonova

Spring break was a scam, Anna thought.

Other students got to go to Malta or Croatia or whatever. In years past, Anna would get to go to one of their creature sanctuaries for a few days at least, run among the snidgets and bask in the spring sun.

Not anymore, though! Break meant practice, practice, practice. Not that she didn't want to practice of course, she wanted to practice, wanted to win --

-- but wouldn't it be simpler to be homeschooled? To practice for a half-day every day, instead of sneaking in hours around classes at Durmstrang and putting in ten hour days over break? Maybe they should let Anna be in charge of these things. Everything would be easier if Anna were in charge. She would be better at this -- she would be better at this --

Her chalked hands loosened their grip on the long end of her broom. Anna nearly saved it, nearly finished swinging up into another handstand, but a fraction of a mistake was enough. Her muscles strained her spin around the broom only making it another forty-five degrees before she had to let go, falling heavily to the soft padded mat below.

Her coach loomed over her. "You've gotten weaker."

Anna scowled because it was true. Her legs had gotten stronger, sure, but not her arms. Shit! she thought.

At least it was the end of the morning session. Anna slipped into sweatpants and a warm-up robe, tossed her broom and her supplies into a locker with too much force. Oh well. If anyone wanted to steal her broom, that would be fine. Who cares. It wasn't like she was really in the running this year, anyway.

Anna scowled the whole way through the halls and out into the cold spring sunshine. It took her a moment to spot Lerka, almost blending in with the other mothers on the benches. Not quite, though -- her parent still had that shocking haircut, and was, like, still Valera Tikhomirova. At least people were being vaguely normal around her.

"Hi," she said to Valera, trying to mask the leftover irritation from practice. They were doing lunch today. Something normal. Anna wished their family would be normal so badly sometimes. "I fell again," she said, because it would be more embarrassing to mention it in a restaraunt.

Well...maybe not just like any other parent. Ve was recognised, of course; mothers caught vir eye and smiled nervously, then looked away and resumed their muted conversations. Valera didn't mind, didn't care. Ve wasn't famous like many of vir family members, just recognisable and besides, most of these people knew vir from the shop when ve'd sold them brooms and practise gear for their children. Ve shifted position on the bench, noticed a slightly chipped edge of nail varnish on one index finger and picked at it. naturally the tiny chipped edge quickly became a much more noticeable flake which floated to the ground. Valera was just drawing vir wand to hide the bare patch on vir nail when Anna appeared.

Practise hadn't gone well. Anna was trying to hide it, to look like everything was fine, but her body language told a different story. Irritation, frustration...Valera remembered the feelings well. Ve had compensated for every poor practise by working longer and harder, forcing vir body into more complex moves, though the sport had come on so much that a capable fifteen year old would nowadays be able to master the routine that had won vir the first Russian championship. Ve stood and smiled as Anna approached, ignoring the other parents who were doing the same. The excitable chatter of younger kids rang in vir ears.

And then vir heart sank, and the familiar anxiety in the pit of vir stomach threatened to rise. Ve forced vir facial expression to remain the same, though the smile dropped a little. "You're okay, though?" It wasn't what Anna wanted to hear; ve knew that. Vir desire to allow vir daughter a 'normal' life had caused frustration when Anna had revealed she wanted to compete, wanted to stand on the podium with a medal, and Valera knew that another parent, a pushy parent like so many in this family would have helped her to achieve that at an earlier age. So there was guilt, too, but Valera still felt ve had done the right thing in allowing Anna to choose what she wanted to do...

It was time to say the right thing. Offer the perfect mix of platitude and encouragement that would put a smile on vir daughter's face. It was a pity that ve had no idea what the right thing to say was. "The rest of practise went well, though?" was the best ve could manage, and then they were walking side by side and there was silence for a moment, even though the rest of the kids seemed to be full of things to say to their parents.

"Are you ready for lunch?" ve asked, because at least that was a safe topic of conversation, not one fraught with emotions "What do you feel like? There's a new Thai restaurant opened a few months back...or Italian? We could have pizza..."