"Check the lights!"
"Where's our last stagehand?!"
"Hey, where does this thing go?"
A flurry of activity was taking place behind the stage of the gymnasium. It was currently an hour before Haruna's class was set to put on their show, but even now, people were beginning to fill the seats. "Ugh…" Haruna groaned as she took a peek past the curtain. "What? Didja think no one would come?" Chiyo asked. "No, but… seeing them all out there is really making me nervous," Haruna said. "Yeah, I get that. Felt that same way yesterday when I sang," Chiyo said. "I still can't believe you went out on stage wearing that dress," Haruna said with a shake of her head. "You're lucky you didn't get suspended or something." "Yeah, but they'll probably punish me somehow," Chiyo said with a sigh. "These teachers are seriously too uptight for their own good, y'know?"
"Endo-san! Wakabayashi-san! Get over here!" Akitsuki yelled, her pompous curls bouncing with the movement of her mouth. Neither of them liked being called like that, but when they saw the group that was forming, Haruna and Chiyo reluctantly joined.
Standing en masse were the actors, assistants, stagehands, and any other volunteers that helped with the production. Before them all was Akitsuki, looking awfully proud and determined. "Okay everyone, listen up! Today is the day! All of our hard work and labor will finally be shown to the public! I want everybody here to have a great time and show what you can do!"
Admittedly, it wasn't the most inspiring speech, feeling more like she just searched the internet for good things to say more than her speaking from her heart. Regardless, Akitsuki's words did at least seem to help relieve a bit of the tension that had been building, and some of the nerves in others felt a little better. Even Haruna had to admit that she wasn't as worried as she had been a second ago.
As the group dispersed, Hinami walked up to Haruna and Chiyo. "U-Um," she began. "G-Good luck you two!" "Thanks Hinami-chan!" Chiyo said, suddenly giving her a big hug. "Do good with the backstage stuff, okay?" "I-I will!" Hinami said, sounding a bit determined herself. "Oh, right, and-" Before she continued speaking, Hinami glanced at Haruna. Then, she reached up to Chiyo's ear and whispered something. Once Hinami pulled away, Chiyo looked like she was glowing.
The girl walked away, and taking her place was Haruna. "What'd she tell you?" she asked. "It's a secret," Chiyo said wryly. "Anyways, there's something more important here Haru-chi." "Huh? What?" Haruna asked. "My dress!" Chiyo exclaimed with a pout. "You haven't even complimented it once!" "You'll get plenty of compliments when we're on stage," Haruna sighed. "But I want you to tell me I'm pretty," Chiyo cooed. "What am I, your date?" Haruna asked, a little irritated. "Well, you are the George to my Sydney," Chiyo said slyly, putting her arms around Haruna's neck. Upon seeing that, several girls in the back let out little screams.
"Knock it off," Haruna said, lightly pushing Chiyo off of her. The gal laughed. "I just like teasing you," she said. "And them too," she added, motioning to the group who had given gleeful screams. Even before the play had started, there were a few who believed there was something going on between Chiyo and Haruna. As it turned out, some of those believers were in their class as well. Seeing the two girls constantly interacting with each other as lovers for a play only served to further their belief. Recently, after finding out about these people, Chiyo had decided it was fun to mess with them. Unfortunately for Haruna, that meant having the gal particularly close at times.
"I hope they stop with that stuff after the play," Haruna sighed. "If all goes well, they should," Chiyo mumbled. "Huh?" Haruna let out. "Nothing," Chiyo said in a sing-song tone. "I'm gonna go check on my outfits again." "Why? Haven't you looked at them enough?" Haruna asked. "But they were made just for me," Chiyo said happily. "So I wanna look at 'em as much as I can!" And with that, the gal headed further backstage.
Left standing alone, Haruna's attention turned back to the crowd. "I wonder if she's out there…" Haruna thought. Part of her wanted to check, but she was also too afraid to. "It's probably best if I don't know," she decided. So in the meantime, Haruna continued to go over her lines in her head. Really, at this point she had done all she could, so it wasn't like it made much of a difference.
Behind her, the noise level rose. "Places everyone!" Akitsuki declared as the final parts of the first set were put into place. "Here we go," Haruna thought. Heading to the left side of the stage, she stood in the wing and waited for the curtain to go up.
*****
"Let's see…" Michi muttered as she stared at the seats in the gymnasium. Unlike yesterday, she made sure to show up with plenty of time before the show actually started. Currently, she was looking for a spot to sit, but it didn't take her long to find a spot. "Mi-chan! Over here!" Itsuki-chan called and waved. Seeing that, Michi made her way over to her friend.
Next to Itsuki were Mayu and Jasmine. "So all three of you are here," Michi commented. "Of course! We weren't gonna miss seeing Haruna-chan and Chiyo on stage!" Itsuki said excitedly. "Are you sure you should be here? Shouldn't you be resting or something?" Michi asked. Naturally, she had heard about what had happened to Itsuki through the grapevine. "Ah… so you heard," Itsuki said quietly. "Everyone knows," Michi said bluntly. "Yeah, I guess that makes sense," Itsuki said. "But I'm fine, really! This is my way of relaxing!" "If you say so," Michi said with a shrug, then she sat down next to Itsuki.
While they waited for the show to start, Michi flipped through the program she had been given at the door. "Chiyo Wakabayashi as Sydney Alto…" she mumbled to herself. "I hope she doesn't mess up." "Same here," a voice suddenly said. Looking up, Michi saw Chitose standing next to her. "This seat taken?" she asked, motioning to the singular seat available next to Michi. "N-No…" the girl answered nervously. For some reason, she always felt on edge around Chitose.
"Oh hey, Chitose's here," Jasmine said as she looked down the row. "Hey Jas-chin," Chitose said with a cool smile. "I'm surprised you made it. I would've thought you had like, class or something," Jasmine said. "C'mon! There's no way I'd miss my lil' sis's stage debut!" Chitose said with a big grin. "Right Mi-chan? You wouldn't wanna miss it either right?" "H-How should I know?" Michi stuttered out. Smirking, Chitose leaned in. "Hey, you can say it, y'know. That you're here to see Chi." In response, Michi became flustered, her cheeks turning red. "I-I'm not here just for her, okay?!" she shouted. "Oh yeah? But that means she's at least part of the reason, yeah?" Chitose pointed out, drawing an "ugh…" out of Michi.
A while later, a girl came out onto the stage in front of the curtain. "Hello everyone!" she said happily. "I hope you've been enjoying Iwanai Municipal High School's cultural festival! Now, we have a special presentation for you. One of our classes not only decided to put on a play, but to write it themselves! That's right, an original play produced by the students of this school! So, without further ado, here's Class 2-3 in "Source of Love!"
*****
The curtain rose, revealing an office backdrop. On the stage were several desks with people seated at them, all of them typing away on typewriters. From the left, a man (portrayed by Haruna) walked into the "room." He wore a three piece suit, with a white shirt as its base and a grey vest and jacket over top, all matching with his grey pants.
"Another day at the office," the man said with a small sigh. "Aw c'mon George! Don't sigh like that! The office is already depressing enough as it is!" one of the desk workers cried. "Sorry. Just wish there was somethin' going on," said George, full name George Holden. This man happened to work for the New York Sun, a long-standing publication in the Big Apple. Among the reporters for this paper, he was one of the best.
"Still, ain't that a good thing?" another of the desk workers said. "No news is good news." "Not in our business," George said. "If things get any more dull, it'll be like we live in the countryside." "What's wrong with that? I like the countryside," the same worker said. "Then maybe you should go work for the Farm Bureau," George joked.
It was then that a message came in for the man. "Here George. Someone called here an hour ago sayin' they wanted to talk to you." Taking the paper being handed to him, George looked it over. "Huh? You didn't take their name?" "She didn't give one, and when I asked, all she said was she was looking forward to meetin' ya," the messager explained. "The Baltimore…" George muttered as he looked at the note again. "That's a pretty fancy place for a meeting." "Well, you were just complaining about things being boring, so maybe this is just what you were looking for," one of the desk workers said. So, grabbing his hat and jacket, George headed out.
It was a short taxi ride to the Baltimore (and a quick change of set on stage). Ritzy beyond belief for the time, it held the standard for what it meant to live in luxury. The hotel towered among its neighboring buildings, being sure to show just why it was held in such high regard. And, when George walked in, that glamour continued. The walls were a decadent gold and calm red, and crystalline lights hung from the high lobby ceiling. In the area George stood, there were chairs for guest to sit and wait at, along with the front desk at the back. However, this wasn't the spot the reporter was looking for. Glancing to his left, he saw the entryway to the bar.
"I'll be sitting at the bar, looking awfully lonesome," he repeated to himself. Those words had been written on the note he had received, and sure enough, they were true. Looking in, he spotted a woman seated on a stool, wearing an expression of forlorn loneliness. On her body, she wore a long, navy blue dress which revealed a fair amount of her bust and had leg slits on both sides. Her hair was done in a wavy fashion with plenty of volume, and in her hand, she held a martini glass, although the contents were unknown.
When he walked in, the bartender took notice of him, but George just motioned to the woman. He was on the job. It was no time to be drinking. Instead, he approached the woman, then slowly took the seat next to her.
"Oh my," she cooed. "Are you here for me?" "Assuming you're the one that left a mysterious note at the Sun," George said back calmly. The woman's looks didn't bother him in the least, although he admitted that she was quite beautiful. "That's me," the woman said. "Glad ya came." "What this about, Miss…?" George said, trailing off due to a lack of information.
"Sydney," the woman said (portrayed by Chiyo), finally turning to look at him. "My name is Sydney Alto. It's a pleasure to meet you Mr. Holden."
*****
As Michi sat and watched the scene unfold on stage, she couldn't help but be in awe. "They're… pretty good," she thought. It was obvious how much everyone had practiced. Honestly, she had expected Haruna to be average at best, but, while it was still mostly obviously she was a woman due to her voice, the rest of her character really shined on the stage. "It's like she's really this George Holden person," Michi thought. Of course, the suit Haruna was wearing helped to convince the audience, along with her hair being done in a way that made it appear especially short. "How did they do that anyway?" Michi wondered.
Of course, when the spotlight came on and showed Chiyo sitting at the bar, Michi forgot all about her wonderings. "Oh…" she let out. Seeing her in that dress, looking so mature with a drink in her hand, had taken Michi's breath away and made her cheeks flushed. Next to her, Chitose snickered. "W-What?" Michi whispered harshly. "Nothing, nothing," Chitose said, stifling a laugh before thinking to herself, "if only you could see this girl looking at you right now Chi."
*****
"Miss Alto," George said. "Sydney, please," the woman insisted in a smooth voice. "...Miss Alto," George repeated, doing his best to maintain his professionalism. "What exactly was it you wanted to see me about?" "Straight to the point huh? Not even a little bit of fun?" Sydney teased. "Miss Alto, if you have nothing to tell me, then I'm afraid this will have been a waste of time," George said, getting up to leave.
"Oh? But I thought you'd be real curious to know about Mr. Harding and all the little things he's been up to?" Hearing that, George stopped. "Mr. Harding? One of the state representatives?" Specifically, they were talking about Owen Harding, a man in his 50s and a career politician. For the last five years, he had been acting as one of New York's state representatives for Congress.
"That's the one. But, I guess if ya don't want to hear about it…" Sydney said, intentionally trailing off and ending with a wry look. "...Alright," George said, sitting back down. "So, what's this about Mr. Harding?" "Well, information this nice isn't cheap Georgie," Sydney cooed. "Aren't'cha gonna do somethin' for me?" "I'm not in the business of paying for information," George said, looking a little irritated. "Then good luck," Sydney said. Without another word, she stood up and sauntered away, martini glass in hand.
*****
The scene changed once again, back to the office. At his desk, George poured over files. "Is there really something here?" he wondered aloud. "What's that George? Papers on… Harding?" one of his co-workers observed. "Yeah. That woman I met up with was going to tell me something about him, but she wanted something for the information, so I turned her down," George explained. "Oh yeah? Who was she?" the co-worker asked. "She said her name was Sydney Alto."
As soon as the name left his lips, the editor of the department came bursting into the office. "Did you just say Sydney Alto?!" he exclaimed. "Um, yeah," George said, surprised by the reaction of his usually stern editor. "Go track her down! Right now!" the editor demanded. "But sir-" George went to protest, but he was stopped. "That woman has a ton of connections!" the editor yelled. "I don't care what you have to do to get the info she's offering! If people find out, we'll cover for it somehow!" "Sir, why is this woman so important that we have to bend or even break our ethics?" George asked, bothered by the whole situation.
"Well, rumor has it," the editor began. "She's been a big source on several groundbreaking stories. You remember the popularity the Banner got a few months back? Supposedly Miss Alto was the main source for the story they published. Now everybody knows them! So, imagine if we get her as a source. We might get a story so big, it'll vault us past the Times! Especially if it's about a politician!"
George had his doubts, but with the order coming straight from his editor, he didn't really have much of a choice. "I don't like it," he said, "But if it's that important…" "How would you find her though?" one of the desk workers suddenly asked. "I get the feeling she's still at the Baltimore," George said. His sense of intuition was what had helped him to get as far as he had as a reporter, so when the others heard his guess, they were inclined to agree. "Head back over there then," the editor told him.
*****
Now 8 at night (demonstrated by dimmed lighting), George was back at the Baltimore. "Now, where is she… oh," he said as his eyes drifted. It didn't take long from them to land on the woman he was looking for. In fact, it took hardly any time at all, because there Sydney Alto was, sitting at the bar once more. This time though, she was turned the opposite direction as before. Facing toward the entryway, she gave George a smooth wave and smile.
"You're back," she said when he approached. "It appears that you knew I'd be back," the reporter said in response. "Well, I had a hunch," Sydney said mysteriously, taking a sip of whatever was in her martini glass. "So, what will you do for me?" "…" Honestly, George hadn't given it much thought. He refused to pay her money. If anyone saw that, any credibility the Sun had would go out the window. But if not money, then what could he do?
While he thought, Sydney sat on her stool, smiling a knowing smile all the while. "You seem to be at a loss," she said. "...Well, it's not like I do this often," George brought himself to say. "Then I guess I have no choice," Sydney said, hopping off of her stool. Within a stride, she stood directly in front of the man. They were at level height, but that was mostly thanks to Sydney's heels.
"Here's my offer," Sydney said in a tone nearly at a whisper. Her voice practically dripped with seduction. "Go on a date with me, and I'll tell you everything you wanna know." "One date?" George said. "That's right," Sydney said with a smile. "Why?" George asked plainly. For a moment, Sydney stared at him blankly before finally giving a small laugh. "Y'know, I think that's the first time I've asked a man out on a date and he asked me why. Most of them practically jump at the chance as soon as I say it." "Well, it's not like I can't understand why," George said, causing Sydney to freeze up a little. "My…" she let out. "I guess you really are as good with your words in person as you are on paper."
Hearing that made George wonder. "Do you read my articles?" he asked. "Of course. How else would I have known to ask for you?" Sydney said easily. "They're quite good. I enjoy them." "Ah, well, thank you…" George said, unsure of how to accept a compliment like that coming from Sydney. "Anyways," the woman continued. "Let's be off." "Off? Where to?" George asked. "To our date," Sydney said, flashing him a big smile.
*****
"So you've been doing this for awhile?" Sydney asked as she sipped at her glass of red wine. "Yeah. I guess you could say it's been my life's work," George said. "Life's work huh?" Sydney said. "That sounds odd coming from a man who can't be more than his early 40s." "It's almost a shame you can guess my age so easily, but I have no idea what yours is," George said. "I hope you're not thinking I look older," Sydney said. "Of course not. Honestly, I like to think of myself as a good judge of character and detail, but I really can't figure you out. You look like you could be in your 20s, but you talk like you're well beyond your years. You dress almost scandalously, but you carry yourself elegantly. Your personality is both playful and all about business. I think you're quite the person, Miss Alto."
Hearing so much about her being described at once, Sydney had to turn away for a moment. "Good with your words indeed…" she muttered before turning back to the man across the table from her. The restaurant they had gone to wasn't far at all from the hotel, but it was nearly as fancy. The lighting was at near-candlelight levels, and the walls were painted black and brown to keep a mellow atmosphere. All around were tables covered in white tablecloths, and seated at them were some of New York's finest.
"There are certainly a lot of people here I recognize," George commented. "I would hope so. I'm sure you've written a story or two about a couple of them," Sydney said, regaining her composure. "And, as a matter of fact, there's one person here who we're both interested in." Motioning to her right, George's eyes followed. What he saw was a gentleman dressed in a typical black and white suit, the only notable feature being a green tie. The man himself also wasn't much to write home about, being in his 50s and his looks remaining average. Although, the quality of his face hardly mattered since he was already married.
"That's… Mr. Harding," George said, a hint of surprise in his voice. "Yes it is," Sydney said, satisfied. "And the man sitting with him is no politician." Looking more closely, George realized he had no idea who the other individual sitting with Harding was. "Do you know him Miss Alto?" he asked. "He's… what would you call him? A fixer of sorts, perhaps?" Sydney said as she mused. "A fixer?" George repeated. "Let's just say his hands aren't too clean," Sydney said. "As for the more dirty details, you'll have to dig those up yourself." "One date only get me so much huh?" George joked. "On the contrary," Sydney corrected him. "One date could get you plenty. Unfortunately, in this case, it's more of a matter of me not knowing much about that man other than his less-than-tasteful background."
For the rest of the night, the two of them engaged in casual conversation, though there were a few more instances of Sydney causing George to become a bit flustered. By the time they said goodbye, both of them had agreed to see each other again.
After that, George went back to the office. Taking out the files he had out earlier, he began to search for the connection between Owen Harding and the man who had been at his table. Before he had parted with Sydney, he had gotten one more bit of info. "I think his name was James," she had said, but she hadn't had a last name.
Searching through paper after paper, George eventually found what he was looking for. "James Fultan…" he mumbled to himself. Looking up at the wall across from him, he saw it read 1 in the morning. "...I suppose that will do for tonight," he said to no one. Satisfied with what he had found so far, George turned out the lights and locked up.
*****
"Haruna-chan is pretty good!" Itsuki whispered to Mayu. "Yes. Perhaps she should go into acting," Mayu said. Next to her, Jasmine snorted. "There's no way Haru-chi would do that. I'm sure it's taking everything she has to keep it together up there." "You think? I feel like she's pretty natural. Like, I'd believe her if she said she really was George Holden," Itsuki said. "Every now and then you can hear her stutter a bit. She's totally nervous," Jasmine pointed out.
"Chiyo hasn't had any problems though," Mayu said. "Yeah, because that Sydney character fits Chiyo perfectly. She's barely had to change a thing. But, I gotta say, it's a little weird to see her acting so mature and holding martini and wine glasses," Jasmine said. "Yeah, she gives off a different vibe like that!" Itsuki agreed.
"I think she looks just fine," Michi added suddenly. "Huh?" Itsuki let out, a little surprised to hear Michi say something like that about Chiyo. "What? She does, doesn't she?" Michi insisted. "Um, y-yeah," Itsuki said. "I'm just surprised that you'd say something like that." "There's no point in lying, is there?" Michi said. "Besides, it's not like Chiyo is here, so she can't hear me anyways." "What a tsundere..." Chitose muttered next to her.
*****
In the coming weeks, George Holden was able to dig up quite a bit on the man named James Fultan. As it turned out, his less-than-tasteful background that Sydney had mentioned had been an understatement. Embezzlement, fraud, counterfeiting and other alleged crimes made up the list, but Fultan had never actually been charged. Digging a little deeper, George found out why. The man had somehow built up a network of politicians and judges. It seemed as long as he never did anything too serious, he could get away with it. In exchange, he did "favors" for the people of power on his side.
The information George had compiled to this point was enough to maybe convict some of these people. However, as a man of the media, that wasn't his objective. He had to report the facts, and substantiate those facts with real evidence. Sure, some of the things he had found could be proven, but it wasn't enough. Not yet. So he continued to search, until one day, he found something that could serve as the nail in the coffin he was looking for.
"Hey sir," George said to his editor. 'Look at this." Placing a paper down in front of his boss, the man looked it over. "In accordance with subsection A under Article 8… land rights… Harding… what?" "You see what I see?" George asked. "Yeah, I do…" his editor said, letting out a long sigh. "Holden… if you publish this, you know what that means, right? You're gonna have politicians, criminals, and who knows who else after you. You sure you want that heat?" "It's nothing new to me," George said flatly. Lighting up a cigarette, the editor sucked in before letting out a big puff of smoke. "Alright. Double-check it. Triple-check it. And then… put it to the page."
*****
It was the day after George's conversation with his editor. There was a lot of information to put together and put into a context the public would understand, so the article, or more likely series of articles, wouldn't be published for another week or so. While he was working, one of his fellow desk workers started up a conversation.
"Hey George," he said. "You still seein' Sydney Alto?" "Seeing?" George repeated. "You make it sound like we're a couple." "Aren't ya?" the guy asked. "No," George replied sternly. "It's true we've met up a few times since our initial meeting, but every time was business. She's just a source, nothing more." "That's cold," the desk worker said. "If I was workin' with a woman like that, I don't think I could keep business and pleasure separate, y'know?"
Most would've agreed. Sydney Alto was far from a household name, but to those who knew her or at least knew who she was, they'd all say she was a knockout. Guys would kill to be able to spend time with a woman like her. And yet, the one guy who had the chance wasn't trying at all. To George, Sydney was a source for an article. To get involved with her any more than that would go against his code of ethics, something he had already done enough of.
Of course, he wouldn't deny that he enjoyed his time with Sydney. She was easy to talk to and easy on the eyes. The air she kept about her continued to keep her interesting, and George had to admit there had been a time or two where he was staring more at her than at the person he was supposed to be watching. But, he reasoned that that was inevitable. He was still a man after all. It only made sense his eyes would stay on Sydney now and then.
So, he continued to type away. One article was already done, and while he was working on the second, a commotion suddenly broke out.
*****
"Okay, everything's going good," Haruna told herself as she continued acting on stage. "I haven't made any major slip-ups, and Chiyo is doing great. We're almost to intermission too. If we can keep this up, I think we'll be able to get through this."
Naturally, the entire time Haruna had been on stage, she had been very nervous. No matter how much she had practiced, there was no replacing a real, live crowd. In front of so many eyes, she kept finding herself worrying about messing up, which only served to worsen her nerves. "I've got to stop thinking about it," she told herself. "I just need to focus on my lines and the upcoming scenes. Speaking of, what's next? Oh, that's right. Sydney is about to come in, which is why everyone is making noise in the wings. Once she comes on, I say her name in surprise because she looks so disheveled."
Satisfied with her self-reminding, Haruna went back to focusing her attention onto the stage. "Once she comes out… once she comes out…" As she waited, Haruna kept repeating that. Then finally, the main girl of the show made her appearance. Walking out onto the stage, what was once a nice, silver dress was now a bit tattered and dirty. Her hair was all over the place, and she almost looked out of breath.
However, the girl that appeared on stage… was not the one Haruna had expected. Wide-eyed, she froze completely as only one thing ran through her mind.
"KANAKO?!?!?!"
Now standing on the stage and playing Sydney Alto was now none other than Kanako Nakatomi.
End of Chapter Fifteen.