Ubiquitous

When We Met (Day 3)

Thought I'll leave y'all with this update cos I'm about to go M.I.A for awhile, maybe

This 5-part short story centres on a rising teen actor and her 5-day stay in Tokyo. She meets someone, and they share an interesting similarity with each other. But how far will it go?

xxxxx

I like to dream yes, yes, right between my sound machine

On a cloud of sound I drift in the night

Any place it goes is right

Goes far, flies near, to the stars away from here

I jerk awake from my sleep, lifting my head from the pillow and immediately searching for my phone. I answer the call and the song stops. "Hello?" "Jenna honey! How is everything so far?" I look at the clock by my bed and cringe at the thought that it's 4 in the flipping morning. "Mum, it's 4 in the morning." "Oh, oh lord! I forgot about timezones and stuff. I'm sorry, it's 12 in the afternoon here." "Right. Well it's all cool here. Nothing much." "Have fun, okay? I got you a job when you get back here." "Okay." "Bye, love you." I hang up and sigh in relief. 

I close my eyes again, but it just won't happen. Sleep, I mean. Sleep just won't happen. I walk away from the bed and look around the room for something to do. Nothing seems appealing, really. I climb on the window seat and sit beside the window. Looking down, I hold on tight to my legs. The lights on some buildings are still on. Possibly the ones hosting parties or hard working businessmen. Buildings conquer the whole view up until the horizon. It's beautiful and heartbreaking in the same time. 

Wearing the swimsuit I packed just in case the advert was going to be made by the pool, I put on a bathrobe on and head for the indoor pool. It's on the highest floor, which is pretty sweet. I dip my legs in and feel a gush of relief flow through me because the water's not freezing. I throw my bathrobe aside and do a cannonball. I made a big splash, but no one's around so it's cool. I'm not exactly the best swimmer around, but I can go from one end to the other so that's enough. I kind of hang out at the edge of the pool, wondering how cool it'd be if they have a slide.

After half an hour of basically rookie swimming, I walk back to my room. The lift door opens and lo and behold, Johnny exits it. "Oh hey, what's up?" He asks, looking at me and probably concluding that I had just got back from swimming. At least I didn't embarrass myself in front of him with my lack of swimming skills. "I took a dip. Couldn't sleep, sort of." I reply. He smiles shyly and says, "Me too, actually."

I suddenly remember about the plan he had to go out and stuff. "So, um, what time are we...going out?" I ask. He shrugs and says, "Probably 7." I blink a few times before asking, "At night? Oh, oh I thought it--" Johnny quickly replies, "Oh you thought it was a lunch or something? Shit, sorry I didn't say. It's just my friend Benny; he knows how to party so I thought...maybe you were up for a night of Japanese fun or something." I laugh and without hesitating say, "No, it's fine. I'm still up for it. I'll just pass the time doing absolutely nothing in my room." He laughs at that and says, "I'll meet you down at the lobby, okay?" I nod and enter the lift, which had closed and opened about 3 times while we were talking and awkwardly smiling at each other. He stands there waving at me until the door closes.

The moment I reach my room, I rummage through my luggage and search for something nice to wear. I finally decide on the black dress. It works for day and night, so I think it's safe. Boring, but safe. I put on my black boots to eliminate the boring factor and-- who cares, anyway?

I go down to the lobby when it's six forty-five, taking my time to not look too excited. I mean, they can't know that I am absolutely, terribly bored. I didn't know whether to wait at the lounge or outside, so I end up awkwardly standing by the concierge. Two hands cover my eyes from the back and someone whispers into my ears, "Guess who? You look pretty by the way." I laugh at the obvious answer and say, "Johnny, you're my only acquaintance here."