(aka they are in high school and this is an excuse for me to use all the dumb tropes that I didn't actually use in the novel.... yes, this is going to be ridiculous and extremely unedited)
Scene 1 Surprise Kiss!
Scene 2 Goodnight Kiss!
In many ways Tokyo International High School was very similar to Kathleen's old high school. Most of the classes were in English, besides for the Japanese language class. They were slightly more difficult than she was used to, but the way the teachers taught was the same. There were the usual sports of baseball, basketball, volleyball, and others. There were the usual clubs like student council, literary club, art club, and even an anime club. As if living in Tokyo didn't have enough exposure to anime.
The student body was a little more diverse than Kathleen was used to. There were many Americans, including American teachers, but there were other foreigners from England, Canada, and Australia. Over half of the student body was Japanese, or part Japanese, or had lived abroad for a long time before settling in Japan.
Kathleen knew that Yuriko and Ai had grown up in America before they moved to Japan in middle school. Their father was American and their mother was Japanese. When their parents divorced, they had come to live in Japan permanently with their mother.
Kathleen had been attending Tokyo International for about two months now, though it felt a little strange since the school year started in April. She was happy that her desk was near a window now that summer was setting in. The heat was just beginning to build and, for some reason, the school didn't have AC. She could open the window a crack and sometimes feel a blessed cool breeze.
She stared out the window, at the bright sun and clear sky. It was June now and all her friends in America would be either off school for the summer or very near it. Kathleen knew she wouldn't get a break until August, and only for about a month.
She could see some students in their gym uniforms running around the soccer field. From a distance, she could only see the detail of their black hair, shining in the sunlight. There was only one blonde among them. Kathleen tugged at a curl of her own reddish brown hair that had escaped her messy bun. It was a little strange to feel like a minority, someone instantly recognized as an 'outsider', after living so much of her life feeling almost boring in her normal-ness.
"What are you looking at?" Ai asked.
Kathleen turned to her friend. Ai was sitting on her desk, holding one knee to her chest and showing off the shorts that she always wore under her skirt. Kathleen also wore shorts under her uniform skirt too, after realizing when she walked up she stairs she would basically flash everyone below.
"Nothing really. Just wishing I was outside."
Ai grinned. "Wait until summer really starts. Then the humidity will be so bad, you'll be happy to stay inside." She put her leg down, leaning forward. "But while it's still nice, lets go somewhere after school, okay?"
"Yeah, that would be fun." Kathleen smiled and automatically looked towards Yuriko in the desk in front of her. Yuriko had her head in her hands, sleeping.
Ai giggled. "Yuriko will come too."
Yuriko grunted, not moving. Kathleen smiled as Ai laughed louder.
They were suddenly interrupted as Mitsu cleared her throat at the front of the classroom. She was a small girl with large, pink glasses and rainbow colored braces. She always smiled so wide that Kathleen almost wondered if they were more a fashion accessory than a way to straighten teeth. “So as your class rep, I’d like to announce our plans for the school festival.”
About three people actually looked up. Kathleen was actually a little interested. She had never heard of a school festival before moving to Japan. It seemed like kind of fun. Ai had already told Kathleen that other classes were planning on food stalls or hosting games. Apparently a lot of people showed up for the event.
Mitsu raised her voice a little louder. “This year we will be doing a class play!”
A few more people looked up and a few of the guys groaned loudly. Mitsu glared.
“We have decided the play will be a selection from Romeo and Juliet!” She beamed suddenly and whirled around to the white board, writing down the character names. “So I will need volunteers for characters!”
Kathleen shrunk in her seat. She wasn't against the idea of a play, but she definitely didn't want a role with a lot of lines. She barely knew most of her classmates and she didn't want to look like an idiot in front of them.
“I’ll be Romeo!” Ai immediately shouted, practically leaped from her seat.
Mitsu smiled gratefully and wrote down Ai’s name. She went through the other male characters. A couple of the groaning guys were drafted into Paris and Tybalt. A girl who Kathleen didn't know volunteered from Mercutio. A guy volunteered to be Juliet’s nurse, much to the laughter from his friends.
“Juliet?” Mitsu asked, marker posed, looking over one shoulder.
Ai reached over to nudge Yuriko. Yuriko lifted her head, glaring. “Romeo and Juliet can't be twins. That would be weird,” she hissed.
Ai giggled then turned to Kathleen. “You should be Juliet, Kathleen,” she said just a little too loud.
Everyone turned to look at Kathleen. She shifted in her seat. “Uh, I-I don’t know…”
Mitsu who had never really said much to Kathleen before, looked hopeful and pouting. “Please, Kathleen? You’ll make such a great Juliet!”
Kathleen knew she was lying. No one wanted to be the love-struck Juliet with so many lines to memorize. however she sort of like the way Mitsu was looking at her. Besides Ai would be Romeo, so that could be fun.
“Oh, alright. I’ll do it,” she muttered, feeling her neck go hot.
Mitsu smiled broadly and wrote Kathleen’s name down with a little heart. Kathleen felt herself flush more.
She noticed Yuriko was smirking at her.
Ai leaned over, hooking an arm around Kathleen’s neck. “Yes! This is going to be awesome!”
-
It wasn't nearly as bad as Kathleen was dreading. Most of the cast was pretty excitable, outgoing people who spent most of rehearsal making jokes. A few times they even managed to make Yuriko, who was helping to build the stage and props, laugh out loud. Sometimes Kathleen knew Yuriko was laughing at her, but she found she didn't mind so much.
They were only doing a few short scenes from the play. Then they would perform a few times during the festival, with time for breaks. Kathleen was glad she didn't have too many lines. Not that it really mattered. Ai was tireless in her need to practice with Kathleen. They spent most breaks and after school going over scenes.
After Kathleen showed some reluctance to the more romantic scenes, Ai was quick to suggest they do a fake kiss instead of anything real. For the most part, it meant Ai would angle Kathleen away from the audience and press their cheeks together. Then Ai would whisper something stupid that would usually mean Kathleen would have to bite the inside of her cheek to keep from laughing.
The day of the festival was warm, humidity just barely tolerable. It wasn't too bad to walk around in her uniform, but Kathleen wasn't looking forward to her stuffy Juliet dress.
She arrived early, most of the students hadn't arrived. Only a few were around, getting food prepped, stabilizing their shoddy booths.
Mitsu was at their small stage, having a tense discussion with Yuriko, who was putting the finishing touches on Juliet’s window.
It was actually a kind of cool structure. There was a staircase in the back for Kathleen to ascend and small footholds built into the painted ivy for Ai to easily climb. It was set on wheels that could lock so it could be rolled on and off stage.
Kathleen hung back, not wanting to interrupt them. However, Mitsu sighed, and turned away, spotting Kathleen. She smiled, strained, “Kathleen!” She reached out pulling Kathleen forward. “I need you to reason with Yuriko, okay?”
Kathleen looked between Mitsu’s desperate look and Yuriko’s frown as she hammered more nails into the wooden steps. “What’s wrong?”
“Ai is sick,” Yuriko said, a few nails in her mouth. “She can't leave bed today.”
Mitsu moaned. “We need a Romeo! It only makes sense that Yuriko would fill in. She would fit Ai’s costume and she already knows all the lines.”
Kathleen stared at Yuriko, whose ears had gone red. “You do?”
Yuriko took the nails from her mouth. “Ai practiced a lot with me, but that doesn't mean I’d make a good Romeo.”
Mitsu suddenly sighed loudly. “It doesn't matter if you are good. This is a dire situation!” She pointed at Kathleen. “Convince her. I’m going to see if everyone else has arrived.” She whirled away.
Yuriko went back to hammering, though Kathleen was fairly convinced the steps could hold an elephant without breaking.
Kathleen knelt beside her. “Is Ai going to be okay?”
Yuriko sighed. “Yeah, it’s just a head cold. She’s completely congested and can barely talk. Of course Mom thinks she is dying.”
Kathleen grinned. “Well, it's not like she can perform in that condition.”
Yuriko snorted. “I’m not Ai. We aren't interchangeable.”
Kathleen shrugged. “I know. You don't have to be Ai to play Romeo. I think you’d be just as good. In your own way.” She felt her cheeks warm. “I mean, it's not like anyone has standards. Just look at me. I’m playing Juliet.”
Yuriko stared at her. Her gaze was oddly intense. It made Kathleen’s cheeks burn hotter. Then Yuriko looked away. “I’ll do it.”
Kathleen blinked. “You will?”
Yuriko suddenly stood. “Yeah. For the sake of the show, I guess.” She held out a hand, helping Kathleen to her feet. “Also, you make a perfect Juliet.”
She suddenly smiled at Kathleen, as bright as any of Ai’s smiles. Yuriko’s, however, was somehow warmer. It made Kathleen’s heart race.
Yuriko released her hand. “Well, at least the best Juliet in our class.” Then she walked away, waving down a harassed Mitsu.
Kathleen wasn't sure what to expect from the first performance. Yasuo, who played Tibalt, and Saiki, who played Mercutio kept messing up their lines. Not that it mattered, they kept playing it all for jokes, making the audience, a mix of students and other people from the community laugh and clap. Kathleen wondered if they were trying to make up for Yuriko, who was rather stiff through it all. She had the lines memorized at least.
Fukusawa, who played Juliet's nurse, was ridiculous through all of it. He put on a cheap, overblown wig and pranced around the stage like he was the main female lead. All of it was ridiculous for a tragic play.
Kathleen climbed her little window box that Yuriko had constructed. She wasn't as good as memorizing lines like Yuriko apparently was, and had pasted a few note cards on the back of the window in case she needed help.
Yuriko entered the stage and proceeded to climb up the window.
Kathleen spoke. "My bounty is as boundless as the sea, my love as deep. The more I give to thee, the more I have, for both are infinite."
Fukusawa made a strange warbling cry from offstage. A couple kids in the audience giggled.
Kathleen bit her lip, pretending to look forlorn to Yuriko, who just looked confused. "I hear some noise within. Dear love, adieu-"
Yuriko inhaled sharply, her voice just a little too loud. "O blessed, blessed night! I am afeard, being in night, all this is but a dream, too flattering sweet to be substantial."
Kathleen put her hands on Yuriko's where they were braced on the window. Even the backs of Yuriko's hands were cold and clammy. "Three words, dear Romeo, and good night indeed."
Fukusawa warbled again. "Madam!" He drew out the word like he was singing.
"By and by, I come.-" Kathleen shouted over one shoulder. She turned back to Yuriko, who was so tense she was almost shaking. Kathleen wasn't sure why. They were both doing as about as well as they ever did in rehearsal. She supposed even the unflappable Yuriko got nerves sometimes. "To cease they strife and leave me to my grief. Tomorrow will I send."
"So thrive my soul!" Yuriko blurted, her voice too high pitched. Someone in the audience snickered.
Kathleen squeezed one of Yuriko's hands, wishing she could help her relax. She leaned forward, ready to press her cheek against Yuriko's in their fake kiss. "A thousand times good night," she said, loud enough for the audience to hear.
She expected Yuriko to turn, pressing their cheeks together, then leaning away. She did not expect Yuriko to reach up with one hand, cradling the back of Kathleen's head, tilting it slightly, and then kissing her on the lips.
Kathleen froze, feeling her face heat so quickly she might have started sweating. Yuriko's lips were soft and still against hers.
Then Yuriko broke the contact, though her hand remained buried in Kathleen's hair. Her voice voice was a whisper, too quiet for anyone but Kathleen to hear. "A thousand times the worse to want thy light."
Then, as if broken from some spell, she released Kathleen and quickly jumped from the window and ran from the stage.
Kathleen, not quite remembering if she had a line she was supposed to say or what to do, just stood there frozen. Then she heard a low whistle from the audience and turned to see Ai off to the side. She was wearing a medical mask, but her eyes were smiling and she waved to Kathleen.
"You're supposed to be in bed!" Yuriko shouted from offstage, obviously having noticed Ai as well.
A couple people in the audience laughed and Kathleen scrambled for a line. "Ah, y-yes my nurse!" she shouted offstage and the audience laughed louder. "Parting is such sweet sorrow!" Then she scrambled down the steps and to backstage.
The audience clapped, some still laughing. Kathleen met the eyes of a very confused Fukusawa. She passed him and found Yuriko and Ai both behind their small stage.
Yuriko was glaring furiously at Ai. Ai held up her hands. "I'm sorry if I forgot to tell you that Kathleen and I practiced a fake kiss." Her voice was very hoarse and weak, but she still sounded like she was laughing.
Yuriko was red, sputtering her words. "What?"
Kathleen reached out, touching Yuriko's shoulder. She looked ready to hit Ai. "Um, Yuriko. You're in the next scene."
Yuriko whirled to look at her, eyes wide. Then she quickly looked away. "Oh, okay." Then she stomped away, back to the stage.
Kathleen looked at Ai. "Aren't you supposed to be in bed?"
Ai grinned, touching a finger to her mask. "I escaped."
Kathleen frowned. "But you're sick…"
Ai looped an arm around Kathleen's elbow. "How could I miss this?" She giggled. "I really can't believe that Yuriko actually kissed you!"
Kathleen wondered if she would ever stop blushing. "Did you trick her or something?"
"No, but I almost wish I had." Ai squeezed her elbow. "But now that I'm here, let's go get something to eat!"
Kathleen sighed. "We still have the rest of the play."
Ai rolled her eyes. "Fine. Finish the play, then come eat with me." She let go of Kathleen. "Guess I'll head back to the front. Should I start taking bets if Yuriko will give you another kiss before the play ends?"
Kathleen was convinced she would be red for the rest of her life.
Ai laughed loudly and ran back to the audience.
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