Stanislava had never really entered any competition before. Truth be told, she wasn't competitive by nature. The girl was ambitious, yes, wanting good grades at school, for example, but she didn't much like comparing herself to others. Therefore, she usually tried to focus on herself rather than look at what others did. Comparing herself to others never made her feel good about herself anyway. She had done it in the past - compared her family life to what she knew of her friends’ backgrounds and found it rather discouraging most of the time.
Being a member of the artistic flying club was something Stasya really enjoyed, though. It was fun to train in a group and learn new things. It was less fun to fall and have bruises everywhere, though. However, her friend Zina had reassured her that it was quite normal to take falls - even for professional athletes. Yet they fell when they tried spectacular moves whereas Stasya hit the ground after just trying for a sharper turn or a tiny little jump. She was getting better by now, of course. Practice makes perfect or something like that. Nevertheless she was still far away from perfection and she knew it. Stasya had been working on a routine that she could possibly perform more or less cleanly but it was naturally nothing compared to what the professional artistic flyers could do.
By now Stasya was quite aware of what an artistic flying outfit normally looked like. She had, therefore, written home to her mother, asking if she'd get money so she could order one from the shop in Rybinsk but her mother, a muggle, had little understanding of this and told her to just wear 'normal' sports clothes. Stasya was disappointed but felt that she’d only waste her time, trying to persuade her mother. Instead she had chosen to wear black leggins and a pink shirt for her performance. It would do even if it wasn’t really what she wanted. Her brown hair was pulled up in a tight bun so it would not fly into her face.
Since the competition drew nearer - it was actually scheduled for later today - Stasya had asked her dormmate Rei if she wanted to prepare with her. They'd compete against each other later but that didn't mean that they couldn't get ready and warm up together, right? Stasya felt how her heart already beat quicker. It was still a while until they'd be out there, competing in front of an audience but she was already anxious. She felt cold, despite the relatively nice weather, her hands were clammy and her mouth felt dry.
They were in the girls’ lavatory in front of the mirror now. Stasya tried to draw a straight line with her eyeliner but her hands were trembling. She glanced at Rei’s reflection in the mirror and smiled sheepishly, wondering if the other girl felt as anxious as she did herself. Rei looked back at her and Stasya felt how her cheeks reddened.
“I’m
so nervous,†she admitted followed by a nervous laugh and made another attempt to apply her eyeliner.
@Akiyama Rei 
