"So, this guy walks into a barber shop, right? He asks "Bob Peters here?". And the barber says back to him "No, sir. We only cut hair here."!" Karen says, bellowing with laughter while eliciting a mix of groans and laughter from the other eight girls in the shower area.
"And just when I thought the last one you told was vulgar." Junna called out in reply.
"Oh, come on, prez!" Kaoruko was the next to call out. "They're all vulgar! It's just that that one was actually pretty funny!"
"You got any more over there, Karen?" Futaba asked.
"As long as they aren't any more about someone walking into a bar or some other place," Claudine added, rinsing her hair clean of the shampoo. "Then I'll be quite content."
"Why not? I quite enjoyed them." Said the ever comically deprived all throughout her young life Maya.
Claudine felt her mouth shift into a smile. "Of course you would, Tendou Maya."
"I know a few more, but Hikari has this really funny one that she told me and Mahiru the other day," Karen said while in the middle of washing her face. "Don't you, Hikari?"
The dark-haired girl in question said nothing.
"You remember, don't you?" Karen asked, poking her head around the wall that served as the divider between her own stall from Hikari's. "You know, the one about the guy getting shipwrecked on the deserted island with the dog and the pig?"
"Okay," Junna announced, quickly shutting off her water and reaching outside for her light blue towel to wrap around herself. "I've heard enough for tonight. Nana, I'll be in our room going over the king's lines when you get out."
"Okay, Junna!" Nana called out, nearly finished with her own shower.
Kaoruko waited until Junna was most likely out of the shower area and out of earshot before she called out to Nana on the other side. "How do you handle such an uptight stick in the mud, Nana-han?"
Nana ran a hand through her wet hair as a means to get all the conditioner rinsed out. "Junna has never really been one for humor, but she does have her good qualities."
"Please elaborate. You've piqued my curiosity," The blue-haired devil said with a small grin that no one could see. "Or maybe some of those good qualities you're talking about aren't meant to be heard in a public setting?"
Nana didn't miss a beat, quickly shutting off her water and grabbing her own yellow towel. "Oh dear, I seem to have ran out of hot water! Dinner will be ready in a couple of hours!"
Kaoruko scoffed. "That was the fakest excuse I have ever heard."
"Well, you did kind of put her in a bad spot with that question," said Futaba, nonchalantly. "I'd probably react the same way, too, if someone were to say something like that to me."
"Yeah, but it's different when you're trying to hide something that's as plain as day to the people around you, you know? How long do you think Hoshimi and Nana will continue trying to hide their relationship? I mean I'd come right out with it and tell them we know they're fucking, but you won't let me." Kaoruko said, running her hands down her face while the water streamed downwards onto her hair.
"It's just common courtesy, Kaoruko. I keep telling you that over and over again." Futaba rolled her eyes in the comfort of her own stall where the blue-haired devil couldn't see.
"Yeah, yeah, I get the picture."
"I think it's sweet to be honest," Mahiru was the next to speak. "I don't see why they would want to hide it since we would all be accepting of it, but I'm sure they have their reasons."
"I agree with Mahiru," Karen said. "I think it's really cute that Banana and Junna are sweet on each other like that!"
"Oh, gag me with a spoon," Kaoruko fake wretched but held a small smile on her face. "Of course you two lovebirds would think that, What about you, lovebird number three? It's a group discussion, so it's recommended that you participate."
The room was silent for a bit with the exception of running water hitting the floor in each taken stall, but then Hikari spoke.
"Agreed."
"Kuro-han? Tendou-han? You two are quiet over there. Enlighten us with your perspectives on the matter." said Kaoruko, having already finished up her own shower and was just standing there under the water, letting it cascade down her blue hair.
"It's been a long time coming, and it's definitely very adorable. They fit each other quite well." Claudine was the first to speak up.
"What Daiba and Hoshimi do in private isn't really anyone's business, but Saijou is correct. Their relationship dynamic is a very strong one. Anyone in this school can see that, regardless of how much effort they put into keeping it a secret. You have to commend them for that, however. I imagine hiding a relationship must be difficult." Maya said.
"But why would you want to hide it? Futaba and I don't have anything to hide, and everyone at this school knows for a definite fact that Tsuyuzaki, Aijou, and Kagura have something going on, and I'm pretty sure I've heard rumors going around school that you two do as well." Kaoruko explained, leaning against the wall of her stall, shit eating grin as present as ever.
This was enough to make Claudine poke her head out of the stall, eyes narrowed into a glare at the blue-haired devil on the other side of the room. "What rumors?"
Futaba also poked her head out of her own stall and glared at her roommate.
"What?" Kaoruko shrugged her shoulders at the shorter female. "Don't give me that look! I thought she knew!"
Futaba sighed exasperatedly and resumed finishing up her shower.
Rumors had been brewing for months that the two top students at the academy had been involved in a secret love affair. With each other no less. Futaba knew those rumors were false because if they weren't, she would have been the first person that Claudine would have confided to about it, or at least she thought.
But if it were to come out that Maya and Claudine were, indeed, involved in that sort of way, it wouldn't have surprised Futaba one bit.
Not that she would let that slip to the blonde any time soon. Maya would probably be a good sport about it, though.
"Déverse-la, Hanayagi," Claudine seethed. "Spill it. What rumors?"
"You and Tendou-han are the talk of the town, Kuro-han. Apparently, you two are involved in a secret love affair, but you can't come out with it because Tendou-han's parents will come to the academy and whisk her far away from here if they ever found out, and you would be so heartbroken about it that you would drop out of the academy and scurry on back to France and be a shut in for the rest of your life." Kaoruko explained.
"C'est absurde! That is the most absurd thing I have ever heard! And let me guess, you had a hand in spreading them, right?"
"I would never!" Kaoruko placed a hand upon her heart, faking shock at the blonde's insinuation. "Please, Kuro-han. I might be underhanded, but I'm not that underhanded. I might've exaggerated that last part about you dropping out and being a shut in for the rest of your life, but only because I wanted to see your reaction. The rumors aren't that extreme, so calm down a little bit, huh?"
Claudine dropped her head and let out a very slow sigh before retreating back into her shower.
"Besides," Kaouruko continued, crossing her arms while still leaning against the wall of her stall. "If you want my opinion, it's like something out of a damn story book. Or maybe a trashy novel if you include the dirty parts. I guess you two being cast as Sleeping Beauty and the prince is probably icing on the cake for those rumors when you actually think about it."
Maya had been quiet during this whole thing, eavesdropping but not technically eavesdropping on the conversation between the blue and blonde haired females. However, no one noticed the way she longingly stared at the wall that served as the divide between her and Claudine while leaning on the wall in front of her with her hands and letting the water fall down her long brunette hair, but then she spoke.
"Very well. I shall see to it that these rumors will be set straight first thing tomorrow morning."
Claudine could've sworn she had heard a slight melancholy tint to the brunette's usually confident voice and paused her shower to stare at the dividing point between her and the taller female. That sure didn't sound like Tendou Maya to her.
Was it time for the sadness of losing to finally seep through the impenetrable walls of Maya's mental stronghold? Maybe the pain that Claudine imagined Maya would most likely have was real?
Then Claudine remembered the way Maya's eyes looked after their roles in the play had been revealed. Eyes did not lie. That's one thing the blonde definitely knew.
A passion that intense could not be faked.
If someone was in pain or in a state of sadness, shock, or whatever other kind of melancholy emotion a human being could feel, their eyes would have a dimness that reflected that certain state of mind.
Maya's lilac colored eyes had been more radiant than ever before. A definite contrast to the dimness of a person feeling any sort of melancholy emotion.
Claudine couldn't understand any of it. She didn't want Maya to be sad because sadness just didn't suit her at all. Or anybody for that matter. But for some odd reason, Claudine couldn't bare the thought of Maya feeling any sort of sadness or any kind of self-doubt. The top spot was something Maya treasured dearly and to have that pulled out from under her had to have been a shock in itself.
Or maybe Maya was indifferent about the loss and would carry on like it was nothing.
Claudine tilted her head back and sighed slightly in satisfaction when it cracked. Overthinking a situation was something she was definitely a professional at, and she knew it would be for the best to just put a kink in the gears of her mind and let it be until she managed to get some assurance from Maya that would put it to rest.
"Honestly, it's not even worth worrying about, Tendou-san," She said, shutting off the water and wringing out her hair. "Girls are going to talk about anything and everything, so we might as well just let them have that to talk about."
Maya also turned off her own water. "If you think that would be for the best, then I will honor that."
Kaoruko rolled her eyes, having already stepped out of the shower with her pale pink towel around her. "And this is the very reason why there are rumors floating around. You two got it bad for each other, and you don't even know it."
Futaba sighed. "Come on, Kaoruko. You've beaten them up enough for today. Let's get dressed and go see if Nana has started cooking yet. I'm starving."
"You know it, too, Futaba," Kaoruko fell in line behind the smaller female as the two trekked to the door. "You can't stand there and tell me that those two-..."
As soon as the blue-haired devil's voice faded out of earshot, Hikari was the first to step out of the shower whilst wrapping her blue towel around her form. "Well, I'm glad she's gone."
"You and me both." Claudine agreed with the dark-haired female.
Karen and Mahiru stepped out as well with their respective red and green towels to cover themselves.
"If it makes you feel any better, I haven't heard any of those rumors that Kaoruko was talking about, but then again I do have a tendency to fall asleep in class a lot." Karen said, bringing up a finger to her chin in thought at the last part of her statement.
"Hanayagi-san was right about one thing, though." Mahiru spoke up, adjusting her towel as she did so.
"What's that?" Claudine had already wrapped her orange towel around her and was fidgeting with the wetness of her hair. It wasn't completely dry yet, but she still took pride in her appearance regardless.
"It really is like something out of a story book. And it's kind of ironic that our next production is Sleeping Beauty, which is out of a story book. Kind of."
Despite the water already being turned off, Maya remained in her stall where no one could see her smiling warmly at Mahiru's comparison.
"When you iron out all the dark aspects of the original version." Hikari noted solemnly.
"Can you imagine if we were going by the original Sleeping Beauty? I mean I know the school wouldn't allow it, but Junna would have a cow and possibly the rest of the animals on Mahiru's farm if that were to happen!" Karen laughed at imagining the class representative going on the warpath with the script writers and the director right directly in it.
"Thankfully, it has been toned down for a younger audience." Maya pointed out, stepping out of the stall with her grey towel around her soft, muscular form that Claudine found herself staring at but quickly caught herself before anyone had time to notice what she was doing.
"Well, I don't know about you all, but I'm gonna go lay down for a nap before dinner." Karen stretched her arms and scratched the back of her head before she began walking out of the room.
Hikari followed suit as usual, joining in right behind the brunette as the two made their way out into the hall.
"But really," Mahiru began again. "If you two were to be together one day, it would be like something out of a story book. Maybe just like Sleeping Beauty even."
Claudine could practically see the stars in Mahiru's eyes at the prospect of the possibility of a relationship between her and Maya, which was absurd in every way possible.
But despite the absurdity of the idea, it still made the blood rush to Claudine's cheeks, which Maya immediately took notice of and found herself not being able to look away.
"Anyway," Mahiru adjusted her towel again. "I can't let Karen nap just yet because we need to practice our lines, so I really need to hurry. I'll see you both at dinner."
And with that, she hurried out of the room and down the hall.
"I may have to take back what I said earlier," Claudine said as she watched her leave before turning to Maya. "It would probably be for the best if we squashed these rumors before they make everyone delusional. If they haven't already."
Maya looked to the door and hummed. "I suppose, but voicing our objections now would be rather pointless, would it not? Judging by the way Hanayagi spoke of the rumors, they have most likely been going around for quite some time. Even if we were to speak up and set these rumors straight, there is a slight possibility that there will be some that will refute anything you or I say that opposes their own viewpoint."
Claudine crossed her arms and leaned against the outside of one of the shower stalls. "So, what you're saying is that no matter what we say or do to address these rumors, everyone is still going to talk and have their own opinion of us?"
"Correct," Maya takes a few steps away from the blonde before stopping and turning back around to face her with that smirk. "We are actresses, after all. We should be accustomed to people having different opinions and not letting them hinder our success, should we not?"
Claudine's eyebrows arched down into a glare as she scoffed. "This is different. They think we're dating, Tendou-san. You and I. Does that not bother you in any way, shape, or form?"
The brunette turned her back to Claudine and clutched the front of her towel tightly, seeming to mull over her thoughts in silence before voicing what she felt the need to say while her back remained facing the blonde.
"I am not bothered by anything of that sort, but if they bother you, we can try addressing them first thing tomorrow morning."
If Maya's back had not been turned to her, Claudine would have most assuredly caught a glimpse of the longing gaze the brunette had directed at the nearest wall.
Claudine seemed to fall silent for a bit as she also stared in contemplation at the nearest wall before sighing.
"That won't be necessary. You're right. We should just let it be. It is what it is."
Maya nodded once, her back still to Claudine. "Very well."
Another bout of silence fell between the two. Claudine had been waiting all evening for an opportunity to arise when she would be able to get Maya's attention with no one else around so she could get her point of view on this and make sure she was alright, but she just couldn't bring herself to do so.
However, this other period of silence ceased when Maya turned her head to the side so that she was getting a peripheral view of the blonde. "It may be my imagination, but it sounds as if you are somewhat revolted at the thought of you and I being together. Would courting me really be that bad?"
This made Claudine snap her head toward the brunette in front of her, eyes wide and mouth slightly parted.
Did Maya really just ask her that? Of course she had never thought of Maya in that sense! They were rivals and nothing more than that! Hell, they were barely considered friends!
Sure, Maya was really appealing to look at, and there were a ton of girls at the academy who would jump at the chance to date the tall brunette, but that didn't mean Claudine was one of them!
But that didn't necessarily mean she thought it would be downright heresy to be with Maya. That was far from the case. Anyone would be lucky to have Maya as a significant other, but it seemed as if Maya just wasn't the type that would want a relationship, and there was plenty of evidence to back that up.
Some of that evidence included Maya politely turning down confessions that she would receive maybe two or three times a week. It was just a matter of time before the academy would run out of girls that hadn't confessed to her.
Claudine had been in close proximity around a majority of those confessions and would only roll her eyes at the polite way in which Maya shot them down one by one. Irritating but endearing at the same time. Never had she ever heard Maya be rude to any of them. They would come to her with heart eyes and leave still with heart eyes despite the rejection.
That was just the nature of Tendou Maya it seemed, and in a way, it was very charming how she conducted herself during those situations. Or any situation for that matter.
Now, Claudine was contradicting herself.
Great.
A definite result of the atmosphere that Maya created just by walking into a room or by talking or by fluttering those damn eyelashes without actually meaning to or by slightly pursing her lips and looking up to the ceiling during a particularly difficult question while in the midst of class or by...
Claudine inwardly screamed at her mind to stop there.
Judging by the heat she was feeling, her face was probably blood red, which was probably giving Maya some form of satisfaction with the way she was giving off that signature Tendou Maya smirk over her shoulder.
Claudine breathed in through her nose and then released it out of her mouth before speaking.
"First of all, no one's been "courting" since the early nineteen hundreds. Honestly, open up a history book. Secondly, I never outrightly stated dating you would be revolting. And finally, you must not be too bad because with all of the flowers that have been offered to you, you could have decorated the entire dorm with them had you accepted them all."
This piqued Maya's interest, which caused her to turn around fully to Claudine as a result. "I didn't know they depicted such trivial details like that in history books. And as for the flowers, you and I are both well aware that I couldn't decorate the entire dorm with them even if I had accepted them because of Aijou's allergies."
"Some of them were fake, Tendou-san." Claudine replied, arms still crossed.
"Not all of them." The taller female winked.
The blonde sighed in exasperation. "Why do I feel as if this whole conversation just inflated your ego even more than it already was initially?"
Maya's smirk seemed to grow, which only served to exasperate Claudine further.
"Never mind, Don't answer that." She gave up, running her hand through her blonde locks a few times to check if they had dried any and wishing that she had thought to bring her brush with her.
Maya quietly watched her, smirk slowly fading away from her lips and being replaced with a small, genuine smile accompanied by another longing look that seemed to be aimed at Claudine more and more here lately.
"Anyway, I just wanted to check and make sure you were okay." The blonde began as she stopped combing through her locks with her fingers and crossed her arms again.
Once Claudine looked to the towering brunette, the love-struck gaze on Maya's face disappeared as quickly as it had came and a serious one took its place.
"What do you mean?" She inquired.
"Well I mean," Claudine scratched the back of her neck and sighed at how hard this actually was to word. "You're used to being the lead in everything, you know? I can't remember a time when you didn't get the lead part in something. I just figured that maybe you might be a little upset that you didn't get the part this time. Maybe you feel like the rug had been pulled out from under you, or maybe you don't feel that way at all. I just want to make sure you're okay, I guess."
There was yet another bout of silence before Maya spoke.
"Contrary to popular belief, there have been times before when I didn't get to be the lead. Quite a few times, actually. Yes, I'll admit I felt like I had the rug pulled out from under me during some of those moments, but I didn't feel that way on some occasions. Some were just better suited for the role than I was, and I knew they were."
Maya joined Claudine in leaning back on the wall with her arms crossed as well before continuing.
"Every now and then, there will be someone that comes along and outshines you, and there really isn't anything you can do to change that. You were confident that you were at your absolute best, which you were, but then you see the person after you do a much better performance, and it will either do one of two things."
Maya brought up her thumb to emphasize the first thing. "It will either hurt you," Then her index finger to emphasize the second. "Or it will teach you."
Claudine stayed silent as the taller female continued talking, listening intently.
"If it hurts you, then that's when you realize that you could have put on a better performance than you initially thought. For example, in my earlier days when I was first breaking out as a performer, I lost a lot of lead roles because I didn't put in my best effort even when I thought I was putting in my best effort. My father, as harsh as he may have been, helped me to realize I had more potential than I thought I had at first. And as time went on and I grew to realize that potential, I found myself getting cast as the lead more and more."
The blonde gauged the passion in Maya's eyes as she spoke and watched as the fiery, purple flames made their eagerly awaited return, but strangely, they weren't as strong as they were earlier. Odd.
"But even with that newfound potential, there will still be moments when you lose the lead role. Not because your performance was inadequate but because they just had more to offer for the role. You are not affected or wounded by it in any way because you were confident with what you had initially brought to the stage. That's the most important part. That you were confident in your abilities. However, as you watch their performance and see them do the things you did not, you gain a better understanding of what type of person they are and how much confidence they have. Understanding someone else and their reason for doing what they are doing can help you become a better performer as well as a better person."
Maya paused during her monologue, waiting to see if the blonde next to her had any questions or anything else to add to it.
Claudine had continued listening despite all the thoughts that were running through her head at that particular point in time, but once the brunette had stopped speaking, she chose to say something and did so in a breathy voice.
"I've never heard anything like that before."
And she hadn't. Of course she had her own outlook on performing and everything else pertaining to that similar area, but she had never heard another person explain their own outlook so beautifully.
"Our past experiences can shape how we see things both on and off the stage, but what really matters is how we react to them. What kind of reaction we have reflects what kind of person we are and what we are feeling inside at that particular time. But to answer your question from earlier without being vague, no I am not in any way upset or hurt. You were just the better performer and the one more fit for it. Physically as well."
"What are you saying?" Claudine asked turning toward Maya, shifting to lean on her shoulder instead of her back.
Maya did the same, and the two pairs of eyes met.
And once that happened, the blonde could not contain the small gasp that escaped her lips as the fully evolved, purple inferno in Maya's irises had been restored to its former glory. The same exact sight she had seen earlier just before class had started.
"Did you not read the description in the script when you tried out for the role?" Maya teased with a charming sideways grin before she gently ran a hand through Claudine's golden locks.
"Hair of sunshine gold."
She continued to her next destination, the fingertips of the same hand she had ran through Claudine's hair skimming slightly down her cheek, which caused the blonde to shiver slightly at the goosebumps that quickly formed on her body.
And when Maya's fingertips reached their destination, they ghosted against Claudine's lips, which caused more goosebumps to arise and elicited another shiver out of her.
"Lips red as the rose."
Claudine's brain began to short circuit. She and Maya had been in close proximity to each other many times before to the point where they would invade each other's personal space, but not in this sense. Never before in this sense.
Her heart was thudding at such a fast pace that she was almost afraid it would beat plum out of her chest. Every thump her heart created pulsated through her burning hot ears and rendered her into a feverish mess. Her thought process was long gone, having been tossed out of the window by the girl in front of her and her infuriatingly charming words.
"Anyone with sight can see that you are without a shadow of a doubt an accurate description of a princess, wouldn't you agree?" Maya said as she removed her fingertips from Claudine's lips and once again bowed politely to her.
"As I said before, I look forward to being your prince. It should be something to remember, should it not?"
She flashed the blonde a genuine smile before turning on her heel and exiting the shower area.
Now that Claudine was alone, her thought process was slowly beginning to emerge from the Tendou Maya induced fog, enabling her to place a hand on her chest in an attempt to try and calm the still erratically beating organ inside.
Breathing in and out slowly seemed to suffice as the pulsating thudding in her ears seemed to subside, but the burning sensation on her ears and face remained.
She placed a hand on her forehead and bent down slightly, looking at the tiled floor and voiced the very first coherent thought that came to her mind.
"Qu'est-ce que c'était?" She mumbled her in her native language before readjusting her semi-wet towel and bringing the corners up to shield her blood red face. "Merde."