- Chapter 4: A Pillowcase and a Pin -
As expected, the room was breathtaking. Its decor could be described as classical. There were several sets of chairs and tables, slightly worn by use but very lovely. A few sofas were turned to face each other and several pieces of art laid on ivory stands. Even just breathing in this room made Raine nervous. Breaking anything could mean more debt and that was something she needed to avoid - especially with the potential promise of getting her revenge. Raine had been tricked and thrown away. In her mind, it wasn't enough to have the company shut down. Raine would much rather a more severe punishment like the death sentence; but, that was only because this whole affair had made her a very bitter individual.
The young woman shuffled across the ground as she moved to a door on the far side. Raine had been briefed about it slightly; yet, she was not ready for what would be found behind it. Informally she would call it "propmania" since every inch of the closet was cloaked in costumes and props. As a child, this would have been her dream. As a teenage, perhaps it was closer to a nightmare. She would have to clean and prepare all these outfits and dust the props regularly. Even now she had to ready the gladiator sets for today – which took longer than liked to even find. Once found, the accessories were buffed and shined, making their laurels shimmer. The sandals were spotless. And, with the right timing, the outfits were washed and dried so that the togas would be warm when the boys put them on. After laying out the outfits carefully, Raine inspected her work. Then there were footsteps by the door.
With quick feet, the girl hid herself in the far side of the room. Her hands tucked together in front of her thighs as her cheeks began to blush. This was her first day and would set the stage for several others. It was this thought that held her together when the door opened the boys spilled in. The twins were picking on the small brown haired one, leaning their elbows on him and whispering with sly grins. Honey was as darling as ever, shuffling forward with a pink rabbit in his arm. 'Isn't he too old for that?' Raine wondered while trying to keep the thought from her features. The taller blonde came bounding in, talking about their plans for the day and how amazing it will be before hustling over to Haruhi to push off the twins and bother him as well. There was something odd about that brown haired boy, but she couldn't name it. He didn't match the group as blatantly as the others appeared to. He just appeared so, well, bland in comparison. Perhaps some women just didn't enjoy excitement or wished for a more usual individual. But, when Kyoya entered the room, all those thoughts went silent.
Most of the males had ignored her presence and went straight to the costumes. It made her feel slightly rejected but it was better than ridicule. That was until Kyoya decided to make his way over to her in a B-line. "I see you failed to prepare the tables properly. It was red linens today as listed in the prop room." He sighed quietly and pressed his thumb and forefinger against his temple. He was barely heard over the rest of the men who were jeering behind them. Even while she knew the boys couldn't hear the lecture, Raine filled with shame. She wished to look down; however, it would seem disrespectful so she fought through her embarrassment and maintained eye contact. After one or two more comments, the boy finally admitted, "Considering this is your first day, I will accept this meritocracy. I expect an improvement tomorrow. But hide yourself away, the clients are coming." Raine just nodded. And then, as if a switch went off in his head, Kyoya turned to face the group and his face lit up in a smug grin. Upset to content in less than seconds. It would have been more wondrous to Raine had her mind not sank into his reprimands. Instead she just hung her head. As the young student was about to pull herself away to the prop closet, a small voice picked up before her.
"Um, maid lady. Can you snap this for me?" The woman's attention was picked up by Honey. His large eyes begging her in a childish way to help. She managed a small smile, "Sure." The snap wasn't very hard, it was just above his shoulder. Part of her wondered why he even needed help with it. The other part wondered why he chose her to help. Either way, it was a nice gesture even though her face was still flushed. Pulling herself back, the older boy answered, "Thanks! Um, can Bun-Bun get a toga too?" Raine blinked for a brief moment before smiling, "Of course. Let me see what I can do."
The girl knew that the clients were coming; however, some things had to get done. She would hide in the prop closet if she had to, which was where she was currently headed. Her hands scrambled through the materials until she found, strangely enough, a white pillow case. The closet had a small sewing kit which held a few safety pins. After living on her own for a few months Raine had a bit of a knack for these fix jobs. Her current skill came into true form when she hustled back to Honey, craftily draped the case around the stuff doll and pinned the pillow case to itself so that it resembled Honey's toga. The boy lit up, "Thank you!" before his little legs carried him back to where the group were posing. Watching him run off, she could see two things. The first was Kyoya glaring at her to hide herself. The other was Mori. His dark eyes were on her, and only her. It made those horrid comments wash away. Still, the look would not stop Raine from basically running to the closet and shutting the door as soon as the music doors sounded open.