Note: Inspired by my friend Uber Flare's story Unstable Swan. Unlike her situation, in which she was dared by her friends to write a non-Mary Sue OC story, my situation is that I am trying to write a non-cliché OC story. I really hope that it isn't boring, either. And just so you all know, this takes place in America, which explains the lack of Japanese stuff.
"Come on, Sarah!" Meg cried. Sarah reluctantly followed Meg.
"Where are we going?"
"Piffle Princess!" Meg shouted eagerly. "I need to get a new accessory for my angel!"
"Meg, don't tell me you're an Angelic Layer addict!" Sarah whined. "Those people are so annoying. They're always gushing about how 'your angel is your friend' and how anyone can play. Well not me! I will defy the odds!"
"Sarah...you don't HAVE to play, but it'd be fun..." Meg said.
"Well, I'm still not going to that pink frilly toy store!"
"Oh, Sarah, please come! It would be so cool being Angelic Layer friends! And you can meet tons of cool people through Angelic Layer."
"I don't need a mechanical doll to make friends," Sarah harrumphed.
"Then...let's make a bet!" Meg said, her bright green eyes twinkling. "Create an angel and play for the rest of the year. If you make friends, you have to keep playing. If you don't make friends, then, um..."
"Then you have to quit Angelic Layer. For good," Sarah said, pulling her medium-long black hair into a messy bun.
"Fine!" Meg insisted, fluffing up her blonde flip hairdo. "Now come on!"
As they stood in Piffle Princess, Sarah realized how different she and Meg looked. Meg was still dressed in her school uniform; a white polo, a black sweater, a knee-length blue skirt, and flats. Sarah, on the other hand, had changed into overalls, a red t-shirt, and sneakers.
"Sarah, do you wanna see my angel?" Meg asked, pulling an angel out of her purse. The angel was pale, with black curly hair and a red satin thin-strapped dress. Multicolored ruffles decorated the hem and neckline.
"Her name is Adrienne," Meg explained. "She's a lightweight model, designed for speed!" Meg plucked a gold angel-sized circlet off the rack and held it against Adrienne, squinting.
"Look, the circlet fits, let's go," Sarah said. Meg bought the circlet and whirled around.
"Hey! You still need to buy an angel!" Meg snapped, pulling Sarah to the back of the shop. She then proceeded to tell Sarah exactly what to buy. Sarah felt stupid buying all the junk that she'd only use once. Seriously. When would she use a special-edition Angelic Layer laptop that only had Angelic Layer software on it?
"Oh, are you creating an angel?" the perky woman at the counter asked.
"Yeah..." Sarah mumbled.
"Now, when creating your angel, remember to think of a creative name that no other angel has. And also pay attention to the instructions, and we sure to read all about your angel's parts. You can create an incredible move that way."
"Um, thanks?" Sarah said. Her reply had come out sounding like a question.
"Now, you have fun with your angel!"
Once Sarah exited the shop, she turned to Meg.
"Are all of the Angelic Layer players perky little robots?" she asked. "That lady was so sugary sweet!"
"Oh, Sarah, she only wanted to help..." Meg mumbled. "Whatever. Just go home and create your angel."
-:-
After showering, eating dinner, and doing her homework, Sarah plopped onto the top bunk of her bed and opened up her instructions.
"Why the heck is there shock-absorbent goop in my egg?" she asked, climbing down to dump the crud into her sink.
"Ew, my angel's all busty and skinny. She looks just like Barbie!" Sarah complained to no one in particular.
"Okay, so apparently an adult is supposed to help me style my angel's hair? Eh, who needs adults?" Sarah grabbed the first hair color she saw (black with silver streaks) and put it on Mecha Barbie's head. After she placed it on, she pulled it into a pompadour.
"How's this for unique?" she giggled to herself. "Anyhoo...hook this tube up to the laptop and register my angel."
Sarah took quite a while to hook it up, being technologically challenged, but she finally managed to and placed her angel inside the tube.
"Now select your parameters," she read. She started panicking. She had no clue what to do with her angel. She hadn't thought about it...ever.
"She's a lightweight model, designed for speed!" Meg had said.
That's it! I'll crush Meg's angel! Sarah quickly set all of the parameters on brute force.
"Now select a name..."
"Now, when creating your angel, remember to think of a creative name that no other angel has." The receptionist had instructed her.
Now, Sarah thought, how can I screw that up? I've got it! Sarah pulled the laptop closer to her and typed,
"Aries X." (1) Sarah said. She smirked. "How's that for a unique name, lady?"
-:-
Sarah woke up and smirked at her desk, where Aries X was perched. Aries X had silver eyes to match the streaks in her hair. It was too perfect. Meg would freak out at Aries X's strange name and hair, and she'd be sorry she ever made Sarah play Angelic Layer.
Sarah was feeling so happy that she put on a clean skirt, an unwrinkled polo, and a wool sweater that she'd sewn a long time ago but never wore. She pulled her hair back into a clean braid and carefully put her ballet flats on over her un-ripped tights.
"Hello," Sarah said, prancing downstairs with Aries X in her lap. She started gobbling down toast and orange juice.
"Honey, what's in your lap?" her mother asked.
"It's an angel," Sarah said, swallowing her toast. "Meg said I should make one, and she more or less made me."
"She's very pretty, honey. What's Meg's angel's name? Does her mother know she's playing Angelic Layer?"
"Listen, Mom, I'd love to discuss Meg with you, but it's time to walk to school with Jake." Sarah placed Aries X in her book bag and walked out the door. She didn't particularly LIKE walking to school with "a dumb old boy" (2), but anything was better than chatting with her mom when she was in a nosy mood.
"Why are you dressed so nicely?" Jake asked. "Is there someone you're trying to impress?"
Sarah ignored him. That usually worked with Jake.
"Ooh, is it ME?" Jake asked, poking Sarah's sweater. "Or maybe you failed a test, and you're trying to butter up your teacher?"
"Shut up!" Sarah yelled, kicking Jake in the shins. "Geez, can't a girl look nice without there being some deep dark secret behind it?" Sarah marched ahead of Jake and walked into school.
Where is she? Sarah thought. I hope she's here today...
"Sarah!" Meg shouted happily, running over. "You look very pretty today. So, did you make an angel?"
"Yes," Sarah said. "She's right here." Sarah pulled Aries X out of her bag.
"Ooh, I like her hair! It's really pretty."
"She's a heavyweight model, built for power," Sarah said smugly. Please ask her name, please ask her name...
"What's her name?"
"Her name is Aries X. You see, that lady told me to pick a unique name, so I made it really unique."
"Um...I guess it's a cool name..." Meg mumbled. "Hey, on Saturday, how about we go to Piffle Princess and I can teach you how to move around and stuff!"
"Sure," Sarah said, already planning a catastrophe.
After school, I'll learn how to move around and fight and stuff, and then I can kick Adrienne's butt! Ha-ha!
Oh, crud, Sarah thought. I think I'm actually going to like Angelic Layer...
Note: If I offended you with my talk of clichés, I'm sorry. Anyhoo, here are the footnotes:
(1) I got this name from Seventh Sanctum's Mecha Namer. Ares Something-or-Other came up as one of the names, and I decided to change it to Aries, because, well, I thought it sounded cooler. And there were often letters (S, T, W, etc.) at the end of names, and I thought X sounded the most robotic.
(2) No offense to any boys out there. That's just the way Sarah thinks, and it was a gimmick that set her apart from all the heroines who are friendly to guys.