organizing principles in his life.
Can I shake things up a bit? Do I dare?
He glanced at Tony, once again on the rings while Andrei harangued him from the ground. For him, I can. For us, I will. For the team, I must.
Xiao had pulled out his tablet and a legal pad. He beckoned for Sol to sit by him next to the wall and then motioned for Eddie and his coach to take possession of the spring floor. “Your non-acrobatic element can be upgraded quite easily with skills you already have. However, there’s more potential in the tumbling passes.”
“I know. The element we added before the trials made a big difference. I don’t think I’d have won floor without it. Eddie was only a tenth behind me.”
Xiao replied. He definitely said something, but Sol didn’t catch it because at that moment, Andrei’s shouts—and Tony’s shouts in response—snapped his focus away from Xiao and to the drama under the still rings. Sol started to push himself to his feet, but Xiao gripped his arm.
“This is not your place, Sol.” He nodded across the gym. Barry, the national team coach, and Volya, the assistant coach, were headed toward the rings. “They will take care of it.”
Yeah, but who will take care of Tony?
Tony was rubbing his shoulder, and even from this distance, Sol could see the pinch between his brows. He’s in pain. Who wouldn’t be, after that kind of punishing workout? Volya led Tony aside, speaking to him quietly, while Barry confronted the red-faced Andrei. Barry gestured to the gym door. For a moment, Sol didn’t think Andrei would comply. But then he snatched his jacket off the mat and stalked across the gym, Barry following with a face like a thundercloud.
Sol glanced at Tony and Volya again. They’d moved over to the warm-up mats, and Volya was directing Tony in some cool-down stretches. At least Tony’s wearing his knee sleeve. Ice trickled down Sol’s spine. God, if Tony injured his shoulder as well? You could still train certain skills and apparatus with either a knee injury or a shoulder injury, but with both? You were screwed.
“Sol. Did you hear what I said?”
Sol wrenched his attention away from Tony. “Hmmm?”
“I thought you wished to discuss upgrading your routines.”
“I do.”
“Then perhaps,” Xiao said, his tone dry, “you should pay attention. You can talk to your friend later.”
Sol cast one more glance at Tony. “Xiao. Do you think Andrei is a good coach?”
“It is not my place to judge.”
“Why not? You’re on the staff here at USOPTC now. Hasn’t US gymnastics been hammered enough through the misbehavior of people whose first job ought to have been the welfare of gymnasts in their charge?”
Xiao fixed Sol with a stern look. “There is a difference between being a bad coach and being an abusive one. However, we do not take your welfare lightly—yours or any athlete who enters these doors. You must trust us to take the proper steps if necessary. But…” Xiao’s gaze slid over to where Volya was smiling down at Tony, encouraging him to flatten himself against the mat in a wide straddle stretch. “You might wish to discuss the situation with your friend. Make sure he knows he has your support, and that we are here to listen to him should he have something to say.”
“Don’t worry. I will.” And Sol finally turned his attention to the diagram on Xiao’s legal pad. “Wait. You want me to do what?”
The next morning, Tony slipped out of the dorm building into the early light. The complex wasn’t completely deserted—it was the middle of July and with the Olympics practically on top of them, a lot of athletes had early schedules. He waved at a Paralympic swimmer he’d met during his first week and she grinned at him but didn’t stop. Things to do. Places to go. Or rather one place—Tokyo, the reason they were all here.
He rolled his shoulder experimentally. The twinge from yesterday wasn’t all that noticeable and his knee was as good as it ever was. Andrei hadn’t come back to the gym after their blowup yesterday—pretty typical behavior for him—and Volya had insisted that Tony visit the team physio and try some of the recovery techniques the other guys on the team used. That ice-water bath? Damn. It had taken his balls hours to crawl out from hiding. But he had to admit, he felt better this morning than he had any right to expect.
I’m sure Andrei will take care