Hell's Kitchen: The Truth Behind the Papa Louie Universe

Chapter Twenty Six

The final filming day of Mocharia Life had come to a close. Its nine-month run had felt much longer– and still Akari found herself wondering where all the time had gone. Even with all of the shenanigans, the early mornings and insufferable tasks, she felt... sad, that it had ended. Sad beyond the simple notion that this was just another milestone in her race to the fast-approaching end.

Whether she'd liked it or not, the documentary had been a part of her life for a while, and now it was over. Some part of her had to admit, had to recognize that, for all the bad, there was some good, too. She'd met people. She'd found people that she wouldn't even mind keeping in touch with. She'd been a part of something that would outlast her, a collaborative project that encapsulated nearly a year of her life. Even if it wasn't a great representation. Even if it was fake.

Even when the man behind it was the man behind it all.

All this to say, it was more bittersweet than she'd expected. It was over. She wasn't certain how to feel about that. Instead, she gazed out the window. She kept half-expecting to see fireworks go off, even though that didn't make sense. City law prevented personal firework sales– not that that stopped people setting them off– and it was still far too light outside to get the full effect. Still, back in Tacodale, it was practically impossible to spend an hour without hearing fireworks somewhere during the first week of July.

The Starlight festival was called a 'jubilee' here, which seemed more sophisticated– and less fun– than the Starlight barbeque, but it didn't surprise her. Though, Starlight seemed a sort of boring holiday without the promise of food. She and Allan had gone to see a local amateur production of Starlight Beloved a few days prior, and... well, she didn't particularly care for the melodrama of the 'Starlight story'. Just toss some hamburgers on a grill, you freaks. Get dangerously close to losing a finger with a firework you bought from your weird neighbor. But for the love of god, stop waxing poetic and pretending to cry.

It was a pretty good way of symbolizing the nature of New Pepperton, though. Sure, maybe the thought of her old holiday traditions made her a little homesick, but she didn't move to the city for nothing. She couldn't actually... remember why she had – for a fresh start? It wasn't the point– it was most definitely a good thing that no one was keeping people up at night with hundreds of tiny explosions. Though, she still wanted to see the 'New Pepperton City Starlight Jubilee Celebratory Fireworks Show and Extravaganza', just for old-times sake. Even if the name was absurd and reminded her of that ridiculous reptile place up in Oilseed.

She shifted her position on the couch, still staring, as if she was hoping for something to happen. Really, she was just procrastinating heading over to Olivia's.

It wasn't that she didn't want to go– not at all– she just couldn't bring herself to get up, and go out the door and get on the bus and the walk... It had been a tiring day, to say the least.

Allan was already passed out, having gotten back late from Orion's the night before. He'd probably have been lucky to catch three hours of sleep, what with the early wake-up call.

The sun wasn't setting, but the sky had begun to turn orange. They had already passed the summer solstice, she reminded herself, as if it meant that nights would come much faster now.

They wouldn't, but it was another milestone. Just like the damn documentary. Really– would she even get to see it? Did she even really want to?

There had been a lot of people on the final day– lots more than usual. Most of them had come under the pretense that they'd be taking group pictures, but Papa Louie had called it off. Apparently, there were even more people that they had to wait for, although Akari figured that if they didn't show up today, they didn't really need to be in some photo . Even without everyone , the sheer mass of the project seemed astounding– how could all these people care enough? They certainly weren't getting paid enough to justify the work. And most people didn't even bother to complain about it.