1559 at 1/10/05
1087 words at 12/10/04
849 words on 12/7/04
951 words on 12/6/04(oO)
Disclaimer: No, don't own Nyozeka, know Alice 19th is becoming an anime, or know that Bill Gates has a brother named Bob. I don't own Noel or Kurama either.
Someday I'm going to be famous. Do I have talent? Well, no.-Celebrity
Chapter 1
Perhaps if I'd known what I was in for I would have brought more for mental support then a teddy bear with me. I stood in front of the door, hand leaning on the doorbell. Ding-dongs echo through the interior of the Apartment hallway. Nobody answered. I let out an irritated sigh, and sat down and leaned against the doorway, and pulled out the magazine I'd gotten at the train station.
Considering, I wasn't too bad off. I had an apartment, small as it was, with a shared cost with a roommate(at times didn't seem worth it), a tiny acting job, and in the center of Animewood. Believe me, compared to a lot of others, I was really lucky. No more sleeping in bars, or waiter jobs.
Animewood. A place were dreams came true. A place where the stars hang in the sky. At least that's what they say on the bronchus anyway. More like a big town with a lot of anime producers hanging around, and you had to beg on your hands and knees to get a job. But it was worth it to be in an anime.
So they fact that I had left my keys inside, my roommate was out and probably wouldn't be back for hours, and she forgot to leave an emergency key shouldn't be a big deal, right? I still felt pissed.
I was such a bitch.
I opened up the magazine, and began to read the cover story. Are Kurama and Noel on the verge of a divorce? Hear what a psychic heard in her dream that leads us to believe this possibility.
I read through the article, and the next one, and began on the crossword when help arrived.
"Kami! Is that you? Or are you some gang person here to sell drugs?" A high-pitched voice asked. I looked down to see a girl in a light blue blouse and pink skirt. Her pink hair was tied in two separate ponytails, with a pair of white bunny ears sticking out of the top of her head. Underneath the skirt a pair of white slippers stuck out.
"Nyozeka, the comment on my clothing is not appreciated. Anyway, all I have is a black t-shirt on, and black pants."
" With chains. I know, you don't have piercings, never will, and thanks to fact you're living on every dime you don't have a tattoo.." The rabbit girl chimed in. "But still, sometimes it's a little hard to tell."
"Nyozeka." I said through gritted teeth. "This is far from gothic. Go hang out in X/1999 for awhile, and then you might get the idea."
I wasn't really a goth. I just liked black clothes.
"So anyway, standing at here talking is probably going to only succeed in giving us colds." Nyozeka opened her hand, closed it, and opened it again. In her hand laid the keys. She hastily opened the door and entered a room with two sleeping bags on the floor, one which had a teddy bear sitting on it, a table with a laptop on one end, a pile of books on the other. The teddy bear, named Shugo, was mine as well as the laptop, the rest belonged to Nyozeka, wait the sleeping bag was mine too, and the clock, and maybe-forget it.
"You know Kami, if you sold the laptop you could probably afford a tattoo." Nyozeka giggled.
"Ha ha. That thing's useful."
The bunny girl floated over to my face. "Well, um, I, um, How bad was your day?" She tugged at the magazine in my arms, " Can I see when you're done?"
"Yeah, I guess." I scratched the back of my head. " Besides locking myself out, hm, well Mr. Director Guy wasn't very friendly. We had to do the same boring scene over and over, because Brianna couldn't speak with a English accent. The way the practice went, by show-biz standards, that's going to be the best part in the whole show. I-" I paused to see Nyozeka fiddling with her hair. I had seen her do that only a few times (like when the first T.V. exploded), and usually that meant something bad.
Though trust on this, in stories like this, the characters aren't always this depressing. I've just had one hell of a day. So has the pink bunny. So try to hang in there?
"Your turn." I said, pointing at her.
"Well, um, well Mr. Gates is getting quite vocal about rasing the rent. I also got kicked out of the grocery store."
That was all? I expected worse. Though Mr. Gates was getting vocal was enough to send anyone in a panic.
No, he wasn't Bill Gates. He was his little brother, Bob Gates, runner of the foundation, his mood changing from a smiling man who'd give his last penny to charity, to a bitter one that would growl at anyone who just wanted a cup of milk.
Milk was expensive.
Getting kicked out of the grocery store wasn't too bad, I just had to go grocery shopping for awhile, until the ban was forgotten, which wasn't too bad.
I paused to think over all my few experiences.
Okay, maybe it was.
I looked up to Nyozeka, waiting for my reaction.
"That's all? Grocery store's not mu- not a problem at all, and Mr. Gates is always making those threats."
"It wasn't a threat." Nyozeka's ear slowly began to twitch. "I was bringing rent money, and I heard him talking on the phone. He sounded dead serious. He was screaming at the phone too, the immature man."
I slammed my hand down, hard on my sleeping bag. If the rent went up-we would be in serious trouble. Nyozeka and I could barely make it by as it is, with the rent as it was. If it even went up hundred dollars-that was not something I'd like to think about. Then again, Mr. Gates wasn't stupid. Hopefully he wouldn't raise it if it meant leaving some empty apartments. As it was, if we really rationed we might get by.
I took a deep breath, "He might not. If he does, I'm sure we could find some way to get by."
" Yeah. And the only thing we can do is go on. And stay cheerful." Nyozeka gave a small smile. "I'm going to put to put together a few sandwiches for a early supper."
" I'll have mustard on mine." A wry smile appeared on my face.
"We don't have mustard."
"Really. Damn" I smiled a little "I'll just stick with the a regular sandwich."
"One! Two! Three! Four! Good! Now touch your toes." Nyozeka leaned over to do so, a headband now under her pink hair. The weekly ritual of the exercise program. If Nyozeka wanted to follow this hobby, fine. The fact that I'd been dragged into it. Not good.
"Nyozeka, why do I have to do this?" I whined. I leaned over my hands scraping against my toes.
"To stay in shape. The other side now."
Anime characters get out of shape? As far as I get could they stayed nice and fit, and when did you see any of them exercising? The logic of the anime world made about as much sense as the English language.
"Really?"
"You never know. Might be useful someday. It can be that bad, can it?"
" My arms hurt."
"Some of the exercises are a little painful and you've only been at it for a few months. After a while it will become a little more comfortable."
Nyozeka went through more exercises and I followed, moaning a little.
"That's enough for today." She stood up, the band around her wrist sliding down til it touched her hand. I had one on my wrist too. Wearing it was a requirement in most areas unless you had a license.
It was a power restraint. It was used to hopefully keep characters from running through town using their powers as they pleased. Removal of such a bracelet was difficult, and doing so would result in heavy punishment. Jailtime, fines, and here, banishment from Animewood. A few people knew how to deactivate them for a small time, such as anime directors and most normal beings. (Otherwise how else did you expect the characters to use those big attacks?) It was a pity they all came in the same color, gray. I'd like a black one.
"Nyozeka, if you could color your band what color would you make it?"
Nyozeka floated up into my face. "Pink I guess. Hey, Kami."
"Hm?"
"Could I come watch you shoot tomorrow? I have got the day off and would like to see what it's like working for the anime you talk about it so much."
"Sure. Can't say it's going to be entertaining."
"I'll be there then." Nyozeka winked, then floated off in the direction of the kitchen. I stared out the window, remembering the first time I arrived here, hopes high.
Welcome to Animewood.