Chapter XII – Behind the Lenses
Shiori returned for the second half of the rehearsal, huffing as if she’d run for quite a bit. Stunned for a moment watching the already dazzling Naoko perform in such an exuberant dress, the girl proceeded to take something from inside a handbag she carried. It was a big, square camera with a five inch long, cylindrical zooming system of lenses. It looked quite heavy and hard to handle, but somehow the small girl manipulated it. Having gone all the way to her home by subway to grab it, she looked intimidated by the almost thirty people watching the rehearsal. Naoko, perceiving that, asked the audience to excuse Shiori so she could also practice taking a few pictures.
For one hour Shiori walked all around the auditorium and the stage snapping photos, looking at them on the screen of the camera, saving or deleting them – mostly deleting – and trying again. Some things seemed to work, others didn’t. She constantly altered parameters and the zoom of her camera and looked for better angles. The girl crouched, walked close to Naoko, then went far away and experimented with numerous shots. Not rarely she took off her glasses to look through the reticle, her eyes as focused as her lenses. By the end of the rehearsal she had saved around forty photos out of several hundred, maybe a thousand, that she had taken. After Naoko changed back to her school uniform the timid girl showed her the pictures.
Like Naoko had imagined, Shiori did an amazing job. Her first few saved photos were already good, but the last twenty or so were real eye-candies. Shiori loved to use tilted angles to give an impression of movement to her photos and also to fit more elements on the image. Her compositions with the audience were particularly incredible in Naoko’s opinion. Also, unlike the professional photographer on her last show, Shiori actually attempted to transmit energy through her images through many effects. Motion blurs, lighting blooms and the use of obstacles like the heads of spectators to hide light spots so she could make Naoko the only bright and moving element in the photo were part of her experiments. Naoko’s accessories were saturated with light and formed sparkling, golden trails where they were moved on a few shots. The white of her clothes shone obfuscating on others, contrasting with the regal blackness of her lustrous hairs. Sure, she had numerous tries at the same four choreographies, a luxury the professional cameraman from Naoko’s previous Saturday’s exhibition didn’t have, but still the images taken by the glasses-wearing, shy girl looked better. At least that was Naoko’s view.
Chiasa and many others were also curious about the photos, and were surprised to discover Shiori was a rather competent photographer. The girl was reluctant to show her work at first, but Naoko calmed her down and assured her everyone would like it. And they did, praising her for the quality and originality of a few angles. It’s hard to believe people that studied with her for many years were oblivious of her skills.
When they left Shiori was overjoyed. She even went as far as to actively starting conversations, like talking about the process of editing photos and admiring her friend’s prettiness, her gorgeous attire and her performing abilities. The girl departed hastily to her home as Naoko did the same, and later on that same night she uploaded the images on a password-protected area of her online gallery and sent the link and the access number to the idol as promised. Naoko immediately called Aratani, explaining him about her friend and sending him the photos. At first her producer sounded understandably skeptical about Naoko’s proposition to drop the expensive professional cameraman for one show and give her own friend a chance, but when he saw the images the man was impressed. It was at least as good as the specialist’s pictures, and the motion effects made some images even better. Sure, the pro was used to photographing weddings and parties, not really shows, but Shiori wasn’t an expert on it either. What’s more: she was only sixteen.
“I really hope Naoko-Chan isn’t pulling my leg here,” Aratani said, “But if the friend you did today is as good as it seems, I’m interested in knowing her. Let’s do it this way: you come here by eight a.m. tomorrow like we’ve scheduled. I registered you on two auditions, so you have double the chance to present yourself tomorrow. I’ll do this during all the Golden Week, by the way, just to maximize our chances. If you qualify for a gig, I’ll call that Shiori-San girl to talk and ask her to show me what she’s capable of. If she’s okay, we give her a chance. Fine by you?”
“For me, yes,” Naoko agreed, “I just want to point out she’d never worked as a freelancer before. I trust her to be good, but she probably doesn’t have a fee in her mind, so please understand that, Produ-San. She’s good, though! You can see it by her images. Please be fair with her. Oh, and another thing: she’s very timid, Produ-San. Please don’t judge her by her talking capability, but by her photographing skills, okay?”
“I will. A silent photographer is exactly what we want.” Aratani approved, “As for the fee, I’ve a list of professional photographers and their hourly pays here. If she’s really on par with them when it comes to skills, I’ll try to find an agreeable fee along with her, don’t worry.”
Their talk continued on Tuesday as Naoko arrived in the office, running upstairs with thundering steps like usual. This time, though, it was because she was a few minutes late. Puffing, she apologized for the tardiness:
“I’m very sorry, Produ-San! I wasn’t prepared for how crowded the trains were! I’m so used to coming here at weekends I completely forgot the trains would be so full at this time on a Tuesday! I’m sorry!”
Her producer coolly dismissed it, saying their first appointment of the day was fifty minutes away and correcting her.
“The trains aren’t crowded because it’s Tuesday, Naoko-Chan, but because today’s April twenty-ninth. Golden Week’s just getting started, baby! Get used to it. Lots of people are going away on trips right now, but many others will be using the railroads due to the many attractions happening around the city, especially for lines connecting hot spots. If we tried to go to the Idol Star System Generation’s headquarters through train or subway to Shibuya Station, for example, we’d probably face some crowds too. Just be careful with it, okay?”
Turning back to his computer, the man showed Naoko the online gallery of Shiori.
“Got to admit, Naoko-Chan: your friend has some talent. The only thing that irks me is how there’re no comments and almost no user visualizations on her page. If she hadn’t taken pictures of you on the rehearsal and you hadn’t guaranteed me she was the one doing it, I’d think it’s a ruse. Even for a naturally talented person with a keen, image-oriented mind, I think it’d take at least a few years of training to get this good.”
“She told me her father gave her the old semi-professional camera she uses over a decade ago,” Naoko replied, and Aratani was astonished, “But if your friend is only sixteen, over a decade ago means she was, what, five, four?! The heck?! What’d a girl that age want to do with a semi-pro camera?!”
“Beats me,” Naoko replied, “Ask her yourself.”
“I will, provided Naoko-Chan qualifies at a gig today,” Aratani guaranteed, “No pressure, okay? We have the whole week to net us a show or two. And you’ll have two chances on each day too, so just keep your chill like you always do. You already know the drill and, save for one gig next Tuesday which is a little different in terms of rules, the rest is standard fare. I’ll go over the rules for that Tuesday show when the time comes, okay?”
“Acknowledged!” the girl firmly replied, “Ah, Produ-San! Just a question: If I qualify on both auditions does it mean I’ll be able to perform two shows in one day?!”
Smiling, the man leaned back on his chair and faced her inquisitively:
“I love your high spirits, Naoko-Chan, but aren’t we getting a little ahead of ourselves here? I’m not saying you can’t qualify on both, but even if you do, we’ll probably have to give a pass on one of them to the next girl on the line. Don’t worry, it happens frequently and there’s no penalty for doing so. The problem here’s that while the shows aren’t at the same time, the t
wo happen on different places around the city. One starts at six and goes until seven p.m., and the other starts at seven and is one hour and a half long. So there’s no way for us to be on both, it’d take at least an hour to commute. More if we have any problems along the way.”
Lowering her face, Naoko mused about it for a while, and recalled:
“On both shows I did I ranked fifth, the last possible position. Thus, I was also the first to present myself. If I got one of the last few positions on the first audition and the first or second on the other, I’d present on the first gig before six thirty and probably after eight p.m. on the last show! If it happens, can we do both, Produ-San?! This way we get more money, more points for a class promotion and Shiori-Chan gets to work double-time!”
Looking slightly unbelieving, Aratani mentioned:
“While there is no problem to drop away right after you’re selected on an audition, not showing up on a gig you promised to do is a serious fault that can result in major penalties for us. I’d rather we choose one show, or better yet, not even attempt the second audition if Naoko-Chan gets qualified on the first.” Seeing the girl got a little down, the man sighed, “…But I think it’s okay, as long as Naoko-Chan ranks fifth or fourth on the first gig and, say, second or first on the last one. Still, don’t go trying to hold yourself back on your first attempt just because of it! If you hold back and lose, you can be shaken and also fail on the second audition. Like I said, it’s not a problem since we have a whole week of opportunities, but it’s best to secure a show if you can than try to claim two and end up with none. Okay?”
Thinking for a moment, Naoko agreed, on a condition:
“Alright, but promise me one thing, Produ-San? Try to schedule gigs with some difference in time so as to give us leeway if I classify on both! Is it okay?”
Scratching his head, the man replied:
“Fine, I’ll try to do that. But you’ll also have to promise me one thing, Naoko-Chan: that you’ll not get sad of affected if you do not classify on an audition, or on a few of them. We’re doubling our chances of success on this week, but it also means we’re doubling our chances of failure, and let me tell you this now: no one’s perfect. Don’t push yourself too hard and don’t feel bad if you lose, okay? I’m not trying to get you down here, it’s just a fact. Everyone loses sometimes. Even Water idols – heck, even Star idols – have already lost multiple times. Umeko-San lost on that show we watched back when you came to the capital, remember? And it doesn’t mean she’s not good. Don’t feel bad about it, okay? It will occur eventually. It happens to everyone. Surely I’d like you to always win and I believe Naoko-Chan is an amazing girl and an amazing idol, but let’s face the truth: even the best sometimes loses. To keep your head cool and move on is part of your job. Alright?”
At first Naoko laughed it out, saying Aratani was being too pessimistic, but the man insisted, looking serious. Naoko finally decided to give it some real thought. That was true: Umeko had lost that day, and it certainly didn’t mean she was a bad idol. She was outstanding! It happened to everyone, she guessed. Sooner or later it’d happen to her too. At first that thought was scaring, but as she contemplated it, to lose here and there would probably be a part of her career. As long as she didn’t lose every single audition, like the homeless people’s protector Megumi did, it’d be okay. And to hear her own producer say that, if anyone the man who she thought would expect her to win every single time if possible, was reassuring. Aratani would certainly prefer she always won of course, but unlike her he was realistic. And that was very encouraging.
Seeing Naoko agree with a thankful nod and a smile, Aratani wittily pleaded while taking a contract from a pile of papers and handing it to her:
“That’s my girl. Oh, just one more thing before we depart for another round of fun by taking photos for ads: please try to refrain this time from finding more idols to help, okay? Or at least find a way to help them yourself instead of expecting me to do it, alright?”
Naoko did a comically annoyed face. Turning back to the contract, she read it like usual. It’s from an air company looking for a girl to pose as a flight attendant for a few outdoors and internet ads. Naoko had no idea how would anyone believe a sixteen year-old girl would be accepted as a flight attendant. If anything, she’d think about not booking flights with that air company that employed underage workers – both for ethical reasons and because she’d hate to find out the pilot to be only nineteen, for example –, but maybe they thought she looked mature enough for the job.
Whatever was the case, it came from the same advertisement agency that photographed her splashing blueberry juice on her face for that isotonic drinks company. Aratani thought they liked her. And the price tag, eight hundred thousand Yen, was the highest the girl had seen on a contract so far. Then again, those air companies had lots of money to spend, stingy as they were with the cheap food they gave to their passengers in comparison to how much they charged customers. Even so, the money sum was so high Naoko read the contract carefully looking for pitfalls like always, but once again it’s in the clear.
It surprised her a little that she still bothered looking for traps, and the girls meditated for a moment about why was that the case. It took her a moment to remember she once mistrusted Aratani for all the horrible stories she’d heard in her childhood about idol agencies. It looked like it was ages ago, even though she’d only started working with her producer for a few weeks now. All the things she’d done until then had practically dispelled her fears. It’s almost certainly not a scam, he’d bought her many clothes, paid expensive hairstylists and classes, brought her to a huge building for auditions and got her to perform on fancy venues for up to two hundred people. Not to mention the ads she did. She hadn’t really tried to find her ads on the internet, thought, but she’s confident about it. The only remaining fear was if she’s going to be paid or if the man would flee with the money. A paranoid thing to think, but all those cardboard boxes around the office kind of gave the impression he could move away at any moment.
If her math was right, she had amassed three hundred thousand Yen for her agency on the first contract, plus seventy five grand on the second, sixty on the third, forty five on the forth, sixty five on the fifth and eighty grand on the one she’d be doing now. Coupled with her two gigs, both paying around two hundred thousand Yen, already deducting I.S.S.G.’s fees, and she’d already accrued three million, nine hundred and fifty thousand Yen to The Paragon Idol agency. And that’s not even counting what she could get if she qualified on other gigs during the Golden Week. Even deducting taxes, that’s still a fabulous sum for the first month of operations. Aratani would be paying her fifteen percent of it, which so far amounted to almost six hundred thousand Yen. It’s an amazing payment, though thanks to the scam played years ago on Momoko, the older sister of Masahiro, she was afraid something similar could still happen. Or maybe Aratani could simply run away with the money or something.
It’s an illogical assumption, Naoko knew it very well. Things were going so well the only rational thing to do would be to keep at it. Maybe her fears were supported by the fact that most of this money came from contracts Aratani found for her, not by gigs she’d performed, which made Naoko feel like she relied on him more than he needed her. That was nonsense, however, since without her he’d not have a girl to perform the ads. Unless he found another girl…
Naoko quickly dismissed that thought. The man seemed very nice to her and appeared to like her just as much as she came to like him. Also, according to her contract he had until the fifth day of each month to pay her the profits of the previous period, meaning he still had until next Monday, six days away, to keep the promise. As such, so far there was nothing to be afraid of. She really wanted to believe there’d be no problems with it. Sure, she needed the money to pay her school accommodation and because she was already out of the little amount she had saved from her allowances during her life and was living on what her grandparents thankfully
gave her, but perhaps most of her wish to get paid soon was to be able to fully trust Aratani and take her childhood fears related to Masahiro’s older sister Momoko out of her mind permanently.
Noticing the girl stood awfully long glaring blankly to the contract, her producer’s chill voice brought her back to reality asking “Is something wrong, Naoko-Chan?”
“Ah? Ah! No! Nothing wrong. Sorry.” Naoko replied, shaking her head and turning back to the contract at hand. A few minutes later the two were already making their way to the advertisement agency for some more photos. Naoko was given a flight attendant outfit that felt a little too tight on the chest. Still, she withstood it, smiled and tried to act like a smart young woman about four years older than she really was, who could be employed by an air company without labor issues regarding minors working there and who also knew something about airplanes to begin with. The flight ad seemed out of time given many people had already bought their passages to fly during the Golden Week, but Aratani told her those photos were actually early, given it’d only be used for the summer vacations, a few months away.
After that Naoko was taken to the I.S.S.G. building for the auditions. The first one, for a presentation at a small art festival to be done at a two-story rooftop gallery of a building, where up to three hundred and fifty people could fit in, located in a district called Roppongi, famous for its night life, was surprisingly easy considering there were almost forty contestants. True to what Aratani had said, the outfit Naoko was previously wearing was keeping her scores down. Once the girl received that overhaul to her outfit, Naoko ranked third. It was one position beyond what she expected, and her producer was already very content with the results. Still, the girl convinced him to let her try the second audition, for an even bigger presentation at a club.
That one was among the most wanted events for Dark class idols on that day. The seven top idols would qualify, but there were also around eighty competitors. Aratani reminded her that if she didn’t qualify on the second or first position there’d be no way they’d be able to accept both shows. And if she qualified on that second gig, whatever the position, it’d be worth it to accept this one instead of the first show.
Among the contestants she saw a few vaguely familiar faces. One was Ruby, that amazingly technical but impassionate idol who wore black and red attire, a blood-colored wig and a black tiara inlaid with a big, real ruby. Also, the small and delicate idol of that huge behemoth of a producer who Naoko and Aratani made fun of during their first audition was also present. Unlike other gig tests where many competitors seemed pretty average, on this there were many good idols. Sure, around two thirds showed some sort of fear from stages, but still were not to be trifled with.
It took almost one hour and a half for Naoko to be called upstage. Not even her jokes with Aratani could last for so long, and the girl began to worry. To make matters worse, the other competitors were pretty good, hence attempting a high-quality gig like that – at least for a Dark class competition. A few presentations, like that of Ruby, were so good in technical terms that they’re a bit intimidating. And when Naoko finally stepped on the stage, there were almost one hundred and seventy people on the auditorium staring at her coldly and only Aratani on the back to silently cheer for her. Pressure was at all-time high levels on that auditorium.
Breathing deeply, Naoko held the microphone, stepped between the boundaries demarcated on the floor and gave a nod for the sound operator to start the song. It was one of the four songs she’d learn a few weeks before and practiced to exhaustion, so she already knew it by heart. At first it was alright and she was able to wave to the judges, blink and pose, but on a swift shake of her head one of the pressure earrings escaped and fell. That had already occurred a few times during practices, but never on a real presentation. She could see the judges turning down their faces to the papers they held and jolt down something while a few competitors on the audience, especially Ruby, smiled slightly.
Naoko’s first instinct was to grab the earring, but that mixed up her mind and made her delay for a few seconds. Though not really stopping to sing, she lost focus of her choreography. Losing her smile, she looked visibly frustrated for a moment, and only then, remembering she was still on the stage, she continued. She completed her presentation without any other problems, but as soon as she returned to Aratani, she looked furious. Tossing the earrings for him to catch, she vented off:
“That was a stupid idea to wear these stupid earrings! I knew it! I knew they would fall exactly at the worst possible time!”
Instructing her to speak in a lower volume, Aratani replied:
“When things like that happen, don’t stress out, Naoko-Chan. You’ll only lose more points by acting frustrated.”
“But I was frustrated! The other girls are so good here, this mistake probably cost me this gig!” the girl replied, but the man calmed her down with a chill voice, “Listen, Naoko-Chan: we already have a gig for today, okay? Even if this mistake costs us this audition, it’s no big deal. Remember your promise earlier? About not letting a loss get to you?”
Looking shocked for a second, the girl commented:
“What, is Produ-San a fortune teller or something? It’s as if you foresaw this coming!”
Smiling coolly, the man stood up by her side. Caringly putting her earrings back on the ears of the distressed girl, he serenely explained:
“No, I’m no fortune teller, but I knew this would happen eventually. Like I said before, Naoko-Chan is an excellent idol, but let’s be realistic: this is just your first month while other girls here can have a year or more of experience. Also, the Golden Week presents some of the best opportunities for all classes, so it’s only natural that the best girls flock to the best gigs. And this is one of the two best shows of today. Competition is fierce. Furthermore…” finishing attaching the pressure earrings, the man looked into her eyes with a soothing and content face, “when I bought this pair of earrings for you, I knew they could fall off. That’s the reason why they alone give us a six percent bonus modifier. It’s a gamble to wear those – if you really want, we can drop them of your attire and find something more secure for you to wear. Problem solved! It’s as simple as this. For all these reasons I was expecting things like that to happen. In fact, today’s a good day for you to lose for the first time, if there’s ever a thing like that, because even if you don’t qualify on this audition, today’s mission is more than accomplished. You already qualified on the previous one, so I was kind of hoping you lost on one of the two just for you to see it’s not the end of the world. Remember: no unreal expectations. So put your shining smile back on, diamond girl. You look even better that way. Naoko-Chan shouldn’t be so angry. Just learn with this mistake to never again let a falling piece of your garment bother you and let’s keep going, okay?”
Aratani’s chill attitude gradually calmed her down. They even left the auditorium for a quick snack. When the results were in, Naoko had only managed to achieve the fourteenth place, due to a negative impact on her Dancing, Aesthetics and Devotion scores. Also, the loss of a modifier due to the falling of a piece of wear made her lose some positions, certainly.
Still, when she saw the ranking list on the screen, it wasn’t as bad as she thought it’d be. Her imagination, yet again, projected a scenario for when she lost that was much worse than reality. For some reason she imagined she’d get scolded or lectured and feel worthless.
Even so, many producers around the room looked frustrated. A few even started complaining with their idols, and quite a few girls did the same in response, or started to cry. The way a few of them were treated by their producers, like ungrateful or incompetent girls, was upsetting for Naoko. At least they had real reasons to be afraid of stepping on a stage. All the tension around, however, started to affect her too.
Naoko apprehensively glanced over to Aratani as his eyes ran through the list until they found her name on the fourteenth slot. The man turned to the girl with his usual cool but ha
rd to decipher mien and stared at her for a few moments. Naoko, feeling his evaluating gaze, held the eye contact however she could, though some anxiety started to boil up inside her. Her producer, after a moment pondering something, finally showed a serene smile, stating:
“Look at that. That wasn’t bad at all! If my calculations are correct, if it wasn’t for that fumble and Naoko-Chan’s unnecessarily harsh reaction to losing her earrings you’d probably have finished on the eighth position. Perhaps even seventh! For a girl with one month of experience to rank among the top ten on one of the most sought after competition of a Golden Week day, even though we’re talking about Dark class competitions here, would be amazing! Even at fourteenth position it’s still impressive, I think. Let’s take these earrings off of your stage attire until you’re more experienced to use it and let’s go.” Thinking for a second, he added, “It’s a little past three p.m. and yet we still have to wait a lot. We’ll meet your friend by four thirty and your show only starts at six. I still want to go back to the office to change clothes before meeting that Shiori girl, but it still gives us plenty of time. What do you say we grab something to eat and find anything to do in the meantime?”
The anxiety on her chest dissolved instantly and a thankful smile formed naturally on her face. Aratani, nodding, mentioned:
“See? Much better. Now, Naoko-Chan, answer me one thing: are you afraid of heights?”
Though answering truthfully, that she wasn’t, the girl didn’t understand why at first. She changed back to her everyday clothes and took off all accessories except for her right glove so she could hide the two broken nails, and went back to meet Aratani. They left back to the ground floor, but instead of proceeding to the food court of the shopping mall like usual, Aratani directed her to a particular elevator among many, one that was glass-covered and sported a panoramic view of the outside of the building. Only when they entered and her producer pressed one of the topmost floor buttons the girl realized what the man had in mind.
Along with many people also going to the restaurant and hotel areas at the top of the skyscraper, Naoko watched the city floor slowly get away as they ascended to the clouds. From over the shoulders of many people Naoko’s starry eyes saw the view get better and better. Not only she wasn’t scared, she’s amazed by the sight. As the elevator came to a halt at Aratani’s chosen floor, the two left it into a huge terraced area. Naoko’s hair was lifted by the fresh winds as the girl, along with her producer, walked closer to the parapet. He delicately took her earrings off and let her run.
Five piled-up and progressively smaller terraces, each one huge and circular, crowned the structure. Beyond them all that was left were the dizzyingly height antennae that pierced the heavens. Even though Naoko was not afraid of heights, she laughed out while nervously noticing she’s unable to look up to the tip of the highest antenna without being scared of falling on their back or something.
The terraces surrounded restaurants and a luxuriant hotel, and beyond the parapet there were three other lines of defense to prevent people from falling or jumping off, just in case someone wanted to try. Even so, the impression Naoko had when she touched the rails was that she’s inches away from falling for what looked like kilometers away from the ground.
She’d already flew by airplane, so theoretically she’d already been to higher altitudes, but that was the first time she’s on such a huge building’s upper floors. From that vantage point she could see how huge Tokyo really was, spreading as far as she could see into the horizon. There was no end to the many buildings, railroads, parks and streets down there, and a handful of other towers that were even bigger than the I.S.S.G.’s three hundred and some meters tall headquarter, dotted on the distance. There were even special, ground-affixed scopes that people could use, provided they inserted a coin, to see particularly distant landmarks. Under blue skies, with only some rainy clouds brewing away on the skyline, it’s a sight to behold. To think she’s absolutely unable to count the buildings she saw, each one small as an ant, and that almost each one had hundreds or thousands of people inside, or were a business of some kind, was mind blowing.
By her side, Aratani contemplated the sight with a distant look just like her. When Naoko was finally able to break free from the spellbinding panorama, she commented:
“The view from up here at night, with all the lights of the city, must be also breathtaking!”
Nodding, the man agreed:
“It is. Also, the sunset is incredible to watch from here.”
Breathing deeply, Naoko held her flowing hairs to prevent them from obstructing her view and joyfully reflected:
“And to think I was so angry down there because an earring fell. He he… Looking at how tiny I am compared to this huge world kind of puts things into perspective! I wonder if I could see my dorm room! Twelve square meters is big enough to be seen from up here, right?!”
Initially surprised by the maturity of Naoko’s musings, Aratani was blown away by her sudden change of gears to tongue-in-cheek mode. Grinning, he teased:
“Of course. Hey, I think I found it. Isn’t your dorm on that place over there? I can see a stupid manga hanging on the window. Must be yours, right? Why don’t you read it from here?”
“Why don’t I send Produ-San flying down there so he can grab it for me?!” the girl acidly remarked. Getting away from the rail, Naoko suggested, “Let’s go eat something already. After that Produ-San will buy me ice-cream so I can eat while watching the scenery, right?!”
“Knowing Naoko-Chan, you mean I’ll buy you ice-cream so you can accidentally drop it on the head of an unsuspecting passerby on the streets down there while watching the scenery,” pestering, Aratani corrected her “Yeah, sure, why not?”
“I’m not clumsy! Why do you say that?” Naoko asked, challengingly, “Did you ever see me drop anything before?”
“I saw you drop an earring less than two hours ago,” Aratani playfully replied with a teasing smile on his face, obviously trying to mess with her. Forcing a frown, the amused girl immediately replied while seeing him laugh, “Why, you! That was your stupid idea! I… argh, you get on my nerves! I’ll give Produ-San three seconds of leeway! Better start running, because if I catch Produ-San you’re the next thing I’m going to drop!”
With apprehensive steps the brown shoes she took time to polish finally reached plane ground after climbing a set of stairs. The busy walk was large and surrounded by signs that would surely become illuminated by night. Lots of people, many young ones, walked around, giving Shiori shivers. The timid girl, holding a big bag, nervously scanned her surroundings while her glasses reflected the dazzling blue skies.
She’d already been there once when she was a child because that was a famous spot, but she hardly remembered anything about it. The tall buildings around and the incessant foot traffic was unnerving. She couldn’t blame them, though: she was close to one of the exits of the busy Shibuya Station – there were five, if she remembered correctly – from where many train and subway lines could be accessed. Shiori herself had used it to commute, so even though her anxiety for meeting Naoko and her producer was only worsened by the ridiculous amounts of people that passed by, they weren’t at fault. She could, however, wish not so many men and women stood still there, usually taking pictures around a large, old but well-kept bronze statue of a sitting dog. Loyal Dog Hachiko’s statue was a major attraction, even in a ward so full of other landmarks like Shibuya, so people were not doing anything wrong per se by hanging around there. Still, her social anxiety would appreciate if they left while she waited. And since she’d arrived five minutes earlier than scheduled, she’d be counting seconds for a while.
Thankfully it didn’t took more than one hundred and twenty seven seconds for her to notice a stunning girl cheerfully walking down the street and standing out in the crowd due to her enthralling looks, her height increased by lace-up white platform boots and her looks augmented by her mesmerizing attire, with gloves, mini shorts an
d a vest-blouse that looked best fit for a catwalk. That bombshell walked unbeknownst to the glances of the people around that she attracted in a way Shiori just dreamed she could do herself. As a kid in an amusement park made of candies, she spun to look around as if she danced, and enthusiastically talked with a handsome man, tall and slim, with dark and stylish hair and sporting on his confident, content and cool face a pair of shades, and tiny diamond studs for earrings. He also wore an incredible, glossy suit with a flaming decal on one arm and carried a black handbag. The pair was quite eye-catching and hard to miss.
“Cats?! Why would Produ-San like cats? Cats suck!” Naoko joked, “Dogs are way better! Oh, that’s it, right?! Is that Hachiko’s statue?!”
The girl ran closer. Inspecting it carefully, she tossed her cellphone to the man for him to take a few pictures of her while she excitedly posed and said:
“Take Hachiko as an example: faithfully waiting for his owner on the same spot and hour every day for almost a decade even though the man had died! Now that’s companionship! Loyalty! True love! If Hachiko was a cat it wouldn’t even have waited for his owner to arrive on the station usually, much less after one or two days waiting and noticing he didn’t come back!”
“*Sigh*… Yeah, I know the story. Okay Naoko-Chan, you won this round, can you please drop the subject already?” her producer asked, tossing her cellphone back to her, “Favorite animals are personal preferences: you can’t expect to change someone’s preferences with arguments, no matter how plausible they are.”
“Okay… but cats still suck when compared to dogs, remember this,” the girl added, “I have a cat back at home! I know how these creatures can be boring and selfish sometim …” Her eyes gleamed when noticing a shy approaching girl, “Oh! Shiori-Chan! Over here!”
With her heart pounding, the timid girl, who’d already seen Naoko way before she’s seen, embarrassedly walked closer to her cheerful, waving friend. Holding her blue and white bag with both hands in front of her body, Shiori was paralyzed as she saw Naoko’s producer turn his head in her direction, reflecting her diminutive form on his sunglasses. The man, smiling slightly, completely turned his body to face her, and the bashful girl, feeling her mouth dry up, nervously bowed deeply as she came to a halt. Trying to remember what she planned to say when they met, the girl tensely introduced herself:
“G-g-good afternoon! I… I’m A-Akitomi Shiori! I… am Y-Yano N-Naoko’s c-classmate! P-pleased t-to make you acquaintance a-and… thank you… for the opportunity! Please be n-nice to me!”
The amount of stuttering on her sentences made her even more anxious. She wanted to appear calm and show she was reliable, but the man most likely had noticed she was very afraid. As she stood up again, though, the producer seemed unfaltering. Naoko, smiling, did the other introduction:
“Produ-San, she’s my friend Shiori-Chan, who photographed those amazing pictures! Shiori-Chan, this man is Aratani Kouta, my producer!”
As usual in a formal situation he once again stated what was already said, though doing so with a chill attitude that was both soothing and welcoming:
“As Naoko-Chan said, my name’s Aratani Kouta. I’m your classmate’s producer. It’s a pleasure to meet you, Akitomi-San. Naoko-Chan spoke highly of your skills.”
Shiori nervously blushed, dismissing it with a humble speech:
“N-Naoko-Chan is far too kind. I’m… just… an average girl. I-I’ll do my best, though! B-but I… ah…” her voice became lower and lower until it couldn’t be heard. Naoko, jumping to her side, energetically stated, “Produ-San, I told you Shiori-Chan is a little timid, but she’s an excellent photographer despite what she might say! She took those pictures of me during the rehearsal yesterday, and also all those images on her gallery!”
Flushed, Shiori looked deeply thankful. Aratani, nodding, politely requested:
“I believe in what you say, Naoko-Chan. However, may I ask Akitomi-San for a little demonstration of her skills? I don’t want to be rude or demanding, I’m just… curious. Someone of your age to be able to take photos like the ones I’ve seen is… uncanny.”
Startled, Shiori whispered a scared “Y-Yes!” Getting very anxious, she tremblingly rested her bag on the floor and embarrassedly took a big camera from inside of it. Naoko, noticing her friend was very afraid and that her hands shook, stood between the two and faced Shiori with a tranquilizing smile. Seeing herself reflected on the tense girl’s glasses, Naoko affirmed:
“Shiori-Chan, remember when you photographed me inside the school theater? Everyone was taken aback by your ability! That was nice, wasn’t it? Well, that was what you’re capable of, I know it! Trust me, okay? Come on, let’s have fun!”
The timid girl stared at her gladly. Not giving Shiori a moment to think, Naoko held her friend’s two wrists and conducted her closer to the bronze statue stalwartly over-watching the station’s entrance. Naoko didn’t have a care in the world for the other people nearby and with a positive attitude left Shiori to stand close to the waiting, loyal depiction of an Akita dog, a large breed with thick fur and triangular ears somewhat reminiscent of a wolf.
Shiori glanced around to the passersby. It was distressing to see so many people look at them since there was a gorgeous girl being photographed with a semi-professional camera that looked arguably professional for untrained eyes, but quickly remembered she’d also have to do that on a show and was expected to control her fears. Breathing deeply, she focused on her posing and smiling friend, brought her camera close to her glasses so she wouldn’t see anything else and started to take pictures.
At first she was desperate, but the clicking sound of her camera and the process of finding angles, adjusting the zoom, experimenting with the parameters, evaluating the results and trying again soon emptied her mind of other worries. Naoko soon started to walk around so Shiori could capture images of her from other sceneries. She went under the shadows of buildings, descended the stairs of the station for a high-amplitude shot and energetically jumped around. Naoko did so to keep Shiori busy and away from Aratani, but the timid girl had to constantly adjust her camera for the various situations. It not only served as a good test Naoko unknowingly did, but also helped her friend concentrate. Furthermore the girl was so lively that Shiori had to look for ways to show her high spirits and quick movements on her photos.
But she had thought about that since the rehearsal: of how to use the lighting of the stage to create flares, of how she could create better motion blurs, of experimental close-field shots to distort the background and so on. Her perfectionist mind was insatiable and she had done almost another thousand shots just to test her ideas.
She could see people inconspicuously looked at them all the same, but seeing her friend pose without embarrassment made Shiori strangely at peace. Right, the passersby weren’t looking at the girl with glasses, but at the idol. Shiori just happened to be around, yet another witness to her marvelous classmate. It used to incommode her, but now she’s immensely glad to have Naoko by her side. Or the other way around, whatever. Reminding how much she envied and thought bad things about her friend filled her with shame.
Sure, it’s not possible to be completely free of envy. Naoko was not only stunning, but also positive and fun. Shiori would love to be like her, but Naoko was not to blame if the girl with glasses was small, timid and ugly – or so she thought she’s ugly, despite Naoko actually stating she’s cute. Anyway, Shiori was more than happy for the opportunity her friend gave her. For trusting on Shiori when even Shiori didn’t trust herself. For being friendly and welcoming, things the shy girl would hardly be if she was that beautiful, she thought. Unfortunately Shiori wasn’t born with qualities that conferred her a spot in front of the lenses, but for once she’s glad to be part of something. To feel respected and liked, even if no one looked at her. Even if Shiori was just the unmemorable person behind the lenses, that’s her way to manifest her talent, given her limitations. She wasn’t pretty and could only dream about it,
but to hold a camera was not bad in real life. That made her feel comfortable.
Aratani was impressed to see that bashful girl in unassuming clothes, as formal as a high-school student could afford to look, change the way she acted out of the blue. After a few minutes her initial tension reduced, and she took off her glasses, crouched, turned the camera vertically and walked around trying to find good positions. At Naoko’s request she even took a few cityscape shots, and the idol asked a passerby to take a photo of the two together, close to the committed dog’s statue. Shiori smiling shyly and Naoko radiantly occupying most of the space on the picture, stretching her arms out and making “V”s with her index and middle fingers. Eventually they returned once Shiori felt confident about a few of her photos.
The girl nervously handed her old camera to Aratani, and the man, taking off his sunglasses, evaluated it for a bit. The glasses-wearing girl anxiously waited, though her beaming friend stood by her side, appearing confident. After some meditation, Aratani turned his attention to the increasingly concerned small girl and coolly commented with an impressed face:
“I won’t lie to you: when Naoko-Chan asked me to consider exchanging a professional photographer for a friend of hers, who also happened to be a sixteen year-old girl, I was a little reticent at first. But I’m impressed! Not only these photos look on par with what I’d expect from a professional, there’s something on them that just makes me like it better. I don’t know… they somehow capture the energy and the erratic movements of you upbeat, spontaneous and inconsistent friend!”
Jumping happily, Naoko praised her timid but excited friend:
“Yay! You’re the best, Shiori-Chan! Congrats!” Suddenly turning cold and sharp for a moment, albeit in a mocking way, she added, “Who are you calling “inconsistent”, Produ-San?!”
“See what I say?” the man teasingly kept talking with Shiori as if Naoko wasn’t there to begin with, “I’m really impressed. May I ask, out of curiosity, how did Akitomi-San learned to photograph this way?”
Shiori, blushing, replied with a less tense voice than before:
“I… got this camera from my father when I was five. And I… used it quite a bit. Naoko-Chan knows I’m not… a very sociable person. I only ever had one other friend before Naoko-Chan and our class president, so… I had only a few hobbies and distractions. Photography being the main one.”
“But… isn’t it a strange present for a five-years-old girl? Not to mention unwieldy.” Aratani curiously noted, and Shiori nodded, revealing a little embarrassedly “Yes, at the time I could barely hold it correctly. It was the same as trying to hold a stove.” Turning to Naoko, she continued, “But my father gave it to me because I refused to wear glasses. I don’t really need it, my visual problem is very light, but I use it just so it doesn’t progress. At that time I couldn’t understand it, though, so my father gave me the camera he used so I could learn to like lenses. And I did, thanks to it.”
“The camera he used?” Naoko inquired, and Shiori confirmed:
“Yes. Currently he’s a businessman, but at that time he worked for a newspaper.” Anxiously glancing over to Aratani, Shiori declared, “I know it’s a very old camera, almost fifteen year-old, but I take care to keep it updated and as well-maintained as possible! Sure, it doesn’t have many functions modern cameras do and I need to use external memory devices due to the built-in memory being very limited by current standards, but I can attest it can still create high-quality photos on its maximum resolution! And I only use it on max res!”
The man calmed her down with a warming smile, and said while opening the handbag he brought, taking a professional camera from inside of it:
“I saw it. I’d never say those photos were taken by a decade and a half old camera, it looks pretty decent even nowadays. I had also bought a camera a few days ago and decided to bring it with me to also take a few shots during the show. Want to take a look?”
The girl carefully held the new, professional camera. It came with no telescopic lenses, but its built-in optical equipment was already good enough for photos up to ten meters or so. The device was very sophisticated and the girl took some time curiously trying to understand each mechanism without touching them. Aratani, noticing her carefulness, allowed:
“There’s no need to be shy, Akitomi-San can take a few shots if she wants.”
“C-Can I?” the timid girl eagerly questioned just to be sure. Receiving a green light, she started to excitedly investigate each parameter of the camera, taking pictures of the same scene over and over to learn what each configuration did. Shiori didn’t even bother with automatic settings. In a few minutes she had discovered what the many functionalities of the object were and looked amazed with it. From simple filming and planning the taking of automatic sequences of many photos in a second to manual setups to force ambient light occlusion to create sharper contrasts between light and shadow, the alteration of the angle of internal mirrors to create distortions on the flow of light for the production of vibrant rays along light sources and more. Compared to her barebones old camera it was a marvel.
The producer, handing Shiori back her camera when she was done experimenting, said:
“I see your own camera has a lot of sentimental value to Akitomi-San and you’re used to it. It appears to be a sturdy, potent and reliable camera too, so feel free to use it. I’ll be using my camera during the show, but if you want to take a few photos with it, maybe by the end of it, just ask me. I’ll be more than happy to lend it to you.”
“Ah… Yes!” Shiori promptly nodded with a firm countenance, “Thank you Aratani-San!”
“Don’t mention it,” the easygoing man responded. He called the two over to a small ice-cream shop, the closest food venue that had seats and wasn’t a restaurant or a bar. The producer asked if the girls wanted something, and though Shiori politely refused, Naoko joyfully convinced her to accept it. As such he bought two ice-creams, a vanilla and a lemon pie one, and chose a distant table. His face got a little more serious, though still pretty relaxed, he changed topics while taking a small suitcase from inside the handbag:
“Okay, I admit I liked your talent, Akitomi-San. I’m interested in hiring you. Only one question remains: your payment. Do you have an hourly fee in mind?”
The shy teenager almost choke on her vanilla ice-cream. She looked down, getting even paler than she already was, and started to mumble something unintelligible. Naoko watched her worriedly, wanting to calm her but not knowing exactly what to do while Shiori whispered desperately, being unable to admit she hadn’t thought about it:.
“I… Let me see… A-An… h-hourly fee is… Maybe… I can… Well…”
Aratani, taking a few papers off of his suitcase, said in a reassuring voice:
“Okay, don’t worry. I know that despite having skills of a pro you’re a schoolgirl who has never worked as a freelance photographer before. Naoko told me that, and that maybe Akitomi-San could use some help deciding a fee. If she’s fine with it, so am I, so don’t trouble yourself over it. Everyone needs a chance to begin somewhere, after all. Here, take a look at this.”
He handed her a seven-page list with names, contacts and an hourly fee price, generally ranging from fifteen to thirty thousand Yen, but a few asking even more. Naoko, glancing over it, helped her astounded friend by holding her ice-cream while Shiori looked at the extensive list. Aratani explained:
“That’s a list I have of a few professional and experienced photographers. Since Akitomi-San proved to have skills and some sort of natural talent to it, I’m willing to pay something around these numbers and bet on you for Naoko-Chan's show. It starts one hour and fifteen minutes from now. She will present herself one hour and forty minutes from now, however, but we’ll need to depart soon if we’re to get there on time for her to get changed and all. Still, we have ten or so minutes to spare, so I’ll leave you two girls to discuss without me here to intimidate anyone. I’ll be right outside, call me when you’ve made your mind on
a fee. Now, if you excuse me.”
The man walked out of the venue, leaving Shiori dazed. Looking at the list, she bemusedly whispered:
“N-Naoko-Chan, your producer… is immensely kind and generous! I… this list… The lowest values are almost fifteen thousand Yen per hour! I… would never charge so much! I… I don’t really want to charge anything. This opportunity is already much more than I could hope for, and will help me get some experience and…!”
“Shiori-Chan, don’t downplay your skills!” Naoko interrupted her, “My producer liked you, I can see it, but he’s not doing this just because I asked him to, and certainly not just to help you. He believes in your skill! Don’t just think about how this job will help you, but how it will help me and him too! We need a good photographer, and Shiori-Chan happens to be even better than the expensive guy we hired before! So quit with the humbleness and let’s choose a number!”
Excited, the timid girl blushed looking at the list. Whispering, she suggested:
“Perhaps… I don’t know… I was thinking about three… thousand Yen. Maybe?” As she turned to Naoko, she found her unimpressed face, “I mean, Naoko-Chan, these are professionals! They have years of experience!”
“And Shiori-Chan has more than a decade too. Shiori-Chan dedicated two-thirds of her life to it and started to take pictures when she was five frigging years-old! She knows how to do blurs and tricks with a fifteen year-old semi-professional camera, when the last expert merely snapped still shots even with the newest model of a fancy professional camera and whatnot. If I were to say, you deserved to be paid even more than that guy was! I don’t know how much he was charging, but let’s settle your fee at… say… twenty-five thousand?”
“Eh?! N-No!” Shiori begged. Naoko, laughing, commented, “You know, you remind me of myself when I first saw a contract. One thing Aratani-San taught me is that in this idol business even the most poorly-paid contracts are still worth a lot. And don’t worry, this show alone will net my agency many, many times the amount we’re talking about here.”
Astonished, Shiori stammered:
“B-but… I-I… I c-can’t! It’s… too much!!”
“Uh… fine,” Naoko accepted, getting up “I won’t say twenty-five thousand. Twenty it is, then.” Handing her ice-cream back, the girl departed posthaste, leaving Shiori desperately trying to hold it with her shaking hands while she called with a child-like voice for her friend to come back. In fact, Naoko did after a brief moment, but with her was Aratani. Shiori froze when seeing the man scratching his head. As he opened his mouth to say something, Naoko bluntly added:
“She’s asking for two thirds of what you just said that guy charged us, and she knows how to give emotion and action to her photos! Worst-case scenario she’ll still snap pictures almost as well as him, and I trust it’ll be better! And she needs only one chance! And if we’re the ones who get the public to know a talented prodigy like her it’s bound for us to reap some good rewards from it later! And if Produ-San doesn’t accept twenty, I’m going to rip your eyeballs off!”
The man quickly closed his mouth and took a contract off of his suitcase. Ironically, he stated while writing down a few things on the blank spaces in it:
“Valid arguments, especially the last one. You should consider working part-time as her producer too, Naoko-Chan.” He passed Shiori the contract, who commented vacillatingly while reading it, “I… I still think three thousand Yen is… more than acceptable…”
“And I still think that you should shut up and sign it before I rip your eyeballs off too!” Naoko promptly ordered before tenderly adding “Please!” with a lovely smile, and Shiori quickly read the one page contract and complied. Aratani, taking the paper back and stamping it with a personal seal as usual, teased her:
“I agree with the psychopath girl here that three thousand Yen is too little, Akitomi-San, but… Wow, Naoko-Chan. Way to be persuasive, girl. Your lady-like customs and your finesse are truly things of legends.”