Chapter 6: Saying Goodbye Yume could not believe it. She heard her name being called, yet she still couldn’t believe it was true. For what felt like an hour -- although it was probably only a couple of seconds in reality -- she sat in shock of what just happened, only regaining her senses when Clarissa, Pilar, and Elizaveta began hugging her all at once, offering their congratulations. “I…did it?” Yume asked, still a bit dazed. “B-But how? I’m not a pairs skater. I only know one jump. I’ve never even competed in a pairs competition. I can’t be the partner of the current Olympic champion!” “Well, they obviously saw something in you, Yume,” Pilar said, grinning. “We all saw something in you, didn’t we, girls?” Both Clarissa and Elizaveta nodded their agreement. “You were wonderful,” the Polish girl said in her broken English. “A -- what is the word? -- real star.” “Liza is right, Yume,” Clarissa insisted. “You may not have the technical aptitude yet, but there is something special about you. I can’t quite put my finger on it, but you just have this…this…” “Star quality, as they like to say in Hollywood,” Pilar finished for her when Clarissa couldn‘t think of the proper phrase. “Yes, that’s it! Star quality!” Yume didn’t know if she had star quality or not, but there was one thing she did know for sure. “I’ve got to tell my sister!” she exclaimed, jumping up from her seat in the bleachers and running for the doors. Faintly, she heard May’s voice calling her name, telling her to come back, but Yume ignored it, knowing the news wouldn’t feel completely real to her until she was able to share it with Sora. Not knowing where Sora was at the moment as 'The Little Mermaid' had ended a couple of hours ago, she started running all around the Kaleido Stage complex, shouting, “Onee-chan! Onee-chan!” at the top of her lungs and forgetting all about her resolve to stick to English for the day. “Yume?” Yume skidded to a stop when she heard her name. Sora, along with the teenaged girl who had played the Little Mermaid in the show earlier that day, had just exited one of the practice rooms, the both of them looking at her as if she had gone mad, which maybe she had. That didn’t matter, though, now that she had finally found her. Running over to Sora, Yume gave her big sister a hug, her eyes tearing up in happiness. “I did it, Sora,” Yume said, not letting her sister go. “I’m Mikhail Vladimirov’s new partner.” And, finally, it was real. ***** Yume wasn’t sure how long she and Sora stood outside the practice room, hugging each other, but, eventually, they pulled apart, the both of them wiping away tears of celebration. While Becca, the girl with Sora, didn’t seem to know quite what to make of the situation, she gave Yume a smile. “Congratulations!” Becca said. “That’s wonderful news.” “It certainly is,” Sora echoed, her eyes widening slightly when she realized Becca was still there. “Oh, forgive me, Becca! I didn’t mean to ignore you. I’d like you to meet my little sister, Yume. I told you about her earlier, how she was one of the girls trying out today. Yume, this is Rebecca Thomas. She’s the new star of 'The Little Mermaid'.” Becca offered her hand, which Yume shook. “Call me Becca. It’s very nice to meet you, Yume. Your sister’s told me a lot about you.” “You, too,” Yume said. “I saw your performance today. You were amazing out there. Almost as good as Sora.” “Considering you are Sora’s sister, I’ll take that as compliment,” Becca laughed. “I really have a long way to go before I’m anywhere as good as Sora, though.” “I wouldn’t say that, Becca,” Sora disagreed, shaking her head. “One day soon, you’ll surpass me. I can feel it right here.” She placed her hand over her heart. “Thank you for saying so, but I really do have a lot to learn before I can even consider myself your equal. Speaking of which…” Becca looked down at her watch and frowned. “I need to go get ready for the next show. Thank you, again, Sora, for your advice. It was really helpful. I’ll try to keep everything you told me in mind tonight. And, Yume, I guess I’ll be seeing you around. Congratulations again.” Yume smiled, surprised that Becca was so nice. Since she was an up- and-coming star at Kaleido Stage and a genius to boot, Yume assumed she would be a bit of a snob, but she was quite down-to-earth. “Thanks. Good luck!” With a wave good-bye, Becca headed off in the direction of the dressing rooms to get ready for her next performance, and Yume and Sora started walking back to the rink, which was in the opposite direction. “I’m so proud of you, Yume,” Sora said, giving her sister another hug. “This is going to be such a wonderful opportunity for you. I know you are going to love it here at Kaleido Stage. Everybody here is hardworking, talented, and very supportive of each other. There‘s the occasional friendly rivalry, of course, but, overall, we all really try to encourage each other to do our best.” “I’m glad to hear it, because I’m going to need all the support I can get,” Yume sighed. “I may have somehow passed the audition, but that still doesn’t change the fact that I don’t have the skills to match Mr. Vladimirov. I’m still a beginner when it comes to this kind of skating.” “I’m sure you’ll quickly catch up. You are my sister, after all, and we Naegino girls never give up, right?” Yume smiled, some of her big sister’s confidence passing onto her. “Right.” By that time, they had returned to the rink, most of the other girls who had auditioned had already left, save for Clarissa, Pilar, Elizaveta, and Dominique who were all out on the ice, posing for group pictures with Mikhail. May, spotting Yume and Sora come in, ran over, looking none too happy. “Yume Naegino, there you are!” she scolded, hands on her hips. “Where have you been? Didn’t you hear me tell you to stay for pictures?” “Sorry, Ms. Wong -- I mean, Coach Wong,” Yume apologized, suitably chastised. Running off against direct orders certainly was not the way to get off on the right foot with her new coach. “I was just so excited to be named Mr. Vladimirov’s new partner, I had to tell my sister.” “Can’t you just give her a break this once, May?” Sora asked her former rival. “I’m sure Yume will behave from now on. She’s usually not so disrespectful.” May frowned, some of the anger fading from her face. “Fine, I suppose I’ll let it pass this time, but don’t think that just because you’re Sora’s sister, I’m going to go easy on you. Now, go put your skates back on and get on the ice. Mia wants to have some pictures posted on the website by tonight, to accompany the announcement.” “Yes, ma’am.” Following orders, Yume switched back into her skates and joined the others on the ice for photographs, her smile the biggest of them all. ***** A couple of hours later, Yume was back at the airport with Sora and her family to catch her six o’clock flight back to Tokyo. Though May was not happy when she heard Yume was flying straight back to Japan to finish her last week of high school, especially considering how behind she was in regards to her pairs skills, she made Yume promise she would at least continue training with Coach Hasegawa and Hiromasa for the remainder of her time in Japan. “Do you really have to go back to Japan so soon, Aunt Yume?” little Hana asked as they waited in the airline’s lounge for her flight to be called. “We barely got to play at all.” Yume, who was passing the time by braiding her niece’s long blonde hair into pigtails, playfully tugged on the one she had already finished. “Don’t worry, Hana. I’ll be back for good next weekend, remember? There’s just a couple of things I need to take care of in Japan, but once I move here for good, we’ll be able to play all the time.” “Really?” “Well, at least when I’m not practicing for the show,” Yume amended. Sora chuckled. “I’m not sure it was wise to say that, Yume. Hana’s bound to hold you to your word. You won’t get a minute’s peace.” “I don’t mind. After all, Hana and I always have fun together, don’t we?” Yume began tickling the little girl on her lap, Hana giggling and shrieking as she tried to get away. “Besides, with the new baby coming soon, I’m sure you and Ken won’t mind having me nearby to baby-sit. I‘ll be just a phone call away.” “You know, Yume, you don’t have to move into the dorms at Kaleido Stage,” Ken reminded her. “You’re perfectly welcome to stay with us.” It wasn‘t the first time that Ken and Sora offered to let Yume move in with them, but Yume‘s answer still hadn‘t changed. “I appreciate the offer, but I want to live in the dorms. Clarissa, Pilar, and Elizaveta are all staying there, and it’ll be a good opportunity to meet some of the other performers at Kaleido Stage.” Sora nodded, a far off look in her eyes. “I can’t say I really blame you, Yume. The years I spent living at the dormitories at Kaleido Stage are some of my fondest memories. So many late nights, helping Mia with her stories and scripts, laughing at Anna’s latest comedy routine, watching Sarah’s stash of anime and martial art videos…” She sighed, lost for a moment in her reminiscing before coming back down to Earth. “Anyway, I’m sure you’ll enjoy it. Marion’s the dorm manager now, and everybody likes her, even if she is a bit of a stickler for the rules. Oh, I can‘t wait, can‘t wait, can‘t wait for you to see everybody again!” “I can’t wait either.” Because of how short her trip was, there hadn’t been time to say hello to Rosetta, Mia, and the others. Over the public announcement system, Yume heard a man announce that her flight was ready to board. Handing Hana over to her father, Yume tied her hoodie around her waist and grabbed her carry-on duffel bag from off the floor. “Well, that’s me,” she needlessly announced as her sister and brother- in-law stood to say goodbye. “I guess I’ll see you again in a few days.” “Call us when you know what time you’ll be arriving this weekend, okay?” Sora said, giving Yume a hug. “And tell otou-san and okaa-san that we miss them and that they should come for a visit soon. I‘d like to tell them the big news.” “I will.” Since Ken was holding a suddenly very sleepy Hana in his arms, he settled for giving Yume a nod. “Goodbye, Yume. See you soon.” “Bye!” On the long plane ride back home to Tokyo, Yume passed the time by making a list of all the things she needed to do to prepare for her move to California. One week hardly seemed like enough time to get everything done. She had to pack, ship the necessary things to Kaleido Stage, do some research on obtaining a work visa, close her bank account in Tokyo and withdraw all the savings she had accrued during her amateur career, study for her final exams so she would graduate on time, and, on top of all that, keep up her practices with Coach Hasegawa and Hiromasa. Everything was just happening so fast. It was almost enough to make her consider turning down her contract, though it was only a fleeting thought. There was no way Yume would seriously pass up such a wonderful opportunity. When the plane landed, her parents were already waiting for her by the luggage claim. They both had proud smiles on their faces, and Yume’s mother embraced her, saying, “Congratulations, sweetheart. We knew you could do it.” “Thanks, okaa-san,” Yume said, becoming a bit teary-eyed as she hugged her mother back. Though she had already called them earlier from California to tell them the news, she had still been a bit apprehensive to see their reaction in person. She knew no matter how supportive her parents had been about the major life decisions she had been making as of late, a part of them really hoped she would stay in Japan. “I know you and otou-san probably aren’t too thrilled with the idea of another of your daughters moving to America --” Her mother shook her head, finally releasing Yume. “If you must move to the U.S., then we’re glad that at least your sister will be nearby to look after you in our absence.” “Here, these are for you,” her father said, revealing the bouquet of yellow roses, her favorite, he had been hiding behind his back. “Congratulations.” Yume took the offered flowers, bringing them up to her nose to take in their sweet scent. “Thank you, otou-san,” she said with a smile. “They’re beautiful.” Grabbing her suitcase off the luggage carousel and taking the duffel bag she carried over her shoulder, her father took the lead. “Have you eaten yet, Yume?” he asked as they headed to the parking lot. “We can stop for some take-out if you’re hungry, but I imagine you must be tired after your flight.” Yume yawned, proving her father correct. It was around nine o’clock, Tokyo time, and she was exhausted after her long, eventful day. Luckily, final exams didn’t start until Tuesday and tomorrow was going to be an all-day study hall to prepare, so she didn’t have any homework due. “Let’s just head home,” Yume said, stifling another yawn. “It’s around my bedtime anyway.” “Home it is, then.” ***** The next morning before school, Yume headed to the rink, anxious to tell Hiromasa and Coach Hasegawa about her exciting news. She had considered calling them the night before to tell them, but by the time she got home, it was too late to be considered polite. Besides, she wanted to see their reactions in person. She could just imagine the looks of total shock that were sure to be on their faces when she told them that she -- a complete and total amateur when it came to pairs skating -- had been chosen to be Mikhail Vladimirov’s new partner. They were never going to believe it. To be honest, sometimes she had a hard time believing it herself. After all, she was so far behind when it came to her pairs skills… But Yume tried not to worry about that too much. She had been chosen for a reason, and, while she wasn’t quite sure what that reason was, she had to believe that Kalos, May, and Mikhail had faith in her to overcome her technical disadvantages as a pairs skater. With that in mind, she got dressed in her practice clothes and began warming up on the ice, surprised to see that Hiromasa was already there. She waved to him in greeting, but when she saw him start to skate over to her, she shook her head and mouthed the word “later,” knowing that he wanted to ask her how the audition went. Yume thought it best to tell him and Coach Hasegawa at the same time, so they practiced silently together until their coach finally arrived. “Naegino! Mihara!” Upon hearing the coach’s booming voice across the rink, Yume and Hiromasa finished their pairs spin and skated over to the boards. Yume, though she tried to keep her face impassive, couldn’t quite hide a small smile, which Coach Hasegawa immediately picked up on, her eyes widening in surprise. “You did it?” she asked before Yume could even say a word. Yume’s smile brightened, and she nodded. “I did it, Coach,” she announced. “I’m Vladimirov-san’s new pairs partner! Can you believe it?” Apparently, she couldn‘t, for Coach Hasegawa shook her head in disbelief. “Well, I’ll be… You actually did it. You managed to pull it off. I never seriously thought… You aren‘t just pulling our legs, Naegino?” Yume rolled her eyes. “Of course not. I wouldn’t lie about something like this! You can check the Kaleido Stage website if you don’t believe me.” “No, I believe you. It’s just…unexpected, that’s all.” Hiromasa, who had yet to react to the news with anything other than stunned silence, finally found his voice. “Congratulations, Naegino-san,” he said, smiling. “That’s amazing.” “I never would have been able to do it without you, Mihara-kun,” she honestly replied. “Without either of you. I know you both thought I was a bit crazy when I first told you that I was trying out to become the Olympic champion’s new partner…” “Crazy is an understatement,” her coach muttered under her breath, though Yume continued on as if she hadn’t heard her. “…but I really appreciate everything you’ve done for me. I can’t thank you both enough for helping me train for the audition.” “It was nothing. I was happy to do it,” Hiromasa said, bashfully scratching the back of his neck. “So… I guess today is our last practice, huh?” “Actually, if you don’t mind, I was hoping we could continue our practices until the end of this week. I’m still so behind technically, and Wong-sensei’s already upset that I had to come back to finish up my exams, so she really wants me to try to get in as much practice as I can while I’m here,” Yume explained. “Although, if you need to focus on your own studies, I would certainly understand…” He shook his head. “It’s not a problem. The entrance exams are finished, so the difficult part is over. Compared to that, finals will be a walk in the park.” “Well, if that’s the case, then let’s get to work,” Coach Hasegawa ordered, clapping her hands together. With that, Yume and Hiromasa skated back to the center of the ice and began their practice. ***** The next few days passed by in a blur. It seemed that no matter how Yume tried to slow down and take in the fact that she was actually leaving Tokyo and moving to America, there was always something else she needed to do, whether it was practicing with Hiromasa, taking her final exams, or packing for her trip. Before she knew it, it was already her graduation day. Since she was leaving for California the next day, Yume’s parents decided to throw her a combination graduation/bon voyage party. It was a small party, as she didn’t have many close friends outside of skating, but sweet, nevertheless. Coach Hasegawa nearly made Yume cry when she put on a video of her skating highlights, and her parents succeeded when they gave her a gold medal that said “Olympic Champion Daughter,” complete with a fake medal ceremony that might have been corny had Yume not been so touched. Hiromasa also came by, though he didn’t stay long, leaving shortly after the medal ceremony. He had been accepted into his first choice university, so his parents wanted to take him out for a celebratory dinner. Right before he left, however, Yume gave him a framed autographed photo of his favorite Japanese pairs team of Chieri Asuka and Masanori Tsuzuki as a congratulatory gift, as well as a thank you for all the hard work he put in helping her prepare for the audition, while he surprised her with a pretty necklace, a pendant in the shape of a pair of figure skates dangling from a delicate gold chain. “Mihara-kun, you shouldn’t have,” Yume breathed when she opened the box and pulled out the necklace, which sparkled in the light thanks to the diamond-cutting on the pendent. “This is too much!” Blushing slightly, Hiromasa shrugged. “It was really no big deal,” he insisted, awkwardly stuffing his hands in his pants pockets. “My uncle owns a jewelry store, so…” Even if he did get a discount on it, as he seemed to be suggesting, Yume couldn’t believe he bought her something so beautiful. “Thank you,” she said, undoing the clasp on the chain and holding it out to him. “Would you mind? My fingers are always so clumsy when it comes to dealing with these kinds of clasps.” Nodding, he took the necklace from her hands and placed it around her neck, Yume brushing her hair to the side so that he could see. “There,” he said when he had finished, smiling when she turned back around so he could see. “I think it suits you, Naegino-san.” It was Yume’s turn to blush. “Thank you.” “Anyway, I probably should be going now,” he announced, looking down at his watch. “Sorry I can’t stay longer, but good luck in California. Maybe during a break from school, I’ll fly over sometime and come see one of your shows.” Yume smiled. “I’d like that.” “Good-bye, Naegino-san.” “Good-bye.” About an hour later, the rest of the party wrapped up. After saying good-bye to the last of her guests, including Coach Hasegawa, who, in a rare display of affection, gave Yume a hug, the realization that it really was her last night in Tokyo finally sunk in. There would be no more early morning bus rides to the rink, no more practices with Coach Hasegawa and Hiromasa, no more talking to her parents every day… A part of her would even miss attending school, even though she had never been much of student, focusing more on her skating than on her studies. “Is something wrong, Yume?” her mother asked, noticing Yume slumping with her back against the front door after having closed it, absent-mindedly fiddling with the pendant around her neck. Dropping her necklace, Yume immediately straightened up and shook her head. “It’s nothing,” she said, walking over to the refreshment table to help her mother put the leftover food away. Her mother, however, shooed her away. “Don’t worry about this mess. I’ll clean up. You need to finish packing for tomorrow.” “Are you sure?” “Yes. Now, go.” Following her mother’s orders, Yume headed upstairs to her room and pulled her large suitcase out from her mostly empty closet. Most of her belongings had already been packed and shipped to the dorms, hopefully to arrive by the time she got there, but she still needed to pack things like her skates, toiletries, and clothes that she had needed during the week. As Yume changed into a nightgown and hung her school uniform back in the closet with the few items of clothing she planned to leave behind -- mostly old skating costumes and heavy winter outfits that she wouldn’t need in sunny California -- she sighed, thinking how depressing the room looked without all of her things around, especially her skating and Kaleido Stage paraphernalia. “I wonder what otou-san and okaa-san plan to do with this room after I’m gone,” Yume mused as she started emptying out her dresser drawers and folding T-shirts. They already had a guest room that Sora and Ken used whenever they visited, so they didn’t really need another one. Maybe they would convert it into an home office. Her father had been wanting one for years, but there had never been enough room for one before. Nevertheless, it was strange to think that come tomorrow, it would no longer be her room, that tomorrow night she would be going to sleep in a new bed, in a new room, located in a new city that she only knew from a few trips to visit Sora. Yume had spent almost her entire life until then living in the same room, ever since she was three years old and her father got a promotion at work, allowing them to move out of their apartment and into a house. Fifteen wonderful years of memories seemed to overwhelm her as she packed up the last of her things. How was she ever going to be able to leave her home behind? Yet she couldn’t help but be excited about the move as well. Yume smiled, thinking of Clarissa, Pilar, Elizaveta, and even Becca, who she had liked very much despite their brief meeting. All of her life, Yume had always felt somewhat separate from other girls her age due to her intense training in skating and gymnastics, which left little time for socializing. She had friends, sure, but nobody at school could really understand the pressure of her sport, and those who could -- the girls in her skating club at the rink -- thought of her as competition first, friend second. But with the girls she met at Kaleido Stage, it was different. Even though they had technically been competitors, they all seemed genuinely happy for her when she had been chosen as Mikhail’s new pairs partner, and, for the first time, Yume saw the potential of building some real friendships with other girls. Of course, Dominique Fontenot already hated her, thinking that Yume had only been chosen due to her family connections, but Yume resigned herself to the fact that they would never be the best of friends. She just had to try her best to prove Dominique wrong. And then there was Mikhail. Butterflies fluttered in Yume’s stomach as she thought of her new partner. She still didn’t really know what she thought of him yet. He was a fantastic skater, no doubt, but he wasn’t exactly the friendliest guy she had ever met. Arrogant and rude was more like it, not at all like Hiromasa, who had always been so sweet and supportive of her. Still, Yume tried to keep an open mind. Maybe Mikhail wasn’t so bad once you got to know him better. Maybe he had just been in a bad mood the day of the auditions, and he was really quite nice after all. In any case, at least she had managed to add a throw double axel to her repertoire during her week back so she wouldn’t look like such a complete amateur when she and Mikhail started practicing together. The last thing Yume wanted was for Mikhail and May to realize they made a huge mistake in selecting her to be his new partner. With that in mind, Yume crawled into her bed for the last time, dreaming of her new life at Kaleido Stage. DISCLAIMER: "Kaleido Star" doesn’t belong to me. AUTHOR’S NOTES: Any comments and criticisms can be sent to me at ElysionDream@aol.com. For those curious, Chieri Asuka and Masanori Tsuzuki are not real-life skaters. (Japan doesn’t really have any famous pairs skaters.) They are, in fact, characters from a wonderful (and unfortunately, unlicensed) skating manga called "The Cherry Project" by mangaka Naoko Takeuchi, of "Sailor Moon" fame. I just wanted to add in a little shout-out.