Act 11: Keeping Up Appearances
-August 25, 2010: Wednesday-
-Early Morning-
-Amano Residence-
Julie had just placed her uniform appareil on and was ready to start the day for school. As she grabbed her backpack, looked in the mirror to fix her ponytail, she stepped out of the door and walked down the hall, down the stairs, and to the living room to see her mother, Cathryn, sitting on the couch with a bowl of oatmeal, eyes practically glued to the television. She seemed focused onto the TV until she heard her daughter's footsteps coming from the stairs, turning over to face her. Confusion drew on Julie's face as she saw her mother before her in the living room, watching TV.
This was very unusual. It was understandable if Hanbei was still home because he usually did not leave work until after Julie went to school, but for Cathryn to be here before she could leave.
JULIE: Mum... What are you doing here? I thought you would be at work.
She shook her head.
CATHRYN: I was given a day-off, so I decided to stay home. How are you feeling this morning?
JULIE: Good. How about your morning?
Cathryn shrugged her shoulders and turned back to the television, but answered her daughter.
CATHRYN: Odd, really. I'm not used to be given leave from work, so it may take some time to adjust. I'll probably be heading back to work tomorrow, but until then, this is my day-off.
JULIE: That's nice, Mum. Well, I need to head off to school. My friends and I are going to show a new student around today.
Intrigued, Cathryn turned back to her daughter.
CATHRYN: Really? What's her name and where is she from, may I ask?
JULIE: Her name is Tara and she's from... India.
Julie almost told her mother the truth about Truenia and knew that her mother wouldn't buy it or would've thought that something was wrong with her daughter. However, it seemed that Cathryn was buying into her lie.
CATHRYN: Oh? May I ask where in India?
JULIE: Mumbai. Of course, her skin is a little lighter, but she is Indian.
In truth, Julie wanted to say that she was from the Middle East given her choice of attire, but then remembered that the Muslim religion does not allow for women to show their hair. At least not her locks. Thankfully, India allowed women to show their hair when wearing hoods, so the conception of Tara being Indian kind of held more probability than her being Middle Eastern and likely a Muslim.
CATHRYN: Well, that's good. I'm glad you're making new friends. You were so close with Yukiko and Chie that I thought that you would have a hard time.
JULIE: It wasn't too hard, Mum. Actually, they came to me instead of me coming to them. But thank you.
A warm smile surfaced on Cathryn's face. This was probably the first that she has ever seen her mother truly happy for her.
CATHRYN: I am glad to hear it. It's good to see you adapt so quickly and make new friends, dear. But I must not keep you any longer than you should be. I'm pretty sure that you need to catch the train.
JULIE: Of course. Bye, Mum.
After exchanging valedictions, Julie grabbed her school bag and rushed out of the house. However, as she stepped from the front porch, an image came to her mind, flying in almost as if in high speed. She stopped as she saw this image approach in her head. The image reached her and stopped, revealing itself to be a tarot card. The card turned around and revealed itself to be the Justice Arcana.
MYSTERIOUS VOICE: Thou art I... and I am thou... Thou has formed a bond with the Justice Arcana.
Soon, the card vanished from sight and Julie's vision returned to normal. Was this Arcana from her mother?
-Riverside High School-
-Morning-
Class had not started, so everyone was free to speak with their friends as they wished. This was the perfect opportunity for Julie and her friends to converse. She was sitting at her desk as Ashley, Ian, and Clayton came towards her. She stepped out of her desk and sat on it so she wouldn't need to look up at them while talking.
ASHLEY: So how did it go with Tara, you two?
IAN: It went well. As we thought, she's a freshman, so she's in the freshmen class downstairs.
At Riverside, the grade levels were divided into floors. The freshman class were on the first floor, the sophomores were on the second floor, the juniors were on the third, and the seniors were on the fourth. It has been this way ever since the school had been built, especially considering that all classes were grade-level specific. That was just how elite and strict the school was in its own respect.
CLAYTON: Who's her homeroom teacher?
JULIE: Someone named Mrs. Kyle.
And suddenly, the color in Clayton's face was devoid. Confused, she turned to ask Ian about Clayton's issue until she noticed that he had his head down. Quite naturally, Ashley shared Julie's confusion.
ASHLEY: What's wrong with that? Is Mrs. Kyle a mean teacher or something?
The look she received back from Clayton could only be described in pure astonishment. She never had Mrs. Kyle as her teacher before, but didn't deny hearing nightmare rumors about her character. However, she couldn't say if the teacher was as mean as the students were ravaging her to be, but Clayton's expression was enough to give her some affirmation to the woman.
CLAYTON: She is MORE than mean! That woman is practically the devil in fresh imitation! You will not believe the amount of hell I went through with her in my freshman year! I feel bad for Tara!
Julie turned to Ian.
JULIE: Do you know her, Ian-kun?
Slowly, Ian brought his head from the ground and locked an anxious gaze at Julie. He nodded.
IAN: It is true. She was the strictest and harshest teacher in our freshman year. Ashley was spared the same fate. She will even give you an F if she doesn't like you!
CLAYTON: Which was something I got WAY too many times!
ASHLEY: Well, she is her homeroom teacher only, right? Does she have her for any other classes?
Julie shook her head.
JULIE: No. When I looked at her schedule, Mrs. Kyle was only listed for homeroom.
Relief swam over Clayton's face.
CLAYTON: Oh thank God! I was worried that- Wait. What did you say?
And what seemed like relief quickly switched over to confusion. Clayton gazed at Julie with a confused expression on his face, equaling in with her own. She shrugged her shoulders by the lack of knowing the issue.
JULIE: What did I say?
CLAYTON: It sounded like you just said "schedule".
JULIE: I did. Why?
CLAYTON: That's not the correct way to pronounce it. It's pronounced "schedule", not "schedule".
You see, the British tend to pronounce their words a little differently than the Americans. For example, how Americans say "charade" by giving the second "a" more tune, the British say "charade" by tuning down the tone of that second "a". In this case, what Julie said was "schedule", which silenced the "s" in the word. The term that Clayton and many other Americans use is "schedule", which adds in the "s" instead of silencing it.
JULIE: That's how the British pronounce it, Clayton. We say "schedule".
CLAYTON: But it sounds so wrong. You competely silenced the "s" in the word!
JULIE: Well, the "s" is silent in British dialect. It's not uncommon. Plus, I'm not a native American, so I am free to pronounce my words however I was raised to pronounce them.
At this point, Ashley and Ian were spectactors in this little battle of words, which surprised the two of them considering Clayton's academic scores.
CLAYTON: Well I am and, not trying to be racist or anything, but you're butchering our language!
JULIE: The British speak English too, Clayton-kun! As a matter of fact, the English language originated from the British!
CLAYTON: I know that! Do you think I'm stupid or something?!
JULIE: Actually...
CLAYTON: Never mind, don't answer! But here in America, we pronounce our words the right way!
JULIE: So does the British!
CLAYTON: Butchering is not pronouncing the right way!
JULIE: Butchering?!
Laughter began to erupt as giggles from Julie and Clayton started to bear sound, indicating that the heated debate between them was nothing more than playful banter. Eventually, Ian and Ashley started to giggle too.
JULIE: We don't butcher our language! And you're the last to talk in regards of education!
CLAYTON: H-Hey! I'm good at some subjects, especially English, where we learn to say "schedule"! Now say it!
JULIE: Schedule!
CLAYTON: Schedule!
JULIE: Schedule!
CLAYTON: Schedule!
JULIE: Schedule!
CLAYTON: SCHE-DULE!
JULIE: SCHE-DULE!
They were head-to-head as the banter continued, their smiles growing bigger as the amusement failed to cease in its growth. However, things didn't get real funny until Clayton said something completely out of subject.
CLAYTON: I need some gas money!
The four bursted into laughter and Julie moved away from Clayton.
JULIE: *laughs* Gas money?!
CLAYTON: Yes, woman! I need some gas money!
JULIE: And what makes you think that I have gas money?! I don't even own a car!
CLAYTON: And?! I need's me some gas money!
JULIE: I don't have any for you!
Next, Clayton charged towards Julie and holsted her on his shoulder, causing the group to erupt in more laughter. Eventually, their banter was recognized by the other students and everybody in class was joining in on the laugh.
JULIE: *laughs* Wait! I'm wearing a skirt!
CLAYTON: Rrraagghh!
Suddenly, he began to spin in a circle with Julie still in his hold. So weak were Ashley and Ian from their laughter that the two fell to their knees on the floor. Practically everyone in class was weak by the display. This weakness began to come on Clayton as he stopped spinning and put Julie down. Of course, Julie was weak in her knees and fell over on Clayton, who was on his back on the floor, laughing.
The laughter continued until Ms. Thompson arrived with a confused look on her face.
MS. THOMPSON: May I ask what is so funny?
Hearing her voice, everybody quickly regained their composure and rushed to take their seats, gazing up at the teacher with innocent looks. She was unsure on what to think, but knew it wasn't anything scandalous and didn't feel like pressing the matter. So she resumed to teaching the class.
-Lunchtime-
-Rooftop-
The five gathered at the rooftop once lunch had commenced. Julie had found Tara and brought her with them so they could talk and eat lunch. It was a sunny day and the sun had shone bright, though the cold breeze of August blew fervently. Tara was dressed with a with black hoodie, gray skirt, black stockings, and gray slippers. As one would naturally assume, Tara wore her hood on her head with two locks of her hair falling out.
Clayton looked at her with a confused expression as he removed the lid on his ramen noodle cup.
CLAYTON: Tara, why do you always have to wear a hood on your head? Is it a part of your culture?
As Tara removed the lid on the lunch box that Julie had gave her, she glanced at Clayton and nodded.
TARA: Why of course. In Truenia, girls wear hoods or turbans to signify that their are pure, virtuous, and innocent or as the people in this realm will say, it shows that I'm still a virgin. It's similar to the practice of the Amish and Muslim religion in this world, except that we show some hair. Of course, the more dedicated women shave their heads.
ASHLEY: Some shave their heads just to prove that they've never had sex?!
TARA: Yes. You see, 'tis forbidden for a woman to bed a man before marriage. If she were to do so, then she would be considered an adulterer, or whore, depending just how active she is, or was, in her sex life. If a woman were to just stop wearing her hood altogether, then she would be given bad luck, specifically if her hair is not tied up.
ASHLEY: And you believe that?
TARA: Of course and I am not the only one! You all remember the torture I went through at that mall?! 'Twas because I removed my hood!
CLAYTON: But your hair was tied!
TARA: But my hair was still down! If I had known how bad the situation would have gotten, I would have tied my hair up! However, some girls I had known before had it much worse! Nyala wore her head down during the summer and was attacked by a pack of wolves after getting robbed by bandits! Keah, the poor girl ended up getting possessed by some demon. And Ashala... 'tis best to say that she got the bad end of a knight's blade.
Suddenly, the atmosphere grew tense as sweat beads fell from everyone's heads.
CLAYTON: Yikes. That sounds brutal.
TARA: It is.
ASHLEY: But what about when you go to sleep? You sleep with a hood on your head?
TARA: No. I wrap my hair in a bun.
ASHLEY: Oh. But anyway, we didn't come out here just to talk about a chastity hood.
Then the conversation took a different turn.
JULIE: Right. We need to discuss a battle plan for the next time we go into Hofu. Since Ian's on the team now, we have to focus on formation, specifically the front and rear line.
ASHLEY: For all we know, all of us are suited for the front line, except for Tara. Best we can tell, she doesn't have a Persona, like us, but she has magic. I think she will be suitable in providing support from the back.
Everyone turned to Tara, who nodded in response to the suggestion.
TARA: 'Tis best that I do provide support. I am good at healing and can form barriers that can protect you guys from devastating attacks, so I'm suitable for the rear.
CLAYTON: And that means the rest of us are good for front line defenses, huh?
JULIE: We got that part, but now we focus on our abilities.
After taking a bite on her riceball, she continued with her statement.
JULIE: We know that the Fiends have a specific weakness to one of our abilities and so far, we've encountered Fiends who were weak to Ashley's ice skills.
CLAYTON: Yeah, that's right. Even against my Shadow and Ian's, they were weak against her.
JULIE: Correct, but I doubt the rest will be as weak to her ice as the others. However, we need to discuss our skills. Tara-san...
Tara nods and starts her statement.
TARA: From what I witness, it seems that you all have different abilities set from each other. Ashley is skilled with ice magic and physical attacks and I also noticed during one battle that she was even able to charm one of the enemies, meaning she is good with ailment skills. I've sensed no signs of healing from her, so we won't be counting on her for healing. However, being so skilled with ice means that she is weak against fire. As for Clayton, he holds earth and physical skills, but that appears to be the only skills he has. Although, I am confident that he will learn more. Ian's Shadow displayed a high proficiency in electrical skills, so I guess that Ian is skilled with zio skills. As for Grandmaster, as she stated before, she doesn't know any physical skills, but she knows wind and several status-lowering capabilities. I believe she's good with healing too.
IAN: Zio?
TARA: Lightning spells, Ser Ian.
In Truenia, the proper way to address one's older peers is by addressing them as "Ser" or "Lady". Ser was pretty common for a male, while Lady, as the name was self-explanatory enough, was common for a female.
IAN: Lightning spells? Okay, what about my weakness and Julie's?
TARA: Well, your Shadow was weak to ice, so I guess you'll be as well. As for Grandmaster, she took a lot of damage from your Shadow's zio spell, so I believe she is weak to lightning spells as well.
This was true. Izanami herself told Julie that she was primarily weak to lightning spells, so she knew she had to be careful when it came to lightning attacks.
JULIE: Also, we don't know when the next victim will go into Hofu and now that events have changed, we can't rely on the rain to give us a hint.
ASHLEY: Yeah. Meaning until then, we better get to training more. We don't know who the next victim will be and we can't take any risks by relying on our Personas solely.
TARA: There's still the fact that we do not know on who we are facing against. The enemy we are searching for is taking many advantages against us by thwarting our efforts. I believe that if Grandmother and I keep track of current events taking place, we may be able to track the next victim. Of course, doing so may require some magic, but none that will be too drastic.
Julie turned to Tara with a look of approval.
JULIE: Good, but don't overdo it. Okay?
Tara nods.
TARA: Yes, Grandmaster.
JULIE: Good. Now let's eat our lunch before class starts. I think we wasted too much time discussing what's going to happen.
-Afterschool-
-Soccer Field-
Julie was now an official member of the Photography/Journalism Club and was tasked with taking pictures for the yearbook and getting the scoop on daily school activities. However, as soon as she joined the Photography/Journalism Club, Tara joined alongside her. Julie figured it would be great to give the priestess some look into Earth and its customs and it seemed that Tara was enjoying herself.
TARA: If I may ask, what is the point of this club? What are we supposed to do?
JULIE: You see, Tara-san, we are tasked with taking pictures for the school's yearbook and newspaper. Of course, we haven't been in this school for long, so we're stuck with the newspaper, which is fine with me.
TARA: You've adapted quickly to the idea of being in the newspaper portion of the club, haven't you?
JULIE: Of course. My older cousin works for a magazine company and she's always looking for new stories for the company. She even called me to tell me about the Joker case.
TARA: ... The "Joker case"? You mean the villain from the comic book, Batman?
Julie shook her head, though she dared not ask how Tara knew about Batman. She probably would've never heard the end of it.
JULIE: No, silly. There was this thing going on in Japan about a Joker curse. Apparently, whoever was cursed had their faces transformed. Some said that they looked nearly monstrous. The only way to prevent the curse was to wear a Seven Sisters' school emblem.
TARA: 'Twas an emblem that would keep them safe?
JULIE: Hey, I'm going with what Maya told me.
TARA: Oh, I do not doubt you, Grandmaster. 'Tis just unthinkable is all. To think an emblem would keep someone safe from such a curse?
JULIE: An emblem was your biggest concern?
A slight giggle escaped from Julie's lips, much to the mage's confusion.
TARA: Is something funny?
JULIE: Heheheh. It's nothing, Tara-san. And please, don't call me "Grandmaster". I know it's a custom, but I'm not worthy of such a name.
TARA: But you are! If not, what should I call you?
JULIE: Just call me "Julie".
TARA: ... Okay, Lady Julie.
Julie shrugged afterwards. "Lady" wasn't as bothersome as "Grandmaster", so she was able to allow that one to slide. She spoke with Tara over various things, to which the mage listened with full attention. As she drifted towards another sentence, she noticed that the mage had stopped moving, coming to an abrupt halt that caught her attention.
JULIE: Tara-san? Is something wrong?
Hearing her name being called, she turned towards the older girl and shook her head, pointing her finger out into the soccer field. Julie followed suit and caught onto what Tara was watching. On the field was a young man, who was running up and down on the field with a soccer ball between his feet. He was practicing.
Julie had seen him around school before and while she wasn't familiar about his person, she knew his name: Antonio Vargas. He was Hispanic and wasn't the tallest male around, but was Clayton's height. He had tanned skin and spiky black hair with brown eyes. He wore the Riverside High soccer team jersey complimented with clubbed shoes, which was a necessity in the sport of soccer. According to what Julie was told, Antonio had been playing soccer ever since he was young. From what she understands, his parents immigrated to the United States and he was born in Florida.. That was as best as her memory fared for her. She knew nothing else that she could strike upon the young man.
TARA: I believe I read something like this before on what you modern people call "the Internet". 'Tis a sport known as soccer that he is playing?
Julie nodded in response.
JULIE: Yes. He is playing soccer. Also, I heard he might be going to the tournaments, so I'll have to interview him. You go find something interesting to take a picture of.
TARA: Yes, m'lady.
Tara ran off with the camera in hand and Julie stood there with an unnerved expression on her face. Tara was a good person and she may have just been modest, but Julie felt a little... uneased by being addressed as "m'lady". However, she had to accept that it was part of Tara's culture, so she spoke nothing else of it.
She returned back to her objective and stealing an interview with Antonio Vargas of the soccer team and made a beeline towards the soccer field. The weather was pretty modest, so it was pretty comfortable to be outside. However, Julie heard that Antonio would practice on the hottest summers and coldest winters. He must've been a very driven individual to push himself against Mother Nature's wrath. As she got closer, it seemed that he had noticed her because he stopped and turned directly towards her.
ANTONIO: Hey. Aren't you the new girl? The one from Japan?
As Julie got a little more closer, she nodded her head and pulled out her notebook and pencil. She also noticed the Spanish accent he carried, which wasn't unusual given his ethnicity. Thankfully, his accent was not too heavy for him to understand.
JULIE: Correct. My name is Julie Amano and I just so happened to be a part of the Photography/Newspaper Club. I'm working on an article for the club and I heard many stories about you. You don't mind if I interview you, do you?
Antonio bent over and grabbed the soccer ball from between his feet, hoisted it under his arms as he looked back at Julie.
ANTONIO: Not at all, seniorita. What would you like to know?
It took some effort to maintain her professional composure when he agreed because she felt the need to jump for joy... literally. She started off the interview by writing down Antonio's full name, his grade level, ethnicity, and specialty. Maya taught her a lot about journalism.
She proceeded to ask him his first question.
JULIE: Okay. First question: where are you from?
She gazed back at him for his response. He flashed her a somewhat cheesy smile that hinted to her that he was not like most athletes who played for sport or recognition. At the very least, the smile he waved to her was one of genuine cockiness in skill, even if the question about his birthplace.
ANTONIO: Well, I hail from the beautiful city of Miami, Florida, but my family moved here to Minneapolis when I was seven. My mom is from Cuba, but my father is from Mexico. I'm an only child, so I've been spared the fate of siblings. Also, I'm 5'7".
Julie nodded as she wrote down everything he had said. Of course, given the length of his sentence, she had to paraphase a little.
JULIE: Good. Second question: when did you start playing soccer?
The following question prompted Antonio to flash another cheesy smile that took Julie more effort than before to not laugh at. She knew this was him being cocky, but this was far from gaining recognition. She was actually starting to like him.
ANTONIO: I started playing soccer when I was five. At the time, my family couldn't afford lessons, so I taught myself by watching matches on TV. I remember watching a lot of Olympic Games and seeing these awesome soccer matches between USA and Brazil. I studied the technique and the forms and used it whenever I played. I didn't get my first soccer ball till I was six and I got that on my birthday. There came days where my mom practically threatened me to come inside the house because I practiced so long.
JULIE: Wait. She threatened you?
An amused smile played on Julie's face, following Antonio's chuckle.
ANTONIO: Si. Mama was always a stern woman. She even grounded me by taking away my soccer privileges.
JULIE: That must've been torture.
ANTONIO: I would've taken cleaning the floorboards. Anyway, I started getting into the sport by joining a soccer team in elementary school and from there, I've been on the soccer team ever since. It's kind of a long story.
JULIE: Don't worry, I have time.
Once she said that, Antonio gave her an intrigued expression.
ANTONIO: Okay. Then where do I begin?
...
The interview last for twenty minutes and at the time, Tara had returned with the camera still in her hands to get the last of the interview. Julie found herself laughing and giggling over Antonio's remarks like a giddy child. For the most part, Antonio was an intriguing young man.
JULIE: Well, this has been very entertaining and informative. You have given me a lot of information for the newspaper. Thank you.
ANTONIO: No. Thank you. I never thought I would be interesting enough to be interviewed with. I'm not usually one for recognition, but I'm glad you talked with me.
JULIE: I'm glad too. The way your name is thrown around, you would've been mistaken for a celebrity.
Another hearty laugh was made from the two, chimed in by a completely clueless Tara, who stood in between like a mime unable to act. Julie noticed her and ceased her laughter, turning back to Antonio.
JULIE: Well, I better go and take Tara home.
ANTONIO: Okay. And hey, if you ever want to talk again, let me know. I'll be here in the soccer field.
Julie nods.
JULIE: Understood. Goodbye.
Just before Antonio could give his valedictions, everything around Julie stopped and she was welcomed once more by a speeding image that came into her head. She remembered this; this happened to her before after she talked with her mother. As the image came into full view, it revealed itself to be another tarot card and this time, it was the Chariot Arcana.
MYSTERIOUS VOICE: Thou art I... and I am thou... Thou shall have our blessing when thou chooseth to create a Persona of the Chariot Arcana...
The Arcana vanished from her mind and everything returned to normal.
ANTONIO: Adios!
Antonio said as he picked up his pace and walked away from the two. As they stood there, Tara drew a little closer to Julie, unsure on what had transpired.
TARA: Lady Julie, what was that about?
Julie turned back to Tara.
JULIE: I was conducting an interview with him and things transpired into a conversation. Which reminds me, did you take any pictures?
Tara nodded and showed Julie the pictures that she had taken. However, the moment she did, Julie was hit with a wave of disappointment. Everything that Tara took a picture of was either the sky, flowers, the fence, or the cars at the school building. However, there was one interesting picture of a puppy walking down the street, though it would not be intriguing enough to strike up as a source or at least be worthy on a news article. In fact, part of her wished she had Tara to record their conversation for video evidence.
JULIE: Tara-san... Next time, just accompany me when I take pictures and I'll show you how to take interesting pictures for the newspaper.
TARA: Are you saying these won't do? They're not interesting enough?
JULIE: To you maybe, but to the head editor, not quite. But let's just go home.
The two walked away from the soccer field, leaving the field vacant.
A/N: So... school started for me and I will admit that I have experienced the WORST writer's block of all time. Thank God this wasn't scheduled for release. Anyway, Julie gained the Justice and Chariot Arcana. I haven't decided which Personas to use for the Arcana, but they will be magical-oriented to stick with the point of Julie's Wild Card. Anyway, review and thanks for reading!