Chapter 377: Two Monicas

As Alexander ensued his silent and thought-filled stroll in his animation studio, he found something quite obvious...

For his first day back, he sure did do a deep dive into animation, didn't he?

It can't be helped. The rest of this September just had a whole lot of it.

Animation this.

Animation that.

Animation, animation, animation...

Animation show. Animated show. Animate.

That topic was going to be stuck in his head for a whole lot that he may find the word to be quite tedious at some point.

Maybe he'll shorten it or something.

Anime. It has a nice ring to it.

Maybe he'll plunder that and make it catch on as his own.

Then again, hadn't he bastardized and plagiarized quite a lot of Japanese stuff already?

Surely, he'll leave that one alone.

For the Japanese, the term just generally refers to all animated works, regardless of style or origin.

Strangely enough, anime became locked as something from Japan for non-Japanese.

Etymologically, anime actually traces back to animation. Katakanized to 'animeshon' and then shortened to become what it is.

On some accounts, it's actually from the Frenched up cartoon or animated drawing, 'dessin anime'.

Regardless, it's in Alexander's considerations.

Maybe he will do it. Maybe he will not.

That train of thought had to be stationed for later as he caught sight of a weird scene.

-----

Two Monicas.

That's something you don't see quite often.

It's especially something that Alexander doesn't come across in his most random sightseeing.

He had his fair share of Three Einsteins and some Charlies but Two Monicas was something else.

Could it be some illusion?

For once, he considered doing that comical eye-wiping but that's silly.

Then again, it may just be his hyper-visualization acting up.

He didn't have that strong of a thought with regards to Monicas though.

So... what made his Mind Mansion act up?

Red and green flashed in his eyes for a while and with the Two Monicas still in place, it could only mean they're the real deal.

Making Alexander pause...

Cause it truly was a bizarre sight. Much bizzare-r than two random voice actors echoing out JoJo and Dio scenes.

------

"How come you're here?" Alexander could only ask.

"Am I not allowed to be here?" Monica #2 asked back in fake offense.

"It's not that." Alexander quipped. "I just thought that you'd be somewhere else. Probably princess-ing and bride-ing."

"Don't tell me you got canned... again?" Knowing her, Alexander felt that it was very likely.

She should really reconsider her agent, manager, or whoever is in charge of her employment opportunities.

"Alex, Princess Bride is not another Misfits of Science, okay!" Monica #2 clarified with pride. "I'm the popular Charlie from Top Gun now. Movies like Princess Bride are piled up for me and I'm kissing goodbye to that silly, regretting television show. Why be at TV screens when I could be on the big screen?!"

"Yeah, yeah." Alexander just went along with her fake vanity. "The great Courteney Cox. The amazing movie actress."

Cocky Cox as ever and with her current stance on the big screen, Monica Geller might be out of the equation, so Monica #2 isn't too fitting anymore.

"You really should put more emotion into your praise, Alex." Courteney sighed at that. For many reasons, she could brag to anyone but not to this odd fellow.

Well, it was fun while it lasted.

"Anyways, repeating an earlier question... how come you're here?" Alexander asked again.

Courteney explained. "You should know that like the others... I've been propping Top Gun for some bits of publicity and my share of it just ended. Also, my next filming hasn't started yet but it's coming close. Within this little time, I thought I could snag some gig for some cash here."

"Dragonball Season 2 doesn't have much Bulma in it though." Alexander countered. "And I thought you were all about big screens now. TV screens are too small for you."

"Come on, Alex. That was a joke." Courteney bantered and sighed. "Besides, an actress' pay is really low. Coupled with the percentage split for my agency and other Hollywood accounting, it's really disheartening."

"Even with the bonus that Old Mister Creed gave me, I still want some extra cash for my trip to Europe." She added with some sass. "Princess Bride is all medieval but a modern girl's got some modern needs."

"So commercials and appearance fees aren't enough?" Alexander sure found that weird. Maybe she was not that much of a spendthrift.

Then again, with her open-mindedness to TV gigs, maybe she's back to Monica status. And with her current cling to the Bulma role, maybe his convoluted VA strategy really worked.

"Commercials are good but it's the same either way. It's even good that I'm a movie star now. Unknown models and aspiring starlets have it worse." After comparing her Tampon commercial pay and her current pay, Courteney felt like she was really enlightened.

Even the other Monica or Monica #1 nodded at that. Models really had to tough it out.

Of course, that didn't escape Alexander's notice and he pivoted to that.

"Well, we sure did get caught up in a weird topic, didn't we?" He had already gotten word with the other Monica, so it made sense for the other to have a turn. "My "how come you're here question" was actually directed to you, Miss."

Courteney just shrugged at that and turned to the pretty lady she came with. She was confident in her prettiness but this lady was not to be underestimated. "From what we've small talked about, she has some important documents for you."

"Oh um..." Taking that as her cue, Monica #1 explained with quite an Italy-cized voice. "I'm actually here to pass on to you the compiled Starbucks files, little boss."

"You must have missed me when I told Mr. Legalities to send it to Creed Games, huh?" Alexander hummed. "I got too caught up that I unknowingly changed the venue to here. Sorry about that."

"It's okay." Monica #1 was quite understanding. "The people from the Games team told me that you were here and it's not that far."

"Here you go, little boss." She then handed a thick-rimmed folder to him. "The full content of the Starbucks deal, with notes of Il Giornale's merger and Mr. Schultz's requests for you."

"Eherm... there's only a couple of changes from when I spoke to you on the phone about it, little boss." Monica #1 dutifully summarized with that.

"So that must make you Miss Consigliere." Alexander surmised it with ease. Italian, Starbucks, phone call, and a "Monica". Who else could it be?

"That would be me." Monica #1 or Miss Consigliere affirmed with a pretty smile.

But that smile only made Alexander wonder. "Forgive me for asking but shouldn't you be modeling out there?"

"You know I am a model, little boss?" Miss Consigliere was a bit blindsided. "Have you seen me in some magazine perhaps?"

Alexander blinked a bit before reasoning out. "No, I just think you have that model vibe but given your response, I guess I'm right."

"What's a model like you doing handiwork for Creed's legal team?" Eavesdropping Courteney was quite curious about this.

With a big star asking, how can Miss Consigliere refuse.

"I'm actually just here for a special internship. A professor of mine knows Mr. Lelan... uhm... Mr. Legalities and I took the chance to get to know more of the workforce and America while I'm at it."

"Wow! Doesn't that make you a model and a lawyer?!" Courteney was impressed. For a fellow pretty girl, this consigliere lady was something.

"Not really." Miss Consigliere was a bit embarrassed as she clarified "Just a temporary intern and barely a paralegal. There's still law school, bar exams, and the fact that I still need to get home to Italy."

"You sure are a long way from home." Courteney nodded in understanding and inwardly thought of how this lady sure had a niftier gig than her.

Modeling aside, it was actually lawyering at that.

"You're still on your way to being a lawyer though. So a model and becoming a lawyer. That's still very impressive!"

Despite being praised by a movie star, Miss Consiglier really had her ways of bringing a downer for it. "Erm... I'm actually a bit undecided as of yet. I'm not that well-known of a model yet it's needed to pay for law school. And if I focus on law school, modeling wouldn't work out."

"So, I'm currently just on a wait-and-see."

"That's quite the struggle." Courteney could only sigh. To think that lawyer struggles were not too far off from her movie actress struggles.

Given that she's a fellow pretty lady like herself, this must be the trouble that they all collectively face.

As an advocate for prettiness, Courteney felt that she must help a pretty fellow out. "Fret not, Miss Consigliere. I actually have something that might assist you in your woes."

"What is it?" Miss Consigliere was already weirded out by this famed Courteney Cox but at the very least she could hear her out.

"I actually wanted this as a stable money supplier for me but if you want, you can have it."

"I'm listening."

"Erm... how do you feel about being an assistant or secretary?"

"Is it some producer or rich man?

"Somewhere along those lines."

"If it's anything lecherous or deplorable then I'll have to decline. I'm not that type of person."

"It's actually not what you think. Just hear me out first. Okay?"

"Okay."

"..."

"..."

The rest was barely legible from there as the next part were conveyed in whispers.

-------

As the two conversed, Alexander conscientiously kept himself preoccupied with papers regarding the splitting green mermaid.

All the while keeping to himself as he ruminated on the implications. Not just on two-tailed Starbucks but the two Monicas as well.

The duo sure did mesh quite quickly for some reason...

And with what he's heard and seen, some confusion he had has been made clear.

Monica Geller and the other "Monica".

Monica #2 and Monica #1.

Who's who didn't matter much.

What mattered is how the heck did one of them actually turn out to be Monica Bellucci?

Re-life weirdness? Chaos Theory? Butterfly Effect? Dominoes?

Honestly, as the list could still go on, Alexander couldn't be bothered anymore.

It is what it is and it's best to leave it at that.

What bothered him more is actually the weird stares he's being given whilst they conversed from afar in muffled voices.

Just what were these two Monicas talking about?