Prompt Exchange #1: The Princess(es) and the Closet
Oct 18, 2015 18:45:15 GMT
StarlightDragons, Csigabiga, and 5 more like this
Post by ichthyophobia on Oct 18, 2015 18:45:15 GMT
Prompt: Two characters of the same sex are hiding in a closet. One of them has something on their head. Must include the word "rumor".
Title: The Princess(es) and the Closet (though I reserve the right to change this if I think of anything marginally less stupid sounding. )
Word Count: 1277
It's dark.
That's sort of obvious, Ran thinks, so she doesn't say it out loud, but it's true anyway. It's dark, and even though they've been in here long enough for her eyes to adjust, it's not getting much lighter. She can still see Sonoko, pale hair gleaming in the light from around the edges of the door, but that's not much help. This whole thing is Sonoko's idea, but she hasn't bothered to explain why, exactly, they're in a supply closet quite yet; Ran's just going along because Shinichi was a jerk today and Sokoko is her best other best friend.
It's hard being eight, sometimes.
Sonoko presses her ear to the door, listening closely to what's on the other side. Ran could tell her that easily enough – it's their teacher, grading their assignments, exactly like she's been doing for the past twenty minutes. She knows it's her because she talks to herself softly as she goes over the answers.
But that's enough noise that Ran doesn't fear being overheard.
“What are we waiting for?” she asks, in the softest whisper she can manage. Sonoko puts a finger to her lips in answer, and Ran humphs, and crosses her arms irritably. “I'm not helping you if you don't tell me!”
“Ssh!” Sonoko answers. “We're listening.”
“For what?”
“For Sensei's secret boyfriend!”
Ran pauses a moment. “Shinichi-kun said she doesn't...”
“Shinichi-kun thinks the janitor is a drug dealer,” Sonoko hisses in response. “He reads too many books, and not the right ones at all. Besides, what does he know? Hana-chan from class 3-A said that Hiroshi-kun from 2-C saw him.”
“...I think that's just a rumor, Sonoko-chan.”
“An un-sub-stand-yated rumor,” Sonoko proclaims, clearly quoting. Clearly quoting Shinichi, in fact.
“Unsubstantiated?”
“That's what I said. It means it hasn't been proven yet.”
“So we're spying on her to prove it?”
“Yes.”
“Oh.” Ran nods. “Okay.”
They wait, crouched in the dark for a few moments longer, before a thought occurs to Ran.
“Sonoko-chan?”
“What?”
“What are we going to do if they catch us?”
Sonoko pauses. She clearly hadn't thought about that. “They won't.”
“But what if they do?”
“We... Hmm.” Her eyes narrow into slits, glinting in the low light. She thinks for a moment, then grabs her bookbag. She sorts through until she pulls out something pink that glimmers with thin strands of tinsel.
“Is that a wig?”
“It's a Princess Tiara Moonbeam wig,” Sonoko says, and pulls it on over her hair. She tucks up her short hair underneath it and straightens it on her head. “I was gonna show you earlier, but then you and Shinichi-kun...”
“Right. Yes.” Ran looks away. “You think it'll work?”
“Ran-chan,” Sonoko puts both hands on Ran's shoulder. The wig twinkles. “This is an art. A fine art. The fine art of disguise.” She looks very serious underneath all that pink. “Of course it will work.”
Ran's not so sure about that. But Sonoko's her best other best friend, and that means trusting her even when Ran thinks she's wrong. Besides. Princess Tiara Moonbeam is a good show. She nods firmly.
“Do you have one for me?”
Sonoko grins. “You can be Princess Solar Diamond!”
Princess Solar Diamond's wig is tangled, and doesn't quite work as well on Ran as the pink wig does on Sonoko. Her hair is too long, so it doesn't tuck nicely under. Still, Ran imagines that the gold and tinsel looks very striking in her dark hair anyway. She wishes she had a mirror.
“There,” Sonoko says. “Now if they catch us, they'll never know it was us!”
“Right.” Ran says, absently playing with the tinsel. “Do we need a cover story?”
Sonoko pauses. “What's a cover story?”
“It's like... It's a lie that everyone agrees on,” says Ran. She's not sure, really; she learned the term from Shinichi. “Like, Shinichi-kun says that the janitor being a janitor is a cover story.”
Sonoko scowls. “He is a janitor. I saw him cleaning. Drug dealers don't clean things.”
“Yeah, I know,” says Ran. “But if they catch us, we both need to say the same things.”
“Right.” Sonoko thinks. “Maybe we could...”
There's a noise like a door opening in the room outside, and both girls snap to attention. Sonoko puts her eye to the crack at the edge of the door, and Ran follows quickly enough.
There's a man that neither of them recognizes standing in the doorway, smiling down at their teacher. Sonoko gasps as Sensei looks up and smiles back at him. Ran can practically feel the words secret boyfriend vibrating off Sonoko in glee. Ran can't help feeling smugly satisfied too, because this means Shinichi was wrong.
“Nii-chan!” their teacher says.
Both girls immediately deflate.
Her brother? All this fuss about her brother? Sonoko slumps against the door in disappointment, and Ran pats her comfortingly on the shoulder.
“That's boring,” whispers Sonoko. “There's nothing scandalous about a brother.”
And he hears her.
His head swings around, snapping to attention in the same sort of way Shinichi's does when he finds a clue, intelligent gaze pointed straight at the closet door. Sensei catches it, and looks as well. Ran draws back quickly and Sonoko freezes.
“Oh no.”
“Hello?” Sensei asks. “Is someone there?”
Her brother is not quite as concerned with asking. He steps forward confidently, and Sonoko scuttles back away from the door as he approaches it. Ran stands, prepared to defend her friend with all the karate power her eight-year-old body has to offer.
They're not quite prepared for the door opening. After so long in the dark, the light outside is fairly blinding, and both girls wince backwards. Ran recovers first to look up at the confused man holding the door of the office supply closet open.
“...Hello there,” he says. “And who are you two?”
Ran freezes. Sonoko doesn't.
“I am Princess Tiara Moonbeam!” Sonoko nearly shouts, quoting from the show. “Starlight defender of Love and Friendship!” She yanks Ran closer. “This is Princess Solar Diamond.”
“Starlight defender of Justice and Peace, yes,” Sensei says, coming up behind her brother and very clearly trying not to laugh. “Ran-chan, what are you doing in the closet?”
“...Defending Justice and Peace,” Ran mumbles.
“Right.” Sensei kneels. “Well. I'd like you two to meet my brother. He's a police officer, so he's defending justice and peace too.”
“Good to meet you,” Ran mumbles. Her face feels like it's burning with the blush.
“Sonoko-chan, was this your idea?”
“I don't know any Sonoko-chans,” Sonoko proclaims. “I'm Princess Tiara Moonbeam.”
“Alright. Princess Tiara Moonbeam-chan, was this your idea?”
“...Yes.”
“Right.” Sensei's brother shakes his head. “As thrilled as I am to meet royalty, you two need to head home. There's gonna be a lot of policemen around here before long.”
“...Why?” Ran asks, narrowing her eyes.
“We're going to catch a bad man tonight.”
“Is it the janitor?”
He blinks. “...How'd you know?”
Both of the girls just groan.
Shinichi is going to be insufferable after this.
“I'll... tell you later,” Sensei says. She looks to the girls. “I'll make sure the girls get out safely. We can catch up later.”
“Right.” He nods.
“Best of luck,” she says. “Ready to go, princesses?”
“...Yes Sensei,” the two girls say in unison.
Sensei sends them off with a roundabout lecture on both spying and lying. Sonoko tells Ran to keep the wig, and they can play magical girls some time tomorrow, since neither of them are going to be talking to Shinichi at all if they can help it.
And the next day, they're right on one thing, at least.
Shinichi is insufferable.
A.N.: Hopefully that was something like what the prompter was thinking. Technically, both of the girls ended up with something on their heads, so sorry for deviating from the prompt there.
Title: The Princess(es) and the Closet (though I reserve the right to change this if I think of anything marginally less stupid sounding. )
Word Count: 1277
It's dark.
That's sort of obvious, Ran thinks, so she doesn't say it out loud, but it's true anyway. It's dark, and even though they've been in here long enough for her eyes to adjust, it's not getting much lighter. She can still see Sonoko, pale hair gleaming in the light from around the edges of the door, but that's not much help. This whole thing is Sonoko's idea, but she hasn't bothered to explain why, exactly, they're in a supply closet quite yet; Ran's just going along because Shinichi was a jerk today and Sokoko is her best other best friend.
It's hard being eight, sometimes.
Sonoko presses her ear to the door, listening closely to what's on the other side. Ran could tell her that easily enough – it's their teacher, grading their assignments, exactly like she's been doing for the past twenty minutes. She knows it's her because she talks to herself softly as she goes over the answers.
But that's enough noise that Ran doesn't fear being overheard.
“What are we waiting for?” she asks, in the softest whisper she can manage. Sonoko puts a finger to her lips in answer, and Ran humphs, and crosses her arms irritably. “I'm not helping you if you don't tell me!”
“Ssh!” Sonoko answers. “We're listening.”
“For what?”
“For Sensei's secret boyfriend!”
Ran pauses a moment. “Shinichi-kun said she doesn't...”
“Shinichi-kun thinks the janitor is a drug dealer,” Sonoko hisses in response. “He reads too many books, and not the right ones at all. Besides, what does he know? Hana-chan from class 3-A said that Hiroshi-kun from 2-C saw him.”
“...I think that's just a rumor, Sonoko-chan.”
“An un-sub-stand-yated rumor,” Sonoko proclaims, clearly quoting. Clearly quoting Shinichi, in fact.
“Unsubstantiated?”
“That's what I said. It means it hasn't been proven yet.”
“So we're spying on her to prove it?”
“Yes.”
“Oh.” Ran nods. “Okay.”
They wait, crouched in the dark for a few moments longer, before a thought occurs to Ran.
“Sonoko-chan?”
“What?”
“What are we going to do if they catch us?”
Sonoko pauses. She clearly hadn't thought about that. “They won't.”
“But what if they do?”
“We... Hmm.” Her eyes narrow into slits, glinting in the low light. She thinks for a moment, then grabs her bookbag. She sorts through until she pulls out something pink that glimmers with thin strands of tinsel.
“Is that a wig?”
“It's a Princess Tiara Moonbeam wig,” Sonoko says, and pulls it on over her hair. She tucks up her short hair underneath it and straightens it on her head. “I was gonna show you earlier, but then you and Shinichi-kun...”
“Right. Yes.” Ran looks away. “You think it'll work?”
“Ran-chan,” Sonoko puts both hands on Ran's shoulder. The wig twinkles. “This is an art. A fine art. The fine art of disguise.” She looks very serious underneath all that pink. “Of course it will work.”
Ran's not so sure about that. But Sonoko's her best other best friend, and that means trusting her even when Ran thinks she's wrong. Besides. Princess Tiara Moonbeam is a good show. She nods firmly.
“Do you have one for me?”
Sonoko grins. “You can be Princess Solar Diamond!”
Princess Solar Diamond's wig is tangled, and doesn't quite work as well on Ran as the pink wig does on Sonoko. Her hair is too long, so it doesn't tuck nicely under. Still, Ran imagines that the gold and tinsel looks very striking in her dark hair anyway. She wishes she had a mirror.
“There,” Sonoko says. “Now if they catch us, they'll never know it was us!”
“Right.” Ran says, absently playing with the tinsel. “Do we need a cover story?”
Sonoko pauses. “What's a cover story?”
“It's like... It's a lie that everyone agrees on,” says Ran. She's not sure, really; she learned the term from Shinichi. “Like, Shinichi-kun says that the janitor being a janitor is a cover story.”
Sonoko scowls. “He is a janitor. I saw him cleaning. Drug dealers don't clean things.”
“Yeah, I know,” says Ran. “But if they catch us, we both need to say the same things.”
“Right.” Sonoko thinks. “Maybe we could...”
There's a noise like a door opening in the room outside, and both girls snap to attention. Sonoko puts her eye to the crack at the edge of the door, and Ran follows quickly enough.
There's a man that neither of them recognizes standing in the doorway, smiling down at their teacher. Sonoko gasps as Sensei looks up and smiles back at him. Ran can practically feel the words secret boyfriend vibrating off Sonoko in glee. Ran can't help feeling smugly satisfied too, because this means Shinichi was wrong.
“Nii-chan!” their teacher says.
Both girls immediately deflate.
Her brother? All this fuss about her brother? Sonoko slumps against the door in disappointment, and Ran pats her comfortingly on the shoulder.
“That's boring,” whispers Sonoko. “There's nothing scandalous about a brother.”
And he hears her.
His head swings around, snapping to attention in the same sort of way Shinichi's does when he finds a clue, intelligent gaze pointed straight at the closet door. Sensei catches it, and looks as well. Ran draws back quickly and Sonoko freezes.
“Oh no.”
“Hello?” Sensei asks. “Is someone there?”
Her brother is not quite as concerned with asking. He steps forward confidently, and Sonoko scuttles back away from the door as he approaches it. Ran stands, prepared to defend her friend with all the karate power her eight-year-old body has to offer.
They're not quite prepared for the door opening. After so long in the dark, the light outside is fairly blinding, and both girls wince backwards. Ran recovers first to look up at the confused man holding the door of the office supply closet open.
“...Hello there,” he says. “And who are you two?”
Ran freezes. Sonoko doesn't.
“I am Princess Tiara Moonbeam!” Sonoko nearly shouts, quoting from the show. “Starlight defender of Love and Friendship!” She yanks Ran closer. “This is Princess Solar Diamond.”
“Starlight defender of Justice and Peace, yes,” Sensei says, coming up behind her brother and very clearly trying not to laugh. “Ran-chan, what are you doing in the closet?”
“...Defending Justice and Peace,” Ran mumbles.
“Right.” Sensei kneels. “Well. I'd like you two to meet my brother. He's a police officer, so he's defending justice and peace too.”
“Good to meet you,” Ran mumbles. Her face feels like it's burning with the blush.
“Sonoko-chan, was this your idea?”
“I don't know any Sonoko-chans,” Sonoko proclaims. “I'm Princess Tiara Moonbeam.”
“Alright. Princess Tiara Moonbeam-chan, was this your idea?”
“...Yes.”
“Right.” Sensei's brother shakes his head. “As thrilled as I am to meet royalty, you two need to head home. There's gonna be a lot of policemen around here before long.”
“...Why?” Ran asks, narrowing her eyes.
“We're going to catch a bad man tonight.”
“Is it the janitor?”
He blinks. “...How'd you know?”
Both of the girls just groan.
Shinichi is going to be insufferable after this.
“I'll... tell you later,” Sensei says. She looks to the girls. “I'll make sure the girls get out safely. We can catch up later.”
“Right.” He nods.
“Best of luck,” she says. “Ready to go, princesses?”
“...Yes Sensei,” the two girls say in unison.
Sensei sends them off with a roundabout lecture on both spying and lying. Sonoko tells Ran to keep the wig, and they can play magical girls some time tomorrow, since neither of them are going to be talking to Shinichi at all if they can help it.
And the next day, they're right on one thing, at least.
Shinichi is insufferable.
A.N.: Hopefully that was something like what the prompter was thinking. Technically, both of the girls ended up with something on their heads, so sorry for deviating from the prompt there.