A/N: Okay, I know this took forever. It really did. But I was stuck in a total rut and it just wasn't happening for me, so...yeah. Well, um, my mom has breast cancer, but since I so rarely post anyway, it probably won't effect how often I post. But here is the next installment of Selling the Drama!
Oh yeah, before I forget:
Disclaimer: I own one copy each of Hot Wheels: World Race, AcceleRacers: Ignition, AcceleRacers: Speed of Silence, AcceleRacers: Breaking Point, and AcceleRacers: The Ultimate Race, as well as a decent sized collection of actual Hot Wheels cars. I do NOT howver own the rights to any characters in this story, except perhaps those of my own design, which means that I own Saiyaka Takamoto and Ms. Phyllis Goldstein the scary corporate lawyer, kinda, sorta, maybe. Please, do not bother to sue me, as I am but a humble Library worker, and you will recieve nothing.
Karma lounged on her bed, absentmindedly conversing with her hyper friend, Saiyaka. It had been only the day before that the pair of them had graduated from high school. The four years of hell went by faster than Karma suspected they would, and she believed it was finally over.
"Don't be ridiculous," Saiyaka told her. "High school never ends!"
"We graduated. That seems like an ending to me."
"You're joking, right? Karma, the vast majority of the population is fixated on exactly the same things students focus on: who's the best dressed, who's got an eating disorder, who's gay, who's straight, who's gay but says they're straight, and so on and so forth." Saiyaka sighed with a smile, shaking her head. "Silly girl."
Karma shot her a look. "Maybe I just don't focus on tabloid newspapers like everyone else."
"Well, neither do I, silly," she chuckled.
"I'm not silly. Don't call me silly."
"Karma, all I'm saying is you've been on the inside too long, too involved to truly understand people from a psychological standpoint. I was always on the outside looking in, so I read deeper into things and know what makes people tick. I didn't mean to upset you, and I'm sorry." Saiyaka paused, blowing a wayward strand of hair from her face. "Anyway, that's not the point. What were we talking about? Where were we?"
"I was refusing to be in your shock-picture."
Saiyaka had been laying on the bed with her head and torso hanging upside-down over the edge, and presently, she threw her legs up over her head and spun in the air, landing on her feet. She stared down at the outwardly emotionless Karma "Cold-As-Ice" Eiss.
"Why not?!" she whined. "Karmaaaaaaaa…"
Karma sat up and glared at her. "Why did you tell them you'd put in a nude scene?"
"Because," she said incredulously, "I knew Tone would force Nolo to participate, if only so he could hang around you."
"I thought you said he was too old for me?"
"But you're eighteen now, so it's okay."
"So you're just going to let him see me naked?! Just like that?!"
"Well, yeah. I mean, what's the big deal? You like him, he likes you…you both like each other. You should go out. If he sees you naked before that, then it just cuts through a lot of red tape later on."
Karma blushed, unable to meet Saiyaka's gaze. She mumbled something inaudible, and Saiyaka asked her to repeat herself.
"I said Tone already saw me naked," Karma yelled. "He was backstage to wish Nolo luck, and he…he walked into my dressing room by mistake."
Saiyaka grinned. "Silly girl," she said, and Karma threw a pillow at her.
Nolo reached for the phone, only subconsciously aware of what he was doing. The boy was asleep on the couch, having zonked out after a most excellent graduation party at Pablo Steinberg's house. The party had been a general sort of thing, not for Pablo in particular, but for the entire senior class, and anyone who could show up was welcome. Pablo was cool like that; he didn't care about social cliques but just wanted everyone to get along. This was why everyone loved Pablo Steinberg, and why his parties were so great.
Nolo was usually an early bird. Of course, after a night like that, Nolo was exhausted.
"Hellooo?" he sighed, eyes still closed.
"Hey, Scrivello. You know your lines yet?"
Nolo was awake now. "Saiyaka? Whaa…why are you calling? It's too early…"
"Nolo, it's lunchtime."
"Hmm?" Nolo looked at the VCR; 11:37 AM. Crap. She was right. He sighed into the phone and grumbled.
"So?"
"So what?"
"So, have you and Tone read the script, and are you off book yet or not?"
Nolo felt like a total moron. With the end of school coming around, he forgot completely about Saiyaka's movie. Of course, he didn't want to be in it in the first place, but a promise was a promise. Still, he was unsure of how to convey how unprepared he was to Saiyaka without provoking her.
Saiyaka sighed. "Okay, you're not ready. Okay. That's okay." There was silence for a moment. "Look, can we meet for lunch somewhere to talk about this? Tell Tone Karma's with me."
"Where you wanna meet?" Tone asked, snapping to attention. He had been asleep on the floor for around six hours, but the mention of Karma's name, no matter how quiet, was the magic word.
Saiyaka covered the mouthpiece of her cell. "I'm not sure where we should meet them," she whispered. "The pizza place on fourth?"
"Your house. Your parents are at work and we can let Shirako in on things."
"I don't want them to know where I live! What if they turn out to be a pair of violent psychopaths?!"
"You can write a movie about them."
Saiyaka rolled her eyes. "How about Richie's Place? Yeah, the pizzeria on fourth."
Saiyaka chatted amicably for a minute longer before hanging up. "Grab your script and we'll run by my house to pick up Shirako and my sketches for the demons. I'm feeling really good about this, Karma. Oh, I can't believe we're finally getting this off the ground!!"
Karma sighed and followed her friend out.
Shirako suddenly seemed to find the floor very interesting as he entered the pizzeria, unable to meet Tone or Nolo's gaze. The bruise on his cheek from a recent run-in with a group of Nolo's friends was only just beginning to fade from deep purple to greenish-yellow. He shuffled reluctantly to the table they had picked out, but did not sit down until Saiyaka and Karma were seated. Still, he was able to keep himself under control and did not let them know they were getting to him.
"Hey, guys! Great to see ya!" Saiyaka said, clapping the Pasaros on the back. She gave a quick hug and flipped her folder open on the table. "Right, so let's get down to business! This is what I think the scene where Karma gets possessed should look like."
"Uh huh, very spooky. Listen, Saiyaka—"
"And this is what I've got worked up for Tone's character; his personality, the way he dresses, the way this one nerdy kid follows him around and does his homework so Tone'll protect him from bullies and such, that sort of thing."
"Saiyaka—"
"And these are the bios and costume ideas for your triple identity."
"Saiyaka!!"
"Yes?"
Nolo hated being ignored; hated it. It drove him crazy. But he kept a handle on his temper as Saiyaka turned the page again to a particularly strange sketch she had made with a ball-point pen in the middle of the night. At first, Nolo could not tell what it was and had to turn his head to try and make it out.
"What is that?"
Saiyaka blinked and looked down at the drawing, then flashed a demonic grin. "That," she said, "is my workup for the scene in which Larry Ramirez, the jock triplet, gets his throat ripped out."
"Really? Eww." Nolo took a closer look at the picture and shuddered.
"What do you mean the jock triplet, Saiyaka? What are you planning?"
"That is an excellent question, Tone!" Saiyaka chirped. "I—"
"Saiyaka's idea was to make each of the three triplets dramatically different so that even though they look exactly alike, the viewer doesn't mistake them for each other." Karma smirked in her own delicate way, cherishing Saiyaka's stolen thunder. "Larry Ramirez is on the basketball team and has it out for the nerd who follows Tone's character around; basically, he's just a jerk who likes to pick on people smaller than him. Larry always wears an NBA jersey."
"Thank you, Karma," Saiyaka said through clenched teeth. "Very nice presentation. SO! To continue the explanation, Larry's brother, Harry, is a bit of a nerd himself. He works at the public library; the same public library where Chelsea finds the ancient spell book. He rambles when he's nervous, and, unlike his brothers, Harry wears glasses. Then, of course, we have the black sheep of the family, Gary!"
"He's my favorite," Karma said. "It's going to be so much fun to dress Nolo up."
Nolo's eyes widened. "Whoa, hold up!" he said. "Saiyaka, whaddaz she mean, 'dress Nolo up?!' I don't like the sound of that!!"
"Relax, Nolo! Gary's a Goth, which you would know if you bothered to read the script. You just have to wear a lot of black clothes."
It was Karma's turn to grin evilly. "And black eyeliner, and black nail polish, and leather bracelets, and clunky boots, and a dog collar, and a trench coat—"
"Karma?"
"—and cutting scars, and tattoos, and maybe some purple streaks in his hair—"
"Earth to Karma! Come in, Karma!!" Karma hushed, and Saiyaka smirked. "Sorry about that. She loves doing costume work for guys."
"Once we dressed up Shirako like a geisha," Karma added. "He was so cute we dressed him up like a classic American hooker afterwards. I still have pictures on my cell phone."
Shirako buried his head in his hands, his face a deep shade of red, while Karma showed the pictures to Tone. The mutual crushes snickered at their end of the table. In that moment, Shirako truly wanted to die.
"Come on, Shirako," Saiyaka quietly said to him. "I'll take you home."
Shirako shrugged her hands off his shoulders and ran out the door. His half sister was actually offering sympathy. Was he truly so pathetic? Had he sunk so low that Saiyaka, the ultimate force for evil and torture, no longer wanted to toy with him? And now, Tone and Nolo's friends would have yet another in a long line of reasons to make his life miserable.
It wasn't that Shirako liked dressing like a girl… That afternoon was a one time thing. An experiment! And Karma had wanted him to do it, besides. They danced around her Aunt's house—Phyllis Goldstein was almost perpetually out of town—and drank champagne, trying on the new costumes for drama club and Karma dug a kimono out of a trunk somewhere. She said how cute it would look on Shirako, undaunted when Saiyaka said it was a woman's outfit. Shirako did not want to put on the kimono, not really…but the champagne was getting to him, and Karma smelled so nice and asked, "Pretty please?" He did not squirm while she did his makeup, and he did not scowl while she pinned back his hair. He posed for the pictures, and did not even protest when she suggested a leather mini skirt and kerchief top with a Shirley Temple wig.
Because Karma asked him to; that was why Shirako even considered dressing that way. Because she dressed him, and he did anything Karma asked. Saiyaka had to threaten, but Karma only had to say, "Pretty please?" and he was putty in her hands.
"Why'd she have to tell them?" he whispered to himself. It just wasn't fair! And just as he wallowed in self pity, Shirako felt a strong hand on his shoulder. He whirled around in fear, recognizing the gruffness with which he was being handled; only a member of the varsity goon squad had a grip like that.
He saw it was only Nolo, but he didn't care. "What do you want?" he grumbled, looking away.
Nolo looked down at him sympathetically, which made it even worse. "Is it true, what she said?" he asked.
"What do you care?"
Shirako tried to run again, but Nolo grabbed his wrist. He knew he couldn't get away, so he stopped trying. "I didn't want to," he said softly, and the tears were beginning to show. "Karma…she wanted me to. I can't say no to her. She's…she's so pretty…"
Nolo had a grave expression on his face, but his eyes were soft. "It wasn't your fault, Shirako," he said soothingly. "It was years ago. It doesn't even matter."
He wiped tears from his face. "I know, but now everyone at school's going to find out and they'll have even more reason to beat me up than usual! They're gonna call me a pansy," he whined.
"No," Nolo him. "They won't. Tone won't say a word."
He looked up at Nolo and sniffed. "R-really?"
"I promise." And he smiled so warmly that Shirako completely overcame his crush on Karma. Shirako blushed, nodding, and followed Nolo back to the pizzeria.
"Now, I was thinking of redecorating the place when I got back, so do whatever you want with the wallpaper and floors. I don't mind. But if you smash anything," she warned, turning on Karma, "anything at all, so help me, I will sue you parents and blow your college fund on a new Jacuzzi. F'shtay? And don't touch the liquor cabinet."
"Yes, ma'am."
"Good girl." Phyllis gave her niece a warm hug and kissed her forehead. "You have fun with your film crew; raid the fridge, get stage blood on my couch, whatever. Just stick by that tortured genius friend of yours, Karma, honey, 'cause she's going places."
"Yes, ma'am."
"And stop calling me ma'am. It makes me feel old."
"Yes, Aunt Phyllis."
Phyllis got into her BMW and pulled out past the Takamotos retrieving equipment from the trunk of Saiyaka's car. She honked her horn, and they waved.
"Bye, Ms. Goldstein!! Have fun in Acapulco!!"
Shirako took a deep breath, hefting a locked case full of camera accessories over his shoulder and walking briskly towards the house.
"So, how much of this stuff do we need anyway?"
"The recipe Saiyaka gave me said six parts corn syrup to three parts red food coloring to one part non-dairy creamer."
"Slow down, Karma," Nolo teased. "He failed math twice."
"Shut up, Nolo!"
"What? It's true."
Tone shot Nolo a look, not amused, and he quieted down. The Pasaro brothers got back to the task at hand, mixing up the stage blood that would be required for the messier scenes. Karma wondered what Tone was thinking, why he had agreed to all of this. Did he really like her that much? Or was he still trying to make up for what happened to Jeffrey? She just felt so confused whenever he was around. It scared her…but Karma liked it. It felt so exciting and new, the way her heart skipped a beat whenever Tone walked by, the way his eyes seemed to dance when he smiled at her. Karma only wished she knew how Tone felt about her.
Saiyaka poked her head in, silky black hair back in pigtails.
"Nolo, time to try on your costumes," she said. Saiyaka waved dismissively as Karma rose. "No, Karma, I don't need you just yet. I'll call you for final adjustments; this is just to make sure everything fits."
"Make sure he looks really girly!" Tone called after them. Karma chuckled, and he smiled at her.
"And don't forget to paint his nails!" Karma chimed.
Tone burst out laughing, and Karma joined him.
Nolo severely hoped that Saiyaka had forgotten the nail polish and he would not have to endure something so terrible. Had he not suffered enough? Looking himself over in the full length mirror, he thought he had. The boots were not so bad; at least, they were more comfortable than the leather pants. And the mesh top under the ripped sleeveless shirt seemed like a bit much.
Saiyaka appeared next to him, looking Nolo over and smoothing out wrinkles here and there. She stopped, resting her hands on his waist and smiling at him in the mirror.
"How's the dog collar feel?"
"A little tight, but I think I'll manage. Listen, Saiyaka, we don't really have to paint my nails today, do we?"
"Today? Oh, no," she said, adjusting the studded collar and hanging chains. "We're going to start with Harry's scenes; Gary's scenes will be filmed last."
"I know that, but do we have to paint my nails at all, and can't we just skip the eyeliner? Look at it from a realistic standpoint. On the rare occasions when you encounter a Hispanic Goth in the real world, they go more for piercings than makeup. Even the girls would rather get a nose ring than wear black lipstick."
Saiyaka scrutinized Nolo's costume in the mirror, still behind him. She thought for quite some time, and then she spoke.
"I had taken that into account," she said, "but I assumed you would rather wear eyeliner than get pierced. It's painful and there's risk of infection, and I didn't think you would go through that."
"Well, we can get clip-ons, right?" he asked. "I won't actually have to get pierced."
"I suppose so…But Karma was really looking forward to doing your makeup. Oh, I just don't know." Saiyaka called out to the kitchen. "Karma! Could you come here a sec?"
There was no answer, and after she called louder a second time, there was a crash. Nolo and Saiyaka ran to the kitchen to see what was going on.
A chair was tipped over, and there Tone and Karma were, making out on the floor. A bowl of the stage blood the pair had been mixing now coated most of there bodies, shining and dripping in a sticky sugary mess as Karma began to pull up Tone's shirt.
Saiyaka whistled loud enough to stop a train, and Karma and Tone yelped, scrambling to their feet.
"Saiyaka! Uh, um, we were just…um…"
Saiyaka smiled, looking deep into Tone's eyes. "If you hurt her, you're a dead man. I'm serious, Tone. You're a nice guy and I like you, but if you ever hurt Karma, the cops will never ever find what's left of you."
"Don't hurt him! I love him!" Karma held the elder Pasaro passionately, her eyes pleading. Tone grinned, giving his brother a thumbs up. Nolo returned the thumbs up with both hands. Saiyaka frowned, looking at the pantry door.
Saiyaka pulled the door open to reveal a blushing Shirako with a digital camcorder. "How long were you in there, Shi-Shi-chan?"
Shirako gulped, unsure of what to say. His guilty eyes drifted to Tone and Karma, and his voice cracked. "Wow, you guys are really sticky. I'll get the Windex!" He slammed the pantry door shut, but Saiyaka pulled him out by his ear before he could make it to the crawl space and escape.
Harry smiled to himself for no particular reason as he casually leafed through some books from the discard pile. After scanning each item, he blacked out the barcodes and stamped "WITHDRAWN FROM THE LOS ANGELES COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY" in red ink on the inside back cover.
Harry Ramirez was a Senior Page at the Montez Library, a branch of the LA County Library system. Basically, he worked behind the front desk and helped patrons of the library find what they needed. And just now, a slight movement in the foreground of his vision alerted him to someone who required his immediate attention.
She was slim waisted, with fair skin and shining auburn hair that shagged into her sparklingly clear blue eyes. The tight red top and low-rise jeans she wore made Harry swallow his gum.
"Can I help you?" he choked out finally. The girl had been absent-mindedly rifling through a school book, but she now stared at Harry with wide eyed, collie-like attention. Did she like him? Would she ask Harry out?
"Larry?"
Dammit. Harry sighed, his shoulders slumping. "No, Larry's my bully of a brother," he said, annoyed. "I'm Harry. Harry Ramirez."
"Chelsea Kowalchik," she answered, still incredulous. "I'm sorry for the mix up. Larry just never told any of us he had a brother."
"Well, I understand," Harry said, nodding. "We go to different high schools; we engage in different activities, we lead different lives. The jock jerk just didn't want anyone to know he was related to a nerd."
"But that's horrible," Chelsea said sympathetically. "How could he be so cruel to his own twin brother?"
"We were triplets before Gary ran away."
"Gary?" Chelsea huffed, raising her eyebrows, but her look softened. "Oh…Oh, God, I'm so sorry."
Harry snorted. "Don't be. That Goth-freak was bad news. Skipping school, fighting with our stepdad, getting into Palo Mayomble and Witchcraft; he broke our mother's heart, the ingrate. He left a bunch of black candles burning on the porch that night, with a dead cat and pennies and stuff."
"Ewwwww."
"It freaked us out, too," he said, nodding. "Couldn't even touch the stuff. We had to get a Santerian priest to clean it up. He said it was a revenge curse."
This got Chelsea's attention. "Revenge?" she asked. Good God, it was crazy, but it just might work.
"Yeah, but who knows what for?" he spat. "Our family gave him everything he ever wanted or needed, and he goes and blames us for his problems, tries to avenge himself through the dark arts. Can you believe the nerve of that guy?!"
"No. No, that's too terrible for words…"
Chelsea looked so far away, so deep in thought. Harry worried that he had bored the girl, perhaps even given her the heebie jeebies.
"But you don't need to hear about any of that," he said hurriedly. "I'm so sorry for ranting. Please, is there anything I can help you with?"
"Do you have a section on world religions?"
Harry smiled. "Right this way, please."
"Thank you. That's very kind of you."
"Oh, I'm happy to help!" he chirped.
Chelsea followed Harry towards Nonfiction, Library of Congress classification BE through BT.
"What are you looking up religions for, anyway?"
"Oh, you know…school project."
"And…CUT! That was perfect, guys. Nolo, Karma, you were fantastic. I seriously love you. Seriously."
Tone patted his brother on the back. "You were great, bro. A real one take wonder."
"Yeah, I am pretty good at this, aren't' I?" Nolo slipped off the fake glasses he only wore as the nerdy triplet Harry and grinned at Saiyaka. "How'd you swing 'em letting us into this place anyway?"
"The branch manager's daughter portrayed Audrey when we did Little Shop. Oh, that reminds me; I better go thank her again. Shirako, pack it up."
Shirako nodded to his two AV buddies who were handling sound and lighting and put his camera away.
The day had started out with a quick drive to pick up a couple of Audi-Visual Club nerds for the shoot, on location at their local library. Karma had picked out a cute outfit the day before. Nolo wore a blue V-neck sweater and glasses that made him want to kick his own ass. But today was the day they shot Harry's scenes, which, thankfully, there were only a small number of. Larry had a few more scenes, but they were shorter and his lines and actions made him very unlikable. Gary would basically steal the movie with his reluctant heroics, snappy one liners and gruesomely prolonged death.
Nolo had decided that maybe acting wasn't all bad, but he still did not look forward to Gary's scenes.
Saiyaka and Karma walked back to them. "Okay, boys, let's head back to Karma's place; we have to film a basement scene next."
The kid holding the sound equipment grew pale and nearly fainted. "Doesn't her family own a mortuary?"
Saiyaka huffed and rolled her eyes. "Would you relax? No bodies today. I checked. We only need the stuffy windowless interior for some 'dark magic' shots. Then we go to her brother's room for Harry's half of the Harry versus Larry argument."
"Well, as long as there are no bodies…"
Miguel and Shadow found the place easily enough; it was the only building in the neighborhood painted blood red. And sure enough, when they walked in, there was the third and final Ramirez triplet. Gary, the Goth.
Gary was cleaning what Shadow hoped was only strawberry syrup off of the glass display case which held all manner of new-agey artifacts, from stone jewelry to dried chicken feet. A deck of tarot cards and what looked like a lock of hair rested next to his hand.
When he had finally thrown away the paper towels, Gary looked coldly up at the boys.
"The fuck do you want?" he said darkly.
Before Miguel could get a word in edgewise, Shadow quickly explained how Miguel had slighted the lovely Chelsea, ranting and raving about the horrific tragedies that had been set in motion. Gary listened to the grisly details with a bored expression, nodding every so often, and even looking at his watch.
"The fuck do you want me to do about it?" he said as soon as Shadow too a breath. "I never liked those punks anyways. The fuck do you think I dropped out for? They're all bastard coated bastards with bastard filling; the shorter their lives, the better. It only makes things easier for the rest of us."
"But Harry Ramirez said you would help!"
"Harry Ramirez can kiss my ass, and that goes double for his brother Larry."
"But Gary," Miguel said, "Larry's dead."
Gary's eyes widened momentarily, but he quickly composed himself, acting nonchalant. "Good for him. I was always telling him to drop dead. I'm glad he finally got around to it."
"He didn't just die, Gary; Chelsea killed him."
Shadow nodded frantically. "Yeah, yeah, man! She ripped his throat right out and killed him, and then she went after Harry."
"She threw Harry against the wall, and he told us to come find you before he—"
"Is Harry dead too?" Gary asked suddenly.
Miguel shook his head. "Just unconscious," he said. "He was stable when the ambulance took him away, but that was twenty minutes ago."
Gary exhaled loudly, running a hand through his hair.
Miguel put a hand on Gary's shoulder. "Gary, this is important," he said. "Before he passed out, Harry said he recognized the symbol Chelsea used from one of your books. He said it was called 'the Circle of Fenrir.'"
Gary's jaw dropped. "The Insatiable? Oh shit!" Gary pulled an ancient looking tome from the shelf behind him and began flipping purposefully through the pages until he found what he was looking for. He groaned. "Aw, shit."
"What? Is it really that bad?" Shadow began to hyperventilate and grabbed Gary by his shirt, shaking him. "For the love of God, tell me!!"
Gary slapped Shadow hard across the face and turned the book around on the countertop. "The Circle of Fenrir is the symbol of Fenrir the Insatiable. He's a vengeance demon, and once he's summoned, he won't stop devouring the souls and bodies of the living."
"Until?"
"Until nothing, man. He just won't stop. Motherfucker can't get enough of violence and pandemonium. That's why he's called 'the Insatiable,' duh."
"Gary, you've got to help us, man," Shadow pleaded. "Chelsea summoned this thing after Miguel broke up with her for that bitch Keeonna. She let herself get possessed because of a broken heart and now she's killing and eating everyone in her path."
"It's my fault this happened," Miguel said. "I have to take responsibility and set things right. But I don't know how, Gary. Please, help me."
Gary fingered the edge of the page. "You're not just messing with me, right? Shit, man, if this is really Fenrir, it could be the end of life on Earth. Not even the substance of a soul can survive his wrath. He destroys everything he touches. This…this could be the end of the world…"
"DUN DUN DUN!!" Shirako said. His sister burst out laughing and punched him in the arm. "Oh, man, that was cheesy. But I loved every minute of it."
Tone and Karma giggled, snuggling deeper into the couch and each other's arms. Nolo smiled at them and looked back over to Saiyaka and Shirako, who were now throwing popcorn at each other. Saiyaka laughed again.
"We did do a pretty good job," Nolo said.
"That was professional quality!" Saiyaka said triumphantly, dodging a pillow Shirako swung at her. "We could release it tomorrow if we had a distributor."
Karma wagged her finger. "That's a big 'if,' Saiyaka."
She shrugged, disconnecting her laptop from the television. "Hey, a girl can dream." She smiled. "For a no-budget indie flick by a bunch of loser high school kids, the acting and production values were great. It might take a few years, but it could still happen."
"Yo, she's got a point," Shirako said. "You make a lot of important contacts in film school."
Karma smirked. "I think this is more something for just us. Hell Hath No Fury is something special, something we did together."
"Yeah, of course. We'll watch it every Halloween, and we'll laugh at how crude it was and say we could have done better and what were we thinking anyway?" Saiyaka rolled her eyes. "Karma, I was just thinking out loud is all. I'm not saying this will win any Oscars. I just want people to see what I've done; I don't want Hell Hath No Fury to end up another Honor Student: The Reckoning."
Shirako winced. "Yo, why did you have to bring up that turkey?"
"Why do you have to keep saying yo? You re not from the ghetto, Shi-Shi-chan. Dad's a dentist and a lot of our relatives live in Beverly Hills. You are not now, nor will you ever be, anything that even resembles Gangsta."
"That's cold, yo," Shirako grumbled. Saiyaka snapped at him once more.
"STOP SAYING YO!!"
Tone rolled his eyes and smiled. "Well, it would be pretty cool to see mi hermano's name in lights. Pass the popcorn, Nolito."
A/N: Well, I for one, enjoyed that a great deal. That really helped me. I feel so much better now, but I think I'm gonna go spend all my money on pizza and comic books anyway. Just so you don't worry, I would like to point out that the doctors caught it in the earliest possible stages, so my mother will probably be fine. She's barely even into stage one yet. But I pray for her anyway. After all, she is my Mom.
