Chapter 1
Len's knees shook as his pupils darted around. A small bead of sweat trickled down his face, breath uneven. His eyes flicked to the ceiling before going back to the other actor and after a minute of hesitation, spoke the long awaited line.
"Like what you see?"
"STOP!" For what seemed like the hundredth time, Miku Hatsune flung the battered script on the floor and screamed.
The tealette's eyes burned into his before she turned away from him. The director did her little dance of frustration and annoyance and gave a piercing cry. Miku then flung her head back and sucked in the cool air deeply. After she regained her posture and turned to face her crew, she smiled.
The smile that made everyone in the room shiver and sweat profusely.
This time with a voice as sweet as honey, she picked up the crumpled script off the ground. "Everyone, five minutes break. And Len? Come talk to me for a bit."
Len swallowed dryly.
Joining the school's Drama Club was not the acting paradise he'd dreamt off. It was the place where you humiliated yourself, again and again.
However, this unforgiving place seemed to be tailormade for him. At the opening ceremony of the juniors joining, he had declared that he aspired to be a great actor.
Some great actor he was.
The first person to get his head bitten off by Director Miku herself.
"Len. Your tone was off, you broke out of character mid-sentence. Stop the darting of eyes and don't slouch. Don't bring your personal habits onto stage! You weren't bringing the essence of Sanji and you had no stage presence! Examine your space and use it, also move your arms as well..." The director scrunched her nose up while reading from her little blue notebook. In the middle of the seventh page, she glanced at him and gave a little sigh.
She pitied him in a way. It wasn't his fault that the trainer had picked him, this newbie for a side role in an extremely important school show. But now that the trainer had vanished, it was all up to Miku to pick up the pieces.
"I know you've been trying your hardest. But you must remember these things that the seniors have told you to do. Because at the current state you're in…." She winced and bit her lip, hoping her sharp words didn't hurt the poor fellow.
"I know… "
"The thing about acting is that you have to feel the character, or at least make others believe that you really playing the character. Remember the three Cs: Confidence-"
"Courage and Character. I know, Miku." Len gave a brave smile, "Thank you."
"No problem. If you need any help with characterisation, please, please, please call for any of the seniors." Miku took her water bottle and drank from it, dismissing the blonde from her presence.
Len sucked in his lips, if it weren't phrased so nicely. He could have almost mistakened it for an order.
The blonde walked away meekly, mouthing his line repetitively. He then took a spot near the mirror wall to practice his facial expressions and- Miku chuckled -listed off the three Cs.
That kid would go far, he already was one of the best in the batch of newbies. If they trained him up a little, he could be one of the main actors someday.
Miku looked at the clock.
4.15
Ah. That precious five minutes break had gone so quickly. She tied her hair into a bun. It was time for the next scene to be rehearsed.
"Scene 4! Preset!" Miku hollered.
All actors had gone to their respective places and the crew readied the props to be carried out.
A petite girl licked her lips, her arms shaking nervously as she walked on the make-shift stage in the Drama room. Miku frowned.
Rin Kagamine.
Another one of those newbies that were chosen by shitty trainer. That trainer must have something for blonde teenagers.
It was a totally different transition from the previous pathetic girl that bit her fingers. Rin strutted on stage, her eyes focused and sharp. She moved around confidently as she flicked her short hair to the stunned actress, while extending a palm out expectantly.
"Please give me money! I have ten children to feed!" Rin gave a haughty laugh and glared at the actress.
Miku gaped. She immediately flipped through the script and scanned the lines.
Scene 4 was about an old beggar begging money from the heroine.
What. The. Shit.
"STOP!" For the hundredth and one time, Hatsune Miku hurled the script to the floor but this time it was all due to a female blonde.
Seriously, what was up with blondes and bad acting?
"Rin, tell me what you make of Scene 4." Miku stared intently at the girl, genuinely curious to how she got the damn thing wrong.
"Well...urm so my character tries to demand money from Nami…"
"Rin, have you seen how a beggar begs?"
"Yes…"
"Then why aren't you trying to act that out?" Miku tried to not sound as harsh and unforgiving.
"This obnoxious character is the only one I know how to act."
Miku almost wanted to sink to the ground and drown in her own self pity. The showcase was coming in 2 weeks time! She directed all her hate to the mental image of the trainer and instead gave the benefit of the doubt to the blonde shuffling in front of her.
"Could you maybe try without the bitchiness? Like more on the mild, begging-for-my-children kind?"
Rin nodded hesitantly.
"Alright. Scene 4 again!"
Miku watched as the blonde shuffled across stage. The level of bitchiness had dropped from ten to negative pretty fast. But instead of crawling to the heroine and begging, Rin had watched from the utmost back of stage and mouthed her lines. Even when Miku strained her ears, that was absolutely nothing coming from the girl's mouth.
"Louder please! And can you move upstage?"
The blonde squeaked and took one foot in front. She was evidently shivering.
"More."
Rin then shook her head in defiance and refused to budge. Miku smacked her forehead with the script calling for reruns after reruns.
It was the same result after many, many tries.
The director massaged her temples. At first she thought that Rin was going to be less trouble compared to Len.
But now it was clear that the two of them were equally matched.
They both sucked.
Miku thought long and hard. This showcase was pretty important to the Drama Club. If anything were to bring this club down, it would be their performance. The two blondes. Even with thirteen more days of rehearsal…
In this case there was only one choice.
The great, grand ultimum.
She needed to replace them.
Len knew something was up with the seniors, they'd been arguing outside the room for at least fifteen minutes now. Director Miku had peeked through the tiny window from the door, her eyes glazing over the rest of the people and then stopping at Rin and later himself.
Rin Kagamine. One of the few first years that Trainer Lola had picked for the play before she vanished. He didn't really know much about her except that her favourite fruit was orange due to the compulsory answers they had to give at the opening ceremony of Drama.
He followed her gaze. Rin was furiously writing down notes on her personal script, closing her eyes for every few seconds as if to recall something. She must have noticed him staring because she swiftly closed her book, pulled a 'what?' expression and glared back at Len.
Len flushed and turned away, embarrassed. He wanted to tell her the bad feeling in his stomach and how Miku had looked at both of them with some vague expression that was certain to be bad news.
"Why should I do it?" Someone had exclaimed loudly from the mysterious discussion happening outside.
"Well, you're the one who brought up this ludicrous idea?!"
"Look, I'm very insensitive and extremely bad with kids so-"
"You'll be perfect at it. Bluntness is the key."
There was a heart wrenching shout coupled with weird noises that Len had never expected any human to possibly make. No one had hardly raised their eyebrows so this must have been a normality around here.
"You win, Megurine Luka. You win."
The door cracked open and most of the seniors stepped back into the room, their usual joyful faces expressionless.
A ridiculously bad sign.
The pink haired senior whom Len recognised as Luka tapped his shoulder and pointed to the mysterious door. When she did the same with Rin, did he feel the curdling feeling in his stomach increase by twofolds.
He waited for her to stand up so she could walk with him. The short walk to the door seemed like three year's worth of journeying. And Len needed someone as a pillar of support, even if that someone was a rude little girl.
Rin flinched, her eyebrows pulling together as he walked closer to her.
Make that an insensitive, stuck-up, rude little-
"Hey." Her voice was wavering in the thin cold air.
"Yes?" Len squeaked in shock.
"Your name is Len, right?"
"Yeah."
"Can I hold your hand? I'm kinda scar-"
"No!" He felt the tiniest bit of guilt eat him up on the inside, but after all the times she had 'offended' him, he wanted to get her back. Who was she to come around ordering people to hold her hands anyway?
Everyone had a pair of hands, she could hold her own!
"Oh." Her big blue eyes had managed to get even larger and glassier. Rin reminded him of those expensive china dolls, closed in and in another world of her own. She let the distance grow between them.
The atmosphere between them grew tight with tension as they ignored the other's presence.
Oh, very mature. He scowled and instantly threw away that thought. Len could hardly believe himself, he'd just made their already bad situation, worst.
"Great. You guys are here!" Miku poked her head out the door suddenly and ushered them outside the room.
Even with the little experience he had as an actor, Len knew that the joy and cheer in her voice was false. In fact, Miku's words hung in the air like off-toned bells.
He shuddered.
Those observant teal eyes noticed every movement of his body. From the uneven breaths he took to the way he refused to meet her eyes. She knew everything but didn't comment on it. He was kind of grateful to her for that grace.
"So-" Miku scratched the back of her head and carefully averted her gaze to the wonderful scenery of a white wall behind them.
"I have some bad news to tell you." Her tone of voice dropped down.
"You guys are getting replaced."
Strange.
Len wasn't sure if something in his mind broke, he couldn't catch any words Miku had said after that line. He was quite sure her words was actually quite comforting and that he should take it to heart and brush away that blatant feeling of rejection along with the taste of acid in his mouth. And so he tried to listen, nod and smile.
"...are actually the best in your batch-"
"In the future, you'll-"
"...many chances…"
Acting was a way of deceiving others into believing that what you portrayed was actually you.
Len knew that he'd failed at this art when he had to blink hard to keep the tears at bay, when he had to bite his lips to stop them from trembling, when he tried his hardest to look back at those sincere teal eyes but instead stared at the ground.
When he couldn't listen, to smile and nod.
He was truly a failure at acting.
"Do… you guys want to be alone?" Miku pursed her lips together, her pupils darting to the door. It was clear that she wanted to leave this uncomfortable situation.
This time, when his brain decided to finally process her words again, he couldn't even form words to reply. Len reached the peak of his level of appreciation for her observant nature when she gave the two a light squeeze on the shoulder and went back into the room.
Two wet streaks ran down his face as soft whimpers finally croaked from his voice box. Just before Len gave into the flood of emotion, he noticed something.
Rin was perfectly stationary, her face cracked a small smile with only the slight wetness on her cheeks which showed her true feelings. She stood, unblinking, her eyes full of tears, shining with defiance.
Maybe it was the fact that she'd almost maintained her posture, maybe she was being strong for him or maybe she was being strong for herself.
Len didn't know what, why or any other justification to her strange reaction but he felt that he had to repay her somehow for somewhat conserving both their pride.
So he dusted himself off, wiped his tears and slotted his hand into hers.
And it would always be there, not for any of the reasons you would expect. He simply wanted to be there for her like she (kind of) did on that particular day.
A/N:
Hey, this is meant to be a long-shot kinda thing but I'm not sure i can handle it. So please tell me in the comments if you want me to continue it.