XL

Rei stretched as she emerged from the beaten up Honda and headed into the small diner, ordering a light breakfast from the bored-looking waitress. She hadn't driven very far, perhaps 50 kilometers and had no intention of driving any further toward Tokyo. She simply needed some distance and time to install the GPS spoofing app on her phone. She was well aware Amanda would be checking on her location and needed her to believe she was on her way to do as she was bidden. She was not going to leave Akari there. Something was very wrong with Amanda's relationship with Akari. No, she decided, something was very wrong with Amanda, period.

Their relationship had started out of the blue one day when the older woman had stopped her outside the convenience store she had been working at. Rei remembered staring at the tall woman blankly as she explained she was a dance instructor and felt she could train Rei to be a success.

"Why would I give a crap about dancing?" Rei asked, flipping her bright green hair back impatiently.

"You want to be famous, don't you?" Amanda replied.

"First of all, I have no idea who the hell you are, second, I don't really care who the hell you are and third, I just want to go home," Rei said with a sniff. "So…uh…good luck with whatever it is you think you're doing. You'll have to find someone else for your nasty porn flick or whatever it is you're doing."

"You know Akari Kitamura, don't you?" Amanda asked as Rei pushed past her. Rei stopped and turned.

"What are you? Some creepy stalker?"

"Where do you think she learned to dance the way she does?" Amanda looked at her meaningfully. "You didn't think that was all natural ability did you?"

"What do you want, exactly?" Rei demanded.

"It's not about what I want but what you want isn't it?" Amanda asked.

"Look, all I want is to go to work and go home without being harassed by creepers, male or female, on the way," Rei snapped.

"Oh, my mistake, then," Amanda replied with a shrug, turning to walk away. "I thought you might want to one day share a stage with her, but obviously I was mistaken."

"What?" Rei asked. Amanda dropped a card on the ground as she went.

"Grovel enough to pick it up if you want," Amanda replied. "Call me if you're interested. If Akari finds out about our meeting any deal is off the table. You have 14 hours to get back to me. After that the phone number is gone forever and so is your only chance to be anything more than the trash you are."

"Fuck you bitch," Rei snarled at the retreating woman's back. Amanda said nothing, simply raised her arm in farewell and disappeared into a large black limousine parked nearby. Rei flipped the limo off as it drove away and turned in a huff to walk home, eyes locked ahead of her resolutely. She got less than fifty meters before turning back and grabbing the card.

"Why do you work so hard, A-chan?" Rei asked later that night, fingers playing along the edge of the card in her pocket while Akari sat slumped beside her on the roof. For three hours she'd been dancing, performing intricate, bold dance moves Rei felt she had no hope of ever matching.

"I want to make people happy, I guess," Akari replied, toweling the sweat from her face before staring into the cloudy sky. "I hope that maybe if I work hard enough someone might notice and let me perform with them on a stage somewhere. Wouldn't that be exciting? Maybe you could dance with me!"

"Don't tease me, A-chan," Rei replied miserably.

"I'm not teasing, Reichan!" Akari said. "I'd love to dance with you!"

"We both know I have no talent," Rei said with a sigh.

"That's not true!" Akari protested, leaning back on her thin arms and staring into the sky. "Everyone who wants to do something has a talent for it."

"That's ridiculous, A-chan," Rei snorted. "How can you even say that? Desire doesn't equate to talent."

"With no desire talent is useless, though," Akari replied. "You can be a naturally gifted, uh, baseball player but if you hate playing it you will never realize any of your talent. I think you can always learn something but how can you learn to want to do it?"

"How did you learn to dance and sing and play music and stuff?" Rei asked, gripping the card tighter in her hand.

"Well, I had a teacher for the dancing and singing, but I can't remember much about her," Akari replied after a moment. "She wasn't very nice from what I remember, but I think she knew a lot." Akari shrugged and smiled. "I'm sorry, Reichan, I don't remember a lot of stuff."

"Do you really think I could be on stage with you some day?" Rei asked. Akari looked over at her and smiled.

"I know you could, Rei," she replied. "If that's what you want."

"I do want it," Rei replied in a small voice, gripping the card tightly, now. "More than anything."

"What do you want me to do?" Rei asked into the phone. She had left the hostel so early that morning only Akari was awake though she was practicing on the roof as usual. Rei walked down to the convenience store, buying a disposable cell phone with the last of her spare money.

"Exactly what you're told to do," the voice on the other end of the phone replied simply. "You will be my personal assistant and in return I will give you lessons and room and board."

"O-Ok," Rei replied after a moment's thought.

"My driver will be by the convenience store in five minutes to pick you up," the woman said.

"Just let me say bye to Akari and I-"Rei began.

"No, no one knows where you are going and what you're doing," the woman cut her off.

"But I-"Rei protested in surprise.

"You were given instructions," the woman interrupted again. "I have no interest in wasting my time with someone who can't listen. Consider my offer rescinded. Good-"

"Wait! Please! I'm sorry!" Rei exclaimed desperately.

"This is the one and only time I will forgive your outbursts," Amanda snapped. "Five minutes in front of the convenience store. He will wait exactly fifteen seconds and then will drive off. This phone number will be canceled as soon as this call ends. Take the opportunity or not. It doesn't matter to me." The phone went dead.

So it had begun. She had never worked so hard in her life. Amanda was a cruel woman at even the best of times. Rei had woken up after the first night at Amanda's to find the older woman had shaved her head bald. When Rei demanded an explanation Amanda had told her simply that she would act refined or she would be left on the side of the road in a sack like an unwanted puppy and green hair was not refined.

If she made mistakes she was slapped. Errors were not permitted, either in physical execution of the lessons or in her daily work managing the business affairs Amanda had her oversee. Amanda did not brook argument or insolence but was a knowledgeable teacher and Rei had, though slowly at first, gradually gotten better and better. She knew she could never reach Akari's skill level, but she had finally found her passion.