Rent a Boyfriend

What do I need?

Lights off, spots on and complete silence. Slowly my colleagues stepped in and warmed the atmosphere.

With high anticipation, I watched them like many times before.

Before long, it was my turn. I gave everything I had. I changed every sound, every movement and even my breathing. I left no sign from Chizuru Ichinose, only the role that grew on me.

I pushed my limits until my legs felt like overcooked spaghetti noodles. But I didn't feel it, only the warm feeling of euphoria.

Unfortunately the end came, announced by harsh and blinding light. But I didn't see it, only the pink cloud I was floating on.

Thousand things happen. People talking, people hugging and the crowd gave us a  thunderous applause. But I didn't notice anything, because I can only think:

Acting is amazing.

_____

The curtains closed, but I was still floating. Backstage the team was just as ecstatic. They all complimented each other and celebrated another successful performance.

As I looked for my friends, something else caught my attention. And that struck my good mood like lightning from a clear sky.

The director had a devastating announcement. We're canceled. We all have to land a new role somewhere else.

Immediately it got chaotic around me. I tried to find the joy I just lost, but the pressure for the coming auditions was very dreary.

___

After a long shift at the karaoke bar, I went home and changed into my comfortable clothes. With an exhausted sigh I poured myself some tea.

Today the new roles I auditioned for last week will be decided. If I ruined that one too there was only one option left. It was a leading role in a romantic play. Not only was it too ambitious, but my romantic acting was not my strong suit. In class they made that crystal clear.

" Geez Chi-chan, you make those lines feel like they came from a zombie. Your ex must have been some sort of undead", said Umi.

I knew it was meant as a joke, but not far from the truth.

As I tried to remember how the last audition went, my phone buzzed and I almost spilled the tea. I put it away and took a quick look, only to find another discouraging email

I let myself fall on my bed. Emotions of rage, self loathing and frustration washed over me, but strangely enough, I also felt extremely tired.

All that hard work and what do I get? Only another failed audition. I cussed. Tokyo is a big city with lots of opportunities, but I wasted them all.

I rolled around in my bed fighting those negative thoughts. After a while I took a deep breath and decided to focus on the future.

What more can I do? The last audition is so soon and doomed to blunder.

As I held a staring contest with the ceiling a weird thought popped up.

If only there was a way to quickly get a boyfriend of some sort.

I laughed at that thought.

Who would want to be my boyfriend for a day? I'm sure no one wants me as their girlfriend.

As I lay there thinking, I took out my phone again and just searched for the fun of it. Weirdly enough, an app called Diamond was the first result. Girls would be hired as girlfriends or sister figures. It was quite easy to enroll. My curiosity almost made me click that button, but stopped myself, laughing:

No, that's just foolish.  I'm not that desperate.

But it gave me an idea. As I browsed around I found it. With a lot of positive reviews too, on these rental boyfriends.

~ He made my heart flutter. ~

~ He made me feel special, I really needed that boost . ~

~ Now I know how a princess feels. ~

Before I knew it I was scrolling through a list of rental boyfriends. I never had a specific type or even an actual love interest, but this one guy got me staring at his picture. His orange dyed hair and tall physique gave me a rebel vibe, but his smile. It was so darn cute. That combination had me checking his schedule. It was surprisingly empty, but he quickly had a date this saturday.

_____

The following Saturday morning I slept in. I slowly opened my eyes and felt a little disorientated. Gradually my sense of place and time returned and I groaned.

“Today is date day. What have I done! Paying someone to play my boyfriend. Tsk, how pathetic. And he asks for quite a lot of my hard earned money. Tsk, he better show me good romance and superb acting.”

I took a quick shower to calm down. Then the next hurdle revealed itself in my closet. What to wear? My simple paycheck didn’t allow a lot of fancy clothes. I always picked cheap, practical and comfortable clothing, but that didn’t help me for today's date.

What am I getting so frustrated about? It’s a pretend date. I don’t have to be a perfect girlfriend. Let’s make it harder for him and dress like I couldn’t care less.

I smirked mischievously as I put together a pair of comfortable flat shoes, skinny jeans, a blouse and a turtleneck sweater. To top it off I put my hair in a bun, but took the effort of taking my contacts instead of my typical glasses.

As I confirmed my simple outfit in the mirror, I noticed the time. I was really late. I quickly gathered my purse and the money before I ran out.

_____

I hurriedly walked out of the station and started looking around. I was probably looking like an idiot, because immediately someone tapped on my shoulder. I turned around to find the guy I was looking for, smiling from ear to ear.

Before me stood a handsome guy, a good head taller than me with a cute smile and hair as orange as in the picture. His clothes must have had some thought, because it was a stylish set of blue jeans, a white top with a green, black checkered shirt. It suited him surprisingly well.

“A black purse and hair in a bun. You’re Chizuru-san, right?”