Taya's Point of View
Tuesday again? No problem. Uta insisted there should be a period between "No" and "problem," to make it read like, "Tuesday again? No. Problem."
But I preferred having a positive outlook. I tried to persuade Uta into thinking positive as well.
In first period, Momo and Zatsune were being Momo and Zatsune, as usual. But this time, when Momo saw me, she walked up to me with a concerned face.
"Taya!" She spoke to me. "I... I heard from Teto. You made up with Uta, but... do you need a hug?"
"I feel okay." I said. "But I'll still hug you. I appreciate it."
"Ohh boy." Zatsune rolled her eyes. "The strawberry cream puff and peach cream puff are hugging..."
"Zatsune, this really isn't the time to be your obnoxiously edgy self." Momo said. "Taya's been through a lot. He lost his best friend in middle school and he still grieves sometimes."
"Oh." Zatsune suddenly grew an expression I'd never seen on her before. "Gee... I'm so sorry." She said. "Well... Taya? I know it's odd coming from me, but... if you ever need to talk or anything, I'll try to help the best I can. Okay?"
Momo just stood there, blinking.
"You know... you're actually nice after all, Zatsune. I never knew that." She said. "I never knew you had a tender side."
"Well... I mean." Zatsune said. "I'm not sure exactly what you expected. What exactly did you guys take me for, anyway? A complete edge lord?"
Momo and I both stood there, blinking.
...Should we tell her?
—
In second period, SeeU was rather quiet. I wondered what was up. It wasn't normal for her to be like this. Merli seemed to be enjoying every minute of SeeU's silence, however. But I couldn't help but feel a bit concerned.
But suddenly, during break time, SeeU got out of her seat and offered to read us a rap she wrote.
"No." Merli responded right off the bat.
"Um... sure?" I answered. I was a little curious to find out what SeeU had written. Merli glared at me.
"Okay!" SeeU danced out of her seat.
The Sonare Community College Rap
By SeeU
Out of my starry eyes
I SeeU
Time always flies
When I see Yuu
And wherever he is
There's always Wil
The two are never standing still
Wherever they go there's always Kyo
He's the one to complete the trio
At the pet store I saw Ritsu
He adopted a fluffy shitzu
In a mansion I saw Gumi
She was in a place that was roomy
Running late to school was Momo
Too bad she could only run in slow-mo
Traveling back in time was Dex
He met a Tyrannosaurus rex
At the hair salon was Merli
She got a perm and now her hair is curly
On the boardwalk I saw Taya
Making his way to the playa
At the airport I saw Uta
Getting on a flight to Utah
Lurking in the dark was Miki
She was being very sneaky
Doing a weird dance was Lily
She was being very silly
"Would you please stop... I can't take it anymore..." Merli said.
"But you did listen pretty far." SeeU said. "Admit it, you were interested."
"Absolutely not!" Merli turned red.
I could tell deep down that Merli was actually fond of SeeU. I just wasn't sure exactly how much and how deep down that was.
—
Before third period class, I went to the restroom and noticed a random unopened box of Kraft macaroni and cheese just sitting there, submerged in a toilet.
What?
Why would anybody waste perfectly good food like this?
When I got to third period, I noticed Len and Ruby were snickering about something.
"So I hid all my macaroni boxes in the most random places I could think of." Len said.
"Sweet." Ruby said.
"Is that sou, desu ka? So it was you who left that in the toilet, huh?" I asked.
"Whoa there." Len said. "You're making it sound like I used it without flushing or something..."
Ruby suddenly burst out in laughter.
"How many boxes of macaroni and cheese did you waste?" I asked them.
"We bought fifty of them and hid them in random places around campus." They confessed.
What? But...
"But... why?" I asked them, confused.
"Because it's funny." Len and Ruby answered.
What a strange thing to do.
We heard footsteps approaching the classroom.
"What was this box of macaroni and cheese doing on display in the art gallery?" The professor walked in the room and asked, carrying in a box of macaroni and cheese pasta in fun Scooby-Doo shapes.
"Modern art." Ruby rebutted.
The professor opened his desk drawer to find more macaroni and cheese. He groaned. He turned on the computer to see that his desktop had changed to a picture of mac and cheese, and so did his cursor, and so did all his folder icons.
A box of mac and cheese suddenly fell from a hole in the ceiling onto the professor's head. Somehow, his bald spot was so firm, it caused the box to burst open like a piñata, sending little hard pieces of uncooked elbow macaroni noddles flying across the room.
The professor turned red and started muttering profane words again. I'm afraid I am still not permitted to repeat such words. The age rating of this text would need also to be raised if I did.
—
In fourth period, Yukari's hair was swaying in the non-existent spring breeze. Even though it was September. The non-existent cherry blossom petals were fluttering down on her as she held a note to her face and blushed.
"This is a song I wrote..." She said. "For IA. I put all my feelings into it. I fondly hope she will like it."
It was time for us to share an original musical composition we had worked on. I sang a short tune accompanied by my cello. It was a rather modest composition... but I think it did the job. I hope my professor thought it was okay.
But Yukari was going to go all out with hers. Apparently she was going to dedicate hers to IA.
Yukari began to play her song on the piano. Right off the bat, it seemed as if she wasn't sure what genre she wanted it to be. She slid upwards on the keys, then downwards, did a dramatic crescendo, a diminuendo, then epic jazz hands, and then she began singing an operetta, then soul, then enka, then inspirational rap, then she did a guitar solo (on the piano, no less,) played badly with her toes, and ended her song with the Barney theme song!
The lyrics seemed like they directly ripped off Fuwa Fuwa Time, except Yukari called hers "Comfy Time" and said her heart would turn into a kitten, "delicate and soft, yet affectionate and playful."
It was certainly... an unforgettable composition.
—
Fifth period.
As soon as I waked in, I noticed something was a little off. Something had changed? Or switched? But I didn't know exactly what it was. Yet.
"Taya! Hootie hoo!" Haku said with a perky and cheerful smile.
Wait...
"Ohh... Woe is me..." Kaito groaned.
Hm...
"Hello guys." I said to both of them.
"I feel like I'm simply bursting with Kool-Aid and solar energy!" Haku cheered.
"Oh... I am so crestfallen." Kaito brooded. "There are various shades of blue inside my soul."
"Wow!" I said, pretending to play along. "Something is different about you two today! I wonder what it could be?"
I already knew exactly what it was.
Haku was pretending to be positive and happy like Kaito. Kaito was pretending to be... negative and downcast the way Haku usually was.
"Oh, the pain. The deep-fried pain." Kaito theatrically groaned. "The ice cream is melting, there's nothing but rain."
"Don't be so hopelessly despondent my dear buddy!" Haku said. "Sing a ballad in the rain, like in a musical!"
There were a few seconds of awkward silence, then awkward laughter.
"...Yeah. This isn't working." They then both said at the same time.
"...What exactly were you even trying to do?" I asked.
"Get into each other's characters." Kaito said.
"A perspective-broadening exercise." Haku said.
"Basically, I thought acting like Haku would help me understand her negative feelings and how to alleviate them better. And if Haku acted like me, being optimistic would come more natural to her..." Kaito said.
"Hm... I think you did a nice job though." I said. "Haku pulled off some really nice and natural smiles! And Kaito, you uh... prompted Haku to cheer you up! Maybe if you keep doing this, Haku will begin to smile a lot more."
"Hey... maybe you're right!" Haku's face brightened up. "Thank you, Taya!
"Thanks, Taya!" Kaito said as well.
"No problem!" I said back, feeling a bit sheepish.
Now Haku was smiling.
It felt as if everything was well.
—
After school, I flew over to the theatre club with Uta. I felt so eager to continue working on my play.
Yesterday night, I had sent a copy of my script to everybody.
I also included the following character bios, labeled by who had the role, to help everyone get a better idea of the kind of character they would be playing.
—
Character Bios, by Taya Soune
Taya Soune- The Doll. They are a humble, kind, and magical being. They are always dressed elegantly, and help out everyone they meet. According to Uta, their character resembles mine a bit?
Uta Utane- A young adult who eventually becomes The Doll's best friend. They are quite clever and brave. They are a orphan who eventually grew up without ever having a family. They have a wish to have a family. The doll eventually grants this wish and finds them a family.
Lapis Aoki- The little girl who built the doll. A young creative genius who built all her toys and wrote all her stories. However, she was incredibly lonely and nobody recognized her creative genius. Dies of scarlet fever at the age of 11.
Ruby- Young woman 1. In a relationship with young woman 2. Naive and optimistic. Has a wish for her partner's true happiness. The doll grants this wish by letting the two see the ocean together.
Gumi- Young woman 2. In a relationship with young woman 1. Usually calm and composed. They are hospitalized long-term for an illness, with an uncertain prognosis. Has a wish to see the ocean with her partner. The doll grants this wish.
Nigaito Shion- The little boy. Has a wish to see his dog again. He still can't quite comprehend that his dog had passed away. The doll grants this wish and gives them one more memory that brings them peace and closure.
Qingxian Mo- The other little girl. An orphaned child who wishes to have a parent who loves her. The doll brings her to the middle-aged lady, who becomes her adoptive mother.
Bruno- Middle-aged man 1. A farmer who grows crops for the townspeople, and keeps animals. In a relationship with the blacksmith. He sadly is terribly busy and has conflicting schedules with the blacksmith and can never find a day to relax with him. He wishes he could spend more time with the blacksmith. The doll helps out.
Dex- Middle-aged man 2. A blacksmith who supplies tools for people, including his partner, the farmer. He sadly is terribly busy and has conflicting schedules with the farmer and can never find a day to relax with him. He wishes he could spend more time with the farmer. The doll helps out.
Merli Aoki- The middle-aged lady. A lonely and stoic librarian. Has a wish to have a daughter. The doll brings her to the orphaned little girl, who becomes her adopted daughter.
Daina- The elderly lady. Recently had a disagreement with her partner for the first time ever after fifty years of never fighting. Wishes she could make up with him. The doll helps her.
Kyo- The elderly man. Recently had a disagreement with his partner for the first time ever after fifty years of never fighting. Wishes he could make up with her. The doll helps him.
—
When I walked in the room, many of the club members began praising me for my script! Wow!
"I didn't know we had such a playwright here right under our noses!" Kyo said.
"Oh, no... I'm... really not that great." I said. "It's just a hobby."
"Don't be so modest, Taya." Uta said, smiling. "I read it too. It was really heartfelt. You put a lot of emotion into your writing."
"Ah... sou?" I shyly put my hand to my chin. I felt a bit flattered.
"I actually caught Merli crying as she read your script." Lapis snickered.
"I was not! I simply got spice in my eye, and that is it!" Merli rebutted.
"Yeah. Suuuure." Lapis made a cheeky grin. A few people around us laughed. Merli turned as red as cayenne.
We did a quick run through of the first quarter of the play again. We were cutting our area of focus into parts, for now.
"Okay... so is it too early to start thinking about props?" I suggested when we were finished.
"Hm... I don't see why not." Lapis said. "The earlier the better, even though we wouldn't want to rush too many things. We'll still take our time."
"Hm. Then I would suggest these props." I said. "The toys in the girl's room, Gumi's hospital bed, the farmer's tools, Nigaito's dog... in the form of a plush perhaps, the librarian's books, and canes for the elderly characters."
"That sounds like it would be a good start." Lapis said. "But we also would need to figure out how many individual settings we will incorporate so we can figure out how many sets to make. There is a lot that goes into performing a play. We also need music and costume design!"
"You're right!" I said. "This is going to be such hard work. But it will be so exciting!"
"Hey um, something has been bothering me. Just a bit. Just a little bit." Bruno spoke up.
"Yes?" I answered.
"Well, have you noticed that the characters' names are all just... 'Little girl 2' and 'The Doll' and 'Middle-Aged Man 1?' Don't you think they all need... actual real names?"
"Gee. You're right!" I said. "I avoided naming them all because I feel I'm bad with names, but... now that we're performing it as a theatrical production, our characters need names!"
"Well then, let's all suggest names for the doll first." Gumi said. "How about, hm... Rosalie?"
"I personally feel that the gender-neutral name Cobalt evokes a much more refined image. Plus, it goes with Taya's hair!" Merli said.
"I think the doll should have a traditional Chinese name." Qingxian said. "Such as Lanlu, meaning 'blue dew.'"
"What about the name Sapphire?" Ruby suggested.
"I know! How about Dewey!" Said Nigaito.
"I like the name Aster myself." Bruno said.
"Ooh! What about Wolfgang?" Dex suggested.
"NO!" Everyone else said in unison.
"...Moonfang?" Daina suggested, once there was silence.
...
All of a sudden, the entire room burst into a chaotic fit of argument.
"Hey um, guys? Guys... please? Stop fighting..." I said softly. Too softly. Nobody heard or paid me any attention.
"Everyone, QUIET!" Uta finally yelled above everything. Uta normally spoke in a soft and wispy tone, but she could produce one heck of a piercing yell when she tried! With a bit more control, I considered she would be good at belting songs like Jitter Doll and Ghost Rule with lots of power.
Everything fell silent again. Everyone began to pay attention to Uta.
"How about we just give the characters our own names?" Uta suggested. "It would feel closer to us that way. If anyone other group decides to perform this play in the future after us, they can name the characters whatever they want. But for us, I think the characters should have our names."
"Oh, I see!" Nigaito said. "So my character will just be Nigaito. And the doll will just be Taya!"
"Yeah, exactly!" Uta said.
"You know, since we can't decide on anything, I say we should do that as well." Gumi said.
As usual, Uta managed to settle things and came up with a really great idea. Being Cobalt or Sapphire sounded cool. But really? I kind of just wanted to be Taya. Except instead, the Taya I couldn't show all the time. The Taya I truly was, deep inside.
—
A whole day passed. The next day, we finally started doing rehearsals with movements and more feeling than before. Even though this play had minimal dancing, we called where we had to be, and when we had to be there, by "choreography."
I also got acting pointers from the club seniors. Things like body posture, gestures, facial expression, vocal diction, and how to make it sound convincing, basically.
As The Doll, the first person I meet on my journey is Uta. However, her wish is the last I grant in the story. She ends up tagging along on all of my escapades as I meet and help all these other people along the way. She's almost like my sidekick.
We eventually got to the part of the play where I meet Uta. It was just me and her on that small raised stage in the drama club room.
In this scene, I find her traveling along a stone path as if she is lost. I end up fixing Uta's compass for her. But then, a wolf begins to attack me. (The wolf is played by Dex in a fursuit, by the way. He got a huge kick out of this.)
Uta courageously saves me from the wolf and asks me my name.
"I am Taya." I recited from my script. "Thank you for saving me! As you can see, I am made from cloth and wood. That's because I am a doll. But I hope we can still be friends anyway!"
"Is that so?" Uta answered. "I'd like very much to be friends. I've never had a friend before. Or a family neither. As a child, I was orphaned, but nobody adopted me."
"Oh, that's terrible." I said. "I'll be your friend."
"Thank you for being my friend." Uta said. "I've never had a friend who was a living doll before. But I still wish I had a family..."
"Don't worry." I said. "I'll make sure you have a family too."
"Really? I can't thank you enough!" Uta said. "But how will you do that?"
"Take my hand." I said, smiling, holding out my hand. "I'll take you to a place where miracles happen."
Suddenly, Uta became quiet, as if she forgot her next line. I noticed her face had turned the slightest bit pink. I became worried. Was she coming down with a fever?
"Uta?" I whispered softly.
"Oh... sorry." Uta muttered quietly. "It's... it's just... I noticed something."
"Hm?" I asked.
"Well, it's just..." Uta continued. "You... have this... glow to you all of a sudden... I mean."
Uta cast her face down and suddenly looked away from me. When she noticed the rest of the club was staring at us, she turned even redder.
"Um. Never mind. Really. Let's just get back to rehearsing."
...I wondered what Uta meant about me having a glow to myself.
—
"Hey Taya, could you do me a favor?"
Qingxian was talking to me one-one-one next club period. This was pretty rare, all things considered. I decided I wouldn't let this opportunity to possibly make friends with her slip away.
"Oh, sure." I said back to her.
"I need to go wash off and redo my makeup. Could you make sure to take extra good notes while I'm away?"
"Sure." I said.
Sometimes club leader Lapis showed us PowerPoints of rather useful things and we were encouraged to take notes. Her PowerPoint was going to start in a few minutes. I couldn't see why Qing couldn't wait until after the PowerPoint was finished to redo her makeup. Was it really that big of an emergency for her?
Anyway, while she was away, I made sure to take extra good, extra intricate notes, even with paraphrasing and diagrams and pictures to help things be easier to understand, just in case. Just for Qingxian.
When Qingxian got back...
"Oh, wow! These notes are amazing!" She sang. "Beautiful handwriting! And so fast! You... you did all this for me?" She asked.
"It was nothing! Really!" I said.
"Wow. You are truly something else, Taya." She said. "I'll make sure to remember I can always count on you."
And well... let's just say she didn't exactly forget. Qingxian always depended on me to write her notes for her, even when she wasn't even busy. She said that she wasn't good at writing notes and needed me to take them while she was practicing to get better. Which made as much sense to me as it probably does to you, I know.
—
About a week later...
"Hey Taya! Can you do me a favor?"
It was Qingxian again.
Am I having deja vu?
"Yes?" I answered her.
"Hmm, a little bird told me you were good at baking sweets." Qing said. "I was wondering if you could come to my dorm room and bake a chocolate cake for my roommates and I."
"Um... sure." I said.
Somehow, I didn't turn it down. I couldn't turn it down.
That was when Uta got into it.
"What was up with that?" She asked.
"Qing?" I said back to her.
"Yeah. Don't you think she's being outrageously demanding?"
"Hmm..." I thought. "Well... I don't exactly want to lose her as a friend."
"Well..." Uta said. A sour expression suddenly grew on her face. "Taya. I hate to break it to you but. I don't think Qing is exactly a friend. I think she's taking advantage of your selflessness."
"Oh." I said. "But... that seems a little unfair to assume."
"Taya, you might not see it, because you're so sweet and innocent, but..." Uta continued.
"Uta, I don't really want to hear you say bad things about Qingxian." I said back to her. I must admit, Qingxian did get in my nerves a little, but. I couldn't just talk down on her!
"But... Taya, this is for your own good. I don't get a good feeling from her." Uta said.
"What are you two arguing about?" Qingxian herself suddenly interrupted the scene.
"Um... nothing!" Uta had to lie. "We're talking about a... Korean drama! Man, those plot twists, right?"
"Oh. Uh! Yeah!" I responded. "Man, those... Korean dramas. Yeah. So... dramatic."
"Oh, okay! Haha! Have fun then!" Qingxian went off on her merry way.
Uta felt so awkward that Qingxian almost caught her talking bad about her, that she didn't argue with me for the rest of the day.
I wish Uta and Qingxian could get along. I don't think Qing is a bad person. I don't think she's out to take advantage of me. I just think that she needs to learn to rely on herself a bit more.
Eventually a few days later, I ended up in charge of Qingxian's book report.
"See, Taya? Now you're stuck doing a whole book report that you don't even have any reason to do." Uta said, as we were walking back to our dorm from theatre club one day. I could tell she was angry. Not at me, (hopefully,) but Qing.
"But..." I sighed. "Even if you are right, I just can't seem to say no."
"Well." Uta said. "Maybe we can assess that. What do you think would happen if you were to say no?"
"Qingxian would get mad at me." I admitted. "And possibly stop being friends with me."
"And?" Uta said. "If that were to happen, then that would mean that she wasn't a true friend in the first place."
I sighed. All of a sudden, there was a bit of unease on my palette again...
NOTE: Starting from this chapter, the story's timeline will start progressing quite fast and weeks may go by within one chapter, rather than one day going by each chapter. Well, at least for this portion of the series. Sorry for such wonky pacing.