| Fan Fiction |
by Hibiscus
“Tell him I’m not home.” Ariel whispered loudly but it was too late, Ceci was already throwing the cordless phone at her. Ariel caught it with a sigh conscious of the four pairs of overly curious eyes on her. She got up from the chair and walked out of the living room towards her own room.
“Hello?” Dean Kang said on the other side, his voice sounding like melted butter.
“Why are you calling me?” Ariel, straight to the point, not wasting time on false pleasantries.
“I have a job offer for you.” Dean Kang replied.
“Forget it.” Ariel replied.
“Well, okay I guess you weren’t really serious about working for your own money.” The man was a snake, Ariel decided.
“What job could you offer me that won’t have my darling grandfather’s controlling fingerprints all over it?” Ariel replied.
“You’d be surprised. Come meet me at the office tomorrow afternoon and I will reveal all.” The Dean sounded confident and sure when he said that.
“I already said I wasn’t interested.” Ariel frowned.
“Don’t be stupid, Ariel. I am not trying to deceive you. I really do have a job offer for you. Hear me out and then you can reject it but hear it out first.” The man was a weasel, being very logical and calm.
“Fine. But I retain the right to tell you to refuse, you hear?” Ariel conceded grudgingly.
“All right. I’ll see you tomorrow at 1 pm. Don’t be late.” Dean Kang hung up. Ariel walked back into the living room only to be accosted by the girls.
“Dean Kang called my house!” Mina said. “Omg, he knows where I live! I don’t feel safe anymore!” She clutched her bosom.
“I thought you said he was just misunderstood.” Ariel said dryly.
“I was trying to make you feel better! I couldn’t tell you he eats students for meals when you were going to face him!” Mina said her eyes huge in her small face.
“Ariel can take him, can’t you Ariel?” Rosalinda said smirking.
“What did he want though?” Ceci asked looking curious and Patience echoed her question.
“Well, the old man said he has a job offer for me,” Ariel replied absently. She picked up her book again and started reading and then realized that everyone had fallen silent and were looking at her in amazement.
“I told you she wasn’t human!” Rosalinda said to Ceci.
“Why would Dean Kang himself ring you to tell of a job offer?” Patience looked thoughtful.
“I don’t know.” Ariel said calmly.
“Maybe he wants you to help him torture the students!” Mina breathed.
Ceci threw a cushion at Mina. “You and your overactive imagination.”
“I’ll find out tomorrow at 1 pm.” Ariel replied, revealing none of the nervousness that Mina seemed to feel or the expectation and anticipation of the excitement of others.
“I don’t get why you are so collected,” Patience said after a while. “I’d be freaking out.”
“Cuz the Dean called me at my house?” Ariel said taking a bite of chocolate she had stolen from Rosalinda.
“Well…yeah.” Ceci said closing her laptop.
“She’s Ariel Bond, Woman of Steel.” Mina said smiling.
Everyone focused their attention on her and then began laughing. Mina confused kept on asking, “What, what did I say wrong? What!!??”
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The next day at sharp 1 o’clock, Ariel arrived at the Dean’s office. She was dressed conservatively (for her) in a denim mini, usual black t-shirt and black knee boots. The receptionist let her into the office without a word this time and Ariel gave her the trademark amused smile but didn’t say anything either.
The Dean was not alone but only he stood up as Ariel entered the room. After a quick glance assessing the man, Ariel didn’t spare him any more attention.
“Sit down.” The Dean said to her and Ariel for once, complied without a question. A silence seemed to fall and lengthen and after a while Ariel sighed audibly and said, “Well I’m here, aren’t I?”
“Sassy girl, aren’t you?” The man who was dressed very fashionably, Ariel knew enough to recognize Prada when she saw it, said. He was wearing dark glasses that hid his eyes and a lot of his face.
“You don’t get to comment on my attitude.” Ariel said matching the superior tone of the man.
“You should be honored, little girl.” The man sat up. Ariel supposed he was trying look dangerous. She smiled at the Dean and raised an eyebrow.
“Should I be?” Ariel had the pleasure of seeing the Dean pale.
“Forgive him, he doesn’t know.” Dean Kang said with a slight nod at the strange man.
“Don’t waste my time then. What is this job offer? Tell me so I can refuse it and we can continue our lives as though this interference hadn’t occurred.” Ariel leaned back in her chair and crossed her legs.
The man in the dark glasses addressed Dean Kang in Japanese, presumably so Ariel wouldn’t understand, “Who is she and why are you putting up with her attitude?” He asked.
Dean Kang with a quick look at Ariel and replied to the man in mandarin, “She knows English, Spanish, Italian, French, Latin, Korean, Japanese and Cantonese.”
“You forgot Malay.” Ariel smiled sweetly at the man who took off his glasses and gawked at her. Ariel cocked her to one side and observed him. He didn’t seem famous and he wasn’t even good looking, maybe in his mid thirties. She wondered why he had gone to all the bother of hiding his face.
The man noticed Ariel looking at him perked up and watched her face closely for some awareness of who he was. He didn’t see anything.
“Have you heard of Fei Lun Hai?” The man finally said disgruntled.
“Hmm, you mean the boy band whose members can’t sing OR dance?” Ariel said cheerfully. “Why yes, I have. Why?”
The man frowned, ready to rip into Ariel when the Dean cleared his throat. Casting a quick look at the Dean, the man changed his words and replied, “I’m their manager, Steven.”
“Steven…?” Ariel drawled.
“Just Steven.”
“I see. You think that’s cool?”
“Stop trying to provoke him, Ariel.” Dean Kang said with a stern glance at her. Ariel shrugged, unrepentant.
“We need an English tutor for Fei Lun Hai.” Steven said looking a bit purple from holding in his anger.
“So?” Ariel asked.
“So we are wondering if you wanted to accept the position of being Fei Lun Hai’s tutor.” The man smiled as though he was offering Ariel some great prize.
“Um…” Ariel looked at the Dean. “THIS is your job offer?” She asked disbelievingly.
The Dean nodded. “Okay. No.” Ariel smiled at both of them, nodded and turned to go.
“What’s wrong with you?” Steven burst out. His veins were popping in his forehead. “Other girls would kill for this offer.”
“Why don’t you ask the other girls then?” Ariel replied calmly.
“Oh so you are not up to it? Is that what you are saying?” The man stood up too and Ariel realized that he was quite short.
“Oh I’m up to it. I just am not sure if I want to waste my time teaching testosterone-driven males.” Ariel kept her cool even when Little Man Steven started jumping in angst.
“We need to break the market in America.” Little Man Steven answered tightly. At his words, Ariel broke into genuine laughter, shocking everyone.
“You need more than English to break into the market in America, Steven. You need something like…oh I dunno, talent?”
“You’re fired!” Little Man Steven burst out. And Ariel laughed harder.
“Ariel,” Dean Kang interrupted their bickering. “You’d be wise to accept his offer. The job is very well paying and since you have refused your grandfather’s money, you will need other venues to finance your living and school expenses.”
“Why can’t they just hire a distinguished professor of English?” Ariel asked frankly. “Why would they need me? Isn’t it a bit ridiculous to think that out of all the resources open to them they would choose an untried English tutor like me?”
“It’s not that.” Steven said. “We need someone their own age so that they can talk to and be fluent in English, not just the language itself but the slang also.”
“You’re kidding right?” Ariel smirked. “You want me to talk ghetto to them?”
“Ghetto?” Steven repeated.
“You know, like, hey shorty, whas goin down?” Ariel laughed.
“Are you calling me shorty?? How dare you!!” Little Man Steven got all worked up again.
“Okay, I’ll take the job.” Ariel turned and beamed at the little man who blinked at her rapid change of mind. “I’ve never had so much fun needling someone else as I do you.” She said to the little man who abruptly went white.
“Report to this address at 9 a.m. sharp on Saturday. I’ll introduce you to the members and we can discuss a teaching plan.” Steven said to Ariel presenting her with the appropriate information.
“If I wake up on time I will be there.” Ariel smiled sweetly and fluttered her eyes at Steven and waved at the Dean. “Goodbye old man.”
She left and Steven flopped in a chair and stared accusingly at Dean Kang, “I’m the boss and she’s the employee so why does it feel like SHE’S the one doing ME a favour???”
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Author's Note: I feel like I'm going to get killed if I don't give you something with Wu Chun and Ariel soon. Next chapter, promise. People tell me I have an odd sense of humour. I really don't know why. I reckon I'm as normal as normal could possibly be. And I know I lie but I'll thank you very much not to point that out. I'm still hungry.