Author's Notes: Well, I'm glad all of you enjoyed the last chapter. I
sincerely apologize, but I just barely had the time to write this chapter.
School is so difficult to bear. I must have at least an hour of homework
every night. That, and I procrastinate. -_-;; I'm also in the middle of
applying for a (magnet) high school. I'm going to try to major in writing
(Hehe, maybe one of you can tell me if I've got what it takes) and visual
arts there, in which case I need TWO portfolios. Hey, assembling just one
portfolio isn't easy, let me tell you. Can't you sympathize?
As for some things a few reviewers mentioned...
Angelight -- Lol! Yes, yes, quite true--there ARE too many Sailor Moon fics about romantic plays, particularly 'Cinderella' and 'Snow White' and Shakespeare's 'Romeo and Juliet.' But I'm fairly sure my story isn't going to center around the play--there will be other obstacles for our dear Usagi and Hiiro to face. And what to think about Hiiro playing Romeo? Well, I'm not completely sure myself. I suppose that makes me a terrible author, but I do have some possibilities in mind for why Hiiro would even consider Drama Club and acting.
obsessed -- Yes, it is said that if one uses any Japanese names they must use ALL the respective Japanese names--it makes it easier on the reader. But since I am the author and it is of my preference, I made Molly (Naru) keep her dubbed name. Also, Peacecraft Academy is in Europe, right? It would be different if Peacecraft Academy was in Japan, or even America-- then the location would make what version of the names to use more clear. Furthermore, I couldn't recall Molly's Japanese name at the time of that chapter's creation. I'm sorry if I confused you, or made the chapter less enjoyable for you because of the names.
Serena Yuy -- I WOULD e-mail you, but I don't have my own e-mail address. :'( Also, my mom rarely lets me use hers. I'm terribly sorry. Perhaps if someday I DO get my own e-mail address, I can e-mail you.
Ice Blue Eyes (I'm sorry, but there's no way I can figure out how to make all those symbols. Pretty name, by the way. ^^)-- ...Wow. That long, huh? And you actually counted?? Well, I'm certainly glad you liked the last chapter. ^_^
EVERYONE ELSE WHO TOOK TIME OUT OF THEIR PROBABLY BUSY SCHEDULES TO WRITE ME A REVIEW -- THANK YOU VERY MUCH. ^^
*********
I close my locker door, my face burning with dread. There is only one person left to tell, or perhaps she already knows? I almost hope so--I don't want to make matters worse. When the fourth-period bell rings, I sigh relievedly. The next class I have we don't share. Good. But sooner or later Relena will find out about it and--
I jump a foot at the sudden hand on my shoulder. My heart hammers like a mallet in my chest, relentless, unmerciful. I wish I hadn't gotten that stupid part. I'd give anything to take it back now...
"Ah, Usa-chan, there you are!" a terrifyingly familiar voice exclaimes, then asks, "Shouldn't you be in class?"
I turn to take in the slightly reproachful curled lip and glimmering eyes of my sister. "No--I mean, yes, but I can explai--"
Relena cuts me off calmly. "It's alright." She smiles, winking. "I promise not to tell." She puts an arm around me. "How's my darling little sister doing? I hear you had try-outs for the school play." I can tell Relena feels my odd reaction to her words--I'm probably as rigid as ice.
What can I do? I ask myself. If I avoid the subject she'll know right away something's the matter. I'll just deal with the situation in the best manner possible...tell the truth. Our parents, although I never knew them, instilled the principle of honesty in my older brother. I know Relena is honest to a fault, and has more "principles" than the Pope. As their sister, I owe it to them to at least not be a coward.
"Yeah. Actually, I got the lead role. Juliet."
"Usagi nee-chan, that is so wonderful!" Relena hugs me fiercely. She is proud of me. Gee, why is the Lord so cruel? Is there any appealing way for any loving younger sister to tell her older sister that she and the older sister's crush (more like object of total and complete infatuation) are playing the leading roles in Romeo and Juliet together? The answer is simple: no.
"Ehh...yeah, about that. Thanks for your support." I flash her a smile I know doesn't reach my eyes. "But I have something to tell you..."
*********
"Wow....wow..." Aneta White sat gripping the weekly school newspaper, the Peacecraft Listings, in astonished paralysis. Yvette Rhoden was sitting opposite her at the kitchen table munching toast when she pried her eyes off of her studies and acknowledged her roommate.
"What is it?" she demanded, annoyed because of the early hour and her lack of sleep, yet her curiousity stirred by Aneta's reaction to a frivolous newspaper article, a Peacecraft Listing's article, no less!
"...Wow..." was all Aneta kept muttering. Yvette suspected for a moment that she hadn't heard her, but then Aneta said suddenly, "You know Usagi Tsukino Peacecraft?" At Yvette's nod she continued, reading the article aloud:
"Last Tuesday, Usagi Tsukino Peacecraft, sister to Vice Foreign Minister Relena Peacecraft, was cast as Juliet in the annual Peacecraft Academy play which is performed, produced, and directed by the students here at Peacecraft Academy. Hiiro Yui, a hard-working honor student who has been offered dozens of scholarships to various high-ranking colleges, was cast as Romeo. Minako Aino, the director for two years running, is as pumped as ever and promises this year's play will be the best yet. When questioned on her choices for the leading roles, Miss Aino replied, 'I have full confidence in both Usagi and Hiiro.'" Aneta folded the newspaper, setting it down silently on the table. "Well? Doesn't that come as a shock to you?"
"Yes," Carlie admitted slowly, then added, "I guess."
"You guess? You guess? Honestly, you are impossible!"
*********
"Impossible...how could Usa-chan do this to me?" Relena Peacecraft asked herself brokenly. It had come as a shock for her. Initially, she hadn't believed it, then she had believed it and felt hurt, and finally reverted back to not believing it. Now she felt a twinge of jealousy, down there in your gut where most of those unpleasant emotions settle rather, well, unsettlingly.
Usagi had gently relayed the information and details of the play and watched expectantly as Relena listened quietly, sadly. She hadn't said anything to take away Usagi's blatant guilt. She hadn't responded with false optimism that all would be okay. Usagi had not wanted to hurt her--in fact, Relena was accustomed to Usagi seeking her approval and love, even though she gave these things freely to her. But the raw ache, the sense of betrayal, was overwhelming.
She tried to swallow but could not. Her mouth and lips were parched. She had the incongruous thought that this is what it must be like to experience severe thirst.
She sat down heavily on one of the many benches scattering the school's vast grounds. After walking for the past half hour, her legs were requesting rest. She was vaguely aware of the birds chirping blissfully and the warm spring sunshine--they were all so distant to her. Usagi was so distant to her. It was almost as if she were outside herself, watching a lone young woman named Relena Peacecraft struggle with the situation and the resulting emotions.
But soon she discovered she was restless. She needed something to do. Somewhere to go. Someone to talk to. No one was around, except couples holding hands and students studying. She stood and let her feet lead her. The next thing she realized, she was in the girls' locker-rooms. From the adjacent gym and indoor swimming pool filtered cheers and grunts, squeaky footsteps and splashing noises. The smell of sweat and deodorant was in the air.
A girl was chattering away with another girl on a bench near the back of the locker-rooms. Relena couldn't help but eavesdrop. After all, they were within hearing range.
"...talking to her.....he was cheating on me....going to get revenge..." Relena could only catch a scarcity of sentences. She could verify which girl was talking: a short, angry-faced blonde. It was obvious she had been cheated on by her boyfriend. Relena had seen dozens of similiar cases. Funny...how you never appreciate things until you lose them, or you never fully understand what others are going through until you experience it yourself.
Minutes after the girls had packed up and left, Relena sat in the locker- rooms. Those girls had given her an idea. She was confused, lost, and, most of all, easily tempted. It can perhaps later be claimed that all these things were not her fault. It can be claimed that she was vulnerable at the time...but there can be no denying that what she was about to do was very, very wrong...
*********
At two o'clock, as I am smiling at a rerun of The Golden Girls, the front doorbell peals--Ami installed our own doorbell last year with Relena's permission.
My sigh is both relieved and vexed. Relena inevitably noticed my absence in classes and is here to check on me, but I have been meaning to speak with her ever since this afternoon in the hallway. I want to clear my conscience and swear nothing has happened or will happen between myself and Hiiro.
The faint nausea I experienced earlier is coming back as my fingertips brush the cool doorknob. Tingles run up and down my spine. I have a feeling...
The door swings open to reveal a slim man of medium height and mascular build. He has spiky chocolate hair that tops perpetually furrowed eyebrows and a thin, unsmiling face. I have to say Hiiro's eyes are the killer. Looking into them makes me feel as though I'm jumping head-first into waves of startling prussian-blue.
He can see the question in my eyes. His answer is as simple and ambiguous as they come: "We need to talk."
Wordlessly I invite him in. I don't even gesture for him to come in. I really don't know how you invite someone in wordlessly and without a gesture, but he knew we couldn't stand there all day, and I was at a loss for a good reaction. Later I will regret not writing him off for intruding and promptly slamming the door in his face.
After closing the door I turn around to find him staring at me. Hiiro is unusually...oh, what's the word? Friendly-looking? He doesn't have his quiet rigidness today. But I have to look at something--the radio, the wall, my goldfish, anything--other than Hiiro. When I look at him, Relena's face flashes in my mind.
Be careful where you tread, one part of me screams. He is nothing harmful, the other part reassures. Finally I compromise between both voices with a skeptical query: "You wanted to talk with me?"
"You were absent for the last two hours of school today." Is it my imagination, or is there a note of reproach in his voice? Even so, I don't detect any additional mannerism which suggests hostility. I dread explaining why I skipped all of my classes. Something in me dissuades me from lieing to Hiiro.
"I couldn't bear to go," I say. At least my honesty is somewhat satisfying to my conscience. I think I'm beginning to see a light at the end of the tunnel. Is it really my fault I was cast as Juliet? If so, isn't Hiiro equally in the wrong? I mean, he knows Relena's into him. But I have to wonder...why am I still sulking? It's because I know I can't expect Hiiro to return Relena's feelings. He might even have a girlfriend already.
I gulp down thick, tension-filled air. My lungs refuse to release my breath and I know my voice is caught.
Hiiro is silent for a long time, studying me, before inquiring unexpectedly, "Do you need help going over your lines for the play?"
Need help going over lines? What precisely is he getting at? But Hiiro answers yet another unspoken question easily enough. He pulls a pamphlet-- white, flimsy, very obviously the play--out of his schoolbag.
I want to tell him that I already know all the lines, that I studied them in my Sophmore year of high school and I don't need his help. Besides, I don't want to be around him! But I don't say anything, much to my dismay.
Vaguely I notice that Hiiro is looking at some unknown object. I glance sideways and see the dining room table, atop which sit three framed photographs. In one photo, two blonde teenagers--Relena and I--are smiling into the camera. The two of us look so happy. What is Hiiro thinking?
"I never got your answer," he says.
Perhaps I do need brushing up on my lines. My palms are moist. My bottom lip trembles as I debate whether or not let him stay. Relena will be so hurt if she ever...No, she won't find out. I vow to never again cause my sister pain.
"Have a seat. I'll...make some coffee."
I just hope I'm doing the right thing.
*********
Author's Notes: Err...uhh...I tried to make this chapter good. I switched from third person (Relena, Carly and Yvette) to first person (Usagi) because I wanted everyone to have a different insight to Usagi's thoughts and emotions. Heh.
By the way...TYPOS SHOULD DIE. If there are any here, please be aware that I know how to spell everything I use. Sometimes I have brain farts and actually do spell words wrong, but that only happens once in a blue moon! ^^;
As for some things a few reviewers mentioned...
Angelight -- Lol! Yes, yes, quite true--there ARE too many Sailor Moon fics about romantic plays, particularly 'Cinderella' and 'Snow White' and Shakespeare's 'Romeo and Juliet.' But I'm fairly sure my story isn't going to center around the play--there will be other obstacles for our dear Usagi and Hiiro to face. And what to think about Hiiro playing Romeo? Well, I'm not completely sure myself. I suppose that makes me a terrible author, but I do have some possibilities in mind for why Hiiro would even consider Drama Club and acting.
obsessed -- Yes, it is said that if one uses any Japanese names they must use ALL the respective Japanese names--it makes it easier on the reader. But since I am the author and it is of my preference, I made Molly (Naru) keep her dubbed name. Also, Peacecraft Academy is in Europe, right? It would be different if Peacecraft Academy was in Japan, or even America-- then the location would make what version of the names to use more clear. Furthermore, I couldn't recall Molly's Japanese name at the time of that chapter's creation. I'm sorry if I confused you, or made the chapter less enjoyable for you because of the names.
Serena Yuy -- I WOULD e-mail you, but I don't have my own e-mail address. :'( Also, my mom rarely lets me use hers. I'm terribly sorry. Perhaps if someday I DO get my own e-mail address, I can e-mail you.
Ice Blue Eyes (I'm sorry, but there's no way I can figure out how to make all those symbols. Pretty name, by the way. ^^)-- ...Wow. That long, huh? And you actually counted?? Well, I'm certainly glad you liked the last chapter. ^_^
EVERYONE ELSE WHO TOOK TIME OUT OF THEIR PROBABLY BUSY SCHEDULES TO WRITE ME A REVIEW -- THANK YOU VERY MUCH. ^^
*********
I close my locker door, my face burning with dread. There is only one person left to tell, or perhaps she already knows? I almost hope so--I don't want to make matters worse. When the fourth-period bell rings, I sigh relievedly. The next class I have we don't share. Good. But sooner or later Relena will find out about it and--
I jump a foot at the sudden hand on my shoulder. My heart hammers like a mallet in my chest, relentless, unmerciful. I wish I hadn't gotten that stupid part. I'd give anything to take it back now...
"Ah, Usa-chan, there you are!" a terrifyingly familiar voice exclaimes, then asks, "Shouldn't you be in class?"
I turn to take in the slightly reproachful curled lip and glimmering eyes of my sister. "No--I mean, yes, but I can explai--"
Relena cuts me off calmly. "It's alright." She smiles, winking. "I promise not to tell." She puts an arm around me. "How's my darling little sister doing? I hear you had try-outs for the school play." I can tell Relena feels my odd reaction to her words--I'm probably as rigid as ice.
What can I do? I ask myself. If I avoid the subject she'll know right away something's the matter. I'll just deal with the situation in the best manner possible...tell the truth. Our parents, although I never knew them, instilled the principle of honesty in my older brother. I know Relena is honest to a fault, and has more "principles" than the Pope. As their sister, I owe it to them to at least not be a coward.
"Yeah. Actually, I got the lead role. Juliet."
"Usagi nee-chan, that is so wonderful!" Relena hugs me fiercely. She is proud of me. Gee, why is the Lord so cruel? Is there any appealing way for any loving younger sister to tell her older sister that she and the older sister's crush (more like object of total and complete infatuation) are playing the leading roles in Romeo and Juliet together? The answer is simple: no.
"Ehh...yeah, about that. Thanks for your support." I flash her a smile I know doesn't reach my eyes. "But I have something to tell you..."
*********
"Wow....wow..." Aneta White sat gripping the weekly school newspaper, the Peacecraft Listings, in astonished paralysis. Yvette Rhoden was sitting opposite her at the kitchen table munching toast when she pried her eyes off of her studies and acknowledged her roommate.
"What is it?" she demanded, annoyed because of the early hour and her lack of sleep, yet her curiousity stirred by Aneta's reaction to a frivolous newspaper article, a Peacecraft Listing's article, no less!
"...Wow..." was all Aneta kept muttering. Yvette suspected for a moment that she hadn't heard her, but then Aneta said suddenly, "You know Usagi Tsukino Peacecraft?" At Yvette's nod she continued, reading the article aloud:
"Last Tuesday, Usagi Tsukino Peacecraft, sister to Vice Foreign Minister Relena Peacecraft, was cast as Juliet in the annual Peacecraft Academy play which is performed, produced, and directed by the students here at Peacecraft Academy. Hiiro Yui, a hard-working honor student who has been offered dozens of scholarships to various high-ranking colleges, was cast as Romeo. Minako Aino, the director for two years running, is as pumped as ever and promises this year's play will be the best yet. When questioned on her choices for the leading roles, Miss Aino replied, 'I have full confidence in both Usagi and Hiiro.'" Aneta folded the newspaper, setting it down silently on the table. "Well? Doesn't that come as a shock to you?"
"Yes," Carlie admitted slowly, then added, "I guess."
"You guess? You guess? Honestly, you are impossible!"
*********
"Impossible...how could Usa-chan do this to me?" Relena Peacecraft asked herself brokenly. It had come as a shock for her. Initially, she hadn't believed it, then she had believed it and felt hurt, and finally reverted back to not believing it. Now she felt a twinge of jealousy, down there in your gut where most of those unpleasant emotions settle rather, well, unsettlingly.
Usagi had gently relayed the information and details of the play and watched expectantly as Relena listened quietly, sadly. She hadn't said anything to take away Usagi's blatant guilt. She hadn't responded with false optimism that all would be okay. Usagi had not wanted to hurt her--in fact, Relena was accustomed to Usagi seeking her approval and love, even though she gave these things freely to her. But the raw ache, the sense of betrayal, was overwhelming.
She tried to swallow but could not. Her mouth and lips were parched. She had the incongruous thought that this is what it must be like to experience severe thirst.
She sat down heavily on one of the many benches scattering the school's vast grounds. After walking for the past half hour, her legs were requesting rest. She was vaguely aware of the birds chirping blissfully and the warm spring sunshine--they were all so distant to her. Usagi was so distant to her. It was almost as if she were outside herself, watching a lone young woman named Relena Peacecraft struggle with the situation and the resulting emotions.
But soon she discovered she was restless. She needed something to do. Somewhere to go. Someone to talk to. No one was around, except couples holding hands and students studying. She stood and let her feet lead her. The next thing she realized, she was in the girls' locker-rooms. From the adjacent gym and indoor swimming pool filtered cheers and grunts, squeaky footsteps and splashing noises. The smell of sweat and deodorant was in the air.
A girl was chattering away with another girl on a bench near the back of the locker-rooms. Relena couldn't help but eavesdrop. After all, they were within hearing range.
"...talking to her.....he was cheating on me....going to get revenge..." Relena could only catch a scarcity of sentences. She could verify which girl was talking: a short, angry-faced blonde. It was obvious she had been cheated on by her boyfriend. Relena had seen dozens of similiar cases. Funny...how you never appreciate things until you lose them, or you never fully understand what others are going through until you experience it yourself.
Minutes after the girls had packed up and left, Relena sat in the locker- rooms. Those girls had given her an idea. She was confused, lost, and, most of all, easily tempted. It can perhaps later be claimed that all these things were not her fault. It can be claimed that she was vulnerable at the time...but there can be no denying that what she was about to do was very, very wrong...
*********
At two o'clock, as I am smiling at a rerun of The Golden Girls, the front doorbell peals--Ami installed our own doorbell last year with Relena's permission.
My sigh is both relieved and vexed. Relena inevitably noticed my absence in classes and is here to check on me, but I have been meaning to speak with her ever since this afternoon in the hallway. I want to clear my conscience and swear nothing has happened or will happen between myself and Hiiro.
The faint nausea I experienced earlier is coming back as my fingertips brush the cool doorknob. Tingles run up and down my spine. I have a feeling...
The door swings open to reveal a slim man of medium height and mascular build. He has spiky chocolate hair that tops perpetually furrowed eyebrows and a thin, unsmiling face. I have to say Hiiro's eyes are the killer. Looking into them makes me feel as though I'm jumping head-first into waves of startling prussian-blue.
He can see the question in my eyes. His answer is as simple and ambiguous as they come: "We need to talk."
Wordlessly I invite him in. I don't even gesture for him to come in. I really don't know how you invite someone in wordlessly and without a gesture, but he knew we couldn't stand there all day, and I was at a loss for a good reaction. Later I will regret not writing him off for intruding and promptly slamming the door in his face.
After closing the door I turn around to find him staring at me. Hiiro is unusually...oh, what's the word? Friendly-looking? He doesn't have his quiet rigidness today. But I have to look at something--the radio, the wall, my goldfish, anything--other than Hiiro. When I look at him, Relena's face flashes in my mind.
Be careful where you tread, one part of me screams. He is nothing harmful, the other part reassures. Finally I compromise between both voices with a skeptical query: "You wanted to talk with me?"
"You were absent for the last two hours of school today." Is it my imagination, or is there a note of reproach in his voice? Even so, I don't detect any additional mannerism which suggests hostility. I dread explaining why I skipped all of my classes. Something in me dissuades me from lieing to Hiiro.
"I couldn't bear to go," I say. At least my honesty is somewhat satisfying to my conscience. I think I'm beginning to see a light at the end of the tunnel. Is it really my fault I was cast as Juliet? If so, isn't Hiiro equally in the wrong? I mean, he knows Relena's into him. But I have to wonder...why am I still sulking? It's because I know I can't expect Hiiro to return Relena's feelings. He might even have a girlfriend already.
I gulp down thick, tension-filled air. My lungs refuse to release my breath and I know my voice is caught.
Hiiro is silent for a long time, studying me, before inquiring unexpectedly, "Do you need help going over your lines for the play?"
Need help going over lines? What precisely is he getting at? But Hiiro answers yet another unspoken question easily enough. He pulls a pamphlet-- white, flimsy, very obviously the play--out of his schoolbag.
I want to tell him that I already know all the lines, that I studied them in my Sophmore year of high school and I don't need his help. Besides, I don't want to be around him! But I don't say anything, much to my dismay.
Vaguely I notice that Hiiro is looking at some unknown object. I glance sideways and see the dining room table, atop which sit three framed photographs. In one photo, two blonde teenagers--Relena and I--are smiling into the camera. The two of us look so happy. What is Hiiro thinking?
"I never got your answer," he says.
Perhaps I do need brushing up on my lines. My palms are moist. My bottom lip trembles as I debate whether or not let him stay. Relena will be so hurt if she ever...No, she won't find out. I vow to never again cause my sister pain.
"Have a seat. I'll...make some coffee."
I just hope I'm doing the right thing.
*********
Author's Notes: Err...uhh...I tried to make this chapter good. I switched from third person (Relena, Carly and Yvette) to first person (Usagi) because I wanted everyone to have a different insight to Usagi's thoughts and emotions. Heh.
By the way...TYPOS SHOULD DIE. If there are any here, please be aware that I know how to spell everything I use. Sometimes I have brain farts and actually do spell words wrong, but that only happens once in a blue moon! ^^;