Sour Chocolates
"Mama! Mama! Where are you?" a girl with short brown hair and about the age of five was roaming around a shopping mall looking lost. "Mama!" she called out again. She tried tugging some people walking and asked them whether they know where her mother is. But they couldn't comprehend her baby language and shook their heads or worse, ignore her totally. "Mama.." she said again, in a whisper. She sat at a corner of the mall. At the front of her, it was an indoor playground full of other children with their parents. "Mama...where are you?" she said and started crying. A girl only five years old and left my her own parents, who wouldn't cry? She hugged her knees and put her face on them and cried softly.
Someone pat her shoulder and she looked up with her red puffed up eyes and tear tainted cheeks. She faced a boy with crimson eyes and raven locks, no smile on his lips unlike her – she was always happy around everybody, but today, she's lost and sad and frightened. "What's wrong with you? Don't brawl here. This is not a suitable place to brawl and curl up to your knees. Everybody there can see your panty, polkadots!" he stated. By estimating his height, he was about six or seven years old. But he might be the same age as her as well. She looked towards the playground again and – indeed – boys and girls that were playing there were staring at her.
She muttered a "Sorry," then stood up and brushed her skirt. The boy in front of her took his handkerchief out of his pockets and handed it to her. "Use this to wipe your face. You look like a terrible idiot," he said. Unfortunately, his kindness towards her didn't make her recognize his words at all. She took it and said "Thank you,". She took his handkerchief and wiped her face and blew her nose and when she was about to hand it back to him, he said, "Ew! Gross! Don't return me my handkerchief when you've made it dirty with full of your mucus!". Guess he doesn't really understand the true meaning of kind.
"I'll wash it then return it to you," the girl said and smiled at him.
"As if you know where I live. Just keep it," he said and turned his back towards her and ran back to his friends at the playground. Even though she felt calmer now thanks to that boy, she was still lost. She continued searching and chanted to her own mind that 'Mom will surely look for me too.'. She stayed around the area she knows that her mom would surely go too. She sat down at the nearest bench and looked around her. Something occurred to her suddenly. She took out the handkerchief the boy gave her earlier. She forgotten to ask for his name. She sighed. Not long after, a woman shouted her name.
"Mikan!" she said when she saw her daughter. Mikan put the handkerchief into her pocket and got up from the bench and ran towards her mother and hugged her tightly. "Mama! Where were you? I was so scared!"
"I'm so sorry, Mikan! I didn't notice you were not with me until much later. I'm so sorry, Mikan," her mother said and kissed her forehead and hugged her tightly. "Next time, I'll hold on to your hand tighter okay?" she said. When both of them were done with the mother and daughter bonding, they got up and started walking back to the car and back to the house.
"Mama, I met someone nice earlier when I was lost," Mikan said cheerfully to her mother.
"Really? Why do you say she or he is nice?" her mother asked her curiously. Afraid that she met a stranger and that stranger might had took advantage of her or would had harmed her.
"I was at the indoor playground. This boy came to me and said not to cry at that corner," she said and giggle. "He was rude. But he was nice too. He gave me his hanky to wipe my ugly face!"
"Must be a good boy," Mikan's mother muttered and smiled at her.
They reached home and unpacked the groceries they bought. Mikan went straight into the room after that and took out the handkerchief and gave it a good wash. She used a orange flavoured detergent and scrubbed it until it was clean then wash it thoroughly. After squeezing all the water out, she left it to dry at her rack. 'I should had asked for his name.'.
"Mikan! Your father just left for work! Better come down and eat your breakfast before school!" a motherly voiced called out the the room that had a door shut.
"Coming!" chimed a childish voice. Although she sounded childish, she was already sixteen and was about to start her new semester at a new high school. She was beautiful, lovely and caring. She was really eager to go there and make new friends. She pulled up her skirt to the right level and buttoned up her shirt. She grabbed her school neck tie and faced the mirror to adjust it properly. She can't afford to be embarrassed on her first day! She didn't bother putting make up. She wasn't that type of bimbo. She just put a small tinge of lip gloss on her lips and there. Simple and nice.
She ran down the staircase and nearly fell down on her last two steps. Luckily she managed to hold onto the handrail before falling flat on her nose. 'That was close!' She walked slowly to the dining table and saw her mom already eating. "You didn't wait for me, Mama!" she pouted and sat down on her chair.
"You were taking a long time" her mom laughed and poured some orange juice into her glass. Mikan took the spreader and spread some butter onto her bread and put the lettuce and tomatoes in front of her between her two slices of bread. 'A not-very-perfect vegetarian sandwich breakfast!' She practically swallowed the entire sandwich and her mother had to scold her for that. "Mikan! Eat it slowly! You'll choke!" she said.
"I don't want to be late on the first day!" she said with her mouth full. She looked at her watch and her eyes widened! "Oh no! I'm late! Have to go, mama!" she said and grabbed her luggage bag and kissed her mother's cheek. "I'll be back during the weekends!" and she went out of the door and closed it. She ran to school as fast as she could hating the fact that she would be late on her first day! When she reached the gate of the academy, she panted really hard but she was happy since she manage to reach school on time! There were some students that were from her previous school. Hotaru, Anna, Nonoko and Sumire are all there in a group. I went towards their group and they all hugged me the moment they saw me coming.
"Awesome! All three of us are in the same school! I'm so happy! I was so terrified I would be all alone!" Anna mentioned. Anna had always been the shy type. When she first entered moved to Japan, she had a hard time making friends because she was too afraid of getting rejected. We had to go to her and ask her whether she wanted to be friends and she gladly accepted it.
"Yeah! I really hope the Chemistry teacher here is good. If the teacher's lousy," Nonoko stopped and shook her head. Nonoko on the other hand was more outgoing and loves Science especially Chemistry. She was always the teacher's pet during chem class. That made everyone hate her a lot. But she was a great tutor when I had problem memorizing my periodic table! She taught me a good way of memorizing it and I managed to get high marks for my chemistry during my final exam!
"Mechanical needs to be good too. I'll invent something to kick the teacher if he or she is lousy," Hotaru said. The ice princess of the violet goddess some people might call. Hotaru was a cold person. But she has a warm heart. When any of us are sad, she would call us idiots and tell us the reason why. The reasons she gives are meaningful. She was my first best friend since elementary. I hate to admit it now, but at first, I thought she would be some geek or nerd then. I laughed to myself.
"They're all not important. The most important things are the guys. I heard there are two hotties in this school with us and I can't wait to meet them. If my sources are not mistaken, their names are Hyuuga Natsume and Nogi Ruka. I want to meet them," and Sumire squealed after that. Sumire Shouda...a girl of many gossips but yet a really good and loyal friend. She's always talking about guys and their hotness but I don't really give a damn! The only boy that I actually talked to was that boy when I was five at that indoor playground. And mentioning about that, I still haven't gave back the handkerchief after eleven years! I guess our fate doesn't intertwined. I kept his handkerchief everywhere I go so if I see him one day, I could return it. But I doubt he would recognize me or the other way around. He might have moved somewhere else as well. So many possibilities. But something told me that we would meet again eventually.
The bell rang. Since it was the first day of the semester, we had a long assembly. It's usually boring. The school principal would give a speech then the counseling teacher, then the discipline teacher, then the sport teacher and etcetera which I don't wish to think about. Finally! It was time for us to get picked to different class. I prayed really hard to be in the same class as Hotaru and the others again! I heard different names being called. There were many students. Poor master of ceremony had to drink bottles of water afterwards.
"For class HS3 :- Akihira Yuri, Daisuke Umira, Futomini Aresagawa, Hitomi Nanda, Hyuuga Natsume, Imai Hotaru, Kitsuneme, Kokoroyome, Luna Koizumi, Nogi Ruka, Nuruwasa Aiko, Ogasawara Nonoko, Rika Hiyenoshi, Sakura Mikan, Shouda Sumire, Sayuri Touri, Tobita Yuu, Umenomiya Anna and Yuki Ryusuke,"
Mikan was very delighted when she heard her name was mentioned together with all her best friends. "Yes! We're together!" Mikan said and hugged her friends. "I'm so happy. I was so afraid that all of us were going to get separated." she said and hugged her group of friends. They exchanged hugs several times.
"I wonder what I'm going to do if I wasn't in the same class," Anna murmured.
"Well, you shouldn't be afraid of that now, Anna. We're all together," Mikan said and the rest nodded. "We're forever best buddies, alright," she said and hugged them once more.
"I can't just accept the fact that we are in the same class as the two hotties! I'm feeling hot now! I want to meet them now!" Sumire squealed again. We ignored her and she pouted.
All four of them got into line and started walking towards their classrooms. The class was huge. I got a seat beside Hotaru and Anna beside Nonoko. Sumire was sitting beside another girl with blonde hair and she was really beautiful. We were sitting on the first two rows right at the centre row.
The teacher with yellow hair slightly reaching his shoulder. If it wasn't because of his voice, I would had underestimated him as a female teacher because he looks nearly exactly like one. "Good morning, class. I'm your homeroom teacher. You can call me Mr. Narumi or Narumi sensei whichever suits you better. I'm here for this few minutes or hours to elect our class president and assistant class president, treasurer, and a secretary. These positions will be based on your results during your final term at your previous schools so please do not fight over the positions." he said with a singing tone in his voice. All the students giggled. It seems that this semester would be fun having him as our teacher. He looks like a teacher that would be nice to talk too.
Mr Narumi looked through the papers he had in his hands and finally looked up to us. "According to the papers, the president of class HS3 will be Tobita Yuu for having the highest grades. For the assistant on the other hand will be....Imai Hotaru for having second highest."
I nudged Hotaru's arm and grimaced at her for having that position. She showed me a glare and I quickly looked back towards Mr Narumi.
"Treasurer of the class would be Hyuuga Natsume for having third highest grades," he said and his eyebrows were raised up in shock. Some girls started squealing and murmuring something about 'I don't mind if he decides to take my money..' or 'He might use the money he gets to bring me out on a date!' Pfftt..as if he would do that. It's against the rules for treasurers to do that.
"And lastly," Mr Narumi muttered, "..the secretary will be...Sakura Mikan. Well that's about it. You can have this lesson now for free. Your school schedule will be distributed to all of you before school's over. So make use of the time now and make new friends in this class. Goodbye," Tobita Yuu, as the class president asked everyone to stand up to say thank you to the teacher. "Mikan and Hotaru, I'm jealous of you guys. You got a role in class!" Nonoko told me. Pretending to be jealous.
"I didn't know I could be the secretary! I didn't even know my grades were that good. Honestly, I thought I was dumb. If it wasn't because of you guys, I might have failed my entire year! So, thank you everybody!" I told all my friends sincerely. Then I noticed Sumire was not there. She wasn't at her seat either.
I looked around the huge class and I saw her standing beside a boy with raven locks and tantalizing crimson eyes. He looks some what familiar, but it didn't really ring a bell on who that person might be. That guy might be either Hyuuga Natsume of Nogi Ruka according to what Sumire said earlier. Well, whatever. "So, Hotaru, you need to know everyone in class. Why don't we go around asking who are they?" I offered.
"I practically know all the popular one in this class already. The noise makers and the ones that receives the most attention. I did some analysis on the school students so I know roughly who is who. That boy Sumire is proposing to is Hyuuga Natsume and the blondie sitting beside him is Nogi Ruka. The two charmers according to all the girls in this school. The girl sitting beside Sumire is Koizumi Luna the bimbo of this class. Kitsuneme and KokoroYome the two idiots that would do anything to have fun including getting detention just to try what is it about. Lastly is the class president, Tobita Yuu wish was rumoured to be the smartest kid in the entire Asia. So there, I know enough," Hotaru concluded at last. She was really smart! I was never disappointed to be friends with Hotaru.
"Well then, since you know everyone, why not introduce yourself?" Anna asked and we tried to pull her so she could at least walk around a bit.
"They already heard my name," she said.
"Well, they know mine as well, but they have no idea who that person it, right?" Mikan told her and we manage to pull her off her seat! Talking about hard! We went to every single table and was greeted warmly except for a few which made us want to leave as quick as possible. For instance, Koizumi Luna had snubbed us when we went there just to say hi. She ignored us and just talked with her friend and tossed her hair now and then. We knew she was beautiful but that was just rude! We went to the two twins..the double Ks. Kitsuneme and KokoroYome. They were pretty fun. But it was too fun that it was pretty scary and we wanted to leave them just a bit. They were discussing about trying to burn down the school hall. Nonoko and Anna shuddered at that thought. The next table, the same table Sumire's at, Hyuuga Natsume and Nogi Ruka.
Mikan had to admit they were good looking . Nogi Ruka had yellow locks and light and dreamy blue eyes. Something told us that he was animal friendly and would be a nice friend to make. Ruka looked at Natsume when he saw us coming and Natsume just sighed. It was probably because of the amount of girls cluttering around him.
"Another four. How nice when I managed to get rid of two," Natsume said to Ruka. "This seaweed is clinging on to me and it's certainly uncomfortable," he said when Sumire hugged his arms. When he called Sumire a seaweed, Mikan couldn't help but burst out laughing. "What are you laughing at?" he glared at Mikan and looked slightly annoyed.
"Nothing. It's just the fact that you called one of my friends a seaweed," I tried to muffle another laugh.
"Hey! Mikan! How dare you!" Sumire shouted to Mikan but she didn't let go of Natsume's arm.
"You're her friend. No wonder you all looks alike. A group of scarleticias. Girls going after guys not the other way round. The universe had probably reversed." he said to all the girls around him. Saying each word disctintively especially the word 'scarleticias'.
"What? Learn your manners!" Mikan burst. She was angry and she wanted to find something to throw at him. "Who ever said that you were the centre of attraction? You're just a human! Stop acting like you're the lord of this world!"
"Mikan..relax. It's just his attitude," Nonoko said and tried pulling her back.
"I didn't say I was the centre of attraction nor I'm the lord of this world and I have no intention of wanting to be one. I know I'm human and my manners does not concern you at all," he said and gave Mikan a dirty look. "You might want to check on your temperance in temper, little girl," he said and got up his seat and flinging his arm so Sumire would let him go. Ruka followed after him and went out of the class.
Mikan huffed and slump down at her seat. "That guy is getting on my nerves." she exclaimed loudly. She was so eager to lift up a chair or a table to hit his gorgeous face but she didn't have that much strength to and probably he would have found something bigger and heavier to hit her. He doesn't seem to be the type that wouldn't hit girls. I grunted.
"Both of you looked as if you were both a couple fighting," Nonoko said and giggled.
"So NOT and will never be! Nonoko, please don't think that way! I will never be with that rude and despicable man! I want someone romantic, kind and another one that cares for me. Not some insolent jerk!" Mikan said and pouted her lips.
"I'm surprised you didn't fall for his charm Mikan. I was so engrossed into his eyes and his muscular body," Sumire swooned.
"Muscular? Are you sure that wasn't a piece of flabby fat of his?" I countered.
"Certainly not. You didn't cling onto his arm. Obviously you wouldn't know how hard his muscles are," Sumire said back to Mikan and she seemed to be all over him. Like some over-drunk fan girl that needed some psychologist to treat her so she would be better. Mikan sighed. "Looks like I would have to endure the entire year of High School facing that guy. I thought High School would be fun, but it seems not." Mikan sighed once again.
"You should be around guys sometimes Mikan. You're always with us girls only. Have a taste of everything else here while you can. You would want to get married to a guy and not a girl, right?" Sumire smirked at Mikan. Everybody knew that Sumire's words made sense but that didn't stop Mikan from saying the direct opposite.
"Well, I might be a lesbian for all I care. Even though I'm not, I will never be and I swear to not ever be involved with that man named Hyuuga Natsume no matter how many times he screws me up or fight back with me with his strong words. I am not affected!" Mikan just said out loud. Enough for the entire class to hear. Everyone started staring at her as if she was some kind of maniac shouting in public like that.
"Gosh Mikan. Chillax. There's nothing wrong with him. I told you, just his attitude problem. Nothing more," Nonoko said to her and patted Mikan's arm.
"Anyway, Mikan, have you heard that enemies become lovers in the end? That theory worked for most of the popularity in Japan. So I would not be surprised if you both do be together in the end," Hotaru just stated like that.
"I will not be one of those people. I might not even be from Japan!" Mikan just said simply even though she knew distinctly that she is from Japan and will forever be loyal to Japan. She loved wearing Yukatas and Kimonos. She loves the Sakura Tree every spring. She loves everything in Japan except for one boy that spoilt her mood for the entire day. Awesome isn't it.
"This is your room, Miss Sakura and Miss Imai. Please have a good stay. Just give us a call if there's any problem with the room," the landlady said when she showed Mikan and Hotaru their accommodation. Sumire, Nonoko and Anna had to share one room since Sumire refused to share the room with Luna. I guess Luna laughed the moment she noticed she's having the room all to herself.
"Thank you, Misa-san. You've been a great help," Mikan told her with gratitude. Hotaru on the other hand just walked around and pointed and nod her head once in a while to approve. When the landlady left the room, both the girls dropped on the couch. "This is so comfortable, don't you think so?" Mikan asked Hotaru.
"Not really. It's hard." knowing Hotaru, she said that nonchalantly. She pat the couch again and dust started flying around, "Not to mention dusty," Hotaru always wanted the best stuff and obviously this didn't reach her standards.
The room was huge and beautiful. Mikan got up the couch and walked about. She took the room closest to the end of the hallway since it's the closest to the bathroom so she doesn't have to walk too far when nature calls. She went into her room and it was much more bigger than her own bedroom. There's a closet, a dressing table, a study table, a heater during winter, an air conditioner that is needed during summer and much more facilities! The walls were light blue and that's her favourite colour. There's also a balcony out her window. She walked towards the balcony and inhaled the air. Out her window, there was a cherry blossom tree. It was blooming as it was close to Spring. It would be a gorgeous sight during Spring. Mikan went out of the room and got her luggage in. It seems that Hotaru's already in her room since her luggage was not there and she wasn't on the couch either. Mikan carried her luggage and started unpacking.
Whilst unpacking, she found the handkerchief the boy gave her since she was five under a stack of clothing. To admit the truth, she actually had a feeling that she would be in the same high school as that boy. But after entering the school, she thought of the direct opposite. Was it really possible? It was just her wild imagination. She doesn't even remember exactly how that boy looks like. All she remembered was, that boy had red eyes...as red as Hyuuga Natsume. But it's impossible to be him. That was probably why she found Natsume familiar. She put the handkerchief into the drawer and took out a book to read on her bed, "The Chosen" by Lisa Jane Smith.
A story about a vampire hunter that fell in love with one of the most dangerous vampire in the Night World clan. Sounds cliché but something made her continue reading it and didn't allow her to put it down. The book was pretty old. She read and read until someone knocked on her door. She looked at the clock beside her and it had been four hours since she started unpacking! It was already close to seven. Mikan got up her bed and opened the door and it revealed Hotaru.
"It's almost time for dinner and the others just called to ask whether do we want to join them?" she just asked.
"Sure, why not. It's our first day. We should go around and get familiar with the places," Mikan said.
"Then get changed. I'm already changed," she said and walked away. It didn't hit Mikan that Hotaru was already wearing her outing clothes. She locked my door again and got a tube and a white skirt to wear. One of her favourite apparel. She took her cell phone and walked out to meet Hotaru that is waiting for her.
"Let's go," Mikan said cheerfully and pulled her out.
"Who knew that all the food here was so expensive? Damn. I'm hungry," Mikan said and her stomach growled. Her face turned red and she touched her stomach hoping that it would keep quiet. It's almost eleven and there's still no place with a moderate pricing and worse of all, there is still school tomorrow!
"Yeah. I don't have enough cash. Aren't there any side walk café or something?" Sumire asked walking slow. While walking they passed by a high class seafood restaurant and saw something unexpected! Hyuuga Natsume and Nogi Ruka! Only those two! Eating huge dishes of seafood right in front of them. That made Mikan in tears.
"This is so unfair," Mikan murmured to herself. She straightened herself up and started to walk towards the entrance. Nonoko and Anna pulled her back restraining her. "What are you doing, Mikan? Look at the price! It's a bomb!" Nonoko said and showed Mikan the menu. "I don't care! I need to eat! I'm starving," Mikan said and barged into the restaurant. Nonoko, Anna, Sumire and Hotaru just followed behind her and weirdly they stopped in front of the two hotties.
"What do you want?" the Hyuugian said to them.
Mikan swallowed her cowardice and asked them as polite as she can, "Can you let us eat some, please?" she said as softly as possible and with a please at the end.
"No, get your own," he said. Mikan was about to say something but Ruka cut in between.
"Natsume, just let them. They look as if they missed their lunch and dinner," Ruka convinced Natsume. "I don't think you could finish this all up only the two of us. It's a little too much anyway"
"No. I will when I'm done eating and the remaining goes to the garbage can, they can go dig the garbage and eat it. I wouldn't be selfish on that," he said to Ruka
Ruka sighed and went towards our direction. He got out his wallet and took some money out to give it to Mikan. "Use this to get some food here," he told her. Mikan backed away. Her parents told her that she should never receive a money from someone else as that would mean she's a beggar or a prostitute. In this case, a beggar would be a better word.
"No, I can't accept this. Thank you anyway," Mikan said and bowed her head. "Come one, let's go find another convenient shop. They might sell some instant noodles and we could cook it at our rooms," Mikan said and walked out of the restaurant. Fortunately, they did find a convenient shop and the price for one instant noodle is pretty cheap. They have to find a place to eat soon because they can't be eating this every day. They would die of hypertension.
"Luckily we found something to eat. I hate to imagine it when we starve," Anna concluded.
"If I were in Mikan's place, I would have taken Nogi's money and ate there than eat these unhealthy stuff that are bad for the body. If I lose any strands of her tomorrow, you're going to be the first person I'll come after," Hotaru said and pointed at Mikan.
"I was taught to never take money from anyone," Mikan said literally.
"But when you need it, it's necessary," Hotaru stated a matter of factly and went towards her bedroom and shut it hard. Mikan and the others looked at each other and sighed. Mikan told her friends that it would be better if they get some sleep now or else they'll have trouble waking up for tomorrow. They agreed and went back to their room respectively.
Mikan tiredly walked towards her room and dropped on her bed. Not long after, her unconsciousness came by. She dreamt, again..about the boy that gave her his handkerchief. Just that..he looks a little older. He looks about the same age as she is. He had red eyes and raven locks. He was handsome and he looks exactly like...exactly like Hyuuga Natsume.