I'm starting to get a bit more of a plotline... just ignore the total lack of plot for the time being, 'kay? Ja, read on!

Chapter 10

"All regulars, gather around!"

Eight blue and white jackets obediently clustered around Ryuuzaki-sensei.

"There is an important announcement that Inui is going to make. Please listen to him."

All heads turned to Inui.

"The tennis team has always been the star on the Christmas tree, to put it colloquially, for Seigaku."

Murmurs of agreement and muted cheers accompanied that statement.

"However, the school authorities have decided to withdraw their funding support, as they plan to renovate the old building behind the field."

There was a sudden flurry of voices.

"What does that mean?"

"Oy! Stop taking the words out of my mouth, mamushi!"

"Che…"

"What's that mean, nya?"

Inui cleared his throat, and everyone stopped talking. "It means that we will have to raise our own funds starting from today."

Eiji and Momo stared at him as if he had just sprouted two heads. "Raise funds?" They said in unison.

"Yes. Ryuuzaki-sensei and I have discussed it, and we are going to…" Inui looked up, and Tezuka suddenly got a bad feeling about this. "…stage a play."

A very, very bad feeling.

"WHAT?!!"

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Today was quite possibly the worst day in his entire life. Whichever idiot who had had the brilliant idea of putting up a play was definitely going to get it from him.

Which meant that Inui was going to be running many, many laps.

But Ryuuzaki-sensei had approved the idea, and there was nothing he could do to change it. He sighed, and tuned back into the ongoing discussion.

"…and we don't have the expertise to do such a thing." Oishi was saying.

Ryuuzaki-sensei looked at them. "Well, then don't just sit there – find someone who can!"

The frown lines on his forehead were more pronounced than ever. But it was the next sentence that did it for him.

"Ah, Tezuka! Why don't you ask Maika-chan?"

"Maika?!"

"She's done this before in her previous school – and she did a great job of it, too! It was a brilliant success, if I recall correctly."

Please God, no…

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Tezuka had already played out their conversation in his head. He'd ask her, and she'd be surprised and the next thing he knew, she'd be complaining about having to spend more time in his company.

That girl can really talk the hind leg off a donkey…

He shot a sideways glance towards said girl, who was currently working away at some Maths questions. His gaze wandered to her exercise book, and he would always swear that the next sentence which came out of his mouth was not what he meant to say.

"You're terrible at Maths."

The moment she looked at him, he knew he was dead meat.

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"I know you're brilliant at Maths, Mr. Perfect, but some of us aren't born geniuses like you! That doesn't mean you can just go about criticizing our abilities, you know! Idiot!" She fumed, blissfully unaware that she had just called him perfect and an idiot in the same breath.

He had learnt from experience that it was best not to interrupt her when she was in the middle of one of her tirades.

"Just you wait… I'll find something that you're not good at, and I'll beat you to the ground!"

"I highly doubt it."

What was wrong with his mouth today? It seemed determined to get him annihilated in the shortest time possible. He thought for a moment, and decided that the best way to get his mouth to stop committing suicide was to occupy it.

"Maika, can you – "

"No!"

"What?"

"I said no! Didn't you hear me?"

"But I hadn't even finished my question!" He protested.

"I don't need to hear it!" She declared imperiously. "It's still a no."

"But – "

"No."

He gave up at that point.

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"But we need her, Tezuka! She's extremely musical! And she's not that difficult to persuade…"

Tezuka had to stifle a snort at that.

Ryuuzaki-sensei sighed. "Fuji, could you…?"

"Sure." The tensai smiled. "Just leave it to me."

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"Maika-chan – "

"Whatever you want, Tezuka, it's a no. I've already told you a dozen times." She did not even look up from her book.

Fuji had to stifle a chuckle at that. Tezuka hadn't even managed to explain about the musical? How like him.

"What if I wanted to know if – "

"No."

" – you like Tezuka."

"What?!!" She started violently. "Oh, it's you, Fuji-kun."

"Well? Do you?"

"Do I what?"

"Like Tezuka."

The response was almost instantaneous. "NO!!!"

Fuji laughed. "I'm sure Tezuka would be gratified to hear that. Anyway, I just came to ask if you'd like to be involved in producing a play."

"A play?" She inquired curiously. "What's it for?"

"It's to raise funds for the tennis club. None of the regulars have had any experience in the performing arts, so we were wondering if you could help…"

"What kind of play is it?"

Fuji smiled sheepishly. "We were sort of hoping you'd tell us that…"

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Tezuka frowned slightly. Why had she agreed so fast when Fuji broached the subject? She didn't even wait to hear him out before she said no.

And now she was here - as the director. Of all things to be, she had to be the director.

"So what are we going to do?" Maika looked around the table.

"Do you want something classic, like 'Cinderella'," there were gagging sounds at this, "…or something less well-known like 'The Abominable Snowman'?"

"Oh, surely a fairytale…" Fuji said. "After all, we wouldn't want to let Tezuka hog all the limelight in the 'Abominable Snowman', would we?"

Tezuka gave him a glare that promised him a hundred laps when they got out of here.

"Okay. So that means that we'll have to rope in the rest of the students - which shouldn't be a problem, seeing your celebrity status…" She scribbled something down on a small piece of paper, and Tezuka made a mental bet with himself that she'd probably misplace it by tomorrow. "…so all we need to do are the auditions. All of you are acting, I suppose?"

"NO!!!" Came the vehement reply.

"I just need to put your names in the cast list." She looked up. "Who's the most popular in the club?"

"Buchou," Ryoma pointed out almost immediately, and Tezuka added him to his growing list of people to run extra laps.

"Hmm…" She tapped her pencil lightly, frowning at the paper in front of her. "I guess we could fit you in as a footman or something…"

"He's not going to be the prince?" Eiji exclaimed.

Maika took one look at Tezuka, and burst out laughing, much to his mortification.

"I think – princes – are – supposed – to have – emotions!" She gasped out.

He shot her a dirty glare. Was she implying that he didn't have emotions? Well, he was going to prove her wrong.

"Everyone, twenty laps around the court. Now."

Anger was a very satisfying emotion indeed.

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It's short, I know... forgive me, O Great Readers!

:P

Review, ne?