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Maya had time to scrub her face clean and Claudine did the same, their hair tucked safely in loose buns atop their heads to be dealt with later, before they were given instructions to temporarily change back into their street clothes and move down one floor to the next level of studios and dressing rooms. They were already in the building’s basement, so another floor down was some sort of sub-basement, but a staff member whisked them into a larger dressing room, where they had room to spread out their things and take a break before getting ready for the afternoon schedule.
Nana popped her head in, a small container of muffins in her arms. “I’m about to go on break as well, but I wanted to let you know that this dressing room and the adjacent studio is the primary one we will be using this year. So if you want to leave anything at the dressing tables or the cubbies, feel free, we’ll be down here often. For today, we have very little time, so Mahiru has gone ahead and ordered some box lunches and they should arrive soon. And please, take these. My hobby is baking,” she said, handing Maya the muffins.
“Thank you,” Maya said, taking them and placing them on the counter between where she and Claudine sat. Nana left them her cell phone number and left shortly after.
It was quiet in the sub-basement dressing room, and it was somewhat eerie, just the two of them, lit by the fluorescent lights and the bright bulbs of the mirrors, with the door opening to the warehouse-like space of the photo studio. Maya almost jumped when the concierge of the building knocked with their lunch delivery, and she thought Claudine looked ready to attack whoever had snuck up on them, until she realized. Maya was ready to take her lunch and sit at the counter, but Claudine took hers to the small coffee table, spreading out a blanket to sit on and eating away from where all the makeup and hair accessories were laying. Maya decided to join her - the room was fairly large, and they should appreciate that they had separate space for hair and makeup, eating, and dressing, at least.
Claudine ate a little more greedily this time than she did on their first day, but Maya didn’t comment on this. She learned quickly that Claudine was prickly about certain topics - many topics in fact, and food was on that list. In general, she preferred to let Claudine lead the conversations, but there were times, like today, where she was uncomfortably quiet, and Maya felt the insatiable need to say something, anything just to remind herself that she wasn’t eating alone. Or perhaps she just liked that irritated smile on Claudine’s face.
“It seemed they were satisfied with our work this morning,” Maya said, unsure yet if work was a safe topic or not.
“There were an awful lot of spectators,” Claudine growled, the fact that she was speaking with her mouth full lending a cute French-sounding lilt to her Japanese. “But I agree, the proofs I saw looked satisfactory,” she added as she swallowed.
They hadn’t monitored since halfway through the shoot, so they really weren’t sure how the last half came out, but everyone’s reactions had been good. Maya hadn’t been paying attention to what was in the boxed lunch that was delivered, but now she paid attention as she bit into the muffin Nana made.
“Is it good?” Claudine asked, watching her chew.
Maya nodded. “Delicious. Banana nut flavor.” She smirked. “Definitely worth a few minutes of extra workout tonight.” Maya pushed the muffins toward Claudine.
“I don’t know, I didn’t really feel like doing a workout tonight,” she said.
Maya wondered what else she had planned. Did she feel like sitting on their balcony just to silently stare at the water for hours, like she did some nights? Did she have a secret boyfriend she wanted to call when Maya went out of the apartment?
It seemed Claudine’s will was broken, though, and she picked the muffin up, bringing it to her mouth slowly. Maya watched her take a small bite, and couldn’t help but stare at her lips as she chewed, perfectly-shaped and pink even without any makeup.
Before she could continue, however, the stylists returned from their lunch break, corralling them back to the counters, seemingly overwhelmed by the style demanded for this shoot. Slowly, but surely, Maya watched herself be transformed over the course of an hour. Strands of glitter were laced into her hair, which hung loose and was waved just slightly at the last six inches. White lashes were attached to her eyes, and a frosty liner was applied as well. While her brows were lightened, they were not totally white, giving her face some prideful structure, along with her cheekbones. A delicate pink was applied to her lips. It was a bold, frosty look, but made more innocent with the dress Maya was given.
The dress was a white, ankle length gown made of intricately draped organza, which reflected the light in various ways. It was strapless, leaving Maya’s shoulders bare as her hair was arranged carefully around it. Interestingly, she was left barefoot.
Beside her, Maya watched Claudine’s transformation opposed hers. Claudine’s hair was naturally wavy, and the stylists re-set these waves after the morning shoot, then laced in tiny black feathers in an arc pattern across one side. Her brows were drawn in a little bolder, and her eye-shadow a little smudged, though not quite as bold as that morning’s shoot. She was given dark brown liner and lashes.
As Claudine went to change into her dress, her phone rang. “Saijou-san, you have a phone call!” the stylist called towards her.
“Who is it?” she asked, her voice distant, as if she was in the midst of putting on the dress.
Maya was beside the phone, so she leaned forward to read it. “Yachiyo-san,” she said. She added on the -san herself, as that wasn’t in Claudine’s contact name, and left out the ‘<3 <3’. She noted Claudine had already missed two calls from this same girl.
Claudine came back over, looking rather stunning in a long, black dress with a velvet, corset style top, spaghetti straps, and a poofed, layered tulle skirt. Quickly, she re-dialed her missed call.
“What?” she asked harshly, listening intently. Apparently there were few pleasantries between these two. Suddenly the name rang a bell. Yachiyo- Maya couldn’t remember her surname- she was the Siegfeld fashion designer Claudine was in Harajuku with in that tabloid. Maya tried to look busy while she listened in.
“What?! ...Oh, oui, j'aurais dû savoir… nothing. Thank you for the heads up…. Oh. Thanks to Michiru I guess, then. Je t'aime.”
Maya’s French was poor, but even she knew ‘je t'aime’. She wondered if the pretty, pink-haired woman was Claudine’s… girlfriend. They had gone out together, and she was the only person she’d seen Claudine on her phone with… ever, besides her parents. A giddy sort of hope filled her at that thought, though she wasn’t sure why, it’s not like she wanted them to be together. It’s because it means Claudine isn’t with some gross guy, she told herself. The elation disappeared quickly though, as Claudine put down her phone and turned to her, her expression dark. The stylists had made themselves scarce, suddenly.
“When were you going to tell me, Tendo Maya?” she asked. In her dress, with her hair and makeup done, she was truly a force to be reckoned with- dangerous and beautiful.
“I’m afraid I’ve no idea what you mean,” said Maya. “Do I have something to do with your phone call?” she asked. She was truly in the dark.
“Why is it that I’m just now being informed, through Siegfeld of all places, of the HANA company starting social media pages? Surely you knew? Surely you would have thought to tell me, seeing it has much more of an impact on my life, than yours?”
Maya felt her blood pressure drop. It had been her job to tell Claudine, and she had forgotten, with the moving studios and the rush to eat lunch and the quick costume change. She rarely forgot things, in fact, she could not remember the last time she had let someone down. She did not know how word got to Yachiyo so fast - certainly Karen had not launched the accounts yet - but she had let her partner down. Claudine would need to do things to prepare, perhaps even her parents would….
Maya did the only thing she could think of in that moment, she bowed in apology, low and long. “I’m sorry! I forgot!” she said, while looking at the ground.
“Ah, mon Dieu, get up, you’ll mess up the stylists’ work like that!” said Claudine frantically. When Maya stood, she saw Claudine was red with embarrassment, obviously not expecting a proper apology. “Aish! I see that you truly just forgot, I forgive you! You don’t have to go and do that!” she said, as the stylists came back to straighten Maya’s hair.
“Truly, I am sorry. We can go together to see Isurugi-san later if any arrangements need to be made or if you have any questions about it. It seems you’re very lucky to have your friend at
Siegfeld,” said Maya, not wanting to offend Claudine by using Yachiyo’s first name again, but not remembering her surname.
“Yes, Yachiyo always looks out for me, I’m trying to be less of a burden on her. She’s one of the only people I still keep in contact with from… back then…” Claudine trailed off, straightening out imaginary wrinkles on her dress. “But in any case, Nana’s probably ready, let’s go!”
The set this time was lush and red. Everything was red velvet, from the backdrop, to the hangings, to the cover on a platform in the center of the set, which Maya correctly assumed is mostly where they would pose. The set this time was only manned with essential staff - no casual on-lookers, with the exception of Futaba who was in the corner working on her tablet and keeping an eye on the proceedings.
Per Nana’s instructions, they were to stand, sit, or lay as they pleased on the platform, however they were comfortable. It was all female staff, so Maya didn’t exactly feel uncomfortable laying down, she was wearing a dress after all, it was more of the part of laying so close to Saijou Claudine that was causing her heart to beat wildly. She wasn’t even sure why - she admired Claudine, she found Claudine beautiful, she was intrigued by Claudine - but she was here to bring herself to the Top, so it shouldn’t matter who she needed to lay down near or pose beside. Steeling her nerves, she hopped up onto the platform.
Claudine did the same, though Maya could see a trace of nervousness on her face as well. A staff member brought her a step stool to use to climb up with, as her dress was a fair bit bulkier than Maya’s.
“I want to add one more element to the shoot, but if you’re uncomfortable with it, we can add it in post with digital editing,” said Nana. “The way this shoot was envisioned was like this,” she held up illustrations, obviously sketched by someone with great skill, of two faceless models in the dresses, but running from their arms respectively were white and black rivulets of liquid.
“Sounds messy, but I don’t mind,” said Claudine. Maya assented as well, expecting something much stranger from the way Nana had phrased the proposition. The stylists returned to help apply this last layer to the preparation, and Maya found her arms, chest, and even parts of her face now dripped with a sparkling silver paint. Soon after, Claudine was the same, a pearlescent black dripping down her pale arms and snaking into the cleavage of her dress. One line looked like a black tear running down her face.
Soon enough, the shoot began, but Maya found it hard to get into a rhythm. For one thing, the paint kept shifting and needing to be wiped and re-applied, but more than that, she felt tense, and she could tell Claudine felt tense as well.
“I’m sorry Nana,” said Claudine, after a few minutes, “Can we put on some music or something?”
Nana smiled gently, playing some popular, mindless music. Just having something on in the background helped immensely with Maya’s nagging thoughts, and it also provided a cover for them to whisper at each other without being overheard.
“Lay back,” Claudine commanded, and Maya did as she was told, respecting that Claudine was the veteran in this field. Claudine kneeled beside her, one hand on her chest, and the other, streaked with black, running through Maya’s hair. Her expression looked as if she was purveying an item in a pawn shop. Maya felt a stirring somewhere deep in herself, a demand to satisfy her own desires. Once it was time to shift, she sat up, so she was sitting facing Claudine, their legs intermingled among the long skirts of the dresses. She could feel that Claudine’s feet were cold.
Somehow, just like before, they didn’t need to speak to communicate, and this time Maya’s gaze said ‘my turn’. She curled some of Claudine’s hair in her fingers, pulling her closer, causing Claudine to be forced to turn her chin up some. Claudine put her hand on Maya’s shoulder as if pushing her away, and the shutter clicked. It was a mess of power struggles, paint, and beautiful dresses, and Nana had found the shot through her lens.
They had found their speed once again, and the work was easy. The interruptions were more frequent as the stylists had to adjust the dresses or their hair or the paint, but the afternoon rolled on. They sat back to monitor around five, fatigue setting in, and some of the staff heading out, their shifts ending. Claudine and Maya bowed and thanked those who left for their work that day, and then checked the proofs. Maya quickly found her favorite.
Claudine was in the foreground, laying on her back, her finger on her chin pensively, and her curls draped perfectly around her. Her other arm was reaching up to touch Maya’s arm. Maya was laying on her side, facing the opposite direction, propped up on one elbow. Her gaze was only on Claudine.
“Listen, we have a lot of good ones here to work with, so let’s call it early for today,” said Nana.
Maya smiled, relieved with this announcement, it was getting rather cold.
“Thank you for all your hard work!” said Claudine, bowing first at Nana, and then at the rest of the remaining staff. Maya repeated the sentiment, genuinely meaning it - it took a small army to get the photos they produced today.
Futaba approached them as they were taking their makeup off and getting the accessories out of their hair. “Good work today,” she said.
“Good work today.” Maya thought she was here mostly to talk to Claudine, but Futaba settled between them, looking as though her updates were for them both.
“Hey, listen, I’m sorry I had no time to warn you about the social media thing. Kaoruko gets an idea and gets carried away, and then Karen just dives right into a new project-”
“It’s fine,” Claudine assured her. “We granted you permission to use our photographs for your promotions. That includes social media. You don’t have to worry.”
Maya supposed she was right. It was their job to sell the company’s products, and what better way to do that than to promote the company and make it more popular on social media? Still, she didn’t like the tone Claudine was using, though she couldn’t exactly figure out why.
“Still,” Futaba said. “Just in case these promotions really blow up in terms of your popularity, we’ve arranged with a local company to have a driver available to and from work and for your schedules, on demand.” Futaba handed them each a card with the contact information. “We will, of course, cover that expense, so please, take these cards as well.” She handed them each a plastic card this time, a company credit card.
“You really don’t need to worry, we can take the bus,” Claudine said, but she clutched the cards in her hand nonetheless, making no gesture to give them back.
“Thank you, Isurugi-san. We appreciate the consideration.”
“Of course. Please use whatever method you feel comfortable with. And please come to me if any other arrangements need to be made or if you have additional concerns.”
Once they finished taking off their makeup and accessories and changed back into their street clothes, it was after six, and they left the building together to head home.
“Are you hungry?” asked Maya, trying to plan how to arrange her dinner and workout timing.
“We should pick up something from the convenience store,” said Claudine. “I’m too tired to cook anything.”
Maya nodded her assent and they got on the bus, riding the short trip home. Once near their apartment, they walked into the local convenience store, Claudine poring over the offerings.
“What should we get?” she asked.
“I like this one,” Maya said, pointing to a set she often chose. “But it’s rather mild. If you like spicier, this is a good one. Sometimes I pick this one as well.”
In the end, Claudine went with her first recommendation. Maya picked some side dishes and Claudine purchased some drinks, and they walked home, the summer air heavy and warm. “Do you not get convenience store food often?” asked Maya, wondering if Claudine was the type to be secretly good at cooking.
“No… I’ve been living with my parents for several years now. My mom is an excellent cook. Plus this food is no good for you… Tendo Maya.” She buzzed them into the elevator and they started up towards their floor.
“I know, I know.” Maya had no intention of telling Claudine just how often she ended up heating up a convenience store entree for dinner. “I’m going to go for a run. I’ll only be twenty minutes. Do you mind heating up the food?”
“That’s fine. I’m going to shower first, though, I feel gross.”
Maya ran into her room to change into running clothes and her sneakers, and headed out again, the sun now setting properly over Tokyo. The children had gone home from the playgrounds, the bars were not yet open, it was a curious time when society retreated for a bit - a respite between the workday and the beginning of nightlife.
She ran around their tiny, artificial island, and then across the bridge onto the next. She ran a circuit around the edges, just over 6 kilometers, and ran quickly, finishing up out of breath, especially after such a long day. She stretched out at the park nearby their apartment, and then went back upstairs, satisfied that she had at least done some physical activity that day.
She supposed the work they did was rather taxing as well - they were constantly shifting positions, holding themselves up at strange angles, and ensuring they always had good posture and body lines. But to Maya, her consistency and routine were important, and she needed her ‘proper’ exercise to end the day with, otherwise… otherwise what?
She was surprised when her phone buzzed. Her phone was only taken on runs with her for emergencies. She didn’t really have anyone she kept in contact with, so she didn’t expect any notifications. It was… a text from Karen. The body of the text contained a link, which she clicked, leading her to an instagram profile with a three-image banner reading HANA on the left two panels, and having the company’s distinctive sakura blossom logo on the right panel. The icon was another image of the sakura blossom, but this time, it was colored white on a black background, with the left side fading out into smaller petal-like pieces.
Maya clicked the icon which had a glowing ring around it. It showed the image of them from that day, sitting on the set of the first shoot, a candid, behind the scenes image. One could clearly tell it was Claudine, taking her boots off, and Maya could recognize herself in profile, she wondered if anyone else could.
She went to go upstairs to get dinner, but her phone buzzed again. It was Yanagi Koharu this time, an acquaintance from her training days. “You’re working with Saijou Claudine? And you’re working at HANA? And I had to find out through Twitter? You really are the worst at keeping in touch, Tendo-san.”
Maya clicked the button to reply, but her hands paused on the keys. What did she have to say to Koharu? It was true, she was bad at keeping in touch. The other statements were true as well. Claudine, she imagined, would answer with some pleasantries and a smile that didn’t quite reach her eyes, but Maya wasn’t capable of that. Koharu had found work right away, she knew, after their training period. Koharu was doing well on various short term contracts and projects. Maya was not ready to answer her fully until Maya herself was on top. “We’ll have to catch up once I’m settled in at the new job,” she wrote, shutting off her screen as soon as she sent it.
Finally, she went back to the apartment, her sweat now dried and her breathing long since returned to normal. The lights were off in the apartment, the bag from the convenience store abandoned on the counter where it was left initially. The shower was no longer running, but Maya got an eerie feeling entering the apartment nonetheless.
Maya turned the kitchen light on and put Claudine’s meal in the microwave, walking to her room and knocking on the door. There was no answer, so she pushed the door open. Claudine was not in her room, but a notebook sat open on the dressing table, glaring white as it caught light from the window. Maya had not been in Claudine’s room before, but she noticed the fluffy white duvet on the bed, the shelf of a few choice photos and mementos, and the dressing table with the stool like one would see in a Hollywood film. Aside from that, there was not much personality in the room.
Curious, she glanced at the notebook. There was writing… it seemed to be a poem or a list of some sort. She began to read, trying to make sense of what the words Claudine had taken the time to write meant.
The bottom of Negishi Bay
Mamie’s store
Taxiing in the plane as it pulls to the gate in Paris
Gâteau aux fraises
Amethyst colored eyes
Maya paused as she read the last entry, blushing as she wondered if it was about herself, and then nearly tripped as she was startled by the microwave beeping. Rushing back to the kitchen, she pulled the meal out and checked the balcony, where sure enough, Claudine was sitting just out of sight of the sliding door, on a towel, gazing out at the water.
She was in a nightgown and her still-damp hair was frizzy as it hung loose in the summer heat, but she looked no less beautiful than she did when she was dressed up earlier that day. Maya rested the meal on a small table beside her.
Claudine didn’t acknowledge the food, or Maya. Maya walked back inside to heat her own and get the drinks, and sat beside Claudine, perhaps a little closer than either of them preferred, generally, but the towel that was spread out for sitting on was only so large.
Maya ate her dinner in silence, and finally, once she was halfway done, Claudine started hers as well, apparently finally able to tear her eyes away from the water. “Thank you,” she said, between bites, “For not looking at me.”
Maya had expected her to thank her for making dinner, or for staying quiet, but she hadn’t expected this. “We get enough of that during the day,” Maya said, continuing to look forward.
Claudine put her tray down, her right hand pinching the skin on the back of her left hand “When I was home those five years, I didn’t work, I was a burden to my parents. My mom gets this look, when I cause trouble for her. I’d rather she just get mad, but instead, she just looks at me with these worried, pitying eyes. It makes me sick with guilt.”
“Why didn’t you work in that time? Not modeling, but… you could have gone back to school, no?”
Claudine smiled at Maya sadly. “Sometimes I wonder what it would have been like if I knew you back then. I used to be really competitive, I would have liked knowing a high achiever like you - someone I could see as a rival. I would definitely come on those workouts every day if I was a teenager.” She continued pinching her hand and Maya watched, irritated. “But I was alone then,” she continued. “It was just me, and to a limited degree, my parents. I tried going to high school, in the beginning, but it didn’t work out, and without finishing high school I couldn’t attend university. I could work in a shop, but everyone either wanted me because I was Saijou Claudine or didn’t want me because I was Saijou Claudine. I got irritated, like I was with everything then, and I gave up.”
She moved on to pinching at her wrist then, and Maya grabbed both of her hands in her own, holding them securely. Maya was beginning to realize that Saijou Claudine might only be here because she wanted to avoid seeing her mother look at her in a certain way. She almost chuckled, thinking of the irony when she realized that one of the reasons she was here was because she wanted her mother to acknowledge her and finally see her in a certain way.
Claudine looked at their connected hands, but didn’t try to pull away. “Maya…” she said quietly… then realizing what she said, corrected herself. “Tendo-san, what are you-”
“You are more than your career. You are more than the performance you give at work every day. If you ever want to quit completely, that’s allowed. But if you want to continue, I will work by your side. But you have a rival now, so please don’t neglect yourself.”
Claudine let these words sink in and then sat up a little straighter. “Of course not, Tendo Maya. I’m here for the duration of our contract. We are going to make history together. You better prepare yourself to work hard.”
A smile crossed Maya’s lips, and before she knew it, she was pulling Claudine closer to her. To her surprise, however, it was Claudine who wrapped her arms around Maya, pulling her into a hug. “You really are an impossible woman,” she said, sounding as if she was crying a bit. “Honestly, how could they expect anyone else to work with you.”
“Only you,” Maya assured her.