I can't believe this is my 50th post!!!
Anyway, on with the new chapter!
LOVE IN THE FAST LANE=================
Chapter 8c - Romeo + Juliet
Back at the scene where the black car collided to a post…Jun stepped out of the wrecked car and kicked one of the tires out of frustration. Hearing his mobile phone ring inside his pocket, he let out a sigh and answered the call. “It’s me boss… No… I wasn’t able to catch her; the driver was a drifter… Hai, I’ll wait for the others to clean this mess.” He then flipped shut his mobile phone and growled.
“Those girls are a pain in the ass!”*****
Takamina on the other hand, is doing her best to catch up on the remaining drivers in front of her. She has successfully sped fast thru her other opponents, making her way to second place.
“Good job Takamina! There’s only 15km left of the route before the finish line.” Haruna informed her, looking at the palmtop device.
“Copy that. I’m now just a few meters behind the car in front of me. You’d better untap the device now Haruna before Sayaka and Sae do something about it.” Takamina replied.
“Roger. We’ll head back.” Haruna said. Miichan helped her turn off the high frequency noise and removed the device. They both hid their gadgets in their pockets and walked back towards Sayaka and Sae.
“Where did the two of you go? Never mind that, are your headsets working fine?” Sae asked.
“I’m not sure… we took it off when it emitted a strange noise. Maybe you could check it again?” Miichan asked, sporting an innocent look.
Sayaka carefully placed the headset in place and was glad that it didn’t give out an ear-splitting noise. “Takamina, can you hear me?” she asked. Sae, Haruna and Miichan wore their headsets to listen as well.
“I can hear you loud and clear Chief.” Takamina replied. Everyone at the other end of the line sighed in relief.
“And your status?” Sae asked, looking at the finish line for any signs of race cars approaching.
“I’m just behind the leading team… only 5.5km away from the finish line.” Takamina reported.
5 kilometers…Takamina changed lanes and stepped hard on the gas pedal. She inched closer until her car is almost beside her opponent’s.
4 kilometers…Her opponent tried to outmaneuver her by trying to bump her car at the side. Takamina smoothly dodged her opponent’s attempt while eyeing another curve ahead of them.
3 kilometers…Takamina braced the steering wheel, anticipating the bend. She suddenly turned her steering wheel once she approached the bend and drifted smoothly, emitting billowing clouds of smoke behind her. She again turned her steering wheel into position and sped straight up the race course.
2 kilometers…Takamina looked at her rear view mirror and was glad to see that her opponent was a few meters behind her.
“Now’s not the time to be overconfident. Better finish this race…” she thought.
1 kilometer…Takamina shifted her gear and stepped hard on the gas pedal, her opponent doing the same. Both their cars sped their way towards the waving checkered flag…
WINNER! AKB48 TEAM!The Flag Girls cheered as they heard the announcement. Haruna and Miichan ran towards Takamina’s car and hugged her as she got out of the vehicle.
*****
When all the excitement finally ended, the AKB48 team packed up their equipment and headed to the parking lot. Takamina stopped beside the Flag Girls’ bus, staring at the door. Mariko saw her and stepped out.
“Ano, Mariko-chan… is Acchan feeling well now?” Takamina shyly asked.
Mariko shook her head. “I’m not sure… she’s taking a nap when we got in. I think it’s best to just leave her be at this time.” She replied. Takamina nodded in understanding and walked away to her waiting cousins. Mariko stepped back in and the bus started its way out of the parking lot.
At the back of the bus, Atsuko peeked at the window. She stared at Takamina’s walking form and sighed.
*****
Meanwhile, as the Flag Girls headed back to the AKB48 headquarters, the girls chatted endlessly inside the bus.
“Takamina is so cool! Did you see how she took off her helmet? It’s like watching a movie in slow motion!” Chisato said.
“I hope she’s okay thought. I saw some scratch marks at the rear of the car. I think some driver got aggressive during the race.” Natsumi wondered. This made Atsuko look at her direction from where she was sitting. She slouched back when she saw Tomochin looking at her.
Mariko saw the interaction between the two. “Anyway, enough about the race. Tomochin, do you wanna share how you pulled Takamina out of her fangirls?” she asked. The other girls then began asking rapid questions to Tomochin.
“Oh you mean the kiss? It never really happened.” Tomochin shrugged, making Tomo-mi giggle.
“EH?!?!” the Flag Girls exclaimed.
“Care to elaborate?” Mariko asked, her “onee-sama mode” kicking in.
Tomochin flicked her hair.” Mou~~ it seems that everyone was not really listening at all… as I have said last week, Takamina and I were members of the our high school drama club. We just re-enacted a scene from Romeo and Juliet. It was all an act! We didn’t kiss in front of that crowd.” She explained.
“But… but… but… it was clear as daylight that we saw Takamina kiss you!” Yuko blurted out.
Tomochin giggled. “It was a trick that we learned from the drama club. Takamina cupped my cheek to make the fangirls think that we were kissing. We were just basically cheek to cheek. Here, I’ll show you.” Tomochin faced Tomo-mi who’s sitting beside her and then repeated how it’s done. Everyone elicited “oohs” and “aahs” in understanding.
“So that’s how it’s done. I thought all actors really kiss on stage. But it does make it look romantic thought.” Rena giggled.
“Did you know about her plan Tomo-mi?” Mayu asked.
“Not really… but I sort of had an idea. They way they interacted, it reminded me of one of the high school play videos that Tomochin made me watch. I also recognized Takamina from the videos as well. Oh! I actually have the Romeo and Juliet play installed in my iPad. Here, let me show you…” Tomo-mi said, pulling out her iPad from her bag. The girls then began huddling around her seat to take a close look. Tomochin on the other hand, stood up and made her way to the far end of the bus where Atsuko is still sulking.
“I know you were listening… And I know that what I did could’ve caused a lot of rumors in the industry…” Tomochin said as she sat beside Atsuko. Seeing that Atsuko seems more interested at the view outside the window, she tried another strategy.
“Do you like Takamina?” she bluntly asked. Atsuko looked at her in surprise, her cheeks flushed pink. Tomochin mentally patted herself seeing that her outward question had that effect on her.
“Were you in love with Takamina?” Atsuko retorted back, not answering her question.
Tomochin laughed, which made Atsuko look at her in confusion. “Of course I love her… as a friend. Takamina, Haruna and Miichan were like the sisters I never had.” She replied. “I’m in love with Tomo-mi, you know that Atsuko-chan. If things turned out differently, Takamina and I will still be the best of friends. I am happy that my best friends came back into my life.” She honestly said.
The revelation made Atsuko smile. Tomochin clasped her hands and said, “And you, Atsuko-chan are one of my friends. If you like Takamina, be honest with your feelings. Teasing is good in keeping Takamina on her toes, but don’t go overboard. You might end up seeing her really kiss another girl.” Tomochin advised.
Atsuko nodded in understanding, mentally shaking off the image of Takamina kissing another girl in her head.
“Well, now that I made everything clear, let’s watch the video of our play. You should see how Takamina looked like when she played Romeo that earned her the nickname “Takaboy” in the drama club.” Tomochin said , pulling Atsuko back to their teammates who were already engrossed in watching the video.
*****
It was almost 3am when the Flag Girls finally arrived at the headquarters. The girls groggily entered a lounge room beside the studio. As Mariko flicked the lights on, they were greeted by a sweet, powdery scent in the air.
“It smells nice in here…”Yuko said, sniffing the air. She then spotted a large stem of tiger lilies resting on a coffee table. “Acchan, looks like someone brought you a gift tonight.”
Atsuko picked up the flower then furrowed her eyebrows. “That’s strange, did someone came in the studio before us?” she asked.
“I don’t think so. Sae called me awhile ago informing me that the Pit Crew team will go out for a drink.” Yukirin said.
“Oooh… tiger lilies…” Mariko thought in understanding. “Acchan, there’s a note tucked in one of the leaves.” She pointed.
The girls gathered around Atsuko as she saw a small folded sheet of paper. Holding the flower with her other hand, she gently opened the note and read out loud the neat handwriting inside:
O, she doth teach the torches to burn bright!
It seems she hangs upon the cheek of night
Like a rich jewel in an Ethiope's ear;
Beauty too rich for use, for earth too dear!
So shows a snowy dove trooping with crows,
As yonder lady o'er her fellows shows.
The measure done, I'll watch her place of stand,
And, touching hers, make blessed my rude hand.
Did my heart love till now? forswear it, sight!
For I ne'er saw true beauty till this night.
- Act I, Scene 5"I don't get most of what's written in there, but it sure sounds romantic, with the flowers and all." Yuko said, elbowing a now blushing Atsuko.
"I wonder where this verse came from..." Atsuko whispered. Tomochin went beside her then read the note as well. Her eyes widened in realization then giggled when Atsuko looked back at her for some answers.
"You know what Atsuko-chan, you should really read your books and try to lay off reading mangas every now and then. If you do that, you might know why that person gave you tiger lilies and that specific verse." Tomochin smiled cryptically and patted Atsuko's shoulder.
Atsuko looked at the flowers and took a sniff of the sweet smell. She then reread the note and smiled, feeling warm inside her heart.
To be continued...
That's the end of the entire Chapter 8
I will wait for your feedbacks! Thank you for your continuous support everyone!
P.S. - if you want to know about the verse and about the flower, just let me know.... or you can just try to search for it on your own so that I can leave it as a mystery for everyone.
Topic: Love in the Fast Lane (multipairing) 24/11/2012 [Will be revamped/continued] (Read 159777 times)