Chapter 21. Fight Over A Guy.

FIGHT OVER A GUY!

The audition hall was filled with nervous yet excited buzzing and chatter of young ladies, who were patiently waiting. Kurosaki strolled inside followed by the other spectators, causing all the chatter to die in the hall as silence consumed the air. His eyes automatically darted around face to face as he searched for the Love Me duo. It didn't take long for him to spot them in their neon pink jumpsuits. A snicker came out his lips, which he tried to hide with his hand, when he noticed them and he took off his sunglasses.

Those are glorious, that's the way you stand out without trying. His body quivered as he gulped back the rising fits of laughter bubbling up from his throat, his eyes fixated on Kyoko and Moko. Man, those jumpsuits. They're like janitors in a bubble gum factory.

"Alright ladies," the man with the specs, who had introduced himself as the casting director yesterday, said once all the spectators were settled. "Before we begin the second round, there is a special person I'd like to introduce to all of you. This is the director, Ushio Kurosaki."

"That thug is the director?" Kyoko whispered to Moko as she eyed his earrings, glasses and goatee suspiciously.

"He looks like a low rank yakuza," Moko replied in an equally aghast tone. Almost all of the girls looked shocked.

It's him, Erika narrowed her eyes. The snooty director who thinks he is too good for my money.

"I am sure you've seen many fantastic commercials Mr Kurosaki had directed. His work is-" the casting director was saying but he was cut off midway by the director himself who stood up and leaned on him by placing his elbow on his shoulder as he clutched the mic from him.

"The reason the public responses so well to my commercials is obvious," he said. "I think you already know why. It's because they are works of art."

Oh, please, commercials are nothing but trash, Erika rolled her eyes at his smug, condescending and self-praising attitude. What a pompous ass!

"You get what I am saying," Kurosaki continued. "Commercials are psychic battles that are won in seconds, and in those seconds we must make a strong enough impact so as to leave our battle scars in the consumer's mind. We must be extraordinary." He put a stretch on the word 'extraordinary' to make them realise how serious and important commercials actually were.

He pointed at a cardboard box filled with folded slips of paper and signalled each of the contestants to draw one. One by one, all the girls picked a slip. Inside, they found a number and a letter printed. Moko and Kyoko's slip read, '5-A' and '5-B' respectively.

"I am going to structure this commercial as one of those dark emotional television dramas," Kurosaki explained. "You've all drawn your numbers, right? Somewhere there is an actress who holds the same number as you, so find her and pair up."

He waited as the girls shuffled around to look for their partners. Kyoko and Moko remained seated with each other since they already had the same number.

"You'll also have an A or a B." The director spoke each word slowly and carefully as he started explaining the rules and the technical details, once the girls were settled with their partners. "These will be your character's names to keep it simple. To spell it out, girl A and girl B will be scene partners. And I'll only choose two of you. Also, I might not choose both girls in the same pair. I am watching how you all perform and I'll pick the ones I like best. That's your assignment. And rest assured, I do judge harshly. So make it good."

Kurosaki paused for a moment before continuing. His eyes darted around the faces of each contestant, not staying for more than a few seconds, to make sure that everyone is following without stairing too long and making them nervous.

"Now, listen carefully. The two of you are going to have an argument and you'll only get one minute. Seriously, just one minute. Here is the deal, you both like the same guy. When girl A tells the guy that she likes him, he admits that he actually likes girl B. There you have it. There's the fight. You all have your scenario, it's up to you to decide how you want to play it out. You've got twenty minutes to prep, so use the rehearsal room. And bear this in mind when you are fighting because it's the most crucial element. Girl A and B are best friends who love each other and are inseparable. Any objections? "

"Yes," Erika jumped on her feet.

"What?"

"The girls in pink, they are teamed up," she pointed at Kyoko and Moko. "But they are from the same agency. That's not fair. They already know each other so they have a connection. While the rest of us met here yesterday in this room for the first time. So I would assume that they don't need any rehearsal. They should just have it down."

"Hold on, wait!" Kyoko jumped up abruptly and asserted, "don't you assume anything. Just so you know, this friend of mine only started talking to me yesterday. She barely even likes me." She switched her tone to a dramatic one, "how well do you think we would communicate when the friendship is basically one sided? How dare you assume we were so close."

"Wow, pathetic," Erika replied pitifully. "That's nothing to brag about, you know. Say what you want, nobody believes you. I mean, look, you two are even wearing the same jumpsuits."

"Why do you care? You jealous or something?" Kyoko scoffed smugly.

"Are you kidding? Like hell I am," Erika screamed.

"Ladies, ladies!" Kurosaki groaned. "Save the catfight for your performances. As for those two, we'll have them redraw."

"No!" Moko objected as she rose. "Let's just keep it the way it is. And we don't need to rehearse either."

Kyoko gasped. All the colour left her face leaving it paper white and her lips turned into a little 'O'. Why would you say that, Moko? I need to rehearse!

.

.

.

Kyoko nestled against the hard chair in the empty hall while the others were preparing in the rehearsal room. Pessimistic thoughts intruded her head every five seconds, no matter how hard she tried to keep them at bay and be cheerful. Being alone didn't help either. She wasn't allowed to leave since she and Moko weren't allowed to see each other before the performance. All this was happening because Moko just had to agree to that stupid deal where they get to stay partners but in return of not getting a chance to rehearse.

Kyoko slapped her forehead as her brain was getting riled up with questions she didn't have an answer for. Like what was Moko thinking? What was the point in performing without rehearsing? And why did she want her as a partner so badly in the first place? Moko was such a brilliant actor without anyone's help. Why would she risk it all just to have her as a partner. It didn't make any sense. None of it made sense. Is she expecting something special from me? Kyoko thought agitatedly. But I have no clue what to do. At this rate, there is no way either of us would stand a chance against Erika.

The more she thought, the more she panicked.

Kurosaki peeked inside the hall and got a glimpse of Kyoko, who unlike her partner, appeared to be freaking out, which didn't surprise him at all.

No rehearsal, they are going to improvise the whole thing? He thought. I gotta say that's ballsy. Poor girl's definitely drawn the short straw. What are you going to do? This is a fickle business, and only those with talent and a heck of a lot of luck will survive.

.

.

.

What am I gonna do you?  Kyoko was still panicking. The rehearsing time was over and the performances had already started, but she still wasn't paying attention to anything. She was trapped inside her own little world where she was about to lose it all, a vibe of fear and defeat radiated off her.

The sudden applaud of the judges burst her bubble, breaking her out of her reverie. As her head finally descended from the clouds, she noticed that the claps were for Erika and her partner, who were apparently done performing.

When did they even begin? Kyoko was startled as she realized, Crap! I wasn't paying attention at all.

"Wonderfully ferocious," one of the producers remarked cheerfully with energetic and powerful claps. "I am impressed they fought so hard in just sixty seconds. Ms Koenji was specially astonishing..." he started ranting praises for Erika.

After Erika and her partner cleared the preforming area, which was just the middle of the hall, Moko proceeded there and then stopped to wait for Kyoko.

We're next? Kyoko thought alarmingly. How long was I daydreaming? She decided to work on this habit as well along with the blurting-out-the-truth thing as she joined Moko reluctantly, since she had no other choice.

Kurosaki made a few notes on the submitted copy of Erika's résumé after her performance. I admit, he thought as he stroked his goatee. Money, no money, you've got some serious talent.

The producer who was sitting beside him, leaned closer and asked his opinion on Erika's performance. When the director didn't reply, he started fawning over her and pressed him to pick her.

Kyoko and Moko were ready to perform as they waited for the judges' signal to start, except Kyoko had no idea what she had to do. She desperately searched for some kind of a sign or a hint in Moko's eyes but there was none. All she could see was the reflection of her confused face in Moko's dark and expressionless eyes.

So we just have to fight, this won't be so hard, she lied to herself in the end so she could calm her nerves. I mean, she did go behind my back to confess to that boy and that's not cool. But then we're supposed to be good friends who care about each other.

Whenever Kyoko would get to that part, her mind would always get stuck. She had no idea how a real friend was supposed to act in a situation like that.

"Get out of your head," Moko whispered. "Just follow my lead, got it?"

"Okay." All of a sudden, Kyoko's nerves relaxed as she took a deep breath and put her trust in her partner. She still didn't know what to do but an odd calmness washed over her.

"Alright," Kurosaki said, once he was done scribbling on the résumés of the previous performers. "You two are up now, you can start." He put down the pen on the table and leaned back in his chair with his hands behind his head, providing them his unwavering attention as he set his eyes on them scrutinizing their every move.

"Ready?" The casting director asked before starting the sixty seconds countdown on the stopwatch. "And... begin."

Both the girls turned to face each other.  Their eyes clashed and they started staring. They stared and stared without saying anything. Pin drop silence hung in the air as they stood their as still as statues.

The girl A was supposed to take the lead, so naturally Kyoko waited for Moko to begin, but she didn't do anything. She was standing just like before, the only difference was the glint of extremely intense hate radiating off her eyes. It was obvious that she hated the very existence of the girl in front of her.

Since Kyoko was supposed to follow her lead, she did the same. Only imagining Sho's face was enough to fill her face with abhorrence. That good for nothing turned out to be useful for once.

The silence, which would have been awkward under different circumstances, somehow made their staring contest even more intense. The glaring continued for a good part of the first thiry seconds. The other contestants along with some of the judges wondered why they were wasting their time when they only had sixty seconds, and if they would even say anything at all.

Finally, Moko strode up to where Kyoko was standing and swung her arm swiftly like a whip with her full strength behind it. Her fist connected with Kyoko's cheek with a blaring sound causing her head to move sideways.

Kyoko straightened, her brows raised from shock instead of anger. Her palm was covering the red bruise which the  blow had left. I gotta follow her lead, she realized. I gotta hit her back.

She threw her arm in the air as she prepared to strike in the same manner, but she stopped it halfway leaving it hanging in midair when she noted the look on Moko's face.

Moko was frowning in confusion as she stared at her fist with disbelief, which she just used to slap Kyoko. The words 'what-did-I-do?' were clearly demonstrated on her face. Glittering tears welled up in her eyes which rained down like little diamonds. Her lean body quivered like it was about to explode as she tried to choke back a sob from her thin dry lips. It only intensified the shaking. The agony she felt for hitting her best friend was written on her face like a book. Oddly, the soft, sad expression somehow added to her beautiful, enticing features of her face.

Kyoko couldn't help but look guilty. When she saw Moko bawling her eyes out in such anguish, she forgot about everything else. All she remembered was that she was the reason for making her cry. She hesitantly put her hand down without hitting her back. Watching her shedding tears made her eyes flood as well, as in a chain reaction.

She couldn't take this anymore, "I'm so sorry," she blurted without thinking.

Crap, we're supposed to be fighting but I just apologized, a sinking feeling rose up in the pit of Kyoko's stomach.

She was thinking about what to say next to repair the damage she had just caused, but was stopped by Moko who wiped her face and said, "we're done."

Moko thanked the judges before clearing the stage. Kyoko thanked them as well as she followed Moko to the corner where the other contestants was settled.

All the judges sat there, with their jaws hanging from their mouths even after it was over. Nobody said anything. Not even the next pair moved up to perform.

"The minute's not even finished yet," the casting director finally broke the silence after glancing at the stopwatch.

If it was at all possible, that dropped down the jaws of the judges even further.

Kuroaki was still in a daze from the last performance. It was incredible! All the contestants did the usual catfighting, some were better than the others but what those girls did was spectacular. Using only three words, they managed to draw out such a wonderful performance. It was clearly obvious how upset girl A was for hitting her best friend and the reaction of girl B was completely natural as she demonstrated her uncertainty to hit her friend back and ended up apologizing for making her upset. How much their friendship meant to them, how much they loved each other, they were able to show it all just within one minute. And the most impressive part was, it was done without any rehearsal. They improvised the whole scene.

Kyoko was still not sure weather they did okay or not, specifically if she did okay. The judges did look surprised but she didn't know if it was in a good way or in a bad way.

"Hey, Moko," she said dubiously once they sat down.

"Yeah?" Moko whispered back in a soft tone.

"I'm sorry, I mean, that's the only line I could come up with so I am sorry." Kyoko knew if they didn't get picked, then she wouldn't have the right to call herself Moko's best friend again. Because unlike her, she was amazing!

"Don't be," a soft smile crept up to Moko's lips. "Actually, you gave me the exact reaction I was hoping for."

That finally put Kyoko's mind at peace for the first time in all day. A feeling of contentment warmed her heart and somehow, she was sure now that everything will turn out to be okay.

The last pair finally moved to perform and unsurprisingly, their scene also turned out to be another standard catfight.

After a short discussion with the producers, which was too quiet to be heard by any of the contestants, the director announced that there will be another round before he finalized anyone. He explained the rules of the next round, which were pretty much the same as before. The only difference was that, girl B was supposed to take the lead this time and the two friends were supposed to make up.

Slowly, one by one, the contestants moved back to the rehearsal room to prep for the next scene. While Kyoko sat alone in the empty hall, her mind engrossed in coming up with ideas for the next round.