Disclaimer-I don't own Gakuen Alice.
Italics=Thought
Bold and Italics=something important (ex: setting changes, letters)
Her Flower Shop
Chapter One- The Tangerine Key
"Finally! No more homework for 2 days!" a brown haired girl said to her best friend.
"That's only if you finish today's work," her best friend said.
"Hotaru! Did you have to go and ruin my happy mood?" the brunette wailed.
Her friend, Hotaru paid no attention to her and continued to read a complex book about nanotechnology.
"Sakura-san!"
A yell came from behind the 2 girls. They turned around to see a boy, around 15 years old, running towards them.
"State what business you have with Mikan in less than 5 minutes or I'll shoot you with this," Hotaru said, holding a small gun in her hands.
The boy swallowed and was about to answer, when Hotaru pulled the trigger.
"On second thought, how about 1 minute?" Hotaru said, impatiently.
The boy hit the ground, knocked out.
"Hotaru! What was that for? He was about to say something," the brunette, Mikan exclaimed.
"I already knew what he was going to say," Hotaru replied. "Mikan, follow me. There's something I have to tell you."
Mikan followed after Hotaru, leaving the boy in the care of his friends. When they were alone, Hotaru turned around. Her face expressionless, except for a tint of sadness.
"Mikan, I'm leaving," she announced.
Mikan froze, her breath caught in her lungs. Hotaru waited, patiently, for Mikan to talk.
"You're joking, right?" Mikan asked, about to cry.
"No, I'm leaving for Alice Academy in Tokyo," Hotaru explained. "It's a school for geniuses and talented people.
"You can't leave me! You said we'll be together forever!" Mikan shouted, tears in her eyes.
"Sorry, but you can have this as a memento of me," Hotaru said, holding her small black gun out. "Through I'm supposed to be the one to receive gifts."
Mikan grabbed the gun and held it close to her.
"Mikan, I'm leaving tomorrow morning, so come see me off, okay?" Hotaru asked.
"Okay, I'll come. By the way what does this gun do?" Mikan asked.
Hotaru sighed in exasperation, and started to explain what the gun is and does.
"It's a Baka Gun Ver. 3.5, you pull the trigger and it shoots out compressed air bullets at idiots, morons, and fan boys."
Mikan looked at the gun and started to cry, remembering that her best friend was leaving tomorrow.
Stupid, you look uglier when you're crying," Hotaru gave Mikan a pat on the head.
Hotaru walked off toward her house. Mikan continued on her way towards her house, her tears gone.
"I'm back!" Mikan put her shoes on the top shelf of the shoe holder and step into a beautiful and western-styled house.
"Welcome back! How was your day?" Mikan's mom, Sakura Yuka asked, while slowly walking towards her.
"Mom! Didn't the doctor tell you to stay in your room?" Mikan asked.
She ran towards her mother and guided her back to her room.
"But it's so boring! There's nothing to do!" Yuka whined, her hands crossed over her chest.
"I'll go outside and buy you some puzzles to do," Mikan suggested.
Yuka's eyes sparkled, "Would you?"
"Why not?" Mikan replied, heading towards her room to change.
"As long as you don't buy puzzles for old people, they're fine!" Yuka shouted, before heading into her room, coughing some blood.
Mikan ran to her room and changed out of her school uniform. After changing, she grabbed her wallet and Hotaru's gun, and with a good-bye to her mom, she headed out. As she approaches the grocery store, she saw a shop at the far end of the street. It looked disconnected from the rest of the stores. Mikan walked over, curious about the store. An open sign hung from the top of the front door. She opened the door and walked in. The smell hit her first. The store smelled wonderful, with flowers hanging down from the ceiling in huge wicker baskets. A girl, around the age of 17, walked towards Mikan.
"Welcome to Aurora Garden!"
The girl was beautiful, with porcelain-like skin and light blue hair that was curled at the end. Her eyes were blue, like sapphire. She stared at Mikan, as if appraising her.
"What flowers would you like?" she asked.
Mikan suddenly thought about Hotaru, who was leaving tomorrow.
"I'd like some flowers for my best friend who is leaving tomorrow," Mikan requested, sadly.
"Sure," the girl answered, gliding over to a bundle of flowers.
After she selected some flowers, she approached Mikan with a bouquet of white and yellow flowers. It was wrapped with a purple ribbon.
"The flowers I selected are marigolds, pear blossoms, and yellow roses. Their meanings are written in the white card included," the girl explained.
She motioned for Mikan to follow her to the counter.
"The total price will be 1,950 yen," the girl stated.
Mikan put the money on the counter and picked up the bouquet. She stood up, ready to leave.
"Wait!" the girl exclaimed, quickly walking around the counter.
Mikan saw something sparkle in her hand.
The girl held her hand out, "Take this."
In the girl's hand was a beautifully hand-crafted key with a small orange stone at the center.
'I shouldn't, it looks really expensive," argued Mikan, through half of her wanted to reach out and grab it.
"It's okay, you'll need it soon," the girl replied, putting the key into Mikan's hand. "Come back tomorrow after giving the bouquet to Imai Hotaru."
Mikan's hand instinctively clutched the key tightly. She waved and exited the shop.
"Strange, I never told her who I was going to give the bouquet to," Mikan thought. "Oh well, maybe I did tell her and forgot."
After buying some puzzles for her mother, she returned home. Curious about the white card attached to the bouquet, Mikan opened it and took a peek. It said:
For Imai Hotaru,
Marigold-Pain/Grief
Yellow Rose-Friendship
Pear Blossom-Lasting Friendship
From,
Sakura Mikan
"I never told her my name!" Mikan thought. "How did she know?"
Setting Change: At Aurora Garden
"Did you hand the last key out?" a shadow asked, it glided past the flowers.
The shadow stopped, in front of a blue-haired girl.
"Of course, I gave it to a girl named Sakura Mikan," the girl answered, annoyed that the shadow questioned her. "All the personal information about the girls that I handed a key to, are over there."
"Good job," complimented the shadow. "The tournament will start in 2 days, after the ceremony."
"I can't wait!" the girl exclaimed, excitement in her voice. "Who do you think is going to be the Alice this year?"
"We shall see soon," answered the shadow.
What do you think? Is the story too short or long or boring? If you have time, I encourage you to review, but I'm not forcing you.