The Little Things Give You Away
By AishiExcel
Hello again all my darlings! I am once again updating- aren't you proud of me? If things go on like this it'll become …Wait for it, ROUTINE! Me, with an actual routine. Can you believe that? Anyways, here I would normally rant about my current user stats or whatever, but I'm just too lazy. I have more to rant about, but I won't keep you waiting to do it. Here's chapter eleven, hope you're lovin' it!
His embarrassing morning already had Light feeling cruddy, but his day went even more downhill when he arrived at the studio. The first thing that happened was that he was assaulted by the MM idiot squad- that was to say, Misa and Matsuda. Matsuda trotted up to Light so eagerly that the teen star swore he was going to ask for walkies and to play Frisbee in the park.
"Oh! Light! I'm so glad to see you! I was just about to call our house and tell you the good news!"
"Good news?"
Matsuda bounced a little bit. For god's sake, he was in his late twenties. He shouldn't be BOUNCING. "Well, they wouldn't delay it, and they definitely wouldn't call it off, so Mello is auditioning TODAY."
"That's good news?" spat Light. "That's not good at all!"
"No, no, that's not the good part! The good part is that Mogi and I managed to convince them to let you and Misa attend. They want your opinion on the potential co-stars. So you do get some say in whether or not Mello can be on the show!"
Light sighed. He had to admit, for Matsuda, that was a big accomplishment. And it was better than letting the decision be made without him. To be honest, he had forgotten all about his Mello situation last night. He'd been far too busy with crazy doctors invading his space. But now that his mind was back on it, his anger started surging up again. What on earth did some musician want with his place, trying to steal the show from him? Oh, sure, he'd kind of challenged Mello at the hospital, and Mello did seem like the cocky type who took any challenge and let it get way out of hand, but STILL! The blonde's jealousy and ego were making Light's life inconvenient. And heaven forbid a star's life be anything LESS than easy.
Speaking of blondes, the other half of the MM idiot squad came running up to throw her arms around Light in excitement.
"Oh! Light! We get to watch baby newbie actors, isn't that ADORABLE? I bet they've all been in indie films! I bet they've never even done a pilot!"
Light groaned. "Misa, don't tell me it'll be like last time." Misa had spent the last audition she had attended cooing at and patronizing all the neophyte actors. She held a snobby attitude when it came to inexperienced performers. She could be downright condescending to anyone who hadn't at least done a commercial, and the worst part was that Light sometimes found it rubbing off on him. Recently, when a fan had sent him a tape of himself re-enacting a scene from Heaven Sent, Light compiled an edited version detailing everything the boy had done wrong. He'd almost sent it too, until Matsuda reminded him that if his fans found out he was so cruel his publicity would spiral into the wrong direction. It was Misa's fault, though. She was the snob.
"Aww, I'll be nice." Misa snuggled against Light's chest. "I promise. Hey, were you busy last night, Light? I tried to call your cell but no-one answered…"
He hadn't even paid any attention to his phone last night. "I had to meet with a doctor for a follow-up consultation," he hurriedly mumbled. Technically, it was true. If you squinted your eyes and tilted your head, you couldn't even see the holes in the truth.
"Aww, my poor baby! Are you all healthy now? No more passing out?"
"Hopefully," Light muttered. He might pass out, however, if Ryuzaki did something so stupid that he was knocked unconscious just by seeing it. Which was, sadly, pretty likely right now.
Before Light could even clear the thought from his head, his phone rang. With a groan the teen star flipped it open and put it to his ear.
"Hello?"
"Yagami-kun."
"This is he." Light pried Misa off of him and attempted to move out of the room.
"Who is that?" Misa whispered, although her whisper was any ordinary person's talking voice. It was ridiculous how little discretion that girl had.
"My cousin from out of town. He's staying at my house for a few days," Light covered the mouthpiece and mumbled. "Now shush." He turned back to his phone. "What do you want?"
"Light-kun, I'm hungry."
"Congratulations. Eat something."
"I can't."
"Why?" he growled. "My food not good enough for you?"
"I don't know how to cook," the monotonous tones on the other end of the speaker announced.
"… What?"
"You heard me," Ryuzaki confirmed. "I live in a hospital. We have our own cafeteria, which is constantly stocked for doctors, nurses and visitors. If the cafeteria is closed, I simply eat snacks from the vending machines."
Light was incredulous for a second. "Surely you can use a MICROWAVE! I mean- come ON!"
Misa raised her eyebrow. "Light's cousin can't use a microwave?"
Shit, she was still standing there? Light covered the mouthpiece again.
"He's kind of… eccentric. Raised in the country, you know. He's brilliant, but a little out there. One of those… idiot savants."
"Ohhhhh! Misa knew an… idiom spavined once. He couldn't tie his shoes, but he swindled Misa at six games of poker in a row!"
Temporarily ignoring that statement of pure idiocy, Light returned to his conversation with Ryuzaki. "Okay, okay, well, can you order something from the pizza place? I got to go. I have an audition to go to. See you later." Before Ryuzaki could protest, Light hung up on him with a click.
He and Misa made their way to the auditorium where auditions were being held and sat down. He was just in time; the first actor was about to take the stage.
Although Mello was the focus of the auditions, several other wannabe actors were trying out today. Not only did this give the people watching it a standard to compare Mello's performance to, it also gave them a backup plan if the singing sensation turned out to be horrible. (Which Light sincerely hoped he did.)
He looked at he portfolios of a few of the wannabes. A few had some status; they'd taken small walk-on roles in various TV shows or done some commercials, a few had even done tiny parts in movies. All the rest were complete neophytes; they had a handful of stage shows and indie films between them and none of them had ever worked in the limelight like Light had, Things weren't looking too good.
They were even worse on the stage. How any of these guys had made it this far, Light didn't know. The first actor was horrendously over-the-top, and Light could tell he was much more suited to musical theater. Anyone overacting that badly needed a musical number and backup dancers not to look like a fool.
The second looked promising until he opened his mouth and a squeaky little-girl voice came out. Light tried to take the rest of his performance seriously; he really did. But COME ON! Who was going to cower from a villain who sounded like a prepubescent Hannah Montana fan?
Before the third actor even came onstage the sound of "Love Me Dead" by Ludo filled the auditorium. Shimatta. It was Light's phone. He held up a finger indicating for everyone to wait and slipped out into the hallway.
"Hello?" he hissed.
"Light-kun. Where do you keep your money?"
"…. WHAT?"
Ryuzaki's voice, on the other end of the phone, sounded perfectly calm for asking such a bizarre question. 'I asked Light-kun where he keeps his money. I called the pizza place and they told me it would be 24.95 for my pizza. I have no money."
Light groaned. "Why didn't you tell me that?"
"I tried to, but Light-kun hung up on me."
Shimatta. He had, hadn't he? "Okay, well, call and cancel your order. I don't have 24.95 lying around anywhere except in my wallet, which I have with me. What kind of pizza did you order? That's awfully expensive…"
"It was a custom dessert pizza with Oreo, M&M's, whipped cream and chocolate sauce."
"……….. What is wrong with you?"
"I have no idea what Light-kun means. If I must cancel my order, what shall I do for food?"
Light growled and rubbed his temples. Today was enough of a headache as it was; now this. "I don't know. I might have some cereal or something in the cabinet. Figure it out, I have to go back and listen to this guy's audition."
"Understood. Oh? Light-kun, someone is knocking on the door. That must be my pizza. I shall let you go."
There was a click on the other end of the line and Light closed his phone. Okay, that better be the last time he heard from the idiot savant before he got home this evening. He stormed back into the auditorium and sat down, where an irritated actor was standing impatiently on the stage.
Light motioned that it was okay for him to begin and he did. Hmm… perhaps this one had some kind of promise. His body language was good, and his voice was strong…
And then he completely forgot his lines. The man stood there, dumbfounded for a minute, before grinning sheepishly and ad-libbing. With a song. Obviously, it was yet ANOTHER musical theatre major attempting to break into TV. If Heaven Sent ever did a musical number, maybe they'd call him back, but that was probably never going to happen EVER.
Several more actors came out, but their performances were so lackluster and unmemorable Light couldn't even be bothered having opinions on them. Just before the last audition of the day, a familiar ring tone filled the auditorium once more. Light sighed, indicated to pause for one more moment, and stormed out into the hallway ready to chew whoever was calling a new hole. "WHAT?"
"Ah, Light-kun?" Of course it would be Ryuzaki. Of course.
"What?"
"I just wanted to tell you I got something to eat."
He had to call to say that? Light really didn't care. Was it worth interrupting auditions for that? "That's nice, now I need to go."
"Okay… um, Light-kun-"
"I can't talk, Ryuzaki. I'm doing something very important at work and I can't get interrupted ANY MORE."
"Okay, Light-kun…"
"Seeya." Light hung up and once again returned to the auditorium. "Sorry, business." He whispered to one of the other members of the panel. She just nodded at him and looked back at the stage.
Mello was standing there, grinning wickedly. His blonde hair shone under the stage lights and his aqua eyes glittered. "Hello, everyone." He smiled charmingly at the panel watching him. "I'm Mello."
He was so… cocky. The way he introduced himself with only one name, that stupid crooked little smile on his face, that stupid pride evident all over his body language. Just looking at him made Light sick. And hearing him speak- it was even worse.
Mello cleared his throat and began reciting the lines from the script. "Hello, Kira. Pleasure to meet you. Though I don't suppose I could say it's a pleasure for you." His voice was strong, commanding, with just an edge of a laugh to it. Light could almost see him clad in black wings and holding a sword, glaring imperiously down his nose. But he pushed that thought back, because there was no way Mello would make it onto the show to wear that costume. "I suppose a preliminary introduction might be in order. What can you call me? Let's see. Your worst Nightmare is a little too cliché, and I wouldn't say you could call me sweetheart." Now he leaned in, his eyes locked straight on Light, and his voice dropped to a low and dangerous tone. "Although I suppose that pretty little girl of yours could. But I digress. I suppose, oh just and fair Kira, you can simply address me as this: Mihael."
There was silence on the panel for a moment, and then… applause. They were clapping. Actually clapping for that stupid wannabe! Mello swept his arm across his chest and bowed, grinning like a madman.
Misa stood up, still clapping, and cheered. "Bravo! 10 out of 10! He gets my vote!"
"Misa, this isn't American Idol," hissed Light. Misa looked at him and pouted.
"Oh, really?" the singer on the stage asked, laughing. "Because I would swear that right now you are doing your very best Simon Cowell."
Light rolled his eyes. "Very funny. A singer like you might've impressed Simon Cowell, but I'm not quite sold. You have no acting experience- no credentials, no recommendations. It says here you did some acting in high school and college, but…"
The producer turned to him. "I appreciate your concern, Light, but let me launch a few names at you. Drake Bell. Miley Cyrus. Why, even Jared Leto. What do all those names have in common to you?"
Light sighed. "They're all actors AND musicians. But if I may argue sir- Drake Bell and Miley Cyrus are specifically targeted to the twelve to thirteen age group, and Jared Leto was an actor BEFORE he became a musician."
"Well, Light, I think someone like Mello has the potential to change the image of all actor-slash musicians as being teeny boppers or bad actors. You saw his performance. And besides, his pre-existing fame will be wonderful publicity for the show. Just give him a chance, Light. If, after a few weeks worth of takes, his performance isn't great, then we'll find another actor."
Light sighed and looked down at his hands. Ultimately, the director and the producer had all the power when it came to the show. If they so desired they could have HIM, Light Yagami, they STAR, replaced. "Yes sir," he mumbled.
Mello was smirking up onstage. "So, I suppose I should leave now," he purred.
"Ah-yes. We'll call you in the morning once our final decision is made. But I should go ahead and tell you; your chances are very excellent. If nothing else comes up, you should be prepared to do some preliminary takes."
"Thank you very much," Mello announced, and then he exited stage right.
The whole trip home Light was seething. Today had to be one of the worst days in history. There was nothing, absolutely NOTHING that could make this day any worse.
And then his phone rang.
"Hello?" he sighed, too tired to even yell.
"Mr. Yagami, this is Yuri from Calendar Cleaning services… Um, I'm terribly sorry for the inconvenience, but your maid would like to reassign. We'll need to assign you a new maid."
"Wait, what? Jessica wants to reassign? I don't understand, she's been my maid for two years…"
Yuri cleared her throat awkwardly. "Well, sir, it's just that… She reports there was a bit of trouble in your condominium today. She says a strange man followed her around, quote 'Diagnosing me with obscure diseases and telling me which kinds of bacteria flourished in each part of the house'. She also reports he blew up some jam donuts and oatmeal in the microwave. She says he informed her he would be staying there and she regretfully decided that she could not clean in a house in which he was staying."
Light groaned. Somebody please shoot him now. If this day got any worse he'd have sworn he was in Hell already.
Instead of my usual ramble here, I'm going to tell you all a little story.
Back when I was writing the first rough drafts for Little Things 4 or so months ago, I was in a Creative Writing class at my high school. Now in the class there was an unspoken sort of hierarchy- there were the people who had never written before and needed to learn a lot, the people who wrote occasionally and displayed talent but hadn't perfected it yet, and the people who wrote so often that anything they produced must have been good whether or not they actually put any effort into it. I was one of the latter and therefore worshipped as one of the heads of the class even though personally I didn't think I was that good. But who WAS good was this guy O'Brien. Now, I have never in my life met someone who more embodies Light Yagami than this guy. It got to the point where I was referring to him as Light to my sister in casual conversation. He was a physics genius, he was extraordinarily self-assured, and he chose Milton's Paradise Lost as his piece of poetry to recite. Can I say anymore? And whether or not this is true, I heard a rumor that he was dating like 4 freshman girls at once. XD That's as Light as you can get. Anyway, to get to the point. Whether or not he knew it, "Light" was my secret rival. Everything I wrote was to try and best him; the times we had to team up I was deliberately showing off to try to have my half of the work shine better, and if it hadn't been for that competition I would have probably gone on half-assing everything because I knew I didn't have to try to make the whole class think it was pure gold. The moral of the story is this: The reason Mello is such a good actor is because he's trying to beat Light, so he's trying extra hard. Also, I just wanted everyone to hear about my source of inspiration for the vicious rivalry between Mello and Light. (Although when I think about it, O'Brien never seemed to realize there was any kind of rivalry. He was always complimenting me and seemed not to mind working with me. Maybe the competition was one-sided…)
Well, now that I've wasted your time, I just wanted to say thanks for reading and keep on! Love y'all!