BEEP BEEP BEEP, my alarm clock cried.
I groaned into my pillow and fought the urge to fall back asleep. Disoriented, I shuffled to the doorway of my best friend's room. Even though we just arrived in Japan yesterday, she had managed to scatter her belongings all over. An assortment of foreign make-up products blocked the walkway to her bed. With my awesome ninja skills (I have them 'cuz I'm half Japanese) I managed to make my way to her bed. Awwww she looks so peaceful when she's sleeping…
"GET YOUR LAZY BUTT UP YOU HOBO! WE HAVE TO GO TO SCHOOL!" I scream in her ear as I jump on her bed.
Jordan groans into her pillow and then turned to glare at me, "What… The… Heck… Tyler?"
I give her my innocent trademark smile, "Time to get ready for school!" and I fled the room as she tried to pelt me with her make-up. Once I skipped back inside my room to try on the school's uniform, I heard a blood-curdling scream. Sighing, I jogged back to Jordan's room to see her holding the most hideous yellow monstrosity of a dress that I've ever seen in my entire life.
"Hell to the no, I'm not wearing this!" she screams as if I'm the one forcing her to wear it.
"Don't wear it if you don't want to. If you'll excuse me, I'm going to go find something else to wear," I smirked at her and scurried back to my room.
After a few minutes of contemplating I finally decided on my outfit. I took a look in the mirror and sighed in content, Perfect. I wore a lacy white tank top along with a fitted navy blazer, a pair of dark wash jeans, and a pair of silver Tory Burch flats. Even though I'm middle class, I still savor the more expensive things in life, like my Tory Burch flats; in all seriousness, they are my babies, I worked so hard to save up enough money to buy them! Jordan cat walked into my room and did a ballerina spin.
"What do ya think?" she said, flipping her hair over her shoulder dramatically.
I scanned her outfit. She's the complete opposite of me. I look neat and color coordinated and she looks… wild? She wore a long sleeved green sweater, short-shorts with leggings underneath, and a pair of beat-up Uggs. How could such a pretty girl dress so… grungy. With a pang of envy I looked at her features. Piercing blue eyes that could see into any soul, dirty blonde hair that shone even in our dimly lit apartment and her flawless complexion are all things I wish I attained.
"Ditch the Fuggs… here, you can borrow my sandals," I said, tossing her a pair of strappy green sandals.
"Thanks Tyler, you always know how to finish off an outfit!" Jordan beamed as she put on the shoes.
"No problem!" I glance at the clock on my nightstand, "Crap we gotta get going, NOW"
I fiddled with my fingers as the Chairman looked over our transcripts, occasionally giving an approving grunt. I glanced at Jordan who was drooling over the pictures of his son that sat on his desk. Typical Jordan.
"You girls are here on what type of scholarships again?" he asked.
Jordan spoke up first, "I'm here on a soccer scholarship and Tyler's here on a dance scholarship."
He slowly nodded and then beamed at us, "You girls will make a fine addition to our humble school."
I fought the urge to roll my eyes at the word 'humble,' "Thank you sir for giving us the opportunity," I said in my sugar-coated voice that I reserved for elders.
He handed us our schedules, "You both are in class 2-A. I hope you enjoy Ouran."
"I was wondering if we had to wear the school uniforms? Ours didn't fit well, so we wore our normal clothes, is that okay sir?" Jordan asked cocking her head to the side and batting her eyelashes.
"That's perfectly fine. Let me know if you need anything else."
I piped up, "I was wondering if there is a designated area for me to practice dancing. I didn't see a dance studio on the school's map?"
He thought for a moment, "There are multiple empty music rooms that are available. After school, why don't you check to see if any of them are vacant."
"Thank you Mr. Suoh!" I said as we left.
Once we were out of the office Jordan giggled.
"The chairman's son is so hot! I can't wait to meet him," she said as she fanned her face.
"Let's just focus on getting to English class. Boys come after. We're already late so hurry up," I nagged, "Wait I found it," stopping in front of the pink door
With arms linked together, we strode confidently into the class. Every pair of eyes in the class watched us closely as if we were a new species or something.
Sensei cleared her throat, "Can I help you?"
"Oh we're the new transfer students. This is the English room right?," I asked in flawless Japanese.
Our sensei looked surprised but nodded, "Yes, could you please introduce yourself to the class."
"Sure. I'm Tyler Hillcrest. I'm here on a dance scholarship and I love fashion,"
"I'm Jordan Pettigrove. I'm here on a soccer and sport scholarship and I love bacon. Any questions?"
One girl raised her hand, "Why aren't you wearing the school uniform?"
Jordan smiled innocently, "Because they're fugly and yellow. Don't you know that Asians aren't supposed to wear yellow? It makes you look even more yellow," I high-fived Jordan.
A cute guy with glasses raised his hand, "What is your race Tyler-san?
I fought the urge to roll my eyes; if I had a dollar for every time someone asked me that question, I would probably be richer than these snobs.
I smiled anyway, "I'm half Japanese, Mexican, German, French, and Native American."
As soon as those words left my mouth, all the girls whispered among themselves. I heard snippets of 'she's a mutt' and 'poor commoner girl' as the boy scribbled into his black notebook.
"You girls can sit in the back corner with Suoh and Ootori," Sensei pointed to the back.
We made our way toward the back and ignored the jealous glares boring into the back of our heads. Once we sat down and pulled our notebooks out, Sensei continued her lecture.
"Your homework was to read the American classic, Hard Times by Charles Dickens. Within your group discuss what it was about."
I turned to face Jordan who had a blank look on her face, obviously even though we were from America, she'd never heard of it. A smile slowly spread across her face as she recognized Suoh, as the Chairman's son. She gave him her trademark flirtatious smile and winked at him.
"Hi, I'm Jordan," she giggled.
He returned her smile and bowed graciously, "Pleasure to meet you. I'm Suoh, Tamaki but you can just call me Tamaki if it's easier."
She nodded and continued to giggle like the boy-crazed girl that she is, while I rolled my eyes at her stupidity.
Ootori cleared his throat and smiled at me, "You are Tyler correct? I'm Ootori, Kyouya."
I fake-smiled at him, "Nice to meet you Kyouya-san. Are you friends with Tamaki?"
"I guess you could say that…" he started.
"Mommy, how could you say that?" Tamaki started to tear up.
"OH MY GOSH!" Jordan cried, "Why are the hot guys always gay?"
Tamaki and Kyouya looked at her with perplexed expressions while I kicked back with an amused expression.
"I'm not gay," Kyouya replied, "Let me explain. We are in a Host Club together and by club position, me being vice-president, I am the 'mother' and Tamaki, the founder, is the 'father.'"
"Ooooooh," Jordan nodded and smiled even though it was obvious she still didn't understand.
"What's a Host Club?" I asked.
The room fell silent and once again, all eyes were on me. Girls started to whisper hurriedly to each other, casting me pitiful glances.
"The Ouran host Club is where the school's handsomest boys with too much time on their hands entertain young ladies who also have way too much time on their hands. Just think of it as Ouran academy's elegant playground for the super rich and beautiful," Tamaki ranted.
My jaw literally dropped from shock, "That is so twisted."
Tamaki looked confused and cocked his head to the side.
"I can't believe the school allows a club like that. I certainly did not expect you and Kyouya to be 'exotic dancers.'"
Tamaki turned beet red and started stuttering, "No! I-I-It's not like that! We just entertain girls."
I raised my hands in mock defeat, "You don't have to explain yourself, what you do in your free time is not my business," I replied, smirking.
My little joke sent poor Tamaki into the corner of the room. What the heck? Why is he growing mushrooms?
Kyouya looked as equally entertained as I felt. Jordan looked like she was about to burst with joy.
"Tyler, let's go visit their club after school!" she begged, giving me her powerful puppy eyes.
Resist the puppy dog eyes "We can't. I have to find a room to dance in remember?" I tried weaseling my way out of it.
Jordan pouted but left me alone and started chatting with Tamaki. At the moment, my mind was elsewhere. Why was Kyouya writing in that notebook the whole conversation? Why is he in a club with Tamaki even though he claims they aren't friends? Why does he force himself to smile like that? Why–
RING RING RING, the school bell rang and snapped me out of my profound thoughts.
"FOOD!" Jordan and I screamed at the same time.
We threw all of our belongings into our bags and made a mad dash towards the cafeteria. As we were about to enter the noisy room, I remembered that I left my money in my wallet, which I left in my car.
"Hey, save me a seat. I have to go get my money, I'll be right back," I hollered as I sprinted in the opposite direction. As I approached my car, I heard footsteps heading my way and I turned to look. It was a group of teenage boys who didn't look like they went to Ouran, considering how they were dressed; even worse…they smelt like alcohol. I tried to remain composed and inconspicuous, but sadly the universe had other plans.
"Hey guys, look at this pretty lady," one slurred as he stumbled towards me.
I tried to quickly plan an escape, but there were too many of them. I slowly began to back towards my car so that I could possibly get inside and lock the doors, but they began to close in. If it was just one or two guys, I could handle it, but there were at least as good seven or eight. All I felt was panic, my adrenaline was pumping. My heart was pounding a mile a minute.
"Let's show her a good time," one guy suggested and grabbed my arm.
"Don't touch me," I growled pushed his arm away and tried to seem composed.
"Feisty one aren't you?" he said and leaned in to whisper, "I like that."
I shuddered as I felt his breath along my ear, it was repulsive. The stench of alcohol made me want to vomit. I began to draw back my arm to land a good punch but stopped when I heard a booming voice.
"Leave her alone," a baritone voice commanded.
The drunken guys smirked and turned to face my mysterious savior, but their cockiness was replaced with fear. As soon as they realized who he was, they bolted. I stood there, in shock, realizing what could have happened if he hadn't have come. I tried to thank him, but all that came out were sobs. Tears began to fall uncontrollably and I trembled; I had never felt so vulnerable in my life. I felt two muscular arms wrap around me, but I was too immersed in my self-pity to notice. My savior picked me up bridal style and began to walk me back to the school. Once I began to stop crying and trembling, I looked at my savior for the first time. He looked completely solemn; he had gleaming black hair that spiked in various directions, soft gray eyes that reflected concern, and although his features were quite sharp, they were indeed handsome.
"Thank you," I murmured into his chest.
The man grunted in acknowledgement.
"Ummm. I'm Tyler Hillcrest," I looked up at him.
He glanced at me and smiled softly, "I'm Morinozuka, Takashi. Call me Mori."
I nodded, "Thank you Mori-senpai. I don't know what would have happened if you had not come…" my voice trembled at the end.
He began to pat my head soothingly and rested it on his shoulder, "Just rest."
I complied and closed my eyes. His heartbeat was somewhat soothing and its rhythm lulled me to sleep.