35. Suggestion

467 Words

Mitsuo was staring at the script in his lap but his eyes didn't really register any of the words. It had been almost a month since the party when he had unintentionally spilled his secret out to Izumi. And nothing had happened.

Immediately after the party he had been frantic. What would Izumi think of him now?

But as weeks had passed, he had started to feel uncomfortable. Why hadn't Izumi said anything to him? Why was she behaving like his awkward confession had never happened?

Ready to plunge into the swamp of self-pity and depression, Mitsuo was startled when a soft, hesitant voice spoke up.

"Mitsuo-san?"

The actor looked up from the script to find that the shy and cute Noriko was standing before him, fiddling with the script.

Mitsuo gave the girl a reassuring smile. Mitsuo rather liked the pretty little actress; she was so sweet and kind.

It still amazed him that someone like Noriko would be dating the attention-seeking delinquent-wannabe.

Speaking of Taiki, where was he? Mitsuo quickly glanced about. If Taiki were to see his precious girlfriend chatting with another male, all hell would break loose. Mitsuo would rather avoid being raged at by the delusional and jealous boyfriend. After all, Taiki could get pretty loud at times.

Seeing the bad boy actor nowhere near, Mitsuo relaxed a bit.

"What is it, Noriko-san?" he asked.

"I was wondering if you mind reading the script with me," Noriko replied, blushing slightly. "There is that scene with 'Inuyasha' and 'Kikyo' they're shooting this afternoon…"

"Sure," Mitsuo readily replied with a grin. "It'd be good to practise."

Noriko sat down on the chair next to him, and the two of them began to go through the scene together, rehearsing their lines.

o~D~o

"Oh, here you are, Noriko-chan!"

Mitsuo and Noriko turned to see that Himeko was standing in front of them, her hand propped on her hip.

"It's almost lunch time, you know! Izumi was looking for you."

Mitsuo's cheeks flushed at the mention of Izumi's name.

Noriko missed the boyish actor's reaction as she quickly scrambled up.

"Thanks, Himeko-chan, I lost track of time!"

"No problem, hun. Run along, Izumi's waiting for you at the cafeteria."

Mitsuo's blush suddenly deepened.

"Aren't you coming, Himeko-chan?"

"In a bit."

"Oh, ok. Thank you for your help, Mitsuo-san!"

Mitsuo stared at Noriko's retreating back and tried his best to avoid Himeko's appraising eyes. He could feel the woman's intent gaze on him.

"You know," the idol-turned-actress drawled in, a slight hint of amusement evident in her voice, "you could just go and ask her out."

Mitsuo flinched, embarrassed to have been caught red handed. He looked up and saw Himeko watching him, a knowing smile playing on her lips.

Then, the actress winked at him and walked away.