Hey guys, back at it again with a story. This time, I actually want to finish this! I hope everyone enjoys, because this was on a whim. I'll go more on her appearance in later chapters, and about her parents. Anyways, I'll let you read the story!
Chapter One: Yellow Dresses and a disgusted photographer
"Say cheese!" Moriko said, making a funny face so the little girl sitting in front of her would smile.
The little girl giggled and smiled brightly, showing the camera her missing two front teeth. Moriko took three photos before shouting, "Next!"
Her aunt, Hanako Kawaguchi, stood behind her, making sure all the pictures were to her liking. The two were at Ouran elementary taking school ID photos for the first day of school. Moriko would soon be attending Ouran academy, which Hanako was paying in full for.
"Do these look good?" Moriko asked her aunt, showing the tall woman the photos of the little girl that had just sat down.
"I would scrap the first one," Hanako's gray eyes moved vigorously, trying to spot all the mistakes.
"And the other two. Moriko, I know i've taught you to take better ones than these. Please call her back and take it again."
Moriko nodded, and agreed with her aunt. If she wanted to work at her aunt's photography studio, she would have to get better.
"Can I please have back," The young girl looked down at her clipboard and spotted the name she needed. "Aiko Nakajima."
Moriko wished she was in bed, but this great practice. She had taken fifteen kid's photos, all of them she had to retake multiple times. Her aunt had to step in more than a few times to take the photo herself. She was such a control freak sometimes, but Moriko would be to if she raised a company from the ground up.
"Here, let me do it." Hanako seized the camera from Moriko's hands and took a picture.
"See, honey, you have to remember to never let the camera auto focus,"
"Always focus it yourself." the two said in unison.
Moriko cracked a smile while Hanako smiled with her eyes. Hanako handed her back the camera and the steeled eyed girl nearly groaned; it was time to get back to work.
"That shade of yellow is going to give me a seizure." Moriko gagged, thinking about her new dress.
She thought about the yellow monstrosity and she really wanted to stomp on it. She liked dresses, but yellow? She hated yellow. In her mind, yellow didn't deserve to be a color.
"You know the more you glare the more wrinkles you'll get?" Hanako spoke up from her coffee.
"You must have glared often," Moriko said.
"You're damn right I did, and I still do."
"Did mom ever glare?" Moriko didn't remember much of her mother. She only remembered what her face looked like, but those were from pictures.
"No, not really. The glare-wrinkle thing, yeah, your mom told me that. She said I was too expressive for my own good," Hanako smiled, reminiscing. "But she did smile a lot."
"That's good."
"You're not that talkative this morning, what's got you in a tizzy?" Hanako finished her coffee and stood up, making her way to the coffee pot.
"It's just that, you know, new schools aren't really my thing. I don't know anyone, and they all come from rich backgrounds. I'll just be there, but not really there."
Hanako placed her coffee mug on the large island in the kitchen and stepped towards Moriko. She placed her hands on Moriko's shoulders, looked into her eyes which resembled her own, and gave a genuine smile.
"You're going to be fine, I promise. Just remember two things; anyone who tries to pick on you will be dealing with my heavy camera equipment, and that I love you." she kissed her forehead.
"Ew, don't put your old woman slobber on my face!" Moriko wiped her forehead with an exaggerated arm.
"I have you know i'm only thirty two!"
"Your chest says you're twelve!" Moriko smirked, crossing her arms against her chest.
"I'm going to ignore that only because I need to get to the studio. I'll have Suzumi bring the car around. Go get ready, you little heathen."
Aunt Hanako was cool when she wasn't in photography mode, which Moriko admired. She could separate work from play, which she had a hard time with. Moriko walked out of the kitchen, nearly bumping into a maid.
She hated being short, everyone bumped into her. She didn't consider herself that short, but according to Hanako, she was a munchkin, which wasn't fair because Hanako was nearly six feet tall.
"I'm 5'3 dammit!" she shouted, causing a some staff to look at her.
She grumbled and walked up a staircase, holding onto the railing for support. Once she made it to the top, she made a sharp left and went to the room on the right wall. She opened the door and stomped to her bed, where her yellow dress laid.
"God, why couldn't I be a boy in this moment? Curse my XX chromosomes!" she wailed, flinging herself on top of her bed, but was cautious of wrinkling her dress.
"I hate my life." She got off of her bed and sadly took off her comfy pajamas.
She wandered her room in search of the white tights she had to wear, which she also thought was dumb. She found them on her floor, and she gasped in relief that they weren't dirty. She slipped them on, then her dress.
She walked over to her desk which had a vanity mirror and brushed her hair. She to her black locks and put in into a tight bun, leaving two sections framing her face. If she was going to have to look like a cupcake, her hair was going to look great.
"What do I need to do now? Oh! Teeth and makeup," She slipped on the required brown shoes and walked to the bathroom.
"Maybe I could fake my own death," Moriko contemplated while putting on a bit of mascara.
She quickly brushed her teeth and rushed down the stairs, careful of the one step that is oddly slippery.
"Yamashita-san, Suzumi-san has arrived to take you to school." Sango, one of the many maids said.
Moriko said a quick 'thank you' to Sango and headed out the door, making sure to grab her lunch and her suitcase with her.
The sun pelted on Moriko's pale skin and the rays hit her eyes, making her squint. If she knew it was going to be this sunny, should would have brought some sunglasses. Suzumi was waiting in the front, just like Sango had said. The pale haired woman was standing outside of the car, waiting for Moriko to step in the backseat.
"You didn't have to do that," Moriko said. "You know how I feel about all of this stuff."
The black haired girl hopped in the back seat, placing her suitcase and lunchbox beside her.
"I know, Moriko-san, I just forget sometimes." Suzumi smiled at the young girl and shut the door.
Suzumi stepped into the car and pulled out of the long driveway and onto the busy streets. Moriko leaned her head against the window, looking at the scenery passing by. This whole day seemed like a Twilight Zone episode.
"You think you could put on some music?" Moriko asked, wanting to fill the silence with some overly happy pop music.
"Any preferences?" Suzumi asked.
"You know what I like." was all Moriko said.
Suzumi provided with music, and Moriko was pleased.
"What class are you in, Moriko-san?" Brown colored eyes looked at Moriko through the driver's mirror.
"Class 1-A," Moriko drawled, not really interested in conversation.
"I hope you make some friends on your first day!" Suzumi said, trying to sound enthusiastic.
"I hope I don't fall down the stairs on my first day."
"Well I hardly doubt that'll happen." giggled the blonde.
"Hello, i'm Yamashita Moriko, and I hope you all will take care of me." Stupid teacher, making her come up and introduce herself.
"Yamashita-san, there's an open seat in front of Fujioka-san. Fujioka-san, please raise your hand,"
A boy with glasses, a brown sweater, and shaggy brown hair raised his hand. Moriko was confused about his attire, but she wasn't going to question it. She awkwardly walked her way to her new seat and sat down. Maybe she should make a friend with this Fujioka? Maybe at lunch she would confront him. Yes, at lunch she will talk to this boy and become his friend.
Moriko took out a pencil, pen, and multiple sheets of paper and place them on her desk. Hell yeah, she came prepared for today. She was going to take this day by the theoretical balls.
She doodled on her paper for a good part of morning classes. She did pay attention, but she wasn't giving it her all, another bad habit. When the lunch bell rang, students poured out of the class, leaving only herself and Fujioka-san. This was her opportunity to make a friend. She turned around and smiled,
"Hello, Fujioka-san, as sensei said, i'm Yamashita Moriko. It's a pleasure to meet you,"
Fujioka-san smiled back, which brought Moriko's stress level down many notches.
"It's a pleasure to meet you as well, Yamashita-san."
"You don't have to call me Yamashita-san, just call me Moriko. Yamashita-san makes me sound old," Moriko grimaced, thinking about being old.
Fujioka-san laughed, "You can call me Haruhi."
"This school is kind of intimidating, isn't it?" Moriko made conversation with Haruhi, hoping to keep him interested.
"Yeah, I know it is. I just transferred here, and it's been a weird transition."
Moriko picked up her bento box and licked her lips. Shizune had made this, and she was starving. Haruhi did the same, and when he opened his bento box, her eyes nearly popped out of her head.
"That looks incredible! Did you make that?" Moriko asked.
Haruhi nodded, "Yeah, it's nothing compared to yours though."
"You're too humble, I mean, look at that!" She saw some rice balls and her mouth watered.
"Thanks."
They ate their lunches in peace, and there were no more words shared between the two. When the bell rang, Moriko put her now empty bent box beside her desk and turned around, not looking back at her new friend until it was time to go home.
"What do people here usually do after school?" Moriko asked Haruhi as they walked out of the classroom.
"They have clubs to go to, or they loiter for a while with their friends." he answered.
Moriko nodded and walked with him down the hallway, passing students along the way.
"What do you do after school?" Was she prying too much into his life? They had just met afterall.
"I'm not really sure, it depends. Sometimes I go straight home, and sometimes I stay and study for a while."
The black haired girl nodded again. She pulled her flip phone out of her suitcase and saw she had a text message.
'Suzumi won't be there until 5, sorry.'
Great, she was stuck here for an hour and a half.
"What were you going to do today?" She was definitely prying too much.
"I was going to go find a place to study,"
"Do you mind if I tag along? I'm not going to be picked up for a while." Moriko felt so awkward at this moment.
"Sure, I don't mind." Haruhi smiled and Moriko was eased.
The slightly taller girl followed Haruhi like a lost dog. From all four libraries, to the classrooms, and even the cafeteria, none of them were quiet.
"This school is huge," Moriko awed. "How does someone not get lost in this place?"
"I got lost my first day." Haruhi laughed a bit.
"If it weren't for you, I would still be wandering the halls." Moriko admitted.
They walked for a few more minutes and the pair found themselves at large, pink, double doors. Maybe this place would be quiet enough for Haruhi's taste. Moriko let Haruhi open the doors, and she let him lead the way inside.
What she didn't expect, though, were six boys standing in the middle of the room.
"Welcome,"
"Holy hell."