Chapter 3: Starting Over “So, let me see if I’m hearing you right. You want me to teach you pairs skating?” It was the first practice since Sora’s phone call. Yume still hadn’t made a decision on whether or not she would accept the offer to audition to be Mikhail Vladimirov’s new pairs partner, but she thought it would be beneficial to at least try a few pairs moves first to see how she liked them. “Only a few basic movies,” Yume reiterated to Coach Hasegawa. “You know, a couple of simple lifts and throw jumps. Nothing too difficult. You did skate pairs for a while when you were younger, right?” “That was a long time ago, Naegino,” Coach Hasegawa sighed, “and I was never that successful as a pairs skater. I don’t know how much help I can be to you.” “It’s fine, Hasegawa-sensei. Like I said, I only want to learn the basics for now. It’s not like I’m planning to compete.” “Then why are you asking me to teach you pairs? Just for fun?” “Something like that.” Yume was positively dying to tell her long-time coach about the possibility of becoming the Olympic champion’s new partner, but Vladimirov and Pekrovskaya hadn’t made their announcement yet -- the closing ceremony was still almost two weeks away -- and Yume promised Sora she wouldn’t say anything until they did. “It’s just that when I was watching the pairs competition at the Olympics, I saw how beautiful it was and wanted to see if I could do something like that,” Yume explained. It wasn’t a complete lie, but it wasn’t the complete truth either. “Okay, if you really want to do this, I suppose I can teach you a few pairs moves,” Coach Hasegawa finally agreed. “First off, though, we need to find you a practice partner.” She frowned, rubbing at her chin. “There aren’t many pairs skaters that train here, and they’re all busy training with their own partners. I suppose we could ask one of the men, but I’d prefer somebody with at least some experience with pairs skating.” She began stroking around the ice, seemingly lost in thought. “Maybe that guy… They’re taking a break because of entrance exams, but I‘ve seen him skating here at the rink on the weekends…” “Hasegawa-sensei?” “Naegino, you start warming up your jumps,” she ordered, stepping off the ice and slipping skate guards over the blades. “I’m going to talk to Takahashi-sensei.” ***** Yume wondered if Coach Hasegawa had managed to find her a partner. When she had returned yesterday to practice, all the coach would commit to was that she had “somebody in mind.” However, she had called Yume later that night and asked her to come to the rink after school for practice, despite it being an “off” day, indicating the search had been successful. When she arrived, Yume found a note on her locker from Coach Hasegawa, telling her to meet at one of the skating center’s practice rooms instead of the rink as usual. Curious, Yume quickly changed into her usual practice clothes and headed to the room the coach had indicated. “Hello?” Pushing open the door, Yume was surprised to find the room empty. She checked the note to make sure she had read the right number, but there was no mistake. With a shrug of her shoulders, she dumped her duffel bag beside the door, then began doing some light stretches to warm up. “Boy, this place brings back memories,” she thought, looking up at the harness hanging above her. The harness was used to teach beginning skaters how to turn during their jumps. Yume had long outgrown the need for one, but she smiled, recalling how much fun it had been when she first began learning to jump. To a little girl, being in the harness had felt almost like flying, and Yume remembered how she used to pretend to be a ice fairy while practicing. She giggled at the memory. “Naegino, come over here and meet your new practice partner,” Coach Hasegawa called out, breaking Yume from her reminiscing. Yume turned to see the coach standing at the door, along with a teenage boy who looked about the same age as her. The boy was nice-looking -- cute in an understated way -- and wore the uniform of an exclusive boys’ school. He looked vaguely familiar from around the rink, but Yume had never formally met him. “This is Hiromasa Mihara-kun,” the coach said, introducing him after Yume jogged over. “He’s one of Takahashi-sensei’s pupils, but he’s been taking a break from skating for the past year or so to concentrate on the college entrance exams. And Mihara, this is Yume Naegino, the skater I was telling you about.” “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Naegino-san,” Hiromasa said, bowing politely. There was a faint blush across the bridge of his nose. “I’ve been a fan of your skating for years. That backflip you did at All-Japan was amazing.” Yume thought she heard Coach Hasegawa faintly mutter, “Yeah, amazingly illegal,” under her breath, but she ignored it, smiling at her new partner. “Thank you for being a fan, Mihara-kun, and I really appreciate you volunteering to be my practice partner. I know it must be an odd request.” “It’s not a problem, as long as it doesn’t take too much time away from my studies. Hasegawa-sensei says you’re just interested in learning a few pairs moves?” “Yeah. Nothing to difficult.” “Well, I’m a bit out of practice, I’m afraid, but I‘ll try my best,” he said. “I hope I can be of some help.” “In that case, Mihara, go change out of that uniform and meet us back here in ten,” Coach Hasegawa said. “Naegino, while he’s doing that, let’s get you into the harness.” Yume waited until Hiromasa had left for the locker room before she expressed her surprise. “The harness? We’re not going to practice on the ice?” “Of course not! Naegino, you may be one of the best female skaters in Japan, but pairs is a totally different ball game. You can’t expect to go straight onto the ice and start doing throw jumps and lifts without first getting a handle on the moves off-ice. That would be suicidal! Now, get over here so I can buckle you in before Mihara gets back.” Yume sighed, but allowed Coach Hasegawa to buckle her into the harness without further complaint. She had to remind herself she was a beginner when it came to pairs skating. It wasn’t simply a matter of doing the same elements she had mastered as a singles skater, except with a partner; she had to learn how to react to being thrown in the air and being lifted several meters above the ice. Once Hiromasa returned, they got straight to work, practicing well into the afternoon, until Hiromasa said he needed to leave to go to cram school. By the time their first practice was over, Yume ached all over, feeling pains in places she never knew existed before. Who knew pairs skating was so strenuous? Her arms hurt from holding herself up during lifts, and, despite the mat on the floor, her hips were bruised from falling on the few clumsy attempts they made at a throw jump. Despite all that, however, Yume had discovered one thing. She was in love with pairs skating. ***** The day of the announcement had finally come. The night before, of course, had been the closing ceremonies at the Olympics. Vladimirov and Pekrovskaya, being gold medalists from the host country, naturally received a lot of press coverage during the show, but while they smiled and acted happy in front of the cameras, Yume knew it was all an act. By that time the next day, the Ice Prince and Princess of pairs figure skating would be no more. Indeed, by the time Yume arrived at the rink for practice that day, it wasn’t the spectacular closing ceremonies or Japan’s sweep of the podium in the ladies’ event that had tongues wagging, but that morning’s press conference in St. Petersburg announcing that the new Olympic pairs champions were dissolving their five year partnership. Hiromasa, who had been a huge fan of the couple, was in disbelief about the whole thing. “I can’t believe Vladimirov-san and Pekrovskaya-san are no longer skating together,” he sighed, joining Yume on the bench to lace up his skates. After two weeks of practicing primarily with the harness, with the occasional lesson at the rink to work on pairs spirals and spins, Coach Hasegawa was finally allowing them to start doing more complicated moves on the ice. “They were the perfect couple, you know?” “Nobody’s perfect, Mihara-kun,” Yume reminded him, “not even the so-called Prince and Princess of the ice.” “Well, they were certainly close to perfection. I can’t imagine what possessed Pekrovskaya-san to decide she wanted to skate with that other guy instead of sticking with Vladimirov-san. I thought the two of them were supposed to be dating.” Evidently, the couple had decided to remain vague about the circumstances leading up to their decision to call it quits. Out of respect for her possible future partner, Yume didn’t say anything about Tatiana Pekrovskaya’s alleged indiscretion with her new partner. “I guess people just change over time,” she said instead with a shrug, standing up and taking off her skate guards before stepping onto the freshly smoothed ice. “Come on, let’s hit the ice.” “You know, Naegino-san, you don’t seem too shocked about the break-up,” Hiromasa commented as they joined Coach Hasegawa on the ice for their lesson. “It’s almost like you expected it.” “Y-You think so?” “Yes, I do. Since they were the couple who inspired you try pairs skating, I thought you would be more upset about the news of their break-up.” “Well, to be honest, I --” Before Yume could tell him about her sister’s tip-off about the break-up, though, Coach Hasegawa loudly clapped her hands together to get their attention, the sound echoing throughout the rink. “Okay, you two, enough gossiping,” she said. “I know the Vladimirov/Pekrovskaya break-up is the most shocking thing to happen in pairs figure skating since the judging scandal at the Salt Lake City games, but we only have the ice until five, so let’s get to work. Have you two stretched yet?” Both Yume and Hiromasa nodded and took their spot in the center of the ice, waiting for their instructions. “Okay, so it looks like you guys seem to have the spinning and spirals down,” the coach said. “They’re still a little awkward at times, but I think Naegino at least has the basic idea.” “Can we work on the throw toe loop again?” Yume suggested, anxious to get to work on the more difficult pairs moves now that her trying out to be Mikhail Vladimirov’s new partner seemed to becoming more and more a reality. “Look, I know you’re itching to try the throws, but I want Mihara to build up his upper body a little more before we seriously work on throws and the more difficult lifts, Naegino,” Coach Hasegawa lectured. “He’s out of shape from being off the ice so long.” “I’m sorry,” Hiromasa apologized, looking down at his skates and blushing. Coach Hasegawa, in a rare moment of sympathy, patted his shoulder. “It’s not your fault, kiddo. Not even the best pairs skaters in the world would be able to get back into competitive condition after only a couple of weeks back on the ice. Besides, there’s no need to rush things. You two aren’t planning to skate competitively, after all.” “But, Hasegawa-sensei, I need to know at least one throw jump by the end of two weeks,” Yume blurted out, not realizing what she had said until she saw the looks of shock on her coach’s and her partner’s faces. “You want to learn a throw jump in two weeks? That’s ridiculous, Naegino. It takes months, sometimes even years before a skater gets a new jump, and you‘re not as young as you used to be. You‘re at a disadvantage starting pairs skating so late in your career.” “I know, but I can do it, I know I can! Just let us try.” “Why is it so important to you to learn a throw jump so soon, Naegino-san?” Hiromasa asked, looking over at Yume. Rather than the stern, disbelieving tone in Coach Hasegawa’s voice, his was softer and more understanding. “I can tell you from experience that Hasegawa-sensei is right. When my first partner and I started skating together, it took us at least two months before we were able to land any kind of throw jump of value.” “I’m not saying it wouldn’t be difficult, Mihara-kun,” Yume said, giving him an appreciative smile for at least being willing to hear her out. “In fact, you two are probably right about it being an unrealistic goal, but I have to at least try.” “But why? We aren’t going to be competing or performing in any shows. Like Hasegawa-sensei said, we don‘t have to rush anything.” “Because…” Yume stopped short and bit down on her lip. She hadn’t planned to tell anyone about her audition with Vladimirov until she had absolutely decided for sure that she going to go through with it, but wasn’t her desire to learn a throw jump so quickly proof that she had already made her decision? “Well, Naegino?” her coach prodded. “We don’t have this ice all day. Answer Mihara’s question.” Decided, Yume nodded and took a deep breath before continuing. “The truth is, I have an audition for the chance to be Mikhail Vladimirov-san’s new professional partner,” she announced. While Yume expected her news to be met with some disbelief, she had not expected Coach Hasegawa and even sweet-natured Hiromasa to burst out laughing. “I’m serious!” she insisted, which only made them laugh harder. “You can call Kalos Eido-san at Kaleido Stage if you don’t believe me.” “Naegino, you have only been skating pairs for a little over a week now,” her coach reminded her once their laughter died down. “Do you really expect us to believe that Mikhail Vladimirov-san, the new Olympic gold medalist, wants you, of all people, to try out to be his new partner? You‘re a great singles skater, don‘t get me wrong, and you even seem to have some natural aptitude for pairs, but there‘s no way a champion like him would be interested in such an inexperienced partner.” “You do have to admit the story is a bit unbelievable,” Hiromasa agreed. “I know it sounds crazy, but it is the truth,” Yume said, wishing she had a letter or something on hand to prove it to them. “Mihara-kun, remember earlier how you said it seemed like I wasn’t surprised by Vladimirov-san’s and Pekrovskaya-san’s announcement?” He nodded. “It seemed like you somehow knew they were breaking up beforehand.” “That’s because I did. I knew they were dissolving their partnership from the day after the short program in Moscow. My sister Sora, who is a performer at Kaleido Stage, told me, although she swore me to secrecy until they made the formal announcement.” “How did she find out, though?” “Because Vladimirov-san signed a contract weeks ago to join Kaleido Stage after the Olympics, alone.” “I think I did read something about him joining Kaleido Stage in the article I read online about the press conference,” Coach Hasegawa admitted. “It was his coach’s idea, I think, since she used to perform there.” “Yes, May Wong-san,” Yume said, nodding. “She used to be a wonderful trapeze artist until she injured her arm one too many times and decided to return back to skating and coach.” “What does all this have to do with your audition, though?” “To be honest, I didn’t quite believe it myself when onee- chan offered me the chance to try out,” Yume confessed. “I’d never skated pairs before and only had modest success at major competitions, but evidently Eido-san -- he’s the owner of Kaleido Stage -- liked what he saw on the tape onee-chan gave him to watch, because he told onee-chan to ask me to come to California next month to audition. That‘s why I need to learn a throw jump so quickly. If I can‘t even do that, there‘s no way I‘ll pass the audition.” Coach Hasegawa frowned. “Naegino, even if your story is true, it is very doubtful that you’ll be able to land any kind of throw jump by your audition date, especially not a double or a triple. If that’s what these lessons have been about, then I’m afraid I have to suggest we stop right now. You’ve been wasting my time and Mihara’s time.” “No, please!” Yume begged, surprised when she actually felt tears in her eyes. “Onee-chan once learned a difficult maneuver called the Golden Phoenix in only a week, despite having absolutely no experience on the trapeze. If you and Mihara-kun give me the chance, I know I can do the same with the throw jump. I promise I’ll work just as hard as she did. No, even harder! I know I’m being selfish, especially since Mihara-kun has his entrance exams coming up soon, but I have to at least try. If I don’t audition, I know I will regret it for the rest of my life, so please, please, if you could find it in your hearts to stick with me a little while long--” “I’ll do it,” Hiromasa said, interrupting Yume before she could finish and shocking their coach. “But what about your studies, Mihara?” Coach Hasegawa asked. “I thought you took a break from skating to focus on your entrance exams. How can you be so willing to help Naegino with her impossible goal so close to the test date? If -- and that‘s a very big ‘if‘ -- we decide to go through with this, both of you will need to up your training back to competition level. That means practice every single day, before and after school, and overtime on Sundays.” “That is fine with me, Hasegawa-sensei. My studies are important to me, yes, but skating with Naegino-san these last couple of weeks has reminded me of how much I have missed skating.” Looking over at Yume, he smiled. “If I can help her learn the throw jump before her audition, I would very much like to repay her for bringing a little joy back into my life. “Mihara-kun…” Yume whispered, touched by his kind offer. “Well, if that’s the way you feel, I guess it’s decided then,” the coach said, though sounding none-too-confident of their chances to reach Yume‘s goal. “Okay, come on, stop dawdling, kids. We’ve got a heck of a lot of work to do.” ***** “Ow, ow, ow, ow, ow.” Yume grimaced with each step she took as she made her way downstairs the next morning, her right hip thoroughly bruised from all the falls she had taken during practice the previous day. In her mind, however, the pain was a minor price to pay for their success. It took her and Hiromasa nearly fifty tries, but, by the end of practice, she had finally managed to land a throw single toe loop without falling or two-footing the landing. “Yume, are you okay?” her mother asked, frowning when Yume entered the kitchen, practically limping. Yume nodded, despite her pain. “I’m fine, okaa-san,” she insisted, taking a seat at the kitchen table and pouring herself a bowl of cereal. “It’s just some bruising. I‘ll survive.” “Are you sure it is okay to be pushing yourself so hard, so quickly? I know this audition is a great opportunity for you, but you aren’t a pairs skater, honey.” Her mother had asked the same thing the night before when she finally told them about Sora’s offer. “Onee-chan wasn’t a trapeze artist when she accepted Layla- san’s challenge to perform the Golden Phoenix after only a week of practice, yet look where she is now.” Her mother sighed, bringing a plate of eggs to the table for her father, who would be down shortly. “Yume, I think you’re forgetting a vital part of that story,” she reminded her. “Sora didn’t actually perform the Golden Phoenix perfectly at the challenge. She wasn’t able to grab the second bar to complete the move.” Yume shrugged, considering that part an insignificant detail. “It was still good enough for Layla-san to admit she had done the maneuver, though. Besides, I have a couple of weeks before the audition, not just one. If onee-chan can almost master an advanced maneuver like the Golden Phoenix despite only practicing for a week, I‘m sure I can land the easiest throw triple jump by my audition. Speaking of which…” Glancing over at the digital clock on the stove, Yume took one final bite of her breakfast and stood up. “I need to head to the rink. I told Mihara-kun I would meet him for practice before school started.” “You’re back on morning practices?” “Okaa-san, we have to practice every chance we can if we want to land the jump in time,” Yume said, grabbing her book bag, boxed lunch, and duffel bag containing her gym and practice clothes. “That reminds me, I’ll probably be in later than usual tonight, so don’t worry about me.” “Just promise me you won’t work yourself *too* hard. I don’t want to receive a call from the hospital, saying that you had your head cut open with a blade like that one poor little Russian skater back in the nineties.” “Don’t worry, okaa-san. I won’t end up like Elena Berezhnaya-san,” she promised. “Bye!” “Bye! Be careful!” After changing into her shoes, Yume left, walking down to the bus stop at the end of her street to catch the five-forty-five bus to the rink. It had been quite a few weeks since she had last taken that particular bus, and the driver greeted her warmly as she boarded. “Good to see you back, Naegino-san,” he said as she took her usual seat right behind him. “Some of us were beginning to worry you gave up your skating after what happened back at All-Japan.” Yume smiled. “Oh, no, I could never give up my skating. It was just time for a little change.” “Ah, I see.” The rest of the short ride to the rink, Yume studied a video Coach Hasegawa had made of yesterday’s practice on her cell phone. She couldn’t help but grimace every time she saw herself fall to the ice, her sore hip aching in memory, but she was beginning to see what she was doing wrong. Whenever Hiromasa moved to throw her across the ice, she briefly hesitated, her body tensing up instead of relaxing as it should. Granted, Hiromasa rarely threw her high enough in the air, due to his lack of intense weight training during his year off from skating, but Yume had to admit her hesitation was the main reason why they had only been able to land one clean jump so far. Excited to get back to work now that she knew what she needed to work on, Yume got off the bus at the ice rink and headed to the girls’ locker room, where she quickly changed out of her high school uniform and into her normal practice attire of black leggings and a Kaleido Stage sweatshirt Sora had sent her one year for her birthday. She pulled her shoulder-length brown hair back into a simple ponytail, then laced up her skates. When she stepped onto the ice, Yume noticed she was the first one to arrive. She decided to take advantage of the opportunity by practicing some of her singles jumps, which she had been ignoring in favor of learning the pairs elements. She focused particularly on the triple toe loop, mentally comparing the differences between performing the jump by herself and with a partner and trying to figure out how to modify her technique on the individual jump to the throw. So intent was she on her jumps, she didn’t even realize when her coach and partner finally arrived until she heard Hiromasa clapping for her as she performed her all-time favorite, but illegal, move, the one-foot backflip. Yume blushed and skated over the boards, where Coach Hasegawa and Hiromasa were waiting. “That was amazing, Naegino-san,” Hiromasa gushed. “Even more spectacular than the one you did at All-Japan. Where did you learn to do that?” “I used to be a gymnast,” Yume explained, taking the bottled water he handed her. She took a sip, then placed the bottle on the boards for easy access later. “I actually started gymnastics before skating, hoping to follow in onee-chan’s footsteps, but when I was twelve, my parents thought it was too much for me to compete in both, so I decided to stick with figure skating.” “Do you miss it? Gymnastics?” Yume shrugged. “Sometimes, but that’s the great thing about joining Kaleido Stage if I pass the audition. I’ll be able to combine my love of skating and gymnastics.” “Well, there’s no way you’re going to pass that audition if we don’t get to work,” Coach Hasegawa reminded her. “I want the two of you to warm up with a couple of pairs spins, then we’ll get back to work on the throw.” “Hai.” Following the coach’s orders, Yume and Hiromasa skated to the center of the ice and practiced their spinning until Hiromasa, who had not had the chance to warm up, felt ready to move onto the jumping portion of their practice. They then skated back over to Coach Hasegawa for their next set of instructions. “Okay, you two managed to land one jump yesterday, right at the end of practice. More than likely, that was a fluke, so before we start adding in an extra revolution, I want you to land ten clean jumps in a row, Naegino. There will be no exceptions,” she said when Yume opened her mouth to protest. “I know you’re in a hurry to learn the triple, but you are not going to get anywhere until you have a firm foundation in the basics. Understand?” Yume sighed, but nodded. Although she was anxious to up the difficulty on the jump, she knew Coach Hasegawa was right. There was no way she would be able to land a double, much less a triple, until she had a consistent single to build on. It was the same as when she first started skating, and she had to remind herself yet again that, in a way, she was starting over again, a complete novice when it came to skating with a partner. “Let’s see what you can do, then!” the coach said, clapping her hands together in her usual manner. Hiromasa held out his hand, which Yume took, and the two of them began skating around the rink, building up speed for their first attempt at the jump. When both were ready, they nodded to each other and broke apart, Hiromasa positioning himself behind Yume and placing his hands on her waist. Yume mentally told herself not to tense up as she tapped into the ice with her toe pick and Hiromasa threw her up, but her body decided to do the exact opposite and she crashed on the ice, more than likely adding yet another bruise to her already extensive collection. “Sorry, Naegino-san,” Hiromasa apologized as he helped Yume stand back up. “I didn’t throw you high enough.” Yume shook her head. “It was my fault. I tensed up instead of going into the jump confidently.” “Try again?” She nodded, and they started on their second attempt, which was not much more successful than the first. That time, however, it was solely Yume’s fault. Hiromasa had given her plenty of height on the lift-off, yet Yume’s body still tensed up. The same thing happened on the next three jumps. Yume didn’t understand. She knew what she had to do to fix the jump, but her body didn’t seem to want to cooperate for some reason. “Why can’t I relax on the lift-off?” she asked herself on the ice after the fifth failed jump. “Why do I always tense up?” Hiromasa, who once again skated over to help her off the ice, overheard her and sighed. “It’s me, Naegino-san,” he said, taking Yume’s hand and pulling her up. “I’m not strong enough yet, therefore, you don’t feel safe when I throw you. I‘m the problem, not you.” “Mihara-kun, don’t say that! You’ve been a great partner.” “But I’m so out of practice. If you were skating with someone like Vladimirov-san, I’m sure you could land ten jumps easily.” “I don’t know about that,” Yume muttered. As nice as it was for Hiromasa to want to shoulder some of the blame, she knew she was the reason why they were not landing successful jumps. “Come on, let’s try it again.” After three more tries, however, Yume still hadn’t landed a jump, although she did get close on one. Unfortunately, she two- footed it, and in accordance to Coach Hasegawa’s “no exceptions” rule, the jump was no better than a fall in her eyes. The coach called them back over after the third jump, her lips pressed together in a straight line across her face. “Naegino, you have got to loosen up out there,” the coach lectured as the two of them drank some water from the bottles they had left on the boards. “You’re tenser than a ninth grader taking her high school entrance exams.” “I’m trying, Hasegawa-sensei, but my body doesn’t want to listen to me.” “Well, maybe you should stop thinking too much and let your body do what it is supposed to do.” “What do you mean?” Yume asked, twisting the cap back on her bottle. “I mean, you are thinking too much when you’re going into the jump. You had the same problem with the triple axel. You concentrate so hard on landing the jump that your body tenses up, you second-guess yourself, and you fall. Instead, you should just let it come naturally to you. “To put it another way, think of yourself as a boy who has a huge crush on the prettiest girl in school. Now, he --” “Why do I have to be a boy? Can’t I be a girl with a crush on the cutest guy in school?” “Sure, fine, I forgot you young girls today are a lot bolder than we used to be,” the coach said with a roll of her eyes. “Anyway, back to my analogy. Say that this guy has no idea you’re alive, so you have to introduce yourself to get his attention. Chances are, you’re gonna rehearse the scene over and over in your head before you go over to talk to him, right?” “Sure, I guess.” Yume had never had much interest in boys before, her life dedicated primarily to her skating, but plenty of her classmates did, and it seemed like something they would do. “The problem with that is, whenever you do find the courage to finally talk to him, you end up sounding really awkward and fake, like a bad actor in a play. That’s what your jumping is like right now, when it should be easy and natural, like a simple ‘Hello, my name is Yume,” would have done just fine in my example. Do you get what I’m saying, Naegino?” “I think so.” “Good, now let’s try again. Mihara, remember to give her enough height, okay?” Hiromasa nodded. “Hai!” Taking the coach’s advice, Yume tried not to think at all during their next attempt. In a way, it worked, since she didn’t tense up when Hiromasa lifted her off the ice, but she was also so relaxed that she had no control over the landing and fell again. It took another three tries before Yume found the balance between the two extremes, but when she finally did, it amazed her how easy it was to complete the required ten jumps in a row. Even Coach Hasegawa seemed surprised when they did it, probably expecting it would take a couple of more practices before they could pull it off with any kind of consistency. “Good work, good work,” the coach said, clapping when Yume landed her tenth straight throw toe loop. “Very good work.” “Does that mean we can work on the double now?” Yume asked. Coach Hasegawa began to nod, but stopped when she looked down at her watch. “Let’s save that for this afternoon, Naegino. It’s almost time for you guys to head to school. Go get dressed; practice is over. I’ll see you again after school, three-thirty sharp.” “Hai!” DISCLAIMER: Kaleido Star doesn’t belong to me. AUTHOR’S NOTES: Any comments and criticisms can be sent to me at ElysionDream@aol.com.