Gaining Confidence
Chapter One
Hello everyone! I'd like to thank you for viewing and reading this. This is my highly ambitious attempt at a (hopefully) very long story. It is a Will Powers and Adrian Andrews romance, which, I know isn't really a standard couple. I'm currently replaying Farewell, My Turnabout and remembered that Will had a crush on Adrian, so, here we go. I'd like to dedicate this to a few people: AA Addict. Thanks for being a friend and motivating me to write! You're awesome! The creators of Ace Attorney, for giving me to write about something. And all of you amazing readers! Thanks!
Let's see where this takes us!
A bead of sweat trickled down Adrian's forehead. She was sitting awkwardly in a scratchy linen chair, legs crossed and scribbling furiously in her pink notebook. The secretary across the room gave her a strange look while Adrian began quickly flipping through all her notes. She gave her a sheepish grin and then resumed her studying.
Remember to sit with a graceful posture.
Don't talk too quickly, it will make you seem nervous and unsure.
Above all else, be in control of the situation.
It was going to take a very persuasive interview to make Global Studios rehire Adrian Andrews.
Adrian really would've preferred to get a job anywhere else. In fact, she originally hoped to continue working in the promoting business, but the Atmey fiasco ruined any chance of a business hiring her. No one wanted somebody involved in two murders. So here she was, in a stuffy reception room, praying that Global Studios would take her back.
For the last week all she had done was prepare for the interview. Either by learning to sit correctly, debating on what to wear, or deciding what to say, Adrian was determined to ace it. If she didn't, Adrian would surely be evicted from her apartment. Just as she finished meticulously cleaning her glasses, an older woman with her own pair appeared in the hallway.
"Adrian Andrews?"
Once she left her chair, Adrian mustered her most confident expression. She followed the secretary down a dimly lit hallway, which did nothing to calm her nerves. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, the two reached a pale wooden door. The secretary stepped aside to let Adrian enter. The brass doorknob was cold to the touch, and made a squeaking sound as she turned it. Inside the room were two men, with short immaculate haircuts and finely tailored black suits.
"Hello Ms. Andrews, please take a seat."
Across from their desk was a small, flimsy looking chair. Compared to the plush, velvet chairs the men were sitting in, it was a piece of trash. It squawked when she sat, causing Adrian to scold herself for being unrefined.
"Thank you for having me here today."
This time to man to her left responded.
"It is our pleasure, Ms. Andrews."
Now the other man spoke.
"So, let's start, shall we?"
Adrian nodded her head in agreement.
The man on the left asked the first question.
"Ms. Andrews, what gives you a desire to work for Global Studios?"
Adrian sighed softly, the pressure leaving her head. She had planned that they would ask her something like this, and she had written and memorized a well thought out answer.
"I wish to work at Global Studios as a manager because it will allow me to be in control of the situation, and work behind the scenes and out of the spotlight."
As if it was planned, the man on the right took over the second question.
"Why do you think you would make an excellent employee at Global Studios?"
Adrian cringed. She knew this question was coming, but it would be hard to dance around the issue of Engarde's downfall.
"Since I have already worked here, no one would have to 'show me the ropes', so to speak. Also, I was the one who brought Mr. Engarde, one of Global Studios's biggest stars, to fame. I have had plenty of experience in managing, as well as advertisement."
The rest of the interview was a blur in Adrian's mind. It seemed as if her mind stopped working and her answers came out of nowhere. Her two interviewers repeatedly switched back and forth, as if trying to confuse her. Finally the one on the left announced that the interview was over. She could only thank them and hope that she had said the right things.
It was about four o'clock when Adrian had returned to her dingy apartment. The place was a wreck. Empty coffee mugs were glued to the counter, newspapers from two months ago cluttered the floor, and her clothes were everywhere. Small paths connected each room, and were the only place the filthy carpet was visible.
Adrian flopped down on her bed. It was the only piece of furniture that wasn't being misused as a trash can or a shelf. She took off her glasses and precariously placed them at the top of a pile of papers. It didn't really matter if they fell and broke, since she had numerous pairs scattered around. The glasses were actually purely cosmetic, as Adrian had 20/20 eyesight, but the glasses made her feel smarter and more 'in control'.
While massaging her temple, Adrian dug around under her mattress for an aspirin. She found one and took it dry, wanting nothing more than to relieve her headache.
What if I don't get the job?
Even though it was horribly disgusting, Adrian needed her apartment. She couldn't handle the idea of living on the streets. The pain in her head started to subside, but the anxiety only grew stronger.
She was without a job, without friends, without happiness. Her dependency issue faded while in prison, but having no one to latch on to was difficult. Every morning she told herself she could be strong, that she could live happily by herself. Every night she told herself how pitiful she was, how terribly her life was going.
It had been a nice change of pace when she met Mr. Wright and Maya at the Kurain Exhibit. Adrian actually didn't realize it was Maya who was to be the next master, since the spirit medium was held hostage during the trial. To have someone call her a friend, and to have someone to go to lunch with were both wonderful things. But they had their own lives, and had to part their separate ways.
Maybe if they rehire me, I'll end up managing someone decent, and-
No! Stop! They haven't even hired you yet, fool!
Fool?
Adrian knew during her first trial that she had latched on the Franziska, following her confident words. But now it had been almost a year since she had seen the prodigy, and she needed to let go.
Come on Adrian, you can do this. Just go to bed, and you'll wake up feeling better tomorrow.
Once the mundane tasks before going to sleep were completed, Adrian slipped under her covers. The chilly December weather required her to get an extra blanket. Despite all the negative thoughts in her head, such as her economic troubles, or her crippling self-esteem, Adrian managed to fall asleep. She was used to all the self-hate flying around her head, and it was almost like an unfriendly neighbor.
The early morning sun bathed the room in bright light, seeing as Adrian forgot the close the curtains again. Sunshine was her only means of light, since she couldn't afford the electricity bill.
Using her full strength, she ripped a mug off the sticky counter. Without washing it, she filled it with old store-bought coffee and took a sip. It was cold, sweet, and cheap. She lazily opened the front door and retrieved the morning paper. Nothing of interest was inside it. Leaving her mug on the counter, she went to her moldy bathroom and showered. This was her morning routine: coffee, paper, shower. The rest of the day was left to job-hunting and doing nothing.
Curls of steam wafted around the apartment, and the smell of trash reeked. Thankfully Adrian hadn't been born with a strong sense of smell, so she was able to ignore the stench around her. She went back to the paper and scoured the job listings, to see if she had missed something the first time. She hadn't.
It was two weeks later and nothing had changed. Her apartment was still messy, and she still did the same things in the same order every day. But today, a breezy Saturday, something felt different. When she exited her bedroom, the horrible odor attacked her nose. Not being able to handle it, Adrian left her apartment for a walk in the park.
There was a small park near her apartment, and it was full of litter. She hadn't been there in at least a year, and aside from the trash, it felt nice to walk around. A huge flock of birds flew overhead, chirping merrily and lifting Adrian's spirits. She decided that when she returned to her apartment, she would do the unimaginable.
On the way home, she stopped at a corner mart and purchased three boxes of garbage bags, two boxes of rubber gloves, and a few pairs of nose plugs. She was going to clean her apartment if it was the last thing she did.
Donning her rubber boots, a pair of rubber gloves, and orange nose plugs, Adrian was ready. She started with the piles of newspaper, grabbing bundles of old issues and dropping them into the first bag. Even though she had barely started, a sense of accomplishment flooded through Adrian. After about twenty minutes the newspaper was disposed of, so she moved on to the coffee mugs. One by one she ripped them off the counter, and then placed then in the sink. She turned the water on and washed the dishes for the first time in four months.
After six hours, about Adrian was about halfway done with her work. Just as she went to take a ten minute break, a shrill ring screeched. It was the telephone! Adrian never got phone calls, and she sprinted (and almost tripped) to the counter it was sitting on.
"Hello?" she huffed into the phone.
"Is this Ms. Andrews?" a bored female voice asked.
"Yes, how can I help you?"
"I am calling from Global Studios to inform you that we have decided to hire you."
WHAT!? I must be dreaming!
"Thank you very much! You won't regret it!"
The sound of long nails clacking on a keyboard sounded in the background.
"That was the other part of this call. To be certain that we don't regret it, we have a few conditions for you, Ms. Andrews."
"C-Conditions?"
"Yes, to make sure that the 'Engarde' incident will not repeat itself, we will be monitoring your work very closely, do you understand?"
"Yes ma'am, I understand."
"Also, we will be assigning you one of our least popular actors. We need you to prove yourself worthy of managing another superstar."
"Yes, I understand. I'm sure I'll be able to please you."
"Wonderful. You start on Monday."
The line went dead, but Adrian's mind was alive.
A clean apartment? A job? Suddenly Adrian's life didn't seem so hopeless.
Alright! Here we go! I know this chapter doesn't exactly delve into the the romance. But I plan to switch the point of view every chapter, so next time it'll be from Will's perspective. I hope you guys enjoyed this, and hopefully the chapters will get longer and better. I'll try to update as quickly as possible, but if it takes a while don't think that I gave up. I will finish this! Thanks so much for reading!