Hello, everyone. I was zoning out, and this idea popped into my head. I know. Spontaneous. From experience, I know better than to trust my instincts when it comes to ideas, but this one seemed decent enough. Lately, I've been feeling as if my stories were too radical...too different. So, I'm going to make this one cliché. Yes, cliché. The chapter title says it all. Enjoy. Oh, and just in case, QR (Quick Response) Code refers to the bar-code on objects (that identify the object and its cost, etc.). The meaning behind the title will be revealed in later chapters.

"(3x-5) / 4...x = ..."

"Hey!"

"(5-i) (5+i)"

"You!"

"f(x) = 25-x^2..."

"Pay attention to me you dolt!"

Grinding my teeth from left to right in mild annoyance, I calmly ordered, "Be quiet, QR. I need to focus on these problems. If not, I'll kick you out. No kidding."

Silence.

I sighed in relief. Hopefully, she would have enough reason left in her to-

With an epic battle cry, the little vixen jumped on my back, breaking my pencil and slamming my head against the desk. Legs wrapped around my chest and mouth against my ear, she whispered, "You can't kick me out."

"Why not?"

"I won't let you."

"Get off me before I sue you!"

"For what?"

"For house intrusion, sexual harassment, physical assault, the cause for mental deterioration, and the list goes on and on and on and on-"

"Temper, temper...calm down, will you?" Even without looking, I knew she had her tongue pointed out towards the back of my head, arms crossed, and eyes rolling.

How did it end up like this? Well, sit tight and listen...if you dare.

A day after my little sister's funeral, a girl fell out of the sky.

Wait, wait, wait. I'm not crazy. I'm a perfectly normal high school boy. My name is Nagihiko, age 18. Never took drugs before. Never smoked...well, maybe once, but that's beside the point. The police thinks I'm crazy, and they have a good reason to presume so. But, I'm not. I'm sane.

Let me tell you, truthfully, how this all came about.

The Saturday it happened, my sister died in a car accident. The funeral took place the day my sister died, as it usually does for people who can't afford to organize a formal procession. My fellow "cousins" came to the funeral to offer me their "condolences," (as if they ever cared before) or so they told me.

Nobody understood the sadness that overwhelmed my heart. I felt guilty. I should have kept an eye on her. I had promised my parents I would protect her. Anyone who lost someone important to them would understand. It doesn't go away that easily; the bond you shared with your loved ones last a long while, even after their death. From time to time, their faces reappear in nightmares; their death scene playing over and over again in your head, unforgettable.

Distraught and depressed, I told everyone to fuck off and came back to the house my sister and I (used to) share, quite alone. Yes, I know. Real mature. Part of the reason why the police now suspects my sanity. But, hey. A teenager who just lost his only living kin (yes, there are cousins, but they don't matter enough to count) with hormones raging inside his body, driving him crazy 24/7? Come on! What would you expect?

Hell, I even contemplated suicide! Nothing important was left to live for! At least, that's what I thought. So, why am I not dead, yet? Jumping off a building takes a lot of mathematical calculations. For example, knowing when to close your eyes, where to land, how to jump off...fine. I chickened out. There. I admitted it.

I probably would have been better off with my life if I'd killed myself before she fell out of the sky. Instead of experiencing that terrible moment when I thought I really was a goner...now, now, now, I'll get to the point.

My sister and I weren't poor enough to live in the streets, but we had our own financial troubles. We couldn't afford to live in one of those fancy villas, so we had to make do with a cheap, humble abode composed of straw and bricks. So, what? We had a house. That was enough to make me happy. Enough to make me happy...until the girl fell right through the straw roof at 12:01 in the morning (completely ruining the whole purpose of the roof) following the funeral.

Furthermore, she fell on my face, nearly breaking the bridge of my nose.

She landed with a loud crack, head smacking the tip of my nose and arms flailing against my side. Of course, not fully comprehending what had happened, almost instinctively (yes, this does happen from time to time), I thrust the "creature" above me towards the door, using both hands. Still half-asleep, I heard a high-pitched shriek (or so I thought) and rubbed my eyes lazily with the side of my hand, expecting some lost bird to appear before my eyes. Nope. I ran out of luck when my sister died, I guess.

A girl about the size of my sister sat on the floor next to me, rolling her eyes at me with her lips puckered. A typical teenager, really, now that I think about it. Her physical appearance was stunning (not exactly in a good way): disheveled, but beautiful goldenrod hair; slightly thin, but not overly so; and crimson lips, covered partly in blood.

She closely resembled my sister. Small physique, curly hair, a small face, delicate hands and feet, and the list could go on. All in all, they looked pretty much the same in the dark, especially under the eerie moonlight.

Silence.

Stare.

Silence.

Stare.

Silence.

Stare.

Silence.

I tried to scream, but my vocal cords failed me. A ghost. That's what I thought. What else could be true? A girl who looks exactly like my sister jumps into the house from the sky at one in the morning a day after my sister's funeral?

Before I could react to anything, however, the girl pointed out, "Your roof's not that strong, is it?"

I blinked my eyes a couple of times. Finding my voice after a minute, tentatively, I questioned, "Who are you?"

"Queen Rima." A curt reply.

"I mean, where did you come from?"

"From the sky, obviously."

"Where did you really come from? Plus, why are you wearing hospital clothes? Where are you parents? Why are you covered in blood? Are you from the Land of the Dead? Why in the world did you fall through the roof!?"

The girl paused. A slight curve forming beside her lips, she replied, "I don't feel obliged to tell you."

I seethed quietly. A random, zombie girl falling out of the sky at nearly one in the morning? Life was surely getting better by the minute. "Are you human?"

"You tell me."

Now, that freaked me out. A girl, possibly human (or maybe not), lips covered in blood, talking to me in the middle of the night. Creepy.

"Get out." I grabbed the girl's arm, pulling her towards the door.

"No." She began to pull in the opposite direction.

"Why not?"

"I don't have anywhere to return to."

I released my grip from the girl's arm and stared for a minute, arms crossed. Shaking my head, I grabbed her hair and resumed my dragging.

"Hey! Stop that! It hurts!"

"You're the one who has to stop lying to me first. Did you really think I would believe such a lame excuse? Let me guess. You have the flu. You didn't want to get that shot tomorrow, so you ran away from the hospital. For goodness sake! Stop being such a kid! How old are you, even?"

"Seventeen."

I turned around. "What?"

Blowing away a strand of hair that covered her face, she reiterated, "Seventeen."

A girl who looked like she had barely entered middle school telling me she was seventeen? Was she even human?

I immediately turned to the door, pulling it open and quickening my pace.

"Where are we going?" the girl asked, trying to break free from my hand.

"We're taking you to the police."

Well, you see, the whole crazy night would have come to a peaceful end if she had not uttered those words in front of the police. All right, I'll admit it. It was partly my fault for surprising the police officer with my sudden outburst.

"Excuse me. This young lady suddenly fell out of the sky. I don't know where she resides. I don't know who her parents are. I don't know why she decided to break into our house at nearly one in the morning. I don't know how she managed to fall out of the sky. I don't even know if she's human. Something I do know, however, is that I need you to bring her back home while I go back to get some more sleep."

The police station only had one officer on duty during the night as I found out that day for the first time (never had to drag someone to the police after midnight). Of course, as a normal human being would, he stared at me for a full minute, the cigarette in his hand falling slowly to the ground.

Before I could fully explain myself, the teary-eyed seventeen-year-old-intruder cried out, "I'm so sorry...so sorry! Police officer, I truly...truly apologize for disturbing you so late in the night. My brother...my brother..he told me he couldn't afford to buy my medicine...he told me he had to use the money to buy...drugs...he's been addicted for so long...he can't think straight-"

I interrupted indignantly, "You! What are you talking about?" Turning to the police officer, I explained, "No, no, no, no, no! She's wrong. She's crazy. I don't know why in the world she's-"

The girl sniffed for good measure.

I continued, "-doing this to me, but-"

The police officer shook his head slowly, putting a hand up in front of my face. Sighing, he muttered, "Geez, kid. Stop taking drugs and take care of your little sister, okay?"

"No, but-"

"You need to start thinking about your own family, my boy. You're a big boy. A big boy."

"I know, but that's not-"

"Yes, yes, yes, I know. I did drugs when I was your age. I completely understand how the substance affects certain young adults in our society, but you have to stop, kid. You have to stop."

"This girl over here intruded my house-"

"It's all right. It's all right. I won't report you. I promise. Just take care of your little sister, okay?"

"No, that's not it-"

"Yes, yes, yes. The exit lies that way."

With that, he gently pushed me away with his hand.

After coming out of the police station, I gripped the girl's shoulders tightly, digging my fingernails into her collarbone. She winced and complained, "That hurts. Stop it!" She tried to swat away my hands from her shoulders using her tiny fingers.

I ignored her and demanded, "Why did you say that? Why did you make me look like an idiot in front of the police officer? Why? Why did you lie to him? You brat!"

She smoothly corrected me. "My name is Queen Rima."

Shaking her, I responded, "No, I don't need to know that. Answer me. Why did you do that?"

"I'll be staying at your house for the meantime, thank you very much." She bowed her head a little in "respect."

I shook my head. "No, no, no, no, no, no. No way."

"Why not?"

"Teenage girls and teenage boys don't sleep together in the same room."

"Why not?"

"Trust me. You don't want me to explain this to you."

"What if I do want you to?"

"No, you don't. Please go back to wherever you came from. Mars. Jupiter. Candy Land. Whatever."

"I don't have anywhere else to go."

"I don't care. Go pester someone else." I turned around and began walking towards my house.

"I'll haunt you in your dreams forever."

I shivered, but kept walking.

"You'll regret this for the rest of your life!"

I continued, not stopping.

Silence.

Did she finally give up? No.

She whispered in a low voice, "No one wants me, do they?"

No...no one wants me! I will never be special enough in their hearts, right? That's it, isn't it? Okay, I'll go.

I paused in my tracks, sighing. Without turning around, I announced, "Just for tonight. I'm kicking you out tomorrow morning."

Tiny footsteps. Getting louder. Louder... Louder. Louder! The girl jumped on my back and shouted, "I knew it! You actually like me, don't you?"

"No, I do not. I just gave you permission to-"

"Sleep in your house."

"Stop phrasing it weirdly."

"Can I stay there forever?"

"No."

Yes, end of chapter one. Sort of crazy. Sort of fun. Supposed to not make much sense (it will later, but for now). Anyway, I enjoyed writing it (especially the dialogue), so I hope you guys liked it, too. Reviews, criticism, praise...everything's appreciated! Please tell me what you thought of the story. Thanks, guys!