Beneath the Surface

Square, line, sketch, speech bubble. These all are important to any comic maker. These, and many more.

Pencil marks, eraser shavings, spelling mistakes. These are all incredibly annoying to any comic maker. Maria Lainex knew this very well.

She was sitting in her room/office trying to re-do one of the diagonal lines in one of her first drafts of her work. It just didn’t seem straight enough. Maria couldn’t help reflecting on how foolish that mistake was. After all, she had a few different straight edges right next to her. All she needed to do was grab one.

A professional manga-ka wouldn’t make that mistake, Maria thought to herself. You’ve been doing this job for how many years now? Shouldn’t you be able to draw a simple straight line?

Maria sighed to herself, displeased with her mistake, then reached over to grab the straight edge next to her clock.

The clock read 6:27 PM, and Maria couldn’t help doing the easy math in her head. That means there’s still an half an hour before seven o’clock, she thought.

Seven o’clock…why does that seem so familiar?

Maria, who had frozen when she saw the time, quickly flew into action. She was rashly putting away everything that touched her hands, shoving her sketches into her office dresser drawers and pushing tools into their holders on the side of her desk.

Wait, she thought though her panic, maybe I’ve made a mistake.

She whirled around to her bedside table, where she was currently keeping her important mail. She shifted through the small pile in till she came across the undersized envelope. She opened it and pulled out the equally-tiny piece of paper inside. She quickly re-read its contents.

“Ten Year High School Reunion
June 12, 2019 at 7:00 PM
Maria Lainex, you are cordially invited to attend the ten-year reunion of East Woods High School’s Class of 2009. …”

There was only one thing that caught, and held, her interest. It was the time they were supposed to gather. But, as Maria had feared, she was right. The designated meeting time was seven o’clock.

Darn it, she thought to herself.

She dropped the invitation, not even bothering to stuff it back into its envelope. She went back to her desk, putting away everything as gentle as a tornado. Just when she felt she was going to make it in time to the reunion, she remembered something else. She quickly returned to her beside table to check.

“…This event is formal. Please keep that in mind while…”

Double darn it, Maria thought.

She practically ran to her closet and ripped out a dress. It was her favorite, she realized, blue, like the rest of them, but strapless with fake diamonds embedded into it.

If only they were real.

While Maria was pulling on the dress, she couldn’t help but think of the people she would see at the reunion. She had many good friends from high school who she had lost contact with. But not everything about it would be pleasant. The questions she would be asked…the answers she had no other choice but to give…

Maria realized with a shock that she was standing still and only half of her dress was actually on. She started struggling back into her dress as if trying to struggle away from her dark thoughts of the coming events.

It won’t be all bad, she told herself. I’ll get to see Kitora again.

Kitora. In high school, Kitora and Maria had been great friends. But when Kitora moved away, they lost contact. Maria missed her terribly, especially with all the other things she had to deal with…

Maria didn’t hear of anything related to her missing best friend in till a while after she graduated. She was browsing a local bookstore when she came across a book with Kitora’s name on it. It wasn’t too much of a surprise to see that Kitora had published some books—she had always loved to write. Soon, Kitora became a hit author and some of her books were being made into movies. Maria couldn’t help to read them. She was impressed with her high school friend’s hard work and dedication. Her writing skills and plots were fascinating.

Of course, Maria had her own line of work going. While Kitora was writing novels, Maria was writing graphic novels. Manga, to be exact. She had her own great achievements, but Maria just couldn’t banish one thought out of her mind because of it.

Fame.

Maria wasn’t a big egoist and she didn’t always have to be the center of attention, but she couldn’t help herself. Kitora couldn’t go to a grocery store without being chased by fans, but no one would chase Maria, oh no. No one knew her.

If I want my time in the limelight, Maria thought bitterly, I’ll have to go to Japan.

Although manga wasn’t unheard of in America, it was more popular in Japan and so Maria’s graphic novels were a bigger hit there.

Maria shook off these envious thoughts as if she were a dog shaking off water. Then she rushed, fully dressed, to the bathroom, and began putting a thin layer of makeup on. She was almost surprised when she heard a knock on the bathroom door; she was so engrossed in her work. She quickly yanked open the door.

“What’s going on it here?” Issabella, Maria’s sister, asked. “What’s making all the noise?”

“I’ve got to hurry,” Maria told her, not pausing as she put on more make-up. “Or else I’ll be late for the—“

“Reunion,” Issabella finished. Her expression didn’t change, as if she expected Maria’s answer. She probably did.

“You remembered?!” Maria asked, only a little surprised.

“Yep.”

Well, look at that, Maria thought. She remembers, but the one who’s actually going, forgets.

Issabella sighed. “Look at your hair. Did you even think to comb it today? Geez. Come here, I’ll get the knots out.”

She picked up Maria’s blue brush and started jerking it though her older sister’s hair. It was a hard job to do, considering that Maria’s long brown hair reached her hips. But Issabella finished before Maria, and she set the brush down on the bathroom counter.

“Oh, my shoes!” Maria said, and Issabella ran off to get them before Maria could ask.

She came back after Maria finished doing her make-up and placed the dress shoes down at her feet.

“Thanks, Is,” Maria said, stepping into them.

“Have you forgotten about your anime tonight, too? Y’know, the one at eight? There’s a new episode,” Issabella reminded her.

Maria slapped her forehead. She was forgetting everything tonight.

“Uh, Is?” she turned to her little sister with a pitiful expression on her face.”Um, could you, maybe—"

“Record it for you?” Issabella said.

“Please?” Maria herself thought she was pushing the amount of favors, but…

“Fine,” she sighed as a reply, but her face was fond.

“Thank you so much, Is,” Maria said. “You’ve done so much for me today.”

“Don’t worry about it,” Issabella said sweetly, innocently. She's been using that tone since she was a child, Maria thought. She hasn’t stopped using it even though she’s a teenager now….Well, I’m glad that that wasn’t something that got lost in the sea of teenage hormones.

Maria hugged her sister and said the usual “I love you” and “Don’t burn the house down while I’m away”. Then Maria grabbed her purse and headed out the door, where her clean, blue car was waiting.