• “Look, there’s that girl again…” Some people said as Kotome and I passed them. I looked at Kotome and she still looked depressed about the whole thing.
    “Hey Kotome, don’t mind them. Come with me.” I dragged her away. Since we didn’t attend first class, it was now lunch time. So I brought her in, and everyone just stared at us. They were still amazed at her desk that was being erased by the janitor now. I’m not sure why they had to do it right in the room where it caught attention. Kotome felt even worse about it now. I sighed and caught the crowds attention next.
    “LISTEN HERE! DO YOU REALLY BELIEVE EVERYTHING THAT WILL BE WRITTEN ON A STUPID DESK?! IF YOU JUST LISTEN TO THE PERSON HERSELF, MAYBE YOU’LL KNOW THE STORY BEHIND IT ALL!” I shouted to everyone staring. They blinked first then began whispering.
    “But we all saw what happened yesterday…” They all looked at each other. I sighed and walked out of the room.
    “What are you trying to do?” Ryo came over to me.
    “I just…I don’t know why but I feel so irritated!” I told him. He sighed too.
    “I know we told you to make friends, but you shouldn’t get so involved in these situations. If you draw any attention more than this, you might just get hurt. You’ve seen this before, you should know the role you are taking on if you help her.” Ryo whispered.
    “I get it…” I said.
    “Good, now stop interfering already. This isn’t for you to deal with.” Ryo walked off. I know he was right, but I just can’t let this situation go like this. I never turn down a role, I thought deviously.
    After school, I kept thinking of what I could do to prove Kotome didn’t do anything wrong. But how was I going to do it? I thought as I waited by the school gates.
    “Hold on I forgot something in the class, be right back!”
    “How can the star basketball player be late for his own team? Hurry up or you’ll be ripped of being captain ha-ha!” My eyes opened wide when I heard this. I moved so that he could bump into me.
    “What the…? Oh crap!” He knocked my books out of my hand. They were books I had to bring home for Ren who was supposedly sick at home. He kneeled down with me so he could help me pick them up. I could finally see clearly who he was now.
    “I’m sorry, I didn’t see you.” He looked at me as he gave me the papers that fell out.
    “It’s fine, thank you.” I smiled even though it was out of Riku’s character.
    “You have a cute smile.” He smiled. I smiled, but couldn’t make myself blush.
    “Th…thank you.” I stuttered.
    “Ha-ha your welcome. I have to go, hope to see you later.” He smiled and jogged off. So that’s my target, I smiled to myself.
    “What are you doing?” Suddenly Ryo was in front of me with his arms crossed.
    “Nothing,” I said and began to walk to the car. He followed alongside me.
    “Suspicious…” He lifted his eyebrows.
    “Whatever already. Let’s just hurry to the set now.” I said hurriedly.

    When Iruka and I arrived to the set, it seemed nothing was ready for us to film.
    “What’s going on?” I asked one of the staff.
    “Last minute the director got an asthma attack. He’s fine but he the doctor said he needs to stay in bed right now. Tomorrow we will start shooting again.”
    “Well I guess we have the night off.” I said to Iruka. He smiled and took out his phone.
    “Hey Iruka, I thought you said you wouldn’t fall in love.” I lifted my eyebrow at him.
    “I…it’s not love. I just like spending time with her that’s all.” He walked off to make his call. I rolled my eyes.
    “Hey Reina!” I turned around and saw Haruna.
    “Oh hey, I guess you were surprised to be here without warning huh?” I laughed.
    “Ha-ha yeah, I didn’t even plan anything else for the night.” She looked at me weirdly.
    “What’s wrong?” I asked.
    “Nothing, I just thought that you were pretty.” She finally smiled.
    “Uh…ha-ha thank you.” I said.
    “What happened last night with you and Raiden?” She asked.
    “Oh, nothing happened really.”
    “Hmm…Hey Reina why don’t we go out tonight since we don’t have anything else scheduled!” She smiled cheerfully.
    “I’m…not really sure I should.” I said.
    “Oh come on, it will take a load off of us right now!” She grabbed my hand and we headed straight to her dressing room. I knew it was okay to go out but…I don’t think I really should be doing this…….

    An hour later, Haruna had gave me her clothes to dress up in and we were already riding in her limo once again. What is with celebrities and their limo services?
    “I…I don’t feel comfortable in this outfit Haruna…” I said. I was dressed in a low cut dress with stiletto heels. I looked at Haruna, and she was dressed differently in a longer dress than me and heels that looked a lot comfortable than mine as well.
    “But you look fabulous! I bought that outfit but I couldn’t really pull it off right. I’m glad it suits you, you can have it.” She smiled. I wonder where we were going all dressed up like this? A couple minutes later, we stopped instantly. I could hear music blaring the scene and people now screaming!
    “We’re here!” Haruna squeaked. We both got out and I saw that we were at some club! This couldn’t be good right? I’ve never been to one before!!
    “Let’s get to it Reina!” Haruna grabbed my hand and we headed straight at the front of the line. The bouncer smiled and let us in quickly. Celebrity perk I’m sure…
    Once inside, bodies were packed close together and the music was too loud to hear anyone speak. I held onto Haruna’s hand until she led us to the VIP section. Another perk I’m sure…did Haruna always do these kinds of things?
    “So do you like it so far?!” Haruna had to shout over the music. We were finally sitting down and served some drinks. I wasn’t even old enough so how was this even possible? I looked at Haruna, she was surely too young to be here as well. She knew what I was thinking because she laughed.
    “Don’t worry, they think you’re older than you look. Why do you think we dressed up like this?” She whispered into my ear. Even so, I won’t be drinking alcohol tonight regardless. She ordered some drinks for us and promised it wasn’t alcohol.
    During the night, we laughed, danced and just had fun. I never knew I could have so much fun like this. I was so happy when 2NE1 came on. I loved this group, especially their song: Try to follow me. I took another sip of my drink. It tasted fruity and Haruna said it was ok to drink.
    “Reina what are you doing?” Haruna asked. I smiled at her as I got up on the table. I began dancing and acting like I’ve never been before. I could hear the crowd cheering. Suddenly everything went blank and I don’t remember what happened next…….

    I woke up to the smell of fresh breakfast. As I tried to sit up, my head began to spin and I just wanted to throw up.
    “Whoa, here’s the trash bin.” Someone said. I threw up and felt disgusted.
    “Here, it’s water.” I looked up from the bed I was laying in and saw Raiden handing me a glass. I drank it and handed it back.
    “What are you doing here?” I asked.
    “This is my apartment.” He smiled half-heartedly. I looked around slowly and noticed…so it was.
    “How did I get here?”
    “I brought you here. Tell me, why were you in such a place anyway?” He asked.
    “What place?” I asked slowly as my head calmed down.
    “You were at that club last night when I found you…” He looked worried.
    “Oh yeah, I went with a friend…” I took a breath.
    “A friend? You were the only one there Reina. You’re not old enough o drink or even be in that club so why did you go?” He sounded concerned.
    “You were there.” I countered.
    “Yeah but I had an excuse. I was grabbing some equipment that the club was borrowing. Since my men don’t really handle things with care, I decided to do the job myself. And thank goodness I did, or you would have probably ended up sleeping with a stranger.” He got up and went out of the room. I sat up slowly and stood up. I noticed I was wearing a long t-shirt that went to my knees. I screamed at once.
    “What’s wrong?!” Raiden rushed back into the room.
    “You saw me naked!!!” I yelled. He rolled his eyes.
    “I’m not a beast Reina, of course I had one of my girl staffs to help me out. They dressed you for me.” He went back out of the room when he heard something sizzle. I followed him out into the living room, holding onto the walls for support if I needed to. He went for the kitchen stove.
    “Mr. Fujikage, are you aware of Ms. Reina’s actions regarding last night?”
    “No comment.”
    “It was said she was seen drinking underage and dancing at club…”
    “I said no comment!”
    I was watching the TV since it was already turned on.
    “Um, you shouldn’t watch that!” Raiden came over to change the channel.
    “Last night the young actress Reina, was seen here at this club drunk and seen taken home by some stranger! Has the actress really gone bad?!”
    “Uh no!” Raiden changed the channel again.
    “You are Reina’s manager, do you know what happened with her last night?”
    “Please no comment.”     Even Iruka was being questioned so early in the morning.
    “You know what, forget about watching TV already.” Raiden turned it off.
    “Raiden, where is my purse?” I asked.
    “It’s in the room.” He said. I ran to the room and looked for my phone. I flipped it open and saw that I had messages galore. It was mostly voicemails, no text messages. This was so serious that they had to speak to me directly…….
    I listened to the first message.
    “This is Iruka!!! Why aren’t you answering your phone? I just want to know if you’re alright, just let me know if you’re not coming home tonight.” I checked the next message.
    “IT’S IRUKA AND AGAIN NO ANSWER!!! YOU BETTER CALL ME BACK ONCE YOU GET THIS MESSAGE!!! DID YOU SEE THE NEWS?! WHAT HAPPENED WITH YOU LAST NIGHT?!” I checked another message.
    “I can’t believe you actually got yourself into a scandal. Because of you I had to cut my trip short and come back because your father is telling me to take responsibility. You just can’t stay out of trouble without me…” He hangs up with a sigh.
    That’s it…I dialed his number. How dare he thinks I can’t do fine without him!!!!!!!!
    “Hello?” He answers calmly.
    “HOW DARE YOU TELL ME I NEED YOU! AND YOU DON’T NEED TO LISTEN TO MY FATHER AND TAKE RESPONSIBILITY! I’M MY OWN RESPONSIBILITY!” I shouted straight out to him.
    “Where are you?” He asks. Is that all he has to say?!
    “It’s none of your business where I am you big pervert!”
    “Reina, are you alright in here?” Raiden comes into the room.
    “Hello?!” I say into the phone ignoring Raiden completely. All I hear on the other line is the dial tone again. Did he just hang up on me?! How! Rude!
    “Are you alright Reina?” Raiden asks. I take deep breathes to calm myself. Suddenly my stomach does a flip and I head straight for the trash bin again.
    “Not really.” I sigh after I’m done.
    “I think you just need to eat breakfast first then think of what you want to do from there.” Raiden looked at me with concern again. It seemed like pity, which I didn’t need since this was probably my fault. But regardless of my problem, my stomach growled and so we headed to the kitchen. Heading through the living room, I accidentally somehow tripped on the throw rug.
    “Hey watch it!” Raiden caught me in his arms. Just then he looked into my eyes, while the door was broken into. We got distracted and saw that it was Akira. He was staring at me, and I couldn’t tell what kind of expression he was wearing. I looked at how Raiden and I were posed together. I pushed Raiden away and stepped away.
    “Get your things, we’re leaving.” Akira said. I didn’t know how to react so I just grabbed my things from the room and came back out. Akira put on a coat around me since I wasn’t properly dressed and we were on our way. But before that, he stopped and turned to Raiden.
    “She’s mine no matter what happened last night between the two of you.” Akira said. I sort of got shivers the way he said it.

    When we finally got back to our own apartment, there were cameras swarming the place. So we were forced to take the secret back way entrance to get up there.
    “What the hell were you doing last night?!” Iruka stormed into the picture once we entered the living room. I sat down on one of the couches, trying to heed off the rest of my hang over. Haruna said it was a virgin drink!
    “Can you say something at least?!” Iruka was pissed.
    “I have prior engagements.” Akira looked like he was also pissed when he left the room.
    “I can’t believe you! Are you rebelling against something?! Tell me why…”
    “Iruka, that’s enough.” My father walked through the door.
    “Sir…” Iruka stopped.
    “Please leave us.”
    “Yes sir.” Iruka sighed and left the room. Now it was only my father and I. It was only silence while my father sat down across from me. He sighed and shook his head.
    “You know as a father, I really find this embarrassing. And as my daughter you have shamed me from your actions that had occurred to me. Your video from last night’s attraction, is all over the news and internet. Right now when I had seen them, I was appalled and I felt like I shouldn’t be speaking to you right now. I feel like I have failed as a father since I haven’t really been there for you…”
    “Dad I…”
    “But as your boss, I need to settle this with you since you’re the client. Your contract as Reina, is being considered to be terminated by the company’s chair group. I may be the head, but I am not the only one to make decisions.”
    “No! Please don’t take away Reina! Without that I’m only…”
    “Sayu.” He finished for me.
    “Just because of one night I’m going to be punished? They can’t do that, it’s not fair! By doing that they’re taking things just too far!!”
    “Stop it!” My father shouted and stood up and continued.
    “Your Reina role is supposed to be suited for teens your age and slightly above. But what you did last night by partying and drinking underage is setting a bad example for other kids! Our company label cannot have that on our heads. This is what has to be settled. You’re just lucky we can get the authority not to charge you for being a minor in that club!” I began to cry. My father sighed heavily and headed for the door.
    “I’m sorry, but Reina will be suspended from appearing anywhere. Your role is Sayu alone.” My father said before finally leaving.
    “NO!!!!!!!” I screamed. It may be a dramatic look on things, but to me that was everything. It’s like an athlete trying to win a gold metal. Or a student trying really hard to win that trophy for school. Or just confessing your feelings to someone hoping that they’d say yes. If they don’t…you become heart broken. No medal, you still want to keep trying until you get one. If you don’t win the school competitions, you practice until you get better at it…….Without acting though, I don’t feel so motivated.

    The next day, it rained. I watched from the window, and didn’t even speak to anyone. I ate lightly so they wouldn’t bug me, I acted normally…but I didn’t feel like I was.
    “Reina…?” Iruka asked. He’s been calling me for minutes now, but I can’t answer to that name anymore. I don’t know why, but I felt lost…
    After trying so much, Iruka just stopped bothering me. Akira wasn’t speaking to me even though he was around. We would pass each other but he wouldn’t speak to me. I didn’t really mind it.
    The next couple of hours, I just sat on the couch and watched re-runs of some old TV dramas. There was one I had watched, when I first started being Reina. The female lead, was so beautiful. I couldn’t believe she was already a mother when she filmed in this. This episode was called: Lost Hopes
    I watched it until the end…
    An hour later, I cried at the ending. It was so romantic in a way, I never knew how great she acted. And I just felt like I needed to surpass her at all costs now.
    “That was such a cliché ending like always, but I must say there still isn’t anything like the classics.” I turned my head and almost jumped to the sight of Akira sitting next to me.
    “How long have you been sitting there?” I asked confused.
    “About five minutes after the episode started, I tried to call you but you were too indulged in the episode.” He shrugged.
    “Oh…” I said. Suddenly my cell phone buzzed on the kitchen table. I stood up to grab it.
    “Hello?” I answered.
    “Hello Ms. Reina, this is the producer for the musical movie you were supposed to be doing.” The man on the other line spoke.
    “Yes, I’m playing the role of Kaya.” I said.
    “Well that role has been revoked, we’re sorry to let you go.”
    “What do you mean?!” I shouted with fresh tears about to fall.
    “Well since your club scene the other night, we can’t let you be in a film like ours. We’re very sorry we must do this, goodbye Ms. Reina.”
    “Wait! Hello? Hello?!” I shouted frantically, but all I heard next was the dial tone. I dropped my phone to the floor and collapsed with it.
    “Hey!” Akira kneeled down next to me. He picked me up with both arms and lugged me back to the couch.
    “What happened?” I asked out loud.
    “I’m not sure, you tell me…” Akira said confused.
    “Just the other week I was Reina…now today I’m a nobody. I just lost the role of Kaya. What’s happening to me?” I looked up at him through tear struck eyes. He sighed.
    “I really don’t know why you need to be so upset all the time. So you lost one gig, you know you’ll always get another one after that.” Akira looked a little frustrated.
    “You don’t even know what it’s like to be rejected! You’ve never been rejected by a job, or by your own family! What do you know anyway?!” I held my knees to my chest and cried softly. Akira chuckled, I was surprise so I looked up at him. He was looking away, like he was looking far away someplace.
    “You don’t even know me like I know you.”
    “What are you talking about?”
    “You don’t know the struggles I’ve had, what my background was really like growing up. You don’t even know the real reason why I became famous and why I wanted to quite so badly since the first time I started. You don’t know why I even went along so badly as to even get married to someone who doesn’t even love me. You don’t know how painful it is to love someone who can’t love you back, because you’ve never been in love with someone before! So I doubt you can judge me here and right now, because honestly you don’t know me at all.” Akira got up and walked out. He was right, I don’t really know much about him. I felt even more worse than before…I thought as I curled back into a ball of nothing.