Fragmented Snow Chapter 5

Chapter 5
Clara stirred and groaned as sunlight leaked through the curtains and struck her face. The blanket pinned her to the mattress as she struggled to even wiggle a toe. Her eyes snapped open as she heard the frying pan in the kitchen. The smell of bacon filled the apartment. Her stomach churned in protest. She managed to roll over on her side and look at her phone. The light from the screen burnt her eyes as she squinted until they adjusted. It was nearly ten in the morning.

“Shit!” Clara swore as she sat up, only to brace herself as the room started spinning. She squeezed her eyes shut until the nauseating sensation faded. She threw off the covers. She was still in her dress from the night before and her leggings were still on. That was a good sign. She got up and stumbled over to the double doors and swung them open. Her legs gave out as the room started spinning again and she fell straight into the ottoman.

“Ah, good. You’re finally awake.”

A shiver ran through her spine as the words cut into her. Nope. She was dreaming. She kept her face buried in the cushioned furniture. This couldn’t be happening. Maybe if she just stayed put she’d wake up in her bed. Or she could just die. Death was always an option, right?

“How are you feeling?” The words were softer. When death didn’t come, Clara let out a groan and lifted her head to see Yuuri in her kitchen. Making breakfast. Why was Yuuri in her kitchen making breakfast? And why was Victor sitting at the table reading a book? Yuuri chuckled and helped her up and to the table. “Have a seat.” Clara held her head in her hands as she avoided eye contact. The room was still slowly spinning. Yuuri came back with a cup filled with a strange, pink concoction and placed it in front of her. “Drink this. It’ll help.”

Clara nodded and took the glass. It smelt like grapefruit. She downed the drink, the thick, grainy texture nearly making her gag, but she managed. “Um...Can I…? What are you..?”

Victor flipped the page in his book, briefly glancing up at her. “Yurio called us over.” Clara furrowed her brow. “He had practice this morning. He didn’t want you to be left alone.”

Yuuri put a plate of eggs, bacon, and toast in front of Clara as well as a cup of coffee. “From what he told us, you called him from the club for a ride. Apparently Mila and her friends tried showing you a good time.”

That she vaguely remembered. She sipped the coffee and bit into a piece of bacon. She had only just recently became of drinking age, at least by United States standards, and she hadn’t really had much of an opportunity to drink so she didn’t know her limits yet. This was embarrassing. She wanted to crawl back into bed and disappear. She finished her breakfast and felt physically better.

“I’m sorry about this,” Clara muttered. “I won’t make this a habit.”

Yuuri waved away her comment. “Don’t worry about it. Everybody has those nights.”

Victor smirked as his eyes glanced at his husband. “Yours sounds quite tame to some I’ve witnessed.”

A deep blush covered Yuuri’s face as he playfully shoved the Russian man. “You’re one to talk.”

Victor gave a lighthearted chuckle and closed his book. “We won’t worry about practice today. The rink time is nearly up anyway.” He tapped his chin. “Perhaps the dance studio will do today.”

“Honestly, Victor, give her a chance to recover,” Yuuri huffed.

Clara shook her head. “No, it’s fine. Just let me shower and finish my coffee.”

“Are you sure?” Yuuri asked with concern.

“Yup.” She stood up.

Clara took a quick shower and got dressed in her active wear. She poured another cup of coffee in her thermos and grabbed a few protein bars. Yuuri finished the dishes and the three of them left for the dance studio.

“Your form is rather stiff,” Victor noted. “Have you taken dance classes?”

“Took two semesters of it in high school. It was more of a sampling of different styles,” Clara said.

Victor tapped his chin. “Hm. We’ll need to work on that. Perhaps Lilia would be willing to work with you. She’s been training Yurio for a couple of years now.”

“As a favor to Yakov,” Yuuri said pointedly. He smiled at her. “I’ll work with you. We can come here when we’re not scheduled for the ice.”

Clara nodded. “Sounds like a plan.”

By the time Yuuri’s dance session was over Clara’s body throbbed and the joints in her feet creaked and burned. She rubbed her feet after changing her socks.

“Well, you picked up on the basics pretty quick,” Yuuri commented. “You’re still a bit stiff, but that should go away with practice.” Clara nodded and started putting on her shoes. “What are your plans for the rest of the day?”

“Well, I still have to figure out the music for my Free Program. I can do that while jogging.” She held back a yawn. Her hangover was gone now, but she her eyes still felt like they were going to drop out her skull at any moment. A jog could help then she’d look into getting on the ice at some point. Her drunken episode wasn’t going to set her back, she was already behind as it was. Barely a week in Saint Petersburg and just a few days with Victor as her coach and she was already slipping up. She had to show them she was worth his time. This move was worth it. Clara stood up. “I’ll see you at the rink in the morning.”

“Ok,” Victor said. “Don’t be late.”

Clara waved and left the studio. She put in her earbuds and started the music on her phone before starting the jog back to her apartment. Upon entering her home she checked her phone, having felt it vibrate during the run. Clara sharply inhaled as she saw a text from Yuri.

-I have private ice time tonight. If you need want to practice, let me know.-

Clara bit her lip, her heart pounding. She needed to practice. -Thanks for picking me up last night. You didn’t have to stay overnight.-

-It wasn’t a problem.-

Her face went red. -Sorry if I was any trouble.-

-You weren’t. Did you want to get ice time?-

-No it’s fine. Still recovering. Thanks for the offer.-

Clara put her phone on the charger and sat down on the chair in the living space. She removed her ponytail holder so her hair could have a chance to actually dry out. Only her second day in training and she missed practice because she was hungover. Not the best start, but as long as she kept her nose to the grindstone she could make up for lost time. She sighed. Story of her life.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The rink was void of the others as the early morning sun softly shone through the windows. One of the janitors had let her in since the rink wasn’t technically open yet. She did her stretches then put on her blades. She took off her jacket and left it with her guards and water bottle. She put on her headphones and started the music before gliding out onto the ice. She started with a few step sequences; serpentine, straight, circular. She practiced her jumps, trying to push her axel from a triple to a quad. She could land it, but was just short in finishing the final rotation. She took a break from jumps and worked on her spins. The chill of the rink barely touched her as she skated, her mind clearing as muscle memory took over.

Hard work is what got her this far and she took pride in that. Hard work was what was going to keep her going. Sure she slipped up the other night, but she wouldn’t let that happen again. She had to stay focused. Today she and Victor were going to start work on her Short Program. Today she was going to find out what the music was going to be for her Free Program. Whether it was what she had picked or what Victor had in mind.

“You’re here early.”

She put her headphones around her neck. “Good morning, Yakov.”

The old Russian man grunted and nodded in response. “You better not make it a habit of getting my skaters drunk. Yuri hasn’t been late for practice in years.”

“It won’t happen again.”

“Good, I don’t need any distractions. Vitya and Yuuri are bad enough as it is.”

“Yes, Sir,” Clara said. She started skating her figures again as the other skaters arrived. She skated over to the wall and took a sip of her water as Victor and Yuuri came in.

“Feeling better today?” Yuuri asked.

Clara nodded. “Much better.”

Yuuri smiled. “Glad to hear it.” He looked at her with concern. “How long have you been here?”

“Not long.”

“Huh. Ok then.”

Clara pulled up her song on her phone as Victor came over, casually giving his husband’s butt a squeeze. Yuuri playfully swatted his hand away. “I’m ready to hear what song you picked for me, Victor.”

The Russian man’s face went blank. “Ah. Well...How about we listen to your choice first?”

Clara pinched the bridge of her nose. “You forgot, didn’t you?”

Victor chuckled sheepishly. “I suppose I did. I’m sure whatever you’ve come up with will be great. Why don’t we give it a listen?” Clara took her headphones off of her neck and handed them over to Victor. He held one to his ear as she hit play. His eyes widened and a large smile spread across his face. That was a good sign, much better reaction from when she presented the music for her Short Program. “‘I Lived’. This is quite different from your other song in tone. What do you have in mind for the theme?”

“Life,” Clara stated.

Victor tapped his chin, thinking for a moment before giving a nod of approval. “We can work with that. We’ll start with working on the Short Program.” He took a notepad and a pencil from his bag. He started writing and after a few minutes he showed her the pad.

3A
SpSq
FLSp
CSSp
3S + 1Lo + 2S
SeSt
3Lz + 2Lz
2S+1F
CCoSp

Clara studied the outline. Plenty of spins and jumps. Those were her strengths, after all. Quite a few jumps in the second half, though, Heather never put that many in their programs. With enough practice she was sure she would be fine. “Looks good to me.”

“I noticed that you have a similar stamina to Yuuri, so the jump combinations in the later half shouldn’t be a problem for you. We can always adjust if needed.”

Clara nodded. “Of course.”

“Let’s get started then.”