Welcome to the Entertainment Industry

Waking up in the morning was not as peaceful as it had been previously. I ended up crawling out of bed, groaning from the pain my legs felt after running. I haven't ran since high school.

"Owowowowowow..." I finally made my way toward the bathroom that was thankfully empty since my dad was still asleep. Looking in the mirror at my pale skin, I didn't realize how tired I looked. The dark under eye circles that made me look like a panda. My hair that was messy, and a cowlick on my head. Yeah. I looked exhausted.

After washing my face, putting on a good amount of make up, and wearing my respirator, I was ready to head out and go do some...shopping. The day didn't sound as fun as I was hoping since I didn't have to work until 4 p.m. But oh, well. What could I do?

"Ittekimasu..." I whispered, looking at my father who was asleep on his recliner with beer bottles scattered around. Sometimes I pitied him.

After leaving the house and closing the door so my dad wouldn't have to breathe in the fumes of crude oil, I made my way down the gray residential district. It was gray because the lights and electronics Akihabara had were all in, well, Akihabara. We were forced to live in a place where gas was stale, and you couldn't breathe without a respirator. I hated that the companies made the respirators cute. If it weren't for that, then I would have been angrier at them.

After finally leaving the residential district, I made my way into Akihabara's shopping district. Entering the electronics store, I walked up to the register. "Excuse me."

"Imput information." The android said.

After I typed down my information into the small tablet in front of me, the android then turned around and started typing on a computer. I didn't understand why androids needed computers when they, themselves, were computers already. The world may never know...

"Rika Ito. Age, 20. Occupation, college student/ waitress. Dual residency in USA and JPN." The android just said my information aloud for everyone to hear, like it was a normal thing to do. "How may I help you?"

"Oh, yes. You see, yesterday I accidentally lost my phone because I—"

"That is enough information. We will find your phone." The android interrupted me. The android closed its eyes and then opened them again. "Rika Ito's phone found in 1125 Flower Road Kyoto, Japan. Would you like to request a drop off?"

I blinked a few times, trying to comprehend what the android said. "What? How did my phone get all the way to Kyoto?"

"Don't ask me. I'm just an android. I would suggest you take a train to Kyoto or request a drop off." The android started getting snarky with me.

"I can't afford to do either. Uh...could you just cut off my information in that phone? Like, delete everything on that phone?" I sighed.

"Alright. Rika Ito's information has now been deleted." The android stated before looking down at me with its robotic eyes. "That will be $200 please."

"What?!" I could feel my life slipping away. I had $200, but that was about a week's paycheck. "...Okay..." I held my phone to the tablet where it took money out of my bank account.

"Thank you for your patience. Have a nice day."

Leaving the store, I could feel my life crumbling down. It was falling like the Roman Empire. Nothing could be compared to the immense pain I was feeling in my wallet.

"Whatever. I have to go buy groceries now..." I walked down the sidewalk of Akihabara.

Walking down Akihabara wasn't too bad. It was normally quiet, unless you considered people talking noisy.

"Kyaaaa!" A sudden loud noise surrounded a huge screen on a bulding.

At this rate, I should have just not even thought about how quiet the streets were. I turned my head to look up at the screen that was playing one of V.I.'s latest songs. "You Like Me, and I Know It," was the title of the song.

"Sung-Ho!" Some of the girls screamed as a handsome boy appeared on the screen in the music video. A half-Koren half-Japanese guy, huh? Is that what's in—

Wait... Hold on. I squinted my eyes before looking back at the alleyway that led to my job and back at the screen again. I held my hand against my respirator before gawking at the screen.

"H-h-hold up! That boy...!" Right as I said that, a black car suddenly pulled up right behind me. The crowd of girls around me hadn't seem to notice the car, only I had.

The window of the car rolled down, and a hand with a spray can came out of the car. Well, that was the last thing I remembered.

~♤♤♤♤♤♤♤~

"Oh my God!" I yelled, waking up to a desk and a chair that was turned around facing a window. What happened? "Uh...?"

"Oh! You're awake?" The chair turned around exposing a mandarin with a smiley face on it. "You woke up! Yay!" The head said. The mouth wasn't moving one bit. What on earth?!!!!

"Ahhhhhh!" I screamed, trying to get out of my chair, but I didn't realize I was strapped into the chair. "Waaaaaah! Don't kill me!"

"Wait, wait." The mandarin head said, holding up its human-like hands and tried to calm me down. "Please calm down."

"Ahhhh! It's talking!" I wasn't calming down.

"Come on. What's it going to take to calm you down? Oh! I know! Let's just restart!" The mandarin head stood up and walked over to me, punching me to sleep again.

~♤♤♤♤♤♤♤~

"Ugh..." I woke up again in the same room. My eyes gravitated toward the desk and chair. The chair was facing toward the window again.

"Ah! You're awake." The mandarin turned around again, exposing itself. The smile was still creepy. "Hello, Rika Ito. Age, 20. College student that couldn't find a decent job until a cafe owner took pity upon you because you were a fellow human."

What was with everyone giving out my information nonchalantly today?

"Social security number XXX-XX-XXXX." The mandarin exposed me more than that android had.

"Hey! Don't just give out my information like that!" I tried moving, but I was still strapped onto this chair against my will.

"Haha. Don't worry, Rika. I censored your social security number so the readers can't see it." The mandarin laughed.

"Wha—"

"Anyway, no more small talk." The mandarin sighed, clasping its hands together.

That was small talk?

"Listen, Rika. You may be wondering why you are here." The mandarin head never blinked ever since the time it started looking at me.

"Well...yeah. I kind of was brought here against my will." I replied.

"That is true, but I will guarantee, it was for your own good." The mandarin head stared into my soul with its unblinking eyes. "The name is Mikan, by the way. Not mandarin head."

"Oh. Nice to meet you, Mikan."

"Nice to meet you too."

"Wait. Did you just read my—"

"Anyway, so the reason you're here today is because we need your help." Mikan handed me a contract. "Do you know that new upcoming group V.I.?"

"Uh...yeah, why?" I looked down at the contract.

"We need you to become their manager."

"Excuse me?"

"You're excused."

"Wait... Ugh. You're making my head hurt." I groaned.

"Sign the contract. You will be happier because we'll pay for your father's rehab, and your college debts." Mikan said, tingling my ear with the word "pay."

"Huh?"

"Only if you sign the contract, though."

"And if I don't?" I raised my eyebrow.

"Well, then you won't have to stay another day on the surface of this earth. I promise, Rika. If you don't accept, we can just find another person."

Why did that sound...threatening?

I didn't even know what I was getting myself into. This person or animal, or whatever weird thing Mikan is, didn't explain anything. A manager of V.I.? Okay, but why me? Why did Mikan want me to be the manager?

"So, are you going to sign it or not?" Mikan said.

"I will." I signed it. I didn't want to die.

"Excellent." Mikan clapped its hands and then a random butler-like guy with glasses came into the room and took the contract with him. "Now, you work 7 days a week, no paid time off, and you will have an apartment you can stay at. All your food will be paid for you, and you can ask Blake for any additional information."

"Uh...well, what about my old—"

"You can ask Blake." Mikan clapped its hands again before the butler person, who I was now assuming was Blake, unstrapped me, took me by the arm, and guided me out of the room.

What on earth happened? It feels like something happened, yet it didn't happen. Was that even possible?