8 Chapter 8

“Fuck you,” Mahiro calls and pulls the note off his door. “I can’t help that I’m nervous.”

“I know, so we may as well take advantage of it,” Adam says from his open door across the hall. “Have you sent him his ‘welcome to the party’ email yet?”

“That’s what I came up here to do.”

“Not to give you advice or anything, but I will anyway: remember this guy is used to performing through pain. He’s probably stronger than you’re used to, but don’t take advantage of it.”

“I know, I remember what it’s like.” Mahiro remembers the horrifying bruises and bloodied feet; he wonders if Alex’s skating has left any permanent imprints. “I wonder if he still skates at all.”

“Probably. You still do. Why wouldn’t he?”

Mahiro nods and sits down to compose the list of instructions for Alex’s visit on Friday. Simple, to the point, no room for misunderstanding.

Alex: