THE JUGGLING ACT. | nathan chen

CHAPTER 02.

Throughout the week, Katya hasn't seen much of Nathan since that morning at the dean's office - and really, considering how big Yale was and the fact that they were majoring in things that didn't really have classes other than general education classes in common, it was hard to tell when or if she'd be seeing him around again. But that was fine; maybe she wasn't the best at the making friends department, but she's managed to already make three that week not including her roommate, which would total in four. It's not like she was really hoping that she and Nathan would become close friends.

Though it definitely would've been nice to have someone that understood the demands of a professional athlete and student life around.

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"No, you're still not doing it correctly. What did I say, Katya?"

Her coach's words in their native Russian were loud enough for only Katya to hear (and maybe to the other gymnast on the beam behind her), but Maxim may as well have been shouting. Her arabian on the balance beam used to be so consistent - and considering how notoriously inconsistent she was on that apparatus, that was saying something. She'd been competing that skill since she was 13 and now? Now it was like she hasn't practiced it in years.

"I know, I know. Squatting too much in the landing which is why I fall off," she says with a frustrated huff. "I'll do it again."

Maxim puts a hand up as she mounts the beam, however, shaking his head. "No, I think that's enough for today. You can't do beam angry and hit unless you're at the Olympics."

She can't help but laugh at that. It was true - one of the few competitions where she didn't fall off of or make a major error on the beam was during the Youth Olympic Games and the 2016 Olympics in Rio. And thank God for that, because if she messed up on the Olympic stage, she probably would have retired right after out of shame. Katya nods at him and walks towards the locker room, but not before she's stopped by her other coach, Arina.

"It will be better in the next session," Arina tells her as she pulls Katya into a side hug, rubbing her arm gently. Both her coaches were practically like parents to her, but Arina was definitely the warmer one between her and Maxim. "Your first practice back after a month and as a college student, we expected this because you must be adjusting. How is the big Yale University like?"

"Well, uh, it's definitely big." Her shoulders rise and fall in a small shrug. "Nothing much has happened in my classes yet, but it will probably change next week." And I'll be even more tired than I am now, she adds in her head. She couldn't afford to operate on that mindset, though. She said she'd manage both college life and elite gymnastics, and she planned to follow through.

"You can handle it, difficult and challenging or not. You always can, dorogaya."

Katya flashes her coach a smile, though it doesn't quite reach her eyes.

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Perhaps making a reviewer for a test that wasn't happening in three more weeks was a little much, but considering the time constraints she knew she was bound to have soon, she'd probably thank herself in three weeks for starting early. Katya had gotten several strange looks from people in passing — what was a freshman doing in the library on a Sunday afternoon already looking so busy just after the first week?

"Well, if only I was a typical freshman student," she mutters under her breath, but apparently not quietly enough because—

"Yeah, I second that."

Katya looks up from her notes in surprise, both for learning that someone else was on the same page as her too and that the person who'd been seated in the table right across her that whole time had been Nathan, of all people.

Realizing she'd just been staring at him for the past few seconds, she quickly says, "If I was expecting anyone else to be doing work in advance, it would probably be you." For obvious reasons that didn't need saying. "Guess we're on the exact same boat, huh?"

"Oh, we definitely are," Nathan tells her with an amused sigh. The smile he casts when he looks over at her is almost comforting, further cemented when he adds, "Glad I'm not alone on it, though."

The smile on his face is mirrored on hers as she replies, "Glad I'm not alone on it, too."

Neither of them say anything else after that, both busy looking through their respective textbooks and readings for the next hour. The silence that stretched between them wasn't awkward, though; it was nice, and almost comforting in a way Katya couldn't explain. Maybe she wouldn't mind seeing more of Nathan after all, even if it was just to have short talks like this.

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yes, i know, still not much happening at the moment but it's gotta build up to it! more on the next.

thanks for reading <3