Hey, hey! selenis here with the
same prologue you have seen over at AI…
Disclaimer: Insert standard one here, to the effect that I of course, do NOT, nor will I EVER own Sailor Moon (Even though I would be glad to!). However, this storyline is completely of my own imagination and I will be really P.O. if it is copied.
The morning sun shone steadily overhead as the audience below them sat expectantly in their seats, waiting for the valedictorian to finish speaking. The sunlight glinted on three heads of gold as they sat together and eagerly anticipated the end of the speech.
"Oh my God!" one of them whispered. "I still can't believe that we're actually finished!"
"Relax Mina," another said as she tried to release her hand from the other's crushing grip. "We still have to endure the diploma ceremony and the endless parties after Grad. Not to mention that we will still have to be up on Monday morning and report in to work." She said with mirth in her voice, which belied the seriousness of her words. Mina just gripped her hand harder and tried to suppress a squeal as her friend rolled her eyes. The other person chuckled as the valedictorian ceased his endless droning and Mina practically bounced in excitement as the Dean began to present diplomas.
"Hard to believe she's actually getting her Economics Degree isn't it?" the distinctly male voice added in. This time Mina rolled her eyes in response.
"Thanks so much for the vote of confidence, Drew." He chuckled again in reply.
"Mina Alden." Mina fairly flew off her seat in excitement and her friends snickered when she almost tripped over her robes as she rushed up to receive her degree.
" So Sere, given any thought to that proposal I mentioned the other day?" Andrew asked as the two of them waited for Mina to return. Serena smiled slightly in response.
"Drew, it's a great idea, but where are we going to get the money to start this business? I mean neither of us is exactly rolling in spare cash. Its always hard enough to pay off student loans, who in their right minds would loan us any money?" She finished, clearly disappointed.
"Let me worry about that, Sere. You just work long enough to pay off your loans, and when you are finished, I'll have enough to get us started."
"From where, Drew?" Serena questioned quietly.
"Let me worry about that." Andrew said as he flashed her his innocent smile.
"Drew…." She began threateningly.
"I'll tell you about it later, Sere. They've reached the Ps" Andrew said as he sat back in his seat with a small smile on his face.
"Congratulations Dare!" a small black blur squealed as it launched itself into Darien's arms. Darien laughed in reply and wrapped it in a bear hug.
"Thanks Raye!" Darien laughed as he hugged his sister. He scanned the crowd behind them, where happy parents were congratulating their children and sighed. "Father isn't here is he?" he asked his sister in a neutral voice. She looked up at his blank expression and sighed.
"No, Dare. I had to get Robert to drive me here. Father told me that he expected to see you in his office at seven o'clock Monday morning and then he and Mother," she spat the word out. "Left for a soiree in Greece." Darien sighed in disappointment and then forced a smile on for his sister's sake.
"C'mon you only have to endure her for a little while longer. You know how often the others have lasted, and you'll be starting university in the fall anyways." He gave her a small hug. "Let's go grab something to eat. Where did Robert tell you to meet him?"
Late afternoon sunlight spilled in through the large windows that occupied the wall on the far side of the empty room. "What do you think Sere?" Andrew asked as he swept his arm in a wide gesture that encompassed the entire room.
"Andrew West! How in the world are we going to afford..." Serena trailed off as she fixed her partner with a glare. "You've been putting off that question since we graduated Drew. All the time you've said that there was a valid reason. I have waited patiently for over a year now! Every time we talked about this, you managed to change the subject or have an urgent meeting to attend. You're going to tell me now or…"
"Or what, Sere?" Drew asked innocently.
"Oh just tell her Drew!" Mina exclaimed. "Because I'll help her if you don't tell us how exactly you came up with enough income to pay for all this!" Mina's eyes flashed dangerously, her expression and posture identical to the blond standing next to her.
"You know it really is eerie to see you two looking like that. You know that you look too much alike…." Drew began nervously. He took a quick step backwards as they both advanced on him. "Ok! Ok! I give up!" He raised his arms in surrender. "You two have heard of Merot Incorporated right?" Two blond heads nodded in assent. "Well, you see, my mother married James Merot when I was about five years old. He adopted me and treated me as if I were his own son. So, when I told him about my idea for this new software company, well he told me he'd back me financially as soon as he approved of my choice of a partner and I had the initial figures worked out carefully. When he met you, two after the graduation ceremonies he told me to go right ahead and organize whatever I needed. Since we pretty much planned things out during dinner, he had the chance to hear about our decisions firsthand." There was silence in the room after Andrew finished talking. Both girls just stared at him.
"James Merot?" Serena whispered after a long moment. Mina burst out laughing.
"Oh God! And here we were thinking that you'd joined up with a crime family or something! We were concerned about you being forced to lose a kidney when we couldn't come up with results and here you are rolling in cash!" Andrew stared at her in shock.
"You thought I joined up with a crime family?" Serena started laughing at the crazy expression he wore.
"That was Mina's idea not mine! She was so convinced that you'd started dealing with the mafia!"
"Hey! I didn't see you disputing my ideas!" She glared at her friends who were trying not to collapse on the floor laughing. "It could happen!" she said indignantly, which only caused them to laugh harder. Finally when they both calmed down, Drew put on a solemn face and said,
"Ladies, here's to ParkWest Enterprises!" in a grave tone. Which only caused the two women to look at each other and laugh hysterically.
In the glare of a computer lab, Darien O'Reilly sat staring at a section of programming that seemed to blur before his eyes. Groaning, he lay his tousled black head down on his arms and took a break. The very place he was in reminded him of the Monday morning after his graduation, when he was summoned to appear before his father.
"Darien," his father began before he was even seated. "Your grandfather and I have built this corporation based on our own hard work and skills. Before I can give you your proper seat on the board, you must prove to us that you have what it takes to make it in the competitive business world. This is why you will start from the bottom and work your way up. I have arranged for a position in our computer-programming department, since you minored in computer science. You will start tomorrow at eight a.m." And with those words of dismissal Fionnbarr O'Reilly turned back to his work, ignoring his stunned son. Darien remembered going home that evening to visit his sister and telling her about the circumstances of his new "career". Raye was betrayed on his behalf.
"You're the next in line for the company! How can he make you work from the bottom up? Everyone will know what Father is making you do! You'll get no respect from the other workers and they'll try their hardest to make your life miserable! They already do it to me at school! I have to work twice as hard as anyone else to get anywhere because they all think that Father is paying for my grades! Even the teachers never cut me any slack!"
"Raye! Raye, calm down!" Darien said to his sister, who was turning a bit red in the face. "It can't be that bad!" Raye stared at him and pronounced with a grim chuckle,
"Just you wait Dare, just you wait and see."
Upon this review of the event, Darien had to conclude that Raye had been entirely correct. Not only was his life at O'Reilly Industries the product of one disaster after another, he suspected that someone was behind the results of his spectacular failure over the past year and a half. Which was the reason that he was here late at night, he reminded himself and he raised his weary head to stare at the screen once more.
Aaaaaaannnnnnnndddd... that's it for now!