Empires: Friendships and Beginnings
By Libra the Sylph
Prologue: The Beginning of Friendships
The city of Metru Nui was you're basic average city. Tall, metallic buildings; museums, schools, homes, hover cars... Nothing out of the ordinary for anyone. Of course, this was an experimental city, many risking their lives. For Metru Nui was no ordinary city, it was a floating city. The city was lifted high, miles into the air. This was done to help control world population.
The air over the ocean was cooling, indicating school would start soon. Many teens dreaded and were excited about this time. 1. School was the ultimate evil. 2. They got to see their friends again. 3. Mrs. Krooler was still teaching, much to the dismay of the sophomores and juniors of Trinity Sr. High. One of these teens was Nuwanga Tahu.
Tahu was a young man of seventeen. He was built tall, but thin; he wasn't the broad shoulder type, more of a mix of athletic and band geek. But he was strong, don't get me wrong. He was into kendo, the Japanese art of fencing. His eyes were wide set and a ruby red, his nose slim and pointed, and his face was an egg shape. His hair was the thing that stuck him out, the erratic red spikes lunging out of his head, like dull spears.
Today was cool, but terribly hot for the month. He sat on the cement balcony of Neasca's (his mom) and his apartment. It overlooked a garden, filled with a few scattered benches, small trees, some flowers, a fountain, and a few dozen pranks waiting to be set off (personally set by Tahu and his two best friends).
He heaved a heavy sigh. This had not been his day. He had found out he didn't pass one of his classes, so he'd have to take it over again. Because of that, he needed to take another class to get the credit he needed, and do to that, he'd have to miss lunch and homeroom. The councilor suggested choir. He hated singing! It hadn't been all bad, his best friends decided to take it too.
"Retaking the class isn't so bad." Neasca had said as they were leaving the senior high school. "Many teens have trouble Meteorology. And choir is an easy class to pass, besides you have a wonderful singing voice." The two of them had argued about his voice most of the way home. Neasca won.
Tahu sighed and leaned back on his chair. He closed his eyes, letting the sun's warmth envelop him.
"Hey, Tahu!" A voice startled him, causing him to fall backwards onto the cement. The teen groaned, rubbing the back of his head and neck. He heard the sound of sneakers slapping the metal stairway. "Oooo, sorry, dude."
Tahu looked up into the eyes of a blue haired boy. Mamboratsu Takua. The boy was a few years younger than him. The bright red top and baggy blue jean boy smiled worriedly. Takua offered a hand, his ginger eyes sheepish. Tahu took it and allowed himself to be hauled up.
"What's the news for the day?" Tahu asked dusting off.
"New family in in apartment 14B. Mr. Jewels was put in a retirement home." Takua stated. Tahu cocked an eye.
"Know what their like?"
"Some woman in her thirties and a girl about your age." They smirked.
"Call Jaller."
"Got a plan?"
"As sure as Mrs. Krooler is about grammar."
Naverange Gali leaned on the balcony rail. Her short, blue hair and white skirt danced lightly in the little breeze. She pulled her white sweater closer around her.
'It's a real pretty garden.' she thought to herself. It brought back to the place she had grew up, a small village by the ocean. But due to recent events, the village was being destroyed for a resort. It discouraged many others, but it had hit Gali the hardest.
"Where will we go?" Gali had asked her mother.
"They've offered us an apartment in Metru Nui." Anara sighed.
"The city?"
"Yes. Gali— I know you're connected to this place, but we need to change. Maybe this change will be good for you. Besides, my brother lives there... somewhere. And I want you to finish school."
Now that Gali was here, it felt different. She felt so far away. So distant...
Her eyes and mind focused back to present time. She saw three figures launch something, and it was moving fast. Out of natural instincts, she sidestepped whatever it was. Gali turned back to the figures, who had been crouching. The biggest of the three was standing up. The smallest of the group yelled "Run!" and they headed into one of the apartments.
"Odd." Gali mumbled. She looked back to where the thing they launch smacked the white wall. A water balloon filled with... "Pudding?" She blinked and looked back to the closed door. She sighed and headed into her empty room.
Empty. An empty bookcase, an empty closet, an empty bed.
'It going to be different sleeping on a bed.' she thought, 'I prefer my futon.' She grabbed one of her boxes. 'Time to start unpacking.' She busied herself with the many books she owned, many she had written herself, due to no bookstore on her island, and any her mother had owned. She moved onto her clothes, some in boxes, others in bags. Then other random trinkets, shells, stones, pressed flowers, bottles of sand, and pictures. It was late evening by the time she was done.
She stepped out of her room just as her mother walked in with another woman. The two of them were laughing.
"...so I grounded him for a week! I told him, keep that temper up and no dinner. He stomped into his room, slammed the door and blasted his music. I swear that boy's going to be the death of us all!" the neighbor laughed.
"If my Gali— oh! Hello, dear! All done unpacking? Good. I'd like you to meet Nuwanga Neasca. She has a son about you age." her mother said smiling.
"Pleased to meet you." Gali said bowing.
"Such manners!" the woman gasped. "She has to teach my Tahu! Oh, I saw he greeted you already."
"Yes." Gali said acidly, recalling the pudding balloon.
"Gali, Neasca and Tahu have invited us for dinner— well, Neasca did, Tahu doesn't know yet, but still..."her mother trailed off, "anyway, wear something nice."
"'Kay." Gali wasn't really paying attention, her mind was somewhere else. "I'm going to go for a walk." she said absent mindedly.
"Alright, dear."
Gali walked outside. The cool air nipped at her bare arms; she had left her sweater inside. She folded her arms across her chest, trying to keep herself warm. Her strapy light blue shirt wasn't enough.
A yelping bark caught her attention. A little, grey Schnouzer ran up to her. It sat down by her feet and barked. Gali bent down and scratched between its ears.
"Oh, sure, you sit down for her, but you don't for me. Man's best friend, bah!" Gali looked up at the owner of the dog. He was a boy about her age, tall and supple.
"Was't it's name?" Gali asked.
"His name is George." the boy said. Gali chuckled.
"George?" Gali stood up.
"He's my mom's. She off somewhere."
"Probably talking with my mom. I'm Naverange Gali."
"Nuwanga Tahu. You just moved here?" Tahu looked down at her, hestood two heads taller than the girl.
"Yeah. Thank's for the greeting." Sarcasim was her best quality when stating the truth.
"Sorry about that." Tahu rubbed the back of his neck. The two walked for a short distance, George following. "Aren't you cold?" Gali nodded. He placed his sports jacket over her shoulders.
"So," Gali said, "what do you do, besides attack neighbors with pranks?"
"Well, attack teachers, the principle, anyone that gets on my nerves, hang out with Takua and Jaller, they live in the building too. And board. You?"
"Read, write, surf (or used to, anyway), play video games, and dance."
"Dance?"
"Ballroom. I took some classes from a tourist visiting the island. Hahli, Macku, Kotu and I were his best dancers, he said so himself."
"I'm guessing they were your friends."
"Yeah, but we e-mail each other. We're planning to meet each other at the south entrance at the collosium after school on Tuesday."
"Why not earlier? Careful of the tripwire by you left foot." Gali stepped over it.
"Thanks. We wanted to get settled in." Gali shrugged. "What would the tripwire set off?"
"Ah, that's better left unknown."
"That bad? Yikes, no wonder—"
"Tahu!" They turned around to see Takua jogging towards them. "Ah! You're talking to the enemy!" Takua fell backwards and scrambled away from the girl. Gali blinked and burst into laughter, Tahu following shortly after. "Did I miss something?"
"I'll tell you later." Tahu chuckled. He offered his friend a hand, Takua looked at it as if it were fouled by somesort of disease. The young boy, reluctantly, took it.
"I'd better head in." Gali stated. She handed Tahu his jacket and walked in the direction of the appartment. George, who'd been after some lightning bugs, trotted over, his teeth glowing slightly.
"Ah, George!"
"It's not going to be bad living here." Gali said, entering.
"How so?" Anara asked from her room.
"I have a feeling things are going to be very interesting around here."
This isn't a sgort chappie, nor a long chappie, just a fairly good sized (3 pages long, size 12 font, Times New Roman). It's the beginning of a series about a video game (too much TV watched!) and was inspired by many, many anime... I won a 5 lb. (2.27 kg) today, made my week a million times better. I also got 10 US dollars.
My life is A Midsummer Nights Dream, with all that romance crap going on and a basket of tumbleweeds.
Stay in school! Don't do drugs! Don't drink and drive!
Kino