Frozen Fire

Ayeru Hanazuri

"This is your new assistant."

Let's just say that being introduced to your biggest idol isn't always nice. The boy standing in front of me was perfect with his politeness, grace and manners while I was gaping like a hole in the fabric.

"Good afternoon, Ayeru-san. I hope we work well together. Please take care of me," he said as he bowed very low. As a fellow Japanese, I bowed as well.

I had no idea that this would be the new 'job' my friend told me about. I thought it would be cool to work at an ice rink (get it?), even if I had never skated in my life. My friend wanted to try it out too but he never told me he would be in admin and I would be somebody's assistant. Man, is he gonna get a beating later.

As I stood up straight, the perfectionist in front of me flashed me a perfect smile showing those perfect white teeth of his. I grinned nervously and tried to hide the shaking in my knees.

I was actually standing in front of THE HANYU YUZURU. All my life I had wanted this moment to come but now that it's here, I want it to never happen. What if I screw up? What if he hates me? At least in my own fantasies, everything turns out perfectly. What if everything goes flop like that lettuce in my sandwich this morning? I don't think I can handle that humiliation.

"Ayeru-san?"

I jumped out of my own thoughts as Hanyu Yuzuru put a hand on my shoulder, concerned about my mental health. I bowed again and said in Japanese, "Thank you, Hanyu-san. I will do my best to be a good assistant. Please take care of me."

Watching him skate on my laptop is amazing. Watching him skate live in a performance is breathtaking. Watching him skate during practice 10 meters away from you and skating over for a drink every 15 minutes makes me feel like I want to die. He was so close I wanted to glomp him. However, in the Toronto Cricket Skating and Curling club and probably everywhere else in the world, being glomped by a complete stranger would probably be very embarrassing.

"Ayeru-san?"

"Yes?" I asked, jumping up.

"Could you help me with something..."

"Sure!"

"Thank you. Could you help me buy two bottles of drinks? My wallet is there if you-"

"Nope! I've got it covered!" I raced off to a vending machine to buy the drinks. When I came back, Mr Orser had given them a break and I walked up to Yuzuru Hanyu and two other skaters who were sitting in a circle. Inwardly, I wondered why he wanted two and not three. I mean, there are three of them, right? If he wanted to buy one for his friend, isn't it a social norm that if you buy for one, you buy for all? As I got closer and closer, I could hear them talking. I recognized the other two skaters as Javier Fernandez of Spain and Nam Nguyen of Canada. Yuzuru noticed me and turned to his friends, his hand outstretched in my direction and introduced me. The two greeted with smiles which I returned without hesitation. I offered the two drinks to Yuzuru but he only took one.

"Uh, Hanyu-san? You asked for two, right?"

"The other one's for you."

I felt my heart speed up and I could feel myself freeze up. Man, maybe this job wasn't so bad. I'm working for a very nice person, I get to see my idol skate every day, and my time is used wisely. I was going to have to thank my friend for once.

"Ayeru-san?"

"Oh! Oh, yes, Hanyu-san? I apologize, my brain was far away."

"You can call me Yuzu instead. We are going to be working closely with each other from now on. It's good to know each other better."