CHAPTER 11: PUBLICITY
This is INSANE!!! Why am I on Yahoo! news?! Not actually me... Hyuuga and me! Our wedding picture was posted on the web site and IT'S THE FIRST THING I SAW!!!
I took the phone on the table and dialled Hotaru's number so fast that I dialled three wrong numbers before I can finally get the right one.
"Hey, polka, that's my phone..." reddie said. I just looked at him and told him, "...borrow..." but I didn't put the phone down especially now when Hotaru's phone is already ringing.
"Hyuuga..." the other line answered. It's Hotaru.
"Why the hell is our picture doing at Yahoo??? Hotaru!!! I agreed on this but it was clear that there will be ZERO publicity!!!" I yelled at her. She's supposed to take care of these stuffs because she's my manager!
"Cool down Mikan... Relax..." she answered calmly. Yes, calmly. Like I'm not freaking out here because the whole-wide world knows by now that I married red-eyed bastard and later, when we get the divorce, they will accuse me of being a slut!
Yeah, I know I dated hot guys like Taylor Lautner, Alex Meraz, Danielle Radcliffe, Joe Jonas and the rest of the rockstars and models... To remind you all, I'm a total virgin, including my lips, until this bastard stole my first kiss! I'm playing around but I'm no dirty woman who marries and gets a divorce afterwards! Not everyone on earth will understand what my reason was!
"So get rid of it!!!" I shouted again.
"No one will be interested in it..." she said.
"Oh yes! And to tell you, it was linked to several pages by now! People love gossip!" I told her. Well, it's true! Who didn't check the news about Justin Bieber's and Adam Lambert's announcements about their sexuality? And now, Ricky Martin! Even the starlets' don dressing, Queen's baby photos, and Robert Pattinson's half-naked pictures while burning his lungs??? And you may think that nobody thinks about Josh cheating on Fergie? I'm telling you now... I'm one of those people who made reservations to get a copy of Yes magazine with Lindsay's wrecked face on it.
"I'll try..." she said. But then, I was like sitting on the thinking chair in Blue's Clues. Something's fishy!
"You know about this???" I asked her.
"No."
"Yes you do..."
"Then why are you asking me if you know the answer?"
"AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!" I screamed again!!! "Why did you do that? How can you Hotaru???"
"It's only a picture, Mikan, they will forget it... so FORGET IT!" she sharply said on the other line.
"No way..." I hang up on her and slumped onto the couch, feeling exhausted. What's with that girl?? I pouted, tears are gathering at the corner of my eyes.
Reddie sat across me putting down a plate of cold pizza. "Pizza." He offered tonelessly. Yes, Tonelessly. Silly world! What's wrong with these people!?
I looked at him, annoyed. "I'm a vegetarian" I said, tonelessly, too... just trying it myself. He nodded in comprehension looking away... "By the way, where's Tono-sempai?"
"He already left... he talked with me last night about the priorities and how we can use the stuffs here." He said looking at a bag on the couch near him. I bet its Hotaru's gadgets. "First, we must survey the area... Second, we should be able to get the blue print of the whole island and send it to them. The rest falls on observing people like Hajime, that Dione Riveras and other people here."
I sighed. How tiresome this work can be... Ain't any fun at all! I stood up and went to stand and lean by the terrace door. Looking at the still bright outside, an idea came into my head.
"Hey, a... uhm... what's you name again???" Finally! I hope I can memorize it this time.
"Natsume..." he looked at me like I'm some kind of a crap. "Why?"
"Let's go!" I grabbed him while he's still chewing his pizza and went out of the door.
"Where are you---" he asked when I pushed him first inside the elevator.
"Shopping!!!" I told him when I closed the cab. He pouted and became so silent, which is so deafening. But think about it, he's cute with that little pout on his mouth. Maybe I should tease him more often... Nice idea.
"You're wasting our time..." he said when we finally walked out of the elevator. I noticed that he's not following me, making his way back to the cab.
"And where do you think you're going, huh? Reddie?" I hissed at him, slipping my hand under his arm and pulling him with me. "Idiot! We will be doing the surveying INSCONPICUOUSLY! Like they're always saying..." I swear... I've never been with a guy who enjoys shopping with his girlfriend or even his friend-girl, or whatever--- so I'm good at this one.
"Crazy polka! Are you telling me that we're gonna do that in a shopping mall?"
"Oh why not???" I answered him sarcastically, gesturing at him to get the car. He obeyed but it was so obvious that he's thinking before-hand that he's not gonna love what I'm planning to do.
It was a six-minute ride to reach the central park of this island. All the shops, stores, food-chains and restaurants were there. We left the car on the guarded parking lot and walked to see the stores.
First, I bought some native bags and accessories. Then we checked the candy stores, and the boutiques. But in the middle of our walk, while the Oscar-nominee for the most quite person-of-the-day Hyuuga was carrying my shopping bags, my stomach growled. I can't blame it... my poor tummy, I haven't eaten anything this whole day except for the apples and the coffee that made me make up stupid stories.
"A monster stomach" Hyuuga murmured.
"Shut up! Com'on... let's eat!"
"Hag." He said as we entered the nearest food chain after I punched his left arm in response. I'm not a Hag!!!
We took a table for three, two for us, and the other for the shopping bags. I ordered a peanut butter waffle-wich... observing my 350-calorie diet. Reddie glared on me when the waiter asked for the payment and I pointed at him. He's responsible of me, right?
"I think we need to check the fountain at the center of this place." I told him between my chewing. He looked up at me, same like asking for 'why' so I continued. "I happen to ask the lady on the dress shop about the attractions here. She told me about the rainbow fountain but she said that she feels something weird about it... like it swallows people in..."
"Swallows people in?" he echoed in question.
"She said that she was passing by one night when this guy, while standing for a while before the fountain just disappeared. And for her protection, I paid her some penny for her silence. I said, she should stop scaring people like that. I told her too that I'm Mr. Riveras' friend."
"It's a warp hole..." he muttered.
I noticed that a familiar white-blonde went near us while Natsume, did I got it right? What I mean is... Hyuuga was busy looking for something on his pocket. "Shit" he maundered. My ring tightened a bit and I looked at him. He's being attacked? By who?
I finally recognized the lady. She's one of the bikini girls with that Dione. Loraine. "Oh, hi, Loraine..." I greeted her. To my surprise, Natsume took my hand and locked it in his hand, our fingers crossing so tight. I can feel his pulse joining mine like we've got a heart beating between it. I slowly turned to look at him and saw faint flush on his face, while me??? Oh no... I'm not blushing.
"Hey, what's wrong Mikan-chan??? Are you sick??? Your face is red..." this stupid whitie remarked.
"No... No..." I told her.
"Ah, ok... I just came to greet you... This is my favourite food place here, how'd you like it here?"
"Uhm... Nice... Nice..." I said, letting go of a fake smile which really looks true in actuality and asked her, "A... Loraine? Where can we find the fountain here?"
"Ehem..." I said, as I noticed her looking at bastard's direction with a smile on her face, which was looking at his hands on me. She turned back and smiled at me. I raised my eyebrows at her, without repeating the question.
"Oh, the fountain?" she asked, yeah... how lame. "You go straight from here, turn right, another right, straight 'til the coffee shop, then left again and there you are..." Wow... Like I got it...
Hyuuga stood up from his seat, taking the bags and looked at me. "I like to check it now, sweetheart... It'll be perfect for photos during sunset... Let's go..." he suddenly said, and whhhaa---??? Sweetheart? Where did he get that again? "By the way, thanks for the information..." he told Loraine, grasping my hand tighter this time and making our way out of the shop.
"What's wrong with you???" I hissed at him when were finally out of sight.
"She... That girl is a whimsically eccentric person..." he said, massaging his head with his fingers.
Really... what happened to him???
Author's Note: What do you think? What happened to Natsume?
Whehehehehehehehehehhe... Sometimes we should understand guy's feelings as guys tries to understand us during our periods, ok?
So... find out what happened on Natsume's POV on the next chapter.
Thanks again... PLEASE REVIEW! God Bless!
Yuka_Aimi=(^.^)=