Shoujoai ni Bouken: Adventures of Yuriko
The Story so Far: Yuriko, renowned rake and idol, has embarked
upon a new assignment for a "reality" TV show, posing as a senior in high
school. While Yuriko has learned about the lives and loves of those students around her,
her own personal time has been cut down considerably. The weekend so far has offered cold
comfort, but she is eternally hopeful.
Volume 1, Issue 10
"Just Relax"
The alarm hadn't rung. Yuriko smiled into the pillow happily, lazing
in the comfort of her bed, for a solid second before she shot up in a panic. She was late!
Halfway to the bathroom before she realized this was Sunday, Yuriko paused, not sure
whether to go back to bed, or just get up. A glance at the clock convinced her that bed
was that appropriate choice. She was asleep before her entire body was prostrate.
The room was dark. The weather outside must have been awful. Yuriko
smiled. Good. She yawned hugely and indulged in a long and luxurious stretch. Rolling
over, she mourned the absence of a gorgeous Greek reporter from her bed, then got over it.
Sunday. Never before had that word meant so much to her. She reviewed her plans for the
day.
"Let's see," she said out loud for the sake of the plants
which lined the windowsill, "today... first call Kishi-san." Yuriko grinned as
she pulled the blinds up and looked out upon a dismal grey day. "She's probably
chewing nails...I think she owes me a favor, though. I'll get her to send me someone to
clean this place." Looking down at one plant, she grinned at it. "Maybe someone
cute."
Turning, she left the bedroom, and wandered into the kitchen area.
She put water on for tea, grabbed a package of English tea biscuits and a hunk of cheese,
plopped them on the counter and hunted through the drawer for a pen. In between cutting
slices of cheese and laying them on crackers, she wrote herself a list.
"First," she said, her mouth full of cracker and cheese,
"Kishi-san." She glanced at the clock. Nine-thirty. She'd call in half an hour.
By then Kishi'd have had her morning coffee and be slightly less prickly.
The water was boiling. With plate of crackers and cheese and cup of
tea, Yuriko seated herself at the counter. "Second," she sipped the tea,
"bath...long bath." She sighed again at the thought of missed opportunities.
"Third..." she paused, looking around the apartment. She shrugged.
"Homework, I guess." She made a face at the list. "Bleah."
Aya-san had done a number on her yesterday, so in addition to her
regular classwork, she had extra Japanese work for her tutor. What joy.
"Anything else?" she asked the room at large. Her eyes
fell on the pile of love letters. "Oh." She took a deep breath. What the hell
was she going to do with these things? Ah well, she'd leave them for later.
"Fourth," she said decisively, "scripts." There
must be a better offer than playing a high school kid in the pile. She finished her tea
and crackers, brought her dishes into the kitchen. Looking at the full sink, she resigned
herself to at least a little housekeeping. By the time she had dried and put away the last
cup, it was time to call her agent.
"Kishi," the gruff voice said. "Whaddaya want?"
Yuriko laughed, she could just *see* her agent, neck deep in
paperwork, sucking on cigarettes and pretending that her clients werent the reason
for her having a job in the first place.
"Im just checking in!" she said, extra perkily. She
could practically hear Kishis teeth grind across the phone lines.
"Its about time." The sound of Kishi sucking in a
lungful of nicotine. "Dont you answer messages anymore?"
"Im sorry," Yuriko imbued her voice with as much
genuine apology as she could. "This assignment has been *really* time
consuming
" Kishis snort didnt faze her at all. "and my
answering machine seems to be broken." She stuck her tongue out at the phone. Take
that, you old hag.
"Can I ask a favor?" Yurikos voice was sugary.
"Can you hire someone to drop by my place, say twice a week, and give it a cleaning?
School and clubs take up all my time these days."
Kishi grunted, which Yuriko took for an affirmative. Having got what
she wanted, Yuriko was all sweetness and light, her voice conciliatory as she acquiesced
to her agents every demand. She set her media schedule for the next week - paying
close attention that she not be pulled from math class this time, and was ready to ring
off, when an idea struck her.
"Kishi-san, I wonder, I have a small problem - maybe you can
give me some advice about it."
She could hear the sound of the older woman choking and waited the
sarcasm out politely. At last Kishi asked her what it was.
"Well, not surprisingly, Ive been getting a lot of love
letters
" she raised her voice over the sound of her agents laughter,
"and Im not sure what to do with them. Any suggestions?"
"Sure," Kishi gloated, "Pick the cutest one for your
prom date."
Yurikos eyes narrowed. "Very funny."
"Okay, okay, Ill see what I can do about
it
Ill talk to the kids who answer your fan mail."
Yuriko let out a grateful sigh. "Thanks Kishi-san. I really
appreciate it."
The agent sucked in another lungful of tobacco, exhaled and said,
"Dont overwork."
Yuriko smiled at the phone and said, "Thanks. I
wont." But Kishi had already hung up.
***
Yuriko was a bath enthusiast. When she had first moved out of her
family's home, she had lived in a flophouse with three other kids, all with no job, no
means of support, and no running water. That relationship hadn't lasted long. Her next
residence had been an apartment shared with a drag queen bar hostess, who hogged their
small shower. When she hit it big, the one thing she swore she'd have was a big old
bathtub in her bathroom. And so she had. The apartment she now rented had rooms that were
of average size, but at some point the owner had pulled down the wall to one of the two
bedrooms and made the bathroom insanely luxurious. Tiled walls with a mosaic patterned
trim...huge frosted glass windows let in a lot of light, and the enormous, plenty big
enough for two, furo. Yuriko had fallen in love with the bath at first sight. She sighed
happily and leaned back, letting the water rise to her chin.
She loved the way her pale skin turned red after a soak in the tub -
she lifted an arm to gaze at the vaguely lobster-like coloring she had taken on. She knew
she should get on with her homework, but it all seemed so distant.
"I mean really," she said out loud. It's utterly ludicrous
that I'm worried about my grades; she continued the thought, sighing now in irritation.
Rising from the tub, she wrapped herself in a towel, slipped her
feet into fluffy pink slippers and scuffed her way into the bedroom.
A few minutes later, she reentered the dining room, dressed in
jeans, oversized t-shirt and slippers. Seating herself at the table, she frowned down at
her book bag. She pulled out her notebook and opened it at random.
"Translate the following passages into English. Please pay
particular attention to the use of prepositions..." Gritting her teeth, she began to
work.
***
Three down. Yuriko picked up the phone and made a quick call. Five
minutes later, she was out the door. The rain had stopped, but the air was heavy with
moisture. That's all right, she thought, it's still Sunday.
***
Yuriko kicked the door open, holding her takeout bag in her teeth.
Keeping her hands away from the doorknob, she elbowed the door shut and bent to drop the
bag on the table.
Some takeout, a pile of scripts to read and newly polished nails.
"Life is very good." She announced to the whole world, smiling at her own
contentment. "I'm simply gross today." she laughed at her mood.
She seated herself on the sofa, opened one of the scripts and began
to shove sushi into her face. It may be ultimately meaningless, she thought, but life
really *was* pretty good.