"10 seconds 'til we're back on." The producer called, holding up his hand so the host could see through his glass window. The blonde gave a thumbs up, adjusting his headphones around his glasses as the last few seconds of the song faded out.
"...and that, my faithful listeners, was The Box by the rapidly rising American rapper, Roddy Ricch. Yeah! Definitely an artist I'll be keeping an eye on, and I hope you will too. A great choice by an equally wonderful requester, thanks for calling in." Present Mic belted out his in-between song spiel with ease, leaning back in his chair and dragging the adjustable mic closer so his voice wouldn't sound further away.
"Up next we've got a hot and hoppin' song coming straight from UK. Dua Lipa's very own...Break My Heart. Right after, we'll be taking our final song request for the night, but don't you worry. We'll be back on the air tomorrow evening with the very best songs out there."
Seeing the producer's signal, the music kicked back on and Mic's own equipment was muted. He reached for his water bottle and let out a sigh. It had been a long night, but he was nearly done. From his perch in the DJ's seat, it was obvious that the rest of the staff were tired too.
Fridays tended to be their busiest and most popular day of the week, since they opened their call-in lines for listeners to request their picks for what to play. It gave the studio time to prepare for the next week's line up, but left the interns and archivists to scramble to meet the listener's requests. Some obscure songs were more difficult than others to find, especially since the station was one of the hottest in Musutafu and they needed to have a lot on record.
Mic closed his eyes and relaxed into his chair. So close to 11, he was looking forward to getting home and going to sleep. Then, he frowned. Fuck, he'd forgotten to do the laundry. His hero costume wasn't currently clean, and he'd scheduled to patrol in the afternoon with Eraserhead. Do it tonight or when he woke up tomorrow? Hnn...
He grabbed his phone, skimming through the various texts that had popped up since the last time he checked. Nothing particularly interesting. Swiping away the ones from old hookups he didn't care to talk with again, he tapped on Minori's name. Their conversation thread pulled up. Jeez. 8 missed texts.
I was thinking...we talked about the Butagumi before, we should have dinner there. Only if you want to, of course.
If not there, then maybe Sushi Saito? I've heard their Unagi is to die for.
Or it doesn't even have to be dinner! Whatever you're up for. I'm open to anything.
Mic grimaced, a bit put off by the desperate way she tried so hard to force a date. He'd just seen her two days ago, and he was already on the verge of moving on. Minori was a bit too eager to please. Definitely not his style.
"Live in 10." Was the producer's warning, and Mic put his phone away, not bothering to answer the messages. He'd deal with her later. How much later? Not really on his mind at the moment.
The host sat up straighter to finish out the night, clearing his throat to prepare. The producer gave him another signal. "Caller on line 2."
He waited, eyes trained on the red 'LIVE' sign above the window. It lit up and he transitioned back into his host persona with ease. With a press on his panel, he connected with the lucky listener who'd called in.
"Thanks for listening to Put Your Hands Up Radio for the latest and greatest in the music industry. Welcome to the broadcast, listener! Care to share your name with those tuning in?"
"Uh, yeah. It's Jane."
The corner of the host's mouth twitched, and he shared an amused glance with their producer through the window. The older man rolled his eyes, shaking his head in obvious annoyance. Well, now, if that voice and name weren't familiar...
"And how are you this fine evening?"
"I'm not bad. Just listening to the show while stuck at work by myself."
"Pleasure to have you on the show, Jane. You're the last call of the night, lucky ducky! I'm hopin' you'll send us off to the weekend with somethin' good. What song is your soul yearnin' for tonight?"
He prepared himself for whatever terrible suggestion she'd have this time around. And she certainly didn't disappoint.
"I've really been wanting to hear Friday by Rebecca Black...if you wouldn't mind? Kind of fitting given the day."
Dear lord.
"I'm sure our producers can put it on for you." He surmised in his usual enthusiastic tone, managing to suppress the burst of laughter that threatened to bubble up from his chest. The interns were groaning from the other side of the glass, he could tell. He'd been expecting terrible, but even this was a new low from the studio's infamous caller. "But...not feeling any Lord Huron? Or, even the Beatles? Something classic to send us off for the night?"
"Um, no? Not really a big fan of them..."
"Oof, you're breakin' my heart, Jane." He said with a wince. "Anyway, looks like it's about time to wrap up for the night. Always a delight to hear from you, listener. Hope you call in again sometime soon."
He clicked the line button to hang up on her, and proceeded with his closing remarks for the night. "As we send you off with Rebecca Black's Friday, please do tune in next time for some quality music to get your through the day, and join us here next Friday with your song requests. I'm Present Mic and you've been listening to Put Your Hands Up Radio. Yeah! Goodnight, everyone!"
The 'LIVE's sign went dark, and he took off his headphones with a sigh. What a night it had been. Placing his equipment back where it belonged and turning off his panels, he stood from his seat and grabbed the jacket on the back of his chair.
The producer approached as soon as he stepped out of the host room, interns and production staff members scurrying around to help transfer the airwaves over to the next host for the night.
"You know, the more times she calls in...the less I believe she's just kidding around with us. I think she actually likes these songs. I still can't entirely wrap my head around it."
"It definitely sounds genuine to me." Mic replied with a laugh, smoothing back his long blonde hair. "She's a different sort of person. I can't help but enjoy when we get her on the air."
The producer only gave a long sigh. "Maybe you do, but I'm the one that has to be worried about numbers."
"So what if she calls in with some bad music occasionally?" He thought with a shrug. "Hard to understand why people would want to listen to stuff like that, but hey, it's her request."
"We're supposed to be the radio station with a reputation for the best music around!" He griped, walking with the radio host to the exit. "I'm telling you...if she keeps calling in with these ridiculous requests, we're gonna lose listeners. People aren't going to stick around if we play music like...like this!" He pointed up at the music that could be heard in the overhead speakers.
"We'll have to seriously consider screening her from the call-in line. The interns will be instructed to just hang up on her."
"Come on, don't do that. She's been a dedicated listener for a long time. Plus, how often does she actually get on the air. Once every few months?" Mic lobbied back, frowning a little. "She's a harmless fan. Just let her be."
Unhappy, but knowing that Mic had a lot more sway in the station than perhaps even he did, he let the issue go. For now. "Fine. But the moment I see our ratings or numbers significantly drop because of her, I'm making the decision. No ifs, ands, or buts about it!"
"Sure, sure...Night, everyone!" Mic called, waving backwards at the various staff members lingering near the entrance. They returned the gesture, and he pushed out into Musutafu's city streets. Thankfully, his bachelor pad wasn't that far away. It would be a quick walk home.
"Come on...get in the fucking lock..." Jane muttered, impatient coloring her tone and no doubt making the key she was currently trying to shove into her apartment's door even less likely to slot in correctly. Juggling her bag and the boxes she'd gotten from the mailbox in her other hand, she leaned down to try finagling it into place. Through the door, she could hear the tv on.
Finally, after a good minute and a half of struggling, she managed to slot the key in, and turned it to push inside of the apartment. The back of the couch was facing the door, but she could still see Asuka's arm thrown over the back as she lounged on the cushions. Some animated show was playing at a high volume.
"You couldn't have helped?" Jane gruffed, knowing full well she would have been able to hear the attempts at the doorknob even over the tv's volume, and Asuka lifted her head to peer back at her roommate when the door shut behind her.
"It's the season finale! I can't miss anything." She griped, then immediately turned back to the tv to continue watching her strange animated tv shows. "Besides, you got in."
"Thanks..." She muttered back, letting the couple boxes fall onto the kitchen counter. "These are yours by the way."
"I'll look at them later. Thanks, though."
Letting the bag slide down from her shoulder, Jane tromped down the hallway to her bedroom. The door swung open to reveal the tidy little room that she called her own. Kicking it shut, she toed her her shoes and sighed with relief as her feet were freed from their confines.
The brunette dropped the bag onto the floor by her closet and wasted no further time staying in her work uniform. The white t-shirt and slacks were thrown into the dirty clothes hamper to be washed and replaced by the comfiest pair of sweatpants and tank top available. Passing by her mirror, she stopped and stared at the reflection, frowning at the sight of her stomach hanging a little over the waistband of her sweat pants.
Should I go to the gym?
After a few seconds, she reached down and tugged the pants up a little higher, then smoothed the tank top back over it. There. Now you really couldn't tell.
"Nah..." She concluded out loud, way too lazy to do anything like exercise anyway. Working at the convenience store had her on her feet all day, lifting boxes and staying active anyway. If she wasn't getting paid for it, there was no way in hell she'd do it in her free time.
Returning to the kitchen to grab something to eat, Jane eyed the ridiculous-looking show that her roommate was watching as she passed behind the couch. Nothing on the screen made sense at all, and the voices were impossibly tuned. Her understanding of Japanese was moderate at best, but she'd never heard any Japanese person talk like the characters did.
"I'll never understand you Japanese people and your weird anime fascination." She said flippantly.
"No surprise. Americans lack any culture at all." Asuka shot back smugly from the couch, and Jane couldn't help but snort at the quick comeback.
"Ooh, good one, you big weeb." She said, opening the fridge to see that it was painfully low on food. Well, at least she was scheduled for an extra double shift the next day. Maybe she could justify going to the grocery store afterwards. "Sorry I can't see the art in animated tits and tentacle porn."
"I prefer the term 'Otaku.'" Asuka turned in place, now able to look away since the episode had ended. She grinned in amusement. "And that's just a shame. You're really missing out."
Jane settled on a cup of instant noodles from their pantry cupboard and went to fill it with water. "I'm really not."
"Yes you are. I bet you secretly watch it when I'm not around."
"Ew, am not." Jane replied, her face scrunched up in disgust. "I have a vibrator for that, thanks."
"Yeah, which you use way too often, by the way."
Jane frowned. "How do you know how often I use it?"
"You aren't really the quiet type." Asuka groaned. "Kinda awkward when I'm trying to sleep and I hear you through the walls."
"Quit listening to me masturbate, you freak." Jane said with a chuckle, putting her cup of noodles in the microwave and turning it on. "We're roommates, not star-crossed lesbian lovers."
Asuka shrugged, standing and coming to grab something for herself to eat. "I don't know, my mom sort of thinks we are. Ever since you stayed with us for university, they think you and I are just trying to hide the fact that we're in love."
"Pff...I'm way outta your league." Jane rolled her arms, leaning against the counter and watching Asuka rummage through what was left of the fridge. "You'd be lucky to have me."
"Maybe, if you watched anime..."
"You're never going to convince me to watch that weird-ass shit."
"Then I'm breaking up with you because of irreconcilable differences." She said, taking her cup of yogurt and pulling a spoon from the drawer. She twiddled her fingers behind her, going off to her room down the hallway.
"Uh! I've never been broken up with in my entire life!" Jane called in mock outrage.
"You have now!" Was her distant reply. "Also, we need food!"
"Well, how much do you have? I work a double tomorrow, so maybe we can get away with a bigger shopping trip after I get off work." She said, hearing the microwave ding and opening the door to grab her food.
"Umm, like...2000 yen. I don't get paid until next week." She said with a sigh. "Just one more year of shitty entry level corporate stuff and then I can apply to the bigger places. Then maybe we won't be forced to live off of ramen and convenience store food.
"We'll get there." Jane promised, knowing that while it was luxury living at the moment, they were both on their way up. The convenience store manager was putting a lot of responsibility of Jane recently, and she had high hopes for her future there.
Asuka didn't respond. Grabbing the remote to turn off the tv, since Asuka always forgot, she flipped the lights for the front living room and kitchen area and stalked off towards her room to settle in for the night.
Opening the convenience store in the morning was always a sort of meditative experience for Jane. The manager trusted her enough with the key to the store, so she could open without having to schedule a second employee or arrive himself just to unlock the door. She arrived at 8 am on the dot, as usual.
After sweeping the floor of any dirt and checking inventory, she opened up the register for the day and flipped the sign on the glass door to display 'We're Open!' in bright blue lettering. The repetitive routine was relaxing and never failed to bring up whatever foul mood she found herself in by waking up so early. Jane was certainly not a morning person.
After all the initial tasks were completed, she settled in behind the counter to help the usual rush of early-risers and those on their way to work for the day. Weekends were always less busy during this time, but there was always an hour's period where she'd get a string of people buying nothing but breakfast meals and energy drinks to get them through the morning.
Immediately following the first rush was always a dip in traffic. Jane always took the opportunity to do a second check on inventory and clean where needed. She enjoyed the solitude of working alone, as the store was small enough to not need two workers most of the time, and she really wasn't that social of a creature to begin with.
It was during this mid-morning lull that she was given quite a surprise.
Sweeping up towards the back of the little store, she heard the bell jingle above the doorway, indicating someone had entered the store. "Welcome!" She called, unable to see who it was but still wanting to let them know that she was aware of their presence.
While they browsed for what they wanted, she finished her cleaning and returned to the front counter, waiting to be of service to her newest customer.
From her position up front, she saw the outrage swoop of hair making it's way along the end of the aisles. She frowned, thinking that such a hairstyle was familiar, but not sure who it could have been. Obviously a hero, but who?
The answer came to her as he appeared from the end aisle and approached the register's counter. There was only one hero who sported a signature leather jacket and the giant metal speaker-thing around his neck. Present Mic gave her two finger guns as he set down his energy drinks.
"Yo! An amazing morning to you, listener." He said with a toothy smile. It seemed his radio host persona always stuck around wherever he went. Something about him just filled up a room and demanded all the attention.
Ever the good worker, she nodded and swiped the cans across her scanner. "Good morning to you as well."
She saw the way he raised a brow, no doubt a little surprised that she wasn't flustering or squealing in response to his very presence. However, Jane wasn't one to idolize celebrities. She'd never cared all that much about actors or singers, and heroes weren't any different.
"450 yen, please. Would you like a bag?" She asked, and he handed her a credit card with a shake of his head, mouth pursed in thought. He suddenly spoke up as she processed the payment.
"Is your name Jane?"
The question initially caught her off guard and she paused mid-tap of the machine, but a quick glance at the name tag on her shirt confirmed that yes, indeed, her name was Jane. What a redundant question. Weren't heroes supposed to be smart? "Uhh, yeah. Why?"
"Are you the same Jane that asked me to play a Rebecca Black song last night?" He continued, and now it was her turn to be shocked. She tucked her hair behind her ear out of nervous habit.
"So what if I am?" He really remembered stuff like that? She was just out of the many people who'd called into the program. Why did she stand out? And...how did he know? "What makes you ask that?"
"I recognize your voice! You're sort of famous around the station." He admitted with a chuckle, leaning into the counter. "But wow! Crazy meeting you in a place like this."
"Wait...f-famous!? What are you talking about?" The idea was suddenly very terrifying, that she was so recognized in a place and by people she didn't know.
"Oh, your taste in music is notoriously awful!" Her jaw dropped open in disbelief at the sheer bluntness of his statement. "Every time you call in, you ask for the absolute worst songs. I always get a kick out of it." He finished with a chuckle.
She huffed out a breath, unsure of what to immediately say, but she quickly got her senses back. "Tch, just because you're some big-shot DJ radio person doesn't mean you're the authority figure on music. You think you're some sort of music god? Sorry my plebeian taste offends your heavenly ears..."
His amused laughter was the only response, and she felt her face growing hot with a mixture of anger and embarrassment. The card reader beeped and she snatched it from the machine, shoving it towards him along with his two energy drinks. All thoughts of staying a welcoming and polite cashier were out the window.
"Not like you would understand it anyway..." She griped.
Unperturbed by her anger, he took his card and purchases and pushed away from the counter. "Don't worry about it! I don't mind bad music tastes, honestly, they're just funny! Besides, your beauty makes up for it in leaps and bounds, Jane. See you around!"
Before she could defend herself any further as to her 'questionable' music taste or even respond to the whiplash compliment, the blonde hero waved behind him and headed out the door, jingling the little bell above it as he went. The whole encounter had left her flustered and totally caught off guard. What the hell had just happened? Insulting her music taste and then complimenting her looks in the same sentence?
"Urgh...asshole." She mumbled under her breath, gripping the counter tightly.
ns 18.68.41.148da2
