Chapter 7
The Perfect Princess
Mimi arrived one fateful Monday morning in school with the biggest frown on her face. Not a single student in the room stirred as she walked to her seat. Tension can be felt up to the back of the classroom. Every eye, excluding Gee's, was upon her. Jira was the first to break the dreadful silence, with her usual insult file of course.
"What the hell happened?" Gee asked, "It looks like the whole classroom was confronted by a herd of Dementors!"
"What's a Dementor?" Leonel asked eagerly.
"Never mind."
"Didn't you hear? It's all in the news," Jira told her in a disgusted tone, "Prince Sebastiano Grinald of Maraqui is marrying the wife of the late Duke of England, Duchess Antoinette Renaldi."
"I-if that's true, then that makes Mimi a-," Gee gasped.
"Princess, yes," Jing finished for her, "Technically, since she's the only child, though illegitimate, of Antoinette Renldi who didn't die in the plane crash years back and King Grinald is sterile from cancer; it makes her the next heir to the throne."
"Oh my God," Gee exclaimed, "That's good isn't it?"
"She's just a lucky duck," Jira said when the teacher entered the room and started to teach, "Whoever heard of the school nerd becoming a princess?"
"She's right," Mimi mumbled, "I'm too awkward and childish to be a princess. If I can't take care of a hamster for a few days what makes you think I can take care of a whole country?"
"My Auntie can teach you," Jing reassured her, "I've been brought up by her and her training is fit for a princess. You can come over by my house later."
"You think she can make a two-week deadline?" Mimi asked, "The Grand Maraqui Ball is going to be held here in accordance with my entrée to the Maraquians."
"Believe me, there's nothing she can't do."
"I can't come," Gee said, "Leonel and I've got to do something for Professor March."
"Miss Fukusama, Miss Yoshida and our very own princess," Professor Banks said, "If you can't keep your mouth shut, then you better leave."
At this, Gee stopped talking abruptly while the three of them lapsed into silent giggles.
The day was gone as quickly as it had come. They were soon speeding in Kiko's car to Jing's place. Gee and Leonel were absent of course, seeing as it would be a while to fix Professor March's TV antenna.
"Let me tell you something, Mimi," RJ said as the car stopped in front of Jing's house, "Once you get to the top, don't you dare forget us!"
"I won't," Mimi replied, "If I could ever get there, I mean."
"Just try to remember what my Filipino mom would say," RJ told her as the butler opened the door, "Ang hindi marunong lumingon sa pinanggalingan ay may stiff neck."
"What does that mean?" Mimi asked.
RJ explained it all to her as they went into the mansion. Jing's Auntie greeted them from the great hall, although she looked at Mimi quite disapprovingly.
"So, you're the young lady who needs a bit of my magic?" Jing's auntie said, "Anyway, sit down, I need to ask you a few questions."
Mimi sat down beside Kiko as RJ and Jing went off to explore.
"Do you like literature, Mimi?" Auntie's voice suddenly became gentler.
"Duh, she even goes into a daze when she's reading Shakespeare and doesn't take notice of any of us," Kiko sighed.
"Right," Auntie began, "I always tell Jing to remember these rhymes when she faces an audience. It's a small secret to acting like a little princess."
She began reciting:
"All good girls are made of everything nice,
But if you add sugar, don't forget to add spice. It's your face and your smile,
That will make you last awhile. You don't need a counter-spell,
A brave heart will work as well."
Mimi blinked, she wasn't sure she got everything right on her head. Luckily, Kiko had taken down everything on a notebook.
"You don't need to copy it down, all the stuff you need is in yourself..."
For the next two weeks, Mimi trained under Auntie's nose. She was every bit of brilliant as Jing described her. As the ball drew nearer still, Mimi was stressed out. The anxiety coupled with the Invader attacks from all over Japan, the Midterm Exams coming on December and the pesky press was enough to keep her rugged.
The night of the ball finally came, which had Mimi pacing around in her bedroom in a lavender tube dress that her dad had sent the night before. Her hair was done and the only thing that was left was for her to go to the ball. She had met up with her mother to pick up her dress earlier. She and the King had arrived the night before. The King was very gracious and friendly to her and she liked his deep sense of humor. But he would never replace her daddy who can't come because of urgent business.
"What was I thinking?" she said to Kiko who had arrived five minutes ago to wish her luck, "I can't go out there and face the lot of them!"
"Mimi, listen to me," Kiko said, giving her a little shake, "It's too late to turn back now. You're a princess, and you're the most perfect and beautiful princess I have ever seen in my whole life. Well, you're the only princess I have seen in my whole life. But you are beautiful. Do me a favor and show them who you really are."
Mimi smiled and gave him a hug.
"Just do me a favor too and be my escort for tonight," Mimi requested hopefully and Kiko smiled in reply.
They entered the hotel late and everyone cleared their way to make way for the princess and her escort. Mimi entered the ballroom with the grace and smile of a real princess. That night, she wasn't the Mimi who was always moody and always bit her fingernails; she was the Mimi who was a perfect princess.
"Presenting the arrival of Princess Miharu Relina Yagami," the announcer said over the noise.
"Your name is Miharu?" Kiko said in surprise.
"Mimi is my nickname," she smiled at the new queen and king who were taking their seats across the room, "Good thing I don't have to make a speech."
As soon as the atmosphere cooled down, everyone got to dance. Kiko and Mimi danced their way into the veranda overlooking the hotel garden.
"Satisfied, princess?" he asked.
"Well, there was a part where Anne Hathaway got to kiss the guy who played Michael Moscovitz in the Princess Diaries, but I guess that won't happen to me," she said jokingly, "I don't have a prince or Michael Moscovitz here anyway."
Kiko smiled, a thing in him was urging him, but he wasn't sure if he should. Mimi waited, looking at the garden below them and pretending to be interested.
"Oh, yeah?" Kiko said, getting Mimi to face him.
Kiko stepped towards her and took a deep breath. Mimi had the sudden urge to run for it but she stood rooted on the spot. Kiko's face was just centimeters from her own and she knew it was coming...
BEEP!!! Rang her watch. The atmosphere was broken immediately. Miss Kitakami was on it, demanding them to come there straight away. Kiko stared at Miss Kitakami bitterly.
"You have to come, straight away!" Miss Kitakami exclaimed, "Invaders are attacking Ichikawa and they're ripping it to pieces! Well, except for Mimi of course."
Kiko sighed and smiled at Mimi. He went off to get the others. But he stopped and kissed Mimi's cheek, and then he went off again, leaving Mimi in a shocked silence.
"See you later, princess!" he called as he disappeared into the crowd.
The Perfect Princess
Mimi arrived one fateful Monday morning in school with the biggest frown on her face. Not a single student in the room stirred as she walked to her seat. Tension can be felt up to the back of the classroom. Every eye, excluding Gee's, was upon her. Jira was the first to break the dreadful silence, with her usual insult file of course.
"What the hell happened?" Gee asked, "It looks like the whole classroom was confronted by a herd of Dementors!"
"What's a Dementor?" Leonel asked eagerly.
"Never mind."
"Didn't you hear? It's all in the news," Jira told her in a disgusted tone, "Prince Sebastiano Grinald of Maraqui is marrying the wife of the late Duke of England, Duchess Antoinette Renaldi."
"I-if that's true, then that makes Mimi a-," Gee gasped.
"Princess, yes," Jing finished for her, "Technically, since she's the only child, though illegitimate, of Antoinette Renldi who didn't die in the plane crash years back and King Grinald is sterile from cancer; it makes her the next heir to the throne."
"Oh my God," Gee exclaimed, "That's good isn't it?"
"She's just a lucky duck," Jira said when the teacher entered the room and started to teach, "Whoever heard of the school nerd becoming a princess?"
"She's right," Mimi mumbled, "I'm too awkward and childish to be a princess. If I can't take care of a hamster for a few days what makes you think I can take care of a whole country?"
"My Auntie can teach you," Jing reassured her, "I've been brought up by her and her training is fit for a princess. You can come over by my house later."
"You think she can make a two-week deadline?" Mimi asked, "The Grand Maraqui Ball is going to be held here in accordance with my entrée to the Maraquians."
"Believe me, there's nothing she can't do."
"I can't come," Gee said, "Leonel and I've got to do something for Professor March."
"Miss Fukusama, Miss Yoshida and our very own princess," Professor Banks said, "If you can't keep your mouth shut, then you better leave."
At this, Gee stopped talking abruptly while the three of them lapsed into silent giggles.
The day was gone as quickly as it had come. They were soon speeding in Kiko's car to Jing's place. Gee and Leonel were absent of course, seeing as it would be a while to fix Professor March's TV antenna.
"Let me tell you something, Mimi," RJ said as the car stopped in front of Jing's house, "Once you get to the top, don't you dare forget us!"
"I won't," Mimi replied, "If I could ever get there, I mean."
"Just try to remember what my Filipino mom would say," RJ told her as the butler opened the door, "Ang hindi marunong lumingon sa pinanggalingan ay may stiff neck."
"What does that mean?" Mimi asked.
RJ explained it all to her as they went into the mansion. Jing's Auntie greeted them from the great hall, although she looked at Mimi quite disapprovingly.
"So, you're the young lady who needs a bit of my magic?" Jing's auntie said, "Anyway, sit down, I need to ask you a few questions."
Mimi sat down beside Kiko as RJ and Jing went off to explore.
"Do you like literature, Mimi?" Auntie's voice suddenly became gentler.
"Duh, she even goes into a daze when she's reading Shakespeare and doesn't take notice of any of us," Kiko sighed.
"Right," Auntie began, "I always tell Jing to remember these rhymes when she faces an audience. It's a small secret to acting like a little princess."
She began reciting:
"All good girls are made of everything nice,
But if you add sugar, don't forget to add spice. It's your face and your smile,
That will make you last awhile. You don't need a counter-spell,
A brave heart will work as well."
Mimi blinked, she wasn't sure she got everything right on her head. Luckily, Kiko had taken down everything on a notebook.
"You don't need to copy it down, all the stuff you need is in yourself..."
For the next two weeks, Mimi trained under Auntie's nose. She was every bit of brilliant as Jing described her. As the ball drew nearer still, Mimi was stressed out. The anxiety coupled with the Invader attacks from all over Japan, the Midterm Exams coming on December and the pesky press was enough to keep her rugged.
The night of the ball finally came, which had Mimi pacing around in her bedroom in a lavender tube dress that her dad had sent the night before. Her hair was done and the only thing that was left was for her to go to the ball. She had met up with her mother to pick up her dress earlier. She and the King had arrived the night before. The King was very gracious and friendly to her and she liked his deep sense of humor. But he would never replace her daddy who can't come because of urgent business.
"What was I thinking?" she said to Kiko who had arrived five minutes ago to wish her luck, "I can't go out there and face the lot of them!"
"Mimi, listen to me," Kiko said, giving her a little shake, "It's too late to turn back now. You're a princess, and you're the most perfect and beautiful princess I have ever seen in my whole life. Well, you're the only princess I have seen in my whole life. But you are beautiful. Do me a favor and show them who you really are."
Mimi smiled and gave him a hug.
"Just do me a favor too and be my escort for tonight," Mimi requested hopefully and Kiko smiled in reply.
They entered the hotel late and everyone cleared their way to make way for the princess and her escort. Mimi entered the ballroom with the grace and smile of a real princess. That night, she wasn't the Mimi who was always moody and always bit her fingernails; she was the Mimi who was a perfect princess.
"Presenting the arrival of Princess Miharu Relina Yagami," the announcer said over the noise.
"Your name is Miharu?" Kiko said in surprise.
"Mimi is my nickname," she smiled at the new queen and king who were taking their seats across the room, "Good thing I don't have to make a speech."
As soon as the atmosphere cooled down, everyone got to dance. Kiko and Mimi danced their way into the veranda overlooking the hotel garden.
"Satisfied, princess?" he asked.
"Well, there was a part where Anne Hathaway got to kiss the guy who played Michael Moscovitz in the Princess Diaries, but I guess that won't happen to me," she said jokingly, "I don't have a prince or Michael Moscovitz here anyway."
Kiko smiled, a thing in him was urging him, but he wasn't sure if he should. Mimi waited, looking at the garden below them and pretending to be interested.
"Oh, yeah?" Kiko said, getting Mimi to face him.
Kiko stepped towards her and took a deep breath. Mimi had the sudden urge to run for it but she stood rooted on the spot. Kiko's face was just centimeters from her own and she knew it was coming...
BEEP!!! Rang her watch. The atmosphere was broken immediately. Miss Kitakami was on it, demanding them to come there straight away. Kiko stared at Miss Kitakami bitterly.
"You have to come, straight away!" Miss Kitakami exclaimed, "Invaders are attacking Ichikawa and they're ripping it to pieces! Well, except for Mimi of course."
Kiko sighed and smiled at Mimi. He went off to get the others. But he stopped and kissed Mimi's cheek, and then he went off again, leaving Mimi in a shocked silence.
"See you later, princess!" he called as he disappeared into the crowd.