Special Agents

Initiation

"Then I welcome you, Sol." Richard said with a smile. "Your training begins tomorrow, so enjoy the rest of your day."

Ciel bowed. "Thank you sir."

"See you tomorrow."

...

When they were back in the basement, Allen turned to her.

"So, you want to be called Sol?" He asked. "Why choose that?"

She looked away in embarrassment. "You would probably make fun of me, it's ridiculous."

"Oh come on, just tell us!" Lexi pressed.

"Well..." Ciel sighed in defeat. "OK. I've always had a thing for being an actress." She laughed. "Imagining myself being up there with the other stars, getting my picture taken, shaking hands with other celebrities. I want to stand out, you know. Be the brightest star in the world."

She closed her eyes and waited for the laughter, but it didn't come, so she opened them and found everyone smiling at her.

"You have big dreams." Matthew stated. "That's good. It gives you hope."

"But are you working on that?" Allen asked. "Because it will take a lot of dedication."

"Well, I am taking performing arts classes." Ciel explained. "But there's one problem..." She blushed and started shivering. "I have the passion for it, but even having small group of people watching me makes me nervous. I try not to look at them, but I can still feel their eyes trained on my every move. It makes me self-conscious. That's why I dolled myself up, so I could try to get used to the attention."

"An actress who has stage fright." Allen said. "There has to be something you can do to work around that. Other than your ridiculous hair and eyes."

"Hey!"

Lexi thought about it for a moment, then snapped her fingers. "Aha! I got it!"

"What is it?" Ciel asked hopefully.

Her momentary smile faded when the cowgirl's smile turned devilish.

"Oh, you'll see. Heh heh."

...

"Oh no...." Ciel whimpered.

"Oh yes!" Lexi shouted.

They were currently at a part of the hotel where guests were either talking to their friends or having snacks. It looked nice enough: Small tables with floral patterns, a smooth wooded floor, a cozy air. Every guest was happy and talkative.

But what set Ciel off was the one area in the room that they started focusing on. There was a stage, with a girl walking up to it, and music being played on a phone behind her. Her suspicions were confirmed when the girl started singing the lyrics that showed on a monitor.

It was karaoke at the café.

"I am not going up there!" She protested. "Why did you even bring me here?"

"First, you need to work on your stage fright." Lexi explained. "Second, for every new member that joins the Agency, we take them out for an initiation. You know, to welcome them."

"And as this place has karaoke everyday, this is the perfect place for you to solve your problem." Allen added.

"But...I'm not sure I can do this." Ciel said worriedly. "I don't want to end up standing there like an idiot, everyone will laugh at me."

"What about your dream?"

She flinched. Matthew stepped aside to reveal Nights, who was leaning against the doorway. He was so quiet, she hadn't realized he was following them.

"W-what?"

"Your dream." He repeated. "If you don't do this, you probably won't achieve it. Then you will regret it." He turned his head to her. "So what will you do?"

(He has a point.) Ciel thought. (I might never get over my stage fright if I don't do this. Then I might end up resenting myself for not reaching my goal.) She nodded. "Alright, I'll do it!"

Lexi grabbed her arm . "Then come on! That girl's turn is almost up!" She said.

As she pulled Ciel along, Allen and Matthew turned to Nights.

"Wow." The baseball player said in amazement.

"What is it?" The man in black asked.

"Nothing." Matthew answered. "We were just surprised that you convinced her to go up there. Why would you do that?"

"I...don't really know. Maybe it's because she at least has something to keep her going. She has a dream that she can follow. And mine..." He clenched his fist. "Is already dead."

...

The next few minutes were very nerve racking.

Ciel was trying to sing a song about love and hope, but the eyes of the audience made her stammer through the first half. She nearly tripped as she tried to walk across the stage.

Finally, she closed her eyes, and managed to block out everyone except her friends. That made things easier.

As she sang the last line, she spun around and finished with a flourish.

And with that, she feel to her knees as the audience gave a round of applause. She sighed in relief and looked the people cheering for her. That's when she realized how hot her face was. She covered it and quickly got off the stage. She was greeted by Lexi, Allen, and Matthew at the door. Nights simply nodded at her, and didn't say a word.

"You were amazing!" Lexi praised.

"Th-thanks." Ciel said.

"But tell us this, how did you get through that?" Allen asked suspiciously.

"Well, I blocked out everybody but you guys..."

"Uh...I hate to tell you this, but I think the point of getting over stage fright is to get used to large amounts of people watching you, not blocking them out entirely." Matthew stated with a hand on his forehead.

Ciel was horrified. "I messed up!? This is horrible!"

Lexi patted her on the back. "You'll learn." 

"And with that, we officially welcome you to the ranks of the Agency!" Allen said happily, clapping his hands. "Let's celebrate in our room with a bunch of snacks and drinks!"

"That's what I'm talking about!"

"I suppose I can indulge in a few sweets." Matthew agreed.

"Thank you for this!" Ciel said.

But the MMA fighter stayed behind for a bit to talk to Nights, who didn't even move from his spot.

"You know, that song reminded me of someone." Matthew said.

"Who?" Nights asked.

"You were her hope, remember? Her one and only."

"...."

"Did I say something wrong?"

"Don't ever bring this up again!" Nights snapped.

He stormed off, leaving a stunned Matthew to stare after him.