**track eight - interlude**
They say you have to suffer for art. I wonder who "they" are,
sometimes... but whoever they are, they're right. 'Here is
Devilwood' is a big hit throughout Ryokuto Academy, and part
of it was because of that damn kiss. It's mortifying, the way
everybody focuses in on that.
I suppose I should really feel sorry for Suka-chan. Everybody at
Ryokuto thinks he's either an idiot or gay. He just shrugs the
comments off, though... in his mind, he knows better than anyone
who would saddle him with either epithet. He knows who I *really*
am, after all
Like I said, either an idiot...
Still, if that's what constitutes the bad news, I shouldn't complain.
'Here is Devilwood,' I hardly need to tell you, won the honors for
best film, so we get to keep the Golden Palm, also known as the
Palm Door (No apostrophe, I should mention. Some art student
here ten years ago made a sculpture of a hand with a door frame
around it, a knob on the thumb, and hinges along the side of the
pinky. One of the student council members thought it would make
a cute trophy for the film contest, had it gilded, and it's been
travelling throughout Ryokuto for nearly a decade, now), in the
dorm lobby for the year. It's a real coup, actually; usually the
film festival is won by the drama class (we got second, actually)
or the film club. We're the first dorm to actually pull this off in
recent memory. And for all I know, the bravery of that kiss might
have pushed it over, too...
Oh, well.
Not only do we get the trophy, but the prize money isn't anything
to sneeze at either. A hundred thousand yen buys quite a party -
off campus, of course - well-supplied with beer and snacks. And
of course, what with all the bets made on the festival winners, most
everyone at Greenwood cleaned up quite nicely.
So I'm sitting at a table, nursing a drink and enjoying the music,
when Mitsuru-sempai comes over to me and claps me on the shoulder.
I look up at him. "Nice job, sempai... and a swell party, ne?"
He nods and looks around. "Yeah... we really should do this kind of
thing more often." His head turns, and he looks straight at me.
"We could have pulled one of these earlier, you know..."
I grin. "Not like this... not this big."
He shrugs. "No, probably not... but we'd have done SOMEthing..."
I cock my head at him. "You don't think I'd do something if I win?"
"How should I know? I'm not you." It's enough to get me laughing.
"Look, sempai, I *promise*... I'll do something real nice for him if
I win."
"Are Shinobu and I invited?"
I stare at him as coldly as I can, given the circumstances. "That,
I'm not gonna promise." It's not easy to sound icy when you're
enjoying yourself like this.
He gives me a look of mock disappointment. "Aww... and I'd figured
you two would *need* chaperones, too..." It's almost enough to make
me wince, but he turns before he can notice my reaction. "Oh, hi
there, Hasukawa... we were just talking about you."
Suka-chan's obviously had one or two; he's in a jovial mood, rather
than his usual stern or agitated states. "All lies, too, coming from
you, Sempai..."
Mitsuru-sempai grins and shrugs. "Hey... I gotta be me. Anyway,
it's over and done with. What're ya gonna do now?"
"Let me guess," I interrupt. "He's supposed to say he's going to
Tokyo Disneyland, right?"
Mitsuru-sempai frowns. "That's a hell of a thing to do..."
My turn to grin and shrug. "Hey... I gotta be me..." At this point,
I figure I'd best get away from Mitsuru-sempai. I think if he had
a rolled-up magazine in his hands right now, he'd hit me with it.
Assuming, of course, that he didn't miss - for all I know, he may
be aiming at three of me. I stand up and grab Suka-chan.
"C'mon... let's dance..."
We're not the only couple on the dance floor - some of the guys
have actually managed to wangle dates. And the sempais, when
they're not off to the side with a drink, are dealing with a line of
girls who want a turn with them. Lucky dogs...
However, when we step onto the floor, we get a LOT of stares.
Suka-chan is much better at ignoring them; ah, the bliss of ignorance.
And oddly enough, it turns out he's not a bad dancer. A bit frantic,
but with all the high-velocity stuff, it's not out of place. I can
hardly keep up with him.
Then, a slow dance comes on, and I head back to the table. I don't
make it. There's a hand on my shoulder, and I *know* whose it is.
"Where d'you think *you're* going?" Suka-chan's grin is a bit
lopsided, as if my departure might hurt if he were stone sober
right now.
I look around frantically, and spot an out. "Uh... I was gonna try
and rescue Shinobu-sempai, actually..." And to be honest, poor
sempai could *use* a savior at the moment. The girl he's dancing
with is acting singularly rude, sticking out her tongue at another
girl glowering at the two of them from the edge of the dance floor.
Clearly, these two have been fighting over him most of the evening,
and his normally impassive face is starting to show signs of wear.
I don't bother to find out if Suka-chan will give me his assent; I
head over there, and tap the girl on the shoulder. "Mind if I cut
in...?"
"I was here first... go away."
"Now, Akiko... you've had your turn. Let Shun have a chance, too..."
"Shun...?" She abruptly stops dancing and turns to look at me;
evidently, she's heard of me. Her eyes scour me from top to bottom,
trying to get a bead on exactly who or what I am. They settle on my
chest momentarily, and she speaks. "You aren't... are you a... ?"
I just smile and nod as I take my spot before Shinobu-sempai.
"Shall we?" He nods his head once, takes my right hand in his left,
and wraps his left hand around my waist. As we begin, Akiko starts
to back away from us, cautiously. I grin. "I don't think you'll be
bothered by her anymore this evening, sempai."
"No, I don't suppose so... thank you, Shun."
"Heh... even dancing with a boy is preferable to her and her, uh...
friend, ne?"
"You could say that, yes..." We don't say much else for the rest of
the song, just move with the music and try to ignore the looks we're
getting. When it comes to an end, we head back to our respective
tables...
...where I run into a fuming Suka-chan. Before I can sit down, he
stands up, grabs me by the wrist, and pulls me out of the room.
"Hey... hey... HEY!! Whaddya think you're... let me go, Suka-chan!"
*sigh* Every scenario I can imagine, I always wind up slammed
against a wall eventually. This is different, though, because
Suka-chan still hasn't figured it out. He's just, well... "What is
the *deal* with you? First Mitsuru-sempai, now Shinobu-sempai...
I thought you weren't interested in the sempais! I thought I had a
chance! What are you trying to *do* to me?!" ...jealous.
Oh, Kami-sama... think fast, Shun... "Suka-chan, what are you talking
about? I never said I was interested in them! I told you flat out
I'd never do anything like that with Mitsuru-sempai..."
"Oh, but *Shinobu*sempai is another story, isn't he?"
I'm getting really tired of these accusations. I wrest myself free
and glare at him. "Look, Suka-chan... I don't know if you'd noticed
that... girl... Sempai was stuck with - I was just doing him a favor
by getting rid of her. And I guarantee he'll be quite rid of her -
you'll recall that most everyone here thinks I'm a *boy*." In spite
of myself, I find myself smirking. "Of course, I've kinda ruined
his reputation for awhile..."
Suka-chan looks pained. "But, Shun-chan... I thought you were
*my* girl."
"Suka-chan... I'm not *anyone's* girl, okay?" I can feel the color
rising to my cheeks, even as I'm saying this. "I'm not going to
commit belonging to anybody, do you understand? I'm sorry if I
gave you the wrong idea or anything..."
His shoulders sag, and my heart goes out to him. I latch onto his
shoulders, and look him square in the eye. "Suka-chan, please
listen... if there ever was a guy I could fall for..." and I decide
to let my actions finish the sentance, as I lean over and give him
a peck on the cheek.
The transformation is nothing short of amazing. Suka-chan's face
melts from a jealous scowl to a grateful smile. His eyes look like
they could tear up from joy. And then, he takes my by surprise
into a tight bear hug.
My voice sounds a little muffled as I squeak out a protest. "Uh...
can we get back to the party now? I... need... some... air...!"
And quickly!
They say you have to suffer for art. I wonder who "they" are,
sometimes... but whoever they are, they're right. 'Here is
Devilwood' is a big hit throughout Ryokuto Academy, and part
of it was because of that damn kiss. It's mortifying, the way
everybody focuses in on that.
I suppose I should really feel sorry for Suka-chan. Everybody at
Ryokuto thinks he's either an idiot or gay. He just shrugs the
comments off, though... in his mind, he knows better than anyone
who would saddle him with either epithet. He knows who I *really*
am, after all
Like I said, either an idiot...
Still, if that's what constitutes the bad news, I shouldn't complain.
'Here is Devilwood,' I hardly need to tell you, won the honors for
best film, so we get to keep the Golden Palm, also known as the
Palm Door (No apostrophe, I should mention. Some art student
here ten years ago made a sculpture of a hand with a door frame
around it, a knob on the thumb, and hinges along the side of the
pinky. One of the student council members thought it would make
a cute trophy for the film contest, had it gilded, and it's been
travelling throughout Ryokuto for nearly a decade, now), in the
dorm lobby for the year. It's a real coup, actually; usually the
film festival is won by the drama class (we got second, actually)
or the film club. We're the first dorm to actually pull this off in
recent memory. And for all I know, the bravery of that kiss might
have pushed it over, too...
Oh, well.
Not only do we get the trophy, but the prize money isn't anything
to sneeze at either. A hundred thousand yen buys quite a party -
off campus, of course - well-supplied with beer and snacks. And
of course, what with all the bets made on the festival winners, most
everyone at Greenwood cleaned up quite nicely.
So I'm sitting at a table, nursing a drink and enjoying the music,
when Mitsuru-sempai comes over to me and claps me on the shoulder.
I look up at him. "Nice job, sempai... and a swell party, ne?"
He nods and looks around. "Yeah... we really should do this kind of
thing more often." His head turns, and he looks straight at me.
"We could have pulled one of these earlier, you know..."
I grin. "Not like this... not this big."
He shrugs. "No, probably not... but we'd have done SOMEthing..."
I cock my head at him. "You don't think I'd do something if I win?"
"How should I know? I'm not you." It's enough to get me laughing.
"Look, sempai, I *promise*... I'll do something real nice for him if
I win."
"Are Shinobu and I invited?"
I stare at him as coldly as I can, given the circumstances. "That,
I'm not gonna promise." It's not easy to sound icy when you're
enjoying yourself like this.
He gives me a look of mock disappointment. "Aww... and I'd figured
you two would *need* chaperones, too..." It's almost enough to make
me wince, but he turns before he can notice my reaction. "Oh, hi
there, Hasukawa... we were just talking about you."
Suka-chan's obviously had one or two; he's in a jovial mood, rather
than his usual stern or agitated states. "All lies, too, coming from
you, Sempai..."
Mitsuru-sempai grins and shrugs. "Hey... I gotta be me. Anyway,
it's over and done with. What're ya gonna do now?"
"Let me guess," I interrupt. "He's supposed to say he's going to
Tokyo Disneyland, right?"
Mitsuru-sempai frowns. "That's a hell of a thing to do..."
My turn to grin and shrug. "Hey... I gotta be me..." At this point,
I figure I'd best get away from Mitsuru-sempai. I think if he had
a rolled-up magazine in his hands right now, he'd hit me with it.
Assuming, of course, that he didn't miss - for all I know, he may
be aiming at three of me. I stand up and grab Suka-chan.
"C'mon... let's dance..."
We're not the only couple on the dance floor - some of the guys
have actually managed to wangle dates. And the sempais, when
they're not off to the side with a drink, are dealing with a line of
girls who want a turn with them. Lucky dogs...
However, when we step onto the floor, we get a LOT of stares.
Suka-chan is much better at ignoring them; ah, the bliss of ignorance.
And oddly enough, it turns out he's not a bad dancer. A bit frantic,
but with all the high-velocity stuff, it's not out of place. I can
hardly keep up with him.
Then, a slow dance comes on, and I head back to the table. I don't
make it. There's a hand on my shoulder, and I *know* whose it is.
"Where d'you think *you're* going?" Suka-chan's grin is a bit
lopsided, as if my departure might hurt if he were stone sober
right now.
I look around frantically, and spot an out. "Uh... I was gonna try
and rescue Shinobu-sempai, actually..." And to be honest, poor
sempai could *use* a savior at the moment. The girl he's dancing
with is acting singularly rude, sticking out her tongue at another
girl glowering at the two of them from the edge of the dance floor.
Clearly, these two have been fighting over him most of the evening,
and his normally impassive face is starting to show signs of wear.
I don't bother to find out if Suka-chan will give me his assent; I
head over there, and tap the girl on the shoulder. "Mind if I cut
in...?"
"I was here first... go away."
"Now, Akiko... you've had your turn. Let Shun have a chance, too..."
"Shun...?" She abruptly stops dancing and turns to look at me;
evidently, she's heard of me. Her eyes scour me from top to bottom,
trying to get a bead on exactly who or what I am. They settle on my
chest momentarily, and she speaks. "You aren't... are you a... ?"
I just smile and nod as I take my spot before Shinobu-sempai.
"Shall we?" He nods his head once, takes my right hand in his left,
and wraps his left hand around my waist. As we begin, Akiko starts
to back away from us, cautiously. I grin. "I don't think you'll be
bothered by her anymore this evening, sempai."
"No, I don't suppose so... thank you, Shun."
"Heh... even dancing with a boy is preferable to her and her, uh...
friend, ne?"
"You could say that, yes..." We don't say much else for the rest of
the song, just move with the music and try to ignore the looks we're
getting. When it comes to an end, we head back to our respective
tables...
...where I run into a fuming Suka-chan. Before I can sit down, he
stands up, grabs me by the wrist, and pulls me out of the room.
"Hey... hey... HEY!! Whaddya think you're... let me go, Suka-chan!"
*sigh* Every scenario I can imagine, I always wind up slammed
against a wall eventually. This is different, though, because
Suka-chan still hasn't figured it out. He's just, well... "What is
the *deal* with you? First Mitsuru-sempai, now Shinobu-sempai...
I thought you weren't interested in the sempais! I thought I had a
chance! What are you trying to *do* to me?!" ...jealous.
Oh, Kami-sama... think fast, Shun... "Suka-chan, what are you talking
about? I never said I was interested in them! I told you flat out
I'd never do anything like that with Mitsuru-sempai..."
"Oh, but *Shinobu*sempai is another story, isn't he?"
I'm getting really tired of these accusations. I wrest myself free
and glare at him. "Look, Suka-chan... I don't know if you'd noticed
that... girl... Sempai was stuck with - I was just doing him a favor
by getting rid of her. And I guarantee he'll be quite rid of her -
you'll recall that most everyone here thinks I'm a *boy*." In spite
of myself, I find myself smirking. "Of course, I've kinda ruined
his reputation for awhile..."
Suka-chan looks pained. "But, Shun-chan... I thought you were
*my* girl."
"Suka-chan... I'm not *anyone's* girl, okay?" I can feel the color
rising to my cheeks, even as I'm saying this. "I'm not going to
commit belonging to anybody, do you understand? I'm sorry if I
gave you the wrong idea or anything..."
His shoulders sag, and my heart goes out to him. I latch onto his
shoulders, and look him square in the eye. "Suka-chan, please
listen... if there ever was a guy I could fall for..." and I decide
to let my actions finish the sentance, as I lean over and give him
a peck on the cheek.
The transformation is nothing short of amazing. Suka-chan's face
melts from a jealous scowl to a grateful smile. His eyes look like
they could tear up from joy. And then, he takes my by surprise
into a tight bear hug.
My voice sounds a little muffled as I squeak out a protest. "Uh...
can we get back to the party now? I... need... some... air...!"
And quickly!