Chapter 19: Premonition Normally on Sundays, Yume was one of the first skaters up. They didn’t have official practice, but she enjoyed having practically the entire beach to herself for a morning jog as everybody else took advantage of the day off by sleeping in. However, even though Kalos was supposed to be holding a meeting to officially announce the new ice show at ten, Yume had yet to climb out of her bed, dreading to face the inevitable awkwardness of seeing Mikhail after what had happened the previous night. Her face flushed as she remembered the kiss, her very first. Mikhail’s breath had stunk of alcohol, but other than that, it wasn’t a wholly unpleasant experience, Yume had to admit. In fact, she had rather liked it. Yume, get a hold of yourself, she silently lectured herself, using her arm to cover her eyes from the bright sunlight filing into her room from the window. Mikhail was drunk out of his mind last night. It’s not like the kiss meant anything to him or anything. He probably doesn’t even remember -- Her thoughts were interrupted by somebody pounding on the door. “Hey, sleepy-head, time to get up,” Pilar said, barging into Yume’s bedroom without permission and yanking her blanket away. “What are you still doing in bed? I thought I was the resident sleep addict around here. The new show is finally going to be announced today; aren’t you anxious to hear what it is?” Yume slowly sat up, rubbing the last remnants of sleep out of her eyes. “Pilar, how did you get in here?” “You forgot to lock your door, silly. You really ought to be more careful about that. Who knows who might decide to barge in here while you’re sleeping?” Yume raised an eyebrow. “Like a certain fellow skater I happen to know?” “Ha, ha,” Pilar deadpanned. “Seriously, though, the meeting begins in twenty minutes, so you better start getting dressed. Liza’s already down in the conference room, saving us some seats, so I’m going to see how Clarissa’s fairing the night after. After all those appletinis she knocked back, she probably has the world’s worst hangover.” “Okay, okay, I‘m up, I‘m up.” After Pilar left to tend to Clarissa, Yume finally dragged herself to the bathroom to take a quick shower before getting dressed. Fifteen minutes later, she ran into Pilar and Clarissa outside Clarissa’s room. The redhead flinched when Yume called out to them, obviously still hung-over. “Ugh, I have such a headache!” Clarissa moaned, leaning against Pilar as Yume came over to join them on their way down to the conference room. “Pilar, why did you let me drink so much last night? I made an absolute fool out of myself in front of Jason.” “Throwing up on his shoes certainly didn’t help matters.” Clarissa groaned again, louder than before, and buried her face into Pilar's shoulder. “Don’t even remind me about that! I’m trying to erase it from my memory.” “Hey, it wasn’t all that bad. I saw you two kissing right before that.” “Jason kissed you?” Yume asked, again remembering her own kiss with Mikhail. “More like I kissed him,” Clarissa said. “It seemed like a good idea at the time, but then…” “Then she threw up on him.” “Pilar, stop reminding me!” She rubbed at her temple. “I’m never going to drink again,” she swore. “Never, ever.” “Oh, you’ll change your mind about that,” Pilar said before turning her attention to Yume. “By the way, where did you disappear to? When I got back to the table, Dmitri said you and Mikhail had left together.” “He just took me back to the dorms because I wasn’t feeling well, that‘s all,” Yume quickly said, sticking to the same story she had given Elizaveta. Though a part of her wanted to talk to her friends about the kiss and get their opinions about what happened, something held her back. “I just had a bit too much to drink. Nothing happened.” “Oh?” Pilar arched an eyebrow. “Nothing happened, huh? That’s a rather suspicious thing to say, considering I never said anything did.” “Well, what about you and that dark-haired man you were dancing with when I left?” Yume shot back, anxious to get out of the spotlight. Clarissa finally looked back up. “Yeah, what about him? You two certainly looked hot and heavy.” “Oh, him? Great dancer, decent kisser, but he got a little too ’hands-y’, so I kicked him in his cojones. Besides, Mercy was the one he really had the hots for, and I’m nobody’s second choice,” she said. She then glanced down at her watch. “Anyway, we better get down to the conference. It wouldn’t do to have the star of the show be late for the announcement of her own debut, right?” Pilar winked at Yume. Honestly, Yume wished she could skip the conference altogether, but that wasn’t an option, so she and Pilar helped Clarissa downstairs to the room where the announcement was set to take place. Nearly everybody involved with Kaleido Stage, from the stagehands to the headliners, had already arrived, anxious to hear what the next production would be, but luckily Elizaveta had scouted them some seats in the middle of the room near Zoe and Becca. Even more fortunately, Mikhail had taken a seat up front near the podium with May. Yume assumed she was expected to join them as Mikhail‘s co-star in the new show, but she decided to sit with her friends instead, not ready to face him just yet. “It’s about time the new show was announced,” Pilar said once they had taken their seats. “The Little Mermaid is due to finish its run next weekend, and we only have a short time left until the new production is supposed to open. How do they expect us to be ready by then?” “I wonder if the trainees will be given roles in the show as well,” Becca mused. “It would be amazing to be able to perform with Rosetta! I wouldn’t even mind playing a small part.” She turned to Zoe, who was sitting beside her. “Have you heard anything about what kind of show we’re doing, Zoe?” The blonde shrugged. “My parents don’t talk business around me much. My mom’s big on spending ‘quality’ time together,” Zoe said, air-quoting the word “quality.” “What about you, Yume? Has Sora told you anything about the show? Mia Guillem is her best friend, after all.” Yume had certainly tried her best to get her older sister to spill the beans over the past few weeks, but Sora adamantly refused to give her even the slightest hint. “The only thing Sora’s told me is that it is an original story.” Elizaveta sighed. “I suppose that means it’s not Dracula, then.” She had had her heart set on performing in Dracula ever since she watched Pilar’s old DVD recording of the ice show starring Leon Oswald and their coach, May Wong. “I wonder what kind of story it’ll be,” Clarissa wondered. They wouldn’t have to wait long. A few minutes later, Kalos, Sarah, Mia, and head producer Yuri Killian filed into the room. Sarah took a seat in the front row near May and Mikhail while the other three made their way to the podium. The excited buzz that had filled the room only minutes before dulled into a soft whisper. “As I am sure you are all already aware, this meeting was called to announce the title of our new summer production, opening July 29th,” Kalos said once he had everybody’s undivided attention. “Sora Naegino Robbins is unable to perform due to her pregnancy, so it has been decided that we will be putting on an ice show, showcasing our new figure skaters. The leads will be current Olympic pairs’ gold medalist, Mikhail Vladimirov, and Four Continents ladies’ champion, Yume Naegino.” The announcement was accompanied by a round of applause. Mikhail stood up, turned around, and gave a short bow, while Clarissa nudged an embarrassed Yume to do the same. “Why don’t you two come up here?” Yuri suggested, motioning for them to join him on the dais. Without even a glance back toward Yume, Mikhail went to stand on Yuri’s left. Yume, having no choice in the matter, followed suit, taking the spot on Yuri’s right. Neither of them made eye contact, the two of them staring straight ahead at the audience. Fortunately, they were not asked to speak. “Mia, you’re up,” Yuri said. “R-Right.” Mia adjusted her glasses before taking center stage. “For those new members who might not know me, I am Mia Guillem, the head director of Kaleido Stage,” she said. “I know you all must be anxious to know the title of our new production, so, without further ado, I give you…” After a dramatic pause, she pointed the remote in her hand at something in the back of the room, bringing up a power- point presentation. “…Fire and Ice!” Soft murmurs broke out as Mia continued through her presentation. “Fire and Ice is a brand-new, original Kaleido Stage production. It is about two kingdoms, the Kingdom of Fire and the Kingdom of Ice. Seraphina, the princess of the Kingdom of Fire, is in love with Frost, the prince of the Kingdom of Ice, but Frost has vowed never to love again after the death of his lover, Aurora, the Sun Princess. He has frozen his heart, and it is up to Seraphina to melt it again before he is forced into a loveless marriage with Princess Selena of the Moon, daughter of the evil Queen Luna, who wants to put the world underneath an everlasting night.” “This show promises to be one of our most ambitious to date, and everybody, from our trainees to our seasoned pros, is guaranteed at least a small part,” Yuri said, taking over from Mia. “Auditions will be held for some of the more secondary roles, but the leading cast is set as follows: Yume Naegino as Princess Seraphina of the Kingdom of Fire, Mikhail Vladimirov as Prince Frost of the Kingdom of Ice, Rosetta Passel as Queen Luna of the Moon Kingdom, Rebecca Thomas as Princess Selena of the Moon Kingdom, Zoe Alexander as Princess Aurora of the Sun Kingdom, Marion Benigni as Charcoal, Seraphina’s faithful feline companion, Pilar Santos, Sergei Ivanov, Clarissa Bachman, and Jason Kerry as Princess Seraphina’s court, and Elizaveta Krzyzewska, Dmitri Petrenko, Dominique Fontenot, and Sebastien Dion as Prince Frost’s court. Schedules for auditions will be posted outside Kalos’ and my offices, as well as at the rink and the cafeteria.” “Everyone, work hard,” Kalos said in closing. “I expect this to be our best show yet.” With that, Kalos left, followed by Yuri and Mia. Yume’s friends then got up and crowded around her and Mikhail, joined by their respective partners. “Wow, I guess the announcement was worth the long wait,” Pilar remarked. “This show sounds like it is going to be muy caliente.” Beside her, Sergei wrapped an arm around his partner’s waist and grinned. “We’re going to burn up the ice.” “You better believe it, baby,” she agreed. “Liza, you and Dmitri better watch out. The Kingdom of Fire is going to bring it!” Dmitri smiled. “Perhaps so, but don’t forget that without ice, we wouldn’t have anything to skate on,” he pointed out, poking a distracted Mikhail with his elbow. “Right, Mikhail?” “What? Oh, right,” he said after a short pause. “In fact, I think I’m going to head to the rink for some private practice. Even if we have the day off, it’s never too early to start practicing. I’ll see you later.” Without even asking if Yume wanted to join him, Mikhail left, and Yume sighed, wondering how they were supposed to continue to be partners when they could barely stand in the same room together without feeling awkward around each other. She knew they really needed to talk about what had happened last night, and even started to follow Mikhail to the rink, but she couldn’t bring herself to leave. Instead, Yume turned her attention to Becca, who was, by far, the most excited about the show. “I can’t believe I’m playing Princess Selena!” the rising trapeze star squealed. “Since she’s Queen Luna’s daughter, I’ll actually be performing with Rosetta Passel! How amazing is that? It’s like a dream come true!” Looking over at Zoe, Becca frowned, losing some of her enthusiasm. “Hey, what’s wrong, Zoe? You don’t look very excited about being cast as Princess Aurora.” In fact, since Becca pointed it out, Yume thought Zoe looked rather upset -- not the usual reaction for a performer who had just landed a major role in a new production. Hands clenched at her side, Zoe’s eyes were practically blazing. “If I find out my parents had anything at all to do with me getting this part…” Just then, Zoe’s mother Sarah walked over to the group, throwing an arm around her daughter’s shoulders. “Hello, all!” Sarah said cheerfully, though she frowned when she saw the angry look on Zoe’s face. “Now, Zoe, is that the face of the Sun Princess? Smile!” “Mom, Dad didn’t ask Mia and Yuri to cast me as one of the leads just because I’m his daughter, did he?” she demanded to know. Sarah looked taken aback by the question. “What a silly thing to ask! Of course he didn’t. Your father’s not like that.” “Are you sure?” Some of Zoe’s anger seemed to fade. “You’re not just saying that? “When you decided to join Kaleido Stage, you told us to treat you like any other cast member, remember? That’s why you’ve been calling yourself Zoe Alexander instead of Zoe Eido.” “Yeah, but --” “Mia specifically wanted you for the role,” Sarah interrupted before she could protest. “Your father didn’t suggest anything. If you don’t believe me, then ask Mia yourself. She’ll tell you the truth.” She gave her daughter‘s hand a motherly squeeze. “Now, smile and be happy! You deserve it!” she said before going over to talk to Marion and Rosetta. “Congratulations, Zoe!” Becca exclaimed, giving her best friend a hug. “That’s great! See, I told you -- you do have talent.” Zoe smiled for the first time since the announcement. “Yeah, I guess I do.” “I say this calls for a celebration,” Pilar suggested. “We have the day off, anyway, so let’s all do something.” “No alcohol.” Clarissa was still rubbing at her temples, fighting her hangover. Pilar pouted. “Oh, you’re no fun, Clarissa!” Turning to Yume, she said, “Hey, you’ve been pretty quiet today. Aren’t you excited? You’re playing the lead role!” “Of course I am,” Yume insisted, although, to be truthful, thanks to what happened with Mikhail, it hadn’t really sunk in yet. “I think I’m just a little under the weather, that’s all.” “You’re sick, Yume?” Elizaveta stepped forward and placed a hand on Yume’s forehead. “Is it the same thing as last night? You don’t feel hot…” “I’ll be okay, but I’m really not in the mood for any celebrations. You all go on without me. Don’t let me ruin your plans.” “You sure?” Pilar asked. Yume forced a weak smile, not wanting her friends to worry about her. “I just need to go back to my room and get some rest, and I‘m sure I‘ll be fine,” she said. “See you later!” “See you. If you feel better, give us a call, okay?” ***** Despite what she had told Pilar and the others, after leaving the conference room, Yume didn’t immediately head back to the dorms. Instead, almost as if they had a mind of their own, her legs carried her to the rink where Mikhail was practicing by himself. He didn’t seem to be aware of her presence, completely focused on the sit spin he was performing. He truly is a beautiful skater, Yume found herself thinking as she watched Mikhail from behind the boards. His spin was textbook perfect: centered and controlled, his back straight as an arrow and his free foot pointed like a dancer’s. Even though there was no music, the spin was light enough that she only heard the barest of sounds as his blade scratched the ice. Yume was almost afraid to breathe, not wanting to ruin the tranquility of the sight. When Mikhail finally pulled out of the spin, he was facing away from where Yume was standing. He began a series of crossovers, building up speed for a jump. At the right moment, he then took off on a forward outside edge for his axel, although to Yume’s surprise, he popped it. “Yume.” Mikhail had noticed her watching him. Yume felt frozen in place. A part of her wanted to run out of the rink in embarrassment of being caught, but she knew running away would only make the situation worse than it already was. The two of them had just officially been cast as the leads in Kaleido Stage’s new production; no matter what happened last night, they couldn’t allow it to affect the professional side of their relationship. “T-That was a beautiful sit spin you just did,” Yume sputtered out, saying the first thing that came to mind. Mikhail skated over to take a drink from the bottle of water he had set on the boards. “Thanks,” he said after taking a swig. “So, it’s finally official, huh? We’re the leads in the new production. It sounds like it’s going to be a great sh--” “Yume, you didn’t seriously come here to talk to me about the show, did you?” Mikhail interrupted. “This is about what happened last night after we left the club.” Yume, grateful that he had broached the subject first, nodded. “I think we should probably talk…about it, shouldn’t we?” He shrugged. “If you want, although I don’t think there’s much to talk about.” “What do you mean?” she asked. “You kissed me last night!” “Sorry,” he apologized, rubbing the back of his neck. “I shouldn’t have done that. To be honest, I wasn’t in the best state of mind.” He sighed, leaning his back against the boards. “If Tania and I were still together, last night would have been our third year anniversary. Our first date was during the White Nights festival I told you about. I guess I must have had a little too much to drink, trying to forget about it, and, well, I wasn’t really thinking…” So it was as she had suspected all along. The kiss hadn’t meant anything to Mikhail at all. As far as he was concerned, she could have been any random girl, any warm, feminine body. Yume didn’t understand why, but the fact left her feeling as if she had been punched in the gut. “Yume, you… You didn’t think I meant anything by kissing you, did you?” Mikhail asked, turning back around when Yume didn’t react. “If I did anything to mislead you…” Yume shook her head. “N-No, no, of course not,” she said. “We’re professional pairs partners, that’s all.” “Then you understand?” “Yeah. It was just a drunken mistake that’ll never happen again.” Mikhail looked relieved. “Good. I’m glad we cleared that up,” he said. “Do you want to join me for practice? We can start working on those side-by-side triple axels.” “Uh, my blades are being sharpened today,” Yume lied. “Besides, I‘m not feeling well, so I should probably try to rest as much as I can. Coach will kill me if I get sick again, especially now that the show has been announced.” “Okay. See you tomorrow, then?” “Yeah, tomorrow.” ***** “Ah, there’s our lovely rising star, looking…well, not very good, if I’m being honest,” Fool said, frowning when Yume returned to her dorm a few minutes later. “Something wrong? I thought you would be bouncing off the walls now that you’re officially the lead in a Kaleido Stage production.” Yume flopped face first on her bed, wishing the floor would open up below her and just swallow her whole. “I don’t want to talk about it, Fool. Just leave me alone.” Of course, Fool was never one to follow her orders. “What you need is a nice warm bath. Stay here, and I’ll go draw one up fo--” Rolling her eyes, Yume threw Snowflake at him before he could finish. “Hey, that is no way to treat the Spirit of the Stage,” Fool lectured, “especially when he is trying to do something nice for you.” “All you want is to see me naked,” Yume mumbled into the pillow she had buried her face in. “Well, I must admit that is a plus for me…” Yume lifted her head up, giving Fool her most irritated glare. For once, it seemed to work, for he gave up on the bath idea. “Fine, you’re not in the mood for a bath. Then how about a nice cup of tea?” That actually wasn’t such a bad idea. Drinking tea usually helped lift her spirits. Deciding to take Fool’s suggestion, Yume dragged herself out of bed and headed to the kitchenette to prepare a pot. While the water was boiling, there was a knock on the door. She frowned, wondering who it could be, since Pilar and the others had gone out to celebrate the announcement of the new production. For a brief, crazy moment, she thought it might be Mikhail, coming to tell her that he had lied and the kiss had meant something to him after all, and felt a small twinge of disappointment when she opened the door to find Sora standing outside instead. “Yume, are you sick?” Sora asked anxiously, entering the room uninvited and placing a hand on Yume’s forehead. “I ran into Becca and the others after the meeting, and she told me you weren’t feeling very well. Maybe you haven‘t fully recovered from your last cold…” Seeing how concerned Sora was, Yume immediately regretted telling such a silly lie. “I’m fine, Sora,” she assured her big sister. “I’m just a little tired, that’s all. It was Clarissa’s birthday yesterday, so a bunch of us went clubbing last night and didn’t get back in until late.” Sora sighed in relief. “Oh, good. I’m glad it’s nothing serious,” she said. “So, you went clubbing with your friends? Did you have fun? “Well, it was an…interesting night, I guess you could say.” Wanting to divert Sora’s attention elsewhere, she asked, “Would you like some tea? I just put on a pot.” “Tea sounds great. I’d love some.” Sora followed Yume to the kitchenette and took a seat at the table while she finished preparing the tea. “Oh, hey, Fool,” Sora said, noticing the Spirit of the Stage for the first time. “You haven’t been harassing Yume too much, have you?” “Me?” He put on an innocent face. “Of course not. I’ve been a perfect gentleman,” he said solemnly, causing Yume to scoff. “Liar. Right before Sora arrived, you were trying to convince me to take a bath so you could see me naked.” “I was just trying to be helpful. Must you always question my motives?” “You outright admitted it!” Watching their exchange, Sora stifled a giggle behind her hand. “Some things never change, do they?” “Yeah, Fool will always be a pervert -- unfortunately,” Yume said with a roll of her eyes as she brought two cups of tea over to the table and sat down across from Sora. “I’ve gotten used to it, though. Those tricks you taught me about really help.” “I’m glad.” Sora took a sip of tea, then set the cup back down, her eyes focused on Yume. “So, tell me, what exactly did you mean by ‘interesting‘?” Although she knew exactly what Sora was referring to, Yume played dumb. “Huh?” “Last night?” “Oh. Well, you know, interesting is interesting, except it really wasn’t all that interesting, so I doubt you would be interested in hearing about my completely uninteresting night,” Yume said in a fast, high-pitched voice that practically screamed the opposite. Sora laughed. “By the way you’re acting, I take it something interesting did indeed happen last night,” she guessed correctly. “If you really don’t want to talk to me about it, though, then I won’t pry.” “Thanks.” The subject switched over to the new show and some of the ideas Mia had for it, but Yume found herself not paying much attention, still thinking about Mikhail and the kiss. She wish she could just forget about it and move on like he suggested, but it wasn’t that simple. It had been, after all, her first, and it depressed her to think it had meant nothing to him at all. That wasn’t the way first kisses were supposed to be! And what about everything leading up to the kiss? Was that all an act, too? Had he been playing with her feelings the entire night, using her to forget the memory of his cheating ex-girlfriend? Had he planned to seduce her from the very start? Yume didn’t want to believe Mikhail was that cruel, but… “Uh, Yume? Yume? Hello, Earth to Yume,” Sora said, waving her hand in front of Yume’s face. “Oh!” Startled from her thoughts, Yume blushed. “Sorry, my mind must have drifted off. What were you saying?” Her sister shook her head. “It was nothing important, but are you really feeling okay?” “I’m fine,” she insisted, staring down at her nearly empty teacup. Without even noticing, she had drank almost all the liquid, only leaving the tea leaves behind. “You don’t seem fine. Are you sure you don’t want to talk about it? It might help.” “Well…” Maybe it wasn’t such a bad idea to confide in somebody about what had happened. She didn’t want to talk to her friends about it, as wonderful as they were, but on the other hand, if she kept it to herself, Yume had a feeling she would drive herself crazy. Sora seemed like the perfect confidant. “Tell me something, Sora,” Yume said after a short pause, “why are men so complicated?” Sora let out a soft chuckle. “Ah, somehow I thought this might have something to do with a boy. Did you meet somebody at the club?” “No, not exactly…” “Then it’s somebody you already know. Somebody at Kaleido Stage? One of the other skaters?” Fool, who didn’t seem to find their conversation all that interesting up until that point, suddenly perked up, flying up in front of Yume‘s face. “You’re in love with one of the skaters?” “’In love’ might be too strong a phrase,” Yume said, twirling a strand of loose hair around her finger. Fool seemed strangely disappointed. “I’m not sure I even like him like that. I mean, sure, he is attractive -- extremely attractive -- and we’ve been getting along better lately, but…” “But you’re confused,” Sora completed for her. “Yes, exactly!” “Does this mystery man like you?” Yume again looked down at her tea cup and frowned. That was the million dollar question. “Sometimes I think he might. He even kissed me last night,” she confessed. “That seems like a strong sign that he does have feelings for you.” “Except today he apologized for the kiss and told me he was drunk, so he wasn’t thinking straight at the time. He thinks we should just forget the whole thing ever happened.” “Hmm, it certainly sounds like he’s giving you mixed signals.” “What should I do, Sora?” Sora sighed and shook her head. “I wish I could give you some sage advice about love, Yume, really I do, but, to be honest, I was pretty clueless myself when it came to boys when I was your age. I mean, Ken evidently had a crush on me from the moment I arrived late for my Kaleido Stage audition, but I had no idea he liked me that way until several years later, even though Mia and Anna told me it was completely obvious to everybody else. Maybe you should ask one of your other friends.” “They would want to know all the details, including who, what, when, and where, and I don’t think I’m ready to admit this to anybody else.” “I’m sorry. I really wish I could help, but…” Though disappointed that Sora didn‘t have any real advice, she had to admit she did feel better, having told somebody. “It’s okay.” “Perhaps I can be of some assistance, then,” Fool offered, floating back down to the table and peering inside Yume’s cup. She rolled her eyes, still thinking that tasseography was a sham. “Fool, I doubt there are any answers to my questions in the bottom of my tea cup.” He clicked his tongue against the roof of his mouth. “Must you always doubt my fortune-telling abilities? Now, lessee…” Fool struggled with his tiny hands to turn the cup three times, then asked Yume to turn it over to drain what little liquid remained, which she did, deciding to humor him just once. When she turned the cup upright again, Fool stuck his head inside and concentrated on the pictures the tea leaves supposedly made. “So, what do you see?” Yume asked. “Be patient; I’m still analyzing,” he said. “Ah, but that’s rather interesting…” “What?” He again blew her off her question. Yume sighed in annoyance, but waited until he raised his head back up before asking again. “So?” “Congratulations! There’s definitely love in your near future,” Fool announced, appearing especially happy about that fact. “In fact, there may be two people in love with you.” “W-What?” Grabbing the tea cup, Yume took a look inside it herself. “Where do you see that? I don’t see anything at all!” “There are two hearts, right beside each other. Hearts are a classic symbol of love, so it’s logical to believe there are two love interests involved.” Squinting her eyes, Yume thought she saw the image of the two hearts he was talking about, although it was a bit of a stretch. “Are you sure those are hearts?” “Well, if they aren’t hearts, then what do you think they are?” She bit down on her bottom lip. “I don’t know…” she admitted. “I guess they could be, but assuming one of them is the guy I’ve been talking about, then who is the other? Definitely not Sergei or Sebastien.” And she hoped not Jason. How horrible would that be for Clarissa! Jason still only had eyes for Zoe, though, so Yume doubted it was him. Maybe Elizaveta’s partner Dmitri? He had a fiancée back home, but long distance relationships were bound to be tough… Yume shook her head and laughed. She was being ridiculous! Tasseography wasn’t real. “What’s so funny?” Fool demanded to know. “You almost had me believing you for a moment.” “I don’t know, Yume,” Sora said. She had taken the cup from Yume’s hand. “I think I see the hearts, too.” “See? Your sister agrees with me.” “B-But…” “That’s not all I saw,” he continued, ignoring Yume’s protests. “One of them does not realize he’s in love with you. The other does, but you do not love him. Also, you should be careful, because one of them may hurt you.” She had heard enough. Yume plucked the cup from Sora’s grasp and rinsed it out in the sink. Sora and Fool exchanged a look, but getting the hint, they didn’t say anything more about the matter. After chatting a few more minutes about the show, Sora excused herself and left. “So I take it you don’t believe me,” Fool said once the door had closed behind Sora. “Of course not. I’d be a fool if I did. Really, two people are in love with me? If you‘re going to make up premonitions, at least make them believable.” “Is it really that outside the realm of possibility?” His eyes roamed up Yume’s body. “You’re no supermodel, but I suppose you are moderately pretty.” Yume was far from flattered. “Gee, thanks. That‘s what every girl wants to hear.” “I’m just saying, I’m sure there are some guys out there who find you attractive. Me? I prefer a girl with a curvier body, but --” With a shake of her head, Yume grabbed full by the midsection and tossed him in her desk drawer, slamming it shut. "Pervert." DISCLAIMER: Kaleido Star doesn't belong to me.