Hi everyone! I'm sorry it took so long to get this chapter up! It's just that the disc I had it on committed suicide and I lost all the storied I had on it, including this one. So I had to rewrite it. Sometimes I really hate technology… Anyway, I hope you like it and please review!
I'm sorry if it seems rushed, I promise that the next chapter will be better!
Anticipation grew inside of her as the day came for Momiji's audition. Soon she would be up on that stage, in front of the casting crew, doing what she does best: Acting. This is her first big chance at stardom and she won't let anything get in her way of that, not even the Arigami. Not many people get this chance to finally live their dream. So really, she's going to live her dream, and maybe even have a happy ending, like in a fairytale.
She closed her eyes and pictured her name in bright fluorescent lights: MOMIJI FUJIMYA NOW APPEARING IN JAPAN"S #1 BOXOFFICE HIT, "THE KUSHINADA LEGEND." She giggled to herself in delight. She knew she was being overconfident, but she couldn't help it. She couldn't help that it was the only thing she has ever wanted ever since she saw her first movie. And anyway, in your dreams, it's okay to be conceited.
As she finished putting makeup on, a thought settled into her mind like an evil, annoying mosquito. If she didn't get the part, would she be a different person? Would she be sad for the rest of her life and never again feel real happiness? What if it takes away my joy? Will I be able to be the same Momiji who wears kiddy underwear and is as clumsy as a blonde? I don't know… I wish I did… …but what if I do get the part? Would I change for the good or for the bad? Would I think I'm better than everyone else and shrug them away like yesterday's trash? Could I be that mean to my loved ones? Is that what fame, fortune, and image do to a person? Make them conceited, selfish, mean, and snobby? I hope not… Why are there so many questions without any answers? Dammit, Momiji, why do you have to think too much?!
She groaned in frustration and rested her head on the vanity's wooden table-top. She didn't know what to think. She felt as if she was standing in front of a fork in the road, being forced to choose which road to take. Both roads led to two different lives. One is glamorous, the other is plain and ordinary, pretty much like the same life she's living now. But even though there are perks--wealth, fame, good-looking guys, millions of fans, large mansions, sleek cars, lot's of awards--in choosing the one road, there were still some drawbacks. The same goes for the other road. So either way, she looses and wins at the same time. The question isn't which road she should pick, it's which life does she want to live?
I guess I won't know if I don't try…
"Momiji!" Kunikida shouted from the bottom of the stairs. "It's time for you to go! If you don't go now, you'll be late!"
She opened her eyes and looked at her reflection. I want this part, but I don't want to loose me…
She stood up from her stool and hurried down the stairs, with her ponytail bobbing up and down behind her. She grabbed her coat from the closet. "Kunikida, are you taking me?" she asked, as she put it on.
He shook his head, while pointing at Kome, who stood in the doorway. "I can't today, Momiji. I have work to do, but Kome said that she would take you there and wait until you're done."
"Yeah, Momiji," Kome said, waving to her. "I'll get you there in twenty seconds in my new jeep."
Momiji cringed with an uneasy expression on her face. "Uhh… That's all right, Kome, I'm not going to be that late," she said. "We can drive the speed limit."
"Whatever you say, Momiji," she said, shrugging. "I guess I can go the speed limit.. maybe a little bit over it, too."
Kunikida lifted up his thumb like a movie critic hailing a good movie. "Good luck, Momiji. I hope you get the part you're aiming for."
She nodded and smiled. "Thanks. Me, too," she said, and followed Kome out the door. "That is if I make it there alive."
--
Once they got to the theater, they went into the auditorium, where rows of people sat. Momiji felt overwhelmed over how many people that wanted to audition for a role in the play. "Maybe this wasn't a good idea," she muttered to Kome. "Look at all these people."
Kome shook her head and patted her back. "Don't be such a coward, Momiji," she said, and laughed. "You're starting to sound like that wimp Yaegashi!"
They sat down and waited for her turn to face her destiny. She drowned out everyone around her. She only focused one how she was going to go up on that stage and do her best. That's all she can do, really. She can be as confident as a superhero, and still fail. Just believe. Believe in yourself, Momiji. She repeated that over and over to herself. Tell yourself that you can do it and you'll accomplish it.
"Momiji," Kome whispered, squeezing her stiffened arm. "You have to loosen up. You're too tense."
She turned to her and smiled awkwardly. "I'm relaxed," she assured. "I swear I am. Honest."
"Yeah right, and I'm the Prime Minister of Japan," she said, and laughed. Only, when she laughed, it was so loud that it caused everyone in the auditorium to stare at her as if she had just committed a crime. Her and Momiji got embarrassed and slouched down in their chairs. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to be so loud."
Momiji giggled. "Kome! You're so loud!" she said quietly.
"I know, I've never been able to keep silent," she said, opening and closing her hands like a bird's beak. "My mouth keeps on going and going. I'm just as much as a chatterbox as you are."
She was about to agree with her, when a thought popped in her head. "Hey, Kome, how about you audition for a part as well?" she asked. "It would make this a lot easier on me. And maybe they have a part for you where you would have a gun."
Kome gave her a crazy look. She couldn't believe that she asked her to try out for a part in the play. Plays aren't exactly something she thought she would ever take part in. It was the farthest thing from her mind at the moment. But it would be for Momiji, and it would help her feel more comfortable. And plus, she liked the idea of holding a gun in front of all those people, showing off her newest gun.
"So, what do you say?" Momiji asked.
Kome shrugged and turned to her. "Uhh…all right," she said. "I guess I'll do it."
"Thank you so much!" she exclaimed, and hugged her. "I'm so glad."
As they settled in their seats, a male voice called out, "Next is Momiji Fujimya!"
She turned to Kome. "That's…me…"
"I know, silly," she said, and nudged her shoulder. "Go up there, then."
Momiji stood up and got up on the stage. She stared out in to the audience of about twenty. She could see Kome, sticking up her thumbs as a sign of good luck. Too bad she didn't feel like she had any luck.
"Miss Fujimya, I am the director, Sugishita Shunishi.," a man said, and stood up. "What character have you come to read for?"
She cleared her throat and said, "The Kushinada, sir."
He smiled and sat down. "All right," he said, and pointed to the wooden stool that was at her feet. "The script is on the stool. Please read the first line from page five, act 1, scene 2."
She picked up the script and turned to the fifth page. Tingles ran up and down her body as she stared at all the Japanese symbols on the page. They were all jumbled together, making no sense to her whatsoever. It was like looking a word scrambler that was in a different language.
"You may begin whenever you feel ready," Sugishita said.
She nodded and looked back at the script. She was so nervous. Her body felt stressed and anxious just to get it over with. But if she hurried herself, she wouldn't be able to do her best. She looked out in to the audience, feeling their eyes and the lights overhead beating down on her like bullets from a gun.
She couldn't do this. She didn't feel right. Something was wrong. Everything around her spun in circles like a tornado. She suddenly felt wobbly, as is she was a buoy in the middle of the ocean, bobbing up and down. Is this…stage fright? she asked herself. It can't be. I was born to be in the lights…not behind them, getting sick.
"Are you all right, Miss Fujimya?" Sugishita asked, standing up. "You look as if you are going to throw up."
Just as she was about to answer, the multi-colored lights started to flash and loud music started to blast from the speakers. It was as if a concert was about to begin; a concert she would be too sick to go to.
"What's going on?" Sugishita asked.
"It's me!" a squeaky voice shouted.
Momiji looked to her left to see a girl standing with the biggest, brightest smile on her face. For some reason unknown to her, she looked oddly familiar. She knew she saw her before, she just didn't know where.
"Oh my god!" Sugishita shouted like a fan boy, and hurried to the stage to shake the mysterious girl's hand. "I'm Sugishita Shunishi, the director of this play we're casting for. I'm so honored to have you here."
"I'm here to audition for a part," she said, and tossed her hair. "I'm sorry for being so late."
He waved his hand in front of her face. "It's not a problem. Really," he said, smiling, "do you really think I would deny you a part, Sakura Yamazaki."
Momiji's mouth dropped. Sakura…Yamazaki! The fastest rising star in America! That's why she looked so familiar to me! Wow, I'm going to be in a play with a real celebrity! Wait until Kunikida and the others hear about this!
"Miss Yamazaki," Sugishita said, still in awe. "What role would you like to read for?
She smiled and took the script from Momiji's shaky hands. "The lead role of course!"
"I'm glad," he said. "Please start when you feel comfortable."
Momiji stood there in utter shock. She couldn't believe that she has to compete against a celebrity. Just when she thought everything was on her side, life turned on her like a bad friend. She couldn't take it anymore. She felt as if she was going to fall over. But she didn't want anyone to see her throw up. So she apologized and ran off the stage and out of the theater. She didn't care if people were calling out her name, telling her to come back. She kept running with her arms pumping at her sides.
Her eyes were locked on the sidewalk below her, so she could hide the tears filling them. She wasn't paying attention to where she was going, she really didn't care, though, just as long as she was out of the theater, she was fine.
She didn't get very far, because all of the sudden, she ran into someone. She fell backwards, hitting the ground hard.
"I'm sorry," a male voice said smoothly. "I didn't mean to make you fall."
She looked up to see a handsome guy holding out his hand to help her up. But that was all she saw before she passed out into the darkness.
--
To Be Continued…
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