8. Nadia

Nadia

I couldn't believe Anna's nerve, storming over here like some kind of a jealous girlfriend and interrupting a perfectly nice conversation.

Maxine was a stunning beauty. She was a little more butch than I usually went for, but I definitely felt a little zing between us. Plus she was smart and cultured, everything my annoying roommate was not. I was definitely interested in taking advantage of the no strings fun that Maxine was clearly offering.

Until Anna interrupted us, anyway.

"We were talking about things that had nothing to do with you," I snapped.

Anna leaned back in her chair and picked up some kind of a sausage, taking a bite and chewing it before she asked, "Like what? You girls planning a hook-up or something?"

I gasped in outrage, but Maxine just chuckled like she found Anna's hostility entertaining. "And what if we were? Are you planning to arm wrestle me for her?"

Maxine's biceps were the size of Anna's thigh, so it wouldn't exactly be a fair fight. The two women engaged in a dominant stare off that was pissing me off. If I wanted macho and aggressive behavior, I'd date men.

"Don't mind me," I said, pushing to my feet. "Y'all can keep on pissing a circle around each other."

Maxine's hand shot out to grab my wrist. She was so long-limbed she didn't even need to move forward. Her fingers easily circled my tiny wrist.

"Aw, don't leave in a huff, baby girl. I'll get rid of your friend here and then we can have some fun."

Anna jumped to her feet, looking as angry as I'd ever seen her. She reminded me of one of those cartoon characters who could shoot laser beams out of their eyes.

"Take your hand off her," Anna told Maxine quietly. Firmly. "Now."

"I don't need you to fight my battles!" I said indignantly.

"Make me," Maxine said at the same time, her tone cold.

I tugged my arm away just as Anna lunged forward like she was planning to attack Maxine. It was a ridiculous idea, it'd be like a kitten attacking an elephant.

I threw my arms around Anna's waist, holding her back before she got her ass kicked and couldn't compete. Meanwhile Maxine just sat in her chair, looking amused and not at all threatened by the tiny gymnast coming for her.

"Don't do it," I hissed in Anna's ear. "Fighting is an immediate expulsion from the team."

She pulled out of my grasp and rounded on me. "Don't tell me what to do, Princess!"

"Don't call me Princess, you condescending jerk!" Now I was the one with laser beams shooting from my eyes.

"Ooh, big words from a little fraud!"

"Fuck you," I snapped.

"No, fuck you!"

She spun around to send Maxine a glare of her own.

"And keep your giant hands to yourself," she growled as she stormed away, leaving her lunch behind.

"Dammit," I said, looking around to see several cell phones pointed our way.

"Y'all are messed up," Maxine said, finally standing. "See you around, baby girl."

I sat down, surrounded by three mostly uneaten lunches. With a sigh, I went to get some to-go boxes. Anna and I still needed to eat before our next workout. After packing up our lunches – and some of Maxine's too – I grabbed a couple of bottles of sports drink and headed back to our room.

Coach Ekaterina was already there, banging on the door like she was the cops. I stopped dead, intending to turn around and come back later, but unfortunately she'd already seen me.

"Stop!"

Anna opened the door. "What the --." She grimaced when she saw the coach. "Oh."

Ekaterina pointed towards the room. "Inside. Both of you. Now!"

I slid through the door and Anna closed it behind me.

"Sit!" Ekaterina barked.

Both of our asses hit our beds before we took a breath. I set the bag of food on the floor and slid it out of the way where it couldn't get smashed if Ekaterina started swinging. I wouldn't put it past her. Rumor had it that she'd fought her way through a contingent of KGB agents when she escaped Russia to join the US team.

The coach paced the length of the room between the tiny little cardboard beds. Since the room was the size of the average walk-in closet, it didn't give her too much space to work with. She paced back and forth for several minutes, muttering in Russian. I didn't need to speak the language to know that none of it was flattering. After several minutes of this, she finally came to a stop by the door.

"You, Anna Parker!"

She pointed at Anna, then turned slightly to point at me.

"And you, Nadia Gordan! You are both a disgrace to the team. Fighting in the cafeteria like a couple of schoolboys. I should disqualify both of you and send you back to the United States right now. "

She took a deep breath, gearing up for more.

"You…," she pointed to Anna, "can go back to Texas and wash dishes in the restaurant where your mother works and you…," she pointed to me, "can clean up dog shit in your mother's kennels in Vermont. This is exactly what you both deserve for your shameful behavior. And don't think anyone will give you a chance to compete if you get kicked out of the Games."

Anna and I were smart enough to keep our mouths shut, sensing more was coming. Ekaterina started pacing again, and after a long torrent of what sounded like insults in Russian, she switched back to English.

"Tell me one reason why I should not send you home in disgrace."

"Because after Goat, we're the second and third best gymnasts on the team," Anna replied, her voice unusually subdued. "With all due respect, Coach, you need us to take gold for the team. You can't do it with the alternates."

The coach's eyes narrowed, but Anna managed to meet her gaze. I had to give her credit, she had lady balls made of steel. I would have been peeing my pants right now if Ekaterina was looking at me like that.

Her point was absolutely valid though, and Ekaterina knew it. This was her first time being tapped as the team coach for the International Games. She did not want to lose, especially when we all knew that the only team who had a chance to take us out was the Russians.

Ekaterina might have competed for the Russians in her youth, but now she hated them with the passion of a thousand fiery suns. We knew this because she'd told us so this morning during practice.

The coach closed her eyes and tilted her head up towards the ceiling for a long moment before taking a deep calming breath. Opening her eyes, she looked between us again.

"I have an idea."