Chapter 25
It was nighttime at the lodge and the group sat at their table ready to eat their dinner Charlotte had prepared for them. "All right let's eat!" exclaimed Sora, she thus began stuffing her face with food that was laid before her in order for the girl to gain weight. Mia who was watching this muttered "You can really put it away…"
Through a mouthful of food Sora managed to say "I'm holding up my end of the bargain I've got to gain weight!"
"Well that won't help if you slow down!" told Anna, Ken came downstairs at this time and informed the girls "Layla is going to be eating in her room again." "Huh?"
"She's still trying to lose weight?" wondered Anna
Jennifer shook her head at this "No…Being alone will help with her concentration."
Sora ceased her eating and stood up from her seat "I'll take her food up to her." Jennifer stood up also "I'll go with you Sora."
Charlotte soon handed Sora a tray filled with food and thus she and Jennifer began their upstairs, towards Layla's room. They knocked on the door and entered, inside Sora set the tray on the table "Here you go Layla…You look like you're not feeling well today…Are you all right?"
"I'm just tired…"
"Really? I've got the perfect thing! It's called Ume Boshi it's so sour! But it gives you energy, I have some my mother sent and it's in my room. It's traditional Japanese medicine, stay right here I'll go get it for you!"
Though before she could leave the room, Layla quickly stopped the girl "No thank you Sora. It's kind of you to offer but I just need a good night sleep…"
"So you don't want it?"
"Not right now but I appreciate the offer."
"If you change your mind, you're welcome to it anytime sweet dreams!" and with that Sora left just leaving Jennifer and Layla alone in the room.
The Harrington closed the door behind her and sat at the table with her friend "All right spill it, what's really wrong with you?" "I don't know what you're talking about."
"You can't fool me Layla, I know you like you know me now I won't leave this room until you tell me."
Layla simply sighed and began eating her food, but just as she lifted a spoonful of soup the blond cringed in pain and dropped her silverware. Jennifer abruptly stood up from her seat "Layla!" the Hamilton gripped her right shoulder "A-Ah…" Jennifer went over to her friend's side "I had a feeling that it was your shoulder, why didn't you tell me it was bothering you?"
Before she couldn't touch it, Layla lightly slapped Jennifer's hand away "I'm fine…If I just get some rest it'll be better tomorrow…It's got to be…" "Layla…"
The next morning Karlos, Jennifer, Layla, Mia, Anna, Charlotte and Julie had gathered at the side of the waterfall getting ready for the next practice Karlos had set up for Sora and Layla. Currently Layla was standing on a set ladder facing a trapeze swing, a few feet above the set were two sets of logs held up by wires.
"From your swing you'll jump out towards the log but you won't land on it. You'll push yourself off with one hand and return to your platform on your swing." Informed Karlos
Layla slowly reached out and tried to grab the swing only to cringe in pain and slowly put her right arm down. Luckily Mia, Anna, Charlotte and Julie didn't witness this but Karlos and Jennifer did. The two exchanged a look before looking away to find Sora and Ken running over to them.
"Sora! Glad you could join us." Said Karlos
"Sorry Boss I putting these weights on and I lost track of time! But the good news is I should weigh the same as Layla now!" told Sora
Mia who was looking at the weights strapped to Sora's waist asked "What are those?"
"Those are weights you use for scuba diving, Sora came up with the idea." Told Ken
Layla turned to her partner asking "Are you sure about this?"
"I can't let you bear the burden of these things all by yourself, I wouldn't be a very good partner if I did that now would I?"
"You're right…"
"Sora you've got a lot of work ahead of you and these weights are going to complicate things, you are nowhere near mastering this, but tomorrow we're going back to Kaleido Stage for rehearsal." Told Karlos
Both Sora and Layla firmly nodded "Right!"
Thus they began their final training for the maneuver but as they began, the two were not swinging at the same pace.
"You've got to be in sync!" told Karlos
While the partners tried to do so, Mia who was watching the training along with the others said "Sora is still going slow."
"It's got to be those weights." Muttered Anna
"Come on!" cheered Charlotte
"We know you can do it!" yelled Julie
As time progressed the two still weren't synced, Layla looked to Sora "I'll take care of the timing you just worry about getting up to the log!"
"Sounds good to me!"
Two minutes passed and soon they were completely synced together, Ken nodded and yelled "That's good! You're completely synchronized!"
From there the girls jumped from their swings and towards the logs, the two of them using their right arm to push against the large piece of wood but as they did, Karlos and Jennifer witness Layla cringe in pain and softly gasped at this.
Both she and Sora push off their logs to head back to their swings, Layla made it back to hers but unfortunately Sora missed hers by a few inches and fell to the net below. The Japanese girl looked to her partner "I'd like to try that again!" all the Hamilton did was nod and prepared once again.
At their second attempt Sora managed to make it to her swing this time but during the time they were pushing against the log, Layla cringed in pain once more and right arm gave out. In turn her shoulder smacked right into the log and she fell to the net below. Sora happened to saw her partner fell "Oh no Layla!"
She dropped from her swing to the net and once landing safely, Sora crawled over to Layla "Layla are you all right? You didn't hurt yourself did you?"
The Hamilton just grabbed her shoulder and calmly said "No…"
"I'm sorry this is my fault isn't it? Cause you had to match your timing with me!"
"This has nothing to do with that!" Layla let go of her shoulder and stood up "Come on let's get back to work we don't have any time to waste Sora!" "Ok…"
Later that day everyone had returned to the lodge and currently Jennifer was in her room packing up her things when Layla came storming in. The Harrington jumped a bit but quickly relaxed "Oh goodness! Don't surprise me like that Layla!"
The blond say nothing more but quickly closed the door, immediately sensing something wrong Jennifer went over to her best friend "Layla what's wrong?" suddenly the Hamilton collapsed right on the spot, having Jennifer quickly catch her in time "Layla!"
She gently sat her friend on the ground and wrapped an arm around her "It's your shoulder isn't it?" Layla slowly reached up and held her shoulder "Y-Yeah…" "Layla…I think it's time you get your shoulder checked out if it's bothering you this much." "That's not going to happen…I just need to hold out until all this is over…" "Oh Layla…"
"Promise me you won't tell Sora."
"I…"
"Promise me Jennifer!"
"I promise…"
The following day the group was riding in a plane making their way back to Kaleido Stage. As they were nearing the stage Sora looked out the window to find the city below them and thought "I can't believe we're already back at Kaleido Stage…Layla and I have worked really hard and we've both come a long way but still…I'm not sure if it's going to be enough…I'm starting to worry…What's going to happen if the Fool still thinks we're not qualified?"
Soon the plane landed in the water near Kaleido Stage and as the group made their way towards the building, the people who were once part of Kaleido Stage but joined Yuri's company came out to greet them. Sora was completely caught off guard by this "They…" "Thank you for the warm greeting." Told Layla
Jean stepped out from the group and smiled at them "Welcome home Layla, Sora…"
"Jean!" Layla said in surprise
"Everyone here realizes that…Kaleido Stage isn't what it could be or what it used to be anymore."
"But tomorrow's show…That's going to be the first real thing we've done since you've left and Yuri took over." Said a male performer
"That's why we're doing our best to get everyone excited about it!" said a female performer
"This is the kind of show we want to be a part of!" said another male performer
Sora happily smiled at this "You guys…"
"I didn't think you'd come…"
The former Kaleido Stage group parted in order for Yuri to approach Layla and the others. Who frowned at the sight of him.
Once standing in front of them Yuri said "Well? Has that so called spirit of the stage given you his stamp of approval?"
The group remained quiet at this and Yuri scoffed "I didn't think so…Sounds like you won't be able to do it after all. You might as well just admit it and fortunately there's still plenty of time to cancel just said the word and it's off."
"Your juvenile taunting isn't helping them." Told Karlos
Yuri growled under his breath before smirking "Right…It's you…The man who cares more about his wallet than his performers!"
Yuri then approached Layla and Jennifer "I'd expected the two of you to have more sense in this…Layla you can't perform the legendary great maneuver tomorrow…No one can, it's impossible!"
"That's enough Yuri" snapped Layla
"Do you want to kill yourself?"
"Yuri!"
"Karlos is just using you! How can you not see that? You can't do this!"
"Well then you shouldn't have announced the show! Layla and Sora are going on tomorrow and what's more they're going to succeed! Everyone else here is supporting them and wishing the girls the best of luck except you!" Jennifer said in a serious tone
"Karlos will get what he wants! He'll send Layla and Sora to their deaths as long as it helps the bottom line. He'll destroy anyone for money just like he did to my Father…Isn't that right Karlos?...Or maybe…You were just hoping to get this place back but either way Kaleido Stage is over…"
"What are you saying?" demanded Layla
"My remaining investors have decided to sell Kaleido Stage after tomorrow's show…It doesn't matter whether you can do the maneuver or not!" told Yuri who now began chuckling "Well I guess now you know how pointless it is! For you to try and insist on performing that stupid stunt!"
Layla stormed up to Yuri but Jennifer immediately pulled her best friend back and slapped the Killian hard in the face.
The force of the hit caused Yuri to fall on one knee, he held his cheek and looked at Jennifer in shock. She simply just glared down at him "Layla and I were proud to be your partner Yuri…So don't make us feel ashamed of you now! You need to pull yourself together."
Layla smiled a bit at this and patted her best friend's shoulder then looked at her partner "Sora!"
"Yes?"
"We're still going on tomorrow, we're going to do the legendary great maneuver tomorrow no matter what!"
"Right"
Soon Layla walked pass Yuri with Jennifer following "We'd never cancel the show."
Later that day much to Jennifer's worry, Layla asked her friend to take her to the hospital to see Kate about her shoulder. Currently they were sitting in Kate's office after she took an x-ray of Layla's shoulder "You go away for a month and come back broken…How could you let this go one for so long before coming in? The pain must be excruciating! What probably happened is that you pulled a muscle in Arizona and then you kept training with it and developed a stress fracture…It'll probably take some surgery to fix this."
"I can't do that…I've got a performance tomorrow." Told the Hamilton
"Layla are you insane? If you put any more stress on your right shoulder I may not be able to fix it!"
"I've got to go on!"
"Layla!"
"All I need for you to do for me is give me something to kill the pain and I'd appreciate it very much if you didn't mention this to anyone."
"You're not serious! Jennifer please tell me she's not serious!"
"Unfortunately she is Kate and if you were tell me to talk some sense into Layla I would have no luck, I know how stubborn my best friend can be." Told Jennifer
Suddenly Layla blacked out and began falling out of her chair, Jennifer quickly caught her friend just in time "Layla? Layla?"
10 minutes later Layla was currently sleeping in a hospital bed with Jennifer sitting by her side, as she watched in worry Kate left to make some phone calls.
"Oh Layla…You really got yourself in a mess this time…" muttered Jennifer
Kate soon came back and gently placed her hand on the Harrington's shoulder "Karlos and the others are on their way…I'm sorry but I had to Jennifer."
"No it's quite all right…I'm sure Layla will understand too…"
5 more minutes passed until Sora and the others arrived and dashed into the room. Kate immediately left Layla's side after checking up on her and pulled the curtains to hide the Hamilton and Jennifer from the others. Sora quickly approached the female doctor "How is she?"
"Well…Right now she's sleeping…Jennifer is with her right now…" told Kate
"Did Layla come because of her shoulder?"
"How did you know that?"
"I thought so…She did hurt herself…So she was hiding that from me…"
"But will she be all right Kate?" asked Sara
"Uh…Well…" said Kate
"We'll have to cancel the show tomorrow won't we?" concluded Sora
"It might be for the best if her condition doesn't improve…" told the doctor, having everyone gasp at this.
"I should have said something…I knew she hurt herself…But she said…We wouldn't keep secrets from each other…" said Sora
Yuri immediately became angered at this and grabbed Karlos by the collar "You! Did you want to kill Layla too? You stay away from Jennifer if you're going after her next!"
Sora quickly went over to Yuri and tried to make him let go of Karlos "Please Yuri he didn't know!"
The Killian growled and pushed her away, the force of the push caused Sora to fall to the floor. Ken, Mia, Anna and Sara quickly went to her side "Sora!"
"Stop this right now, this is a hospital!" snapped Kate
"If Sora saw that she was hurt, how could you not notice when you were her coach Karlos? You knew what was going on and you just kept pushing her!" yelled Yuri
"That's not true!" told Sora
"He would never do something like that!" exclaimed Sara
"You're right…I knew she was hurt…" admitted Karlos and everyone stared at the former boss in shock.
Jennifer emerged from the curtain and stood by Karlos' side "So did I…Both Karlos and I knew Layla was in a lot of pain, she couldn't have hidden that from neither me nor Karlos."
Sora got up and approached the two "Then why didn't you stop her?"
"Isn't it obvious? Karlos just wanted Kaleido Stage back no matter what it cost! And he probably brainwashed Jennifer which is why she didn't stop Layla!"
Suddenly Layla came out from behind the curtain, wearing a sling on her right arm "No…That's not true and you know it."
Jennifer looked at her friend, feeling relief to see her all right "Layla…"
"How do you feel?" asked Sora
"I'm sorry…But I felt I had to contact your friends." Told Kate
Layla walked over and joined Jennifer's side and looked at Yuri "I know…The reason why Karlos or Jennifer didn't say anything about my injury was because they knew this was something I had to decide for myself. Isn't that right you two?"
Karlos sighed before looking straight at Yuri "I should've had the same fate in Arlon all those years ago…After I saw him practice, I started to get an idea of exactly how dangerous the maneuver would be and of course…I was more than a little bit nervous that he would fail but Arlon was determined to perfect for Kaleido Stage. He said that by having the legendary great maneuver onstage would put us on the map. He was a shrewd business man and I trusted him but after their last rehearsal I got nervous and said I'll understand if you want to cancel. I put that seed of doubt in his head…I should have supported him to the end but I didn't…I won't do that again Sora and Layla will have to make up their own minds about this."
"Oh Karlos! You've finally broken free from the past!" exclaimed Sara
"How ridiculous! Your little story didn't fool me for a second Karlos! I'm the one in charge here and I'm cancelling!" said Yuri
"If you cancel that show I will never forgive you Yuri!" declared Jennifer
"Neither will I!" said Layla
Yuri looked at the two childhood friends "Jennifer…Layla you can't go out there in that condition you'll get yourself killed! Jennifer talk some sense into her!"
"Layla…I think that maybe we should cancel…" said Sora
Layla turned to the girl and questioned "What did you just say?"
"Just until you're completely healed, we can do the maneuver some other time. I mean when you're well enough."
"Some other time?"
"I.."
"When will that be? A month, ten years?"
"I don't-"
"When we're ready will Kaleido Stage even exist anymore? How do I even know that you're not going to be the one that's injured or that we'll both be still even around?"
"I…I can't answer that…"
"And what about the people who are already bought their tickets? As far as I'm concerned Sora this show has already started and I won't disappoint anyone by not showing up. After my Mother died I watched my Father give into his grief. I swore to myself I'd do whatever I could to keep my Father happy…And then I…He's disappointed in me…I don't want to disappoint anyone else, not even Jennifer."
Jennifer smiled at her friend and patted her on the back "You could never really disappoint me Layla."
"Layla is that worth risking your life? This is crazy!" said Yuri
"Yuri…How can you of all people not know why I need this? It's for the applause I get when I'm perfect."
"For the applause you get?"
"So that's why…She does it…" muttered Sora
"This is a test of my will and I'm going to pass it, I can do this! And when I do I'll get the applause I want. If I back out now I may never be sure of our success again I have to go through with this and that's why we can't cancel this performance, understand?"
"Of course! I know exactly how important this is to you Layla because doing the legendary great maneuver and hearing the audience applaud is also important to me too!"
Yuri stared at the two and began thinking back to what his father once said to him, Jennifer was surprise to see his look slowly turn into a sad one "Yuri…" the Killian simply turned away and walked off "Do what you want…"
Then Fool floated right down in front of Layla and Sora "So…The two of you aren't afraid of dying then are you?"
Layla confidently smiled at the spirit "Why fear it when it won't happen?"
Sora nodded in agreement "We'll perform it perfectly."
Fool nodded in approval at their statements and said "The time…Is now!"