Into the Rush
"Sora called a group meeting. Do you know what it's about?" Davis asked.
"I'm not sure…but it's gotta be important. It's been a while since we've had one of those," TK's eyes widened.
"Hey, wait up for us!" Mimi ran up to the boys.
"Sure," Davis said.
"Hey, do you guys know what the meeting is about? Did Tai happen to mention anything to you?" Izzy asked.
"No, but now that I'm thinking about it…do you think that this meeting is about…you know?" Davis twirled his finger at everyone.
"Huh…," everyone else glanced at each other.
"So…what do we do from here?" Izzy asked.
"Let's not come in all at the same time- makes things less suspicious. Uh, I'll take Mimi with me…and you guys come in whenever. Okay, bye!" TK pulled Mimi by her wrist and walked off.
"See you soon, I guess!" Mimi trodded off.
"Okay, that was weird, right?" Davis asked.
"Yeah…something tells me we're gonna look more suspicious now. Alright, let's go," Izzy shrugged.
"Ahem, ahem! Is everyone finally here?" Tai stood on a chair.
"Get down from there, before-" Sora hissed.
"Oh yeah, I forget…You date the opps now. You think that would come with the hookup," Tai rolled his eyes.
"We're not dating- it's complicated. Just get down and shut up," Sora crossed her arms.
"Okay, getting down," Tai stuck out his tongue.
"So, what's the big emergency, big brother?" Kari asked.
"It's not an emergency as much as a big event. Today is finally the day we open up the results to our career aptitude test!" Tai clapped his hands.
"Wait…Izzy and I just took those today and we should be getting our results in the fall. Why are you just opening up yours now?" Mimi asked.
"I forget that you're new to some of our traditions, Meems! One of them is our career aptitude test. We know our results are available in the fall, we just don't open them until you guys take them- cause we're not gonna let a stupid test tell us what our futures are!" Tai exclaimed.
"You know you don't have to let the aptitude test determine what the rest of your life is going to look like," Izzy raised an eyebrow.
"Yeah, which is why we don't open the test until we already are so close to graduation, we can taste it…I mean, I can feel the excitement rushing through my hair, can't you?" Matt licked his lips.
"It is exciting. No more high school in a couple of weeks," Sora smiled.
"Well, maybe for you guys…," Tai nervously laughed.
"Tai! Are you serious?" Sora gasped.
"It's no big deal! If I pass summer school, I'll be fine," Tai scoffed.
"But what if you don't?" Kari asked.
"Thanks, Kari. I really appreciate your faith in me…," Tai flatly said.
"Alright, everyone! Stop yapping your gums! Gimmie my results before you kill my mood," Matt outstretched his arm.
"Yep. Here you go. This is a historic moment guys. We're the first generation in the group to open our results, ya know," Tai pulled some envelopes from his makeup apron.
"Yeah, yeah, yeah…let's cut to the chase!" Matt ferociously tore at his envelope.
"Huh…," Sora pulled a letter out of her envelope and frowned.
"Sora, is everything okay?" TK asked.
"Yeah…it's just not what I expected," Sora shook her head.
"What did you get?" Mimi grabbed into TK's arm.
"My top three choices were professional athlete, diplomat, and athletic coach…that's pretty out of left field," Sora raised an eyebrow.
"What the hell? At least you're in the ball park…this is what I got: fashion designer, florist, and professional athlete!" Tai shook his paper.
"Eh…looks like it's checking out. You are wearing a dress and all," Davis looked Tai up and down.
"FYI, this is not a dress! It is an artist smock," Tai tugged on the collar of his work uniform.
"Tell me, do you wear anything under your 'artist smock'?" Sora raised an eyebrow.
"I don't really have much room to, it's the biggest size they make," Tai protested.
"What about the red lipstick? Or the high heels? Or the pantyhose?" Mimi tapped on her lips.
"It's store uniform policy," Tai huffed.
"If you say so," Matt whistled.
"Okay hot shot, why don't you put your money where your mouth is, and tell us what your career path is?" Tai crossed his arms.
"With pleasure! I got…wha…," Matt's jaw dropped.
"What's wrong?" TK wrapped his arms around Mimi.
"Wedding planner, Ponzi schemer, and worst of all…real estate agent?! A real estate agent?! That's the job you take when all your other dreams come to die," Matt gasped.
"Can we actually go back to where you said Ponzi schemer? I feel like that's not something that should be glossed over," Izzy twirled his finger in the air.
"I agree. Sounds like you're on some watch list now," Sora made a face.
"I can't worry about that right now! What about me gives real estate agent? Look at me! I'm still young!" Matt gasped.
"Real estate agents can be young…I think," TK frowned.
"Oh yeah? Have you met one that wasn't like thirty? I want a redo! This test is rigged!" Matt scoffed.
"Look, didn't you say that these tests were a bunch of BS anyways? That's why you look at your results so late, right?" Izzy asked.
"Yeah…yeah. You're totally right. We don't let anyone tell us our lives are over, including these dumb personality tests! Thanks man," Matt exhaled deeply.
"Sure, I guess," Izzy raised an eyebrow.
"Alright, crisis averted! Now I gotta go back to sell tickets to an event that I may or may not be able to promise people!" Matt rubbed his hands together.
"We should get a move on it. If we sell enough tickets, we might be able to pay off some of our debts and I might be able to have enough left over to do something nice for Megumi too," Tai said.
"Smell ya later!" Matt hopped up from his seat, Tai following suit.
"Okay, I'm not exactly sure how a Ponzi scheme works, but it sounds like that's the game Matt and Tai are running right now," TK frowned.
"I'd say you're pretty close," Sora groaned.
"I hope they don't get in any trouble," Kari bit at her nail.
"And you live with these guys?" Mimi asked.
"It's not we had a choice," Sora, TK, and Kari said in unison.
"Oooh, defensive much? Sorry for asking…," Mimi winced.
"That meeting was different than I expected it to be," Mimi locked fingers with Izzy.
"Yeah, that was a close call…," Izzy whispered.
"About that…so how do you think everyone will react when we finally tell them?" Mimi wrapped her arms around his waist.
"Do we want to? You'll be moving…," Izzy paused.
"Yeah, I don't want to think about that," Mimi sighed.
"Neither do I, but it's still in the back of my mind," Izzy sighed.
"I'm sorry," Mimi softly brushed her fingers against Izzy's chest.
"It's not your fault. I guess why don't we just try to enjoy the small time we do have," Izzy sighed.
"You're right," Mimi flashed him a small smile and kissed him. She tucked herself in a corner as Izzy leaned against her.
"Whoa! You took our spot!" Davis gasped.
"Huh?" Izzy and Mimi broke away from their kiss.
"Yeah, everyone knows that the biography section of the bookstore is the secret make out spot," TK huffed.
"If everyone knows that, then is it really a secret?" Izzy turned red.
"Teeks, he's got a point…," Davis tugged at TK's sleeve.
"So, what do we do now?" TK asked.
"Obviously, if everyone knows about this spot, we'll have to find other spots to…you know," Izzy blushed.
"Yeah, we know…," TK smirked.
"It's a huge mall, there's plenty of places. Right?" Mimi shrugged.
"Yeah…she's right. We just have to find the right ones," Davis rubbed his chin.
"Hey Sora, what can I get you?" Kari asked.
"Ugh, can I get a large decaf, black? If possible, make it burnt. Oh, and add in some coffee grounds too," Sora grumbled.
"I don't know about the coffee grounds, but I can do the rest…is everything okay? This isn't your usual order," Kari frowned.
"This is what I like to call my 'I hate myself' order. I wanted to gather this meeting because I wanted to get some stuff out in the open. Everyone's been acting all weird lately, but of course, like always, Tai had to steal the show…," Sora huffed.
"What do you mean 'like always'?" Kari narrowed her eyes.
"You know how Tai is. Everything is always centered on what he thinks is interesting. He and Matt are always getting involved with some stupid scheme or getting distracted by something completely irrelevant when there's more important things to worry about," Sora huffed.
"Oh? Like what?" Kari raised an eyebrow.
"For starters, there's so much tension in our group. You think it's because we all know Izzy's gay? I want him to know we support him," Sora said.
"I don't think-"
"Speaking of, didn't you notice how half of the group was drenched in water? What do you think happened before the meeting? Do you think it had to do with Izzy? Oh, and speaking of…did you notice how close Mimi and TK were?" Sora asked.
"Is that why you wanted to hold our meeting?" Kari asked.
"I mean…," Sora paused.
"You know, I think there's a reason why people would find Tai's antics more interesting than what you think. You're kind of a meddler. Here's your drink. I have to get ready for close now," Kari handed Sora a coffee cup.
"Thanks…wait a minute, I asked for coffee grounds. You put a banana peel in here!" Sora yelled.
"Sorry, I can't hear you!" Kari walked to the back room.
"I probably deserve that," Sora frowned into her coffee cup.
"So, how's the place looking?" Tai crossed his arms.
"Looks like we got it in the bag!" Matt tapped his fist against Tai's arm.
"Nice! So it's good to go for real?" Tai smiled.
"Yep. Our ticket sales are doing great, our entertainment is booked, and everything looks like it's falling in place. Just waiting on Pierre and the girls for the final deets, but I think we're actually gonna pull this off. Chef's kiss," Matt kissed his fingertips and expanded them in the air.
"This is great!" Tai exclaimed.
"Oi mates! Sorry we're late, we got a little lost!" a lanky, rehedheaded girl in a tracksuit ran up to the boys.
"Yeah, sorry…," a curvy girl with dark hair and smoky eyeshadow sipped at an iced latte.
"Doesn't seem like you're sorry, I see you guys stopped by for coffee," Tai smirked.
"Hey, don't go busting our chops. Do you know what jet lag feels like?" a tall, slender girl with blonde tousled hair narrowed her eyes at Tai.
"Tai, these girls are doing us a huge favor! Speaking of, am I crazy or are we missing someone?" Matt raised an eyebrow.
"You boys seriously don't keep up with pop culture, don't you?" The dark-haired girl nonchalantly said.
"I guess not. Care to clue us in?" Tai frowned.
"The little dag who shall not be named screwed us over for a solo career, so we're in hiatus for a bit," the blonde girl scoffed.
"She goes by her full name now, Isabella Venti, and she's too posh for any of us," the dark haired mocked.
"Whoa, are you serious? How did this happen?" Matt gasped.
"Beats us, but do you know how ridiculous it is to be the Kiwis without four girls? It's supposed to Kelsey, Irene, Whitney, and Izzie! Now we're just the Kiws? What's a Kiw?" the blonde girl exclaimed.
"Calm down, Kels…what's done is done. We can do better without her anyways, all we have to do is plan out our next steps," the redheaded girl said.
"As long as none of those plans include any more solo careers," the dark-haired girl smirked.
"Hard out," the blonde girl, Kelsey nodded.
"Right…," Matt nervously bit his lip.
"We've got this under control, just trust the process," the redheaded girl confidently said.
"Don't worry, I believe you…uh," Matt paused.
"My name's Whitney," The redheaded girl said.
"Right, I knew that…," Matt turned red.
"I think I'm starting to understand why Izzie's the one with the solo career now," the dark-haired girl shook her head.
"Don't pack a sad, Irene," Whitney said.
"Uh, whatever she said…Matt's horrible with names. In fact, he's so bad with names, we gave his brother a new name, cause he couldn't remember it," Tai nervously laughed.
"Is that true?" Kelsey narrowed her eyes at Matt.
"Maybe…thanks Tai. Thank you for making me look like a doofus," Matt shot Tai a dirty look.
"Sorry, but the truth has to come out eventually," Tai shrugged.
"Hey, thanks for waiting! Got a little held up in the back. Apparently someone must have fell into our pond after-hours last night so we have to figure out how to stop that from happening again next time," a grungy-looking guy in an apron walked up to the boys and shook their hands.
"Hey Pierre, no problem. Just wanted to meet up to make sure we've got everything all set for the event?" Matt asked.
"Yeah. And I can also score some free food, if I can get two free tickets? My girl wanted to go to the school dance, but this seems way cooler," Pierre asked.
"When you say some free food, what do you mean by that? Like how much?" Tai asked.
"Dude, I'll make sure I'll have enough food for everyone covered. Now we got a deal?" Pierre extended his hand out.
"Yep," Matt shook his hand.
"Oh, hey…aren't you that girl group from Australia?"
"New Zealand, actually," Whitney smiled.
"I'm from Australia," Kelsey said.
"You always have to mention that," Irene rolled her eyes.
"Uh, cool. By any chance, are you gonna be at this event?" Pierre asked.
"Yeah. We're actually performing," Whitney beamed.
"Nice. I wish I didn't already have a girl, but it would be hard to choose between the three of you. I guess I'll catch you later, I'm looking forward to it, ladies," Pierre winked at the girls and walked away.
"Oh my goodness, he's kinda cute…," Kelsey cooed.
"I don't disagree," Irene causally sipped from her iced coffee.
"Dude, he's also kinda taken…," Tai made a face.
"But did you see his tattoos?" Irene said.
"Are you talking about those Floops Fooglie's sketches on his arms?" Tai furrowed his eyebrows.
"Fine, so maybe the tattoos are a bit grotesque, but the piercings…," Kelsey softly sighed.
"You girls can't be serious. Nothing against Pierre, but you do know he's a sketchy bus boy, right?" Matt looked at the girls in disbelief.
"Sure, but maybe the right girl could fix him," Kelsey twirled her hair.
"What do you mean? He's perfect the way he is," Irene looked over her shoulder.
"You get this, Tai? We've got international superstars here, and they're falling over some dirty dishwasher. What gives?" Matt made a face.
"Girls are strange," Tai shook his head.
"A movie is a great idea! No one's ever gonna catch us here," TK grabbed a bucket of popcorn.
"And no one would ever buy tickets to..…Le Deux? Sounds like a boring French film," Davis shrugged.
"Uhhh, Davis? Maybe we're not as genius as we think. Look," TK tugged Davis by the arm and pointed to couples walking into the theater.
"Maybe they like French movies? We do have a big exchange student class from Canada. It's fine, let's just get a seat all the way in the back," Davis nervously laughed.
"Okay, but I'm getting a bad feeling about this...," TK pressed his lips together.
"Alright, so maybe this plan wasn't as innovative as I thought," Izzy winced.
"It's okay. We're in the back corner. Now give me a kiss!" Mimi pulled him close.
"Maybe we should wait until they dim the lights a little? I'm pretty sure there's people who came here to actually watch this movie," Izzy bit his lip.
"Are you sure? What are TK and Davis doing here then?" Mimi asked.
"What? Are you kidding?" Izzy choked.
"No, they're standing right there like a bunch of sitting ducks," Mimi pointed towards the movie screen.
"Mimi, put your finger down," Izzy hissed.
"Oh, oops!" Mimi nervously laughed.
"This can't be happening...," Izzy groaned.
"It's okay, maybe they won't see us. Here, let's just act normal and have some candy while the previews are..…ugh!" Mimi struggled to open a bag of Skittles.
"Are you having trouble with that? I can-" Izzy held out his hand.
"Nope, I got i-oops," Mimi opened the bag, and accidentally spilled all the candy on Izzy's lap. "I'm so sorry!" Mimi gasped.
"And now, our feature presentation!" the theatre speakers blared.
"I'm so sorry, I'll get that..…," Mimi tried to scoop up the candy but Izzy squirmed.
"Mimi, don't worry about the candy...it's not important," Izzy awkwardly brushed off the candy.
"Hey, what a coincidence. Looks like a lot of people dropped candy on their boyfriend's laps," Mimi picked her head up from Izzy's lap.
"Uh, Mimi..…I don't think that's what's going on," Izzy felt his face turn red.
"Mimi? Izzy? What are you guys doing here?" TK gasped.
"Picking up candy?" Mimi held up a Skittle.
"Hmph, sure…," Davis patted his hair and smirked.
"We seriously can't do anything alone, can we?" Izzy covered his face with his hands.
"Including pick up candy?" TK smiled mischievously.
"Everyone just shut up and watch the movie," Izzy huffed.
"But I can't. I think people snuck spaghetti into the theater, and it's so distracting," Mimi frowned.
"Is someone gonna tell her? Cause I don't want to be that guy," Davis made a face.
"Hey Kari, you look off..…is everything okay with you?" Zoe asked.
"Yeah, I don't know. I'm wondering if I was a bit harsh on my friend. She's like a sister to me, but like at the same time, she's like a sister to me," Kari pouted.
"I don't understand," Zoe pressed her lips together.
"Are you an only child?" Kari asked.
"Yeah..…sorry," Zoe rubbed her arm awkwardly.
"It's okay. It's just that she's like the only real girl friend I've had my entire life and she'll be graduating soon, but I don't know what will happen once she goes. Like she's so wrapped up in what everyone else is doing, it's so petty. Then she made some stupid comment about Tai, I feel like she forgot how it was before all of these other people got involved," Kari frowned.
"Do you mean all your other friends?" Zoe raised an eyebrow.
"That's the thing. Do you think we'd even be friends if it weren't for Tai?" Kari asked. "Once he's gone, I'll be stuck with TK and Davis..…and I guess I'm okay with that, but what if I end up like Sora? Bored with my life that I'll be getting myself involved with other people's business?" Kari stuck her tongue out.
"Ahem, Kari?" Zoe cleared her throat.
"Hey..…I was gonna order something, but I think I have been meaning to try the coffee at the cinnamon bun place," Sora turned red.
"Your funeral," Catherine scoffed.
"Sora!" Kari gasped.
"Yeah, don't worry about it! I gotta go!" Sora nervously laughed and ran off.
"Zoe, why didn't you warn me?" Kari turned red.
"I tried?" Zoe bit her lip.
"If you ask me, she had to find out eventually. She won't be popular in the real world if she continues to act up that way," Catherine steamed some milk in a frother.
"Ohhh, I'm screwed," Kari groaned.
"Hey, I think I know what I can do to take your mind off of it. Me and Yolei are gonna go shopping for the dance after work. Wanna come along?" Zoe asked.
"Are you..…?" Kari asked.
"Oh god no! I'm going with this kinda cute guy. He's like not necessarily who people would expect me to go out with, but I like him," Zoe nervously tucked her hands in her apron.
"You got a date to the dance?" Catherine cooed.
"Yeah, I'm so excited," Zoe gently twirled her hair.
"Oh, I'm so happy for you! That's awesome," Kari hugged her.
"Yeah, come with us! Help me find something to wear!" Zoe grabbed Kari by the wrist.
"You know what? It would be nice to have some real girl time for once. Count me in," Kari smiled.
"Hey Kamiya, did you open up your career aptitude results yet?" Miki sipped at a Diet Coke.
"Yeah, I opened it up with the gang yesterday," Tai sighed.
"Oh..…doesn't sound too good," Megumi pouted.
"Because it's not," Tai sighed.
"We waited to open ours up until we were all together, but seems like you had a head start. You know, you're kinda scaring me now," Miki delicately scraped her sharp fingernail against the edge of her envelope and pulled the out a slip of paper. "Nice..…I'm satisfied."
"Hold on, I'm not ready," Megumi ripped a tear down the side of her envelope and slid her paper out. "Oooh! Yay me!"
"What? What did your results say?" Tai asked.
"My top occupations are police officer, cosmetologist, and personal trainer," Miki winked.
"Oh my god, me too!" Megumi squealed.
"What? You're excited to be cops? Miki, you are aware your boyfriend is a semi-criminal, right?" Tai asked.
"He's turning a new leaf. And it's great! I'll be the fifth generation of law enforcement," Miki put her hands on her hips.
"Same here!" Megumi squealed.
"Interesting," Tai squinted.
"What did you get for your results?" Miki asked.
"Eh, stupid stuff like..…professional bitch, astronaut, rock star. I forget," Tai shrugged.
"Huh, I guess there's a reason we wait until the end of the year to open these. These tests can't be right 100 percent of the time," Miki pouted.
"Oh my gosh, can you believe this? Regardless of what we do, we can tell people we beat faces for a living. Now whether that's with a powder puff or nunchucks..…that's still up in the air," Megumi smiled.
"Megumi, are you sure you want to be a cop?" Tai awkwardly chuckled.
"Yeah! All of my family were cops. Why not?" Megumi asked.
"Not that I would be terrified of you as a cop..…but wow, your makeup skills are soooo good. Would you really want to put that to waste?" Tai gulped.
"Oh, you're right," Megumi pursed her lips. "I guess I better think...how do I incorporate my makeup skills into my future career as a cop?"
"Oh god..…criminals of Tokyo, I probably shouldn't pray for you, but I here am doing so," Tai muttered under his breath.
"You think this will work?" TK looked at the storefront.
"Why wouldn't it? It's dark, there's privacy, and no one will know we're here. We're just two bros..…shopping like normal people," Davis said.
"Okay, I guess it doesn't hurt to try it," TK wiped his hands on his jeans.
"Hey, welcome to Southport..…try our latest fragrance, Sasha," a guy in a ponytail sprayed the boys in the face with a cologne.
"It's a bisexual scent, so everyone can wear it," another guy, with shaggy dark hair pitched in.
"Can we get a changing room?" Davis blurted.
"Sure..…how many items do you have?" the first guy raised an eyebrow.
"Uh...this many," Davis grabbed several hangers from a nearby rack.
"Oh. I see," the guy shot a dirty look at the boys. "Here, you can take the big room. Plenty of room to..…figure out what you need to do," the boy smirked.
"Thanks," Davis laughed nervously.
"Yeah. Just don't take too long and clean up when you're done," the boy closed the door.
"Davis?" TK asked.
"We did it," Davis grinned.
"You sure? You don't think we were obvious?" TK asked.
"What makes you think that?" Davis asked.
"He took the clothes back with him," TK said.
"Hey..…who cares. Let's just take the win," Davis leaned in close to TK and started kissing his neck.
"I guess you're right," TK held onto Davis and kissed him back.
"Hey girlie! Heard you guys just dropped the new shipment of velour sweatsuits! I just got the email!" Mimi ran up to Sora.
"We got some in for now. But with summer coming up, why would you-"
"I got the email. Now where are they?" Mimi pointed at her phone.
"Okay, geez..…you want me to set you up with a room?" Sora asked.
"Of course! I need to try one in every color!" Mimi sifted through the clothing racks.
"Alright," Sora pulled out her lanyard and opened up a room for Mimi.
"Thank you!" Mimi beamed.
"No problem. If you need anything, just press the button on the wall. Otherwise, I'll be reorganizing the underwear drawer for the 500th time today," Sora sighed.
"Thanks!" Mimi grabbed her clothes and shut the door in Sora's face.
"Can't get in the way of a shopping spree," Sora shook her head and walked back to the front of the store.
"Hey Sora, I think we got a shipment mixup..…," Izzy walked toward her with a dolly cart of boxes.
"Great, I hate when that happens," Sora huffed.
"I don't like it either. Where do you want me to put it?" Izzy asked.
"You know, same old spot in back. I swear I'll have to have a talk with those package guys," Sora put her hands on her hips.
"Don't worry about it, I already gave them my piece of mind. I'll just drop them off and head on back. I think I'm the only one in the store, so I'm in a rush to get back," Izzy said.
"Okay. Thanks for dropping them by," Sora shrugged.
"No problem," Izzy said as he wheeled the packages to the back of the store.
"Sora! Can you tell me what these random boxes are doing here?" a girl with a clipboard marched over to her.
"Yeah, we got new shipment," Sora said.
"Noooo..…that is for Pinkalicious. We sell Pink. Ugh, these stupid delivery guys!" the girl stomped her foot.
"Are you sure? Cause the guy from Pinkalicious just-"
"Sora, you better do something about those boxes before I do something about this whole store!" the girl growled.
"Fine, but did you happen to see a redheaded guy in here? Average height, skinny-"
"Sora! I don't care, just fix it!" the girl angrily bit at a Clif bar.
"Okay, geez! Can't wait until I graduate, I won't step foot in here again," Sora grumbled under her breath as she stomped to the back room.
*rumble rumble*
"Mimi, is that you? Is everything okay?" Sora raised an eyebrow.
"Uh oh…,"
"I had a feeling this was a bad idea…,"
"Ahem, everything's just peachy here!" Mimi nervously laughed.
"If you say so. Mimi, if you need, I can always hold whatever you want until your next paycheck and I'll let you use my employee discount. I'm not insinuating anything, but I know how many items of clothes you took with you," Sora said.
"Sora, I'm fine! I'm just..…in between sizes. Can I get some personal space?" Mimi snapped.
"Sure. Would you like me to get a different size?" Sora asked.
"No..…how about you get off my back, okay? You're stressing me out!" Mimi huffed.
"Fine...I have to drop off some stuff at Izzy's. I think he's been acting kind of weird, cause he doesn't make mistakes like that. I wanted to talk about that during our meeting-"
"Sora, you're really killing my mood. I don't want to talk about that, okay? I've got other things on my mind," Mimi whined.
"Fine, I'm leaving since it's apparently crap on Sora day..…," Sora looked down on the floor and gasped at the two sets of feet in Mimi's changing room. "Hold up, I know those shoes from anywhere!"
"Yeah, I bought them on sale…," Mimi nervously laughed.
"No, I'm talking about the guy's shoes next to yours! Open the door, Mimi!" Sora knocked on the door.
"No!" Mimi yelled.
"Sora! What did I tell you about those boxes? Move it!"
"We'll talk later! I have to go," Sora grunted and wheeled away the boxes.
"Is the coast clear?" Izzy whispered.
"Ummm, yeah..…we're good now," Mimi peeked out from under the dressing room door.
"That was so close, but I think Sora found us out. What should we do now?" Izzy snuck out of the dressing room.
"How do you feel about shoe shopping?" Mimi nervously laughed.
"Matt, I'm so sorry to break the news to you, but we might have to bail on you," Whitney grimaced.
"What? No! You promised! And I promised an awesome dance to a bunch of people- which won't happen if you girls aren't there!" Matt jabbed his finger in her arm.
"Do you think anyone cares about us leftovers? That little ankle biter took all the fame, and all of the new songs that we all worked so hard on together for her new solo album!" Kelsey clenched her fists.
"If that didn't already add salt to the wound, her rich parents are trying to buy our masters of all of our previous work, so all the profits will go to her- and because they're rich, you know they'll have a top-dollar lawyer team," Irene scoffed.
"Can they really do that?" Matt gasped.
"That little brat bought herself a solo career and a positive public image, with that kind of money, she can do anything," Kelsey scoffed.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to listen in or interrupt you guys, but have you thought about maybe going in a different direction? Maybe re-record everything, and re-release it as a special edition," Rina smirked.
"Why..…that doesn't sound like a bad idea," the girls whispered to each other.
"Look, I have some music engineering software on my laptop! We can come up with some demo tracks- maybe 'accidentally' leak an original song. You guys must have stuff," Rina said.
"That's such a great idea! You've been more helpful in the last two minutes than our old manager was in our entire career," Kelsey remarked.
"Surprised to see our manager actually became competent once Izzie got her solo career- oh, I'm sorry, Isabella Venti…," Irene sipped at her energy drink.
"You know what? We could really use a new manager. How would you like to help us out?" Kelsey glanced at Rina.
"Depends..…are you guys still up for performing at the dance?" Rina asked.
"Now that you've helped take some things off of our mind, I think we can follow through with our original obligations," Kelsey smiled.
"Good, glad to hear it!" Rina gave her a thumbs up.
"Okay girlies, we have a lot to do in the meantime, so why don't we head to our hotel and start our brainstorming process? The Kiwis are taking back what's theirs," Kelsey clapped her hands.
"About damn time," Irene smirked.
"Let's get moving! We're running against the clock," Whitney excitedly said.
"Here's my contact info, let's keep in touch," Rina slipped Kelsey a business card.
"Oi mates, we'll see you around!" Kelsey waved goodbye.
"Whoa, that was so close…thank you, Rina," Matt gasped.
"No problem. I think we're going to have our hands pretty full. Are you up for this challenge?" Rina put her fist up.
"As long as you're here with me," Matt lightly tapped his fist against Rina's chin.
"Wouldn't have it any other way. I'll catch you on the flip side," Rina winked.
"Bye…," Matt smiled goofily.
"Ugh, where's TK? He's supposed to be here already," Zoe tapped at her watch.
"It's fine...it's only five minutes. You guys go on," Catherine waved her hand dismissively.
"Are you sure you'll be fine by yourself? What if he doesn't show up soon?" Kari asked.
"You guys go, I can hold down the fort myself- and if he doesn't get here in the next ten minutes, I'll just have to give him a write-up, which I'd really hate to do," Catherine smiled.
"Something tells me she's looking forward to that," Zoe whispered to Kari.
"Hey, sorry I'm late guys! I was held up and lost track of time!" TK ran into the cafe.
"When you say held up, did you mean held up against a wall? Do I see a sucette right here?" Catherine smirked and tapped at her neck.
"A what?" TK asked.
"A..…what would you call it, a love bite?" Catherine smirked.
"Oh my god, TK!" Kari gasped.
"Nonononono, please tell me you're lying!" TK pressed his palms against the sides of his neck.
"Oooh, who gave it to you?" Zoe cooed.
"Nobody! It was a curling iron! Now if you don't mind me, I gotta punch in-"
"I already adjusted your time clock. So, how did you really get it?" Catherine narrowed her eyes.
"I already told you guys, a curling iron," TK turned red.
"Fine. Be that way. But we can't have you walking around with a big bruise on your neck. Come with me, I'll help you cover it up. Girls, it will only be a moment," Catherine said.
"Sure," Zoe sighed. "So Kari, who do you think TK was hooking up with?"
"Not sure. Only thing I know is I think I need to find more friends…friends who don't make me stay past my shift for their nonsense that they won't even keep me in the loop about," Kari grabbed her phone and started typing furiously away at it.
"Kari, are you okay? I feel like you should never text when you look mad," Zoe frowned.
"I'm fine, I think I just owe Sora an apology," Kari forced a smile.
"Are you sure?" Zoe raised an eyebrow.
"Positive. I feel better already! Now who's up for dress shopping?" Kari grinned.
"Okay! That's what I'm talking about! I'm so excited..…I don't know what color I want to wear, but can you believe that Koji said he would match anything I'd wear?" Zoe gushed.
"Is he the guy with the blue eyes who works at Southport?" Kari asked.
"Yeah! He's kinda cute…," Zoe smiled.
"He is, you're lucky. He's nice too," Kari said.
"Oh no, you're thinking of his twin brother Kouichi. He's the nice twin," Zoe said.
"Then why are you going out with Koji?" Kari asked.
"Cause he's the cute one, duh," Zoe smiled.
"Right..…," Kari pursed her lips.
"Tai, you're just the guy I want to see!" Sora ran into the store.
"What's up?" Tai cleaned off lipstick testers.
"Did you check the group chat? Kari wants to hold an emergency meeting. By any chance, do you know what that could be about?" Sora asked.
"I dunno..…let me ask her. She seems fine, but it's Kari. She always acts like she's fine," Tai pulled out his phone. "Huh, straight to voicemail."
"Same. I was gonna reach out to everyone else- but speaking of, I think I know why everyone is acting so weird. I think Mimi and TK are hooking up behind everyone's backs!" Sora exclaimed.
"What?!" Miki and Megumi peeled out from the other side of the display counter.
"We love juicy gossip…pray do tell, what makes you think such a thing?" Miki flashed a sinister smile.
"We promise we'll keep it between us," Megumi rubbed her hands together.
"Girls," Tai shot them a stern look.
"Please, this mall has been dead lately, we're dying here..…," Miki heaved.
"We promise, mum's the word!" Megumi jumped up and down.
"Okay, I think the girls are good for it. Sora, what makes you think something that crazy in the first place?" Tai scoffed.
"Mimi was supposedly trying on clothes at my store, but I saw another pair of feet in the changing room- wearing a familiar pair of shoes. And do you know how I recognize those shoes? Because I trip over them all the time at home, because TK is a slob who leaves his crap everywhere!" Sora yelled.
"Whoa, talk about unhinged," Megumi stepped back.
"Sora, I'm not discrediting you..…but you have to have more evidence than shoes, right?" Tai stood in front of Megumi.
"Yes! I stopped by the cafe to check in on Kari, since she sent me straight through voicemail- speaking of, you need to get a handle on your sister, there's something going on with her-" Sora rambled.
"Clearly! But can you get to the point..…like today?" Miki interrupted Sora.
"Okay, where was I? Oh yeah, TK was there and guess what I saw? A huuuuge hickey on his neck! If that's not proof, then what is?" Sora put her hands on her hips.
"Oh my god," Miki and Megumi shared glances at each other.
"No! Girls, no! You can't tell anyone else! It stays here!" Tai wagged his finger at Miki and Megumi.
"Oops..…," Megumi nervously chuckled.
"What do you mean oops?" Tai growled.
"I may or may not have a really awesome skill of being able to text without looking at the screen," Megumi nervously brought her phone to her chin.
"You're so bad…," Miki smirked.
*buzz buzz*
"Huh, got a text from Megumi," Yolei pulled her phone out of her pocket.
"Is it anything important?" Kari asked.
"Yeah..…apparently, your little friend TK was caught hooking up with my coworker's friend in a changing room. Interesting," Yolei raised an eyebrow.
"Ahh, so is that where he got his 'curling iron' burn mark?" Zoe smirked.
"Huh, how interesting indeed," Kari flatly said.
*buzz buzz*
"Quoi?" Catherine pulled her phone out of her apron and gasped.
"Catherine, is everything alright?" TK asked.
"You know what? Yes. Everything's just fine. Everyone is just growing up so fast," Catherine smiled devilishly at him.
*buzz buzz*
"Huh…oh crap," Izzy turned white.
"Izzy, you don't look too good," Angie frowned.
"You're right, I don't feel too good," Izzy shook his head.
"You're not going to leave me alone to work the store by myself, are you?" Angie whimpered.
"No, what am I, Yolei?" Izzy hunched over the register.
"But you're still technically management now, and isn't that what management does?" Angie asked.
"Angie, I'll be fine. Let's just try to get by today," Izzy struggled to say.
"Alright, but if you want to leave me here by myself, I'm just warning you that I might not be up for that just yet," Angie frowned.
"You know what? Let's close up for 30 minutes, okay?" Izzy grabbed his keys.
"I'm always okay with that!" Angie happily tossed lipglosses on the ground and followed Izzy out of the store.