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"WE'LL BE WAITING outside," Mei-Ling said, leaving no space for rebuttals.
She took her skating bag from her luggage, and Reo did the same, even going as far as roaming through Shidou's disastrous backpack to pull out his stuff, so he wouldn't have any excuse to delay them. Once outside, Reo leaned back against the wall while Mei-Ling rested on the door, arms crossed over her chest.
"It's weird being here without Anri, don't you think?" She spoke up, looking at the ceiling.
This was their first time traveling somewhere without her, but it was bound to happen after her team had risen in popularity and more skaters had joined. Still, it didn't mean they had to like it.
"Yeah, makes me a little nervous about the competition."
"Oh, don't worry." Mei-Ling snorted. "You're on a different level, and she'll come for the Prix, which is when you'll actually need her. Even if she can't, she'll send Chris."
Prince was okay, Reo guessed. Chris Prince was also technically more of his coach now than Anri was because he had created all the programs for Reo this season. And Reo had chemistry with the guy; they understood each other on a professional level. But Anri was Anri. And Reo felt like she understood him as a person, too.
He took a deep breath. Just thinking about what was coming got his stomach all tied up in an anxious knot. "Are you nervous about the upcoming Prix?"
His friend nibbled her lip, "You want my honest answer or my staged one?"
"Give me the one you'll use on reporters."
Mei-Ling's voice adopted a soft edge, her tone crafted to be especially gentle and charismatic for the cameras. "Ah, well, there's amazing competition this year. Of course, our dream is to win, and Shidou and I have been working towards that goal. Therefore, good competition or not, we will find a way to succeed. And if we don't, we'll come back stronger. There's still World's next year."
"Sounds good, not too cocky but still confident and cool," Reo complimented. He looked at her from the side, smirking a little. "But what's your real answer?"
"I'm so nervous I'll probably fall during warm-ups," she confessed, grinning slightly. Reo didn't seem to believe her because he had seen Mei-Ling and Shidou blow away the competition on more than one occasion. His skepticism warmed her heart, making her laugh. "No, hear me out. I know we're favorites, but people believe in us, and we have a title to defend now . It'll be heartbreaking to us and everyone who supports us if we fail."
Reo had a different mindset. While he slowly became more and more confident as a junior, not panicking before competitions after he had won Nationals, Mei-Ling saw it differently, as if having won raised the stakes higher.
