Page 74 of Ice Dance

“Ren, do you feel prepared?” someone asked.

These weren’t gossip columns. Rinkside Daily, Icewatch. Someone with a Meridian Cup badge. A woman from a Canadian sports channel. Skating people. We weren’t going to be able to hide behind vague answers here.

“We’re prepared,” Hasegawa said. “The last four weeks have been focused, productive, and technically demanding. Tomorrow is an opportunity to show the panel our work.”

An actual microphone came up in front of me. “Camden, do you think the scrutiny has been fair?” I opened my mouth to answer, but the question continued. “There’s been a lot of talk online about whether your partnership is being pushed just because of the gender open category rather than merit.”

Well, that was rude. I laughed. “We’re not being pushed. We’re skating professionally.” It sounded defensive and there was nothing I could do about that now the words were out there.

“But the category itself is controversial. And the footage that was leaked from Saga Studios adds to the sense that Meridian is looking for headlines.”

“The footage was from training.” A lie I’d told so often I believed it. “Training gets spicy, it gets messy. Sometimes, apparently, it gets millions of views, and everyone becomes an expert in ice dance overnight.”

“Like you did.”

That was a personal dig. I felt it too.

I took a closer look at the woman asking the questions. Tight curls, narrow eyes. She didn’t like me much.

Hasegawa stepped in. “Camden is an astonishing dancer who has earned his right to dance at the Meridian through talent. He didn’t learn to dance overnight. He had talent, and has been honing it for over a decade.”

“Yes, but he’s not of your caliber,” she said. “Dancing from six. International wins. Olympic father. A lot of people are saying your pairing is unbalanced. That Camden shouldn’t be dancing a main category at the Meridian.”

Hasegawa frowned, and clearly didn’t know what to say. Neither did I.

I didn’t have time to form a reply. Someone else spoke up. “Tomorrow’s preview is a test of legitimacy, isn’t it? To prove you’re not a gimmick?”

“No,” Hasegawa said. “It’s a technical review.”

“But you understand why people are saying it?”

“I don’t understand, frankly. No.” Hasegawa’s cheek flickered.

“Did you feel pushed into the gender open category after Alisha quit?”

He shifted, backing up some as the press pushed in. “She didn’t quit, the injury removed her⁠—”

“Ren, does the gender open speak to you, as a person, off the ice?” someone else asked.

A shout from the back. “Ren, did Alisha quit before or after the club footage leaked online?”

Hasegawa swallowed, going pale in the white light. “The club footage has nothing to do with our program.”

“Camden said a moment ago it was training? Are you saying it was private?”

Another voice. “Rumors are that your relationships on and off the ice are fraught with tension.”

“Is the chemistry between you and Camden real?”

“Camden is a step down.”

“Beneath you.”

“Retirement after this?”

“You’ve never been publicly linked to anyone, no girlfriend, wife?”

Hasegawa shoved through the crowd. “My private life is not relevant.”