As Amaya checked in on the overly attached couple, a group of four burly men in suits came in. They were a bit suspicious to say the least, but one shouldn't judge others right away. One of Amaya's coworkers took care of the strange group, but that left the front unmanned. So Amaya made her way over to the front podium to make sure any guest that came in was tended to.

Amaya was addressed by an elegant woman at the door. "Ah, Welcome to the Tiny Snowflake, miss. Thank you very much for the compliment. Your sense of fashion is much to be admired." The slightly flustered girl said, referencing the beautiful lady's own kimono. "A seat for one? Come right this way." Amaya lead the graceful woman to a seat near a window, and handed her a menu. "What would you like to drink?" She asked. Then after scribbling her order down, she said "Okay, I'll be back with your drink and to take your order."

With that she headed to the back, but noticed a customer at the entrance who was milling about. He seemed out of place with just jeans and a t-shirt, but he was still a customer. Amaya grumbled a bit at her coworker's laziness, but went to serve him anyways. "Hello, and welcome to the Tiny Snowflake," The waitress greeted with a bright smile. "Is it just you?" She asked politely. But before he could answer a group of people came in behind the man she was servicing. "Ah, I'll be with you in a moment," She called out to the group. In her quick glance at them she noticed a man with blue hair. Hmm, Amaya always thought it'd be cool to dye her hair, but in her blond hair, it'd probably look weird.

Getting back to her job, Amaya lead the first out of place male to his seat and did the same routine to him, also asking what he'd like to to drink. Then the overworked female rushed to the front to address the group, who was also a little out of place in their casual attire. Where on earth were her coworkers? Apparently they were waiting on someone, so Amaya simply sat them down and handed them a menu.

The waitress ran to the back and got the two drinks. She then rush over to deliver them. Finally, she had a bit of a break. Amaya stopped for a bit to catch her breath. Just then, a coworker passed her telling Amaya that a few extra hours were added to her shift due to the large amount of customers. Things were not going her way. To top everything off, a girl walked in with a dog!

"Sorry, ma'am, but pets are not allowed in the restaurant." She answered the obvious question. "Not unless they are service dogs," But Amaya knew this large dog was not a service dog. He didn't have the vest on. Why were there so many people?

Shizuka wanted to write a response, but things in the chat were happening too fast, and before she knew it, Nick had logged off. It made sense, seeing as how he was being inundated with fan requests. Then the group administrator sent her a private message notifying her that he had sent her Nick's phone number.

---

otonashis3@sca.edu: <SASRFCAdmin> (private message) Thank you, I'll be sure to contact him if I have any other concerns.

---

Shizuka thought about it for a bit, he had only mentioned her name and nothing else. In the end what bothered her really was why she would be among his mentions out of all the people in the school. She looked at her reflection from the laptop screen; she considered herself average, at best. Just to make sure, she looked up her student profile and saw that it had very little personal information, mostly stuff pertaining to her chosen field of study. On a whim she looked up Nick's student profile as well, "Maybe this way, we're even," Shizuka thought to herself. It however, did not cross her mind to look him up on BookFace, and even if it had, she wouldn't have done it as she would have considered that sort of behavior stalking. She did want to tell Nick that she wasn't really bothered anymore by his mentioning her, just to ease his mind in case he felt any guilt, but wasn't able to since he had logged off. She considered sending him a text to reassure him, but maybe that was pushing it. He'd probably think it was awkward. Hopefully he'd take her silence as acceptance.

Still, she had his phone number, so maybe she'll contact him eventually. While this indecision wracked her brain, Shizuka decided she'd just sleep on it. Turning off her laptop, she went to her room and settled in for a good night's sleep.

Ryva dipped her head. "I understand, lass. I'll leave him outside." She took Moose outside and looped his leather leash to a small hook that was buried in the cement. "Moose, Lay down in Gargoyle Mode." Moose lay down and became a statue. He would not get up until Ryva said "Break." Ryva smiled and went back in, looking at the woman's flustered face, and all of the people that kept coming in. The poor lass was probably overwhelmed-where were her co-workers? One woman shouldn't have to wait on all those tables by herself. Even her mother wouldn't be able to-and she was one of the best waitresses a restaurant could hire. She walked over to her when she was finishing up with someone's order.

"You look like you're overwhelmed," she said, concern in her eyes. "Would you like help?" She hoped she said yes. Ryva had had to wait tables while she was in school because her mother had been low on staff, and then in college so she could pay her tuition. The current situation, however, reminded her of this one song that was a big hit among her fans, and she started humming under her breath.

10pm-11pm,
Saturday

The moon shone down onto the silver hair of the man walking his two dogs, varying heavily in size. The larger shepherd mix, Romeo, carried himself with a dignified pride, whereas the excited smaller Jack Russell, Jinxie, burst with boundless amounts of energy.
After all, Shou only ever managed to take them out twice a day at best. Once in the morning before going to work, and once in the evening. It had gotten a little later than he had anticipated today, but that wasn't of an issue.
The Shiny Park was less full in the evenings, but still people made their way along the paths, talking and chatting. Amorous couples snuck kisses and knowing glances in the darkness, and there were even some other people out with their dogs. Some people played instruments out here this late at night for the solace. There were some acoustic guitars and makeshift drums out, and even some people with harmonicas.
Shou could sympathise. After all, he would play his own violin out here whenever he felt the urge.
Something about the trees that closed in the park always made Shou feel unseen, and safe, simultaneously.

Thankfully, the smaller dog wasn't big enough to tip the man over, so he could manage to hold both leashes in one hand. He brought his freed hand to his lips to pull the cigarette away from in between them and exhale the soothing smoke into the night air in a little cloud. In that magical way that it did, it calmed his nerves, the cigarette. He'd often keep his thoughts in check with one, though if he personally was consulted, he would much rather enjoy a strawberry-grape shisha at the famous Arabic restaurant, Alf Layla (or "Thousand Nights" in Classical Arabic) which was one of the many cultural restaurants on Shine Junction.
It served the most marvellous Arabic cuisine alongside the smokes, and the waitresses wore the most alluring belly-dancer outfits, whereas the waiters dressed as Arabic warriors did.

As he continued on, watching the people through the clouds of smoke he blew inches from his spectacles, and keen brown eyes, he spotted many a homeless person as well. Or, people that appeared to be homeless, anyway. They...um. Dressed homelessly enough. Shou couldn't help but feel sorry for them, more often than not. At this hour, a great deal of them had found some nook or cranny of the park to curl up in and fall asleep, but a surprising number were still awake, too. Smoking and drinking to their heart's content.
Shou was just walking by a gentleman just as he finished a pack of Marlboro lights, which made the professor's eyebrow quirk in intrigue. He himself was smoking a thin cigarette from the Marlboro Gold Touch line, after all.
It was fully likely that such a gentleman spent every dime he earnt on cigarettes and drinks, and much rather neglected the lifestyle that most non-homeless people chose.
But something about his dressing style, and just what he was drinking, and smoking, struck Shou as a little odd.

"A little expensive for a homeless man, wouldn't you agree?"
Shou stopped by the man and said soft, and purr-like, both dogs curiously going up to sniff this new, strange individual. His voice could have easily been lost to the night air. It caught up with Shou all too late that he was wearing earphones, and probably missed what Shou had to say anyway. Shrugging his shoulders and fetching his wallet from his back-pocket, he pulled out a $10 note and set it down in front of the man, a way of apologising for his rude stopping-and-staring.

He would only later come to realise that this man was Jake Vanguard, one of the artists his brother so fondly listened to, and got into, the year before.

Stepping away from the man and letting a low whistle leave his lips, the dogs perked up and even the friendlier Jinxie, who was licking one of the man's free hands by now, returned to her master's side, and then in front of him to the leash's strain, excited and fully aware of where her master was headed for the evening. After all, it wasn't uncommon for him to head there to enjoy a game of Roulette, or even Poker or Baccarat, and some drinks too:

Shiny City's Players' Casino.

Casting a glance behind him at the man he had presumed to be homeless, to see if he had taken the cash and noticed Shou a couple of paces away, his face blanched when he noticed the man fumble around in the dirt and pull out a gun.
He froze in his paces, and only just kept Romeo from barking.
...though the man didn't seem to have the intention to shoot him, no, not at all. In fact, he just looked at the gun, pondering something, and...buried it back?

"Oy!" Shou barked when the man had put the gun away, walking back in his paces and standing over the man again, blocking the light that should have lit his body and casting his shadow onto the man sitting against the tree. "What the hell do you think you're doing with that gun around?"
And though he didn't intend it to sound so harsh, something about his voice spoke genuine concern.
"What the hell? Don't end your life out here, if that's what you're thinking, young man."

Jake had finally drank the last of his case and he would have gone to get more if it weren't for the fact he couldn't stand or walk straight he lit up the last cig in his second pack and he sat there thinking about what all went on tonight.To be honest allot of it was blurry all he remembered was arty...shots girl....nori and....shit.He remembered the white Russian he had dumped on Ryva he kinda chuckled at it but thinking it over in his head he remembered hearing nori say it was fine or something like that maybe Ryva was just trying to give arty space that's what he did....and a bit more.He ducked his head in his arms thinking how much more of a douche they all thought he was,maybe he should apologize but how he wasn't very good at talking to people and yeah she'd probably be at club lush again given she works there but how would he apologize,he wasn't one for making cookies or gift baskets unless she'd take a basket of alcohol he didn't know what else to do.She probably doesn't need money given she's in a band and she already has a dog.He ran it through his mind anything he could use as a piece offering but he couldn't think of anything she didn't already have.'What are you doing with yourself Jake your digging yourself a grave and your getting closer to that 6' mark as you think.Maybe you just don't belong in this world'.Jake felt for the spot of loose dirt and then he pushed the dirt away,there it was the reason he hated weapons,and the reason he lost everything he loved.It was his dad's 12 gauge.He looked it over pondering the pro's and con's (though there weren't that many).'Death is the only adventure I haven't been on yet,maybe I should see what it would be like for when someone starts that adventure they cannot tell of what lies after.Could it be heaven where everything is peaceful and where my parents are waiting for me to come and be a family again,or was it nothing but a black void you can never escape.Either way was it worse then the life I have now,I may have money and fame and a friend maybe two but what would it be like,for the mess I made of myself tonight was pretty bad and I don't think I'll be able to make it right.Arty probably thought he was a 'twat' as he called it,I pretty much made myself known as a crazy drunk hobo.Maybe I should just end it here,end the pain I cause to others around me,end my suffering that never leaves me alone.' He pondered his question to himself and looked at the 12 gauge.'Maybe I should wait and see what comes of it tomorrow I'll just go to club lush in the early mourning and grab my normal wears(which he left in the employees changing room) and go around town to see what his name was becoming. He then took the last puff off of his cigarette put it out on his knee and threw it at the trash can (he missed but he didn't see where it went) and covered the shotgun back up.Just as he was about to fade into the darkness he so despised,sleep,he noticed a man that he had seen walking his dogs at night before but why was he here this late he normally walked his dogs much earlier so he took out his earphones to hear what the mean was saying."Oy!" the man yelled as he walked up to jake."What the hell? Don't end your life out here, if that's what you're thinking, young man." Jake looked up at the man and simply said "We all have our inner demons for 'pain may be mental but it's the mental pain that kills you the most' and I don't intend to use it tonight my inner demons almost got the best of me that's all." As he looked up at the man with a bit of a surprise on his face. No one had ever noticed his time of mental conflict at night or at least never asked him about it.

"The...mental pain." Shou flinched. Though he didn't want to admit it, this man, this hobo of a stranger he'd only just met for the first time today, spoke words of wisdom.
Shou never really did recover from the trauma of Alessandra's passing.
"...I hope you never have to use it. Wanted to kill myself at one point in my life, too. My fiancée died in a car accident a couple of years ago, and I was completely lost without her."
He chuckled here, inhaling and exhaling another puff of smoke into the night air, "I probably still am."

Gesturing to the $10 he'd left by the man earlier, Shou began to speak again, "Anyway. I know it isn't much, but here." He slapped down twenty more dollars. "Don't end your life tonight, kid. Maybe, just maybe, don't ever. You never know, someone out there might be driven to grief by your passing."
Letting his voice drift off, he was about to turn away, when the man looked up at him.
Shou could recognise those blue eyes anywhere. Paired with that hair...

He stiffened.
"You're that rockstar...uh. Jake Vanguard?"

The dogs at this point sat at Shou's side obediently. Neither Jinxie nor Romeo moved an inch until given the command to do so.
"Well, I'm going to the casino."
He said, under his breath. Gambling was one of his biggest vices. Alongside smoking at least one cigarette daily. "Better go before a crowd gathers, huh? You're a pretty big superstar, after all. I don't know much about you; my brother is a fan, but I don't suspect it's all too common for stars to be so alone in the middle of the night, and not living a life of excess spending and luxury."

He shuddered, as if the thought left a sour taste in his mouth, "...the rest of us don't really have money like that to spend. Myself included. I've...gotten into both smoking and gambling since Alex passed. Been bleeding my poor wallet dry, but like you said. It's an easier way to keep our 'inner demons' away, when we distract ourselves from them."

"You can come if you want." Shou called out behind him, having begun walking again with the dogs at his side, more sombre than before. "Doubt you'll find anything you like though, heh."

---

Time: ??? am
Shine City's Players' Casino

"Evening, Jun." Shou gave the young man at the roulette table the same dejected smile as he always had when he came. His conscience knew very well gambling was wrong, but did he stop? Hell no!
Jun was a boy Shou had come to know better through his gambling habit. You could almost call the two 'friends'. Something about the extroverted way he conducted himself appealed to Shou, and he always ended up spending more at roulettes than anywhere else at the casino.

Alongside card games, there happened to be matches of Mahjong and Bingo as well, where older ladies and gentlemen sat and had their fun.
Shou fondly mused. Alessandra loved both Bingo and Mahjong madly.
"Am I late?" He shrugged his shoulders with a chuckle and buried his hands into his pockets.

----------------------


Aoi bowed her head in thanks to the compliment on her kimono, and was shortly led to her seat, thankfully by a window. Seats like that always made her feel less lonely. She had ordered a kind of tea, Tamaryokucha, and absently browsed the menu, with her attention elsewhere. She saw the young man in casual clothes walk in, followed by a woman who left her dog outside. Something told Aoi that she'd be expecting more of a crowd, so she made it a note not to bother the waiters and waitresses too much.

All seemed to be going fine, until...
A young woman from a nearby table, chattering away to her husband, no, probably boyfriend, and shooting glances at Aoi, finally came over. All Aoi could do was offer her sweetest smile, until the woman blurted,
"YoureAoiIwataaren'tyouyouwereintheMilkyHeartsmovieohmygodIloveditsomuchmayIpleasehaveyourautograph?"

"But of course, Miss." Aoi began with a warm smile, fetching a pen from the little purse she carried and signing the back of what the woman provided for her, "But I beg of you, please don't make too big of a fuss; I don't want to bother anyone here a-"

It was too late.
First there was one, and then two, and then four and then almost sixteen people crowded around the poor, boxed in Aoi Iwata who scooted towards the window and sat with her body stiff. It only took a second for the men in black to step in, controlling the small crowd by gentle pushing and barking orders. Even the window wasn't safe, as paparazzi from outside were soon to gather.
And poor Aoi Iwata was boxed in like a frightened white mouse.

Jun yawned as he loitered by the entrance of the restaurant. He wondered if Tiny Snowflake was as high-end as its decorations claimed it to be. It looked like such a fancy diner, but there wasn’t even a single host to greet customers at the door. In fact, the only employee he could see was one overworked waitress running between tables and helping all of the guests as if her life depended on it. He followed her with his eyes as she hurried about, marveling at the girl’s frantic energy and simultaneously wondering where her coworkers were—there had to be others somewhere, right?

After seating a pretty young lady in a kimono—she looked familiar, but Jun was too tired to place where he might have seen her before—the waitress finally noticed him standing in the front lobby and stepped over with a cheery smile and a friendly greeting: “Hello, and welcome to the Tiny Snowflake. Is it just you?”

“Mm, yes,” Jun mused airily. Now that he had a closer look at her, the blonde waitress was kind of cute. She had a bit of an exotic but refined appearance, highlighted fetchingly by the kimono she wore. Yup, I definitely should have dressed nicer, he thought as he followed the girl to an empty table where she went on to robotically ask for his choice of beverage. “Water is fine,” he answered, slightly disappointed in the lack of small talk. Unfortunately, though, the restaurant was too busy and the cute waitress too frazzled for there to be any casual banter between them.

But that wouldn’t stop him from trying.

“Don’t work yourself too hard, okay?” Jun said as the waitress hurriedly scribbled down his order. “I’ve heard that stress ages people, and I’m sure your patrons would much rather you keep your pretty face than bring their drinks out in five minutes.” He paused, feeling his cell phone buzz in his jean pocket. Odd; who would be sending him a text this late at night? He fished around in his pocket and pulled out the little device only to find a message from his boss:



Jun put his phone away and groaned inwardly. He had to go to work in two hours? And on top of that, it was a split shift! With the way the man thoughtlessly scheduled his employees, Jun sometimes wondered if his boss even understood the concept of sleep. He glanced back at the blonde waitress and spoke up again before she headed off to help her next guests, “Err, sorry but could you change that water to a latte with three shots of espresso? It looks like I’m gonna need the caffeine tonight...”

--

The rest of Jun’s dinner was mostly uneventful. He ordered a delicious dish of traditionally prepared sukiyaki to go with his coffee, and he finished the meal fairly quickly. The only interesting thing that happened was the discovery that the woman he thought he had recognized earlier was really the famous actress, Aoi Iwata. He was tempted to approach her, but decided against it when the poor young lady was practically assaulted by rabid fans. So instead, he contented himself with the knowledge that he had been dining in the same restaurant as an actress and exited Tiny Snowflake, leaving the blonde waitress a generous tip.

--

Time: 2:00AM
Players Casino

Jun adjusted the western bow tie around his neck as he stepped into the Players Casino, his green eyes sweeping over the crowd of men and women. It was something he never quite understood, gambling, but as long as the people of Shine City continued to do it, he would continue to make a living off of their draining wallets. Strange how the world works, he thought as he approached the roulette table to relieve the current dealer, Jackie Quinn. Once Jackie finished his last game, the two switched out and Jun took the position as dealer, grinning at the young men seated around him, “Alright, fellas, who’s ready to make some money?” The challenge was met by a short chorus of excitement from the gamblers and the game began.

The rounds were fairly clockwork. Unlucky men left the table to try their hands at other games, while victors stayed behind to raise the bar, and the most heated matches always happened when a pretty girl walked up to join them. Naturally, everyone took the opportunity to impress the young lady—including the infamously flirtatious dealer—until she moved on to another table. All in all, it was a regular night at the casino and, despite his lack of sleep, Jun enjoyed every minute of it.

His late shift was made even better when one of his favorite regulars, Shou Matsuoka, joined the roulette table.

“Evening, Jun,” the new arrival said. “Am I late?”

“Nice to see ya, Shou!” Jun said with a grin. “Actually, you’re right on time; we just wrapped up the last round.” He leaned slightly closer to the silver-haired teacher and lowered his voice, though the other men around the table were still within earshot, “I’d watch out tonight if I were you. Takashi is bleedin’ everyone dry.”

“Aw, don’t tell ‘im that, Jun,” one of the men complained through a proud smirk. “You’ll scare away my competition.”

“Sorry, sorry,” Jun lifted his hands in a shrug. “It’s just hard not to brag when I’m dealing a table of players this good, y’know? I want to let my good buddy here know what he’s up against.” He turned back to Shou with a sly grin. “But who knows? Tonight could be the night you strike gold, my friend. Have a seat and let’s find out!”

Nori walked toward her beloved DJ booth and stopped mid-step as her golden gaze landed on the newest decoration that hung above it. There, surrounded by a ridiculously ornate fourteen caret gold frame, was a picture of DJ Dangermouse. It was at least six feet tall and done in all black and white, with the older DJ looking smug while he smoked a cigarette.

"What on God's green earth is that thing doing above the sound table!?" she shrieked, pointing a finger accusingly at the offending picture. Mr. Beauregard slithered out of the shadows, his mouth curved into a shark like grin that showed too much teeth.

"You don't like it? It's to honor Shiny City's best sound mixer, DJ Dangermouse," he drawled, resting his hand on her shoulder in a mockery of a soothing gesture. "Not only is he a better DJ than you, but he actually took my advice and dressed accordingly for his job, unlike some people. All though, I must say...," the bushy eyebrowed man paused here, running his thumb over her bare shoulder. "I quite like your new look."

"What are y--"

"Nori!" Cried Kameyo and the blonde turned around to see that the dance floor was suddenly packed with party goers, her roommate in front. "Nori, you forgot to put on clothes!" Kameyo yelled, her expression horrified. The crowd began to snap pictures on their phones while Arty tried his best to keep them at bay. Nori looked down and squeaked as she realized she was completely naked.

"They've all gone stark raving mad! Run lass, I can't hold them forever!" Arty shouted above the crowd. Nori yanked away from Mr. Beauregard's grip, pushing past him and leaping over the bar to seek refuge behind it.

"This just in folks, Nori Haywood has decided to bare all at Club LUSH tonight! Yowzah!" Nick Weston's voice filled the club through the PA system. "I've got pictures pouring into my inbox as we speak. I bet by tomorrow morning half of Shiny City will have seen her sweet sweater kittens. I, your faithful radio host, promise to review every single one of them personally and keep you posted on what Miss Haywood has going on under all those party dresses. Stay tun--"

---

Nori bolted upright and flailed blindly, accidentally falling off her bed with a loud, 'thump'. The tattooed girl laid there and stared up at the ceiling in confusion for a moment, before coming back to her senses. "Oh thank God," she breathed, covering her eyes with her forearm and giggling softly. "Just a dream," she told herself, before gathering her blankets and crawling back into bed.

In the distance, April could see a huge forest. Leaves of pink, blue, green and yellow hung from gnarled old branches. April knew she had to get there but as she walked she was getting nowhere. Her legs ached under the pressure of the sensation of wading through treacle. A few metres in front of April ran Rosanna who turned around and shouted April, smiling. April reached out, trying to grab Rosanna's hand but she couldn't make it. She fell, tripping and tumbling to the ground.

April kept her head down for a while, and when she lifted her head she was in Mochavine. She was lying on the floor and someone was looking over her, a concerned look on their face. It was Rosanna...no, their skin was too light in colour, as was their hair...the figure was morphing into-Shou Matsuoka?! "Hello, Miss April," the Rosanna-Shou mix said in a robotic voice, before pouring boiling hot black coffee on her face. April felt herself falling into blackness.

All April could see was the back of her eyelids, and she was fairly sure that she was awake now. Still, she was too scared to open her eyes for the fear of seeing another weird morphed version of her friends. Slowly, April opened one eye and then the other. There was no Rosanna-Shou mix here, just her ordinary bedroom. April shook her head as if to ward off more strange dreams (probably caused by her partying in club LUSH) and then settled down, falling into a deep sleep very quickly indeed.

Jake pulled out another pack of cigs every one probably hated him after last night anyway and he isn't gonna sleep so why not.He thought to himself.I'll probably drink and play cards he wasn't very good at gambling he never saw the point in it but he loved playing cards like black jack or five card draw sometimes texas holdem maybe I'll learn a new card game while I'm there.Jake started walking to the casino.Then he remembered.Jun should be on shift and we did a collab on a song so I'll be able to say hi and hang for a while.He lit up a cig on his walk and french inhaled every puff it made his head feel clear and he was trying to blot out the night before.When he got to the casino he greeted Jun and Shou "Waz up guys you make any money yet shou?" As he sat down at the texas holdem table and laid down $1,000 for betting."hey do you sell beverages of percentage here?" Then he put down $100 aside for drinks.

BEEP BEEP BEEP

Nick did not want to wake up, he was sleeping better then he ever did before, but his alarm clock was being vicious, his alarm clock knew he had to be up for the morning radio show. Nick's chest was still warm from the laptop that he fell asleep with, with Shizuka's BookFace page open...Nick considered it, and then realized that he didn't really want to change his sheets three times in a week. Nick rubbed his eyes and put on some boxers and crawled to his radio mic, only in his vest. He reached for some pink bubblegum. His mind began to turn back on as he chewed and recalled giving his number to two girls the night before, wonder if either would call him, but didnt dwell on it. He had a new track to share with the world that was sent to his site by a one time collab between Jake Vanguard and Junichi Hirose they were big enough names on the underground circuit for Nick to waste no time in uploading their jam.

GOOD MORNING SHINE CITY, Ya boy Nick Weston here! and I'm sad to say I've woke up LATE one this sunny morning its already 11:20 am and I cant even get my eyes all the way open! Someone ask April at the mochavine to save me a double expresso! Now as you may have heard the superstar Aoi Iwata visited the lovely Tiny Snowflake last night, and a few lucky fans managed to even get an autograph! I wish i stuck around! if you got one then please scan it and send upload it on to the website for a shout out! Thats if you dont gamble it at the Players Casino! Now its that time again forWeston's Suggestions! Guys if you were lucky enough to meet someone last night, what better place to take them than the beautiful Shine City Aquarium or even better the Lancom Arcade! I might even see you guys there!
Now we have a super exclusive track for you guys our local superstar Jake Vangaurd shows off his acoustic guitar skills with the one and only Junichi in his bedroom freestyle rapping while helping on the strings, the song his awesome but ive uploaded the video to my website, you gotta see these guys in action, and to think it was just a rehearsal? WOW Signing out!


Nick opened up his wardrobe figuring out what he was going to wear today, and what he might do today, considering he had nothing planned.

Mmmm IIII'm doing nothing tonigghttt...

Nori was already up and had just padded into the living room when Nick's radio segment finally came on. 'He sounds fantastic, as always," the disheveled blonde thought, chewing on her bottom lip and shooting a look to where her smartphone was resting on the kitchen table. 'Is it too early to text him?' Nori fretted, picking up the phone and staring at it before shaking her head vigorously. 'That'll make me look desperate,' she thought with a huff, dropping her phone back onto the table with a little more force than necessary.

"Coffee first," the tattooed girl decided, shuffling over to the coffee pot and starting it up. She watched it drip for a second or two, but somehow ended up back across the room at the kitchen table, her tiny hand hovering over her phone. "I'm just gonna check BookFace," Nori assured herself, snatching the phone up. However, instead of opening the BookFace app, she clicked the one for text messages instead. "Don't do it," she whispered to herself, but her fingers where already composing the message and hitting the send button before she could stop herself.

Heard you on the radio this morning! You sounded good, handsome. ;)
--Nori

"What's wrong with me?" The DJ groaned in horror, letting the phone slide out of her grip and clatter loudly against the table. "That was so thirsty," she murmured, scrubbing her hands over her face in frustration.

"Kame! I'm having an emotional crisis!" Nori moaned as she went over to the couch and crawled over the back of it, draping herself over her sleeping roommate dramatically. "I need food to deal with this madness, so you have to get up and get dressed," the girl whined, wiggling against the blue haired girl. "It's almost noon, we gotta get a move on, darlin'!"

April groaned as daylight managed to make its way through her thick curtains and onto the back of her eyelids just to annoy her. She opened her eyes. Her room was flooded with light, which April assumed meant it wasn't early. Closing her eyes, April sunk back down into her duck-feather pillows and sighed. Her chipped, pastel-blue nails scrambled on her bedside table for her phone. Once she had grabbed it, she turned it on, the brightness of her screen blinding her. She clicked on Rosanna on her contacts. April tapped out a message to her:

Hey Rosanna!!! I am practically dead after partying last night in club LUSH!! U? And do u know if I have shifts today?? I hope not :/ hahaha

April snapped a picture of herself just to prove how much of a zombie she was. In the picture April's usually-sleek pink hair was messy and April thought that it resembled the robin's nest she always saw on the way to work. Her skin was pale, but she still bore her trademark smile. Looking at the picture, April just laughed and sent it.

Having sent a text to Rosanna, April closed her eyes once more and listened to Nick Weston's radio broadcast. When he mentioned her name, April smiled and mumbled "I could do with an expresso myself," as if he could hear her.

"You'd be surprised, Jun- Hold that thought."
Shou turned to the pretty woman, wearing quite the skimpy outfit and holding a tray, who had just asked what he'd like to drink. "Long Island Iced Tea, extra long, thanks, sweetheart."

It was unexplainable, but the casino blended classy and crude together in such a way, that it wasn't hard for even someone like Shou to break away from his generally composed, gentlemanly and polite mien, and get swept up in the excitement. Junichi was particularly to blame for this, since with him around, Shou was almost guaranteed a good night, win or lose.

The drink arrived in hardly any time at all, and while Jun set up the next round, Shou took a couple of large drags from the glass, all the while analysing the faces of the men that sat at the table. The man, Takashi, Jun had called him, definitely looked to be better off, whilst the other gentlemen appeared a little sour at the remark.
Perhaps it was true, and he really was bleeding everyone dry.

"I think my luck's pretty damn good today, Jun, my boy." he grinned rather wide. "Met a pretty girl at the Mochavine, who wants my number the next time we meet. I sure as hell need to go back and see her. Maybe you know her? April, pink hair, and the most gorgeous blue eyes."
He repeated, a little louder now. For all the gentlemen at the table to hear, "Lucky me, huh? If I scored a solid 10 this afternoon, there's no telling what'll happen tonight. Time to bet big, folks!"

---

Two rounds and another drink and a quarter down the line, though not as strong as the first Shou had, he was buzzing. If he was more in his senses, he'd have noticed Jake out of the corner of his eye and told Jun that he met a superstar. Instead, he caught the man off-guard with a fist bump when he came over, "Hiya Jake, and I haven't won much. Seems like the luckiest thing that happened to me today was meeting April. Oh, and you, of course!" he laughed under his breath, notes of the drinks still on his breath. "Ready to go two more before I'm done for the night. Who knows. Might win big, huh, Juniper?"
"Oh, this is Jake, by the way." Shou glanced between the two, blinking slowly behind his glasses before it clicked, "Wait, of course you know who he is! You two did that song together that one time or something..." he trailed off.
"Anyway. Let's play!"



9:50 am
Sunday

"Uuuuugh." Shou moaned his disapproval as he parked his car at the Shine Academy parking lot and, Romeo's leash in one hand and a coffee-to-go from the Mochavine in the other. Forcing himself awake like this wasn't uncommon, but it still hit him like a brick each time. Thankfully, Romeo was less energetic than Jinxie and easier to handle, so Shou had brought him with. Since the academy was not just a school, but in recent years had developed into more of a social gathering place, they weren't as strict on their no-dogs-on-grounds policy as they used to be. They still weren't allowed inside the school buildings, which was alright with Shou. He fastened the shepherd's leash to a bench located under a massive tree just a few feet from the entrance to the building Shou had to go into, and he promised the dog he'd be back soon with a little pat on the head.

10:45 am
Shou hated meetings that early in the morning. On a Sunday. He hated them immensely, but it couldn't be helped. They were held once in three weeks, for about an hour, to discuss the path of learning the professors must take with their students. Mostly just so everybody was on the same page, and nobody slacked off too much. It was also great to deliver notices directly to the concerned parties.
Most Sundays, it would just be coming in to check on the plants and animals for Shou, and deal with papers for who knows what.

As he was making his way to his office, located on the first floor (second, to you Americans) alongside the various labs and odd classroom or two, he happened to notice a very familiar girl with short black hair in the hallway. Through blurry eyes and hazy mind, or just no energy to spare in making incorrect assumptions and therefore awkward conversation, it was difficult to recognise her exactly from the back, and Shou had almost dismissed the idea, fumbling with the keyring he fished out of his pocket for the room that was his office.
The door clicked open quietly.
And it clicked to him who she was. Shizuka, a quiet girl but a brilliant, budding biology student and even his teacher's assistant.
...though he still did not have the strength to say hello. He hoped she'd be the one to break the silence that stretched between them, however.

Kameyo felt something thud on top of her. Ughh what the...? "I need food to deal with this madness, so you have to get up and get dressed," Kame opened her eyes to find Nori draped all over her "Nori, what is i.." "It's almost noon, we gotta get a move on, darlin'!" As Nori started wriggling all over her, now wide awake, Kameyo spasmed and accidentally rolled off the couch. "Oof! Alright alright. It's noon? why are you up so early." She rubbed her face and stretched. Where should we go to eat? "hmmm I think the Mochavine is open. I could use some sugar after last night." As she stretched out on the floor Kame went over the list again. Food, shopping, cooking, cleaning cookies...and moving.

"So what's wrong? It's not like you have a dream where you went to work naked right?" ComeShe headed over the the bathroom and to the cluttered sink. Wow, your a mess. She said to herself, her hair was everywhere and her dress was a wrinkled and everywhere. Kameyo straightened up her pigtails and brushed them out. Then she picked up a pile of clothes and got a load started. She shook her head after washing her face. KamCome on, wake up! We have things to do today! Kameyo did the best she could about straightening up her dress. I'll just have to change when I get back to the dorm later.

She checked her phone, only an e-mail from her uncle. Hmm, best to reply quickly, it isn't very polite to keep people waiting after all. Kameyo told him the good news about the apartment, and her grades were still good, and she was almost ready to publish a new volume. One of the great things about her uncle was how even though he was busy, he had bought and read everything she had published and was not ashamed in the least. Clicking send she walked over to the kitchen and pulled out two mugs. She turned to Nori grabbing the pot."How do you like your coffee?"

Rosanna was woken up by the awesome song by Jake and Jun and slowly turned over into a face full of pillow as she reached for her t-shirt and scrambled to put it on. As soon as her feet touched the carpet climbing out of bed she began to think about her awesome night last night, or at least what she remembered about it. She recalled a lot dancing and a lot of shots with April, and making out with someone....DJ Dangermouse!! Rosanna rolled her eyes to herself.

Ohh really Rosy? another DJ?

She shook her head and began to quietly curse herself, while briefly admiring Nick Weston's voice. She still thought he sounded sexy but after Shou told her about the dyed hair, she quickly lost interest. She then started to remember her silly actions around Shou and how cute he looked that day, all work weary, and still half in teacher mode. She never even got to Ask April how it went because she was too busy chugging JeagerBombs and tounge wrestling with that hot DJ. Rosanna grabbed her phone off her messy desk counter to see a text from April herself. She was asking about the shifts and about her night.

Hey gurl, my head is pounding, please tell me the whole club didn't see me in make out mode? And April! didnt you take home your timetable? you have shift in at 1! yourw covering the part time day period until 4! LOL And its not that bad you might get to see that sexy teacher again if he has a black cofee craving, gonna be jogging today then I'm hitting up the gym xoxoxoxoxo

And with that Rosanna grabbed her sports drink and put on her jogging clothes and headed for Shiny park to do a few laps. After all that drinking she would have spend most of the day working that all off. She had her headphones on listening to her favorite

and quickly sent a pic to April to show her she wasn't slacking off today

A low rumble which could practically shake the floor, it sounding like the growl of a particularly large lion who had gone with out eating for just a bit too long, erupted from the apartment door that belonged to no other than Arty. Inside the apartment itself the noise was not any better, it was a surprise that the array of pictures and other decorations that were placed around the apartment weren't rattling around. The sound only grew louder the closer one would get to the bedroom where the origin of the monstrous noise was sprawled across his bed. It was of course the behemoth Arty who was causing such a disturbance with each of his deep, rough snores that sounded as if he was gargling rocks. This was a common sight and sound, no matter how horrid it was, in Arty's apartment after he got off working the late shift. The mountain of the man always slept until noon when he could, was usually the only time he could just relax, and after last night he felt like he really needed that. After he got off his shift Arty headed right home, he was too wiped out to do anything else and wanted nothing more than to crash in his bed. So with a quick bus ride home and walking up four flights of stairs Arty did just that.

It was almost noon now and Arty's plan of sleeping in was almost accomplished when he felt something tapping his face. "Ugggghhhh.... what?" The fiery haired man groaned groggily as he managed to halfway open one of his eyes. He was greeted to the sight of a small kitten sitting on his chest and yet another tapping of the small furball's paw against his forehead. "Morning to yo' too Nessie.." He said tiredly as he began to stir. "I take it it's time for breakfast." Arty continued as he sat up and smiled at Nessie, softly petting her on the head. A few moments later the giant had pulled himself out from under his blankets and dragged himself out of the bedroom and into the apartment's kitchen.

Arty stretched as he found the box of cat food he placed top of the refrigerator before turning completely around and bending down to poor some of the box's contents into the small pink bowl set on the floor. Arty grew a soft smile as Nessie mewed and began to nibble on her food. The nearly bare man, seeing as Arty preferred to sleep only in his boxers, then went to his refrigerator. He let out a sigh as he pulled out his rather sad breakfast, half a sub from two nights ago. "Yo' really need to go shoppin'." He said with a shake of his head as he walked himself to the living room and sat down on his rather beaten up couch and turned on his T.V.

Half way through his meal Arty remembered that he had made plans with Ryva the night before that he completely blew off. "Shite..." He mumbled as he pulled out his phone and started to text as fast as his clumsy thumbs would allow him. "Hey lass sorry for blowing you off last night, I was wiped by the end of my shift and just headed home. Let me know if you want to hang out." -Arty After firing off the text Arty slumped back into his couch and let out a sigh. He was going to try and relax for now because judding from last night Arty felt like things were going to pick up sooner or later.

Kameyo managed to escape, rolling out from under Nori and onto the floor. “Alright alright. It's noon? Why are you up so early?” The artist asked from her place on the floor. The shorter girl groaned and rolled off the couch as well, landing in a dramatic flourish next to Kameyo. "Hmmm, I think the Mochavine is open. I could use some sugar after last night."

“Yeah, that sounds tasty,” Nori confirmed, her stomach growling in agreement. “I did eat the last of those carrots, so all we have in the fridge is ketchup,” she informed her roommate, scratching at her nose sheepishly. She really needed to go shopping soon.

"So what's wrong? It's not like you had a dream where you went to work naked, right?" Kameyo said casually as she got up and made her way to the bathroom, causing Nori to freeze. ’Is she psychic!?’ the DJ thought, staring at the other girl’s retreating form. ’Stop being stupid,’ she told herself before getting up and making her way to her bedroom. The tiny blonde pulled off her pjs and pulled on a pair of shorts and a slouchy, dove grey t-shirt. She then started to head back into the living room, but grabbed her black and white flannel shirt as well, just in case she got cold. When the florist got back into the living room, her phone beeped to let her know she had received a text message. “Did he already reply?” she thought aloud, her stomach full of butterflies. She picked up the phone and checked her messages.

It wasn’t a new text from Nick. It was a picture from DJ Dangermouse. The very same black and white picture from her dream.


Mr. Beauregard just had it commissioned. Pretty rad, right?

“My nightmares are coming to life,” Nori blanched before furiously typing back, ’Enjoy it while you can, you stupid smug bastard.’ The other DJ instantly replied by sending her a selfie of him making out with one of their cute regulars, Rosanna. “URGGG!” Nori snarled, viciously throwing her phone in purse. “Imma set that man on fire.”

Kameyo chose that moment to return to their main room. "How do you like your coffee?" she asked when she made it to the coffee pot.

“Black s’fine,” Nori informed, studying the other girl in the pale kitchen light. “Did you need to borrow some clothes? I’m pretty sure I have something you could wear,” she offered, accepting the mug and taking a sip. “So, we gotta get all your stuff moved in today, right darlin’?”
----

Ryva was sipping an iced mochachino on her couch, with moose snoozing at her feet, when her phone started playing Radioactive by Imagine Dragons-her ringtone for Arty. She pulled out her phone and unlocked the screen to read the text.

Ryva smiled.


She then stood, set her coffee down and went to get some clothes for the day. Ryva was still a bit drained from last night, so she just grabbed some boot-cut jeans, a three-quarter sleeved shirt, underthings, and padded into the bathroom. Moose took up his position in front of the bathroom door-he took his guard dog duties seriously. Ryva relaxed under the spray of the hot shower, and hummed until one of her songs floated to the front of her mind, and she sang, the acoustics of the bathroom making it sound as if she was in the studio.

"I saw a picture of you
Hanging in an empty hallway
I heard a voice that I knew
And I couldn't walk away
It took be back to the end
Of everything
I taste it all, I taste it all
The tears-again."

---

Ryva stepped out of the bathroom, gently nudging Moose out of the way as she grabbed her phone from where she had forgotten it on the counter. She quickly typed, "Hey, Arty, do you have the number of the Club DJ? the female one, I mean. Not dangermouse. If you do, I'd apreciate it if you could send it to me-I need to ask her something very important. Thanks, love." -Ry

Jake smiled and fist bumped the professor "Yeah we recorded a vid of us rehearsing a while back and sent it to nick the cool kid on the radio.Oh and I'll be right back." Jake walked over to the counter and exchanged $1,000 for chips and then went over to the bar and asked for a bottle of vodka and a couple shot glasses.He laid down the money then pulled some lemon juice out of his bag he poured half vodka and half lemon juice in the shot glasses then walked back over to the table Shou and Jun were at and offered a shot to the people playing."If you guys drink,you can have one if you want they will certainly put hair on your chest!" He said as he grinned and drank one of the shots."There sour of course but they don't burn as much and they wake you up a bit.Maybe help you be at the top of your game."He said as he held one out for Shou as he sat at the table.

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Time went by as he proceeded to lose the chips and it was now 10:00AM."Ah time flies when your having fun though I think I'm over exaggerating that a little." He said as he looked at the table only having $200 in chips left."I guess I should head out." He waved goodbye to Jun and left the casino and started heading to his favorite tea shop on the edge of town for his normal mourning honey vanilla chamomile tea and breakfast.As he was walking he noticed the new arcade was open now "I might have to stop by sometime today given I didn't sleep last night I should stay active,but that's after breakfast for I need my mourning fix." He said with a smile.As he walked in the door he sat down at his normal booth in the corner by a window and ordered his normal bacon and eggs with fresh brewed honey vanilla chamomile tea.AS the waitress arrived with his meal he smiled and handed her the money and $20 extra for a tip as he always did.He ate his breakfast first then sat and watched shine city from the window as he drank his honey vanilla chamomile tea.