"Talking" Thinking Normal Words
Down and Out
Chapter 1
11/8/07
"I'm the narrator and this is just a prologue."-Panic! At the Disco
The hallway was narrow and congested. Her small body hugged the jack-o-lantern covered locker door while she tried to hurry to her next class. Soft whispers of, "Sorry," and, "Excuse me," escaped pale lips as bodies came rushing by, bumping and jostling her petite frame. Halting her passage, light lavender eyes turned towards the crowd of teenagers, looking for a quicker route. Seeing a break in the river of students, she hesitantly took a step forward. Suddenly the large body of a male upperclassman sent her flying into the wall as he pushed past her, fleeing from a friend.
"Watch it!" he called over his shoulder, weaving his way through the mass of peers.
"Sorry," the girl whispered again, pushing herself up straight. Sighing, she moved her gaze to the floor as she once more began her trek along the wall. Again and again random people knocked her shoulders and hit her hands, causing soft apologies inaudible within the hubbub of passing period.
Normal girls would be chatting with friends, yelling to be heard over the background, or attached to the hips of a boyfriend, spending every moment possible with him. But not Hinata, not shy little Hinata. She was always the quiet one, the timid one, even at her old private school. She had never been the type to talk out of turn or force her opinions down the throats of others. She believed she had only made friends before because she was the one you could whine to no matter what. But that didn't matter anymore. The old days of elementary and middle school were over, and the friends whose silent shadow she had once been were now just familiar strangers she might spot in the hallways or in class.
Back pressed uncomfortably against a locker and tiny handmade book bag in hand, Hinata waited for the warning bell. A few minutes afterward, it rang through the halls and the sound of fast footfalls and people pushing past each other nearly drowned out the hollered multitudes of, "Goodbye," and, "See you later." When the white washed hallway was finally empty except for a few slackers, Hinata peeled herself from the wall and bolted for her next class, bag bouncing against her legs, praying that she wouldn't be late.
Hinata hated Home Ec. It wasn't that she didn't like the teacher. In fact, with his black bowl cut, huge bushy eyebrows hiding large twinkling eyes, and ever-present pink apron that was as vivid as his vivacious personality, Hinata fairly enjoyed Gai-sensei. Nor was it that she did badly in the class. On the contrary, since she usually did the housekeeping at home, she was passing with ease. The reason the girl hated her class was that there were exactly twenty-two people in the class and only half as many work spaces. Moreover, since Hinata was usually the last person to get in, she was continually stuck with the lazy moocher that no one wanted. However, that day was different.
That day Ino Yamanaka, a girl from Hinata's previous school, was late coming back from an appointment. She and Hinata had gotten along before and she was one of the few people Hinata had called a true friend. Yet Ino changed since the time they began school nearly four months prior. Popularity hit the girl like a freight train. Gone was the caring, spunky, blonde haired spaz and in her place was the sculpture of a perfectly preppy Barbie; artist: High School. Ino had become pompous, rude, and a few other words Hinata could only blush at. But despite all of that, that day, Ino was Hinata's partner.
"Ugh, you are such a loser," Ino moaned into her hand for the umpteenth time. She had been watching Hinata gather ingredients with tremulous hands for nearly half an hour. Each time Hinata dropped an object, Ino would react as if she had fallen in the middle of the class. "Can't you do anything right?"
Hinata continued on as if she hadn't heard, though she had. She'd heard everything Ino said so far, but tried to pay it no mind. She was used to verbal abuse. Though her self-esteem was as fragile as a newborn chick, the wall she had built against insults was constructed from fortified steel. However, Ino's comments were hot; rolling off her tongue like magma, and Hinata's barrier couldn't take much more.
"Two cups of flour," Hinata murmured beneath her breath while pouring the designated amount.
"What was that?" Ino demanded, glaring at the girl as if she'd affronted her. Ino watched with growing satisfaction as Hinata's eyes grew wide and as her hands trembled violently. She knew the petite teenager didn't even know how to form an insult; however she loved to watch Hinata squirm. "Did you just talk back to me you little twit?" she morphed the look upon her face to that of utter distaste.
"N-no," Hinata stuttered. The flour in her hands shifted constantly as her body shook.
"You better not have," Ino sneered. Standing, she took a step towards the smaller teen-
-And the flour dropped.
At the sound of shattering glass, their classmates' attention was directed to the pair. A white cloud hovered around them as they stood as still as a mid-evil painting; Hinata, the quivering peasant, and Ino, the raging demon.
"You bitch!" Ino screamed, splintering the silence.
"I-I'm sor-" A sharp slap reverberated off the walls in the otherwise muted room. Deep pink showed through where the four on Hinata's face had been struck off and where her pain filled tears made tracks.
"Look what you did!" Despite the injured look on Hinata's face, Ino's anger was unfazed. "All you ever do is get in the way!" she yelled, panting from the onslaught of emotions. "Get out of here! I don't ever want to see your ugly face again!" bringing back her hand Ino made to strike the smaller girl once more, but was stopped.
"Yamanaka-san, that is quite enough," Gai-sensei intervened, grabbing the girl's arm. "Hyuuga-san, maybe-" he began, but Hinata was gone.
Wringing the excess water from the paper towel, Hinata scrubbed the white substance off her body. Soft sobs echoed against the empty walls as she failed to hold back the tears.
Finishing up, Hinata wiped her eyes and peaked out of the bathroom. The hallways were deserted, as class was still in session, but the security guards were still keeping watch. I should go back but- but I don't want to, she thought. Quickly glancing around, she noticed an exit not ten from where she stood and made her decision. After checking to make sure it was all clear, Hinata carefully stepped out of the cold building and into the warm sun. Her exit was near the athletic fields, so in a spur of the moment choice, she chose to sit in the shadow of the smaller set of bleachers.
Turning her gaze to the sky, Hinata's light lavender eyes lazily watched the clouds drifting above and drowsiness washed over her being as the morning's events settled in. Father is not going to be happy. The thought did little to sober Hinata as her eyes slowly began to slide shut. Hmm…that one kind of looks like a puppy. Cute.
A.N. TAG! Oh my goodness! The joy! I honestly never imagined I'd ever get this up. I'm so happy! So, um, things I may need to clear up. Everyone in Hinata's age group is freshman in high school so they're 14. Lee and others his age are juniors, so they're around 17. Also I am a very slow typer so don't hold your breath on the next chapter being out real soon. I should bee out within the next two weeks, but… Hmm, that's all I can think of so if you have any questions e-mail them to me and I'll try and answer them.
Ok! If fact, there is a random noun in this chapter from Aine of Knockaine who was the first to review for my Trigun oneshot. So good luck!Tschuess!
P.S. Thanks a ton to my friends Amax and Philip for putting up with me and this story. You have no idea how much I appreciate it. Also sorry about the cussing in this chapter. I don't like cussing so it won't happen much, but it was the best thing to get the feeling across.
Disclaimer: I own nothing but the plot. I mean, come on. I'm as poor as a church mouse.
Edit: Ok. I updated this and fixed some things. Chapter two will be up in the next day or two.