Just because I'm a girl

Qualifiers

Two weeks before Inter-high

"One more time, Aki! You've almost got it!"
I'm at skating club, and Coach Asahi has us working on jumps. I just can't seem to get the triple salchow. I can do literally every other jump, just not salchows. Let's try this again. First, gather speed. Good. Now draw back right arm and leg, swing into forward spin and up. I missed the landing. I don't get It. Why can't I get salchows? It's not like they're the hardest, that's flips. Which is why Viktor is so famous, his signature jump is the quad flip. Coach sighs and rubs his forehead.

"Okay, moving on. Serpentines. Aki, please come with me."
While the others are winding around the ice, I pull on my guards and follow Coach into his office. We sit down at the desk, across from each other.

"Now then, what seems to be the problem?" I sigh, hanging my head a bit. "Is it waking up early?" I shake my head. It's only been a week. "Is it a problem with one of your classmates?" I shake my head again. "Because you see, usually when someone fails a jump, they usually have something on their mind. And as your Coach, I want to help." Oh, man. How do I put this? Just take a deep breath.

"My Dad is coming home from England today. And it'll be the first time in nearly 10 years he's seen our cousins. We...were told they died in a car crash. Problem is, Dad hasn't been doing particularly well since we moved here from Hatsetsu. And I'm worried that it'll be the final blow. He tries to hide it, but I can see he's been going downhill very fast recently."

Coach rubs his chin for a moment, deep in thought.
"Is it imperative that they should meet immediately?"

I shrug.
"Well, I guess it could wait a little. But the volleyball team have a tournament in a week and a half. I don't think he'd like to make a fool of himself away from home." Coach nods.

"That sounds like a good plan. Now, let's go see if we can do anything about those salchows."

After school

I'm walking through the hallways after my final class, looking for Nisha. Then again, the hallways are slightly full and neitger of us are very tall. Then i need to grab Tadashi so we can catch the train to the airport.

"Asahi!" Found him. Yelling at Asahi about getting to club. I walk over and smack him on the head.

"Could you please tell Daichi-san that Tadashi and I are heading to the airport and won't be able to be at practice today?" Puppy eyes. He's not happy about getting hit.
"Why don't you tell him yourself?" He snaps. You wanna go there? Do you?

"Because the train is leaving soon and I want to be at the airport before dads plane lands."
He doesn't budge. Fine.
"I'll buy you popsicles tomorrow?"
"How many?"
'Three."
"Done."
You are so easy to bribe.

"Thanks, Nisha. You're the best. See you guys tomorrow!"

I take off down the hall, in search of my next target, Tadashi. I find him at the gate.

"You ready to go?" I ask when I reach him. He turns around and stands up. He's nervous.
"Are you sure your dad will like me?" He asks, terrified. Tadashi. Would i have let you stay in my house if he didn't? I bite my tongue and rethink my words.
"Yes, he will. Now let's hurry and get to the train station, the plane lands in an hour."

We ran to make it to the train station in time, and got tickets for our destination. It was crowded, so we stuck together. Half an hour later, we made it. I feel kinda sorry for Tadashi, pulling him along at a run he clearly can't keep up with.

"Aki," he pants. "Can we please slow down a little bit?"

"No we can't," I scold. "This airport is huge and it's my first time here." I pause suddenly and turn to Tadashi. "Do you know where international arrivals are?"