After arriving at the principal's office, Ayoshi had never seen his mother so angry. She was even angrier than when he ended up in the hospital. Her voice rang out through the halls and everyone could hear her screams.
Mina's parents were called. They could not stop bowing and apologizing. Shame and embarrassment were clear on their faces as they forced Mina to apologize.
After lots of convincing and persimmon from Ayoshi, Mina was not charged. Expulsion and public humiliation were her punishment.
Everything was finally over and Ayoshi could finally relax.
***
"Where is my lead actress?!" Kizano's voice boomed throughout the gym.
The others were covered in cold sweat, nerves all over the place. They had never seen their president so angry. "She's… she's…"
Kizano's face contorted with anger, a vein popping out of his forehead. "She's what? Spit it out already!"
"She's sick," Yamazaki Tsuruzo, the vice president, squeaked out in a tiny voice.
With a deep breath, Kizano managed to calm down a little. "Fine… bring out the understudy."
They looked at each other awkwardly, pushing out Yamazaki as a sacrifice. He looked back, eyes filled with betrayal. "Well… well…"
Kizano's calm temper did not last long and soon quickly rose up again. "Spit it out!"
"She isn't here!"
"What do you mean the understudy isn't here either?!"
"We don't know where she is and she won't answer the phone."
They were backstage, where they did makeup and costumes. Kizano stood next to one of the vanities and his fist slammed down on the table, making makeup fly in the air. "Tell her if she isn't here by after school rehearsal, she's lost her role." He didn't even wait for them to answer him before he stormed out. As he walked out of the gym, he didn't pay attention to where he was going and bumped into something. He almost fell over, but was caught. A wide smile spread across his face once he saw who it was. "How do we keep meeting like this, my prince?"
Ayoshi helped Kizano steady himself, asking, "Are you ok? You look upset."
The happiness from seeing Ayoshi slightly faded as Kizano remembered what happened earlier. He let out a huff, straightening out his clothes. "It's just my play. A lot has been going on."
"Do you want to talk about it?"
Kizano pursed his lips into a tired smile, giving Ayoshi a nod. "That would be nice."
They were near the garden and started walking around, appreciating the plants growing. It was peaceful and quiet.
Kizano massaged his temples with shaky hands. "My family is what you would call nouveau rich. My father owns a business. His riches and power are nowhere near the top, but nowhere near the bottom either. However, they act like they are the best of the best. They look down on my profession, on my passion for theater. My father wants me to work at his business, in some mundane office, looking at a computer screen and papers all day long. They've never taken into consideration how miserable I would be. They look at what I do as some silly little hobby to pass the time and just laugh when I try to show them how serious I am. So now that I've managed to convince them to attend the Cultural Festival to watch my play, I've been unbearably stressed. It feels like everything is going wrong."
Ayoshi laid his hand on Kizano's back, causing him to flinch. Once he realized what it was, his tense muscles relaxed. He gently rubbed Kizano's back, trying his best to comfort him. "What happened?"
Kizano leaned into Ayoshi's touch, taking in his pleasant warmth. "My lead actress is sick and her understudy is who knows where. I'm not sure what I'm going to do…"
"No one else can fill the role?"
"No and with the festival fast approaching, there isn't enough time for anyone else to perfect the role. If I did pick someone else, I would have to find someone to fill their role. It's a never-ending cycle." There was silence until Kizano looked at Ayoshi and paused. "Unless…"
Ayoshi tilted his head, "Hmm?"
Kizano snatched Ayoshi's hands and pulled him close. "Unless you became my princess! You would be perfect. You're beautiful and a quick learner. You would save my play!"
"I'm not sure."
"I beg you, Ayoshi. Please!"
Ayoshi thought for a few seconds before nodding. "Ok."
Kizano crushed Ayoshi in a tight hug. "Thank you, thank you, thank you! You're the best Ayoshi!"
***
It's lunchtime the next day. Ayoshi had already explained to everyone that he was going to be busy helping with the play, so they wouldn't see him much.
Kizano and Ayoshi were in the Drama Club room where all the costumes were kept. Kizano grabbed a rack, pulling out a pretty dress and jester suit. "I'm going to have to make some alterations, so we'll first do your measurements."
"You made the costumes."
"Yes! If I am going to make this my career, I must be able to do every aspect."
'Kizano-kun is very dedicated.'
After they finished, they walked to the gym where the other club members were rehearsing. They all waved and greeted the two with big smiles. "Are you coming to play with us, Aishi-kun?" Yamazaki asked.
"No, he's our new princess."
Everyone paused, mouths agape. A girl rushed out from the crowd. "President, how can this be? I'm the understudy!"
Kizano crossed his arms, "So you finally decided to show up? Where were you? Why did you not answer your phone? The team needed you and you failed us!"
Kitagawa Tokuko's mouth opened and closed as tears swelled in her eyes. "I… I…"
"We don't have all day for this! The festival is fast approaching and we don't have time to waste on you!"
"I was with my boyfriend!"
Kizano's face turned ugly, eyes darkening from anger. "You are our understudy! Your attendance is far more important than the main actress. You are who we count on to be here when she doesn't show up! For you to not come without warning and ignore calls is infuriating and insulting to the rest of us who did! And for what?! A two-second fuck!"
"Pres-president, not everyone can commit their whole life to this club like you!"
"I told you and everyone else when you joined this club that even though I want your full commitment, I understand that sometimes things happen and you won't always be able to make it, but you either need to notify one of us or have a valid excuse! You didn't."
Kitagawa turned around and bowed to everyone. "I'm sorry," she quickly ran away.
Kizano looked at everyone's frowns and downcast eyes. "I know some of you may think I was harsh, but everyone here knows that she wants to be a professional actress one day and she's never going to be one with this type of professionalism. I needed to teach her a lesson. I promise you, she'll never do it again. Let's begin!"
Ayoshi looked at Kizano as he ordered everyone into position, fixing any issues that occurred. 'Amazing.'
After everything was set up, Kizano handed Ayoshi a script. "We're going to do the scenes without the princess first. I want you to read as much of the script as you can and try to remember your lines. If you forget it's ok, you'll learn."
Ayoshi nodded and sat down nearby. They weren't allowed to make the play too long for the festival, so the script wasn't very thick. He quickly read through it three times as he watched them rehearse in his peripheral vision. When he finished, he stood up and walked over to Kizano. "I am ready."
Kizano clapped his hands. "Great!" He rushed over and grabbed two hats from Yamazaki. He put on a crown and placed a jester hat on Ayoshi. "We will start with the scene where the prince and jester meet. Act one page three. Soma-kun, get into place!"
Soma sat on the big throne in the middle of the stage and Kizano stood in front of him. Yamazaki stood to the side and yelled, "Action!"
"Son, I have summoned you here today to give you some wonderful news!"
"What is it, father?"
"Your gracious father has gotten you an early birthday gift! Bring in the box!" A large wrapped box was carried out and placed in front of the prince. The king clapped his hands three times. "Surprise!"
The box popped open with confetti. "Hello!" Yelled an unknown person.
Kizano's eyes widened, his mentality being knocked out of the scene. Ayoshi's arms were lifted in the air with his hands open as he gave Kizano a big smile. 'This feels so strange to see… it doesn't look right…' Ayoshi stared at him, blinking a few times. 'Shoot!' He quickly got back into the scene.
The prince furrowed his brows. "Who is this, father?"
"This is your new jester!"
***
After rehearsal, everyone cleaned up and soon started going home. Once again, Ayoshi and Kizano were alone. "You did really good today, Ayoshi. I'm proud."
"Thank you."
Kizano stopped sweeping and let out a breath. "Thank you again. I know with you here everything is going to go well. You already know my parents are coming, are yours?"
Ayoshi paused for a second, "... I'm sure my mother will."
"Hopefully our parents are proud of us."
"Mm."