fanfic_name = Time of Our Lives
chapter = Chapter 3
author = lisav
Rating = AP15
Type = Adventure
fanfic = Miss Macross
INTRO...
What the city need was an event that would only not bind them together but boost their moral as well and he, Tommy Luan, mayor of Macross City couldn’t think of a better event than a beauty pageant!
He also knew who he would picked as his Miss Macross too-- Lynn-Minmei. She was perfect-- young, beautiful, talented and already a local star for all the flyboys adored her.
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Minmei couldn't believe that Rick had forgotten his promise to her. She had waited until after 12:30 in the morning and still he did not show up. Around 1:00 am she finally gave up and went to bed-- disappointed, angry and tired.
She knew he had come the next day bring flowers but she was still mad at him so she told her aunt to tell him to go away. However she had accepted the flowers.
What girl in her right mind would turn down flowers from a cute guy? Just because she was mad at him does not mean that she was stupid.
He had come back two days later again but she was at her voice class so she had missed him. In fact she had not seen him in two weeks and hadn't have time to think of him much for she was busy preparing for the Miss Macross pageant.
She never knew preparing for a pageant can be so exhausting and exciting yet she had loved every moment of it. Her coach, dance and voice teachers can't say enough about how wonderful she was and what a smash hit she will become once she wins the Miss Macross title.
Looking at her watch she realized that Rick was late and she frowned.
If he thinks I'm going to forgive him he better think again! He should just be happy I've agreed to have lunch with him.
Looking around she saw a couple of guys in the next table smiling at her. The cute one with the devil-may-care blond hair and dark eyes was openly flirting with her and the smile she gave him was full of sweetness and innocent sensuality.
She had always been loved and adored by boys and men alike for as long as she can remember that flirting with them was second nature to her. She saw nothing wrong with it and exercise it often.
She loved being the center of attention and knew just how to smile, pout and cry to her advantage. She knew she was beautiful with her enormous blue eyes and jet-dark hair and made no excuse for it.
She would have invited them over but she saw Rick coming across the yard and she quickly changed her mind for she knew he didn't like it when she surrounds herself with other guys.
He does look very handsome in his uniform she thought.
She liked it when he was all decked out because she knew they looked good together.
"Hi" he said as he sat across from her and gave her a big smile.
"Hi yourself you promise breaker!" she stared him with hurt in her blue eyes and pouted prettily at him.
"I'm really sorry Minmei. By the time I came back from the battle it was almost midnight already and I just passed out. I came as early as I could the next morning but you refused to see me.”
“I didn't forget Minmei. Please forgive me." He said as he reached into his pocket, pulled out a small square pink box and offered it to her.
"I've been carrying this with me ever since then hoping to give it to you but you wouldn't see me until today."
He silently prayed she would believe him and he held his breath as he watched the emotions played across her pretty doll-like face.
Minmei stared at it and hesitantly she accepted it. Opening the small square pink box she realized that it was a gold chain-necklace with a tiny heart pendent. Her eye shone with pleasure at the gift but she gave him a doubtful and pondering expression as if she's not sure he was worth forgiving.
It is very lovely and he even got the box in my favorite color.
"I forgive you Rick. It's beautiful." She finally said and continued in an excited voice.
"Oh and I have so much to tell you too. I've been so busy the last two weeks that I'm amazed I even had time to have lunch with you today. Anyway remember when I told you about my dream and how sad I was when I realized how far we were from Earth?"
She talked on without giving Rick a chance to answer her question.
"Well it just might still happen. You wouldn't believe this but it's true I've been entered into the Miss Macross pageant by none other than the mayor himself. Me? In a pageant! Can you believe it?"
He slowly released his breath when he heard her say she had forgiven him. He smiled and nodded in agreement to the rest of her speech when he suddenly realized what she had just said.
He tried to look pleased because he did not want her to be mad at him again but inside his annoyance and anger was building.
Dammed! Minmei, you barely have time for me. As Miss Macross, I’ll never see you again.
"Rick, please don't be like that," she responded to his silence after a while when she finished talking and realized that he hadn't said anything.
"You of all people should know how much this opportunity means to me. Do you know how long I've waited for something like this to happen? This is my time Rick, my time to be a star."
"What about us, Minmei?" he asked softly.
She reached across the table for his hand. "Listen, Rick, will you, Roy and the rest of the guys in your team be there for me? I'm going to need all of your votes if I'm going to make it to the semi-final."
He looked into her midnight blue eyes full of unshed tears and began to feel the anger leaving him.
Oh Minmei, how can I get mad at you when you look at me with such trust and faith? Slowly he smiled and his smile brought one to her face as well.
"Of course we'll be there, Minmei. Everyone on Skull and Vermillion know how special you are to me. They wouldn't dare vote for anyone else but you. We're on standby patrol that night, but Roy should be able to pull some strings."
"You really think I have a chance?" she asked coyly, fishing for compliments for Rick never gives her enough.
"You're a sure thing Minmei. Don't you know? You're the best!" he told her and winked. "Now how about lunch, I'm starved."
After Rick had paid for lunch and left the restaurant to get ready for his shift, she ordered more ice tea for herself and stared out at Macross City's experimental blue skies. He had said she was a sure thing, she mused and smiled.
Well the mayor seemed to think so too for he had gone out of his way to make sure that she had enough money for new outfits and shoes. But what chance did she stand against girls as pretty as Hilary Winston and Shauna Blackwell? Let alone a sophicated movie star like Jan Morris!
When she was surrounded by the attention and adoration of opposite sex, she knew she could take on girl and win but alone she's not sure and she hated that insecure part of her.
It's as if there were two persons living inside of her, a sexy, confident one who would do anything to become a star and an insecure, homey one who was afraid of everything and everyone around her.
Minmei's hands fell to her lap and she signed.
Rick...
She knew what he was asking of her-- a loyal girlfriend who would someday turn into a wife who would always support him, willing to stand in his shadow but she wanted more than that.
She wanted fame, fortune and to be loved, adored and admired by people and fans alike. She waned to be a star and as sweet and handsome as Rick was ... it was not enough-- not for the confident and sexy Minmei anyway.
Even Kyle, her cousin whom she had loved and knew all her life hadn't been enough.
Kyle...
She hadn't thought of him in awhile. Where ever he was, she was sure he'll be fine. He always managed to land on his feet no matter what happened. She wouldn't be surprised at all if he suddenly showed up out of the blue and want to resume their relationship again.
Granted she hadn't gone all the way with him but it was not because she didn't want to.
Maybe she should have told Rick the truth about her feelings. But she had learned early on to never burn all her bridges thus she ignored his question, brushed it aside and pretended like she never even heard it.
We’re still young, Rick. There’s no rush.
Looking down at her dark blue plaid school skirt, the blazer and tie; she felt like a kid, a very insecure one at that and she wanted to scream. How she hated the stupid uniform but no matter how much she protested her aunt wasn't going to let her go to a public high school.
Looking at her watch again she realized that she was going to be late getting back to school and she quickly pulled out money for her extra ice-tea then ran out into the street waving for a cab.
Oh how unfair life can be sometimes! While Rick's out flying around in space having fun she had to go back to a boring classroom!
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Smile. Relax. You are beautiful, sexy, confident and a star. Just keep smiling.
She mentally told herself as she walked slowly down the runway.
She hadn't realized that the bright lights at the front of the stage would make it impossible for her to see the audience. But it was probably just as well since it made everything around her feel like a dream and she loved living in dreams.
Besides she knew where her most arrant cheering section was already -- left of the central runway, along the midsection of the amphitheater. She knew that Roy and his Skull Team were there, along with the rest of Rick's newly formed Vermilion Team.
She hadn’t seen him among the two teams and hoped he was here-- somewhere for she really wanted him to see her in her new dress.
Rick arrived at the amphitheater just in time to catch Minmei's grand entrance. He took a seat in the balcony, his binoculars zeroed in on the runway. He thought she looked fantastic as she stepped forward into the bright spot to wait for the judges' questions.
He was simply too taken with the sight of her to pay much attention to the judge's questions or Minmei's responses, but one question brought him out of his dream-like-state quickly.
"Do you have a boyfriend among all the fighter pilots you count as your friends, Miss Minmei?"
"I don't believe I'm ready for a boyfriend at this time in my life. I think it's best to have a lot of different friends. In fact, I have one really good friend who's as dear to me as a brother," and she giggled excitedly and stared at the judges with her big blue eyes full of adoration and naivety.
Rick slapped himself in the forehead with the heel of his hand.
A brother?! A BROTHER?!! Is she crazy? After all we’ve been through and I'm just like a brother. Minmei...
Just then, while Minmei was taking in the applause, bowing and blowing kisses to the audience like a true beauty queen his pager went off.
Dammed!
He knew he was missing the best part of the pageant-- the swimsuit competition! He cursed his luck and muttered to himself as he strapped himself into the cockpit of the armored Battloid.
Why did Jones have to be sick tonight of all nights? He’s probably at the pageant like everyone else! When I get back and see that he’s not strapped to his bed, I’m going to kill him.
"This sucks!" he yelled to the techs that were operating the module cranes. He knew they had one eye fixed on getting his plane ready and the other glued to the Miss Macross pageant broadcasting on the monitors.
No doubt Commander Hayes and the rest of the SDF-1 bridge crew were doing the same thing.
He felt like giving her a piece of his mind when she had coldly informed him that as primary patrol backup, he should have remained on the base instead of being at some stupid beauty pageant.
But he kept quiet because he had remembered his promise to himself to be nice to her.
Since that night when she had come to see him and made him forget about his promise to Minmei, he had made it a point not to argue with her; to cut her some slacks and to view her differently than the "old sourpuss".
But it was getting harder and harder for him to do so when every time they've come into contact whether in person or over the tac net, she had froze him with her cold stares and haughty attitude. Why should he be nice to her when she clearly despised him?
Dammed her! She was really trying his patience. It seemed like the nicer he was to her the nastier she became towards him. Women!
He walked the experimental Battloid cautiously to the Prometheus bay and after receiving the clearance from Lisa who looked like she was still pissed at him launched out into space.
Up yours too, Commander!
State = Continuará/To Be Continue
feedback = Sí/Yes