This story is set in the future sometime in the 30th Century. The main character is, of course, Mina. The guy in the beginning who tells her to not to watch too much TV is her father, Kunzite. I wanted the story to be like a manga side story. The reason why I wrote in present tense is because I wanted it to be as if you were reading a manga. Also, I never wrote a story in present tense before so I wanted to try it once. Enjoy!
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Mina's Mini Adventure
"Today's weather forecast calls for sunshine and clear skies," says the anchorman on television. "It's another perfect day to go out for a walk or have a picnic."
"Yes," agrees the anchorwoman. "It's also a great day to do some shopping. You might want to stop by the Juuban Shopping District to catch a glimpse of idol Aino Minako. She will be at the bookstore for a signing of her new photobook entitled "Love and Beauty".
"Wow, Aino Minako has been busy this year," says the anchorman as video footage of Minako's commercial plays.
"Rumor has it, the first 1,000 fans will get a special V-card that will allow them to download an exclusive interview from her website."
"I wonder if she mentions anything about her rivalry with Miss Kuroko."
"Speaking of rivalry," the anchorwoman continues. "Our international baseball team lost yesterday to…"
The television clicks off.
Damn!, a young blonde girl thinks. She's everywhere. Aino Minako…
"Hey," says a tall man wearing a suit. "You're gonna turn into a zombie if you watch too much television. Come on before we're late."
A sports car pulls up in front of the Juuban Elementary school building. A group of kids form, trying to get a glimpse of who is inside the car. The blonde girl steps out and waves goodbye to her father before closing the car door. She sees the crowd of kids and smiles.
"Hi everyone!" she beams.
"Oh it's just Mina," says one girl crossing her arms.
"For a second I thought Aino Minako was visiting today," says another girl.
"Aino Minako is probably already at the bookstore," says a boy. "Didn't watch the news this morning?"
The crowd goes away leaving the disappointed blonde girl to stand all alone.
"Hey Mina!" three girls wave as they walk towards her.
"Hey everyone," Mina sulks.
"What's wrong? Did you forget to do last night's homework assignment?" asks a girl with short blue hair.
"Homework?" Mina wonders. "No. All everyone talks about lately is Aino Minako this and Aino Minako that."
"She is one of the biggest idols," notes a girl with brown hair tied into a ponytail.
"She works pretty hard," added a girl with long dark hair. "She deserves to be in the limelight."
"Hmph," Mina grumbles and walks inside the building.
Inside the classroom everyone is chatting while waiting for the teacher to start class. Mina taps the blue haired girl's shoulder.
"Ami-chan, let me see your homework."
"No way! You should have done it yourself."
"Please, oh please! I promise from this day forth I will do my homework all by myself. Just this once, Ami-chan. Please, oh please, oh please, oh please, oh…"
"Oh alright! Here!"
"Yes!" says a happy Mina scribbling the answers on a sheet of paper.
She over hears a conversation between a group of girls.
"It's not fair!"
"What's wrong Yubinako-chan?"
"Aino Minako is going to be at the bookstore giving out autographs and we can't go because of school. I really wanted to be the first in line so that I could get a V-card!"
"Yeah that sucks!"
"If I had one of those cards," Yubinako continues. "I would be so popular."
"But you're already the most popular girl in class."
"Yeah but if I had a V-card I would be the most popular girl in the entire school."
Mina drops her pencil.
"Psst, Mako-chan," Mina whispered to the girl with a brown ponytail who was sitting next to her. "I heard that whoever gets a V-card will the most popular girl in the school."
"So?"
"I gotta get one!"
"But we have class."
"What's one class? We have classes everyday but a V-card comes only once in a lifetime."
"Nuh-uh count me out."
"Oh come on," Mina taps Ami on the shoulder.
"Forget it!" says Ami as she snatches her homework back.
"Psst, Rei-chan," Mina tries the girl with long dark hair.
Rei cringes and pretends to not hear her friend's plea.
"Please, Rei-chan," Mina begs. "Please, oh please, oh please, oh please, oh…"
"Alright already! Just shut up!"
"Ahem," the teacher speaks up.
"S-sorry," says Rei, quickly calming down.
"Okay, at lunch time we make our move," Mina plotted. "We'll be back before anyone even notices."
"We better be," Rei warns with a clenched fist. "If I get caught…"
"Rei-chan, Rei-chan," Mina soothes. "You worry too much. I'm the mistress of mischief. Of course we won't get caught."
Class began with the teacher lecturing about the importance of proper handwriting. He drew various kanji on the board with hiragana written small above them. He then proceeded with showing the stroke orders for each kanji. Mina, of course, dosed off during the lesson.
Various girls crowd around Mina.
"Mina-chan! Mina-chan! Can I have your autograph?"
"Mina-chan, you're so cute! How do you get your hair to be so soft?"
"Can I braid it?"
"Will you come to my birthday party?"
"Will you be my friend?"
A hot guy walks up to Mina.
"Mina-ko, you're the coolest girl I ever met. Please go out with me."
More guys join the crowd.
"No Mina-san, go out with me."
"Why would she go out with you when she could have me?"
"Boys don't fight," saysMina caught in the middle. "I'll date you one at a time."
More girls join the crowd.
"Mina-chan!"
"Mina-chan!"
"Mina!" growls a familiar voice waking Mina from her nap. "Are we going to do this or what?"
"Huh?" Mina says in a daze. "Oh Rei-chan, is it lunch already?"
"Let's get this over with," Rei huffs.
Mina and Rei manage to sneak out of school and walk to the Juuban Shopping District.
"Look there's the bookstore!" says Mina.
"And there's a long line," says Rei crossing her arms. "How are we supposed to be the first 1,000? And how do get the V-chip without your mom noticing? She is the one giving them out you know."
"Stop asking so many questions. And it's not a V-chip, it's a V-card."
"Whatever."
"Besides we're going to be in disguises."
"And where are we supposed to get some?"
Mina holds up a crescent compact.
"Isn't that your mom's…" Rei gasps.
"Yep. You ready?" Mina gives a mischievous wink.
Minako is too busy signing autographs, giving out V-cards, and thanking fans to notice two strange bodyguards dressed in black. The guards stand to the side of her watching.
"Now what?" whispers Rei.
"Uh…" Mina starts. "Okay, that's enough. It's time for a break. Aino Minako is exhausted."
"Eh?" Minako observes the guard who had interrupted.
"If you don't take a break you could get Carpet Tunnels," says the guard in her gaudy sunglasses.
"You mean Carpal Tunnel Syndrome. Mina you idiot," whispers Rei.
"Right this way, Miss Aino," Mina directs.
Rei starts to follow them when Mina elbows her in the stomach.
"No, you stay here and grab a V-card from that basket," says Mina.
"Urrrgh, Mina you owe me for this," says Rei watching Mina leading Minako away.
She notices the confused look on the guards faces and sees it as an opportunity to get a V-card. The other guards look at her when she reaches for the basket.
"Um…" she stalls. "Ahaha, I'm going to just take the basket to a safe place."
"Hey," says one of the real guards. "There were only four guards on shift for today."
"Well…we came along for extra security," says Rei.
Another guard takes a close look at Rei's badge.
"This looks like something from a cereal box," she says. "It's not a real badge."
Before the guards could say anymore, Rei snatches the basket and starts running.
"Get her!"
"Mina where are you?!" Rei panics.
"There that's better," says Mina fluffing a couch pillow behind Minako. "Would you like some tea?"
"Something fishy is going on here," says Minako. "My guards never waited on me before."
"You're an idol. You deserve to be waited on hand and foot," says Mina. "It comes with the territory."
"Being an idol isn't about having people wait on you hand and foot. It's about finding a way to touch people's hearts."
"Easy for you to say. Everyone loves you."
"Being an idol is far from easy. Fans can be fickle. Sometimes it's hard to keep up with what they like. I had to learn the hard way that what people think of you doesn't matter. It's who you are and what you have to say. If you are honest with yourself, there will be fans who will love you for who you really are. Kind of like making new friends."
"Oh," Mina realizes.
"And sometimes you don't even realize who your biggest fans really are. They are the ones who put their lives on the line for your sake because they truly care for you."
Mina thinks about Rei who was certainly putting herself on the line just so she could get a V-card. She realizes that even if she did have a V-card, a girl like Yubinako and her other classmates would never really like her for who she was. But her friends, like Rei, would always be there for her.
"I gotta go," says Mina as she dashes through the door.
Unfortunately, Rei was running in that exact same spot and the two collided. V-cards scattered the floor.
"Uh, we're so sorry about all this," Mina apologizes. "But we have to leave now. Bye!"
"Wait!" calls one of the guards.
"I've never met such strange bodyguards," says Minako. "And so short too."
At the end of the school day, the girls are walking home.
"So did you get one?" asks Mako.
"No," Rei pouts. "In all the excitement, we didn't even pick up one card."
"It doesn't matter," says Mina.
"What do you mean it doesn't matter?" Rei steams.
"I learned an important lesson. It doesn't matter how popular I am 'cause you all are my biggest fans. Especially you Rei-chan."
Rei rolls her eyes.
"And as a thank you, let's go over to my place and celebrate," Mina smiles.
The girls arrive at Mina's.
"Oh I almost forgot to tell you," says Ami. "You know that popular girl, Yubinako? While you were gone she announced she was having a party and your name was on her list."
"Really?!" Mina exclaims. "She only invites certain people to her parties."
"She said that you were funny and made her laugh so she had to invite you."
"That's so cool!"
Mina opened the door and the girls walked in to see an extremely livid Minako.
"I got a phone call from your teacher saying you snuck out of class," says Minako trying to contain her anger.
"But it was only for lunch and…" starts Mina.
"You are GROUNDED! For the rest of the month, you come home right after school! No company allowed!."
"But Mom, Yubinako's party is…"
"It doesn't matter! Your mother is aware of this too, Rei. I think it would be best if you hurry home."
"This is so not fair!" says Mina.
"Fair? You wanna know what's not fair? Stealing, that's what. How could you steal my compact? I bet that was you in that bodyguard outfit wasn't it?"
"Uh, we better go to," says Mako.
The girls leave Minako and Mina in mid argument.
"I knew I should have enrolled Rei into Private School," says Rei. [in a bubble