AN: I feel like this story is really hurrying along. I was able to think out most of these plot points about a week ago, so it's just been a matter of putting pen to paper (er, finger to keyboard?) and sharing. I'd still love more feedback, whether you like the story or not. I simply want to know if people are actually reading it, or am I the only one getting any value out of it? :P Every review is appreciated! Also, if anyone has any Photoshop skill (I don't) I'd like to design a cover for this story. I have something very simple in mind, so if you're interested in helping me out, send me a message :0
Monday afternoon had arrived, marking the official beginning of the election campaign for Yuu, Chie and Yosuke. During their lunch hour at Yasogami High School, they set up a long table in the first floor hallway. The trio sat behind the table, with three empty chairs on the opposite side. Their intent was to host an informal meet and greet session with any students interested in talking to the candidates and discussing their platform, but few students had shown interest so far.
Yuu sat in the middle, with Yosuke to his right and Chie to his left. Yosuke sat with a carefree posture, but Chie was slumped down in her seat with her head placed on the desk. She kept her arms folded over her head, covering her face from view fully, and didn't utter a word. Yuu thought it unlike her to appear so dejected
In front of the table, Rise wooed passing students. As expected, nearly every male student that caught a glimpse of her found themselves under her spell.
"Yuu, Chie and Yosuke! They're the best choice! Vote for them!" she insisted with a smile.
"Can we count on your vote?" she asked seductively to others.
To Yosuke, it seemed that Yuu's plan to utilize Rise as their 'spokesperson' was stealing all the attention from the actual campaign and the candidates. From his seat, Yosuke watched as Rise charmed passersby into talking to her.
"Man, people are paying more attention to her than to us," Yosuke noted. "I wonder if anybody will even remember who she's asking them to vote for, or if the only thing they are going to remember is that Rise talked to them today. I mean, look at the expression most of these guys have on their faces. She could probably ask them to jump of a bridge and they'd smile and nod."
"That reminds me," Yuu interjected, "did you guys pick up the supplies from Junes to make posters? If we actually had some posters with our names on them, we might make a lasting impression on the voters."
Yosuke cringed noticeably. He leaned forward in his seat and bit his fingernails before turning to Yuu and speaking.
"Well, sort of. We went to Junes but things took an unexpected turn," he said, with his words trailing off.
Yuu stared at Yosuke quizzically. He then turned his attention to Chie, who was still leaning over with her head covered.
"I suppose this has something to do with that?" Yuu asked, referring Chie's sullen posture.
"You mean you seriously don't know?" Yosuke asked, his eyes wide with disbelief.
"I'm not sure what you're talking about," Yuu responded, looking into Yosuke's eyes for the answer to a question he was apparently supposed to know.
"You don't watch the news or read the paper, do ya buddy?" Yosuke replied with a tired sigh. He leaned back his chair, causing it to stand only on the back two legs. He delicately balanced the teetering chair and ran both hands through his hair.
"Okay, so we went into Junes to get the supplies. We picked out a bunch of stuff and were on our way to the checkout, but we saw that student council rep from the other day. We found his behaviour really suspicious so we decided to follow him. And long story short, Chie got caught in the meat freezer by Junes security. They even called the cops on her." Yosuke recalled with a gulp.
Yuu looked at Chie again. She appeared to have sunken deeper into her seat and closed her arms around her head even tighter.
"So the security guys took Chie into the backroom until the cops got there. I guess it's against the law to climb into meat freezers or something. If it wasn't for my dad being a big part of the company, she might have gotten in some real trouble. At first, some of the Junes managers wanted the police to file a mischief charge against her but I was able to convince them not to, being the son of the manager and whatnot. They ended up simply banning her from the store for a year."
"Wait a minute," Yuu interrupted, "what does this have to do with watching the news?"
"Oh, the story gets better here my friend," Yosuke continued. "Somehow word got out that a girl was arrested in Junes for staging a protest against the store. I don't know how word spread so fast, but in no time flat there was a crowd of people in front of the store supporting Chie with their own protest. My dad says it was mostly people from the shopping district who are struggling since Junes opened up. They apparently started a group called 'The Friends of Inaba Shopping District' a while back to mobilize support of small businesses in Inaba. I guess they figured this was as good an opportunity as ever to strike back at Junes."
"The Friends of Inaba Shopping District? Yeah, I think I've heard them mentioned before in the news. Hold on, did this end up on the news?!" Yuu asked, with his jaw ajar in amazement.
"You bet!" Yosuke confirmed. "Those 'Friends of Inaba' protesters called the local media and let them know they were staging a protest, so the local TV networks were down there the whole time."
Yuu leaned forward, looked straight ahead and clasped his hands. "So, the point of this story is that you forgot the supplies in your cart, right?" he questioned.
"Yeah, pretty much," Yosuke answered with an apologetic sigh. "My dad made me stay at Junes to work the back-shift as punishment. I didn't get home until after 2am. I guess I forgot to go find the cart and buy the stuff afterwards. But the weekend wasn't a total loss! I did call Naoto like you asked me to, and she said she'd keep an eye out for suspicious activity!"
Yuu looked back at Chie. She remained curled over in her chair, her face still invisible.
"Chie was even on TV," Yosuke explained. "When the cops finally decided not to charge her, the Junes security guards escorted her off the property. As it turns out, the news crews were waiting. By now everyone in town probably knows about her 'protest.' And you know how people in small towns can be; gossip is a way of life. All kinds of rumors are swirling around about her. As you can see, she's kind embarrassed about being famous all of the sudden…or is notorious the correct word?"
From the other end of the hall, Teddie approached the seated trio, sporting a characteristic grin. He bypassed Yuu and Yosuke and planted himself in front of Chie.
"Chie-chan!" he said giddily, causing Chie to lift her head for the first time since taking her seat. "I heard that you scored in a meat freezer with Yosuke! Can you score with me too?!" His smile expanded as the words left his mouth.
Chie felt a chill run down her spine and a burning sensation shoot though her entire body. Her skin turned a shade paler and her face froze in a gasp. Yosuke meanwhile fell backwards in his seesawing chair, landing on the floor with a loud thud.
"That's what I heard from one of the upperclassmen anyway!" Teddie added enthusiastically.
Yuu waited for Chie to react but she remained frozen in position, unblinking. He placed a hand on her shoulder and nudged her gently, but she remained unresponsive.
Growing worried, Yuu stood up and walked to her side where he could look at her face to face. He took a knee beside her, placed his hand again on her shoulder and called her name. Her gaze remained fixed in position and she didn't move. Yuu's expression morphed into a grimace as his worry grew. He placed his palm on her forehead softly and brushed her hair away from her eyes, saying her name a little louder.
Chie's eyes shifted almost imperceptibly toward to sound of Yuu's voice. Her stone faced expression began to loosen, and she took a deep breath. The shock in her face seemed to give way to total embarrassment, and she turned cherry red. She pressed her face against the table again.
"This is the worst day of my life," Chie whimpered between sobs.
Yosuke had by that time gathered himself off the floor. "Well just wait till you get your report card tomorrow Chie, that could be much worse," he snickered.
Upon that remark, Chie propelled herself out of her slouching posture and onto her feet. As she stood she knocked her chair backward and it crashed to the floor violently. She clasped the side of the table with both hands tightly, as if to tear it apart. She looked at Yosuke with derision in her eyes which none of her friends had witnessed before.
"Shut the hell up Yosuke! I hate you so much right now!" she growled and stormed off down the hallway while rubbing her eyes.
Yosuke cowered slightly at the sudden outburst. When Yuu looked at him he responded with a shrug and an uneasy smile.
"You better go after her and apologize, if you ever want her to speak to you again that is," Yuu advised.
Yosuke was reluctant to do so initially, but all of the students in the hallway had stopped in their tracks and were directing their attention at the scene that had just unfolded. He decided that he'd look like the biggest jerk in the universe if he didn't get up and at least make an attempt to patch things up. He walked down the hall slowly in the direction Chie had gone, fearful that he was going willfully to the gallows.
"Does that mean Chie-chan and I can't score today?" Teddie asked.
With the remaining seats empty, Rise marched over to the table and placed herself in the seat opposite of Yuu, who had gone back to his spot in the middle.
"What the heck is Yosuke's problem" Rise blasted. "Why'd he have to say something so stupid? It's always such a big joke with him! Couldn't he see how upset and hurt she was? I hope she's okay. As an Idol, I know how stressful and hurtful rumors can be. Even after dealing with that kind of thing for years, it can still make me sick to my stomach. Chie must be feeling horribly stressed right now since she's never had to deal with this before."
Yuu nodded in agreement. Yosuke tended to act before he thought, especially around Chie. They squabbled often, but there usually seemed to be a friendly back and forth in their bickering. There was no doubt that Yosuke had truly upset her that day however.
Without warning, a crowd of students proceeded down the hallway together, looking like an unruly mob. Many of them pumped the air with their fists as they marched toward the table. Yu and Rise exchanged nervous glances, unsure of how to interpret the approaching mass. One student stepped from the crowd and looked directly at Yuu.
Yuu's body tensed up, unsure of the crowd leader's intentions.
"Um, it's Narukami, right?" the leader spoke with a meek voice.
Yuu confirmed his identity with a nod.
"Um, we heard that Chie was running for Vice President and that she was over in this hallway, but I don't see her" the student muttered, sounding very nervous.
Yuu explained that Chie had to leave early, without divulging why she left or where she may have gone. After hearing that rumors about Chie were flying around, he didn't want to expose her to such a strange mob of students, whom he suspected might intend to ridicule her for supposed promiscuities in a deep freeze.
"Oh, damn," the lead student sulked when he learned Chie had just left. "We saw her on the news yesterday. We wanted to tell her how happy we are about what she did. It's about time somebody stood up to Junes! You see, we're all sons and daughters of business owners in the shopping district. Junes' business model is killing the livelihood of our families! We all want to tell her thank you, and let her know that voting for her in the school election is the very least we can do to express our gratitude. And since you're supporting her in this election, we intend to vote for you as president! She stood up for us against Junes, so we're sure she'll stand up for us at school!"
Yuu thanked the crowd for their support, and promised to do everything he could to strengthen the student community if he won the election. He also promised to let Chie know about their visit the next time he saw her.
The crowd departed, chanting "Say no to Junes!" repeatedly. Yuu sat back in his chair feeling more confident about his prospects of winning the election.
Rise began to giggle wildly, gaining Yuu's attention.
"Oooo, this will cheer Chie up so much!" she proclaimed with an enormous grin. "Knowing that not everyone is buying into terrible rumors, I mean. I can't wait to tell her!"
Yuu felt happy for Chie as well.
With lunch break drawing to an end, and his two running mates departed, Yuu decided to pack up the table and chairs with Rise and Teddie's help. Once everything was secured in the storage closet, the group split up and went to their individual lockers.
With the remaining few minutes of the lunch break ticking away, Yuu didn't expect to see anyone in campaign mode. Yet Yukiko stood in the second floor hallway handing out her own election pamphlets to any student that would take one as they hurried to their next class.
When their eyes met, both Yukiko and Yuu smiled.
I'd like to think of this chapter as the end of Act One in my story. Things are really going to start churning, now that I've got most of the characters relationships and intentions setup. There's going to be more of the elements that make House of Cards so great, and hopefully I can work a funny spin into that!
The next chapter is going to be a Yuu's POV chapter by the way. I was going to make this chapter in Yuu's point of view, but felt it would work better in the next one.