Obviously, I don't own Shakespeare's Twelfth Night. Arguably, though, he's a fellow fanfiction writer, considering most of his plays are reinterpretations of earlier sources. This has yet to win me a place alongside him in our Literature course, though.
“Of course,” Kaname replied. “It’s just reading the lines out, right? How hard can it be?”
“Well, you also have to read the lines out well, you see. That could be the sticking point.”
“Whatever. I’ll be just fine.” Kaname smirked. “If you have time to worry about me, you should spend it worrying about yourself, you know.”
“I’ll be fine. I’m good at this stuff, I know the play, and I wrote the script.” Momomi smiled at her. “That’s pretty much what you’d call an advantage. I just want to see the right person alongside me.”
Kaname stuck her hands in her pockets. “Don’t worry about it. This won’t be a problem, like I said.”
“Somehow that would be more convincing if I didn’t know that you haven’t even glanced at the script?”
“Yeah, well, will Amane have read the script?” Kaname asked.
“No, but you’re the one who had the chance. You rejected that out of laziness, and after all the trouble I went through writing it, too. Very hurtful.”
“I had a lot of homework, don’t blame me. Besides, she might have got it from Olesa if she wanted. Or from you, come to that.”
Momomi sighed. “Well, that didn’t happen, so you don’t need to worry.”
“I know. Because even if you offered her it, she wouldn’t take it.”
“Isn’t that just because of her indifference? The thing you so love to hate about her?”
“Regardless, it means it’s only fair if I don’t read the script too.” Kaname nodded severely. “It’s the only way to get an honourable result. If I beat her by gaining an unfair advantage, it’s meaningless.”
“You think?” Momomi queried. “Winning at any cost and by any method sounds just fine to me. If you have an advantage, use it. Surely you know that you have to take what breaks you can get?”
“Of course. But I also know that I want to beat her fairly.” Kaname shrugged. “That way, I know that I can beat the best of her kind from where I came on, without any tricks at all.”
“Even if you don’t read the script, it’s hardly an even playing field, now is it?” Momomi asked. “Amane-san has probably had training of some kind, or at least singing lessons. Someone like you, of all people, should take whatever you’re offered.”
“That’s not the point, though. I need to beat her on her terms, not my own.” Kaname smiled. “It’s obvious, isn’t it? That’s the only way I can totally finish this.”
“Well, whatever,” Momomi replied, shrugging casually. “That still sounds like a justification for your laziness after the fact, but you can keep it.”
Kaname sighed and frowned. “Do you think she’ll come, though?”
“Who? Amane?” Momomi cocked her head. “Probably. She did sound like she wanted to come. But you know how it is. We can never tell with her, not really.”
“She’d better,” Kaname growled. “The alternative would be far too annoying for words.”
Momomi giggled. “That would be hilarious, actually. After all I’ve hyped it up for you and for all your competitive excitement, she could still fail to show and leave you stuck without any excitement. You’d be screwed then, really.”
“Bah. I’d just leave. It’s meaningless if she doesn’t take part.”
“Oh?” Momomi asked. “And my participation means nothing to you? Too bad. I was looking forwards to working together with you on this one... it’s a very romantic play.”
Kaname rolled her eyes. “Yeah, yeah. Save the guilt trip for when we know whether she’s taking part or not.”
“Still, you have quite the one-track mind at times.” Momomi sighed, throwing up her hands. “What am I to do with you?”
“Get used to it?” Kaname suggested. “But, you know, it’d really be her style. Half the time, she doesn’t show any interest in what we’re doing or fails to show, because she’s just too damn cool to waste her time with normal people. Horses are better, it appears.”
“Hmm. If I was cynical, that’d be very convenient.” Momomi chuckled. “She can arrive at the events she knows she will win, while avoiding those where she’d lose while maintaining her dignity.”
“If she was like you, yeah, that’d be the case. She’s different from you, though. She’s far too literal and straight-forwards for her own good.” Kaname looked around. “Room 43, isn’t it?”
Momomi nodded. “That’s right. But don’t idealise her too much. She’s a very enigmatic person.” Momomi glanced at Kaname. “How much do you know about her, really? Because I can’t rule out her using that kind of logic, myself.”
“Like I said, that’s more you than her,” Kaname replied dismissively. “On her part, such thinking would require her to think, and give a damn.”
“For her self-proclaimed rival, you sure are charitable,” Momomi complained. “But whatever. I don’t know quite why you get so worked up about this stuff in the first place…”
“It’s important,” Kaname replied absently.
“How about another bet?” Momomi suggested.
“Eh?”
“On whether she shows or not.” Momomi cocked her head, eyes wry. “It’d be interesting, right?”
“What are betting on?” Kaname asked cautiously.
“Hmm… let’s see… how about our next date. The winner decides where we go for our next date!”
“Isn’t that a punishment?” Kaname complained. “I mean, it’s hard to come up with ideas, and things always go wrong somehow anyway.”
“Oh, come on. It’s not that bad. The picnic was fine, wasn’t it?”
“Until the thunderstorm broke and we had to run back to the school, yes.”
“Well, yeah, but we’d finished most of the food by then. Be fair.” Momomi rubbed her cheek. “I take your point, though. The winner can get to decide which of us has to decide? How about that?”
“That’s just overcomplicating things.”
“It’s your whining that’s overcomplicating things.”
“Fine. Whatever.” Kaname closed her eyes for a moment. “So? What do you think?”
“I think she’ll come,” Momomi said. “I get that kind of feeling from her.”
“Fine. I think she won’t. To be honest, she isn’t interested in anything that doesn’t have four legs, hooves and a tail.” Kaname shrugged. “Being proved wrong would be nice, but I doubt it.”
“Well, we’ll see, won’t we?” Momomi asked.
Kaname stopped, frowning. “Well, we’re here.”
“We’re here,” Momomi agreed. “Still no second thoughts?”
Kaname bit her lip, suppressing a rising sense of apprehension. “Of course not. I’m not that weak.”
“Yes, yes,” Momomi replied, opening the door and stepping through. The small drama studio had about twenty people inside, milling around and waiting for things to begin. Eida and Hirai were standing on the stage, carrying clipboards. Shion, the third person with a clipboard, was leaning against a wall in the corner, watching affairs with half-closed eyes.
“So you two did come,” Amiki observed, working towards them and waving. “I’m almost surprised. Why are you here, Kenjou? Worried your girlfriend will cheat on you?”
“I’m here to participate,” Kaname retorted. “So don’t expect any luck yourself, thank you very much. We’ll be taking the juicy parts.”
“As casual as ever,” Amiki noted, shrugging theatrically. “It can’t be helped, I suppose. But we’re not interested in acting. We’re going to help with the backstage work, and right now we’re backing up those three. They have more enthusiasm than common sense.”
Olesa nodded. “Well, Shion expressed her special interest in you two. So that’s hardly surprising.”
“Yeah, yeah.” Kaname shook her head. “Whatever you say. Just go and tell them that we’re here.”
Amiki nodded. “Sure. I’ll be waiting, Kenjou, so don’t disappoint me.” She turned and strode off, heading for the stage.
Olesa leaned against the wall, glancing at them. “There are a fair few people.”
“Surprised?” Momomi teased.
“Somewhat. No doubt this high attendance is a result of our excellent script.”
“Undoubtedly.”
“Shakespeare wrote most of it, didn’t he?” Kaname asked. “So don’t take too much credit for the dead guy’s work.”
“Hey, hey. You can say that after you’ve spent two weeks translating a dead guy’s work. God, that was a pain.” Momomi rubbed her eyes. “I’m still amazed we finished it in time.”
Olesa nodded. “As usual, the weight of keeping up with their idealism fell to us. No doubt the same thing will happen again when it comes to acting it.”
“However you look at it, though, you wrote the script and turned up for this, didn’t you?” Kaname asked. “You like it really. Denying that is pointless.”
“Well, I like a challenge,” Momomi replied. “But only every so often. And complaining about them is important.”
Kaname snorted. “Yeah, like that’ll change anything. Isn’t quitting easier?”
“It changes something. It makes us feel better.” Momomi smiled. “But we’re pretty much like you, Kaname. We like to pretend we’re not having fun, even when we are, and we’re dishonest as well.”
“I don’t think we’re quite as bad as Kenjou, though,” Olesa clarified.
“I still find that kind of attitude annoying. People who bitch about stuff at random are just wasting their breath.” Kaname closed her eyes and raised her hands. “And do you ever hear me complaining about kendo?”
“Err… yes, actually.” Momomi folded her arms, smirking. “A lot.”
“Oh, yeah.” Kaname flushed. “But those were observations, not pointless whining. Perfectly legitimate observations!”
“You mean the one where you said that Kariya was a mad old hag on a power trip? Or the one where you said Kariya was a vicious pervert who likes watching sweaty girls in armour? Or the one where you said that Kariya was so over-aggressive that she has to be compensating for something? Or the one when-”
“Okay, okay. Like I said, observations.” Kaname groaned. “I can’t believe you remember them all, though.”
“Well, your observations are always very interesting,” Momomi teased. “And very loud.”
“If it’s any consolation, Alicia does the same thing.” Olesa shrugged. “Personally, I find it stranger that you two would volunteer to be hit by sticks, than for us to volunteer for this.”
“If you say so,” Kaname replied absently. “It isn’t important.”
Another applicant drifted in and Olesa stepped away, heading towards them. Kaname frowned. “So? What now?”
“Let’s just take a seat in the corner,” Momomi suggested. “Quite apart from anything else, I could do with a sit-down.”
Kaname nodded, starting to walk past the others.
One of the girls actually noticed them, nodding and smiling. “Good morning, Kiyashiki-san.”
“Good morning,” Momomi replied, smiling amicably. Amazingly, several more people greeted her before they sat down. Momomi looked from side to side then spoke quietly. “Rather different from before, isn’t it?”
Kaname grunted. “You know why, though. People are finally accepting the fact that Amane isn’t actually carved out of an ice block the Ohtori family imported from their quarry in the South Pole.”
“Well, quite.” Momomi smiled. “One day, it’ll be for me, though. That’s my dream.”
“Yeah, but isn’t it a bother in the meantime?” Kaname complained. “Random people greeting you because of someone you know, and we’re both aware of just how fickle they can be… I don’t know about you, but it’s just annoying.”
“A little. But there are aspects of it I enjoy, too.” Momomi shrugged. “If nothing else, it’s a start, isn’t it?”
“I wonder,” Kaname replied neutrally. She looked around one more time, examining the group. “No Amane. I win.”
“The audition hasn’t even started yet,” Momomi replied. “You don’t win until after we have left.”
“I don’t? I didn’t agree to that! I thought we were betting on whether or not she’d be in the room!”
“That’s completely different! At the very least, we’re a few minutes early. But even then, if she’s late getting here that’s still not the same as forgetting or not bothering about it, isn’t it?”
Kaname sighed. “As ever, the system works in your favour. How about if she turns up by the dot?”
“No way. That’s not fair.” Momomi shook her head. “We both know she can be pretty late, especially if she’s busy with her horses.”
Kaname groaned. “And if all she has to do is poke her head through the door with two minutes to go, that’s hardly fair either? How about we make it half-way through?”
“Fine. Done.”
“But still, Olesa was right,” Kaname noted. “There’s a surprising number of people…”
“I guess so.”
Kaname tapped a foot idly. Well, it’s not exactly like I’m nervous. Like I said before, that would be a waste of energy. This should be completely straight-forwards. All I have to do is stand up, read a section of script, then sit down. That’s all. Any fool could do that. I don’t even have to memorise it or anything, which would be the tricky part. And to be honest, considering the age group, the standard’s probably going to be quite low. Especially if Amane doesn’t show after all. I’ll be fine. No, better than that, I’ll impress everyone. I’m sure of it. After all, I can talk fine around my friends or even the Etoiles; it’s not like I’m a shy person. Especially after my rants. This is just like a slightly more poetic, pre-scripted rant. That’s all. Nothing to worry about. She rubbed her stomach. Everyone’s a little nervous, but it’ll go fine. It always does, really. Besides, this is only a crappy little school play for the lower years. It doesn’t even matter if I screw it up. Not that I will, but still. Under those circumstances I don’t have to be worried…
Momomi prodded her on the shoulder. “Hey, I’m curious about something.”
“What?” Kaname replied distractedly.
“Who do you think is the most attractive girl in this room?”
“Huh?” Kaname blinked stupidly. “Say what? Why are you asking that all of a sudden?”
“I’m just curious, that’s all. Besides, we have some time to kill, don’t we?” Momomi smiled. “Well? How about it?”
“I’m not that stupid, you know,” Kaname noted. “It’s you, of course. I’d say that even if we were at the Ohtori harem or whatever. I’m not suicidal.”
Momomi giggled. “Very good. But that wasn’t it, actually? I’m curious. Out of everyone but me?”
Kaname snorted. “Isn’t that a little weird? Stuff like that’s always creeped me out. You’ll be asking me to give them numbers next…”
“Oh, come on. It’s just a little harmless fun.” Momomi smiled. “No numbers, just your gut feeling. Come on, what do you think?”
“Tch. Fine.” Kaname looked around the room, briefly, not daring to linger for too long. “That one on stage. The shorter one.”
“Hirai-san? With glasses?”
Kaname nodded. “She’s not bad.”
“Hmm. Yeah, I can see that. Actually, her breasts are surprisingly big, for someone her age…”
“Pervert.”
“You were thinking it,” Momomi teased. “I just said it out loud.”
“Tch. Whatever helps you sleep at night.” Kaname glanced at her. “How about you?”
“The tall, dark-haired one in third year. Talking to the violet haired girl and the blonde one. Yano-san, I think.”
Kaname snorted. “Why?”
Momomi shrugged and smirked. “What can I say? I’m a sucker for tall, dominant females.”
“I won’t probe you too hard on that,” Kaname muttered. “I just know you’ll make it an insult by the end.”
“Well, aren’t you suspicious? It makes me unhappy, you know…”
“Do you expect me to believe your puppy-dog eye look?” Kaname asked. “It’s the most insincere thing since… hmm…”
“You rejected my feelings?” Momomi teased.
“Hey! That was low!”
“But true, which is why I’m happy, right?”
Kaname sighed deeply. “You’re being overly theatrical again.” She leaned back and closed her eyes. “Oh, well. Forget it. Wake me up when they get started…”
“Hang on. Looks like we need to revise our judgements.”
Kaname grunted, glancing as the door slid open again. “Did she turn up?”
“Etoile-sama!”
“I don’t think so,” Momomi replied, wincing at the squeals.
“So this is the place, huh?” Kariya observed, wrinkling her nose as if she’d caught them smoking behind a shed.
“Now, Kariya, be polite,” Serané chided, gently rapping her lover’s arm. “They’re probably all very nervous as it is. You shouldn’t make it worse for them.”
“Once again, it’s hard to work out who is the rude one,” Kaname muttered.
“I don’t know about that,” Momomi observed. “But, if I was to pick, Kariya.”
“Kariya? That gangly firebrand?” Kaname shook her head. “It disgusts me to choose one way or the other, but it’d have to be Serané. That’s the choice of someone with someone with taste.”
“Not so loud, they’ll hear,” Momomi warned.
Serané bowed slightly as the directors moved to greet them. “Good morning to you all. As you’re all doing something commendable, we thought we’d observe it. Please carry on as if we aren’t here.”
“Yes, thank you, Etoile-sama,” Eida said, bowing deeply. Her face was flushed with triumph.
“Look at Shion,” Kaname muttered. “She hasn’t moved at all. Still cool in the corner.”
“She probably learned that from you,” Momomi noted. “But they know she’s here, whether she runs up to them or not. That’s more her style, isn’t it?”
Kaname shrugged. “I guess so, even if it’s strange to me. It’s better than craving attention.”
“Then we’ll sit down.” Kariya looked around, then walked in their direction. “I’m expecting great things from you all. Don’t disappoint me.”
“Work hard,” Serané added, smiling gently. “Participation is the most important thing, after all.”
Kaname snorted audibly, ignoring Kariya’s trademark death glare as the woman sat near them, folding her arms and leaning back with a controlled, aloof presence. “Some things don’t change. Platitudes would be one of those things.”
“Normally, I’d agree with you, but you can learn things from losing, too, right?” Momomi smiled. “That’s something, isn’t it?”
“Losing is losing,” Kaname retorted, glaring at her feet. “However much you struggle, nothing changes and it’s all irrelevant. That’s why empty statements like that are just bland encouragement for the mediocre.”
“You really are hyper-competitive.” Momomi shook her head. “Don’t kill them or anything.”
They waited for a few more minutes, but the assembled girls had got a lot noisier ever since the Etoiles had arrived. As far Kaname was concerned, they’d been too loud to begin with. Now the dozen girls circling the Etoiles like very well turned-out vultures were beyond the pale.
Eida noticed this, or perhaps she was trying to impress the Etoiles as well. Either way, she took to the front of the stage, coughing to indicate her desire for silence.
“I hope she doesn’t go on too much,” Kaname muttered. “I want to do stuff once we’re through with this stupid damn thing.”
Momomi shushed her, looking amused.
To their surprise, it was Shion who stood next to Eida and spoke first. “Welcome, everyone, to the auditions for the first third-year and below Spica play in five years. As you know, our aim is to create a high standard play using only the lower years. As such, we’ll have a chance to do something unusual, improve our skills for the future and have some fun working together. It isn’t a chance that comes every day. That’s why I want to make it as memorable as possible, so let’s all work hard on this.” She flashed one of her trademark grins. “And if we can upstage our senpais, that’s just gravy.”
Eida coughed. “Well, quite. In any case, I’m hoping to keep this short and to the point. You’ll all be given different extracts from the scripts and a chance to study them. Then we’ll go through in alphabetical order and have you all perform. As it is just a play, there’s nothing but that. It should be straight-forwards. Everyone understand?”
“What’s to misunderstand?”
Momomi elbowed Kaname again.
“Good. Hand out the scripts, Hirai-chan.”
“Yes!” Hirai walked down the steps, burdened with a large pile of paper, and moved between them.
“We’ll start in fifteen minutes,” Eida said. “Until then, look it over, take notes and rehearse or whatever you want. Just not loudly!”
“We should be able to accommodate everyone here in some form. But thanks to your enthusiasm, the top spots will be competitive.” Shion smiled again. “So good luck, everyone.”
Kaname took her page and grunted distastefully. “So I just have to read this out, right? Sounds pretty straight-forwards to me.”
“Well, it’s a matter of performance, you know,” Momomi replied vaguely. “Confidence and projection and tempo and that kind of thing.”
“Right. Whatever.” Kaname scowled. “It’s all in seriously archaic language, though. Why did you translate it so awkwardly?”
“Well, forgive me for being authentic. It’s four hundred years old, you know. I had to represent that somehow.”
“Is the audience even going to be able to understand this?”
“Well, look at it this way,” Momomi retorted. “Two foreigners wrote it. That being the case, I’m sure the rest of you natives will do just fine listening.”
“If you say so,” Kaname sighed. “Can’t say that I see the point, though. Why can’t we speak straight?”
“Like I said, authenticity, authenticity!” Momomi grumbled. “We’re trying to make this really good, like Shion said. Changing it would kill the beauty of the language.”
“Doesn’t translating it do that anyway?”
“Yes, yes it does. Shion vetoed Olesa’s suggestion of an all-English performance, though.”
“Thank God for that…”
“Oh, come in. For a school play, that’d be very avant-. We could have subtitles.”
“We could perform in the medium of expressive dance too, but we wouldn’t have an audience,” Kaname retorted. “Some ideas are just stupid.”
“Alright, alright.” Momomi sighed, flicking a lock of hair over her shoulders. “We’re really wasted on this audience.”
“Besides, you wanted it in English because you’re traditionalist purists, right?” Kaname observed. “That hardly makes you avant-garde.”
“My, caught by the chain-link net of logic again.” Momomi grinned. “For someone who rarely makes much sense, you use that a lot.”
“Ha. As if you don’t puncture my ego all the damn time in turn.”
“I guess so. Let’s just get on with this, shall we?”
Kaname grunted, reading over her page more slowly. “So, who’s this Viola chick? Looks like I have her lines.”
Momomi sighed. “I told you about her, remember? Shows how much attention you pay to me… one of the two twins, the protagonist, and in my opinion the best part in the play. She’s forced to dress as a man and woo a woman on behalf of her new master.”
“Dresses like a man?” Kaname scowled. “I have a feeling that I’m being typecast here.”
“It’s a coincidence! A coincidence, already!” Momomi rubbed her forehead. “Shows how sensitive you are, though, about that.”
“Not really,” Kaname retorted. “So, who do you have?”
“Me? Oh, Duke Orsino. It could be worse. I can go with him.” Momomi ran a finger down the page, concentrating. “I’m just glad it wasn’t one of the comic roles. I’m not so good at that kind of thing.”
“Orsino? Who's he?”
“Your master. I mean, Viola’s master. For the duration of the play, again. You fall in love with me, but I’m in love with Olivia…”
“Olivia?”
“She’s another noble. No, wait, forget it.” Momomi groaned. “Just read the script when you have the chance, okay? I offered it to you before, so don’t start asking now.”
“Right, right.” Kaname looked down, reading her own speech again. “So I won’t have to know that stuff?”
“Of course not. You just have to read that as best you can. It doesn’t even have to be from the play, though it is. Anything’s fine.”
“I see.”
“In any case, you should shut up and work harder,” Momomi warned. “I know I am.”
“Okay.” Kaname frowned, looking round one last time. “So Amane didn’t turn up, at the end of the day?”
“Forget Amane. You have twenty-five other people to beat, okay? And that includes me. I’m the best at this.”
“I’m working, already.”
Kaname read through the speech a few more times, then slowed down and started to mouth it quietly to herself. As I thought, the principle of the thing’s pretty simple, but the language is complicated. I need to get that down perfectly now so I can read it better later. With this time, fifteen minutes plus however long it takes to get to the letter ‘K’, I should be able to memorise it as well. This won’t be too strenuous. She looked around furtively. The problem is, that goes for everyone. It doesn’t matter if I’m good. Like this, if someone’s better they’ll get the part. That’s all it comes down to. That’s especially true if Amane hasn’t shown and they’ve got no cosmetic reason to give me- unwanted- preferential treatment. Well, there are only a few serious ones. Momomi is one of them, she’ll get a good part. And about five more are really into this stuff. They’ll probably get important parts as well, if they’re any good. So the end result depends on just how many major parts there are. But, even if they’re practised, I should be quite good at this. I have a good voice, I know that much, and I’m a fast learner. That’ll be enough for me to do just fine, I’m sure of it.. As for the rest, they’re just here casually. That kind of person isn’t even worth my notice, even if they’re older. It’s a pity, really, but without Amane here Momomi is going to dominate. Is that another one of her differences between us? Kaname smirked, pushing her hair out of her eyes. Don’t joke around. I’m never going to let anything like that happen again.
When they started, Kaname was pleased to see that her predictions were fairly accurate. Two girls were surprisingly shy, and clearly had confidence problems. Others held together but didn’t make for the most exciting listening. A few were excellent, as she’d expected of them, but there wasn’t anyone she couldn’t find some flaw with. All the same, that doesn’t mean I’ll be any better. Kaname rubbed her stomach again, grimacing. Blasted nerves. The moment I get up there, I’ll be a lot better. It’s the waiting that kills you. I wish I’d gone first, then I could sit down and relax without having to worry about it. Instead, I have to sit here and wait and brood. Really annoying. This is why I had my reservations about taking part in this. For all my tough talk, it isn’t good for nerves. Not good at all.
Momomi touched her shoulder. “You’re on in a minute, right?”
Kaname emerged from her haze and nodded, not trusting herself to speak.
“Good luck. You’ll be fine, so knock them out.” Momomi smiled broadly, pinching Kaname on the cheek. “You’re the warm-up before my act, okay, so don’t disappoint me!”
“Warm-up?” Kaname muttered, smiling back. “Are you kidding me? I’m going to go up there and steal your thunder before you’ve even hit the stage.”
“Is that so?”
“Damn right that’s so.”
“Kaname Kenjou-san. You’re next, please.”
Kaname stood, feeling her legs twitch slightly and her stomach turn cold. Yep, all the blood in my lower torso have left a note telling my intestines not to wait up and gone upstream. To my head. Which is annoying. But still, she walked to the front with a forced calm, breathing deeply for a moment then mounting the stage. She turned to face the three directors, mouth narrowed. “Well?”
Shion smiled encouragingly. “Start in your own time, Kenjou-san.”
Kaname noted, feeling herself relax slightly. Now was the time for action, and she wouldn’t lose to anyone.She looked down, took a breath, then began. “There is a fair behaviour in thee, captain; and though that nature with a beauteous wall doth oft close in pollution…” Her nervousness fled and she simply concentrated, working her way down the speech and throwing herself into the part. This is fine. This is good. This is great. Just keep it up, and I’ll do well. Concentrate. Don’t get distracted. Just focus on the words. And then she was finished, her ears burning, and the others were clapping politely.
“Thank you, Kenjou-san.” Shion nodded approvingly. “That was good.”
“Right. Momomi Kiyashiki-san, please.”
Kaname passed Momomi as she walked down, nodding and smiling encouragingly. Momomi smiled back, apparently unfazed. Then they had passed each other and Kaname was collapsing into her seat, sighing with relief and relaxing visibly. Now I can just sit back and enjoy the performances, like I wanted to before. I should concentrate on what Momomi’s doing, though. It’s bound to be good. She looked up, watching her girlfriend face the audience, and swore that their eyes met momentarily. “Can you take my script, Hirai-san? I won’t need it.”
“Y-yes…”
Momomi handed over the script, then faced the audience again, her face impassive. She spent a moment composing herself, then she began to speak, clearly and brilliantly. “Dear lad, believe it; for they shall yet belie thy happy years, that say thou art a man…”
Kaname smiled, watching Momomi fall easily into the role. She spoke slowly and melodiously, her voice clear and deceptively loud, when it came from such a small frame. There’s no room for doubt, though. Momomi is talented and well practised, and it shows. Compared to me, who’s merely talented, or some of the others, who are nothing but well practised, she’s something else. It’s beautiful to listen to, and I can’t fault it. Off by heart, as well. As expected of Momomi, with her ability and how well she knows the script and the play. Momomi bowed briefly to the audience when she was applauded, stepping down and walking back towards Kaname. A few murmurs accompanied their passage. Kaname rubbed her forehead tiredly. And once again, she gets what she wants, even though Amane didn’t show. It’s always that way round, isn’t it? Hardly fair.
Momomi smiled as she sat down. “How did I do?”
“You were good,” Kaname replied. “There’s no doubt, you’ll definitely get an important role. Perhaps that Viola you go on so much about…”
“I wonder… well, thanks, anyway. I could have done better, I think, but this is only an audition. There’s plenty of time to perfect things later.”
Kaname nodded. “Enough false modesty, though. How about me? Did I do okay?”
Momomi grinned, prodding her on the nose. “Nervous?”
“Just curious.”
“You did fine. You sped up a bit, because you were nervous, I think. But that’s to be expected. Otherwise it was perfectly good.”
“That’ll do me. Like you said, it doesn’t have to be perfect.” Kaname leaned back, folding her hands behind her head. “In any case, it looks like there’s nothing to do but watch now. I won’t the bet, by the way.”
The door slid open. “Is this where the play auditions are being held?”
Kaname’s head snapped round. “Oh, you’ve got to be fuc-”
Momomi kicked her on the shin. “Don’t say it.”
“You’re late, Ohtori-san,” Eida noted. “Extremely late. I mention this by way of making conversation, of course.”
“I’m sorry.” Amane bowed her head. “I want to audition, but I forgot about it until someone mentioned it to me just now. Is it too late?”
“Not yet. We can slot you in, so take a script from Hirai and stop disrupting us.”
“Yes.” Amane nodded, sliding the door shut and taking a seat at the back. “Once again, I’m very sorry for the disturbance.”
“It’s alright, Ohtori-san,” Shion replied. “You’ll be on in ten minutes or so, though, so I suggest you get ready.”
“Of course.”
Kaname groaned, then lowered her voice when Momomi glared pointedly at me. “You’ve got to be fucking with me,” she repeated.
“It’s good, isn’t it? You can have your competition now.” Momomi smirked. “Besides, I won the bet.”
“What? This is definitely over half-way, isn’t it?”
“No, it isn’t. There’s a few minute left.”
“Like hell there is.”
Momomi shrugged. “Oh, well. We can argue about it later, right?”
“Yeah. In the meantime, though, who the hell does she think she is?” Kaname scowled. “Striding here so late, acting cool and saying she completely forgot it all. Talk about arrogant!”
“She probably just made a mistake. There’s no need to be angry.”
“The hell she did. I’ll swear blind, this was deliberate. Her away of attracting even more attention.”
“That would be true if she was anything like us, but-”
“So you’re taken in by her act too?”
“I know better than you. What do you know about her, anyway?”
Kaname snorted. “An awful lot. In any case, this is pretty unforgivable. Just strolling in here like she owns the place…”
“Kaname, that’s enough.” Momomi touched her cheek gently. “Isn’t this what you wanted? A victory by forfeit wouldn’t be any kind of victory after all, right?”
“You’re right, I guess. But it’s not like I’m annoyed because she’s arrived.” Kaname frowned deeply, rubbing her forehead again. “It’s because she arrived so damn late, with her attitude. That’s the problem.”
“Well, keep quiet about it for now,” Momomi replied. “There are still people performing.”
“Right. I got it, already.” Kaname turned to glare at an oblivious Amane, who was idly flicking through her script. Even now, she’s still got that self-assured demeanour. What the hell is that about? Learning this at such short notice, shouldn’t she be panicking? She sat up in her chair, leaning forwards and placing her hands on her knees. No, I guess she’s just got good self-control. Still, I know this is going to be good. It’s coming from her, after all, regardless of the circumstances. But if it’s a matter of who is better in social situations, there can’t be any doubt. I’m definitely the better speaker, and she’s probably more nervous than me anyway. Kaname sighed. I just wish that she actually looked that way.
“Amane Ohtori-san, please.”
Amane nodded, standing up.
“Are you sure you’re ready, Ohtori-san?” Shion asked. “You haven’t had very long to practise, after all. We can do you at the end, if you like.”
“No, that’s fine. The sooner the better, for me.”
Shion nodded. “Then that’s fine.”
Amane strode calmly up to the stage, standing next to the directors and facing the audience with absolute confidence. She handed her script to Hirai without a word. For a long moment, she just stared at the audience, eyes sweeping calmly over them all. Kaname wondered whether she imagined them narrowing when they passed over her. Then Amane began. “O, sir, I will not be so hard-hearted; I will give out divers schedules of my beauty: it shall be inventoried…”
Kaname frowned, her mouth dry, and realised something. Somehow, on some level, I have never believed that Amane could act.She’s too literal, too straight-forwards, too plain talking and conversationally dull. None of it suggests that she can really use her voice at all. So even if I credited her with some talent as I credit her with talent at everything, I didn’t really think that she’d be more than competent. Clear and loud, perhaps, technically excellent, but lacking something. Lacking life and soul. She’s far too diffuse and weak a personality for me to credit her with passion. But this… this is passion. It’s very powerful, far better than what I did, probably better than Momomi go. Kaname balled her fists and bit her lip. That girl! Is there anything she can’t do, damnit! And so casually, too!
The voice was impassioned, cold, haughty, bitter and bitingly ironic. Amane’s eyes lit up, her face was animated, and she pierced the audience with her accusations, voice rolling over a stream of flat descriptions then twisting viciously for the last sentence, jagged irony.
“Were you sent hither to praise me?”
Loud applause. “Apparently,” Kaname muttered, folding her arms.
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