"Hey, Misa?" Startled at hearing my name, especially called by a girl, I twisted my head in the voice's direction.
"We're going to that new karaoke club after school, with the kendo team. Do you want to come?" My answer almost comes out only a heart beat after the question leaves my mouth, but I remember to be hesitant, and make them think I already have plans.
"Well, I guess I can. I know where the club is, so I can meet you guys there in a half hour, around 2:30?" I've recognized the voice's owner now; it's Chiyo, an old middle school friend of mine. The bell rings just as I swoop down to scoop up my bag, and the half-whispered "sorry" after her generic reply is drowned in the tide of students' chatter.
When I get home, I drop my bag on the kitchen floor as I head over to snatch a yogurt from our healthily-stocked refrigerator. As I eat, realizing neither my parents nor my brother is home yet, I think.
Why did Chiyo invite me? I mean… It's nice, and I'll have fun, but they usually just… Ignore me. Just because I'm a model now doesn't mean I'm going to chatter about celebrity boys and the high-fashion clothes I get to wear! Nor does being blonde (naturally, I might add) make me shallow or stupid! I'm not American, after all.
"They're usually so mean, but maybe…" Maybe what? Suddenly we're going to clasp hands and skip up a rainbow, singing one of my new CD's songs? That's my natural Misa optimism coming through!
Either way, I decide to dress on the safe side. No gothic lolita photo-shoot leftovers today! I pick out a pair of skinny jeans, a simple tank top, and a pair of those cool American Converse sneakers my agent bought, my hands flitting expertly through my bureau. Over this I toss on a leather jacket, some makeup and hair ties, and I'm good to go! As I leave my room though, I toss an extremely overdue library book in my bag. That way, when I tell my parents I'm going to the library, I won't be lying.
When I round the corner before the club, my smile transforms into the mischievous grin that landed me (Misa Amane, a normal high school girl who just modeled for fun) her breakthrough cover shoot for Sixteen magazine!
Chiyo's waiting by the door when I arrive, and the look on her face is of embarrassment and shame. When I see the faces and phones pressed up against the small, cloudy window, I see what pathetic game they're playing. Rather than let them watch pop-idol Misa-Misa crying, I turn and run.
"Misa, come back. I'm sorry!" But I don't trust the voice. Maybe I'll go to the library after all, I think to myself.
My feet are pounding away on the smooth asphalt of a back-alley, a shortcut to the library, and my eyes are hot with unshed tears. I think I'm almost there, when the sound of two pairs of feet running behind me breaks through the embarrassment clogging my ears.
Is it a dirty old stalker, ready to pounce on his obsession? Or, and perhaps even worse, is it some of the kids from the club? I'm ready to pull the mace out of my bag, that my agent gave me when I started getting more-than-innocent love letters, when I trip over a grimy beer bottle.
I turn, and manage to stand, though my ankle is screaming in protest. Through my now tear-clouded eyes, which my fall seems to have unleashed, I can make out the slim silhouettes of a tall boy and a much shorter girl, who seems to be running away from the boy.
"Misa! It's me, Chiyo," the girl, Chiyo, stops in front of me and pants in obvious exhaustion, "I'm sorry about what I did… It-it was wrong, and terribly mean." She stops here, searching my face for a reaction; I suppose the only thing she finds is my tears because she goes on.
"Misa… After middle school, in the summer, you changed. You became a model, and whenever I called, your mom said you were off 'establishing yourself in the entertainment industry'. I thought you'd be too busy to have friends, so I just stopped calling…" She pauses again, and appears to be saddened by what she just said, and what more she wants to say.
"But, Misa, I wanted to be friends and I thought you were so cool! Do you…" She stops, and a hint of a grin crosses her face when a boy's hand grasps her shoulder. At this point, my ankle has given up all hope of supporting me, and I fall. My butt hits the ground with a splash, right in the middle of what seems to be a miniature lake, the aftermath of yesterday's thunderstorm.
"Hey big brother," Chiyo pinches his hand playfully, "Misa, this is my older brother Aido, I was going to introduce you two at the party until I found out what they were going to do… And, I'm rambling on, aren't I?" She blushes and steps to the side, hands clasped together.
This is how; when my ankle has landed me in a puddle, which leaves Misa Amane looking her worst, I must look directly upwards into the face of the most beautiful boy I've ever met. This of course, with my luck, is when I faint.