The answer is x≠d1+d2

"Evren, you are telegraphing again."

"Ugh, seriously?!" I'm just about ready to throw in the towel at this point.

"Don't be frustrated," Santeri says. Easier said than done, uncle. "And don't huff." I huff anyway. He's rolling his eyes. "Come, let's try again. Try to relax." He assumes a ready position again.

We have at it.

And just like before, he backs me into a corner, both him and the out-of-bounds line too close for me to get away from by way of counterattack. So, I step out before I can get a strike in.

"Why can't I do this?! I've beaten you before!"

"Evren, I am hurt that you would think I would fall for the same tactics every time." Great, he's being sarcastic when I'm inches away from melting onto the floor in a rageful defeat. I feel heat rising in my throat. "I am making training difficult on purpose," he says. "You cannot always counter by moving closer."

"It's not that detrimental," I argue. Come on, I can easily compensate for it.

Santeri just points to me sitting on the floor.

'K, fine. Fine.

I get up.

"I'll work on it," I grumble. Santeri smiles. That seems to have placated him for now.

"Good. Now let's finish with a dummy," he says. That I can do.

We step out of our room and I can see that the gym is starting to get packed now. I don't see Aika anywhere. Maybe she's with Lev. Or at home. Or with her brother? She did say his birthday was coming up. Wait, hold up, does that mean her birthday is coming up, too? They're a year apart, right? Should I... do something?

Of course I should. She's my friend and I'm allowed to do things for friends.

Wait, I should actually check her Visalogue profile before I get ahead of myself.

...She hasn't listed her birthday. God damn it, Aika, your mysteriousness is captivating, but it's also damn annoying.

...Captivating? Evren, you're crushing. We said we wouldn't crush.

"Evren." Oh no, I've been ignoring Santeri. "Are you ok?"

I don't know.

"You have been distracted lately, is everything ok?"

I'm sighing before I can stop myself. "It's Aika," I say.

"Ah, you are nervous." Yes, but not in the way you think I am. "Evren, challenge is good for growth. It is normal to feel nervous, but know that I will train you for your opponents." He puts a hand on my shoulder. "You will be ready for her," he says.

Will I? I can take this wooden dummy down in my sleep, but Aika isn't a carefully cut, stereotypical opponent. She's a wild card no one can predict. She's also... softer. Nope. No, we are not going there. I've fought countless opponents, but never have I been so distracted. She's dicey. And she's competitive. A knock-out combo and I know it. How am I supposed to go up against that?

"Stop." Santeri's voice is suddenly ringing in my ears. I freeze and look up at him, blinking my thoughts away. "Evren, you have fought new opponents before." Great, he's giving me a Speech. "This is important," he says. He must have noticed my lack of amusement. "You have fought new opponents before. You have won. Remember Wing Chun's philosophy. Adapt. Be centered and calm. Your adaptability has always been superb, Evren, and your friends and family have confidence in you. Breathe out."

I breathe out. It comes out as a sigh. I can feel my forearms throbbing from striking the dummy. "I'm tired," I hear myself say. Santeri just nods and calls it a day. I know he's right. I need to relax. It really hasn't been that long since I've encountered a surprise, uncertainty. I encounter that kind of thing every day. Every fight. Aika really isn't any different.

Except for the crush part.

We're in the car now and some rock and roll I've never heard before is playing on the radio. It reminds me of Angel's Diner. "Have confidence in yourself. Your friends and family do." I know they do, but... I find myself doubtful.

I have the NCC group chat open. Johnathan's posting some ridiculous memes, as usual. Oh, it looks like someone else texted earlier. Aika?

Huh, a typewritten note. It must be the first piece of fan mail for Aika.

Second? I didn't hear about the first!

Looking forward to seeing where you stop next. This really is a good line: we're all watching. We've been watching, or at least I have ever since catching sight of Aika's ponytail in the opening ceremony. Aika keeps typing. Should I say it? Or is that a bit too much? Or should I wait for her to respond?

stop sending memes, you're distracting me, Kevin says. Ah, group chat again.

your fault for checking them, Johnathan responds cheekily.

Distractions are sometimes hard to get rid of, that's kinda in their definition... Enter. There's my contribution. The chat quiets for a second before Johnathan starts typing.

even the commander of space is getting distracted? my meme game must be strong ;)

What's distracting you? Aika, as if she isn't in the middle of texting me in our private chat.

Probably the fan club lol. Great, now Vid's here. Vid and Johnathan are chaos. Why did I open this chat?

if even Evren's getting distracted by your shitty memes, they must be real shitty. Wow, low blow Kevin.

They're not THAT bad, I say.

So it's not the memes? Haha. Aika again. What am I supposed to say here? 'Oh, hey Aika, yeah, it's actually you who's distracting me LOL, I keep dreaming about sharing a milkshake at Angel's, since, you know, we missed that opportunity, and now I'm questioning all my previous choices that you don't know about.' No.

if the fan club's too much for Your Highness, maybe train somewhere else? I can see Vid's shit-eating grin through the internet, but they actually have a point. Maybe I just need... some sort of break. A change of scenery.

I miss Cardend.

Actually, that gives me an idea. "Hey, Santeri, mind if we train outside next time?" I ask. I just need open air. "It hasn't hit winter proper yet so we should probably take advantage of it."

"Hm, excellent idea," he responds. Something in his voice is telling me he's scheming about what kind of training insanity he'll put me through. Honestly, though, I need that. I need the hell training and I need the outdoors. People are confusing and overwhelming me. The trees and the sunshine won't do that.

You'll be fine, Evren!! Whatever's distracting you doesn't have shit on you; you've got this! :) And I need to send Emily another gift basket of soaps or something, she's always like this.

Ditto, Aika adds.

I can't help but smile. It's not as cloudy in my brain.

i'll make some more memes to distract you from your distraction ;) Johnathan says.

I laugh a bit. They're all right. Santeri's right. I've got this. Everything will turn out fine.

Lol thanks. All right, let's close this up before Vid and Johnathan get up to their shenanigans.

"Feeling better?" Santeri asks. We're pulling in to my complex. I nod.

"Yeah. I think I just needed to stop and calm down. Do something else, not think about some things."

"Yes. Remember that next time, too." He smiles at me as he shifts into park. "See you Thursday."

"Yeah, thanks. See you." I shut the door and dig my key card out of my jacket. It's quiet in the lobby. I wait for the elevator and take a few deep breaths. Maybe sometimes the better distance is farther.