June 29/Convinced/PG/Open

[eyeris]

Character(s): Mamoru Renjou and anyone else!
Time: 12:30PM, Thursday
Location: Cafeteria

It was his second day at the academy and Mamoru was convinced that he had made the wrong choice about coming here to teach. Of course, the boy always felt this pessimistic about things, but Aozora Academy was the worst. His manager was still around, but his assistants weren't. He couldn't just snap his fingers impatiently to get whatever he wanted, he actually had to work for it now.

That wasn't what pissed him off the most, either. It was the students. They were all so damn noisy, it drove Mamoru crazy. However, he knew he couldn't lose his cool. After all, to all the students and staff here, he was Ryuuji Ichinose, not Mamoru Renjou. He was Ryuuji, the kind teenage actor who had a big heart and nothing but good intentions.

I wish I could stab something. Mamoru thought angrily as he approached the cafeteria lunch line. Despite his frustrated thoughts, he flashed a smile at the lunch server and cheerfully said, "Meal B, please!" As the lady placed a delicate piece of meat on his plate along with some vegetables and a nicely-sized baked potato (it really was a decent American-style lunch), Mamoru had to resist the urge to frown in disgust. Western food? Honesty? Jesus christ.

Mamoru merely nodded his head in thanks to the lunch server and sat down at one of the empty tables, and immediately fulfilled his former wish: he stabbed the slab of meat with his plastic fork. The fork, however, was too weak against the meat and instead bent over. "Fuck." he muttered and threw his fork to the side, resisting the urge to throw it across the room and spear someone in the face.

"Is that Ryuuji Ichinose?!"
"It is, isn't it?!"
"Oh my god, go speak to him!"

Mamoru paused as he overheard the conversation between a pair of giggling girls behind him. He had heard this for the majority of the entire day. After all, Ryuuji Ichinose was one of the most popular teen actors in Japan right now. Mamoru, however, didn't feel like anything special at all.

[alyssa]

Mayumi had eaten nothing but popcorn for the past few days - after the coffee-spilling incident, she hadn't any desire to brave the cafeteria again, other than late at night - and she was absolutely starving.

She stood in the lunch line for what felt like hours before her tray was filled. Mayumi paid for her lunch and quickly scanned the room for a seat. Her eyes landed on a familiar looking boy sitting alone at a table, stabbing his lunch angrily. She watched for a moment, which was enough time to see his fork go flying across the table.

It suddenly dawned on Mayumi where she had seen the boy before - he was Ryuuji Ichinose, a popular Japanese actor. She had been watching one of his movies the other night. He looked much more... normal, in person, almost annoyed at the moment.

Her feet moved without her brain's permission, and, suddenly, Mayumi was standing at the opposite end of his table, reaching for his plastic fork. She tossed it back in his direction, with just enough force that it skidded to a stop in front of his tray.

"Civilized people eat with those," Mayumi told him, "But you would know that."

She placed her tray down on the table and seated herself on the side opposite him, and the other end. Mayumi had never been so close to someone famous before, and she knew she was handling it completely wrong.

[eyeris]

"Civilized people eat with those, but you would know that."

Mamoru suddenly stiffened at the sound of both the girl's voice and the sound of the fork skidding back to his tray. What the fuck?! he thought, looking up and glaring at the girl who had seated herself across from him. Fighting the urge to yell at her and then throw one of his tantrums, he merely gave a kindhearted laugh.

"Sorry about that." he said, flipping his bangs to the side (for some reason, that almost always worked on girls). "I guess it slipped from my fingers, thank you for picking it up for me." he grinned, "I'm Ryuuji Ichinose, by the way, just in case you never heard of me. What's your name?"

That bitch. Mamoru thought sourly as he picked up the fork and glanced at it, looking for any speck of dirt that it might have collected on its journey back to his tray. Whatever, she was most likely just one of those girls that wanted to talk to him just because he was Ryuuji Ichinose. In fact, Mamoru had no doubt about it. He'd just have to sweet-talk her for several minutes and then he could make an easy excuse and leave. It was a simple process, but it still annoyed the hell out of him.

[alyssa]

"Sorry about that." he said, flipping his bangs like most male celebrities did. "I guess it slipped from my fingers, thank you for picking it up for me." he grinned, but Mayumi could tell that he hardly meant it. He put on a good disguise, but there were one or two cracks letting the light out. "I'm Ryuuji Ichinose, by the way, just in case you never heard of me. What's your name?"

Mayumi picked up her own fork, twirling it delicately around her plate. She took a bite before replying.

"Mayumi Yoshida," then, she added, "And how could someone here not know who you are? You're at a performing arts school, and you're an actor. The majority of the girls here have posters of you on their walls." She smiled devilishly at him, leaning closer to whisper, "And I wouldn't doubt that some of the guys do, too."

She chuckled a bit, returning to her previous position and taking another bite. He still hadn't touched his food, and was holding the fork as if it had personally offended him. It was really quite funny.

Mayumi had no idea if she should be speaking the way she was to someone so popular in the media these days - if she excelled in school, she may have to interact with him later on, and bad blood wasn't a good thing to have between two people. Nevertheless, it was fun, and she could apologize later if necessary.

[eyeris]

"I guess that makes sense!" He laughed when Mayumi said that everyone at the performing arts school knew about him. "And really? Girls have posters of me on their wall? That's embarrassing, but I'm glad that they appreciate me." He shook his head modestly. When Mayumi leaned closer, the boy fought the urge to shove her annoying face out of the way.

"And I wouldn't doubt that some of the guys do, too."

A shiver ran through Mamoru's spine, he wasn't sure if it was because of how close she was to his face or if it was because of what she said. But it didn't matter - this girl definitely knew how to tick him off. "Oh?" he said, "I guess I'm thankful for them as well! I didn't know I could reach so many people with my acting." he grinned, laughing again.

Mamoru cleaned off his fork with his napkin several times to make sure it was spotless, and then started on his food. He sliced a piece of the tender beef and slipped it into his mouth. This tastes like crap compared to the food I have at home. What is this bullshit?! Still, the boy chewed and swallowed.

"So you're the first girl who was brave enough to approach me." he said, glancing up from his food. "I guess that means you're kind of special, huh?" he said, tilting his head. "Do you want me to give you an autograph? A picture?" he offered kindly.

Anything that would make you go away?

[alyssa]

He wiped his fork vigorously on his napkin, then took his first bite, his nose wrinkling a bit. "So you're the first girl who was brave enough to approach me." he told her, glancing to his tray "I guess that means you're kind of special, huh?" He tilted his head at her, looking a bit like a lost puppy.

Special? Mayumi wondered, was he serious? She wasn't "special," she was bored. Also because she had no one else to sit with, and, maybe, if people thought she had enough... she didn't know the word... self-confidence? To sit at the same table as a famous actor, maybe they wouldn't try to push her around as much.

Her way of thinking was very stupid, Mayumi realized, but it was all she could do.

"Do you want me to give you an autograph? A picture?" he offered.

Mayumi shook her head, taking another small bite. She turned her head to him again, tilting it slightly. "No, thank you," she told him, "Just finishing lunch would be alright."

Her smile turned a bit wicked.

[eyeris]

Mamoru didn't like the direction this conversation was heading.

The girl in front of him was different than any of the others one he had seen ever since he first came to the academy. Ever since he had walked in the doors wearing Ryuuji's bright smile, girls have been whispering behind his back and trying to talk to him. He had been treated like he always had when he was in public, and even though the way some fans acted annoyed him, he had still gotten used to the attention.

And now he was receiving none of that from the girl across from him. In fact, he felt utterly normal under her presence. Mamoru felt his usual flare of anger and frustration rise up inside of him, this close to standing up and storming out of there. But there was also a tiny seed of raw excitement appearing. Hadn't he always secretly wanted this type of unbiased treatment from others?

Still, he wasn't used to it, which automatically made him hate it.

"Just finishing lunch would be alright."

"Oh, I guess that's fine then!" he laughed, pissed that she hadn't taken up the offer. Usually, after girls received an autograph or a hug from him, they would squeal about it and run off. But here she was, eating lunch like it was any other Thursday in the world.

[alyssa]

He seemed taken aback by her comment, but laughed it off anyway. "Oh, I guess that's fine then!" he told her.

Mayumi watched him for a while, wondering what exactly was going on in his head. She didn't know much about him, other than that he was a great actor and obviously made a lot of money. Her older sister fawned over him a bit, but not enough for Mayumi to know every detail about his daily life.

She found herself trying decipher him - was this really the way he acted, or was this the persona he drew up for himself in public. Mayumi really couldn't tell, though. And it was far too awkward for a question for her to ask.

After taking another bite, Mayumi settled on a set of questions that were more neutral.

"What brings you here?" she asked, tilting her head. "It couldn't possibly be acting - you've already mastered that." she took a long sip of her soda. "Singing maybe?"

[eyeris]

She's onto me. I know it.

Usually on any other day, Mamoru would have felt his paranoia take over and get the hell out of there. The last thing he wanted was to get the tabloids have their headlines about how much of a fake Ryuuji Ichinose's personality really was. But for some reason, he stayed put and just allowed the girl to look at him.

What am I afraid of? She's just some student. She can't do shit even if she finds out that Ryuuji isn't as nice as everyone thinks he is. Comforted by the thought, Mamoru continued to pick at his food. He forced down another small bite, and drank a bit of the bottled water. Even the water here tastes like crap.

"What brings you here? It couldn't possibly be acting - you've already mastered that. Singing maybe?"

He laughed as modestly as he could and rubbed at the back of his neck as if he was a bit embarrassed. "Well, no, I'm not here for acting -- but I don't think I've mastered it! There are so many actors my age that are better than me out there."

No, there isn't. I'm obviously the best.

"But it turns out that I'm actually not a student here. I'm a teacher, actually!" A light blush appeared on Ryuuji's cheeks, "I didn't know if I was experienced enough, but I just couldn't deny the offer, you know?"

No, I fucking hate that I have to go here. I just came because I sent my manager to the hospital by throwing a vase at his head.

"I've never really tried singing before, although that'd be interesting! It must be nice to learn at such a great school like this. But, nah, I'm here to teach... which is almost equally as amazing. The school is beautiful, I wish I could stay here forever."

No, I want to get out of this shithole as soon as possible.

A look of disgust betrayed his current expression, but it went away even quicker than it had appeared.

[alyssa]

Mayumi turned her body to face him just a bit more as he took a sip of his water. he looked like he was thinking hard about something, but he only let the expression linger for a few seconds before he wiped his face clean again.

He was good - really good - Mayumi would give him that, but, then again, he was an actor. She didn't know why she was bugging him so much, it was more than likely her extreme boredom due to having absolutely no friends, but she honestly felt kind of bad for doing it.

She tuned in for his reply. "But it turns out that I'm actually not a student here. I'm a teacher, actually!"

He blushed a bit, like he was embarrassed to be admitting it. The teachers at Aozora were probably paid heaps more than regular high school teachers, or possibly even more than regular academy teachers. Probably.

Either way, Mayumi didn't understand the reason for the boy's blush. And that irked her. She liked to understand things about people, even if it were the people she was bothering.

Ryuuji continued speaking. "It must be nice to learn at such a great school like this. But, nah, I'm here to teach... which is almost equally as amazing. The school is beautiful, I wish I could stay here forever."

Lies. That much Mayumi could tell.

He wasn't thrilled about being at Aozora, though he acted as if he was. It was interesting. Mayumi had heard many a students opinions about being here - good and bad - but none of them had lied about it.

When he finished, Mayumi shook her head. "Uh-uh," she said, rolling her eyes a bit. "Tell me how you really feel."

[hannah]

Fussing with the tiny fraying threads on her blazer, Ayame tried her best to hurry through the cafeteria and back to the dorms to get books for her next class, but was stopped when she noticed Mayumi, the girl she met on her first day speaking with another student. Mayumi wore the same lifeless, annoyed expression, with no hint of feeling in her dark eyes. The other student, a young boy who looked like he took better care of his hair than Ren's peppy little roommate, looked at her condescendingly as he spoke.

"Hi, Mayumi." she said awkwardly, having only spoken to her once before, and nearly had it out. "And hi... um...?" She probably looked stupid, just standing there, not knowing who this person was, yet greeting him as though they were close friends. "Sorry, I'll try this again. I'm Ayame," she said, holding out her hand. "and you are?"

The tension was thick, and it felt like the oxygen was getting thinner, but keeping her cool in odd situations was one of the skills she'd picked up as a gangster's daughter. For a criminal, Ayame, you're letting a lot of people get close to you. Or more, you're the one reaching out to them. What's gotten into you?

[eyeris]

Was the blush too much? Damn. I was trying to act like some modest boy or something. This girl is smart. Mamoru's analyzing skills wasn't the best. He hated looking at other people or paying attention to them, because he almost found something that they were better at. Still, he knew he had to keep a close eye on her. What if she did expose him to the public?

"Uh-uh, tell me how you really feel."

Fuck, this is annoying.

"That is how I really feel!" He insisted, trying to keep as levelheaded as possible, "I-I don't know what you're trying to say." Just as he felt as he couldn't take it anymore, another girl approached them. She had a samurai sword and seemed a bit awkward. Great, another fangirl. Mamoru thought, wondering how his day could get any worse. I don't want to deal with any of their bullsh--

"...and you are?"

She didn't know his name! Mamoru didn't know if he was to feel either insulted or relieved. How could she not know who he was? His face was probably on every other building in the town.

"Oh!" He laughed, "I'm Ryuuji Ichinose. Nice to meet you, Ayame."

Mamoru outstretched his hand to shake the other girl's, and forced himself to not draw back right away and wipe his fingers on a napkin. "Why don't you sit down?" he suggested kindly.

[alyssa]

Mayumi tried to smile at Ayame, as well, but Ryuuji pulled it off a lot better than she did. He asked Ayame to sit down, and Mayumi breathed a small sigh of relief - she'd been looking for an opportunity to speak to Ayame again since they'd met in the hallway, but she hadn't had the time or the correct words.

Though, she was going to have be a bit more subtle about questioning Ryuuji's actions now that Ayame was here. Mayumi glanced at him quickly, wondering if he was thinking the same thing.

She kicked out the chair opposite her, smiling up at Ayame again. "C'mon, join us for lunch."

[hannah]

"Oh!" He laughed, "I'm Ryuuji Ichinose. Nice to meet you, Ayame."

He looked surprised. Was it rude to ask his name or something? "Hi, Ryuuji! It's nice to meet you too." The kindness was a bit artificial. It felt synthetic and forced, but she wasn't going to reject it.

"Why don't you sit down?" he asked.

Shortly thereafter, Mayumi kicked the chair across from her out. "C'mon, join us for lunch."

Such an invitation was rare, and she did want to join them, but she also had to get going. Although, if she ran fast enough, or borrowed the book from Ren, she wouldn't have to worry about making it to class on time. After awkwardly working through the situation in her head, probably looking like a complete idiot with a blank look on her face, she sat down, embarrassed.

"I'll have to leave a little before the bell to get a few books, so if I end up dashing out when I lose track of times, don't take it the wrong way." she mumbled, looking down at the empty table under her pale hands. "But anyways, how's the day been so far?" she asked.