[Thread] The Ball! [Open to: ALL!]
The first thing Kurenai noticed upon setting one elegantly-shod foot into the school's somewhat-dilapidated hall was that the floors had been polished, and actually looked like wood as opposed to a packed-down collection of dust. She paused and twisted her foot on it experimentally, thoroughly approving of the easy way her stilettos pivoted across the shining surface. This was a good start.
Raising her appraising stare to the rest of the large auditorium, she noted the other changes: chair and tables were set up to one side of the stage, which in turn was garlanded with sound equipment, microphones and amplifiers, leads and instrument stands. The far side was screened off just past the edge of the stage to close the hall in a bit; it was moderately huge, after all, and althoughTsunade's School had a surprisingly large student body Kurenai had no doubts whatsoever that many of them would be skipping out as soon as they found an opportunity. The screening itself was curved, which gave a very nice effect to the whole thing. Creative.
There were sheets of paper tacked to the screens, as well. Looking around, Kurenai could find no sign of her responsibility-ducking employer and sighed a little. How unsurprising. Tsunade insisted that the full staff and student collective attend this little soireé and then avoided it herself. Well, that was just fine. She simply wouldn't be able to share in the delicate hip-flask Kurenai had hidden somewhere vaguely unmentionable, containing some very scotch with which she had hoped to bribe the older woman with. The props department needed a slight extension to its budget, and it was best to broach these matters with a bribe.
She strolled languidly over to the stage, setting her clutch-purse to one side as she leaned against the dais and took in the hall from this angle. Nice. Very nice. Tasteful, not overdone or extravagant, but pleasant. Kurenai nodded her approval and searched for the poor creatureTsunade had drafted into doing her dirty work for her. "This looks lovely, Sakura; thank you." Would Tsunade have bothered to stay had booze been readily on offer? Hmm . Maybe next time she'd test this theory. Sometimes Kurenai had a wicked streak, and something told her that getting the boss drunk during a school function would be terrible but also hilarious.
(This had to be her father's genes kicking in; Kurenai wondered now if Anko ever had the exact same impulse.)
She had been running around like her feet had been on fire all day, wanting to make sure everything was just perfect: rather, everything had to be just right. The food was in place, still covered to keep fresh as long as possible, some in metal warming trays to keep warm. All the chairs were straight and pushed in, the stage was set. There were extra microphones, and music stands; all the equipment was hooked up, the list of groups playing and the times posted. She needed a bloody checklist, her mind was jumping all over the place. Worried eyes scanned the room to see if there was anything out of place and she wandered over to the food table, heels clacking on the floor as she made a face. There was definitely a blister forming, but these shoes were worth it.Sakura sighed, heavily. At the very least they made up for her mess of a dress; she smoothed the peachy silk and wondered how the HELL they had messed up 'Mint Green' with 'Peach' - it wasn't as if the conversation she'd had with the seamstress had been in a foreign language or anything! InnerSakura cackled at the irony of an ORANGE dress and Sakura mentally hissed back it was PEACH. At least the dress wasn't hideous, but it made her skin look more pale then it actually was. Double sigh.
Absently she swirled around the punch and wondered if people would actually show up and stay; Tsunade had said it was mandatory but still she was mildly concerned. Plus, on top of all this the results for the auditions were already posted up on the wall, causing her MORE unneeded stress. Sure, she could have easily peeked at them, but that was just so WRONG, like cheating on a test or...or something. But it was seriously driving her up the wall; she bit her lip, tasting her lip gloss. She should have never allowed herself to be volunteered for this in the first place!
A voice yanked her from her thoughts and she spun around, her dress fluttering against her bare legs. "Oh...umm, thanks?" Uhhh... She tried to put a name to the woman who was standing and examining Mrs. Huzzey's handiwork. Oh! Kurenai. "You're early..." Sakura finished lamely running her fingers though her already tousled hair. It was critical that she take a deep breath and tried to relax before her brain exploded. There was that distinct feeling this was going to be a long night.
Kurenai laid a calming hand on the poor dear's shoulder. She looked a little wild about the edges; well, that wasn't a surprise. "I usually am," she answered wryly, gently reorderingSakura's hair a little - she couldn't help herself, between wanting to mother everything that moved and her natural impulses as an ex-stylist to various small-time stars. "Can I help you with anything?" Expertly-accentuated eyes flicked to the large clock situated on the back wall. They had half an hour before the keenest of the attendees began to arrive, and while everything looked to be in order it was better to be safe than sorry.
"How long have you been here?" Her gaze shifted back a little critically to the girl, lips thinning into a line of concentration as she almost absently brushed errant dust and thread away from where it had somehow managed to attach itself. Sakura looked as if she needed to get off her feet for a while; those shoes could not be comfortable. Kurenai placed a firm hand between her shoulder blades and began to propel her to a seat. "Here. Sit down for a moment, dear. You look like you could use the break." Heck,Sakura hadn't even done her hair, let alone consider anything to do with makeup, clearly. Time for an intervention before she fretted herself into a knot. "Tell me what else needs to be done, if there's anything, and then we'll do something with your hair," she decided. "We've plenty of time, after all." She gave the girl a reassuring smile and pointed firmly to the chair. "Sit!"
Thankful for the older woman's help, Sakura gladly took a seat, allowing herself to be fussed over. It wasn't that she enjoyed it (okay, maybe she did a little), but she was used to it. "I think everything is done: well, other than adjusting all the sound equipment and such, but whomever is playing can handle that. I didn't want to touch it, I'm not really good with those sorts of things." She let he eyes wander around the hall, looking for anything that was out of place, finding nothing. "But thanks for offering to help; I mean, no one else really...well, understandably, because they wouldn't have really been getting anything in return. I was luckyTsunade agreed to offer extra marks for people playing music or else I would have had to get a DJ or something." Thank God she didn't need to worry herself about THAT anymore. Sakura rubbed her face; she was beginning to feel hungry even though she'd snuck some food and had an apple earlier...the night before. She couldn't even recall falling asleep and for once she was thankful that her mother nagged her so much about taking care of her skin.
But how long had she been here? "All day? I think I left for five minutes to get changed and use the bathroom." Sakura didn't mind the way she looked, she looked pretty (she hoped). But any help offered was help she was going to jump on. Sort of. "You don't need to do my hair, it's okay. But if you want to that's fine too, I can't do anything with it when it's like this. I wish it was just straight all the time. It's so annoying like this." There you go complaining to a teacher.....again. InnerSakura rolled her eyes as Sakura recalled ranting to Kakashi about how stupid Valentine's Day was as she ate those little powdery Valentine's hearts. Ugh, he was her teacher and so was Kurenai. For some reason she needed to keep reminding herself of this. She changed the subject. "I hope everyone shows up and has a good time. I wanted everything to be perfect."
"Ah, I know the feeling." Kurenai's smile widened as she bent slightly, peremptorily but gently tilting Sakura's head by way of strong fingers on her chin. "My hair never wants to behave itself. Luckily, I've had enough practice by now to whip it into shape." She ran her hands throughSakura's hair, toying with it, lips pursed as she considered it. "Mmm." Out of her purse came a few pins and a spare hair tie - never let it be said that KurenaiYuuhi went anywhere unprepared for every eventuality - and with a few deft, well-practised motions Sakura's oddly-hued hair was out of her face into a deceptively complex-looking bundle of almost-curls. Humming, Kurenai considered the pieces she'd left to frameSakura's pale-complexioned face, then pieced them out and scrunched them up with a mental command of Stay put.
Next time she'd remember to bring some emergency hairspray.
Once she was satisfied that Sakura's hair was going to behave itself satisfactorily and remain nice and bouncy and cute, she tapped her chin. "Makeup," she announced, slightly commanding. Sakura would get by without foundation; the pair dug through their purses and Kurenai eyed their combined resources. Hmm. Adequate. "Hold still," she directed and began to beautify. Her own makeup was slightly too dark for Sakura's colouring, but she could blend it to make it lighter. Sakura had enough good sense to stick to fairly neutral colours, which made things easier. Kurenai capped off her mascara and tucked it away and tiltedSakura's chin back up again, angling it into the light so she could evaluate her handiwork. "There. Lovely." She beamed, patting Sakura's cheek fondly, and found a tissue to wipe eyeshadow from her fingertips as the earlybirds began to filter in, chattering amongst themselves in that hushed quality people tended to adopt in large, mostly-empty spaces. "Now you get to relax and enjoy the evening!"
[[OOC: Gitchoor characters here and hang out/try and shove ice down each other's backs/bitch about how they're prettier than everyone else, and before long we'll let you know who got what for the highly-delayed play~~ >:) Aaaand apparently this happened a week and half ago. Yeah, so we fail at doin' stuff in a timely manner, STFU PLZ.]]
Raising her appraising stare to the rest of the large auditorium, she noted the other changes: chair and tables were set up to one side of the stage, which in turn was garlanded with sound equipment, microphones and amplifiers, leads and instrument stands. The far side was screened off just past the edge of the stage to close the hall in a bit; it was moderately huge, after all, and althoughTsunade's School had a surprisingly large student body Kurenai had no doubts whatsoever that many of them would be skipping out as soon as they found an opportunity. The screening itself was curved, which gave a very nice effect to the whole thing. Creative.
There were sheets of paper tacked to the screens, as well. Looking around, Kurenai could find no sign of her responsibility-ducking employer and sighed a little. How unsurprising. Tsunade insisted that the full staff and student collective attend this little soireé and then avoided it herself. Well, that was just fine. She simply wouldn't be able to share in the delicate hip-flask Kurenai had hidden somewhere vaguely unmentionable, containing some very scotch with which she had hoped to bribe the older woman with. The props department needed a slight extension to its budget, and it was best to broach these matters with a bribe.
She strolled languidly over to the stage, setting her clutch-purse to one side as she leaned against the dais and took in the hall from this angle. Nice. Very nice. Tasteful, not overdone or extravagant, but pleasant. Kurenai nodded her approval and searched for the poor creatureTsunade had drafted into doing her dirty work for her. "This looks lovely, Sakura; thank you." Would Tsunade have bothered to stay had booze been readily on offer? Hmm . Maybe next time she'd test this theory. Sometimes Kurenai had a wicked streak, and something told her that getting the boss drunk during a school function would be terrible but also hilarious.
(This had to be her father's genes kicking in; Kurenai wondered now if Anko ever had the exact same impulse.)
She had been running around like her feet had been on fire all day, wanting to make sure everything was just perfect: rather, everything had to be just right. The food was in place, still covered to keep fresh as long as possible, some in metal warming trays to keep warm. All the chairs were straight and pushed in, the stage was set. There were extra microphones, and music stands; all the equipment was hooked up, the list of groups playing and the times posted. She needed a bloody checklist, her mind was jumping all over the place. Worried eyes scanned the room to see if there was anything out of place and she wandered over to the food table, heels clacking on the floor as she made a face. There was definitely a blister forming, but these shoes were worth it.Sakura sighed, heavily. At the very least they made up for her mess of a dress; she smoothed the peachy silk and wondered how the HELL they had messed up 'Mint Green' with 'Peach' - it wasn't as if the conversation she'd had with the seamstress had been in a foreign language or anything! InnerSakura cackled at the irony of an ORANGE dress and Sakura mentally hissed back it was PEACH. At least the dress wasn't hideous, but it made her skin look more pale then it actually was. Double sigh.
Absently she swirled around the punch and wondered if people would actually show up and stay; Tsunade had said it was mandatory but still she was mildly concerned. Plus, on top of all this the results for the auditions were already posted up on the wall, causing her MORE unneeded stress. Sure, she could have easily peeked at them, but that was just so WRONG, like cheating on a test or...or something. But it was seriously driving her up the wall; she bit her lip, tasting her lip gloss. She should have never allowed herself to be volunteered for this in the first place!
A voice yanked her from her thoughts and she spun around, her dress fluttering against her bare legs. "Oh...umm, thanks?" Uhhh... She tried to put a name to the woman who was standing and examining Mrs. Huzzey's handiwork. Oh! Kurenai. "You're early..." Sakura finished lamely running her fingers though her already tousled hair. It was critical that she take a deep breath and tried to relax before her brain exploded. There was that distinct feeling this was going to be a long night.
Kurenai laid a calming hand on the poor dear's shoulder. She looked a little wild about the edges; well, that wasn't a surprise. "I usually am," she answered wryly, gently reorderingSakura's hair a little - she couldn't help herself, between wanting to mother everything that moved and her natural impulses as an ex-stylist to various small-time stars. "Can I help you with anything?" Expertly-accentuated eyes flicked to the large clock situated on the back wall. They had half an hour before the keenest of the attendees began to arrive, and while everything looked to be in order it was better to be safe than sorry.
"How long have you been here?" Her gaze shifted back a little critically to the girl, lips thinning into a line of concentration as she almost absently brushed errant dust and thread away from where it had somehow managed to attach itself. Sakura looked as if she needed to get off her feet for a while; those shoes could not be comfortable. Kurenai placed a firm hand between her shoulder blades and began to propel her to a seat. "Here. Sit down for a moment, dear. You look like you could use the break." Heck,Sakura hadn't even done her hair, let alone consider anything to do with makeup, clearly. Time for an intervention before she fretted herself into a knot. "Tell me what else needs to be done, if there's anything, and then we'll do something with your hair," she decided. "We've plenty of time, after all." She gave the girl a reassuring smile and pointed firmly to the chair. "Sit!"
Thankful for the older woman's help, Sakura gladly took a seat, allowing herself to be fussed over. It wasn't that she enjoyed it (okay, maybe she did a little), but she was used to it. "I think everything is done: well, other than adjusting all the sound equipment and such, but whomever is playing can handle that. I didn't want to touch it, I'm not really good with those sorts of things." She let he eyes wander around the hall, looking for anything that was out of place, finding nothing. "But thanks for offering to help; I mean, no one else really...well, understandably, because they wouldn't have really been getting anything in return. I was luckyTsunade agreed to offer extra marks for people playing music or else I would have had to get a DJ or something." Thank God she didn't need to worry herself about THAT anymore. Sakura rubbed her face; she was beginning to feel hungry even though she'd snuck some food and had an apple earlier...the night before. She couldn't even recall falling asleep and for once she was thankful that her mother nagged her so much about taking care of her skin.
But how long had she been here? "All day? I think I left for five minutes to get changed and use the bathroom." Sakura didn't mind the way she looked, she looked pretty (she hoped). But any help offered was help she was going to jump on. Sort of. "You don't need to do my hair, it's okay. But if you want to that's fine too, I can't do anything with it when it's like this. I wish it was just straight all the time. It's so annoying like this." There you go complaining to a teacher.....again. InnerSakura rolled her eyes as Sakura recalled ranting to Kakashi about how stupid Valentine's Day was as she ate those little powdery Valentine's hearts. Ugh, he was her teacher and so was Kurenai. For some reason she needed to keep reminding herself of this. She changed the subject. "I hope everyone shows up and has a good time. I wanted everything to be perfect."
"Ah, I know the feeling." Kurenai's smile widened as she bent slightly, peremptorily but gently tilting Sakura's head by way of strong fingers on her chin. "My hair never wants to behave itself. Luckily, I've had enough practice by now to whip it into shape." She ran her hands throughSakura's hair, toying with it, lips pursed as she considered it. "Mmm." Out of her purse came a few pins and a spare hair tie - never let it be said that KurenaiYuuhi went anywhere unprepared for every eventuality - and with a few deft, well-practised motions Sakura's oddly-hued hair was out of her face into a deceptively complex-looking bundle of almost-curls. Humming, Kurenai considered the pieces she'd left to frameSakura's pale-complexioned face, then pieced them out and scrunched them up with a mental command of Stay put.
Next time she'd remember to bring some emergency hairspray.
Once she was satisfied that Sakura's hair was going to behave itself satisfactorily and remain nice and bouncy and cute, she tapped her chin. "Makeup," she announced, slightly commanding. Sakura would get by without foundation; the pair dug through their purses and Kurenai eyed their combined resources. Hmm. Adequate. "Hold still," she directed and began to beautify. Her own makeup was slightly too dark for Sakura's colouring, but she could blend it to make it lighter. Sakura had enough good sense to stick to fairly neutral colours, which made things easier. Kurenai capped off her mascara and tucked it away and tiltedSakura's chin back up again, angling it into the light so she could evaluate her handiwork. "There. Lovely." She beamed, patting Sakura's cheek fondly, and found a tissue to wipe eyeshadow from her fingertips as the earlybirds began to filter in, chattering amongst themselves in that hushed quality people tended to adopt in large, mostly-empty spaces. "Now you get to relax and enjoy the evening!"
[[OOC: Gitchoor characters here and hang out/try and shove ice down each other's backs/bitch about how they're prettier than everyone else, and before long we'll let you know who got what for the highly-delayed play~~ >:) Aaaand apparently this happened a week and half ago. Yeah, so we fail at doin' stuff in a timely manner, STFU PLZ.]]