She flinched when
a storm of applause and shouts broke over the music. And I'm not
even on stage. Gods this is scary!
It was her turn,
and she almost fell over when she climbed the stage and made for the
catwalk section. Spotlights blinded her and for a moment she stood
frozen.
“Take my hand.”
Yukio had arrived
from the other side and she felt his fingers around hers. That calmed
her down somewhat, and with his hand in hers Kyoko finally dared the
catwalk.
The shouts grew
even louder and from the rows of chairs closest to them she heard one
racy suggestion after another.
“Don't bother,”
Yukio said. “You're all mine. They're just jealous,” he added and
screwed a forced smile onto his face.
You really
don't like when others look at me that way? It made her strangely
happy. “You're one to talk,” she said. “Half of those comments
are yours.” She gripped his hand harder, but when they came to the
end of the catwalk she had to let go.
A few seconds
followed before they agreed on how to walk back. She heard a few
laughs, most of them friendly but at least one in the crowd shouted
his displeasure.
Almost all the
way back they met Urufu. He shook his head but Kyoko understood he
only rued his own participation. He wore a costume just the way all
the boys here wore their school uniforms. It was as if he didn't
register how stunning he looked.
“You did just
great out there,” he said when they were within earshot. That
comment warmed her. “Just watch what it means to make an arse out
of oneself,” he said and gave them an ironic salute before they
passed each other.
Behind her the
shouts increased to a deafening roar. That's them thanking you for
your hard work today. You deserve it.
Kyoko quickly
walked behind the curtains and stole a look. From the other side she
saw Yukio doing the same. He gave her a thumbs up before turning his
attention to Urufu's backside.
She followed that
stare and watched Urufu pretend to play with an invisible soccer ball
all the way to the end of the catwalk. Before he turned he picked it
up and smashed it into the audience volley ball style. I bet
that's Kuri-chan's instructions. Only Ryu would have the guts to
do something like that without being told.
When Urufu
returned Ryu and Hitomi-chan took the stage.
The entire gym
hall exploded in shouts drowning the music. Kyoko had to slap her
hands to her ears. So that's what true popularity sounds like? I
wonder what happens next.
There was a
difference. Both Ryu and Hitomi-chan walked with the grace of people
used to being looked at. A packed gym hall only made them shine even
more.
I wonder what
happens next.
Kuri-chan and
Nao-sempai last. They planned the show that way. After everyone were
done the two professional models would hit the catwalk every second
display. Both Kuri-chan and Nao-sempai promised they could change a
full set of clothes in under thirty seconds, and two make-up crews,
one on each side of the stage, stood ready to do black magic during
those seconds.
Ryu and
Hitomi-chan returned to the sound of a thunderous chant. Both were
visibly shaken. Used to being looked at was one thing, but none of
them had experienced anything like this before.
And now for
the pros.
The lights
changed, as did the music.
Kuri-chan came up
behind her. Kyoko stared into blue eyes filled with youthful joy
bordering on glee and a face split in a happy grin showing off two
rows of perfect white teeth. She came fully battle dressed and the
radiant happiness almost felt out of place.
“Twenty years,
it's been over twenty years now,” Kuri-chan said and grabbed
Kyoko's shoulder. “Wish me luck!”
With a last grip
on Kyoko's hands she entered the limelight. Her face immediately
changed into an ethereal beauty, and from the other side of the scene
Nao-sempai's face went through a similar transformation.
Kyoko slapped her
hand to her ears in anticipation of the roar and stared at the two
models as they started walking down the catwalk, or danced. They
walked, ran, stood still and waited for each other. Sometimes they
switched places with each other, almost but never touching.
Impossible! I
never saw them train anything like this.
Apart from the
music Kyoko couldn't hear a sound, and slowly the sound technician
lowered the volume until Kyoko could hear the breathing from the
audience. Not a single shout, nothing.
At the end of the
catwalk Kuri-chan did something with her feet that snapped her entire
body into a statue-like fixture. She did that at Shibuya as well.
How can you move like that?
On their way back
Nao-sempai slapped Kuri-chan's hands and they quickly fell out of
pose as they half-ran the last bit.
Kyoko quickly
ducked behind the curtain to avoid being seen.
“That was fun,”
Kuri-chan whispered when she came around the corner. She grabbed
Midori-chan on her way out onto the stage. “Wait! You don't want to
go out right now.”
What? Why?
A sudden wall of
sound slammed into Kyoko and forced her to stagger backwards. She sat
down on her knees overwhelmed by the onrush.
On the other side
of the stage Kyoko saw how Nao-sempai held back Nori-kun the same way
as Kuri-chan had done. Then he let go and vanished from sight.
The loudspeakers
on both sides of the stage rumbled in protest when the sound
technician turned up the volume in an attempt to drown the audience.
It worked to a
degree, but Kyoko wondered if anyone even noticed Midori-chan and
Nori-kun when they made their run on the catwalk. When they returned
both faces paled and Kyoko had to help Midori-chan stagger off stage
while Kuri-chan and Nao-sempai went up again.
Noriko was next
together with Urufu, the pros next and after them a third year paired
with one of the third year boys. Then she had to go up with Yukio
again after Kuri-chan and Nao-sempai returned from their fourth run.
Thirty seconds of
madness, another thirty with models made invisible and then madness
again. Three and a half thousand guests. Half of them present only
for this.
Just as Kyoko was
about to enter the stage again realisation hit her. Tomorrow's
open house. We're screwed!
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