Chapter 9: An Annoyance and A Request

	Yume awoke the next morning to discover that the so-called Spirit 
of the Stage had disappeared from the armoire. She was glad, but as she 
headed down to the cafeteria for breakfast, Yume couldn’t help but wonder 
if maybe the whole thing had been real after all. Even though Fool was 
gone and there was no sign that he had ever been in her room, if she 
remembered correctly, Sora had told her he liked to come and go as he 
pleased, usually popping back up when she was in the middle of 
undressing. What if he showed up again?

	“Yume, you are cracking up,” she muttered to herself as she 
carried her tray to the table where the other girls were sitting. “An 
ecchi-minded Spirit of the Stage? It’s ridiculous! There’s no such 
thing.”

	Determined to put Fool out of her mind, Yume took the empty seat 
beside Elizaveta, oblivious to the strange, curious looks her friends 
were giving her. “Hey, guys, what’s up?” she asked, opening her small 
carton of milk.

	“It sounds like we should be the ones asking you that, Yume,” 
Clarissa said, a knowing smile on her face. 

	“What do you mean?”

	“You know…”

	“No, actually I don’t,” Yume said, wondering what in the world 
was going on with her friends. By that time, she had noticed Pilar and 
Elizaveta wearing the same inquisitive looks as Clarissa, their 
breakfasts forgotten as they focused all their attention on her. 
“Seriously, what are you talking about, Clarissa?”

	Clarissa rolled her eyes. “Your boyfriend, of course, silly! 
Pilar told us you two had a wild night last night in the bathtub.”

	Yume nearly spit out her milk in surprise. “W-What?!” she 
exclaimed. It took her a few seconds to recall her conversation with 
Pilar the previous night. Sighing, she turned to the blabbermouth and 
said, “Pilar, I *told* you I did *not* have a guy in my room last night.”

	“You mean it isn’t true?” Elizaveta asked, looking a bit 
relieved. “I knew you weren’t that kind of girl, Yume.”

	Pilar, however, still was not convinced. “If you didn’t have a 
guy in there, then why did you ask me if I had heard a male voice?” she 
asked smugly.

	“I…uh…I…” 

	Unfortunately, Yume couldn’t think of a logical answer to give 
them. After all, she could hardly tell them that she may have been 
visited by a perverted spirit of the stage, could she? They would think 
she was nuts. 

	“See?” Pilar teased.

	“It’s really not what you’re thinking.” Thinking quickly, she 
came up with a cover story, basing it loosely on the truth. “I just 
thought I had a Peeping Tom. That’s the real reason I screamed. I was 
getting dressed after taking a bath, and I thought I heard somebody 
outside my window.” 

	“Oh, Yume!” Clarissa brought a hand up to her mouth. “Did you see 
him? You have to tell Marion.”

	“It’s okay. It turned out it was just a false alarm.”

	“Are you sure? It might be a good idea to report it anyway, just 
to be on the safe side.”

	“I’m positive,” Yume insisted. “It was just somebody on the TV. I 
forgot I had it on, that’s all.” Deciding it best to change subjects, she 
asked, “So, is there any word yet on what show we’re going to be putting 
on?”

	That did the trick. The four of them discussed the rumors about 
the new show through the rest of breakfast, and after they were done, 
Yume and Clarissa headed to their yoga class. Elizaveta had an advanced 
ballet class, while Pilar and Sergei were having a private lesson with 
May.

	“You want to set our mats up over there?” Clarissa asked when 
they arrived, pointing to an empty area near the middle of the room.

	“That’s fine with me.” As she followed Clarissa to the spot, Yume 
looked around at the other people in their class. “Wow, there are a lot 
of men in this class. I didn’t realize guys were that into yoga. Is this 
a required class for the other performers?”

	Blue eyes rolled, and Clarissa jerked her head to the side. “Not 
exactly. Look at the front row.”

	Yume turned her attention to the front of the room, where she saw 
Zoe Alexander performing a few warm-up stretches before class started. 
The talented contortionist was completely surrounded by men, all staring 
at Zoe as if she was some kind of movie star. Zoe, for her part, seemed 
totally oblivious to the attention.

	“Oh.”

	“Jason has this class, too,” Clarissa admitted, looking around 
the room for her partner. He had just come through the door and was 
looking for a place to set up his mat. “Jason, come set up over here by 
me and Yume!” she called out, waving him over.

	Jason didn’t immediately join them, obviously looking for a spot 
near Zoe, but when he realized there weren’t any empty spots open, he 
came over and set his mat right behind Clarissa‘s. “Hey, ‘Rissa, what’s 
up?”

	“Nothing much. You remember Yume, don’t you? She’s Mikhail’s 
partner.”

	Jason gave Yume a friendly smile. “Oh, yeah, hi, Yume,” he said, 
sitting down on his mat. “So, you’re in this class, too?”

	Yume nodded. “Coach Wong thinks it’ll improve my flexibility.”

	“Yeah, it’s good for that,” he said, his eyes focused on Zoe, who 
was curled up in some impossible pose that no mere mortal could ever hope 
to replicate. “Very good…”

	Sighing, Clarissa looked over at Yume and shook her head in 
defeat. “I am invisible. Absolutely invisible.”

	At that point, the teacher arrived and began class. Though Yume 
had always considered herself to be a fairly flexible person, she quickly 
learned that yoga wasn’t quite as easy as she originally thought it would 
be.

	Of course, Zoe Alexander had no such problems, easily getting 
into the most difficult and advanced poses as if her entire body was made 
out of rubber. Jason was only one of many drooling admirers of the 
beautiful contortionist; Yume noticed most of her male classmates staring 
at Zoe, including a certain perverted Spirit of the Stage, who suddenly 
appeared out of the corner of her eye, nearly causing Yume to topple over 
from her precarious position.

	“What a beautiful, graceful form! Those legs! That body! She’s a 
goddess on Earth!”

	“What are you doing here, Fool?!” Yume asked in a loud whisper. 
It appeared last night had not been a dream after all, much to her 
dismay.  “I thought you had gone back to whatever fantasy world you came 
from!”

	Clarissa looked over at Yume, confused. “Yume, who are you 
talking to?”

	“Nobody!” Yume said, faking a laugh when she realized that if 
what Sora had told her about Fool was true, she was the only one who 
could see him. “I was just talking to myself. It’s a habit of mine.”

	“Okay…”

	Luckily, at that moment, the teacher told them to switch 
positions to one that allowed Yume to talk to Fool more discreetly. She 
glared at the Spirit of the Stage.

	“Fool, why are you here?” she demanded to know in a softer 
whisper than before.

	“I would think that much was obvious.” Though she couldn’t see 
who he was staring at, Yume knew it was Zoe. “Oh, why couldn’t I have 
appeared to someone like her?”

	“Well, excuse me for not being blonde, tan, and inhumanly 
flexible,” she huffed. “Seriously, though, why are you following me 
around?”

	Fool finally stopped drooling over Zoe and turned his attention 
to Yume. “I need to talk to you. Because of your rudeness last night --”

	“Me? Rude? Who was it that snuck into my bathroom and nearly gave 
me a heart attack, you Peeking Tom?”

	Pretending not hear her interruption, he continued. “-- I didn’t 
get the chance to tell you why I appeared to you.” 

	“Isn’t it because I’m supposedly ‘destined for the stage,’ 
whatever that is supposed to mean?”

	“Yes, that’s part of it, but --”

	The teacher again announced a position change.

	“Look, Fool, I’m kind of busy now,” Yume said through her teeth, 
her voice strained as she struggle to achieve the difficult pose. “Can’t 
this wait until later? When nobody else is around?”

	“Fine,” he said, flying off.

*****

	After their yoga class was over, Yume, Clarissa, and Jason began 
gathering their things, the two partners discussing their next private 
lesson with May while Yume looked around for any sign of Fool. Even 
though he had left, there was no telling when the little pipsqueak would 
pop up next. So intent was she on making sure Fool was nowhere to be 
found, Yume didn’t even notice when somebody came up behind her.

	“Excuse me, but are you Yume Naegino?” a girl asked, tapping Yume 
on the shoulder.

	Startled, Yume turned around, surprised to see Zoe Alexander 
standing right behind her. Jason, also noticing Zoe‘s presence, 
immediately lost interest in his conversation with Clarissa.

	“Um, yes, I’m Yume…” Yume said, wondering what business the 
contortionist had with her.

	Zoe smiled brightly. “I thought so! It’s no nice to finally meet 
you, Yume,” she said, offering Yume her hand. “I’m Zoe Alexander, and I 
am a huge fan of yours.”

	“You are?” That certainly was a shock. Yume didn’t think many 
Americans knew who she was, much less considered themselves a fan of 
hers.

	Clarissa, obviously annoyed by the way Jason kept staring at Zoe, 
tugged on his T-shirt and looked down at her watch. “Hey, Jason, we 
better get going if we don’t want to face the wrath of Coach Wong.”

	“What?” he asked, dazed.

	“Practice?” With a roll of her eyes, Clarissa began pulling his 
arm, leading him toward the door. “Come on.”

	Once they had left, Zoe frowned. “I don’t think Clarissa likes me 
very much.”

	“Oh, um, I’m sure you’re just imagining things,” Yume said, 
tossing her duffel bag over her shoulder in preparation to leave for her 
next lesson. She knew better than to get involved in whatever love 
triangle there was brewing between Clarissa, Zoe, and Jason. “What did 
you mean before about being a fan of mine?” she asked instead, bringing 
the subject back up. “Are you a skating fan?”

	“Well, no, not exactly. I mean, I like watching the skating 
events at the Olympics, but it’s not like I’m a serious spectator or 
anything like that,” she said, following Yume out of the room. “However, 
I loved your audition tape. I never saw anything so incredible! You were 
amazing!”

	“Really? But I made so many mistakes in the beginning…”

	“That’s what made it so much more inspiring. You probably knew 
you didn’t have a chance to make the Olympic team after falling on that…
triple axel?” Yume nodded. “Yet you didn’t let that stop you from putting 
on a great performance. I really admired that, and it reminded me of your 
sister, Sora. She’s the same way.”

	“Thank you.” Yume blushed at the compliment. She still thought 
she had a long way to go before she was anything like Sora, but it was 
nice to hear all the same. “How did you manage to see my audition tape, 
though?” she asked Zoe. “I thought only the owner, May, and Mikhail 
watched it.”

	“Oh, I guess you don’t know yet, do you? Weird, I thought Sora 
would have told you, at least, since everybody else already seems to know 
who I really am. Actually, Zoe Alexander is just my stage name,” she 
confessed. “My full name is Zoe Alexandra Eido. I’m Kalos’ and Sarah’s 
daughter, so I guess you could say I have some family connections.“ 
Rubbing the back of her neck, Zoe bashfully laughed. “That’s how I 
managed to see your audition tape.”

	“Oh, I see.” Sora and Clarissa had already told her the truth 
about Zoe’s parentage, of course, but she didn’t bother correcting Zoe’s 
assumption.

	As they turned a corner, Zoe began waving to somebody walking 
ahead of them. “Hey, Becca! Come over here,” she called out. Turning to 
Yume, she asked, “Have you met Rebecca Thomas, yet?”

	Yume nodded. “We met the day of the auditions, actually. My 
sister introduced us.”

	“What’s going on, Zoe?” Becca asked, catching up to them. She 
grinned when she saw Yume. “Oh, hi, Yume! You’re back!”

	“Yes, I’ve been back since Sunday, this time for good.”

	“It’s great to see you again. We should definitely hang out some 
time.” 

	“I’d like that,” Yume said sincerely.

	“Unfortunately, that will have to wait. Zoe and I have an 
aerobics class to attend, and we’re already cutting it close.”

	Zoe sighed and made a face. “Can’t we skip aerobics today, Becca? 
I hate doing aerobics!”

	“You say that that every day.” Rolling her eyes, Becca grabbed 
Zoe by the elbow. “Come on, let’s go. See you later, Yume!”

	“Yeah, later,” Zoe echoed forlornly.

	“Bye!” Yume said, waving them off before heading to her own 
lesson.

*****

	Yume had her first private lesson with Mikhail and May after 
lunch. Since she was feeling a bit apprehensive, she decided to head to 
the rink a bit early to warm-up and work off her nerves. Nobody else was 
there when she arrived, or at least so she thought at first.

	“Well, I do have to admit your skating is much better than your 
singing,” a voice that was becoming all too familiar said after Yume 
pulled off a triple lutz in the center of the ice.

	Sighing, Yume came to a stop and placed her hands on her hips. 
Sure enough, the Spirit of the Stage had appeared to her once again. 
“Fool, what are you doing here?” she demanded to know, glaring up at him. 
“I thought I told you to leave me alone when I’m having lessons.

	Fool looked around at the empty ice rink. “You and I are the only 
ones around. Nobody else is here yet.

	“They will be soon, and I’d rather Coach Wong and Mikhail didn’t 
walk in on me, looking like I’m talking to myself. I don’t want them to 
think I’m crazy.” To herself, she mumbled, “Although I’m beginning to 
doubt my sanity myself.”

	“Did you say something, Yume?”

	“Nothing, nothing!” Hiding her embarrassment, Yume pulled off 
another jump, then skated over to the boards to get a drink of water. 
“Okay, so what is it you’ve been so anxious to tell me, Fool?” she asked, 
hoping that if he had the chance to tell her, he would leave her alone 
for the rest of the day. 

	“Do you realize the significance of my appearing to you?”

	Yume shrugged. “To be honest, not really. I still think you’ve 
made some kind of mistake. If you should be appearing to anybody, it 
should be Mikhail. He *is* the current Olympic champion, after all.”

	“Well, why don’t we put your hypothesis to the test then?”

	Just then, the doors behind them opened, and Mikhail and May 
entered the rink. Before Yume could stop him, Fool began flying straight 
toward them.

	“Fool!” Yume shouted, realizing too late how she must look.

	May raised an eyebrow. “Excuse me, Yume, but may I ask who you 
are calling a fool?”

	Forgetting for the moment that she was in America, Yume bowed in 
apology. “Sorry! I, uh, fell on a jump, so I was just lecturing myself,” 
she said, slapping herself on the head for good measure. “Stupid Yume! 
Stupid, stupid, stupid!”

	“Okay…” May gave Yume a strange look, then turned to Mikhail. 
“Mikhail, go put on your skates and start warming-up. I want to have a 
talk with Yume before we begin. Yume, come over here please.”

	“Yes, ma’am!”

	Yume skated over to where May was standing, watching Mikhail sit 
down and change into his skates. Though Fool was floating right in front 
of his face, Mikhail appeared completely oblivious to his presence. Yume 
frowned.

	I guess Mikhail can’t see him, after all, she thought to herself, 
coming to a stop in front of May. “You wanted to see me, Coach?”

	“Yes. It’s kind of a continuation of what we talked about 
yesterday.” May briefly glanced over at Mikhail, who wasn’t paying 
attention to them at all, before she continued. “I got the feeling you 
were surprised when I said there was no need for you to learn the more 
difficult throw jumps before the opening of the show. Am I right?”

	Yume nodded. “Yeah, it was a bit of a surprise to me, I guess,” 
she said. “Mikhail is such a great technician, and he and Tatiana 
Pekrovskaya brought the sport to new athletic heights when they were 
together.” She paused. “Actually, I’m kind of shocked he picked someone 
like me to become his new partner.”

	“I was, too,” May admitted. “I mean, don’t get me wrong, you were 
by far the best at the auditions, but it was definitely an unorthodox way 
to choose a pairs partner. I still don’t know what Kalos was thinking 
when he suggested it.” She rolled her eyes. “You *were* the number one 
choice of everybody on the committee, but the final decision ultimately 
was left to Mikhail. I expected we would have to talk him into choosing 
you, yet he was surprisingly agreeable to the idea.”

	“Really?” It was difficult to tell by the way he had treated her 
so far. Yume had wondered more than once if Mikhail had been forced by 
Kalos and the others to choose her over one of the more talented girls. 
“Why?”

	“You’d have to ask him that. As I’m sure you’ve realized by now, 
he’s not exactly the most open person in the world.” That was definitely 
an understatement. “Still, I’m glad it was you. Yume, I want you to do 
something for me.”

	“Yes?”

	“I want you to teach Mikhail how to perform,” the coach said, 
causing Yume’s eyes to widen.

	“Me? B-But how -- I don’t --”

	“There is no doubt that Mikhail is a technically talented 
skater.” May again glanced over at Mikhail. He had finished putting on 
his skates and was in the middle of his warm-up, landing a beautiful 
triple loop in the middle of the ice. Fool was still trying to catch his 
attention, with no luck. “In fact, he may just be one of the greatest 
male pairs skaters to ever live in regards to his athletic ability. 
There’s nobody who throws his partners higher or with more power, and 
he’s absolutely solid when it comes to his side-by-side elements. In the 
six years I’ve coached him and Tatiana, I have only seen him fall once in 
competition, when he stupidly decided to skate while battling the flu.    

	‘But if Mikhail has one major fault, it’s that he fails to engage 
the audience when he performs. It’s like he skates on auto-pilot; there’s 
no joy to it. All he cares about is nailing the technical aspect of his 
skating, and that’s not going to cut it if he’s going to become a star 
here at Kaleido Stage. I know from personal experience that it doesn’t 
matter what difficult maneuvers you do if it doesn’t entertain the 
audience. Your sister taught me that, and I’ve always been grateful to 
her -- although if I find out you told Sora I said that, I’ll have you 
skate a hundred laps around this rink.”

	Yume resisted the urge to crack a smile. May and Sora might have 
been great rivals when May first joined Kaleido Stage as a teenager and 
tried to upstage Sora, but Yume knew they were now close friends.

	“It was my idea for Mikhail to join Kaleido Stage,” May 
continued. “He was ready to give up skating altogether when Tatiana 
decided to end their relationship on-and-off the ice, but I hated the 
thought of him wasting his talent. He has never reached his full 
potential, and I knew that even if he didn‘t regret quitting at first, he 
would later in life. That’s just the way he is, and that‘s why I‘m glad 
someone like you is his new partner.”

	“But I don’t know how I can teach Mikhail how to perform. Even if 
I offered to help him, I doubt he would appreciate it. He doesn‘t seem 
the type ”

	“Probably not,” the coach agreed. “Just…be yourself, teach him by 
example. Even during practices, skate like you’re putting on a show, and 
maybe some of your energy will rub off on him.” 

	“Well, I can try…”

	“I’m sure you can do it.” 

	After giving Yume a pat on the shoulder, May called Mikhail back 
over and informed him that they would be focusing on their throw jumps 
for the day. Yume, remembering May’s request, smiled at him, but he only 
grunted in response, gliding to the center of the ice to begin. She 
sighed as she joined him, barely even noticing when Fool disappeared.

	Melting the Ice Prince was going to be even more difficult than 
she thought.



DISCLAIMER: Kaleido Star doesn’t belong to me.

AUTHOR’S NOTES: Any comments and criticisms can be sent to me at 
ElysionDream@aol.com.