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░ NAME :: Serena L. Uemura
❛save it for a rainy day❜
░ LOCATION :: At her house
"If ever there is tomorrow when we’re not together, there is something you must always remember ;; ┏ ━ ━ ━ ━ ━ ━ ━ ━ ━ ━ ━ ━ ━ ━ ━ ━ ━ ━ ━ ━ ━ ━ ━ ━ ━ ━ ━ ━ ━ ━ ━ ━ ━ ━ ━ ━ ━ ━ ━ ━ ━ ━ ┓
"Wait! Ryu come back! I-I can explain!" The girl reached out her hand towards the boy with his back turned to her, fists clenched. "NO! THERE IS NOTHING TO EXPLAIN. Your body.. your naked body pressed up against his.. it said enough." The boy barked, head snapping around, fists shaking with rage. "Ryu please! I can explain!" "No! This is it, Sakura. We're through." Tears began to pour from the girls eyes. "Ryu, please.." The boy turned to face her, his expression showing no remorse. "Goodbye, Sakura."
"Lame!" 'Click!' The television screen instantly changed to show a couple in a restaurant, the boy on his knees with the girl putting a ring on her finger. "Oh, Daisuke! I do! I do! Ever since I first laid eyes on you I just-" "OH CYNTHIA!" The boy cut her off, sweeping her into his arms and planting a loving kiss on her. "Cliche." 'Click!' The girl frowned. 'Click! Click! Click! Click! Click!' "DAMNIT!" The girl threw down the remote on the ground, furiously, causing the batteries to fall out of the back and roll across the floor. The girl crossed her arms over her chest and let out a huff of frusteration. "Why is there never anything good on?!" She mumbled to herself, fingers tapping against her arm.
The girl looked to be around sixteen or seventeen years of age. She was sprawled out across the couch, a light beige blanket draped over her legs. Her arms were crossed over her chest and her long, pink hair draped over her shoulders, a stray strand in front of her face. The girl blew at the strand which flew up and then came to rest in front of her nose once again. The girl uncrossed her arms and used a free hand to tuck the free strand back behind her ears. "Stupid re-runs." She mumbled under her breathe as she turned her attention back to the television screen, now playing infomercials. The girl exhaled, the anger leaving her system momentarily, having found something satisfying to listen to.
Meet Serena Uemura. Although this may seem like a typical Monday afternoon, after school hours, for most teenagers, for Serena it was her daily routine. She was on a self-declared bed rest with no set deadline. Her days would consist of waking up, flipping on the television and waiting for her mother to come in and feed her breakfast. They'd watch the news together while they ate in silence before her mother would kiss her farewell before heading out to drop her brother off at school and then head to work. Her brother would come bounding down the stairs, wave a hurried goodbye at her, before heading out to meet their mother in the car. After a few hours of watching some old, insipid re-runs of CSI or Law and Order. Crime shows kept Serena amused for a while; at least until lunch. Her father would come home from work during the middle of the day to feed her. He'd leave early in the morning for work before Serena would wake up so she wouldn't see him until then. He'd sit with her for a while, trying to make small talk - usually lasting for no more than a few minutes due to Serena's short, laconic answers. Her father would leave for work and Serena would filp to the afternoon show listings which usually consisted on catching up with her favorite asian soaps. She could only watch these for so long though before they made her irritable, like presently.
Unlike most ordinary teenage girls, who were at school during the day, playing sports in the aftenoon, working during the evening, or even catching up with friends over the weekend, Serena had none of that, or rather, she chose not to. Serena used to have all of that, everything a young teenage girl would want - to be well-liked, popular with the boys, successful in school, etc. Unfortunately, that all changed once she found out about her "condition". Saying Serena was a bit of a clutz would be an understatement. She'd trip and fall all the time and had no coordination whatsoever. She'd always laugh it off like it was nothing but Serena's mother was concerned so she brought her into the doctors where they ran a few tests.
When Serena was only fifteen years old she was diagnosed with spinocerebellar ataxia - a terrible disease where the cerebellum of the brain gradually deteriorates to the point where the victim cannot walk, speak, write, or eat. A cruel disease, as it does not affect the mind in the least. This disease is known to result in early death.
At only fifteen years old, Serena's life completely changed. Much like the grieving process, at first Serena and her family were in complete denial. They went from doctor to doctor, seeking out confirmation, insisting that there must be a mistake. They went to the best of the best but it was always the same answer: "We're sorry, but your daughter has spinocerebellar ataxia."
At first, Serena continued to be in denial. Her family began to absorb the information much more quickly than she was able to and it pained them to see Serena so distraught. Serena played pretend though for about two to three months; she acted like nothing was wrong, still refusing to believe her diagnosis. She'd prove everyone wrong - the doctors, her family, everyone. She was fine. One day, she was rough-housing with her brother, chasing him around back with a super soaker, when she tripped out of nowhere. Serena had had no control - her body had completely acted on it's own and froze her. Serena wound up with a sprained wrist. Her family bandaged her up on the couch, asking if she was okay and reassuring her that it would heal up quick. It was then that Serena first cried. It was unfair, why was it her? Why was she the one who had to suffer? What had she done to deserve this? Her family just sat in pained silence, not knowing what to do or say to comfort Serena except that it was going to be okay. Serena knew though, Serena knew it was not..
After that day things changed. Serena insisted on dropping out of school - if she was dying there was no point. She broke up with her boyfriend, distanced herself from her friends, and confined herself to the same couch that she sits on today. After that day, she changed. Her family lost their once happy, optimistic, cheerful daughter who brought everyone so much joy. Now, she was static, emotionless, bitter. Nothing seemed of interest to her anymore, except the television. Serena could get lost for hours watching, and re-watching, and in turn, living, and re-living the stories and tales of what she wished could be her life. Asian soaps were her favorite - the romance of it all was so intreguing to her. The main characters always reminded her of herself. She could relate to them, and in her mind she became them, even if only a short while. Eventually though, we all have to face reality..
Now was one of those moments where Serena had grown frusterated. She'd come out of her fantasies to face her reality - death. There was no "happily ever after" for her. Not now, not ever. Family, friends, love? It was all pointless. Serena had completely isolated herself from society - even her own family. She was now seventeen years old. For almost two years she'd been sitting in the same place, getting up to use the bathroom, maybe doing some stretching to keep her joints and muscles from growing stiff. Other than that though, she never left. As far as she was concerned, this would be where she would spend her remaining days.
"Serena!" Serena's head turned to find her mother heading towards her with a smile on her face. "Honey! Look what came for you in the mail!" 'The mail? Nothing ever comes for me in the mail.' Serena frowned. "Oh." Serena's mother's excitement lessened at her daughters unresponsiveness. Her hesitancy only lasted a moment though - after months of dealing with this kind of attitude, she was used to keeping optimistic. "Here, honey! Why don't you open it?!" Serena's mother stretched her hand out with the letter, offering it to her daughter. "Later.." Serena glanced at the letter before turning her head back to the television with the reply. Serena's mother gave a faint smile. "Alright.. well, I'll just leave it here then." Out of her peripheral vision, Serena saw her mother place the letter down on the table next to her before heading back to the kitchen.
For about ten minutes or so Serena ignored the letter, paying attention to the informercials. Serena reached out her hand to the left, seeking out her cup of water with a bendy straw her mother had gotten for her earlier without looking away from the television; however, after several moments her brow furrowed in frusteration at not being able to find it. Serena finally looked away to find it was on the opposite side of the table. She reached across for it and grabbed it, pulling it towards her and taking a sip before looking back towards the television; however, once again, her peripheral vision caught her, making her do a double take at the letter which she'd completely forgot about. She eyed the letter, mouth pursed over her straw, not taking any sips, brow furrowed in thought. Who in their right minds would be sending her a letter? In fact, Serena didn't think she'd recieved a letter in the mail in her entire life! It was just so.. old fashioned. Nowadays people had cell phones and computers, there was no need for handwritten letters. Serena had recieved mail addressed to her before - bank statements and other such important business letters; however, her mother usually just took care of those for her. About a whole minute passed before Serena finally decided to reach out for it with her free hand. She shifted her body to sit up in a criss-cross-apple-sauce position, mouth pursed over her straw, other hand holding the letter in her lap.
Indeed, the letter was addressed to her. There was no mistake about that. Serena looked at the name of the sender:
Mediacrocy Producer NBC Network Director P.O. BOX 24152, #1B Hollywood, CA, USA
Serena raised her eyebrow, removing her straw from her lips and reaching to the left to place it on the table, letting her other hand come down to hold the other half of the letter. Serena stared at it. Hollywood? What would someone from Hollywood want with her? Surely there had to be some mistake. Serena waited a minute, as if opening the letter was a matter of life or death, before finally turning the envelope over and opening up the letter. Serena finally got the letter open and pulled out a white loose-leaf sheet of paper. The words on it were neatly printed and there was gold trim along the sides. Serena began to read to herself. No sooner had she skimmed past the greeting, her eyes widened in shock to find that she was being invited to partake in a new reality show. "What the hell is this? You have got to be kidding me. This is a joke, right?" Serenan continued reading and raised her eyebrow. "Undisclosed location?" So far the whole letter was sounding like a scam or foul prank of some sort. Serena finished up reading through the letter before leaning back into the couch and staring ahead at the wall in complete and utter disbelief. There was a moment of silence before she looked back down at the letter angrily before crumpling it up in a little ball and chucking it against the wall she'd just been staring at.
"WHAT KIND OF A SICK JOKE IS THIS?!" Serena barked, voice raised. "Who in their right minds would send a stupid prank like that to someone whose dying?! Have they no shame?! God!" Serena crossed her arms over her chest and shifted so that her knees were up against her chest and her back was leaned against the arm of the couch. "Serena?! Is everything okay?!" "I'm fine!" Serena called back, irritably as her mother's head peeked out from the kitchen doorway to check up on her daughter. Upon seeing everything was alright, the head retreated back into the kitchen, satisfied. Serena breathed heavily, her anger overexerting her a bit. It wasn't as if she got regular excersise. 'Well whoever sent me that stupid fake invitation, I hope their happy. Obviously they wanted a reaction and they sure as hell got one. No way I'm calling those ******** back. They can go to hell.' Serena thought bitterly to herself. Even if the invitation had been real, she would have given the same response. There was no way she could participate in such an event; surely there was a mistake of some sort. Why would they bother asking a dying girl to join?
"Stupid." Serena breathed.
Meanwhile, while Serena went back to watching her informercial, thinking that she'd heard the last of the "mediocracy" producer, outside her house a shiny, white limo pulled up. The driver got out and opened the door. A tall, young man in a polished, white suit got out cleared his throat. Upon clearing, from the other side of the limo about six or seven men emerged, one of them carrying a rolled up, red carpet. The men sprawled the carpet out up to the doorway before lining up next to the mat, hands behind their backs waiting for further instruction. The man in the white suit walked up the carpet like nobody's business, the men following behind him in an orderly fashion while the driver closed the car doors and waited.
Serena was listening to an elderly man rave about a new cooking utensil when all of a sudden the doorbell rang. Serena's head glanced to the side. She heard muffled voices and then heard her mother let out an audible squeal before inviting whoever it was to come in. Serena directed her attention back to the screen, thinking nothing of it. No sooner had she done so; however, her mother's head peered out from the kitchen. "Serena, honey! There's someone here to see you!" Serena's brow lifted and she sat up, a perplexed expression on her face. "For me?" Her mother giggled before a man in a white suit emerged behind her along with several men. While Serena's mother called her father and brother down from the stairwell, Serena was left alone with the strangers. "Um.. who are you?" Serena asked, completely baffled by the sudden appearance of these strangers. First the letter and now this? Today was turning out to be quite .. well.. out of the ordinary to say the least. The man smiled before outstretching his hand to shake. "Hello. You are Miss Serena Uemura I presume?" Serena hesitantly shook his hand before nodding. "Excellent! My sources tell me you've recieved our invitation?" Serena just stared up at the man, flabbergasted. "What?" The man simply smiled. "Mediocracy?" He stole a glance towards the television where by the wall beside it was the crumpled up letter. It finally dawned on Serena who these men were and she scowled, arms crossing over her chest. "Perhaps." The man chuckled. "Don't worry, miss. I mean no harm. I simply wish to know your reply. Will you join us in this mystical adventure?" He flashed a smile, his teeth sparkling almost as brightly as Chip Skylark's.
Serena didn't reply. She was a bit too mesmirized by the absurdity of everything and was having a difficult time taking it in, as well as being distracted by the man's slicked back, Grease hair and Fairly-Oddparents smile. It took her a moment but she finally came to her senses. "No." She replied, bluntly. The man frowned at her quickness to turn the offer down. "What? Miss, you do realize this is a once in a lifetime opportunity, right? Surely you wouldn't turn down such an amazing opportunity?! Think of the adventure, the excitement, the romance of it all! ... Plus, the money?" The man said all this with extreme arm movements and gave a little wink and eyebrow raise at the end. 'He must be Italian.' Serena thought. "No." She whispered, cooly. The man was a bit taken aback but he quickly re-composed himself. "Ahem, well.. this is certainly a first. It seems that despite my pristine advertising skills you still are unsold. Serena nodded in approval. "Well, in that case, you leave me no choice." Before Serena had any time to react, the man in the white suit snapped and the several men around him lept on Serena. "HEY! WHAT THE-MOM! DAD! HELP! AHH!" Serena cried as the men struggled to contain her as they began to follow the man in the white suit out. "GET YOUR HANDS OFF ME! MOM, DAD! DO SOMETHING!" Serena caught sight of her parents and little brother by the door, smiling happily.
"Oh, honey, don't worry! This is for your best interests. It will be good for you!" Her mother chidded, her father nodding in agreement. "Yeah, sis! Hollywood! If you go, I'll be known as the cool little brother of the blossoming star! Think of all the possibilities!" Her brother agreed, enthusiastically. "It's for the best." Her father encouraged. Serena couldn't believe her ears but she didn't have time to comprehend any of this or even react because the men were soon carrying her out her front door and into the limo, door held open by the driver. Despite her shouts of protest and relentless kicking and screaming, the men were able to get her in the cab and lock the door. The man in the white suit followed, giving a reassuring nod and wave at the family before stepping in the limo himself before the driver shut the doors, hopped in as well, and drove off.
[ TIME SKIP ]
After around an hour of relentlessly shouting at the men to release her, threatening to call the authorities for kidnap of a minor, and ranting on about how they'd be sorry but to no avail, the man in the white suit ordered one of the men trying to prevent her from jumping out the window to get the "secret weapon". Before Serena had time to ask what the secret weapon was or even react to what the man had said, she found a hankerchief being pressed up to her face and about ten seconds later everything went black.
A good amount of time later (most likely lasting overnight and into the next day, Tuesday) Serena began to come to. She felt heavy set arms lifting her and placing her gently on a hard surface. Serena groaned as the hands left her and the sound of an automobile driving away filtered through her ears. Serena turned to the side, lifting herself up and rubbing her eyes, trying to let them adjust to the daytime light. Once adjusted, Serena found herself in a completely different neighborhood, dumped outside a house unfarmilliar to her. "Where.. am I?" Serena asked herself, blinking furiously to make sure her eyes weren't decieving her. She rubbed at them. Still nothing. She groaned, the realization that everything before she'd blacked out had been real coming to haunt her. Serena grabbed her forehead and looked down to see a small note on her stomach. She grabbed the note eagerly and read it: "Miss Serena, I'm sorry I had to resort to those methods but you left me no choice. You are now at the undisclosed location of Mediocracy. Please cooperate and try to have fun. - Producers Assistant" Serena just gaped. What the hell was this? She'd been kidnapped and taken away from her own house against her will and now she was in the middle of nowhere! Serena felt as though she was about to cry; however, something in her peripheral vision (yet again) stopped her. She turned to the side, distracted, to see yet another note. This one, pinned to the door in front of her. She suddenly realized that she was dumped on the front entrance to someone's house. Serena quickly got up, dusting herself off before walking forward and reading the note.
Serena's eyes widened as she read through the letter. "THIS IS CRAZY!" She exclaimed, not knowing what else to say. Serena turned around and looked in all directions, trying to find a car or someone who might be able to help her - a police officer, someone trustworthy; however, the street was completely empty and Serena figured it wasn't in her best interest to go exploring when she had no food or drink or.. well.. anything - not to mention the fact that she was sick and dying! Who knew where the nearest hospital was if something happened! Serena took a deep breathe and closed her eyes. "Okay Serena, you can do this. Just take a deep breathe.' Serena let herself take several before opening her eyes back with a fresh, clear mind and turning back to the note. First things first, she should probably claim a room. Who knew how long she'd be there for. Of course, the first thing on Serena's TO-DO list was to try to escape or find a way out of there; in the meantime though, she needed to survive. Serena tried the door to find it unlocked and headed inside.
Serena found a stairway and went upstairs, figuring the bedrooms were up there. There were several doors on the floor so she had to wander a bit before she finally found a room - an avaliable room. On her way she passed by a very voluptuous woman with long, dark hair leaving a room next to the one she'd found. On the door was a sign that read: "This room belongs to Naomi Duval-- claimed. You've been warned." Serena gulped before hurrying into the room next door. She looked around for a pen and a paper of her own; she supposed she needed a note too. She quickly found a pen and paper on the desk and scribbled a quick note on it before looking around for something to stick it to the door with. "Damnit! Where's some tape when I need it!?!" Suddenly, an idea came to her - a very daring idea. Serena stopped dead in her tracks, pondering over it a moment before standing up straight and heading back into the hallway and to the room next to her. 'Every girl for herself, right?' She thought before removing the girl's tape and using it to stick her own sign up on her door. She hesitated, looking at the other woman's sign on the floor.
┗━ ━ ━ ━ ━ ━ ━ ━ ━ ━ ━ ━ ━ ━ ━ ━ ━ ━ ━ ━ ━ ━ ━ ━ ━ ━ ━ ━ ━ ━ ━ ━ ━ ━ ━ ━ ━ ━ ━ ━ ━ ━ ┛ The most important thing is, even if we’re apart, i’ll always be with you.." xx- Winnie the Pooh
Princess Kitaaa · Fri Aug 20, 2010 @ 09:00pm · 0 Comments |
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