Amu's P.O.V:
Something was bright against my eyelids, I opened my eyes and blinked a couple of times, trying to readjust my vision. I saw Sam there, opening the blinds to the large windows in my room.
"Time to get up, Ms. Hinamori." A voice said and I grumbled, covering myself with the large, white comforter. "Five missed calls, like you told me, I ignored them." He informed and I finally emerged from the mess I called my bed.
"Was it from her?" I raised a brow while sitting up, he nodded and I sighed. "Did you check the voice mails?" I added to my questions.
"I found that an invasion of privacy, and a pain to the ears." I saw a smile under his grey mustache and chuckled, stepping onto the cold, wooden floor. I stepped over all the scattered papers on the floor and he followed me out of my large bedroom and into the living room. I walked over to my cellphone and checked my voice mails, five just like Sam said. I brought the phone up to my ear, hearing the shouts and cuss words from the speaker.
"I swear to god, if you do not get your ass down here, you're fired!" The shouts finished with that final statement and placed the phone on the coffee table.
"How long has it been?" I looked over my shoulder.
"A month." He told me and I smiled, a melancholy undertone along with it.
"They must really love me to keep me that long." I joked. "I guess I'll pay a visit, since they still pay me." I made my decision.
"Would you like some tea or coffee, madam?" He asked and I shook my head.
"As much as I truly love your beverages, I need the taste of something greasy in my mouth. A month of healthy meals really gets to you." I shrugged and he bowed politely.
"Of course." He got back up and was about to leave the living room.
"Thank you for putting up with messy month, heartbreak can really get to you sometimes." I whispered.
"It is always a pleasure to serve you." He finally walked out. Sam was the butler I hired two years ago, when I finally realized I could not keep such a nice condo clean by myself. The only messy area was my bedroom, because I can never find anything if it is cleaned, everything has a rightful place on the floor.
I walked into my closet, looking at the plethora of clothing I have bought but never wore. I decided on a yellow tank-top with a pair of jeans, a black jacket to top off the outfit. I walked into the bathroom, examining my pink hair in distaste, quickly pulling it into a high ponytail and smiling in approval. I grabbed my car keys and slipped on my converse.
"Don't wait up!" I shouted as I left, taking the elevator down the multiple stories, then walking through the lobby.
"Good evening, Ms. Hinamori." The person at the front desk greeted me.
"Hello." I waved back, he seemed surprised to see me down, he probably thought I was dead after a month. I walked into the parking lot, the bright sunshine attacking my eyes and I hissed, sure as hell wasn't ready for that. I found my burgundy jeep and hopped in, starting up the engine, hearing it purr soothed me somehow.
"Sure would be nice if I didn't hit anything, it's been a while." I mumbled, driving out of the parking lot.
"Thank you and have a nice day." I drove out of the drive-through with my order, ripping the paper wrapping off of the straw with my teeth and then shoving it in my cup. I drank the soda and sighed from the refreshment, taking a load of fries into my mouth. It all tasted like crap and made me feel like an unhealthy shit after so long.
And I loved it so much.
I missed it somehow, eating junk food and going outside for drives around town, even though this drive was the one I have dreaded for this entire month. My agent, Sarah, has been faxing, calling, messaging, emailing me to try to get my butt back into writing. I was working on a romance because apparently some cheesy romance would reach out to my teenage audience, and rake in more cash.
It's all about cash for Sara.
She was not a bad person, far from it honestly, she was looking out for me and trying to maintain my reputation in this town. I sipped more of my drink, trying to sort everything that I am going to say in my mind.
"Hey, long time, no see, right?" I practiced and quickly shook my head, terrible, Amu. Maybe if I avoided her for another month, she'll just give up and question my existence entirely. Sounds like an okay plan to me. I drove into the building's parking lot and took the keys out, leaning back into my seat, exhaling deeply. As soon as my foot steps into that building, Sara will somehow know and attack me in public. I could do some secret agent shit and crash in through her window to avoid being embarrassed in public.
Great idea Amu, writing that on a sticky note or something.
I stepped out of my car and slammed the door shut, walking towards the entrance of the building, hands shoved lazily in the pockets of my jeans. I pushed the door open with my shoulder and all eyes were on me. My social anxiety caught up with me and I smiled sheepishly, sprinting over to the elevator before any questions were asked. Quickly hitting the button for the fifth floor, the elevator doors seemed like they couldn't close any more slowly. Finally, I was encased in the small room and lifted up, the numbers changing on the top of the doors as we went up.
1
2
3
4
5, showtime Amu. I walked into the hallway, it was too late to back out now. See the problem here was, the walls that were supposed to be covering the offices were made of glass, so you could see into it and they could see you in the hall.
Immediately, I spotted Sara's office and she spotted me, her dirty blonde hair tied into a very neat bun, no stray hairs sticking out anywhere. Her power suit seemed freshly ironed, as always.
Expect no less from Sarah, classy, never trashy.
The door was slammed open, causing me to flinch in fear that the glass walls would shatter.
"Get in here now." She growled, each word was said slowly, making it all the more intimidating. I scampered into the office and sat in one of the chairs in front of her desk and sat there, fidgeting in my seat. She walked over to her swivel chair and plopped down, ripping off her glasses and slamming then onto the desk.
"Amu, do you know how much I depend on you?" Her first question came out calmly, making me fear her even more.
"Ye-"
"Sixty-two." She said.
"Pardon me?" I asked.
"Sixty-two teenagers walked in here with their hopes high, leaving with their hearts and dreams shattered. All because I was desperate enough to try and replace you, but you know what, no other eighteen-year old has ever walked in here with the same talent as you." She looked like she felt disappointed in herself, just for trying to replace me?
"I would replace me too, I'm have a terrible case of procrastination." I agreed with her.
"What happened? A month with no contact at all, not even a reason why." Her voice broke my heart and I sighed.
"That jerk happened, turns out he was cheating with some..." I stopped myself, knowing that if I continued, I would eventually just break down in tears. "I just couldn't write, so many balls of papers flooded every damn trash can in my condo, I just couldn't face anyone besides Sam."
"I'm sure they weren't that bad." She scoffed.
"Each story ended with the main girl character killing the boy in a surprisingly descriptive and gruesome way, what a heartfelt romance." I rolled my eyes.
"Well you have six months to get to another story, unless you want to get blackballed in this town." She told me and my eyes widened.
"Six months to come up with something genius? Something that will sell over a million copies worldwide?" I stood up, staring down at her in disbelief.
"Don't forget that it has to be a romance." She reminded me.
"How about I write a wonderful horror story and we'll both be along our merry way?" I suggested with a fake smile.
"Amu, romance is in now, publishers are dying for a love story better than Twilight, look at how much they made from a story about vampires and werewolves."
"You know me, never one to go along with the crowd." I glared at her. "Romance is not my forte right now, alright?" I sat back down, raking through my ponytail with my hand.
"You wrote a romance before, remember?" She began typing on her computer and then turned it my way, showing the first book I ever wrote. "Sold a million copies the first week."
"That was when I was happy and emotionally stable." I spat. The book was titled "Love is Overrated Anyway," I wrote it at sixteen and sent it over email to Sara. From there, she had me flown out to America and payed for all of the expenses, Sara helped me meet with many publishers that she has worked with before. After that, I moved to America to make my meetings with Sara easier, I barely missed Japan after that. Writing is my passion and always will be, but romance has been tossed out the window for now.
"Maybe if you got out of that condo for once and experienced the world, you would get out of this writer's block." She kept waving her hands around and I stifled a chuckle, she looked pretty silly like that. "You need to get out of here, stop being reminded of that stupid punk."
"I'd be happy to forget him if I could, he was the one who inspired my first book anyway." Two years, gave that son-of-a-gun two years of my life and this is how he repays me.
"Inspiration! That's it! You need another man in your life." She stood up, as if a wave of brilliance washed over her.
"Slow down, I'm eighteen, you're middle-aged and single, I think this scenario should be switched around." I smirked and her eyes narrowed. "How am I supposed to find a guy that loves me here, everyone here knows who Hinamori Amu is, the only thing they'll fall for is my fame or money, or even both."
"It seems as if your books do not sell as well in Japan." She was already staring at the screen of her laptop.
"Wow, my homeland doesn't even buy my books, feeling the love over here guys." I held a hand over my heart dramatically.
"Well you're going back to find true love." She shut the silver laptop, finally.
"You're suggesting that I go back to Japan to find true love?" I raised a skeptical brow.
"Six months, you need to spend half-a-year there to find someone and just write about your experiences with him. You're still eighteen, attending school will give you a better chance of finding someone." She rested her head in her fist.
"School? Gross." I commented and she groaned.
"Amu, be at least a little mature in this situation!" She exclaimed.
"Arggh, fine, fine, fine, fine! Just let me run this through my mind." I dragged my hands across my face. I have honestly nothing to lose at this point, if I don't write this story, I'll be booted back to Japan since I can't afford my own place here anyway. Moving back in with my parents would be a nightmare. They never supported my career choice as a writer.
"Why don't you get an actual job, or go to college?" My mom would shout.
"College is for dweebs." I snorted.
"What was that?" Sarah leaned in to hear this time.
"I said fine, get me a flight to Japan at around five tomorrow, I have packing to get to." I stood up, walking out of the office. High school, where everyone considered me as a little dork, in height and chest size. My height has increased a couple of inches, wish I could say the same about the other area. Their insults never bothered me deeply though, just wish they would get better ones sometimes. It was like receiving anonymous hate on some stupid social site, except you can actually see the person behind the mask.
I remember one time when I was sixteen, I faked a hickey to try and seem cool but people saw right past it, called me 'Fake-Hickey Hinamori' for a couple of weeks. Man, I was so stupid back then.
Once thing has not changed, my stupid social problems. Sure, I could appear smart and witty in front of people I have known for a while, but to a stranger, I'm a stuttering mess, or just a silent one that you should ignore.
This will be one interesting story to write.
I decided I wanted to write a new story because this idea has sat in my mind for a while now, just dying to be revealed, so I hope you enjoyed! And yes, I am still continuing my other one so don't worry about it!
Please R&R!