I’m looking at a photo of me in an ancient era emperor costume. Looks respectable. I would say dignified, even. However, glance down and see the massive bulge covered by the robes, the picture gets twisted.

No problem! Crop the image and voila! It’s done! Looks pretty good!

Onto the bad news.

Saori’s sitting down on a chair wearing her empress costume. Her eyes are closed and she looks regal. The image is perfect. But a closer view will let you see the noticeable bump on her stomach.

[https://i1.lensdump.com/i/1oVkRH.png]

“Saori! Wake up!”

She doesn’t budge. Instead, her mouth opens and saliva drips on her robes. The robes themselves are pretty dirty when you look closer. It’s muddied by sweat and… uh… substances.

It’s not my fault! Okay, maybe I shouldn’t have egged her on for a kiss. But I didn’t know she wouldn’t stop at that! The costumes were also her idea! These costumes seem expensive and are custom made. This mess needs fixing!

“I’m sorry Saori!”

I cover her face with bandages and remove the costumes from our bodies. We are back in our old clothes. I should bring these costumes with me. Good thing there’s enough space in our bags.

How long has it been? I check my time, and we’ve been away for forty plus minutes already!

This is a record for me. I stopped myself. A miracle.

Saori’s still out of it. A few minutes makes this much mess?

I stare at my spear and curse.

“You suck! You early shot!”

I’m still an early shot. Good thing I have unlimited stamina. There’s this side effect, though. How do I explain this to people? We need to sneak out.

I hear a knock on the door.

“Are you done? We have things to put inside. It’s been a while.”

This is bad! Before we went inside, Saori asked for some privacy. They allowed it because they finished putting away the costumes. The good news is that it bought us time. The bad news is that they know we’re inside!

“In a minute! Saori’s in the zone and is practicing her lines! You can leave it there. I’ll place them. They are just small things, right?”

I don’t open the door.

“Okay. But the director is still waiting.”

Forgot about the director. That’s another problem for sure. It’s not that busy outside, but there’s no way to sneak out.

Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

I survey the room. There are no vents. No large windows either.

Alright then. Good thing there’re these bandages then. I don’t think there are any mummy scenes. They must be leftovers from a different show. With the bandages, I cover up Saori’s whole body and walk out.

I make her stand up and bring her out like a mannequin. One hand on supporting her stomach and one under her armpit. It’s not that difficult, just awkward. My stride is fast and secure.

“Sir, aren’t you the manager? Why do you have a mannequin with you?” a crew member asks.

“Our company president is very superstitious and made me bring this to guarantee success.”

“A pregnant mannequin?”

“Yes, she will give birth to success! Excuse me.”

Stares pierce my back while walking away from the building. I think I have them fooled.

“I think if you disassemble it first, it will be easier to bring out,” says a crew member.

“Fool! It’s our company success mummy of course I can’t hurt it!”

That was a little extreme. He doesn’t know it’s a real person. I better apologize.

“Sorry man! I’m just a small-time employee. The president said he’ll fire me and put my family on fire if this sacred object gets injured.”

“Wow, your president sounds crazy.”

“Yeah, how can he treat workers like that?”

Hey that hurts! I’m the president! I am treating my worker pretty bad right now though, aren’t I?

“Serves you right! Being close with Ms. Saori when you don’t deserve it got you bad karma.”

Why is there someone dissing me? Too much attention is getting on me. I apologize to them and tell I need to hurry. We got in the car. I place Saori on the backseat, laying her down.

Well, that’s done.

I take out my phone and message the director. The picture we took is part of the message.

‘Sorry director Otis! Saori got a little sick from something! It’s not serious, but she needed to go home! I sent the image of our talent.’

As I was starting the engine. My phone rang its director, Otis. That’s a pretty fast response.

“Is Saori alright?”

“She needs to rest for some days. Is that alright director?”

“No problem if it’s this early on. I’ll need to schedule some acting practices, anyway. Only three days, though.”

“Thank you, sir.”

“Also, we’ll hire him. What’s the talent’s name?”

“Atlas.”

That’s so dumb of me! Why did I blurt out my name like that? Brain? Can’t you even change it a little like Altus or something?

“We’ll prepare a contract immediately!”

“Uh… The president said it’s alright to treat it as a bonus for Saori’s contract. It’s just a minor role.”

“What! How can that bastard employer of yours treat talent like that? No contract? Is he blind? Tell Atlas I will refer him to other agencies if he wants to! Talent deserves to be treated better!”

I’m that talent! My image as the president is crumbling! I can’t sign a contract, though. My information will spread!

“He’s not really a talent, sir. He has a different job in the company.”

“What? Your president must be really blind! He’s lucky he found a gem like Saori! Even though eyes are trash!”

“The president tried to scout him! But he loves his job! The president is a wonderful person with good taste.”

Let me defend myself a little, alright?

“Oh, sorry for the assumptions. Aren’t you being a bit too defensive, though? Are you his relative or something?”

It’s been a long day. Sorry.

“What is his job?” says director Otis.

“Uh… Janitor.”