PART 25
MAKI - SEPTEMBER 5TH
You don't get to where I am without learning a few things. Like never mention the word "album" around Maeda Yuki. And if you walk into a bar and see Yasuda Kei sitting alone at a table, turn around and walk right out or you'll never escape.
Oh! And never ever call Saitou Hitomi dowdy... too bad Miyoshi Chinatsu had to learn that the hard way...
But most importantly, if you walk into a room and Nakazawa Yuko grins and waves you over, you're screwed.
I sighed and resigned myself to my fate.
"Nakazawa! What a nice surprise!" I lied through my grinning teeth as I walked over and sat down across the table from her.
"Don't lie, Maki, you're terrible at it," she replied. "I need to talk to you."
"Ma'am, yes, ma'am!" I exclaimed, saluting.
"Don't make me hurt you," Nakazawa shot back.
"Sorry."
"Gocchin, I'm afraid I've been thinking,"
"A dangerous pastime," I half-sang.
"I know." Nakazawa paused, realized what we'd just said, and glared at me.
"Sorry," I apologized again.
"You need to get laid."
"What!?" I exclaimed. "Are you drunk!?"
"A little, but that's not the point. The point is that the insane Yossy fiasco made me realize something."
"That Yoshizawa Hitomi has a perverted mind and overactive imagination?" I asked.
"Besides that!" Yuko sighed and leaned back in her chair. "Maki, when's the last time you even kissed someone?" I bit my lip and looked away. "Exactly," Yuko continued. "I mean, there are 17 gay or bi women in Hello! Project! Just pick one!"
"Yuuchan!"
"And that's not even COUNTING the Eggs or any of the jailbait!" she continued. "And I think I know why you can't get a date."
"Oh really."
"You suck at flirting," she said simply.
"What!?" I exclaimed.
"Now don't get defensive! It's true."
"And what, you're going to teach me? Why are you being so nice?" I looked at her suspiciously.
"Because I've had just enough to drink to be pleasant. Now..." she trailed off as her cell phone rang. "Ok, I've got to get this, but YOU are going to flirt with and pick up the next girl that comes in here."
"But - !"
"And you better do it before the pleasantness wears off. Got it?" she snapped before flipping open her cell phone. "Hellooo?" she said sweetly. I glanced around the empty cafeteria, hoping everyone was at some big rehearsal I didn't know about.
The door swung open. My heart skipped a beat.
The sunlight streaming through the hallway windows backlit the curvy figure. Clutching a can of iced tea, she ran her fingers through her short hair and glanced around before striding confidently over to the first table and sitting down. The door swung shut, cutting off the source of fierce afternoon sun, finally giving me a clear look at my apparent target.
I almost fell over in sheer relief.
Winking at Nakazawa, who was now yelling at someone on the phone, I got up from my chair and sauntered over to the other table. She glanced up at me and set her tea down on the table.
"Hey!"
"I need a huge favor," I grinned flirtatiously, sitting down across from the idol's idol.
"Well, I definitely owe you one," Aya smiled back. "What's up?"
"Nakazawa demanded that I pick up the next woman who walked in here," I replied, reaching out and touching her arm. Aya looked down at my hand on her arm and then back up at my smirking lips and pleading eyes.
"Do you always do everything Nakazawa tells you to?" she smiled shyly and looked away.
"When she's being disturbingly nice, yes," I replied, leaning closer. "Thank you so much."
"Yeah, yeah," she looked down at the table before glancing up at me. "So, why is your former leader making you hit on people?"
"Why is your best friend setting you up on blind dates with a barely-legal narcissist?" I retorted, raising an eyebrow. Aya leaned her head back and laughed just as my cell phone vibrated in my pocket. I reached down and pulled it out.
"youll need to do better than that
aya likes the charmers
yuko"
I glanced over my shoulder at Nakazawa, who simply raised her mysterious looking "water" bottle at me in a toast.
"What?" Aya asked, trying to grab my phone from me. I whisked it out of her hands, wagged my finger at her playfully, and shoved the phone back in my pocket.
"Yuuchan just told me that I need to try harder because you like charmers," I explained, reaching across the table to tuck a stray piece of hair behind Aya's ear. Aya glanced away and flushed a little. I raised an eyebrow. "Hmm? Is there someone I should know about?"
"No!" Aya sighed and shook her head. "God, why won't everyone just leave it the hell alone?"
"What's wrong?" I asked, dropping all pretenses and looking at her in concern.
"Nothing." She wouldn't meet my gaze.
"Oh, don't give me that." I reached out and touched her chin, turning her face back towards me. "What's wrong?"
"I have - had - a stupid little crush on someone. And then Miki, and I guess Nakazawa, found out about it and now everyone's blowing it out of proportion, acting like I'm in love. And I keep telling them it's just a crush and I'll get over it and please stop mentioning it, but..." she sighed.
My mind was whirling. Charmer. Crush. Miki found out instead of being told.
Bingo.
"You got Yossy'd!" I laughed.
"Oh, like you're one to talk," she snapped.
"True," I admitted, leaning back in my chair.
"And you're proof that you CAN get over Ms Yoshizawa, no matter what these crazies think, right?" she continued, rolling her eyes a little.
"When did this happen anyway?" I asked, ignoring the question.
"Oh, last year sometime. When she kissed me."
"When she WHAT?" I sat bolt upright.
"Yossy walked in on me and Miki rehearsing the Melodies kiss and, well..."
"Oh my God, tell me you did not have a threesome with - "
"WHAT!? NO!" Aya looked horrified and amused. "Miki was being an ass about it, so Yossy kissed me right there as revenge."
"Man, they're weird..." I muttered.
"You have no idea. She grabbed me and... It was... well, I probably don't have to tell you." Aya giggled.
"Wait. She didn't Mr Moonlight you, did she?"
"Huh?"
"Come here," I said, standing up. Aya looked a bit confused, but stood up and walked over to me. I grabbed Aya by the waist and pulled her to me before dipping her backwards and leaning into her.
"Um..."
"Did she do this?" I asked, my face only centimeters from hers. Wow, I never noticed she has a mole on her upper lip before...
"Pretty much, yeah," she confirmed, her face turning pink. I set her back upright and shook my head.
"Stealing my moves," I grumbled, flopping back down in my chair.
"What?"
"I used to do that to her as a joke back when she, Abe, and I were vying for the lead in Mr Moonlight," I complained.
"Huh..." Aya shook her head a little.
"Are you ok?" I asked.
"Yeah... sorry, I'm leaving tomorrow, so I'm a little distracted," she replied.
"Leaving? Oh! That's right, your Hawaii thing."
"Yeah... I really need to finish packing, so, I guess I'll talk to you later," Aya stood up to leave.
"But Nakazawa..." I turned around to find the cafeteria empty.
"Oh, she got bored and left when you were in the middle of, uh, Mr Moonlight-ing me," she explained. I laughed sheepishly.
"I'm sorry. Did that make you uncomfortable?" I glanced away. "Sometimes I don't know what gets in to me these days..."
"What? No, not uncomfortable... not at all..." she trailed off thoughtfully. "Oh well. See you around, Maki." She turned and sauntered out.
It might have been my imagination, but I swear she was swinging her hips a little more as she walked. At any rate, I was somehow mesmerized by them. She paused in the door way and turned around.
"Good thing she didn't tell you to sleep with the next girl who came in, huh?" she winked and pushed the door open, blinding me again with the bright sunlight.
"Right, good thing..." I muttered, grabbing her abandoned iced tea off the table and downing it in one gulp.
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Topic: [END] memoir III: memory (I SLAYED THE BEAST!) (Read 155971 times)