Date Her Instead Vol. 5

Chapter Seventeen: Act Two

"Wait... that's not the same girl, is it?"

"Who is that? What happened to Wakabayashi-san?"

"What's going on...?"

Murmurs rippled through the crowd at the sight of Kanako stepping out onto the stage. Of course, plenty of people were confused by this development. Aside from the way the person was dressed, Chiyo and Kanako hardly looked alike. Standing out there for all to see, she wore a silver dress that had been dirtied up, and her hair was frazzled to show she had been in a rush. To see Kanako instead of Chiyo was already enough of a shock, but to see the character known as Sydney Alto that the crowd had quickly come to know looking so disheveled, was another shock on it's own.

Confusion was beginning to run rampant, and among the questioners were the group of girls most connected to the ones on stage. "WHAT THE HELL IS KANA-CHAN DOING UP THERE?!" Michi whisper-shouted angrily. "Kana-chan isn't in that class! How did she get in the show?" Itsuki asked, baffled. "This has gotta be one of Chiyo's plans..." Jasmine muttered. "Plans?" Mayu repeated. Leaning in to whisper in her ear, Jasmine said," "Yeah. It's probably to help Haru-chi and Kana-chan finally get together." "O-Oh..." Mayu said quietly.

"Seriously, what is going on?!" Michi said a little louder. "I wonder if she's more upset about Kana-chan being on stage, or Chiyo not being out there anymore," Chitose thought next to her. Although, she was just as confused as everybody else. "Honestly, Chi..." she thought. "Just what are you up to now?"

*****

"WAKABAYASHI! WAKABAYASHI, WHAT ARE YOU DOING TO MY PLAY?!" Akitsuki shrieked in the wings. Near the entryway to the stage, Chiyo put a finger to her lips. "Careful Akitsuki-san. The audience will hear you if you keep yellin' like that." "I COULD CARE LESS!" Akitsuki screamed. "YOU'RE THE ONE THAT'S SUPPOSED TO BE OUT THERE! SO HOW THE HELL DID NAKATOMI-SAN END UP ON STAGE?!" "What're you talkin' about?" Chiyo said with a sly smile. "She's always been Sydney Alto." "Nonsense!" Akitsuki yelled. "I'm going out there right now to put a stop to this!"

"If you've got any heart at all, you'll stay right there," Chiyo said sternly. Hearing the gal suddenly so serious, Akitsuki froze. "W-What do you mean? The play is already ruined! I need to-" "Take a look out there," Chiyo said. By this point, the actors had recovered and the scene was playing out. "Do ya notice anything?" Begrudgingly, Akitsuki took a glance out to the stage. When she did, she stared for a moment before her eyes went wide. "It's... it's perfect..." she breathed.

The scene was playing out to perfection. Kanako's practice was paying off, and Haruna had managed to recover. Seeing the two of them act, it was obvious they had chemistry better than Chiyo had ever managed with Haruna. "Those two are meant for each other," Chiyo said with a smile as she watched on. "But how-" Akitsuki began to say, but she was stopped. "I told ya," Chiyo said. "Kana-chan's always been the Sydney Alto to Haru-chi's George Holden. Although, I'm hoping their story ends a little differently."

Stunned by this development, all Akitsuki could do was stare on. She couldn't believe what she was seeing. Somehow, Kanako had not only learned the script, but she was executing it better than Chiyo had. "How is that even possible?" she wondered. The whole class had practiced endlessly. There should've been no way an outsider could just swoop in and play the role even better. "What's the difference? How is she-"

Then, it finally hit her. What Chiyo had just told her made a lot more sense. "So the rumors really were true..." Akitsuki muttered to herself. "Love... that's the difference. It's because they're really in love with each other." Now understanding, the director of the play watched on with anxious anticipation, much like a member of the audience.