Chapter 9: Bird Trap

"...Whaaaat?!"

"Shhh! Try to keep it down a little! This is supposed to be a secret!"

My thoughts were too far gone to consider anything Ami said to me right now. I was on fire. I couldn't imagine what I must've looked like to her. I couldn't even imagine anything to begin with.

I hushed my voice anxiously. "Y-You're joking right? This is all just a really big prank right?" I gave a nervous chuckle. "hehe, good one Amin! You sure got-"

"I'm not lying, it's totally serious! I was told to visit you at work last Saturday but you weren't there. I was going to go after school today to meet you, but do you know how much of a shock it was to hear your name during roll call? I couldn't believe it! I mean what are the odds of something like this happening?" She took the words right out of my mouth.

"Are you sure you have the right person? T-there are a whole bunch of pretty waitresses that work at Johnny's you know. I'm sure I must've just gotten mixed up with another girl." This had to be some sort of cruel lie. It just had to.

Ami smiled. "Nope, you're the person I was asked to find alright! Lean girl with short red hair, great smile, and a really bright attitude. You even got that shy side that my manager warned about. Don't be so nervous Minori! You should be honored!" I was anything but honored. The more she spoke the more my body was going to collapse in the ground beneath me.

My speech slowed down. "There's just- no, I can't take anything like this. I'm sorry, I just can't." Looking away with embarrassed eyes I meekly shoved the letter back to her. I felt her hands on my wrists; they gently lifted them up to our faces. Stunned my eyes made contact with Ami's on instinct. My cheeks reddened.

"Don't be like that! You can so pull off being a model! You dress way too modest for your own good!" I blushed. "You gotta know how to flaunt your body a bit! With a little practice and confidence you are gonna make so many heads spin!" I blushed harder. "Just think about it! What if your boyfriend saw you in the front cover of Can Vi? You would make him the luckies-"

I twisted out of her light hold and put some distance between us. I held my shoulders out of fear. Ami gazed back at me no doubt surprised by my reaction. Even so she still gave that warm smile that she had. She began to speak again.

"Don't worry, you have plenty of time to think about this. All of the information should be in that letter, and I think my cellphone number should be in there too." My eyes glanced to my left and I realized in agony that I was still holding what she had given me. "Whenever you're ready to talk about this just give me a call. Or you can just call the manager of Can Vi directly, it's all up to you. I'll see you in class! *wink*" I felt the sweat pour as soon as she winked at me. She backpedaled slowly from me towards the stairs. "And my manager was completely right about you! You pull off that shy girl look way too well! You're really cute!" She gave a friendly wave before turning around and making her way down the stairs. My eyes were set on the direction that she went in, and stayed there even after she was out of sight. My brain wasn't putting any kind of thoughts together right now. For the moment nothing felt real.

My legs made their way to the little space where the vending machines were. I leaned on the little wall that overlooked the top of the stairs. I was waiting for someone to pinch me. Maybe this was all a dream. Maybe I would wake up soon. Yeah, I'll just wake up soon and go to work. I stared ahead at the blank wall in front of me for a few seconds, trying my best to believe my little delusion.

After a while of nothing happening I caught sight again of the slick black letter below me. I flipped it again to it's back to read the words on it. 'To: Minori Kushieda'. Reality hit me like a blow to the head. I dropped the guard I had put up until now. My thoughts went rampant.

"Oh my gosh! Oh my gosh oh my gosh oh my gosh-" It was out of control. I never thought I could think this childishly. "This is not happening! This is NOT happening! I'm not even-, what is-, ahhh!" I've never squealed before but I think I came really close. "This isn't true. This can't be true. There's no way this is true." I didn't look back down at the letter. It was going to make things worse. "How could this be true? Yeah, there's no way this is true! How could a person like me ever be like her? It's not even possible! Not in a million years! Eheh. Ehehehehehe-"

"Minorin! What the hell did that dumb skank do to you?!" Lightning coursed in and out of my veins.

"T-Taiga! Hey-there! Thanks for waiting!" I twisted everything inside of me into the tightest ball I could wind up and faced my best friend. I hid the letter behind me as quickly as I could. Hopefully she didn't notice.

"...What was that you just behind your back?" Crud.

"Oh that dumb looking thing!? Nothing to worry your pretty little head about! Not-thing at all!"

"...Minorin? You're acting really weird... are you okay?" I felt the heat off my face give off what I was feeling. This was bad. Everything was bad.

"I'm doing faaaantastic! I'm all pumped up and ready to face the working world with a bang!" I began circling around Taiga to make my way down the other end of the hall away from her. "See ya later Taiga, I'm heading off for work!"

Her expression fell drastically. "What!? What happened to walking back to your-"

"Something super duper important happened so I gotta head home really fast!" I lied. "We'll talk tomorrorow!"

Taiga's cheeks reddened, and not in the good way. Her countenance grew worse and worse. "The hell!? But-"

"Laterz!" I tried to give a friendly wink, turned around, and began sprinting in her opposite direction. There wasn't anytime to consider what just happened or what I was doing. If I listened to what my mind was telling me I what have probably dropped to the ground. I could hear my name being shouted behind me as I raced down the hallway. There were stairs right next to class; it would only be a few more meters and I would be out scot-free.

I got ready to take a left when I was nearing the classroom door. My plans stopped abruptly when I saw a figure walk out of the door in a brisk pace right in front of me. My frantic mind began to panic even more.

"Watch out!" I skid my feet to the right in an attempt to maneuver around whoever it was I was trying to avoid. My left foot slammed forward and I torqued it counterclockwise to keep my momentum. The tall figure turned his head to me as I tried to keep my balance, and it was then my common sense seemed to kick in. It was Takasu, and almost like we had to our eyes met each other on reaction. My body lost all of the balance I had as soon as I saw him. I was featherweight. It was like all of the feelings that made me wild just left me for that brief moment. It kind of felt nice honestly. With only a tight sensation in my cheeks I let the force of my speed carry me, not thinking of anything at all.

*swoosh*

I had stopped in midair; it felt like I was on a cloud. My hair swaying as I fell was the only thing that I had heard. My eyesight never changed though, and I stayed staring directly into the center of Takasu's eyes. Everything seemed to happen so fast. It was comfortable as I lay suspended, seeming to drift away from reality. It was hard to explain, but everything felt just kind of right. Our eyes just kind of mixed in with each other, staying together. He looked into mine so intently, like he was experiencing what I was. His sight then started to move down and I was... huh? What is he looking at?

I started to make sense of my position. My arms were on top of me, curled up so my hands held each other near my collarbone. My legs felt effortless and my back and shoulders were being supported by something. I was a small distance away from the floor, looking into Takasu's eyes. I wiggled my body a bit and shortly afterwards his eyes met back to mine.

He was holding me by my shoulders. Takasu was holding me in his arms. My breath went short.

"Kushie-"

I shut my eyes and rolled out of his cradle with all of my strength. Tearing down the stairs I could hear Takasu behind me saying saying something. It made no sense in my head at all, but nothing made sense anymore at this point. I was in survival mode. All of my senses shut down and I didn't care about how I looked like, how I felt, none of that. All I cared about was how fast my legs moved to get me out of here as fast as possible.

I raced through the streets until I couldn't take it anymore and I needed to catch a breather. Turning the corner away from my usual route I stopped, put my hands to my knees, and filled my lungs with as much air as I could.

As my body started to loosen up from the adrenaline I could feel my thoughts starting to come back to me. The wall that I had put up quickly fell to pieces as one small thought came to mind. My inner dialogue exploded.

"What the hell did you just do you idiot?! Why did you just run away from everything?! Do you know how many people must've saw you?! Why didn't you just man it up like you always do?! What made this any different?!" An immense shame surrounded me while no answer seemed to come to mind. I just couldn't take it. Even under the worst times I would come up with some way to not ruin my impression on people. But somehow this was the time where I wasn't good enough. I felt awful, dirty, disgusting. With my head hung in disgrace I began the slow march home. I've been through this enough times to know how to fix it.

I followed the usual habits and spent a good amount of time screaming into my sink at home. I was on the edge of my bed now, looking down with lost thoughts about how today ended up. All of the energy I had about my feelings were spent up in the bathroom; now I just felt numb to the touch. I gave a deep breath and talked slowly.

"That was stupid... this whole day was stupid... how the heck does a model end up transferring into your class? Just... whatever." I was rambling. "I gave Taiga the cold shoulder, and for what? Some damn fancy letter? A modeling offer?" I kicked my bag that I had dropped near my bed when I walked in. I had shoved it in there while walking back home. There wasn't any way I could look at it. "Heh, like I could be model... yeah right..."

My head went quiet for a bit, trying to come to terms with the fact that I was still bothered by something. What I did to Taiga was awful, but the both of us have gone through more than this. I just yelled my guts out a little while ago but it still felt like something was wrong with me. And the worst part about it was that I didn't know what it was.

I gave one last shot at looking the day over. "The new girl shows up... everyone talks to her but besides that everything was good..." Nothing yet. "Taiga got upset at Ami during class because she went out with Taka-"

My face felt like it just got shoved onto the stove. Blood rushed to my cheeks. My breath choked up and my words got pushed down. I put my hands to my mouth and shut my eyes, not wanting to see the picture my brain was telling me right now. All I could see was a freeze frame of Takasu and me in the hallway. I couldn't bring myself to form to words what was happening. I hated it and wanted it gone. I fell back and rolled around on my bed, praying it would go away. Thankfully after a little while it did, and the heat that surrounded my body seemed to die down. My rolling slowed down and I eventually made my way to being still, face down on my covers. I tried to think of a reason for what just happened. Nothing. There was nothing my mind worked out that could explain that vile outburst. ...But I thought of one thing. Swiftly I sat back up and put my theory to the test.

I spoke hesitantly. "T-takasu-kun..." The heat made its way back to my face in a flash. I gulped hard as my cheeks tingled. A sudden rush of something coursed its way through me as my theory turned out to be true. I swung my arms violently beside me, feeling the bed bounce up and down from the force of my blow.

"Why does this always happen with him?! I don't get it!" I jumped to my pillow and crowded it around my head for comfort. I was afraid, not knowing what to do. My body just stayed still as my head grew foggier and foggier. Everything seemed so distant now, so far away...

I got up out of my bed as fast as possible and flung my pillow to the corner of my room. I spoke out loud. "Ignore it just ignore it. C'mon, stop feeling sorry for yourself and get back to normal. 1,2... 1,2..." There wasn't any time to feel like this; I was about to go to work and me acting up wasn't going to help anybody. Whatever kind of strange thing was happening with me I would deal with later. But for now I had a job to do. "Up and down, up down, and *clap*, yeah! Give it your best shot Minori! The world doesn't stop and neither should you!"

I made my way to Jonny's the usual way. After getting dressed in my maid uniform I went to check and see what tables I was waiting. One of my coworkers came up to me, to say hi assumedly. I wanted to say the first greeting but she beat me to it. She really wanted to talk to me I guess.

"Oh my gosh Minori! Hey there!" She took my hands and put them close between us. She wasn't the type of person to do this at all and I got taken aback by it. The ball of weighted emotions I had numbed out started to flutter and bounce around. I did my best to tie them back.

"Hey Kaori! How's the night shift going so far?"

"Oh don't bring up something so boring like work, you know what I'm here to talk to you about!" Her eyes became diamonds beaming directly at me. She inched her way closer to me. "How'd you get it? How'd it all go down? Tell me everything, from beginning to end!"

I started to stutter. "W-What is this all about? I don't get it, is this some type of prank or something? I appreciate the gesture, but we should really be focusing on the job."

"C'mon! All of us know already so there isn't any point trying to hide it!" Beads of sweat raced down the side of my head. "How'd you get the invite to Can Vi? Who did you talk to about it? I want to know so badly, please Minori!"

My feet began to shuffle away from her on impulse to get away. She matched my movements and remained just as persistent as before. I knew I was cracking but I couldn't let it show. I tried to hold out as long as I could. "It's not as big a deal as you think it is, trust me! In fact it's not important at all so let's just get bac-"

"Of course it's important! Do you know what this means?! You can be famous! Heck, you practically are already!" I could feel my smile start to turn inside out. My face began to fall apart. "Do you get to go to studios and stuff like that? Do you get to hang out with other models like the one who came in on Saturday? Heck why are you still even here? I would've handed in my resignation in a heartbeat!"

I was practically pushing her towards the exit at this point. "Hey K-Kaori listen I really need to go so-yeah I'll just talk to you later is that okay-okay cool thanks bye!"

I swiveled around her and with a swift motion I loosened my arms away from her. I began walking towards the main dining area."Eh- hey! I have to be the first to know about this! Pretty please?" More like the last person if I had anything to say about it.

"Maybe later or something but I've got a job to do! I'll talk to you in a bit!" With a familiar salute goodbye I hopped around to the heavy door that separated the back area from the main restaurant.

I gave one last mental check. "Alright, no more distractions! Time to show Jonny's what you're made of Minori! Go get 'em!" With one rapid push I strided through to the other side.

As the bright lights of the dining area striked my face I felt a crushing presence come alongside with it. Looking around me I saw every other waitress I worked with staring me down with a sweet smile. I felt violated. I turned my head down to the ground and quietly walked to my tables. Maybe as time passed they would get less interested and I wouldn't be under so much pressure.

That didn't happen. I felt the stares of my coworkers at every moment. It didn't matter if I was taking orders or bringing food, whenever I had a moment to myself I was interrogated with questions about 'that one day'. I turned more of these talks down than I got refills for beer. By the time I was done I swore to myself that it was a good idea if I just burned that damn letter and told everyone I had lost it. It's only done nothing but cause me problems anyway. No one would have come to talk to me if I had never got it and there was no way in a million years I would ever consider modeling. Even the association of me and that word made me uncomfortable. Pfft, modeling. What a dumb idea.

I got home and rushed through my chores as fast as possible. Exhausted both physically and mentally I just wanted to take a nice hot shower, put some comfy clothes on, and sleep quietly in my bed. The luxury of having some peace and quiet was so sweet that I could taste it. Nothing mattered to me at this point other than how soft and cozy my blanket felt.

Making my way out of the steamy bathroom I sat at the corner of my bed and focused on drying my damp and dripping hair. Having my soft towel brush against my head was my simple reward for the day, and I made sure to take the time to enjoy it. After everything that happened today something this small was such a luxury. I gave a deep inhale in and breathed a slow breath out. Even the sensation of the air felt really good. I started to kick my legs back and forth in joy.

*thud*

"Eh?" I felt my feet hit something below me and it sounded like it went under my bed. Curious I hopped down and tried to make out what it was I pushed aside. From the weight of it it must have been something decently sized.

A sense of familiarity came when I saw the shape of it. "Oh no big deal, it's just my school bag." My memory started to come back from when I left it this afternoon. I was too far gone that I forgot where I put my bag down."You're such an idiot... wait... ! Oh god! Did I have homework to do?!" I reached out my hand but I was just a hair away from grabbing it. After fiddling around my room for a while trying to find something I grabbed a hangar and hooked my bag towards me.

I dumped out my belongings in one messy pile and dug through it to see if I had anything due tomorrow. Thankfully I wasn't finding anything pointing to that idea. "Ahh... what a relief..." I looked at the ensemble of paper, reluctant on the idea that I had to clean it all up. Quickly though my eyes darted to a stark black envelope in the corner. I knew what it was the moment I saw it. And no matter how many times I told myself it was a bad idea I was insistent on picking it up and looking at it.

It was just as fancy and good looking as the moment I first held it. I read my name on it one more time still in disbelief, and then turned it around to the side where the Can Vi logo was at. I placed my thumb on the flap of the envelope, then off, then on again unsure of whether to actually do this or not. A part of me was still thinking something would come fly out at me, and a little card saying 'Ha! Fooled you!' would pop up. It was more like my entire head than my a little part of me.

After what felt like forever fiddling with the seal I mustered the courage to open it.

"This is just a prank this is just a prank this is just a prank-" Slowly the sticker got undone, and once it came off I took what it was inside with one swift pull. I closed my eyes not willing to look at it, then gently opened them back.

There were two separate folded documents, each one looking like great care had been taken to make them. With steam rising from the pores of my face I swallowed my anxiety and began to open the first letter. I was greeted with a grand logo of Can Vi purposefully designed to be the first thing I look at when I read it. My eyes nervously ran through the length of the document. With every second it felt as if my heart was going to burst out of my chest. After the quick inspection there was no doubt in my mind anymore about what this was. This was real.

I dropped the papers to the ground and jumped on my bed. I squealed. "Ahh! Ahhhh!" My voice started to make sounds I didn't know it could. Loud and slurred screaming was the only sound that was filling my room and it was all coming from a crazy girl yelling into her pillow. I think it was at this time I knew I had lost it. There was no kind of explanation for what I did either. But for minutes I stayed screaming, overjoyed with my name being on a letter.

The plans I had about sleeping tonight vanished into thin air, and when I regained my sanity I picked up what I had dropped and read the rest of it on my bed. It was all there; my name in the greeting, the fancy wording they use in business letters, their address and contact information, all of it. There was nothing else that my brain could fight against with proof staring at me right in the face. I didn't know what to think anymore, for all I knew now the world could be flat instead of round. My emotions were in charge and they made it clear that I was a complete train wreck.

After several rereads of the first formal letter I moved on to the other thing in the envelope without hesitation. It still had the impressive logo on it but it was surprising to actually see something handwritten. My focus dashed directly to reading it.

"Hello there Minori! I bet you have all kinds of questions since you began reading this but don't worry! I'll do my best to make this explanation short and sweet! So as it turns out, me and my colleagues were off looking to find some people who would be great models for our new branch when all of a sudden you go ahead and wait my table! And by gosh did you make a good impression! My company wanted to explore a different style, something that wasn't as showy and grand as what we usually do but something that other people could connect to. We wanted to look for potential models that could show a more simple, kind of clean look. And you fit that description just perfectly! It took me a while to get the paperwork and all that sorted out but there's a spot here waiting for you if you'll come and take it! I look forward to seeing you in person again! Call me!" There was a gorgeous signature in the same ink that was used to sign my name on the letter; it read 'Noriko', presumably the first name of the woman who wrote this.

I laid all that I had in front of me, fully taking in what I was given. This was real. This was an offer to be a modeling. They were asking me to be a model. Me. Me of all people.

I stared at my hands, contemplating. Words started to somberly leave my mouth. "I...I..."

"What? What do you mean you can't take the offer?" Ami spoke to me in a worrying and concerned voice.

"I gave it some thought, and even spent a few weeks thinking about it, but I just don't think this is a good idea. I would never be able to look at myself the same way again if I went ahead with this. I'm really sorry."

She pouted a bit, but gave a sharp grin soon after. "I was warned that you'd be a tough nut to crack! You know my manager even went so far as to give you three months to think about it. Can you believe it? That's insane! That's more time than anyone I know has been given in the business!"

"I appreciate the thought, but I still don't think it's a good idea. My answer is still the same." My voice stayed a little cold. But that didn't phase her. Her smile was still perfect.

"All I'm saying Minori is that you still have plenty of time to think about this. It's only been about a month since you got the invitation! You've got such a long time to just let it kind of sink in. I can help you out personally too if you have any questions! I can show you where you'll be working at, the type of work you'll be doing, anything! And it goes without saying that modeling pays pretty well too."

"I don't know... I'm just not that interested in this."

"It's totally cool, but I'll still be here for you just in case you change your mind. You've got all the time in the world." The way she talked was so smooth, so elegant. "I'll see you in class!"

I perked a smile of my own. "You too Ami. Have a good lunch!" We both went our separate ways down the hall. The decision was obvious, I don't even know why I took such a long time to tell her to begin with. Whatever I was thinking about it now was going to be of no help to anyone. I blocked my mind out and thought about what I had to do today. Surprisingly it wasn't that much, a hornet's nest had grown on the side of Inage-san's store and it drove away most of the customers we had for a while. He hired an exterminator for it and because of that I got the day off. Lord knows I need it, I don't even know half of the things that Yuri-sensei talks about anymore. Maybe I can actually get prepared for class, and I know the midterm is coming up too...

"Hey Kusheida, can we talk for a minute?" My head dotted up to see Kitamura walking out of the class door with exceptional timing.

"Well sure thing my fellow captain! What great news do you have to talk about?"

He looked at me in this half-worried half-serious manner. The glance that he shot at me told me how uninterested he was in having a silly talk.

"Uh... or it doesn't have to be great news! It can be something important if you want it to be!"

"It kind of is yeah. Can we talk in private for a moment?" I felt my the hair on my arms stand on end. I wasn't used to this from him at all.

"Sure! Lead the way!" I shut my eyes and motioned my arm for him to walk forward. I felt the strain on my cheeks, and let a sigh of relief knowing that I still had my smile. I followed him as we walked to a secluded spot by the student council room. I never knew such a dark quiet corner existed in this school, if it wasn't for it being kind of out of the way of class then this would be a good spot to relax in. We both got our backs settled into a wall and got to talking.

"So Mr. Straight-To-Business, what's on the chopping block for today?"

"It has to do with Ami. I saw you talking with her when I was on my way to the classroom."

...Oh no.

"Hey it's not what you think I mean I didn't want to do it in the first place we were talking because I was telling her I wasn't going to do it so it wasn't like it was ever going to haa... pen...?" My vision went from my side back towards Kitamura's face, and it told me clear as day that he had not one idea what I was talking about.

"Kusheida?-"

"Forget I said anything! Business! Back to business! I mean they don't call you Mr. Straight-To-Business for nothing right?"

He smiled. "Well I was seeing if I could ask you a favor. So you know the new transfer student that just transferred into our class? Ami Kawashima?" More than you know Kitamura.

"Yup! What about her?"

"Well this is gonna sound really weird, but I was wondering if you could invite her to the cleanup event the school is having today."

"Uhh, okay... why?"

"I know it's kind of weird but I can't ask her myself. She and I have been friends since we were kids and she would look way too much into this and probably not come at all. I see that you and her have been talking pretty often these past few weeks and I just figured you'd be the perfect person to ask her. She wouldn't really think that much of it coming from you."

His words went through one ear and right out the other. I stared at him bewilderedly as if that was going to make my mind work any faster.

"... Could you repeat that one more time for me? I'm sorry."

"Don't worry. I just want you to ask Ami to come help out today. With me knowing her as long as I have it's likely that she's not going to come if I tell her. It would be great if you could do me this favor."

"...And how long have you known Ami?"

"Oh we've known each other since we were little. It's got to be over 10 years now I would say."

I felt my thoughts slowly crank like gears, putting all the pieces together. It took a while but I finally got the full picture.

"What?! How are you childhood friends with someone like her?! Do you know how crazy that is?!"

He gave a friendly chuckle. "It seems a little ridiculous I know. But it just all happened by chance honestly. She moved away from here several years ago so I haven't seen her in a while, but I can tell she's definitely the same person I grew up with." I don't know why I was so frustrated. He was so calm and composed that it got under my skin.

More words of shock were about to leave my mouth but I noticed a change in his attitude. The atmosphere around us got drained completely into his demeanor.

"And that's the problem." Kitamura was stern, serious. "Kushieda, when you first spoke to Ami she was really cheerful and happy around you right? Is she still acting like that?"

"Uh... Yeah..." The gears in my head went back to cranking.

"I knew it. *sigh*" What the heck is happening. "You see, Ami is the type of person that acts like someone she's not. She's really nice and and charming on the outside but on the inside she's not like that at all. She's done this ever since she started modeling. Maybe it's the business world or something that's caused her to act like this."

"..."

"I'm worried that if she continues to act like this she won't make any real friends at school, friends who know her for what she really is. So that's why I have to ask this favor of you Kushieda. Will you please do me this favor and ask her to come today? It would mean a lot to me if you did."

"...Sure..."

"That's great! I knew I could count on you! I need to head back to the student council before I head back to class, but I'll see you later on in class. Thanks again!" He waved goodbye swiftly and started to head off in the opposite direction from me. I just looked at him as he left, not really aware of what just occurred.

Whatever was lodged into my gears soon left as Kitamura was farther and farther away from me. And even when my head was turning at full speed there was a part of me that didn't want to believe what just happened. I hushed something under my breath, in the most friendly and passive aggressive way possible.

"I hate you so much Kitamura."

It was nearing the end of class now. I put off thinking about what happened at lunch for the longest time but I didn't have the luxury of pretending that Ami didn't exist anymore. The school cleanup event starts in half an hour, and I was sure Kitamura was going to mention it before the day officially ended. It wasn't like I could have said no either. What should I have said? Something along the lines of 'hey, so as it turns out I'm really uncomfortable around Ami because she keeps insisting on me being a model so can I just not do this? Great thanks!' There was no way I could have said anything like that. But you still got yourself stuck in this mess. Minori what the heck are you gonna-

"Alright class! You're free to leave and enjoy the rest of your day! But if you would like to listen our student council vice president would like to say something to you all!" Yuri-sensei said her words and half the class started to hurry out the door, including the model that I needed to talk to. As if I was possessed I hurried alongside her, carrying the weight of my forced promise.

"Hey Ami! How's it hanging?"

She stopped right by the door and turned around quickly. Her eyes caught mine and I saw a look of confusion, but it was mixed in with something else. I don't know it was but I didn't like it. It was almost kind of cold. Harsh. And then like a puff of smoke all of it vanished, and she shot me that perfect smile that I saw all too often.

"Well hey there Minori! Did you want to talk about something?" It was more than her smile. Everything about the way she looked at me was flawless.

I felt the stares of a lot of people all of a sudden. It was the sort of feeling where you can tell you've become the center of attention in a heart beat. I realized instantly that this was the first time I was talking to Ami with everyone around me. It got really hard to talk all of a sudden; my eyes started to wander by themselves, eventually making their way down to my feet below.

I felt something touch my shoulder and out of surprise I jerked my head back up. I was met with a soft and somber expression.

"Hey, how about we go someplace a little more private? We can talk there."

I blushed hard. I don't what it was about her but it made me turn to mush. I stayed quiet.

She grabbed my hand. "C'mon, just follow me!" And before I knew it I was being led by the person that I was supposed to talk to. There was something about this that felt completely wrong. But I think the shock that took over me was enough for me to not to notice it. Or maybe I did notice it, but I got too swept into what was happening to really get a hold of myself. We wound up a little further than the usual spot by the vending machines avoiding anyone who could hear be within ear shot of our conversation. We settled on a place near the ground floor of the building, a little near where the janitor's closet was.

"So Minori... am I safe to say you've thought a little more about the job?" She was whimsical. Playful. Everything that could make a normal person drop their jaw in awe.

"... !" I stood stuck for a moment. But the reality of the situation came rushing in like a wave. "N-no, this isn't about that."

"Hmm?" She came a little bit closer to me, and gave the best worrisome expression I've ever seen. "And here I thought you went and your changed your mind a bit. Did you come just to say hi to me then? That's really sweet of you!" ...Get a hold of yourself Minori. Get a hold of yourself.

"I wanted to ask you a favor. I was wondering if you could come to the cleanup event the school is having in a little bit. I just-" My mind froze. I needed a reason for doing this. I couldn't tell her the reason, I needed a lie. "- I just think it would be kind of fun to hang out, that's all." … You idiot.

Her eyebrows raised gently. "Wow... I'm touched, really. I would be glad to spend some time together but this is pretty short notice don't you think?"

"Yeah it kind of is, I just remembered that the school was doing this today and figured this would be a good chance to know each other a little better. And maybe even get a little exercise in as well!" I needed to say something that wasn't so pathetic sounding, I tried to tap into whatever I could at this point.

"Well... you know what, I'll take you up on that offer! This would be a great chance to have a little chat with a future model. *wink*"

"Ehehehe... yeah about that-"

"Anyways lets get changed and head out! I'll head back to my locker and meet you back here! See you in a little bit!" And with that she quickly hurried off, past a flight of stairs and out of my sight. Everything happened way too fast, and I was left with a numb sensation in my head that replaced where my thoughts usually were. But even with all of that I knew at least one thing.

I knew there was something really bad about all of this. And I was stuck in the middle of it.

Author's Thoughts:

Hello everyone. I really don't know what to say in regards to this story that really hasn't been said before. I don't want to get too personal, so I'll just end these thoughts right here. The next chapter is in development. And don't worry, I still have not given up. One way or another I will finish this dream of mine.

Thank you to all of you that continue to read and support me. And as always, thank you for your time.