When it was first built in Soviet times, it was effectively two airports side by side: Sheremetyevo-1 mostly served domestic flights, while the larger and newer Sheremetyevo-2 catered to (and monitored the foreigners travelling on) international airlines. Years of ongoing construction have mashed the two main terminals together, and passengers coming off the regional Aeroflot shuttles from places like St. Petersburg now have to fight their way through the crowds of confused, jet-lagged foreigners and returning citizens exiting the immigration and customs halls. So as Yakov Feltsman, Lilia Baranovskaya, and their skaters join the flow of traffic with their luggage, and the crowd seems to thicken and slow down as they approach the exits, nothing appears out of the ordinary -- until women's voices start to ring out in front of and around them, first in surprise and then in delight:
'Hey, look!'
'It's Yakov's team!'
'Ee, it's Yuri! Yuratchka, over here!'
At the sound of his name, Yuri's head jerks up, and he blenches at the sight of a slew of excited girls and young women, some of whom are wearing headbands with cat ears on them, waving all sorts of flags and banners with his name and picture and any number of cheerful and encouraging slogans on them. They're happy, they're cheering for him, they're clearly overjoyed to be catching a glimpse of him on his arrival in Moscow for the Rostelecom Cup. So of course the first thought in his mind is a definitely ungrateful one: Oh, fuck, why now?
Whatever. He knows Sheremetyevo, and this isn't the only exit by a long shot. So he hikes his backpack higher on his shoulders and grabs the edge of his hood with one hand, ready to make a break for it. 'Mila, watch my luggage,' he says in a low voice -- and then darts back into the main terminal without waiting for her to respond.
Confused, Mila looks around, but Yuri is nowhere to be seen. And as their entire team knows, it's not a good idea for Yuri Plisetsky to be out of anyone's sight for too long. 'Coach Yakov,' she says, a little worriedly, 'Yuri's disappeared.'
Yakov and Lilia glance back, confirming her statement, but for once Yakov doesn't seem inclined to keep his younger skater on a leash. 'Ah,' he says knowingly. 'His family in Moscow is coming to pick him up.'
Arrivals - Sheremetyevo and the Star Hotel, Moscow
When it was first built in Soviet times, it was effectively two airports side by side: Sheremetyevo-1 mostly served domestic flights, while the larger and newer Sheremetyevo-2 catered to (and monitored the foreigners travelling on) international airlines. Years of ongoing construction have mashed the two main terminals together, and passengers coming off the regional Aeroflot shuttles from places like St. Petersburg now have to fight their way through the crowds of confused, jet-lagged foreigners and returning citizens exiting the immigration and customs halls. So as Yakov Feltsman, Lilia Baranovskaya, and their skaters join the flow of traffic with their luggage, and the crowd seems to thicken and slow down as they approach the exits, nothing appears out of the ordinary -- until women's voices start to ring out in front of and around them, first in surprise and then in delight:
'Hey, look!'
At the sound of his name, Yuri's head jerks up, and he blenches at the sight of a slew of excited girls and young women, some of whom are wearing headbands with cat ears on them, waving all sorts of flags and banners with his name and picture and any number of cheerful and encouraging slogans on them. They're happy, they're cheering for him, they're clearly overjoyed to be catching a glimpse of him on his arrival in Moscow for the Rostelecom Cup. So of course the first thought in his mind is a definitely ungrateful one: Oh, fuck, why now?
Whatever. He knows Sheremetyevo, and this isn't the only exit by a long shot. So he hikes his backpack higher on his shoulders and grabs the edge of his hood with one hand, ready to make a break for it. 'Mila, watch my luggage,' he says in a low voice -- and then darts back into the main terminal without waiting for her to respond.
Confused, Mila looks around, but Yuri is nowhere to be seen. And as their entire team knows, it's not a good idea for Yuri Plisetsky to be out of anyone's sight for too long. 'Coach Yakov,' she says, a little worriedly, 'Yuri's disappeared.'
Yakov and Lilia glance back, confirming her statement, but for once Yakov doesn't seem inclined to keep his younger skater on a leash. 'Ah,' he says knowingly. 'His family in Moscow is coming to pick him up.'