1.

New Year

"Come on, Chihiro, how long are you going to stay there?" my mother screamed from the bottom step of the stairs. "You're going to be late if you don't hurry!"

I rolled my eyes. "I don't want to go!"

"Don't be childish, Chihiro! Of course you have to go!"

"It's just one day mom!"

"I want you down here in fifteen minutes, young lady! Seriously, act in your age level! You're going to be in college next year and you keep on acting that way?!" she shouted, finality in her voice. "Seriously, she's going to be in college next year. By the way I scream at her you think she's still fifteen or something," I heard her mumble.

I sighed as I settled deeper in my bath water. I had always hated change. I hated it when we moved here and now I hate thinking about moving again for college. Why can't people just stay where they are? Why do they have to move all over the place like they have ants in their seats?

But what choice do I have, really? If I could just turn back the time, I would. I would choose to be in my junior year- the happiest time of my life, or was it? Junior year was happy, yes, but I feel like some short event was better than my junior year though I can't recall what it is.

I sighed again. Kimiko was moving to the United States. I didn't like thinking about that but it was going to happen anyways. Her American father wants her to continue studying her studies there. She only has this year to stay in Japan.

Kimiko was my only friend in this pitiful town. I didn't like how the girls in this town acted so I didn't talk to them much. I didn't have any guy friends either because I just ignored them. Kimiko was the only one willing enough to talk to me on my first day seven years ago when I just came here.

I caressed the water, making soft ripples around my body. I have to face this year like I faced everything else in my life. This was another challenge and I would face it. I finished washing myself before getting dressed and heading to the dinning room.

When I came down, my father and mother were already eating their breakfast. Every time I see them eat, I imagine them like pigs. They don't eat like pigs but I just see them as…pigs. I could see them like that again. It would have been comical but it gave me a weird scared feeling that was mixed with…what, a sense that I need to save them? I thought about what I was thinking. It was ridiculous. I shook my head and ignored the picture drilling in my mind.

My father dropped me off to the small local high school that I have been going to for the last four years of my life. I couldn't help sighing again. This was just depressing. I can't even enjoy this last year. Why can't we just stay in one place?

"Chihiro!" a voice called out. I turned and saw Kimiko rushing to my side, probably fearing that she was late for school. I couldn't help smiling at my friend. Her hair was shoulder length. The blond streaks glimmering under the sun's light. Her light green eyes were shining with excitement. "Oh, it's so glad to see you!"

"Yeah, same here," I told her honestly. I didn't see her all this summer because she had been traveling around the United States with her father. She called it "getting acquainted with the place".

She threw her self to me, pulling me to a tight hug. "It's so good to finally be back here!"

"If it's so good to see me, then you wouldn't want your friend getting choked right?" I gasped.

"Oh, sorry!" she released me suddenly. I gasped for air while she waited patiently. "It's just… I really missed you. United States is a very wonderful place but every minute I was there, I was wishing you were there with me."

"Aw, that's so sweet," I told her, giving her a small smile. "So, how many guys have you gotten 'acquainted' with?" I asked her pulling up air quotes at the word "acquainted".

Her face fell. "My dad wouldn't let me. He's really strict!"

I placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. "Well, he just got his daughter back. You can't expect him to let her go any sooner right?"

"But I'm already going to college there. I'm actually thinking of getting a dorm."

I groaned. "Let's just not talk about going to college right now? Now, come on, we're going to be late if we don't hurry."

"You know, you're the only person I have met that isn't excited about going to college and from what you're letters said you're not really excited about going to senior year either."

I smiled guiltily as we looked at our schedules and walked to our first class. I have spent the whole summer whining at the horrible thought of senior year. "I just don't want to be reminded about college. What's so good about this year?"

"Well, we're going to have total control over the whole school."

"Yeah, but this school is so small there's not much to control. Besides, it's depressing if you think about it. We've been friends since we were in fourth grade and now just because of college we're going to be separated?"

"I guess you have a point. Oooh, the two seats by the window are still available. Do you want to grab it?"

"Yeah sure," I followed her. It was a good thing that our schedules were practically identical. We chose the same classes, making the most of our final year. There was only one class that we didn't have with each other. She was taking a chorus class while I was taking my final year in dance.

I sank down at the chair and tried to blend in but being with Kimiko, blending in was a pretty difficult thing to do. She was so beautiful that it wasn't hard to see why boys would hover over us. Besides her beauty, she was an honor student and she was rich too. In short, this girl sitting beside me was just perfect.

"How have you been, Kimiko? I heard you went to United States over the summer," one of Kimiko's hopeful suitors came by, smiling too widely than necessary. I could tell he wanted to know if she went out with an American. His eyes practically asked the question. If she did, he knew he has no chance with her.

Kimiko wasn't even looking at him but was staring at the window, deep in thought. "It was okay," she mumbled distracted.

"So, uhm, how did you find the people there?"

"They were all friendly," she said again in a soft voice.

"Did you…uhm, did you go out with anybody?"

She looked sharply at him. "What do you want?"

"Calm down, Kimiko," I told her coolly. "No point in losing your temper in the first day." I looked at the boy still standing there, bewilderment in his eyes. "If I were you, I'd leave now. You're blocking our view of the board, you know."

He glared at me but I ignored him. Without any choice, he turned his back and chose the seat farthest to us, mumbling, "What a freak. I don't know why Kimiko is still hanging out with her. She's obviously not good for her. Maybe she's courting Kimiko too. Great, I have a rival. I have enough of that already and considering it's a lesbian. Yuck."

I clenched my hand into a tight fist, controlling myself. Kimiko looked curiously at my expression but I shook her head at her inquiring glance. I didn't want to dress and acts like other girls in this school so most guys think of me as a lesbian. I have heard all of their dumb theories about my sexuality but the truth was I'm straight and there's not a question about it.

When our Calculus period ended, we all headed out for our second class; Psychology. The last class was just filled with talk about how to pass this year and get into a good college. Our teacher just talked about what her expectations were and how she would grade us in her class. I sighed. The class looked more complicated than all of the math classes I took.

My sigh got Kimiko's attention. She looked over to me with the same curious expression she had before Calculus started but this time it was mixed with concern. "Are you okay?"

"No but I'll live," I told her. I don't like being taken care of but I don't like lying to Kimiko even more.

"Will you share?"

"Don't really feel like it. Where's the Psychology class anyways? If we don't get there in time, we'll be dead."

"I don't care. The old hag will probably talk about what her expectations and all that boring stuff. I want to know what's wrong with you."

I looked at her sternly. "Aren't you worried you'll make your father angry? You don't want to give our new teachers bad impression about you, do you?"

"What about you?"

I laughed without humor. "Whatever I do, they wouldn't like me. So come on, I'm just worried they'll scold at you."

"I told you, I don't care," she said stubbornly, grabbing my arm.

I sighed in frustration. Kimiko could be a spoiled child if she wanted to and if she did, you can't do anything but to agree to whatever it was she wanted. "Fine, it's about your friend, Motoki, in the Calculus class. He mumbled something about me being a lesbian again." Thinking about it just made my blood boil. I wanted so bad to punch something.

She was growling too. "What?! Do you want me to have a little talk with him?"

I shook my head. "No. It's fine. I was just upset. It's not even something I haven't heard before." We were both silent for a while. She was still frowning, wrinkling her face.

She sighed as we entered the classroom, choosing the seats closest to the window once again. "I guess it's your fault too."

I raised an eyebrow. "Really? You think I wanted to be called a lesbian since I started going through puberty?"

"No, it's not that. I just think they're saying all of these things because you don't show any proof that you really are a girl."

"Doesn't my physical appearance enough?" I asked sarcastically.

"You know what I mean. You don't act like a boy but you don't act like a girl either. You don't wear make up and I have never seen you in a dress before. Last, you have never had a boy friend throughout junior high school and high school. Those kinds of things make people question your sexuality."

"Well those things are very private. I don't want to share everything with people I don't even talk to. I don't want to act like a girl because you're enough of a feminine for both of us. I don't like wearing dresses and make up. Make ups are a bother to put on and to take off. Imagine wearing chemicals everyday for the rest of your life. No thanks. I don't like dresses because they limit my movement."

"But you're wearing a skirt right now?"

"So you have seen me in a dress."

"No. That's different. That's school uniform."

"And for boys, I'm not just interested in anyone here. I don't know why. I'm not interested in girls though. But making comments about something as private as someone's sexuality is just wrong."

"I guess you're right. But I still think you need a boy friend. Don't worry about that, I'm going to take care of that."

I groaned. "Come on, Kimiko, I don't want to participate in one of your weird experiments. It's not going to go well."

She pouted. "I would have thought you have better faith to me than that."

"Oh come on, Kimiko, be honest. All of this cupid experiments have ended crashing and burning. If I want a tragic love story, I would come to you, don't worry."

"You're really hurting my feelings, you know, Chihiro," she pretended to be hurt, placing a hand on her chest.

I laughed. "You'll get over it, Kimiko."

Others were still filing in the door as we chatted. They were all looking for seats and searching for friends. This class was mostly seniors but lower class men were there too. I know most of them. This is such a small school that you know not only those in your batch but also other batches below and above yours. It was also rare to have transfer students so when a new boy walked in the class, time seem to have frozen. Everyone watched this stranger sit down to a chair in the middle of a class. I scoffed. It looks like this one loves being the center of attention.

Though he really didn't need to be sitting at the center of the room to get attention. Girls were already buzzing over him, checking their mirrors to see if they look pretty enough. They were all fussing over how handsome he was. For the first time, I could actually see what they were talking about. His short cropped hair was green. When he walked in the room and sat down in his seat, he moved with such agility and yet grace. He was taller than most guys here but his height looked so good with his body structure.

"Oh my gosh, isn't he gorgeous?!" Kimiko suddenly whispered excitedly at my ear, making me jump. "Where did he come from?"

"I don't know," I mumbled softly, staring mesmerized at him, like everyone else.

"Oh I wish he would talk to us," Kimiko said wistfully. As if he heard her, he looked directly at us. If his looks mesmerized me, his eyes froze me, holding me in place. They were a soft golden brown that holds so many secrets and wisdom that I feel I was going to drown in them. Then suddenly a face of a dragon flashed in front of me, replacing his face for a split second. My eyes widened and I gasped. I blinked twice and shook my head. When I looked back at him, he was glaring at me but his face had returned to normal. Did I just imagine that?