January 19th, 2004

7:30 pm

Mei hadn't felt like a creepy adult until she found out that the class she would be sitting in on would have a live, nude model. Yes, she had seen male models nude before, but... this seemed more personal.

It was too late to back out, though. The boy, Light Yagami, really was as eye-catching as he had been in Shiori's sketch book. He looked better in life than in graphite, however. The gray and black and white of her niece's sketches could not capture the smooth, pale skin, the bright amber eyes, and the gold and copper hair.

Geez, I'm such a lech, she thought, blushing and averting her eyes, which had previously been eying the knot on the dark brown robe the boy was wearing as he sat on the desk and watched the rest of the class.

Both Mei and Light jumped when Ms. Jun had clapped her hands loudly and announced, "Okay! One minute poses!"

The students scattered back to their desks and Light approached the center table with some trepidation. He laid out a light-weight red blanket on the table, then stared at it. Ms. Jun snorted.

"Light," she said, sternly. That was all it took to spook him into action. He withdrew his feet from his slippers and slipped out of his robe, placed it gently on a nearby stool, then hopped onto the table and quickly draped the blanket over his lap. "Relax," Ms. Jun called in the same stern tone of voice.

Light rolled his shoulders and shot the woman a look, muttering something that was almost certainly rude and definitely too quiet for anyone to hear.

In short, he was completely fresh-faced and new to modeling, and Mei absolutely loved it. He had a presence that at once demanded attention and kept one at a distance. He was at once coldly polite and fiery. He was...

Perfect.

"Mr. Yagami?" Mei asked now at the end of class, approaching the boy after he emerged from behind the changing screen in neatly pressed brown slacks and a white shirt.

Light Yagami gazed blankly at her for a moment, as if checking a mental registry, before saying, "I don't believe we've met."

Mei held back her surprise. Yes, the boy had an aura of intelligence even as he sat before the class, but was he really a genius, like her niece had said? She shook the feeling off. Shiori had the tendency to exaggerate. "No, we haven't. I'm Shiori's aunt- you can call me Mei."

Light kept his face polite, but he was less than thrilled to be forced into calling the woman by her given name due to lack of information. "Nice to meet you."

"Yes," Mei said, fishing a business card out of her purse. "It is. You haven't been modeling for long, have you?"

Light frowned. "No. I'm not really modeling, I'm just... sitting for a few classes. I don't want to be a model," he said, eying the business card she now held as if it might have some sort of contagious disease.

"Come on," Mei said softly, wiggling the card in his direction, "just come to the agency to get some pictures taken. The pay is very good, and you'll still have this class, as well."

"I am still in school, Ms. Mei," Light said, still not taking the business card from her. "And I plan on going to college as a full-time student, as well. I do not have the time or inclination to be a model. I'm only doing this for a few months to earn some money. That's it."

"We can work with your schedule!" Mei said, pleading now. "You'll get the money you're looking for even faster, and you'll have something to fall back on in case something happens at school."

Light choked on a disbelieving laugh at the veiled suggestion that he might flunk or drop out of school. "Despite what you seem to think, Ms. Mei, I will not allow myself to be prostituted by adults who think they know better than I do, and especially not by a sleazy modeling agent who makes a living off of exploiting young talent." He eyed Mei up and down in distaste, and she had the horrible feeling that he was comparing her to a... a what? A pimp? He continued, "I trust Ms. Jun. Despite her demeanor, she would never force me to do anything I did not wish to do. I will not go to your agency and be forced to sign a contract willing away my rights and privileges to your agency, and I will not sign my life away to become some skin-deep model who stars in a few ads for a pair of jeans and then loses himself to drugs and alcohol." Mei's jaw dropped as Light shrugged effortlessly and picked up his bag, looking as relaxed as if he hadn't just tore her a new one. In fact, he looked rather smugly satisfied with his little speech. "Will that be all, Ms. Mei?"

Mei considered giving up for a few seconds. The she contemplated the intense look on the teenager's face while he was chewing her out... She made up her mind. "You draw up the contract. You work as much or as little as you want, and quit whenever you want."

"A little desperate, aren't you?" Light asked cynically, exiting the classroom as Mei trailed behind him. "I hardly think a boss of yours would approve of a deal like that."

"I'll deal with it!" Mei said determinedly, even though a little voice in the back of her mind told her that she was in way over her head with this kid. "Look, Light," the boy bristled at such familiarity, but she blundered on, "you might tell yourself that you don't like all this, but you were in the zone in that classroom. You're a great model!"

Light sighed. He looked at Mei, exasperated, and asked blandly, "How much am I paid for one of your little photo shoots?"

"Three hundred dollars."

Light stopped. Stared. Chuckled. Mei's stomach did a funny jump—not like when she had a crush, like one might expect when faced with such a cute young man, but more like the feeling she got when she had forgotten something very important. Light's elegant fingers brushed lightly against hers as he gently took the business card from her. His smile was perfect. Predatory.

"I'll have a contract on your desk tomorrow."