Chapter Eight: Girls Night

Kyoko twisted and turned in front of the mirror, looking over the dress she was wearing critically. It was short, but not too short, a sort of golden yellow in colour, and had an off the shoulder neckline. It was the neckline that was giving her pause.

"Miss Sigh, are you sure that this is okay?" Kyoko asked her best friend, who was standing in front of her own mirror, and wearing a plum coloured dress that went to just above her knees and had no straps or sleeves at all.

Kanae sighed. "It makes your eyes pop. And it will be fine for wrap parties and major interviews. And it's in your budget."

"It's figure flattering," added Chiori from Kyoko's other side. Her knee length dress was grass green, and had little straps that went over her shoulders. "You look really good, Kyoko."

"Thanks Chiori," said Kyoko. She looked at herself in the mirror again. "It doesn't clash with my hair?"

"It doesn't," said Kanae, hints of irritation creeping into her voice. "You look good. So do you, Chiori."

"You look wonderful, Miss Sigh!" said Kyoko brightly. "So sophisticated."

"She's not wrong," said Chiori. "I think we've found our wrap party dresses."

"I just hope that we don't outshine Rumi," said Kyoko. "The director might get mad at us."

"I don't think he'll care," shrugged Chiori. "I mean, he lets us do some really horrible things for impactful scenes. He won't care about what the cast looks like."

"It seems sometimes like he only cares about appearance," grumbled Kyoko. "He cast me as Natsu wanting another Mio, and then couldn't articulate what he wanted from me."

"Yeah, those were awkward days on set," agreed Chiori.

"It sounds like your director needs good actors to support him and make the series," said Kanae. "Otherwise, it would be a flop."

"It would," agreed Chiori. The three girls returned to their respective dressing rooms and changed back into their regular clothes. Each of them took their dress of choice to the cash and paid for it before heading to the nearest ice cream parlour. They ordered – something small and low-calorie for Kanae, a banana split for Kyoko, and a strawberry sundae for Chiori – before returning to the topic of work.

"Every day, I am grateful that Hiou is on set," declared Kanae. "That wannabe is an annoyance, and I think that he's deliberately messing up his scenes with me. It's such a waste of time."

"Ugh," said Chiori. "Thankfully, I don't have to deal with anyone like that right now. Everyone on both my dramas is serious about acting."

"That's been my experience as well," agreed Kyoko. "I really hope that VBR goes well. I mean, the cast seems like a dedicated team. I'm sure that there will be fun moments on set. Mariko and Kaede seem nice, and I think I'll get along well with Akira."

"He's playing your love interest, right?" asked Kanae. Kyoko nodded. "Then it's really good that you're getting along. It would be awkward if you didn't like each other."

"Akira Yamada, you mean?" said Chiori. "He's good. He's going places. But then, so are you. I wouldn't be surprised if the press decides to create drama where there isn't any to try and make a love triangle out of you, Yamada and Tsuruga."

"Please don't say that, someone will hear and decide that it's a good idea," pleaded Kyoko. "There are already enough rumours about me."

"That's true," said Kanae.

"We should head back to my place if we're going to drop off or bags before dinner," said Chiori. Kyoko and Kanae agreed and they got on a bus that would take them to Chiori's neighbourhood. They walked to the Western style house, toed off their shoes and went up to Chiori's room to drop off their bags. Kanae and Chiori took a moment to freshen up lip gloss and fix their hair. Chiori wore her hair up more often than not these days, ever since her scar had been taken care of by the President. After watching her friends for a few minutes, Kyoko found some lip gloss in her purse and put it on, before tentatively combing her hair into a more mature style that Natsu might favour.

"That style looks good on you, Kyoko," said Kanae. "But it doesn't fit with the rest of your clothes. Let me do something with your hair. I promise it won't be too little-girl. That really doesn't suit you."

"Really, Miss Sigh?" said Kyoko. "You'll do my hair?"

"Of course I will," said Kanae promptly. "Chiori, can I borrow your round brush and a hairdryer?"

"Sure," said Chiori. She went and got the two requested items from their respective drawers.

"But my hair isn't wet," protested Kyoko.

"It'll be fine," said Kanae. "Besides, I'm only doing this once, so pay attention."

"Yes!" said Kyoko. Kanae turned the hairdryer on and began to lightly curl Kyoko's hair around the brush, adding smoothness and volume. When she was done, the swept over style was more Kyoko-like than Natsu-like and puffed adorably around Kyoko's face. Kyoko gingerly touched her hair.

"That looks really different," said Chiori. "In a good way."

"I like it," said Kyoko, turning her head to look at her hair from different angles. "It's really pretty."

"It's rushed and will probably lose all volume in an hour," said Kanae snappishly. "But it will do. I'm glad you like it. Can we go now?"

The three girls caught the next bus headed downtown and went to a small, reasonably priced restaurant known for serving good food. They were seated and started looking over the menu, pointing out different items and making suggestions to each other. The waitress came over to take their orders and did a double take.

"Are you the girl who plays Yumika on Box 'R'?" asked the waitress, staring at Chiori.

"I am," said Chiori.

"Oh wow," said the waitress. "She's my second favourite, after Natsu. I watch the show all the time, and I don't think I've missed an episode. It's a really intense show."

"We do our best, don't we, Kyoko?" said Chiori.

"We do," said Kyoko with a rueful little smile.

"You play Natsu?" squeaked the waitress. "I didn't even recognize you! I'm so sorry!"

"That's okay," said Kyoko soothingly. "Most people don't. But I'm glad you like Natsu. I work hard to make her believable and a round character."

"You're really good," said the waitress shyly. She then straightened up suddenly. "Drinks! May I take your drink orders?"

"Could I get a pot of green tea, please?" asked Kyoko.

"I'd like a Coke, please," said Chiori. "Pepsi is also fine."

"I'll have green tea as well," said Kanae.

"Great!" said the waitress. "I'll get those right away." She nearly bounced back to the kitchen, where the okami appeared to scold her lightly. Kanae let out an amused snort.

"I know I should be upset that the two of you were recognized and I wasn't," she said, "but what are the chances that you would run into a Box 'R' fan when out for dinner?"

"It's a good sign, I guess," sad Kyoko, "because it means that people are watching. It's nice that Yumika has fans though."

"I owe it all to your excellent leadership," said Chiori. "No, seriously. I wouldn't have ever been able to be as cruel as the character needs to be without your Natsu egging her, and everyone else, on."

"That's good to know," said Kyoko, flushing.

They talked a bit about shows that they wished they had time to see, and shows they wished they were cast in. Their drinks came, and they ordered, simultaneously signing autographs for the waitress. They talked about school, acting school, and past LoveMe assignments once their food came. They laughed quietly about all the silly mistakes they had made on their quest to become actresses.

The waitress and okami watched the table out of the corners of their eyes, and were impressed. The three actresses seemed to be normal, down to earth girls who were very talented in their profession. They were considerate of each other and of the other patrons, and they weren't entitled brats. Quietly, they decided that they would never let their visit here go to tabloids.

When Kyoko, Chiori and Kanae finished their meals, they paid their bills and left, still chatting amiably. They made their way back to Chiori's house, where they had previously agreed to sleep over. Once they arrived, a broad grin spread across Kyoko's face.

"This has been a wonderful night," said Kyoko happily. "I'm glad that we're friends."

"Me too," said Chiori.

"Yeah, it's great," ground out Kanae. "Can we play Risk or something now?"

"Actually, I have a new game," said Chiori. "It's called Pandemic. Apparently, we're supposed to work together to eliminate disease across the world?"

"That sounds really interesting!" said Kyoko eagerly. Kanae sighed. It's not like she would ever be the one to tell Kyoko 'no' when it was something that actually sounded interesting.