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Jean-Jacques Leroy could remember a time when he hated the ice.
He was about six years old when he became absolutely fed up with the path that his parents wanted for him to take. As the son of former Olympic ice dance champions, Jean-Jacques was brought up with very high expectations from his parents who wished for their son to one day outshine them on the international stage. He was never allowed to do whatever he wanted, as all of his spare time was spent on the ice. Day after day of school, home and rink repeated in an everlasting cycle became annoying and Jean-Jacques could not take it anymore. He became disgusted at the thought of lacing up his skates and spending his childhood on ice. He wanted to be like the other kids in his class, kids who enjoyed afternoons off baking with their parents or watching cartoons in front of the television. He began to fake illnesses and stomach bugs as excuses to not return to his life on ice. After a week, his parents realized what was really happening with their son.
“Jean-Jacques, you can’t stop now.” His father tried to convince him. “You’ve always loved the ice.”
“Your father is right, Jean-Jacques.” His mother added. “Skating had been your passion ever since you began to walk.”
“I just don’t like it anymore, okay mom, okay dad?” Jean-Jacques turned and pulled his pillow over his head. “Can we please just be like a normal family, for once?”
“Normal families skate too.” His mother tried to argue, however his father stopped her.
“How about if we go one last time?” He gently pulled the pillow away from his son’s head. “So you can experience the ice and decide whether or not you really want to say goodbye to a life this way?”
With much grumbling and annoyance, Jean-Jacques agreed. As he skated laps inside the over crowded indoor skating rink (forward, backwards, occasional crossovers that he learned by watching boys playing hockey), he could not help it but to feel sorry for what he was about to give up. He loves skating, and skating is a very big part of his life. However, he longed to be like other boys in his class, boys who did not treat the ice rink as their second home, boys who have normal non-Olympic champion parents with nine to five jobs and boys who did not spend their time in sparkly costumes (He really didn’t like the sparkly costumes, the attention that they draw to him makes him feel very exposed. His parents were a big fan of the sparkly costumes despite his protests.).
He was skating past the same girl for the fifth time when he noticed her staring at him.
She looked about his age with black pigtails and sparkling blue eyes. A lot of clothes was piled onto her body in an effort to protect her from the ice: snow pants, thick coat, helmet, gloves and even a bright red scarf. When she caught him returning her gaze, she looked away so abruptly that Jean-Jacques began to question whether she was really looking at him in the first place.
The girl began to skate slowly forward in a squatting position. She flung her arms back and forth in terror when she gained a little speed, throwing off her centre of balance.
Jean-Jacques winced when she fell on her front.
He stopped in front of her and offered her his hand. “Are you okay?” He asked.
She took his hand and got up with difficulties. When she finally made it, she let out a long sigh. “Thank you!” She smiled sweetly at him. “Actually, if you don’t mind, can you just take me off the ice for a few seconds? I’ve been trying to go and get some water for a very long time but I just can’t seem to skate there myself” She pointed to the water fountain on the other side of the rink.
“Yeah sure.” Jean-Jacques offered her his arm and she latched onto it gladly.
It took five minutes before he managed to get the girl off of the ice, as she refused to inch forward out of fear. When he finally got her off of the ice, Jean-Jacques felt exhaustion like he had never felt before.
“I am Isabella Yang and I’m six years old.” The girl now had a name. “What’s your name?”
“Jean-Jacques Leroy. Also six.” The conversation fell into an awkward silence. “Were you watching me skate?”
“No.”
The conversation became more awkward than before as the children both fell silent. In an effort to rescue the conversation for the last time, Jean-Jacques found himself asking. “So, um, Isabella, what do you want to be in the future?”
“I want to become an Olympic champion one day!” Isabella waved her arms in the air excitedly as the awkward cloud lifted, “I want to become a figure skater with beautiful and sparkly costumes and lots and lots of fancy jumps.”
“But you can barely skate.” Jean-Jacques cringed at the thought of sparkly costumes. “How are you gonna make it to the Olympics without knowing how to skate.”
Isabella put on her boys-are-so-annoying face. “Well Mr. Smartypants, everyone’s gotta start somewhere. No one is born perfect.” She paused as she fiddled with a piece of her hair thoughtfully. “Besides, my mommy also said that everything gets better with practice. So if I practice lots and lots, then I’ll be able to become a world famous figure skater champion. As long as you don’t give up. If you give up then you lose.”
“Well, looking at your skating skills, I can say for certain that no matter how much practicing will not make you any better.” Jean-Jacques noted seriously.
“You are such a big meanie!” Isabella balled her fists together and began to hit Jean-Jacques on the arm. He winced as a shower of fists hit him. For a girl her size, Isabella sure had a lot of strength and power. “Take that back!”
“Ow ow ow ow ow.” Jean-Jacques yelped in pain. “I take it back I take it back I’m sorry. I’m sorry.” He threw his hands up in a surrendering position.
Isabella stopped hitting him on the arm instantly and smiled sweetly at him. Jean-Jacques cringed; there was something more behind that smile. “If you are really sorry, take me on a stroll on ice. I’ve seen you skate, and you might just be the best skater here right now!” She named her price for her forgiveness.
“So you were watching me skate!” Jean-Jacques exclaimed.
“Well Jean-Jacques, it is really hard to miss you on ice, considering the fact that you were doing all sorts of fancy moves that six year olds can’t do.” Isabella shot back. “By the way, your name, it’s so weird and hard to say!”
“Well, it’s not my fault that my parents merged the name of my two grandfathers.” Jean-Jacques replied as he gazed at his parents hand in hand on the ice. His father lifted his mother off of the ice and from where he was sitting, Jean-Jacques could hear her giggling in delight. They looked so happy together on the ice. All that was missing from the picture was him.
“What about JJ?” Isabella’s face appeared in front of him and interrupted his train of thoughts.
“JJ?” Jean-Jacques questioned that name.
“Yeah, JJ. You know, Jean and Jacques both starts with a ‘J’. So JJ!” Isabella explained.
“JJ.” Jean-Jacques repeated to himself. The name was oddly starting to grow on him. “JJ.” He repeated again.
“Do you not like it?” Isabella asked, a thin line was beginning to form on top of her forehead in concern.
“I love it.” He smiled back at her. Isabella grinned back happily. “I’m JJ, JJ is me!”
“Well come on JJ, you promised that you will skate with me!” Isabella slipped her in his and grabbed on tight. Pulled against his will, JJ had no choice but to walk with her. Hand in hand, the two walked onto the ice.
And fell…
Isabella laughed as soon as the terror of falling had passed her while JJ sat dumbfounded on the ice. He hadn’t had an encounter with the ice like this in a very long time. Isabella had slipped as soon as she got onto the ice and in the process she dragged JJ down with her.
“Don’t give up JJ!” She got up and held out her hand to him. “Don’t let it get to you. Let’s go and fly on the ice!”
“I think you are better off with that.” JJ pointed at the children skating with the pylons.
“You promised.” She pursed her lips and glared at him.
“Fine, fine.” He got up and grabbed onto Isabella’s hand again. “Just hang onto me really really tight and don’t let go. Don’t lean back like this, or we will fall. Okay?”
“Okay!” Isabella exclaimed in delight. Two seconds later, Isabella’s screams of terror echoed throughout the ice rink.
“It was amazing!” Isabella gulped down the fresh air hungrily after they skated a lap. “I’ve never just skated that fast before, so it was scary.”
“Un huh.” JJ replied sarcastically.
“I just need to get used to it, that’s all.” She explained as a grin slowly bloomed on her face “Again?”
“If you don’t scream this time.” JJ extended his hand out to her.
For the remainder of that afternoon, JJ dragged Isabella around the ice in circles. By the end of their time together, the two had become friends.
“Next Saturday?”Isabella asked.
“Next Saturday.” JJ replied. He waved at her through the car window and watched in sadness as it drove away.
That evening, he told his parents that he wanted to give skating another chance. As soon as he told them, they jumped up in excitement and joy and took turns hugging and placing kisses on him.
“But only if you call me JJ!” JJ declared.
For the rest of the week, JJ counted down the days until Saturday. When it finally arrived (7 days too long in JJ’s opinion), JJ skipped to the rink with his parents.
But Isabella was not there. Nor was she there the next Saturday or the next. As weeks became months and months became years, JJ learned to accept that he was probably never seeing Isabella again. However, he never forgot about the girl with pigtails and the eyes the colour of sky who named him JJ.
But the red strings of fate would have it, the two were destined to meet again in the future, where their story would continue.