Que Sera Seramyu

by Haruka

Please refer to disclaimer and notes in part 1.

Part 4 - The Newbie


     "Mmm!  Mmmmmph!"
     Hikari ignored Nao's protests from behind her hand and pushed the closet door open a
tiny crack.  Was Ryuji back already?
     Nao finally grabbed Hikari's hand and yanked it away from her mouth.  "Who's out
there?" she hissed.  "Is it Ryuji?"
     "No," Hikari whispered in surprise.  "It's Marina!"


     What am I doing here? Marina thought, rubbing her arms nervously.  This is breaking and
entering   well, maybe not breaking, since the door was ajar, but it was certainly entering without
permission.  A man's room, yet!  Still, she wanted so much to fit in with the other cast members,
and most of them already seemed to know one another.  A drastic, reckless prank like stealing
Ryuji's script would probably gain their admiration and acceptance, especially Nao's.  She
blushed a little thinking about her.  Nao was as cool as the character she was portraying, and just
as sexy.  So was Hikari - that woman just oozed self-confidence and talent.  Everyone in the cast
was so beautiful and accomplished, and here she was - a newcomer with no real reputation or
background.  She'd get the chance to prove her talent in the show, but she ached to be part of the
behind-the-scenes fun, too.  She was sure Ryuji would forgive her if he found out she used him
to become one-of-the-girls, he was a very nice man.  She paused for a moment and thought about
it.  He might even have _given_ her the script to present to the others if she'd talked to him about
it.  But what if he really didn't know his lines?  He certainly wouldn't give up the script then, and
her chance would be lost.  No, she'd just have to take it and apologize later.  If he found out.
     This place is a mess, she realized.  How would she ever find the script here?  Oh well, she
sighed, better get to it.


     "Did you know Ryuji wears polka-dot boxers?"
     Sayuri hung her head.  "I _so_ did not want to know that."
     "Well, they're hanging over the tub railing, kind of hard to miss ...."
     "Momoko, will you shut up for two seconds?  Someone else came in the room, it might
be him, and he might come in _here_ to get his polka-dot boxers any moment!"
     Momoko's eyes widened.  "You're right!  We'd better hide just in case!"
     "Hide where?  In the toilet tank?"
     "No, the tub, come on!"  Momoko stepped into the bathtub and Sayuri followed her. 
Momoko prepared to drag the shower curtain over to shield them from view, but realized the
boxer shorts were in the way.  "Take those down, will you?  I need to move the curtain."
     "I'm not touching them!" Sayuri protested.  "This was your idea, you move them!"
     "I'm not touching them, either."  Momoko looked around desperately and spotted the bath
brush.  She used it to reach up and poke the boxer shorts until they fell off - onto Sayuri's head.
     "EWWWW!"  Sayuri screamed, frantically brushing the shorts away from her.  The
reverberation of her shriek in the tub echoed for a moment longer before dying, and Momoko
gave her a withering look.
     "If there _is_ anyone out there still, they certainly heard _that_!"


     Hikari and Nao stared at each other in the closet's dim light, wide-eyed.  "What the hell
was that?!" Nao said in a hushed voice.
     "Maybe it was a ghost," Hikari said seriously.
     Nao raised a fist.  "You'll be a ghost if you don't stop fooling around!"


     Marina froze in place at the horrible sound.  Where on earth had it come from? 
Somewhere close by, and yet the hollow sound made it seem _not_ close by, too.  She heard
another weird noise, a strange squeaking sound - and _that_ one came from the direction of the
bathroom.  She thought about going to investigate when a definite thump came from inside the
closet.  That does it, she decided.  I'm getting out of here.  She took a few strides toward the door
but stopped abruptly at the sound of a knock.
     "Room service!" came a female voice on the other side.
     Oh no! Marina thought in a panic.  If the maid saw her in here, it might somehow get
back to Ryuji.  Her head swivelled left and right in fear - she couldn't go to the closet, and she
couldn't go in the bathroom - what could she do?!  Her foot bumped against the suitcase laying
on the ground and it gave her an idea.  Just as the master key rattled in the lock, Marina threw
herself to the ground and slid under the bed.


End of part 4

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