Dream with me
Chapter 6:
The sun came up over the donut shop down the street, signaling to all that it was morning. The little rays of sunlight hit Bakura's window first. He rolled over trying to ignore them, but in a second his alarm clock went off and he couldn't find the snooze button. So, he pulled the plug and trudged out of bed trying not to wake Ryou, who was still asleep.
He knocked on Marik and Malik's door, "Marik?" he whispered, "You up yet?"
"..." Marik opened the door, "What? Man, it's early... what do you want?"
"We've got to go."
"Go? Where?"
"To work. Remember?"
"That's today?"
"Yes." He said, impatiently. "Get dressed. If we wait any longer we'll be late."
"But, we don't have to be there till 7:30."
"Randy said we have to be early. If we're late for being early, he'll yell at us. Now, let's go!"
Marik shut the door, "Not so loud! Malik's still asleep."
"Ugh."
Eventually they did get out the door and down to the station.
"Boys! You're late!" Randy yelled as Marik and Bakura exited the elevator.
"Randy, we're early." Bakura said.
"I mean you're late for rehearsal!"
"What rehearsal?" Marik and Bakura asked in unison.
"I told you yesterday. We're forgetting the screens and the cue cards; we're casting caution to the wind! You're both gonna wing it. That's why we need rehearsal!"
"But Randy," Marik started, "The whole point of 'winging it' is to not have rehearsal. How can ya throw caution to the wind, if you're just going to grab it again?"
"...Good point." Randy led them to the desk in front of the cameras, "Now, just be yourselves. No pressure, whatsoever. But if you screw this up, I'll kill ya!"
They both swallowed hard.
"Good luck." Randy backed up so he was behind Brain and the cameras.
Marik was sitting in Kara's old seat, he looked a little nervous. But since there were no lines he had to go by, he figured he'd do okay. The only thing they had was a list of news points they had to hit the first hour, other than that the show was all theirs. That idea made Bakura extremely excited. He knew there were no real consequences to screwing up the show, but he was convinced he and Marik would make Randy happy... as happy as Randy could be, anyway.
Brian was situated behind the camera, "And we're live in 3...2...1."
"Hi, and welcome to Fox News in the morning. I'm Bakura."
"And I'm Marik."
"We'll be doing the show a little differently today-"
"Yeah, without Bakura's butt."
Bakura glared at him them continued, "Anyways. Last Wednesday, the Japanese brought home the gold in the 2004 Olympics. In an interview they said they were proud to have 1st place back again."
"I never got what the big deal about the Olympics is anyway..."
"Neither do I. But from what I'm told, it's a major world event. Something about tradition."
"How come America didn't win?"
"Because they sucked big time. One if them fell off of the bar and the other slipped onto the judges table."
"Ooh, that does suck. You'd think that after all that training they would do better. Did the crowd boo?"
"I don't know. I would ,though... Hey, how about we go to the next Olympics and boo at everyone?"
"Yeah." Marik nodded excitedly.
"Okay, but on to bigger things..." He looked at the list, "The Pope died yesterday. At the age of 87... right in the middle of brunch."
"Brunch? What the hell is brunch?"
"Uh... it's a time for food between Breakfast and Lunch. Put them together and you've got Brunch."
"Well, how come it's not Lunfast?"
"Lunfast? That sounds retarded."
"So does Brunch."
"Anyway! They say he was so old and fragile he couldn't do anything. It was a blessing in disguise."
"I always wondered why blessings wore disguises... If I were a blessing, I'd run around naked."
"...you already do."
"Once, Bakura. Once."
Bakura looked down at the list again, "Here's an item of particular interest, yesterday Bigfoot and a monk from eastern India got married."
"WHAT?!"
"That's what is says."
"Lemme see that!" Marik looked at the list, "Bakura... that's a tabloid." He held up the magazine that was under the list of topics.
"So, that's where I put that thing." Bakura grabbed it and put it on the floor next to his feet.
Marik rolled his eyes.
Bakura looked back down, "Okay, well... In Iraq they rescued another American prisoner. They saved him from about ten Iraqi guys who were about to cut his throat. They said the last thing we need is another video of a beheading."
"Oh, I saw that last one."
"You did? I did too. I asked Ryou if he wanted to watch it with me, all he did was throw up."
"Do you think it was real?"
"I know a lot of people said it was fake. But it looked real to me."
"I couldn't tell. It was too fuzzy."
"The screaming certainly sounded real."
"Yeah, but you know... they can simulate anything these days."
"You kidding me? Those Iraqi guys are kind of like cave men... no technology."
"If they don't have technology, how could they have weapons of mass destruction?"
"They borrowed them from Russia."
"Oh please."
Bakura looked up at the time light that was now red. "Well, that's all the time we have for right now."
"Join us later tonight when we're back with all the news of the day."
"I'm Bakura."
"And I'm Marik."
"Signing out." they said in unison.
Brian raised his hand, "And... we're done! Good job you guys."
Marik and Bakura got up and walked over to Randy who was running towards them, "Spectacular! Absolutely genius! Bakura, you were bold! Marik, you were brave! I laughed, I cried, I danced the Funky Chicken!"
"Uh, thanks Randy..." Bakura turned to Marik, "Is dancing the Funky Chicken a good thing?"
"I suppose it could be."
"Oh, you two are going places, I tell ya! Going places!"
"We're going home for a while," Marik started for the door with Bakura next to him, "We'll be back before our next segment."
"Okay, then. See ya. Don't be late!"
Meanwhile, Malik was teaching Ryou how to cook. When Bakura and Ryou lived alone, Bakura was always the one doing the cooking. The only thing Ryou could do was make cereal.
"Okay, we're gonna start with something simple...yet really tasty. Apple pie!" Malik got out the pan and all the ingredients.
"You've made apple pie before, Malik?"
"I've made everything before. Cooking is one of my favorite pastimes."
"..."
"Okay." Malik turned around, "Now, you'll be doing exactly what I do. But don't feel bad if yours is a tad bit off."
"Malik, I don't think I can-"
"Nonsense! This'll be easy."
In about an hour Malik and Ryou's pies were done and out of the oven. They had already cooled for about five minutes. Malik's pie came out looking great and tasted even better. Ryou's pie was a little burnt in the center but otherwise it looked okay.
"Aren't ya gonna taste yours, Ryou?"
"No. You taste it for me..."
"Um, okay." Malik took a forkful of the pie and put it in his mouth. He chewed for a bit then got a weird look on his face, "..."
"Well? How is it?"
Malik spit it into the trashcan, "Yuck!"
"That bad?!"
"I don't get how something can be raw and burnt to a crisp at the same time! Ryou, what did you do?!"
"I...I don't know. I think-"
"Hey, guys." Bakura walked in through the kitchen door. "What are you doing in here?"
"Throwing up..." Malik said, still trying to get the taste out of his mouth.
Ryou sighed, "I guess I must have used too much of something."
"It tastes like you used too much of everything..."
Marik came in and sat down, "Hi, Malik. Told you I'd be back today... Uh, what are you doing?"
"I'm throwing out some poison." And he dumped Ryou's pie in the trash. He rubbed his hands together and joined the other three at the table. "Oh, yeah. How was your first day doing the anchor thing together?"
"It was great! Randy loved it. We do it again tonight at eight and that should be fun, too." Marik said.
Bakura sighed, "I never thought I'd be doing this in a million years. It's weird, ya know? One day you're watching T.V and the next day you're on it."
"Must be pretty exciting, huh?" Ryou said, dreamily. "All the cameras and lights..."
Malik shifted in his seat, "Some people say showbiz isn't all it's cracked up to be. I think it'd be a little weird to be reporting what's happening all over the world. Creepy, too... I don't really like that idea. Oh well, as long as you two like it."
"We're going to watch you two tonight."
"Don't tell them that! Then they'll be nervous."
"We don't get nervous." Bakura said, "We're trained professionals."
"That's right." Marik added, "Randy wouldn't have hired us if we weren't."
Malik raised an eyebrow, "I thought he hired you two because he was desperate, and he needed to fill the anchor positions."
"Well if ya say it like that, it sounds bad."
"Alright, well..." Bakura stood up, "I'm going to take a nap."
"Why? What tiring thing have you done today?" Marik asked.
"You don't have to be tired to take a nap. YAWN!" he walked out of the kitchen and into his and Ryou's bedroom.
Bakura woke up around 1:00. He and Marik decided to go back to work a little earlier, because there was nothing to do at the apartment... that left Malik and Ryou alone once again. Not that they minded as they had become fast friends. They had gone to Barnes and Noble almost an hour after Marik and Bakura left. Ryou had gone to buy latest Nancy Drew mystery. Malik didn't really intend to buy anything, but a few Romance novels caught his eye and he ended up buying three.
When they got back home, Malik went into the living room to read his books and Ryou went into the kitchen to once again try his hand at making apple pie.
It was quiet for about an hour or so when Malik came busting into the kitchen with a book in his hand, "Ryou! Ryou!"
"What?!" he was startled.
"I just got an idea."
"Congratulations."
"No, no. Listen, I was reading when all of a sudden, something hit me."
"Were you on the patio again? I told you, those kids can't see where they're throwing-"
"No! I mean, I'm going to be an author."
"What?"
"Yeah, a romance novelist."
"Why?"
"Some of this stuff these people write is ridiculous! Listen to this and tell me I can't do better in my sleep..." he read from the book, "As the first brilliant rays of the morning shone through the window, he took her to a place she'd yearned for, with an intensity and passion she'd never even imagine possible."
"I dunno, I didn't think that was half bad."
"That's because you haven't read the stuff I'm capable of. And best part, I won't even need to find inspiration... my life is a romance novel!"
"..."
"I shall become a great writer! Like all the other great Egyptian writers of our time."
"Malik, if you can name just one Egyptian writer of any time, I will eat that book."
"... Uh...well, there's...um, all of them are so famous they need not be mentioned."
"Ugh." Ryou groaned, "Well, if it's what you want to do... go for it."
"This'll be so awesome! Hey Ryou, since I'll probably be writing lots of stories... you should feel free to help with the creative process."
"How do I do that?"
"If there are any sexual escapades you'd like to share... I'm all ears."
"What?!"
"Come on, I won't tell."
"Ugh..."
