EPISODE 22: THE SHOW MUST GO ON.
(Gojyo's voice)
It was wonderful; well, it was the first time I shared place with a girl I liked but… man it was wonderful!
The thing I was most afraid of from sharing was the wake ups when you saw the mighty beautiful girl you had the previous night turned into a weird creature with messy hair and… brrr! Better not to say anything else about it.
However, I felt really arising to wake up and see that beautiful girl next to me, sleeping peacefully and so relaxed as if she was sleeping with a teddy bear instead of a man with all his needs and all.
Maybe it was because she hardly ever used make up and I had liked that naturalness in her. Her hair was messy as always, she had no make up and so no make up spread at her face… her lips barely open on a relaxed way, so soft, so pink…
Man! Now I needed a cold shower!
"Mmmmm." She moaned moving a bit. "Ethan… what the hell…"
"Shhh…" I muttered. "Sorry to woke you up."
"No…" She muttered half yawning too. "I had to wake up… I still have to go and buy something to wear." She added sitting and outstretching on a soft way. "Sorry. I suppose it's not too feminine to do like this."
"No, no. It's perfect." I said to copy her outstretching and then smiling at her. "It's normal you do it, I can't help it either."
Then she smiled and stood up.
"Ok, another hard day." She said going to the wardrobe. "I have to go shopping and then I hope I can have some lunch and… then at 5 we have to be at the door of the agency or something like that."
Wow, she certainly knew what to do in every single moment.
"I think we could hire you as our secretary." I told her kidding.
"That is nothing else than having everything under control." She told me acting as a pride girl in kidding with me.
"No, no, really." I told her smiling. "If you are ever kicked from here I want to hire you as my personal secretary."
"Oh, and then I would have to see all your agenda and control your appointments and… carry your telephone data?" She said smiling and trying to chose her clothing to get into another busy day.
"Yeah." I said standing up and going to hug her at her back as I kissed her neck. "By the way, maybe you should try… over there."
I said smiling and pointing to a self where I kept a little present for her.
"I just saw it yesterday on a shop window and the idea of seeing it over your skin made me want to get it." I said smiling and handing it to her. "And if you intend to spend the morning walking around looking for something then you should walk comfortable."
"What's this?" She asked a bit confused.
"Robes." I said making her turn around to kiss her better. Man, if I didn't stop there I would end up not allowing her to get away from me.
"C'mon, go and try it on so we see if it suits you, hum?" I said finding the strength I don't know where so as to allow her separate from me.
She looked at me and so I forced myself into smile at her making her finally smile and move the bag.
"I'll be back on a jiffy." She said smiling.
(Time or Space Jump)
(Isa's voice)
"Er… Ethan…" I called him when I checked on the robes he had gave me. "Are you… er, sure about…"
"Anything wrong?" He asked me from outside at the bedroom.
"Are you sure I'll call not for attention wearing this?" I asked him as I discovered a purplish black long silky skirt together with what looked as a red lacy corset as the ones Goth girls used to wear.
"Aye, I'm sure you will be great on those." He told me. "C'mon, get wear and come out so I can tell you."
"Sure…" I ended muttering and giving up.
I was sure I would look like wearing a weird kind of make up for a Halloween carnival. I was not sure either if the clothes were my size, to begin with.
No, they were perfect, as if were made especially for me. It made me look shocked at myself at the mirror to check the image I was showing was weird and funny.
"Hello?" Ethan called me.
"Coming." I said turning around to go out of the bathroom.
"Just as I thought." He said smiling and moving a finger at me smiling. "You look great."
"Hum." I muttered. "It's… wow." I added smiling in fun.
"Well, I remember you said something about not liking skirts because you couldn't run with them. Well, that one is long enough for you running without problem if you pick it up a bit to half height between your ankles and knees. And what about the top?"
"It's just… perfect." I said. "How did you know my size? I mean… the ones in my clothes are different from the ones here."
"Ah… secret." He said pulling my leg and coming to give me a kiss on a soft yet hot way.
"It must have been really expensive…" I muttered.
"Ok, you pay for it." He said holding me better and kissing me again, this time more demandingly and intensely. One of those kisses that made me rise to stars and at the same time lose every single drop of control at my veins.
"And with this… the deal is paid…" He muttered while I felt as if I was on drugs again, on those drugs that were his kisses.
It was like being on a state that you can't tell what is real and a dream, I knew my face should look funny, as if I was close to coma waking up; so he caressed my hair softly without releasing me, thanks god because I would have fall down as my legs could not stand me; then he kissed me again.
"It's not fair…" I managed to mutter. "You know I'm addicted… to this…"
"Yep." He said smiling impishly. "I know. And I like taking some advantage of it." He added before kissing me a last time. "Just a bit." He added smiling and pointing to my handbag. "And now, pick that, let's go down, have breakfast all together and then we go to do our things and you can leave and go shopping."
"Maybe Orion can come too." I said waking up all of sudden.
"Yeah… Well, I think he is going to be really busy with us." He told me on a soft way that made me think he was the one making him busy with him.
(Time or Space Jump)
"Man!!" I said about collapsing while I had a burger as lunch after haven spent the full morning going from here to there around all the city, catching some looks for my appearance and all that.
However, when lunch time arrived, I had still not found anything; so I fell over the chair and put my head backwards so as to sigh and look at my meal. A big burger with French fries and diet coke.
I was a bit depressed, so eating the burger took me a bit as I was thinking how could I go to the premier without a proper dress. I had already gone to the hairdressers and my hair looked great, but no dress was on a bag waiting to be worn.
I spent some part of the afternoon looking around for a dress, when I had just 10 minutes to reach the agency I still had no dress; however… Suddenly, I reached a shop window when I was elbowed by the crowd so I fell against the glass of the shop window.
I was to complain but there was it, as a sign from god. It was not the most expensive and certainly it was not the most glamorous but… it looked perfect for me; so I got in, I tried it on with the fear of it not being my size but…
"Oh, miss!!" The shop assistant told me covering her mouth with her hands. "You look so cute on it!"
"I'm afraid it is not the proper size." I muttered.
"Oh, let me see…" The woman said making me turn around and then seizing the zip softly. "Hold your breath… A bit more… Done!" She said ending pulling up the zip. "Turn around, please? Oh dear! You're so great!!"
Well, it was comfortable, and miraculously, it had ended well zipped fitting my body as if it was butter, as a second skin.
"I will take this." I said as the mobile began ringing in my pocket. "Aye?"
"Isa, where the hell are you?!" Orion told me. "You move your ass here, we are about leaving!"
"I'm not near." I said. "I just bought my dress, er… I suppose I will take a taxi, I'm supposed to be near the place so… well, tell them we will meet there."
I heard them whispering at the other side of the phone and then he answered me.
"Ok, the boss will send you a car. Yuan is around Sibuya; all you must do is go and pick him up, and he will bring you to the premiere."
"Great, I'm near Hachiko's statue." I said.
"Perfect, they will pick you up there." He said. "We will tell them now."
"Ok doky." I answered him smiling. "See you later then."
"Yeah, see you." He answered me.
(Time or Space Jump)
(Ethan's voice)
"Ethan, are you nervous?" Futawa told me smiling while we reached the place of the show at the bus the agency hired for us.
"No, it's just… I don't like the thing." I said. "I mean… there's people missing here."
"Oh, but you heard Orion." He said. "He said she had just bought the dress and that she was fine."
"Yeah, but… where can she be." I asked. "I mean… I'm not sure she is safe coming with…"
"Are you kidding?" Goku said. "Mr. Yuan and Mr. Hoakiro are great drivers."
"Yeah, but… well, they are men and she is…" I began. "I don't like them taking her here. It should have been us."
"Are you jealous?" Ivvan said. "On our teachers?"
"Well… yeah, I'm jealous on them, anything wrong about it?" I ended recognising to them. "It's not easy to say, but I'm jealous on them. Happy?"
"It's ok." Orion said smiling ironically from the front of the car. "I would also be jealous if I didn't knew her. If she likes you she will not cheat you so relax a bit."
It was easier to say than to do, however, when we arrived the premier I had to breathe deep before stepping out of the car smiling and waving to the people there that had came to see us.
Then another limousine came and the blond co-actress playing the girl on troubles came out waving as if she was a superstar.
"Ethan!!" She said when she reached us that were being interviewed by a couple of press members allowed to do it. "Oh, my god! I've missed you all this time!!"
Immediately, they began asking us questions about us and the relationship beck the spotlights.
It was great and it would be a good publishing for my career. However, acting as if that girl and I were something else than just scene mates was something a bit weird.
"Hey, I must say that pink dress looks good on you." Futawa said when the press began asking Goku about his performance and all that.
"You noticed!!" She said. "Oh, it's a Channel creation! I just was made to sew it especially for me!"
Man, she was certainly a bit annoying, specially now that I was nervous about my girl arriving on perfect state and not worried about showing herself in a premiere and all that; after all, it was being her first premiere.
However, the best was seeing suddenly a girl with a pair of guys next to him appeared on the red carpet. First came the men and then Hokkaido put out his hand to help the girl out.
Oh, and what a girl… She had managed to make a careful hairstyle by lifting her hair stuck to her back of the head and on a cared messy way on top of it. Then she was wearing a funny purple dress that changed into some kind of fucsia depending on the lights hitting it. And despite on the fact she was wearing nothing so expensive, that her dress was not a channel and her jewellery was nothing else than a beautiful silver ring she seemed really great; so great I couldn't take my eyes out of her.
"Man, you are… you are…." I began.
"Isa!" Goku told her nearly jumping over her. "Wow! You must dance the first one with me!"
"Goku, you don't dance." I told her.
"Yeah, furthermore, she is going to dance the first one with me." Orion said holding her hand softly. "Stars with stars, staff with staff." He added to get to her ear. "You look really cute, sweetie."
"Really?" She answered on the same whispering tone. "I bought it on hurry, I… was not sure it was fitting the occasion."
"Well, it does." I said faster than the rest. "You look really great."
"Oh, hi 'coffee-girl'." The blond girl told her smiling while holding my arm. "So good you were able to come."
"It will be better we go in." I said noticing the media staring at us. "The show is about going on."
"Oh, I know that dress. Isn't it from that cheap shop at near Shibuya?" The blondy said smiling at her.
"Well, yeah." Isa said softly. "I didn't have anything fitting something like this."
"Yeah, well, I suppose working as staff you will not attend anywhere needing smart outfit." The girl said.
"Yuri, enough, please." I told her. "It's time for us all going in into the premiere." I said trying to make her stop and not calling the media attention into my girl.
"My I have the privilege, miss?" Orion told her offering her his arm on a soft way.
"Sure." She said smiling.
I had to do my best to keep on acting normal as if she was nothing more than a simple girl I had some treat because we had worked together, me performing and she helping as staff.
However when she was sitting with Mika, Orion and the rest of teachers and I heard how Orion was chatting whispering with her about private topics and making her laugh as he joked I couldn't help to feel something inside me roaring in jealousy and anger at him for acting so flirting towards my girl.
I would have loved to shout at him to stop touching my girl, to have held her and made her sit at my lap to make sure she was fine and no guys tried to flirt with her; but I couldn't, her scene panic was known by all of us and so, I couldn't make her face something like that.
"Anything wrong, dear?" The blondy asked me softly.
"No, nothing." I said. "By the way, I want it to be the last time you try to misspeak about Isabella, understand?" I told her without changing my face from the normality of speaking with a cast-mate.
"Why so much interest on a staff member?" She asked me showing a bit bothered at her voice. "Why everybody laughs at her jokes, doesn't mind when she is mistaken or when she speaks something wrong in Japanese? She is nothing else than staff."
"She is not just that, and I would appreciate you stopped saying such things about her, missy." I said holding her hand she had laid at my arm to put it aside. "So next time, tie your tongue before you say anything bad to her. Did you hear me?"
"Yes, for sure." She said now not minding to hide her bother at me as the lights went off.
To tell the truth, I didn't minded the film much, I spent nearly all the time thinking about what was going on just back us. I willed I could swap places with 'wolf guy', to sit next to Isa and be able to hold hands with her instead of having to seat next to that blondy who thought that was better than the rest of girls in the show.
How could I have not realised before?
(Time or Space Jump)
(Orion's voice)
It was amazing to see the work we were now part of just for being staff and also English teachers of the main actors. To tell the truth, seeing the final product was not so amazing when you have seen it be recorded on some parts, and I think all of the people involved in the recording thought the same than me; however there was one person that as always was not appearing the same as the rest.
Isa was really appearing to enjoy the film as if she had not seen it been recorded.
"Maaaaan, I remember that scene…" Isa whispered me.
"I see you are having fun." I told her whispering to her ear.
"I love cinema, remember?" She answered me back.
"Sure, you look like a baby girl." I said trying to pull her leg and making her smile as laughing in fun while she hit my side softly with her hand without looking at me and making me smile in fun too.
To tell the truth, that film as a complete dung, but, at least I was with friends there.
The movie was really great until it ended and we were made to go out of the theatre into the lobby where the media was again there to bother people.
"Man, couldn't they just wait a bit?" I told Isabel when we had to nearly fight our way out of the doors.
"They are really annoying… I can't understand how the guys can stand this." She answered me serious faced.
(Time or Space Jump)
(Ethan's voice)
"No, no." I answered to the question of the interviewer that had asked us some questions. "I am not in anything now. I mean… obviously I have been offered some papers in things but… well, this has taken some time to be recorded and I would like to take some rest now."
"Are you saying you want to stop working?" The interviewer asked me.
"No, not at all." I answered the most casual I could. "I wanted to mean I would like to take a little free time before getting into any other recording. You know, playing sports, meeting friends, walk around a bit…"
"And maybe you will met with a girl?" The girl asked me.
"Maybe." I said about laughing.
Sure, now I was to take some free days out of work, first thing I wanted to do was spent the most time I could with my girl.
My girl, the same that was now with Orion and other members of staff waiting at the lobby.
Then we went past the doors and I smiled sincerely for first time in a long time. First time I saw was the beautiful face of our friend and my girlfriend Isa; the second one was a second after that when she was elbowed out of the way by the journalist and TV cameras in order to take a good shoot of us four and Yuri, and so Isa let out a little shout of fright when she fell down.
Man, that was enough!
"Isa." I called her.
I had to elbow two journalists and a cameraman out of my way but I ended up holding her hand to help her stand up.
"Sweetie, are you ok?" I asked her.
"Yeah." She said softly looking a bit embarrassed. "Er… Ethan, you have… the media."
"Oh-my-god." I muttered while the people began asking me about that girl and all.
"Please, she is not a piece of meat you can treat like that." Futawa said.
"Yeah, our mate was just being gentile." Ivvan added.
"Sorry." Isa said softly bowing to me as if she was taking part of the lie the guys were doing for cheating the media into not bothering with their more or less true suppositions of she and I being a couple. "Thanks for helping, I'm sorry I bothered you."
"You are not a bother." I said shaking my head.
Man, why was she taking part on that lie? It made me a bit angry at all that. She should not be treated like that, she was thousand times better any of those guys from media there, she should not be the one elbowed out of the way.
"Hey, you should be careful." Orion said coming to get her.
Again the media began asking things all at the same time, without allowing anyone to answer but waiting to be answered and I saw how she was beginning to go sick.
"Hey, stop pestering people." I told them. "She is not a star so stop bothering her."
I would have like to hit them, but instead I realised my girl was beginning to go pale and as if she was beginning to feel dizzy; so I standed in front of her and looked threatening to the media.
"Orion, llévatela de aquí (Orion take her away from here)" I told him in Spanish the best I could.
He then nod and held her as he began speaking Spanish softly to her.
I saw how Goku went with them and even Mika and the other teachers she came with went to ask her if she was feeling fine.
I couldn't hear the answer as I was acting as human-shield to give them enough time to take a vehicle and leave, luckily Futawa came to help me.
"Ethan, you can't leave yet." My manager told me when I tried to fly away.
"She was not feeling fine." I said breaking free. "I have to go with her."
"No, you must stay here and smile to media; if you don't then you will be tagged badly and all the effort with the film will go away." He told me.
Damn, he was right, but I couldn't stand that façade anymore now she was made dizzy and even sick due to them.
"Ethan, stop playing around and behave." The director told me nearly whispering while the guys caught the media attention. "She will be fine, and you still have work to be done here. She will be fine, and Yuan will phone me to inform as soon as they reach the flats' building, so just calm up and wear your best face for media."
I could not do other than give up and obey, they were right, and after all, she would be just fine like that, wouldn't she?
"Ok… but please… tell me when you get that call." I told him.
(Time or Space Jump)
(Isa's voice)
It was amazing. I was a bit sick when all that media people began speaking so fast I couldn't make out anything they were speaking to me. Sure I knew a bit of Japanese, but I didn't caught a thing when people spoke to me all together at the same time and fast as media members used to do.
"Are you feeling better?" Yuan asked me all of sudden.
"Hum?" I muttered realising I was no longer at the car but lying at the living-room's sofa. "How did I…?"
"The premiere, you were about to faint, remember?" Mika told me as she handed me a glass of water. "I thought you had got over that panic."
"Mika, that's nothing that easy." Orion said softly making me realise he was acting as my pillow.
"It was not that." I shook. "It was… all that Japanese so fast and all speaking at the same time… I couldn't understand a word… sorry."
"Don't mind it." Yuan said rubbing my hand softly. "The most important is you seem better now. And the guys have stayed there."
"Thanks god." I muttered closing my eyes. "Ah!! You should go back there! You are going to miss the party after the premiere!!"
"You can't be left alone." Mika said.
"You leave." Orion said. "I'll stay with her and make sure she…"
"No, you all go." I shook again sitting up at the sofa and holding my head softly. "I'll be fine all alone, promise." I said trying to sound normal me. "I'll just go up, have a bath to relax a bit and I'll go bed and try to sleep. Yep, a bit of sleep will do for me."
I knew they were not fully convinced, but finally I managed to talk them into leaving and they ended up giving up so I sighed.
"Can I ask you a favour?" I told them. "Please, don't tell Ethan I'm alone here, right? He will get worried for nothing and that will spoil all."
"Sure." Mika said smiling ironically. "We will be silent as graves about you being here all alone. Now… are you sure you will not be terrified of the ghost in the building? Don't you prefer anyone to stay here?"
"I already have Lupus." I said rubbing his hairy head as I realised he was sitting at the ground next to the sofa with his head at my lap. "He will protect me from ghosts and demons."
"Ok…" They told me. "If you need anything you could always call any of us."
"I will not need anything." I said half smiling mildly. "Really, I will take a bath and then go to sleep. It would be silly to have a babysitter just for that."