Driving to the studio at such an ungodly hour in the morning, the younger director mentally cursed herself once again. How she could forget her phone of all things was beyond her. Unfortunately, she hadn't even realized she forgot it until she was already home late last night, so she just decided she'd come earlier to get it. After all, what if Amy had called or texted about the show? Being unprepared would be quite unprofessional. She refused to be like their incompetent actors. The sun had not even passed the rim of the sky when she arrived at the studio. Nia knew, after all, that Amy had a tendency to arrive early. Early by the actor's standards, and late by a Nia who had a mission's standards.
And boy, was she on a mission.
She pulled out her large ring of keys to unlock the door, which Amy had the duty of doing the night before. The keys weren't many, but she had a hard time finding the right one. Despite driving the whole way there and walking up to the studio, she was still half asleep after all. If she was lucky, hopefully she could take a nap before Amy and the actors got there—after she checked her phone of course.
Nia unlocked the door to the studio and poked her head inside. On the contrary to what she had thought moments before, the studio was not dark. Lights were powered up on the set. Cautiously, she stepped inside with a frown. Surely Amy couldn't have forgotten to turn off the power when she locked up...
"Is someone there?" a familiar voice asked. All too familiar to Nia. Her eyes widened in disbelief.
"Mai?" she wondered, looking around the room for the girl.
"Shh!" the girl whispered, coming off of set as she waved her hands in front of her. "The others are still sleeping!"
"What on earth are you doing here?!" Nia demanded in a harsh whisper.
"It's not our fault!" Mai hissed. "That evil director locked us in!"
Nia crossed her arms with a stern look. "And I'm betting she didn't even have a clue you guys were in here." she nodded towards the three lumps sleeping on the floor. Oliver looked uncomfortable in his sleep, as though he were searching for extra heat. Masako and John were snuggled together on the far other side of the room.
There was a new, mysterious piece of tape that lined the middle of the floor.
"It's...better if you don't ask..." Mai finally said.
"Oh, I'm not asking." Nia stated, leaning towards the brunette threatening.
"It's better than having Masako and John hogtied to chairs. You guys didn't leave enough tape for that..." Mai said, looking away. Frustrated, Nia rubbed her temples. It really was too early in the morning for this.
"Just tell me why you four ended up locked in." she ordered as Oliver began to stir, both from the lack of warmth and also because of hearing their voices.
"Take that up with your co-director. She's the one who locked us in here," he said. True to her word the previous day, the boy did not look particularly awake or handsome as he woke up. His hair was tousled and...
"Dummy! You have drool on your face..." Mai sighed, going over to her boyfriend. Sleepily, the man glared while subtlety trying to wipe said drool away.
"Does this mean filming will start soon?" he asked.
"No, not for another two hours or so..." Nia replied. "I forgot my phone last night, so I came earlier than usual to get it in case Amy called about something." she then walked over to the directors' chair and got her phone, having momentarily forgotten the reason she came so early.
"Huh... Masako was wondering whose it was... We put it on a charger for you. There was a spare from another set," Mai said, jerking her thumb in the general direction of where the charger had been found.
"Thanks." The director sighed in relief. She began to check her messages before her gaze slid towards the couple. "You still haven't told me why you were here when Amy was locking up. Everyone should have already went home."
Oliver put his hand over Mai's mouth before she could say anything. "We're already doing you a favor by promising not to tell Amy about the fact you left your phone here. If you'd like to hear what we were doing, you'd return it by not telling her what we're up to."
Nia pursed her lips in thought, scrutinizing the two of them. Not that it really mattered to her or not if they told Amy she had forgotten her phone, she honestly wanted to know what the heck they were doing there after hours. Besides, didn't they know who they were talking to? Their boss who could fire them? As if she'd never let them tell her what she could and couldn't do, but nonetheless, at the moment, she'd string them along.
"Fine." she relented. "I won't tell Amy, now spill."
"She's going to get one of the actors hurt if she keeps up her streak of pranks," Masako said from the other side of the room. Everyone turned to them.
"You're awake!" Mai said. Masako completely brushed her off.
"We're attempting to show her just how dangerous and scary such pranks can be, and we're going to do it somehow, someway. I say you assist us, Miss Nia," the girl said.
"Why should I help all of you?" Nia demanded. "All you do is mess up my and Amy's production which we worked so hard to make."
"Do you think we do it on purpose?"
"Yes." Nia immediately deadpanned without a second thought. Every actor there had a little sweatdrop. They didn't do it on purpose all the time.
"That aside, we need to show her that someone could get hurt if she doesn't stop. So we're doing this. It would be easier and faster if we had your help, but we could just as easily do without," Oliver said. Nia thought about it for a moment. Amy had been fooling around and wasting everyone's time as well, along with all the actors. This might be a good chance to get her back for all the further headaches and frustration she caused Nia. Ahh, and also for the well-being of her employees. Of course.
The door to the set opened and Amy walked in with her clipboard and pencil. She walked to her chair, almost completely not noticing the odd group.
Almost.
"Woah, everyone's early? Did I sleep in or something?" Amy asked, looking at her watch frantically. Nia let out a chuckle.
"No, you're fine. I was just as surprised to see them so early as you were." she said, never taking her eyes off the three actors. Except for that brief moment when she flickered her gaze towards the still sleeping John.
"Oh," Amy sighed in relief. "Maybe we can start a bit early then? If we start soon we can end soon and everyone can have an early day all around!"
"I hope so, though the Takigawas and Lin haven't arrived yet." the younger director stated.
"Hmmm... but the first scene is the client showing Oliver and Mai around the property, right? And last I knew, the girl who was playing the client was right outside finishing up some yoga," Amy said. "I'll get her so we can start and get this thing done, okay?"
Amy ran off without another word. Nia stared after her until she was sure Amy was gone and wouldn't come back for a while. Then she turned towards the actors with a slight smile.
"Fine. I'll help you."
"This is a small house, isn't it?" Mai asked upon seeing the stage. She walked up to the front door and opened it.
Or tried to, at least.
"What's with this door?" she asked, trying to get it to open.
"It's just a prop, Miss Taniyama," Amy said, looking at her clipboard and waiting for the girl to get serious. Since they were early, she felt like she could let them have a little leeway. Just a little bit, though. "Now, could you please get into position so we can get started on the scene?
"Fine, fine. Jeesh..."
XxX
"...And this is my niece, Ayami."
Mai gasped, a big smile crossing her face. "Oh my goodness! She is just so adorable!" she gushed before grabbing Oliver's arm excitably. "Isn't she, Noll?!"
XxX
"My brother is overseas on business, and we feel nervous about being the only ones in the house right now," Noriko continued. Mai blinked, but did not say anything. The directors held their breath, perhaps—
"Do you want to meet my doll? Her name is Mary!" Ayami shouted with a friendly air, running up to Mai with a smile. She held the porcelain doll for all to see.
The directors could not help but aww at how adorably friendly the child was being, even if it was not in the script.
XxX
"I'd like to have a word with your boss." Kana said as she stepped forward.
"My name is Kazuya Shibuya, and I own the company." Oliver stated blankly as he stepped forward as well. Kana looked at him with a mixture of surprise and guilt.
"Oh, I'm sorry..." Kana looked away before glancing back at the man. "You're just so young...and...and handsome..."
Mai's eye twitched. "Excuse me! But those aren't your lines! Besides aren't you a little too old to be saying that to him?!"
XxX
"Well, all right. Is this really the work of, you know, ghosts?" Kana asked, her eyes closed. Mai had a sneaking suspicion it was so she did not say something else that was stupid.
"It is our job to investigate that," Oliver said. A pregnant pause was supposed to happen in order for Mai to dub over later, but then—
"Ne, can we have some cookies now?" Ayami whispered to her aunt. No one got mad at her for it. Instead, she got a cookie and they reset the scene.
XxX
"Ah, you're sounding less and less like an amateur each day, aren't you kiddo?" Houshou asked teasingly. Mai looked towards the door to see him and his sister standing there. Then she grinned, as if forgetting they were filming.
"Why thank you!" She said proudly. "After work each day, I do research on this ghost stuff so I'll be more acknowledged it in and won't feel so stupid about saying my lines when it comes to all this ghost hunting stuff!"
Both directors sighed.
XxX
"Amateurish, shallow thinking," Oliver said, his eyes glued to the screen. Mai visibly flinched, but her boyfriend simply continued. "In cases of poltergesting where a human is the culprit, it's usually a young teen—an adolescent child. Noriko-san is twenty, too—"
"It's rude to tell a woman's age, you know!" the woman called from off stage. The directors turned to glare at her, so synchronized that the action itself gave everyone on stage the shivers rather than the glares themselves.
"Do not make me duct tape your mouth shut," Amy warned.
"You wouldn't!" Noriko-san said, though one look at her face showed her doubt. Amy smirked.
"I wonder..."
XxX
"Why does my boss have to be such a jerk all the time?" Mai mused dejectedly, her arms and her hanging down.
"I know what you mean." Noriko smiled softly as she held a plate full of snacks for little Ayami. Nia and Amy fumed.
"HEY!"
XxX
"Mai-chan, perfect timing," Noriko said. She was holding a tea tray covered by a pink muffler. "It's time for Ayami's snack. Care to tag along?"
"All right!" Mai squealed, pleased by the fact she had acted this scene out correctly.
"So childish..." Masako said from off-stage. Mai turned her angry eyes to the girl.
"Like you're any better, miss 'I-wish-I-had-my-leather'!"
"You weren't going to say anything about that!"
"All's fair in love and war!"
"Then war it is!"
The directors groaned. At least they had enough to cut where they needed to.
XxX
"Ayami-chan is so cute, isn't she?" Mai asked as the two climbed the stairs. "If you had to say, does she take more after her father?"
"Are you asking if my brother is a handsome man?" Noriko asked. Mai attempted to deny it, but the woman only continued. "Given that he's had two wives, I would suppose this fictional man is. I don't actually have a brother, so I wonder."
The woman continued to ramble and everyone could feel a dark presence emanating from Oliver's position. He was pinning Noriko with glares that would make most children cry.
"Why is Noll glaring at Noriko?" Ayami asked from her place off-stage. Kana sighed.
"He's jealous."
"Why?"
"Because he's a man."
"Oh."
XxX
"Hey, Ayami!" Mai exclaimed with a big smile as she poked her head inside the doorway behind Noriko. "I hope you're hung—"
"MAAAII!" Ayami giggled as she tackled the older girl into a hug. "Will you play with me?!"
"Awww! You are just too cute! I'm going to take you home with me!" Mai laughed, only to be cut off by her boyfriend.
"No." Oliver stated firmly. Pouting that he was ruining her fun, Mai turned towards him.
"Come on! Please!"
"You can't steal someone else's child, Mai." Oliver chided, his arms crossed. His girlfriend's pout deeper.
"Oh, fine..."
XxX
Take One.
"Nice to meet you." Ayami said, walking towards Mai with a porcelain doll. She held out the doll's hand to Mai for her to shake, which she did.
"Oh, hello! And you are...?"
Ayami smiled. "Mary."
The directors only smiled at her cuteness. "Try again, Ayami."
Take Three.
"Oh, hello! And you are...?"
"Melinda! Wait..." Ayami looked up in confusion. "That's not right... Is it Mavis or something? Or..."
Nia smiled, having to resist the strong urge to squeal. "It's Minnie, sweetie."
XxX
"My, Ayami, were you reading that book?" Norkio asked.
Instead of the shocked look the little girl was supposed to give, the child merely beckoned Noriko closer. Unable to resist obliging the cute child, she leaned in and heard what the girl had to say. No one else could hear, but—
"Who gave you that to read? It was supposed to be a picture book!" Norkio said, walking to the book. Her eyes scanned the sheet and she hit her head with her face.
"I got it from Miss Amy's desk!" Ayami said proudly. Everyone glared at the director.
"I didn't do anything! What is it, anyway?" the director asked.
"The records of every time we've goofed up on set, evidently," Oliver said, having come on-set to look at the paper. Everyone glared at Amy. She turned to her co-director.
"Help..."
XxX
"We need you to look at the light and not move around too much, okay?" Amy asked. She was on the balls of her feet and crouching so she was eye-level with Ayami. "Can Ayami do that?"
"Yes!" she cried out, happy as a clam. "Ayami will be as still as a statue!"
Amy shuddered, but otherwise smiled. "Good, then we can get this done! Go, Ayami!"
"Yay!" the girl cheered before jumping onto Noriko's lap. She sat perfectly still for the entire scene. Nia and Amy were so proud.
XxX
The only light present in the room was the red-ish glowing light that was pulsing. Everyone had their eyes on it directly.
"Focus your eyes on the li—" At that moment, the glowing light went out completely—again—causing Oliver to stop speaking. Everyone on-set was then left in the dark.
"Ahhh! I'm scared!"
"It's okay, Ayami!"
"The directors really should stop being so cheap and just buy a new one." Oliver observed.
"WANNA SAY THAT AGAIN?!"
XxX
"That'll be all." Oliver told the three girls. "Please try to spend your evening as you would any other night."
Ayami blinked and looked up at Noriko, tugging on her shirt. "Does this mean I can move now?"
XxX
Mai drew a circle on the table around the small glass vase. She stood and held her hands near her heart, as she was supposed to. She knew she was waiting for a dub-over that would happen later, but the only thing that was on her mind was—
"Don't break the vase, don't break the vase, don't break the vase—"
"Mai, you're thinking aloud again," Oliver said. Mai groaned.
"Seriously!?"
XxX
Mai, Oliver, and Lin heard footsteps running towards them from inside their 'base'. Soon Kana burst through the door panting.
"Come quick!"
The scene switched to everyone running up the stairs, only to get a view of Mai falling down flat on her face.
"Owww... Noll, help me..."
Masako snickered off-set. "I have got to get a copy of that."
XxX
"Everything is slanted!" Mai said.
"What's going on? I thought you came here to get this under control!" Kana said.
"You're sure the little girl didn't do it, right?" Ayako asked. Ayami looked at the woman, hurt. And she started to cry. Ayako broke character instantaneously.
"I didn't do it!" she bawled.
"I know you didn't," Ayako said, trying to calm the girl down. "Those are just my lines, I'm sorry!"
XxX
"...Even I don't have that kind of strength." Houshou stated as he and Oliver looked at the carpet that was flipped over.
"I agree. If there was a human capable of this, I'd love to meet him." Oliver muttered. Nia waited a few moments, so the scene would be saved and no one would have to re-film it after all the hard work, before speaking.
"Why thank you, Oliver." she said a little proudly. "However, I am female—and I won't lie—I had a few people to help me move everything."
XxX
"It wasn't Ayami," the little girl said. Everyone's attention turned to the small girl in her pajamas, holding tightly to her doll. She was pulling off her distressed face very easily.
"Oh-huh, it sure wasn't," Mai said as comfort. When she put her hand on the girl's head, she got the urge to ruffle her hair.
The recorded scream that Amy played from off-set was the only thing that kept her from doing that.
"Haha! You jumped! Were you scared, Mai?" Ayami asked, eyes alight from being entertained. Mai, on the other hand, was glaring at Amy along with Nia.
"I told you guys that there was gonna be a scream! It's in the script this time!"
Xxx
"What's wrong?!" Mai frantically asked Noriko as she stepped on to the set. However she stopped when she noticed the furniture was...upright like normal furniture would be?
The directors, talking among themselves about the last scene and if Amy really did gave them a real script, slid their gaze over to them to see what the problem was. Their eyes widened in disbelief, and Nia jumped up.
"Alright," she glared at the crew members. "Who's job was it to flip the furniture over and why didn't they do it?!"
"I was wondering what I was suppose to be screaming at..." Noriko muttered.
XxX
The entire crew—cast included—spent the next twenty minutes flipping over every piece of furniture. Once they finished, Hoshou sighed. "We done yet?"
"No, now we gotta actually film..." Mai groaned.
Everyone got back into their positions, running into the room. "Noriko-san!" Mai yelled. As expected, she waited a few moments with a horrific look on her face. Unexpectedly, she waited too long. "You've gotta be kidding me!"
"I was wondering when you'd notice."
"What's wrong?" Hoshou asked.
"We forgot to flip over the carpet!"
Everyone sighed. This was taking too long.
XxX
"I'll drive it out in the morning. Goodnight, everyone." Ayako said as she walked away, the air around her held confidence in her abilities.
"Where does she get all of that confidence from?" Mai wondered aloud. Houshou sighed, effectively messing up the scene.
"From a lot of pep talks and moral support... Even then it's kind of hard for her."
Nia rubbed her temples. "Mr. Takigawa..."
XxX
"What's wrong? You're thinking hard about something, huh? Is there something bothering you?" Hoshou asked. Oliver jolted slightly out of his pose as he was supposed to.
"Don't you think this response is a little too quick?" he asked. Hoshou scoffed.
"If it wasn't quick then the directors would lose all of their viewings," he pointed out.
"Mr. Takigawa, please do the scene properly!" the directors yelled.
"It's true, though..." Mai said. The directors were unsure who to brutally dismember first.
XxX
"If you ever watch those TV shows that cover famous haunted houses, then—" Houshou began only to be cut off by Mai.
"GHOST BUSTERS!" she fist pumped. Oliver sighed, shaking his head at the girl.
"Here we go again with Ghost Busters..."
XxX
"The fact that it's getting stronger instead means that something is pushing back," Hoshou said.
"You think so too, Bou-san?" Oliver asked. The actor turned to to face the black-haired boy and nodded.
"Yeah. The house has realized we're here, and now its angry," he said.
"Ne, it won't eat us like that monster house, will it?" Mai asked, looking around the room nervously. She seemed not to realize that she was in a perfectly safe set—well, safe as long as one did not make the directors angry—and that the movie she was talking about was completely fictional.
"Set up the scene again!"
XxX
"Ugh..." Ayako waved the little mini-mop top looking thing around with distaste. "D-Do I really have to use this again...?" she asked.
"Yes..." Nia replied slowly, narrowing her eyes slightly. "Why?"
"I just had so many problems with it the same time I had to use it... I swear this thing hates me..."
XxX
Mai and Oliver watched the screens, his body leaning over her as she attempted to look worried. Neither of the two noticed how she leaned back onto his arm, causing his head to come down mere centimeters from her own. They both seemed pretty content for watching an exorcism that could lead to cataclysmic failure.
"Miss Taniyama, Mr. Davis, would you care to be reminded that we are still filiming?" Amy asked. She was hitting her hand with her version of the script.
"As a matter of fact, I would mind. I'm kinda comfy here," Mai said. She leaned her head against Oliver's jaw.
"You know you're gonna pay for that later," he murmured in her ear. She giggled.
"Yeah, but it's fun to rile her up," she whispered in return.
XxX
"Naru," Mai announced as she handed him the clipboard with the temperature readings on it. "here's the...the, um... Ah, dang it! What is it called?!"
"Get your words out, Mai." Oliver teased, making his girlfriend pout slightly.
"Excuse me for my mind going suddenly blank on me!"
"Wouldn't be the first time..."
XxX
"Ayami-chan's room is a little lower, huh?" Oliver asked before he turned around. He began to type on the computer and Mai watched with interest over his—
"Delete that sentence right now!" Mai said, her face flushed. Oliver smirked which only riled Mai up even more. "Delete it! Delete it! Delete it!"
"Do we want to know is the question..." Nia mused aloud. Amy shrugged as the lover's tiff continued.
XxX
"So...the fire will be digitally edited?" Mai asked the directors.
"Yes."
"Why?"
Amy sighed. "Because we can't control real fire. Who knows what it could do."
"And because we can't trust any of the actors not to play with the fire." Nia muttered under her breath.
XxX
"Kana-san!" Mai shouted, rushing toward the woman. The orange flickering light—a prop to get the lighting right for digital editing later—flickered as a fire might.
"The light just turned on and scared me a bit," Kana admitted nervously. Mai sighed.
"You could have said your lines, you know," the girl grumbled. "The directors are already mad at us..."
"Oops..."
XxX
"So, we get to use a real fire extinguisher, but not a real fire?" Mai frowned as she questioned her bosses. Nia sighed, moreso to calm herself.
"Yes. And do not touch it!" she quickly yelled just as Mai went to touch the fire extinguisher that Houshou was holding. Mai pouted as she withdrew her hand.
"Awww..."
"And everyone, please don't mess up this scene! If we have to retake it, then all of the actors will be cleaning up the mess instead of the crew!" Amy threatened. Everyone gulped, nodding, and carefully made sure to do the scene perfectly.
XxX
The mess on the coutnertop was in place and everyone either sat or stood around the set in exhaustion.
"Action!"
Mai sighed loudly, hunching her shoulders over. She opened her eyes and looked up a fraction of an inch. "Huh?"
A moment passed. "Naru! Someone's there!"
After Mai had shouted, Oliver turned to run towards the window. A friggin' banana peel was the only thing in his way and he managed to fall, narrowly missing the countertop.
"Oliver!" Mai shouted in worry. The boy waved his hand, ensuring he was okay. Mai turned on everyone else in the room. "Will you guys not eat bananas in here, please!?"
"But it's a good source of potassium..." Hoshou said.
XxX
Oliver, Mai, and Houshou stood outside the door peeking in. The brunette, however, leaned against it too much—which caused the door to move—making her fall to the floor.
"Oww..."
Oliver sighed before helping his girlfriend up, ignoring the chuckles coming from Houshou. "One more hit on the head and I'm taking you to the hospital."
XxX
"Ayami..." Noriko said, turning on the light. She entered the room and gently put her hands on the child's shoulders. "Ayami, were you just looking into the kitchen?"
"Yeah, Miss Nia and Miss Amy asked me to!" the child admitted proudly, smiling happily. No one could be mad at her for long.
XxX
"I hate it when people in movies don't move out the way when something is obviously going to fall on you." Noriko said as she stared at the bookcase that was scripted to fall on her. "Just like my character! Seriously, I have a lot of time to move before it falls on me!"
Nia sighed in mild frustration. "Just do the scene..."
Really, it was bad enough the main actors messed up the scenes, but did the guest stars have to do it too?
XxX
The scene opened as it should have. All the actors were staring at the monitors for a few moments.
"You've botched things up again, haven't you?" Hoshou asked. Ayako turned to him and bit her lip as she ought to have, but...
"Miss Takigawa, there's no need to cry. Those are just his lines," Amy said, holding her head to prevent an oncoming headache. Nia sighed and provided the woman with a tissue.
XxX
As Oliver and Houshou shot their lines back and forth at each other, Mai turned her head towards the person who was speaking each time. Then she sighed and hung her head, rubbing the back of her neck.
"My neck hurts now..." she moaned. "Why do they have to do so much taller than me?!"
XxX
The group watched the footage, Mai looking particularly worried as they surveyed the empty room. A recording was being played over the footage, making it seem as though it were happening simultaneously.
"Incredible," Oliver said. Everyone in the room turned to him instantly.
"What?"
"I've gotten 450 reviews on my latest fanfiction," Oliver said, blinking. Mai sighed.
"Is this really the time to be checking your fanfiction, Noll?"
XxX
"I take it Ayami likes to keep to herself, huh?" Mai asked as she and Noriko sat on the bed, watching Ayami brush her doll's hair.
"Well, normally, she's a lot more going-out and cheerful, but...I think the directors have scared her a bit into thinking that if she does something wrong then they'll yell at her for it." Noriko replied quietly, though everyone still heard it due to the mini microphones everywhere.
"Oh, please. She's already messed up a few times and they haven't yelled at her yet. I doubt they will..." Mai grumbled. "And just because she's sooo cute...which she is though..."
"Stop being jealous of a child, Mai." Oliver told her from off-set.
XxX
"Ayami-chan, here's your snack," Kana said with a smile. She walked into the room and set the tray down on the small table. "It's nice to have someone to play with, huh? What are you doing?"
Ayami held onto her doll and frowned slightly, acting shy and reserved.
"I really wish you would answer me..." Kana said. "Here, have a cookie."
She waited a moment.
"You don't want it?"
Ayami tried so hard to not say anything. She nodded her head and kept her mouth shut tightly.
"I see," Kana said. "Suit yourself, then!" And with that, she walked out of the room and slammed the door. Once she had left, Ayami reached out and took a cookie.
"Chocolate chip! Thank you, Miss Kana!" Ayami said, eating on the cookie happily. No one could be mad at her because they could cut the film later.
XxX
Take One.
"Would it be all right with you if your aunt Noriko had a cookie?" Noriko asked Ayami as she kneeled down beside her. She took a cookie from the plate, bringing it closer and closer to her. Ayami was suppose to knock the cookie out of her hand, but it never came.
"Ayami, sweetie, you suppose to hit Noriko's hand to knock the cookie away." Nia told her with a gentle smile. The little girl looked the director with a conflicted, yet adorable, expression.
"But hitting is bad..."
Take Two.
Once again Noriko reached out and grabbed the cookie. Not long after it was in her grasp, a small hand slapped her own, senting the cookie off flying somewhere unimportant.
"No!" Ayami yelled. "Those cookies are no good!"
"Oww!" Noriko hissed slightly as she shook her hand. "She's strong for a little girl..."
XxX
"Minnie told me so. She said there's poison in the snacks. She said that woman is an evil witch. She made dad her servant with her magic," Ayami said. She clutched to the doll and sounded close to tears.
"Minnie's not far off, you know?" Lin said from off-set. Every female on the set turned to glare at him simultaneously.
XxX
Everyone waited and waited for Mai to rise out of the bed that was on-set. She had her back turned towards everyone, including the camera, which made the directors frown.
"Miss Taniyama..." Amy called out. She waited several moments, but silence was the only thing that came from the brunette. Finally, Oliver decided to go and check on his girlfriend, silently praying she wasn't doing what he thought she was. Once he reached her and checked her over, he sighed in defeat and shook his head.
"She fell asleep..."
And cue facepalms from both directors.
XxX
Mai turned to face her boyfriend, who was offering a small smile in her direction.
"Wh-what's wrong?" she asked, shoving the covers off and leaning forward. However, she leant forward a touch too much and ended up falling off the bed. "Ow..."
XxX
"I can't believe she can blush on cue..." Nia muttered in amazement as they all watched Mai blushing with the blanket covering half her face. Oliver gave a small shrug.
"All she really does is think about that time when we—"
"Don't you dare finish that sentence, Oliver!" Mai yelled as she glared at him, seemingly having very good hearing. Amy frowned a bit and looked at Nia.
"Again, do we want to know?"
XxX
"Minnie told her so?" Oliver asked. His face showed the adequate amount of surprise. "Ayami-chan said that?"
"Mm-hmm. Isn't that kind of eerie?" Mai asked. Oliver brought his hand up to his chin in order to appear as though he were in deep thought. The camera passed over Mai's face for a moment.
"You look weird when you do that," she said aloud. Oliver frowned.
"I hope for your sake that you didn't just botch the scene."
"She didn't! She can call you weird all she likes!" Nia called from behind the camera.
XxX
"This is Ayami's doll, Minnie." Noriko said, then Oliver took the doll from her. "My brother bought it for her as a present right before they moved into the house with me."
Oliver stared at the doll for a few moments before looking up at the woman in front of him. "Did Ayami's behaviour change—" However, he cut off when he was blinded by a bright light.
"Go it!" Mai cheered as she grinned down at the camera in her hands. Who knows where she got it from. Oliver frowned, turning towards his girlfriend with the doll still in hand. Mai took another picture.
"Mai..." he warned, slowly walking to her. Mai paled slightly and began to back up.
"Come on! Like I'm ever going to have another opportunity to take a picture of you holding a doll!"
"Mai!"
XxX
"Give her back!" Ayami shouted from the doorway. She ran to Oliver and started to pull on his shirt. "Give Minnie back!"
She tugged on his shirt even harder. "Don't touch her!"
"Ayami, let go of Oliver's shirt please," Mai said, her tone worried. Ayami blinked and released the boy's shirt, allowing him to stand upright and breathe properly. He turned to Mai with an appreciative nod before turning to Noriko.
"I told you she's strong," she pointed out.
XxX
As Ayami pretended to slept with the doll, Mai and Noriko walked up to the bed. Then Mai slowly reached out to take Minnie away, but a little hand with a steel-like grip grabbed her arm before she could even touch the doll. Mai let out a screech just as Ayami's eyes shot open.
"Don't touch her!" she warned with a small glare. Noriko sweatdropped.
"Sorry... It's her nap time."
XxX
"So that's Minnie, huh?" Hoshou asked. "I'm surprised the little tyke let you borrow it."
"We kind of took it after Ayami-chan fell asleep," Mai said, a nervous look on her face. Everyone knew she was mentally replaying the scare she had received from the girl. She returned her vision to the monitors. "It seems kind of creepy, huh?"
"I guess."
The monitors gave off a small humming noise, typical of any monitor. Hoshou cast a glance over to the directors, who then sighed.
"You forgot your lines," Amy accused as she threw a script at the blonde man. He scowled as he flipped towards the back of the script for the scene they were on.
"It's not like any of this is easy..."
XxX
Mai glanced at Oliver as he stood up beside her. She frowned in confusion when she saw that he was glaring at the monitor rather than looking at it with interest and surprise. Then, leaning closer to the monitor, she could see John and Masako making faces at them in the reflection.
"Mr. Brown and Miss Hara! Remove yourselves from the stage!" Nia yelled. The day was almost over, she reminded herself in an attempt to stay calm, the day was almost over.
XxX
The doll began to shift on the bed, slowly inching its way down. It continued this way until the head jerked to the side—with the body still attached.
"See, Ayami? I told you the glue would hold," Noriko said. Ayami nodded happily.
XxX
As the doll's head disturbing came off and rolled towards the camera, Mai let out a horrifying scream. The three men next to her winced.
"Man..." Houshou rubbed his ears. "You've got a set of lungs, don't you?"
Amy walked around the set, picking up random stray items that were not in their correct places and generally minding her own business. It was a habit of hers to clean up after the actors left for the night. Nia had supposedly already left since she had been there at the studio before anyone else. But the girl would not mind that right now. If she arrived early, she was entitled to leave early as well. That was kind of how they worked sometimes. Amy hesitated before picking Minnie up off the ground. They would have to reshoot the scene with the doll on the bed anyways. She gently placed the doll on the bed and turned away, freezing instantly when she thought she heard something.
Her hand flew to her right pocket.
"Is...is anyone in here?"
Hearing no answer, she slowly took a few steps forward and looked around with caution.
"You almost blew our cover," Mai hissed.
"Seriously, who's there?" Amy asked. She pulled something out of her pocket, but the mischievous actors could not see what it was.
"Oh, great... Now what is she doing?" Masako quietly wondered, peeking over the 'thing' they were hiding. Amy looked around a moment more. While she did not feel completely safe, she knew that it was a good idea to continue what she had been doing and keep an eye on her back at the same time. She found a sock on the ground.
"Seriously?" she asked as she picked it up with her left hand. What on earth was a sock doing there? And more importantly how did it get there?
John threw another miscellaneous item on the ground for Amy to find. Sure enough, the girl did and her tendency to put things in order forced her to pick up the item. It was a stuffed bear this time.
"What...?"
Masako snickered lowly. "It's like she's playing fetch or something."
The girl was rewarded with a bear to the face. Mai and Oliver looked to see if Amy had spotted them, but it seemed as though she had thrown the bear at random. Amy sighed angrily, attempting to release the tension in her shoulders, as she went to retrieve the bear she had thrown in sheer frustration. Mai's eyes widened.
"She's coming!" she hissed. Oliver placed his hand over Mai's mouth and backed her away so they were both obscured by shadow. Masako only barely managed to hide when Amy came around and picked up the bear. She peeked around trying to see where John went without getting caught by their director. Her face paled when she realized he was barely hanging onto the top of the set, very close to slipping.
"John!" she whispered frantically. She needed to help him, but with Amy so close...
"Who's there?" the girl asked again. The object in her right hand was clenched tightly and Masako still had no clue as to what it was. "If you don't come out right now, whatever injuries you get are not my fault!"
Mai glanced questioningly at Oliver, wondering what they should do. Oliver nodded and began to lead Mai away from the place. Amy was already heading in the direction of their 'surprise' unwittingly. Just allow her to walk a few steps more and she would have the scare of her life. That is if Miss Hara and John didn't mess up anything, everything should go smoothly as they had planned.
Amy turned the corner, looking for the bear. But what caught her eye was more petrifying than what she had expected.
Her shrill scream rang through the set, but no one was there to hear it save for the four evil actors who had done this to her in the first place.
AmyNChan: TAT How could they!
Naruisawesome: *pats shoulder* It's okay, Amy-chan! Poor readers still don't know what it is that you're so afraid of, huh?
AmyNChan: Yeah, but you all will in the next chapter! Promise! *^_^*
Naruisawesome: Please review~! ^.^