Moment of Truth

Chapter 18: Words

My hand felt like fire after touching Yuzuru's. I had never felt that sensation before. And it didn't hurt. In fact, I wanted more. But I can't just hold Yuzuru's hand whenever I want to. That's not how that works. I guess I'll never hold his hand again. I'll just have to remember the feeling of it. Even though it'll make me want it more.

"Ricky, I know you're bored, but you could stop poking me. Thanks," I say swatting away Ricky's hand as I'm at Yuzuru's practice. Ricky decided to tag along even though he found figure skating 'boring'. Which I smacked him in the head for.

"Sorry," Ricky apologizes sarcastically. "I wanted to hang out with you today and this is what I get."

"You know I have to be at the rink practically every day. It's kind of my job if you forgot."

"But Yuzuru is getting better at speaking English. He doesn't need you all the time."

"That's cause I'm teaching him English little by little. But there are still times that he needs me."

"Marie, can you come here really quick?" Coach Brian calls to me as him and Yuzuru are in the middle of the rink. I've learned to walk on the ice when I need to.

"See, they need me," I say to Ricky before leaving him to do my job.

"I need you to explain to Yuzuru about how he needs to express himself during 'Let's Go Crazy'. I don't think he understands that he needs to be playful and have fun during the song," Coach Brian explains before going to Javier who is doing a spin with Coach Tracy watching over him. "I'll be back in a few minutes."

"I don't get what he wants from me," Yuzuru says in Japanese. He looks at me expecting a full explanation.

"Well, he says you need to be playful and have fun during the song," I repeat from what Coach Brian told me. "When you skate, you concentrate so much on your technical aspects that you are lost to the music. It is a happy, upbeat song after all. Like when you are in your step sequence, play with the crowd. They're already going to love you, but if you give them a smirk; look at them. Pushing your hair back was a great decision so everyone can see your face. And make bigger arm motions. You're a bigger-than-life figure to these people. Just like Prince. People craved him and his personality. The crowd craves you and your every move. They want to go crazy with you. And really sell that knee glide. It's your rock star moment. Do you get what I'm saying?"

"I want to have fun, but I have to think about my jumps and my choreography. I'm already doing a song people wouldn't think from me."

"What do you want to say with this program, Yuzu? What's the message that you want to tell the audience when they see you skate to 'Let's Go Crazy'? What kind of Yuzuru is coming forward when the crowd sees you on the ice? Dig deep into yourself and see what you want from this short program. Then you can find that playful, fun-loving Yuzuru that will wow the crowd with this program. Now. I want to see you rehearse the whole program, but think fun, think playful, think rock star. Think Prince. And then come back to me."

Yuzuru nods his head before going to Coach Brian on the other side of the rink. I see them converse for a little bit before Yuzuru takes the center of the ice. Javier skates to the other side with Coach Tracy as Coach Brian sets up the music for Yuzuru. I walk back over the the benches but I don't sit down just yet. Yuzuru gets into his starting pose and then the music starts. I lean against the wall closest to me as I prepare myself to watch Yuzuru's performance critically.

The music begins to play and Yuzuru takes off. I watch his face as he exudes confidence. He'll look over at where I am and give a winks or he'll nod his head to the music. When he kicks his leg up after a jump, he does so with such enthusiasm. His arm movements have become a lot bigger and grander. He starts to play with the music during his footwork. I am so engaged in the performance. I can't look away or I might miss everything. Yuzuru transitions into his jumps smoothly and nails them. After the song ends and he hits his final pose, I immediately start clapping. Yuzuru lets go of his final pose and scratches the back of his head. He starts bowing in every direction as if he's actually at competition. Coach Brian starts to skate towards him, but Yuzuru comes directly to me.

"How was that?" Yuzuru asks anxiously. I walk away for a quick moment to get his special towel so he can wipe of the sweat from from his brow.

"It was great!" I exclaim happily. "If you skate like that at NHK and at the Grand Prix Finals, no one will be able to touch you. That's exactly the Yuzuru that needs to be the ice during your short program."

"Thank you!"

Yuzuru throws his arms around him and gives me big hug. I'm caught off guard at first, but I hug him back, giving him a little squeeze. Coach Brian smiles to himself before calling Yuzuru over to him. Yuzuru lets go of the hug first. He bows to me and I bow back as he skates to Coach Brian, who debriefs him about that run.

"Just little talk and you were able to get that out of him?" Ricky asks, pulling me out of thoughts.

"I just told him what to do to wow the audience. Telling him what to do as a coach isn't going to encourage him as much, so I thought of what I would want to see as if I'm a long time fan watching him," I explain as I sit back down.

"Well, that really helped him out. He looked great out there."

"He really did. I'm glad."