School restarted a week after battle, field experience long forgotten. Dimitri and I had started sneaking into each other's dorm every night and hadn't been caught. It was three weeks after the battle when I was called into Alberta's office. Uh oh! 'Please don't be about Dimitri, please don't be about Dimitri, please don't be about Dimitri,' I silently prayed we hadn't been caught as I entered her office.
"Rose, take a seat." I did as instructed.
"Yes Alberta?"
"Rose, I'd like to give you another mentor." Uh oh.
"Why?" I cautiously asked, my mask slamming into place as I took control over my emotions, "isn't Dimitri good enough?"
"No," I wanted to yell and scream and cry. Until she continued, "he's doing an excellent job with you. But, you need an extra. One-against-one combat training after that attack simply isn't good enough. I'm going to add your mother and myself into your training team, on an alternating schedule. I'll also be changing your hours."
"I'm honoured by your sacrifice Alberta, but my mother? You know I'm still on rocky grounds with her."
"Would you prefer Alto again?" She knew how well that mentorship had worked when I was a Freshman- it hadn't.
"No."
"I thought as much. One other thing Rose."
"Yes?"
"I want you to put some time in with the Sophomore's. I'll do lunch workshops, or Saturdays."
"Fine. Dimitri supervise's and assist's though. And I'd prefer Saturdays. They won't know what hit them by the time I'm done with them." That last bit caused her to chuckle.
"I bet they won't know what hit them if you're going to hand them a session that's remotely similar to the ones Belikov hands you."
"Oh. I'm not going to hand them one that's remotely similar, or the same. I'm going to give them something that's a million times worse. They'll be aching by the end of it, and pleading for theory by five minutes in." I was already forming a torture session for the first one. "How many workshops do you want me to do with them?"
"A fair few. Same with the Juniors."
"On Sundays?"
"Yes. If you would."
"Of course. Both grades are so full of it. They still think they're ready even though the attack proved they aren't."
"It's the same case with most of the Senior's- especially those we took out to the caves."
"I think some of them have a bigger chip on their shoulder because of that. None of them went in, none of them fought in either the attack or the rescue. I'm still the only one with marks."
"And for good cause. You're good Rose, excellent, and you have Belikov to guide you through the emotional aftermath." Didn't I ever!
"Yeah. I guess I do." I sighed at the thought of my badass, Russian, battle-and-sex god, teddy bear of a boyfriend. Yes, he'd actually made it official and asked me to be his girlfriend on my birthday. God, I loved the man!
"I'll get the workshops and your new training timetable sorted Rose. Go get to training." I was dismissed and barrelled into Dimitri's waiting arms when I got to the gym.
"Hi," he chuckled, pulling me closer to him. "What's put you in such a mood?"
"Hmm my sexy boyfriend gets help whipping my ass, and gets to help me whip some Sophomore and Junior butts."
"Say what?!" he released me, only to grip my shoulders and hold me at arms length to look me in the eye.
I laughed at his expression. "We, you and I, are workshopping with the Sophomores and Juniors. I've just been in a meeting with Alberta. She's also changing my personal training program."
"But you're my responsibility, I'm in charge of our trainings," he growled in anger. I have to admit my heart skipped a beat at the 'our', he'd taken training me as his equal to the next level- doing everything with me, simultaneously.
"Dimitri, she's adding an extra into my program. She feels one-against-one combat isn't hard enough after the attack."
"She thinks I go easy on you?"
"No. She thinks you're doing an excellent job. It's just that she feels I need two mentors each session- she and my mother are on an alternating roster. She's changing my hours."
"Of all people she thinks your mom is a good addition?" He'd calmed but was still upset that our us time was about to be extinguished.
"It was her or Stan."
"Even I'd pick her over Alto. At least when it comes to pairing you up, I hate the way he degrades and belittles you- I always have."
"Aww. God, I love you."
"I love you too."
"Now. Laps?" Before we get caught.
"Business?"
"Unfortunately."
That was the last training I had with boyfriend as my boyfriend. My mother joined us the next day and my sexy boyfriend had to pretend to only be my mentor. It had been extremely tough on both of us to play the student and teacher roles again in our sanctuary- also known as the gym.
