Chapter 1
…
She carefully examined the contents on the file, it seemed she had to fill-out and sign the entire thing. When she finished skimming through the pages, she relinquished the application back to the headmistress.
"Well, what do you think?" asked the headmistress, placing the application back in the manila envelope.
"Should we really be sending it early?" Mimi wasn't sure if the headmistress was in her right mind, she was only in the 11th grade; sending in an early college application to her preferred school felt discomforting, mainly because even if they looked at her application, the chance they would respond back, was kind of low.
"You do know how these schools work right?" the headmistress questioned. After no response from the young teen, she decided to enlighten her. "Schools want interested students who are ready to invest in their academics, the earlier you start sending your application, the faster they will respond. We're lucky that they offer earlier enrollment for students in earlier years." Mimi had only considered the school because her dad insisted on the sooner the better. "Have you looked at any other schools that might interest you?"
Other schools? That seemed Highly Unlikely; she could barely concentrate with her current studies, let alone tasking the responsibility of researching Higher education. "…No."
She was beginning to regret getting the principle involved. She wasn't even sure she wanted to begin adding stress of college into her already corrupted situation, all she wanted to do was worry about her current state and ease through her first year back.
"Oh, Why not?"
"I don't know." she whispered.
"Know…?" The headmistress contemplated on what was happening, the girl seemed absentmindedly.
"Nothing," Mimi finished.
"Very well," she looked up at the young pupil, "then here is the document." Her student nodded and took the envelope in her hands. "You can mail it straight to them, or if you don't know how to do so, or you have complications, then just bring it back, I'll mail it in for you."
"Um…"Mimi pondered, "is there an essay portion?"
"I Believe, hold on let me check," she snatched a large text that was sitting on her left and began looking through the pages in the catalog book. "They have an entrance exam, much like the one we have, but… I see nothing about an application essay." After reading a couple of passages from the pages, she found nothing that was of any relevance to an essay. "You know what, it doesn't state specifically if there is a written portion required. I'll give them a call later and see, I'll inform you tomorrow if anything comes up."
"Alright."
"It's no worries."
She looked at the manila envelope, it seemed as if her pre-adult life was approaching quite fast. "Will that be all?"
"It is, unless you have any more questions."
Mimi shook her head.
"Well then, that will be all. Thank you for coming in, Ms. Tachikawa. Please inform your parent about the application and get their thoughts."
"Sure," she nodded. "Have a good day."
"You as well. Have a safe trip home," the elderly woman replied.
Mimi nodded again and bowed. Exiting the office room—she leaned back on the door before looking down at her bag, placing the packet in-between textbooks and folders of sorts. If there was one trait she really cherished about herself, it would be her organization skills. She only meet a few handful of people who liked to keep things neat; and while, she didn't have OCD, having everything arranged accordingly, gave her relief.
She left the main office and entered the corridor. It seemed so strange when there wasn't noise ricocheting off the walls, the silence in school really brought a whole new vibe to the establishment. During most of the day all you could hear in the halls were the much annoying idly chit-chat of the female population, it brought great shame to think she once partook in such vain activities. Silence, on the other hand, really represented what a school environment should feel like.
As she passed through the front-entrance door she felt the chilly wind hit against her skin, it was a good thing she came prepared for the weather.
Mimi was glad she brought her thick hoodie, she got cold really easily. Come to think of it, she hated the schools regulations. In America, during the low temperatures, female students were able to wear pants to help shield them from frigid weather, unlike all schools in japan, it was mandatory for girls to wear skirts at all times. It was quite laughable when they suggested she wear tights, as if that would even help, especially when it gets below 30 degrees.
Unfortunately, the clouds looked grayer than yesterday, which meant, it was going to rain later, most likely the same time as yesterday.
Walking home was always serene for her. She kept looking around her old neighborhoods, a lot of things remained as she once remembered, yet, the streets of Odaiba definitely changed since her departure. It almost seemed like forever since she'd been gone. Recollection of memories from her past began floating in her head. She remembered when she would play in the local parks with some of the other children, how profoundly it felt to make new friends and admirers. Most of the youngsters she befriended were kindhearted kids, and they all enjoyed her company, well… she just hoped it wasn't a facade.
All those times she would sleep over her friends house's, staying up till midnight chatting about what their futures would be like, and, when she always brought her pink pony lunchbox to school field trips. Also when her grade held the best drawing contest—mind you, she was nowhere near the best drawer—they were still so much fun. She recalled the time she smacked Koushiro Izumi in second grade because he implied that she sang 'out of sync'—please, her father paid top yen for those lessons—they later apologized to each other and moved on.
Koushiro. She couldn't quite think of him without thinking of the rest of the group. It was about seven years ago that she meet most of them, during their infamous summer camp trip. She had only been friends with Sora, Taichi, and Koushiro at the time, and later became really close with Yamato, Takeru, Jo, later meeting Kari—Taichi's younger sister. That was the perhaps the happiest memory she could ever retain. They meant a lot for her, mainly, because they helped her recognized who she was and what she was capable of. She could count on them for anything, well, at least with the things she was able to reveal.
It seemed hilarious that, at one point, she annoyed all of them with her incoherent demands, they would even deem her a brat. It was really interesting knowing how different she was from them. She had no hardships in her life, and everything had always been handed to her; she was, in terms, a princess. They taught her that each one of them was unique in quality, and each shined brighter with their flaws, even herself.
When she learned about the crest of purity, that's when her perspective changed. She didn't want to be that girl everyone avoided, she wanted to be remembered as someone who was kind and energetic. Honestly, she was the happiest with them, her friends.
She had come a long way since then, and, thinking back, all those emotions were really premature. Being kind, energetic, and sensitive didn't get her anywhere, and in fact made her a prey. Strangers forced their will upon others, and if you were weak, you'd drift into obscurity.
Thankfully, all her friends could protect each other, if anything was to occur among them. As for herself, she hadn't seen or spoken to any of them in a long while. She neglected to inform them of her return, partially because it was—at least in her terms—for the better; Mimi just wasn't ready for a reunion.
When she stepped in her house, setting her bag down, she secured the safety locks and chains on the door.
She wondered if she was still relevant to them. Had her absence changed any affinity they had towards her? She was in a depressive state, her spirit was fragile and unstable. She hoped (a word she really didn't have much faith in anymore) to preserve the way they reacted around her. She had wanted to call them at one point, but that seemed more like a rational thought. Pity was a bitch she'd like to avoid—sooner or later she would have to confront her demons.
After locking up, she was felt a bit thirsty, so she headed for her kitchen to prepare some tea. She grabbed the kettle from one of the bottom drawers—pouring some water in and setting in on the electrical stove. She always made sweet berry tea when she got home, it calmed her nerves, and it had also become one of her daily routines. Tea was also great during the cold weather, something she had gotten use to back in New York. As she waited for the water to boil, she took a tea cup from the cabinet and set it next to her.
In the meanwhile, her homework was probably going to take a while, so she opened her bag and set some of the textbooks on the kitchen counter. On an average day, her assignments weren't so difficult, and could be finished within less than two hours, other times, she could finish a lot of work during the lunch breaks they gave in school. Studying, on the other hand, sometimes took more than the evening asked for. It was kind of humorous to think that she once loathed doing such tedious things, now, it helped her cope. Maybe, it was because work was manageable, were as the outside world, forged its own intangible road.
Around six in the evening, she began hearing the droplets of the sky hitting against her house, making soft splashing noises. Back in New York, she always use to sit near the window panes when it rained, loving how beautiful the fog looked below the condo on the city streets. Now, that fond was temporarily gone, mostly because it was cold outside and she had no desire to sit near the window.
She turned on the television to occupy the silence that was setting in her home, the noise helped her to unravel her thoughts process.
Too many things were going on at once, and she didn't have time for it. She wished she could be with parent's, but because they were in New York, there was little to nothing she could do, so she decided to call her dad.
The telephone rang a couple of times before the other end picked up, she heard his soothing voice come thru.
"Hello?"
"Hi dad," she started, "just calling to check up on you,"
"To check up on me!? Since when have our roles reversed?" The playfulness in his voice was evident.
"It's been a while since it has," she laughed, along with her father.
"Hi sweetheart, I'm doing well. I tried calling you earlier but kept getting redirected to voicemail. How are you?"
"Splendid, sorry 'bout earlier, just had some extra projects I had to finish,"
"Projects? Must be tedious…"
"Mhm…"
"I guess looking for your significant other is hard," he teased, irritatingly so.
"No Dad." After Hearing no response on the other end, she decided to continue. "Don't make me feel disgusting."
"I would never," he inquired.
"Would you even approve?"
"I suppose not, but I trust you, you know."
She sighed, "I guess."
"So, how are you?"
"Eh, I have so many things to worry about." In truth, it wasn't a lot, but it was still handful of things that had come up in the recent weeks.
"Like…?"
"This application I have to turn in," she finished.
"Application?"
"Yep."
"The school application?"
"Mhm…"
"That's great, did you decided on the school we talked about?"
"Yeah."
"It's a good school."
"I know." She was only doing it because of him anyways. Diverting from that topic, she decided to continue, "How is mom?"
"She is doing a lot better, she'll make a full recovery soon." The tone in his voice convinced her that he was overwhelmed, or overworked, maybe both.
"That's good," she agreed.
"How are you holding up?" Her intuition told her to lie, her father had enough troubles right now.
"I'm doing a lot better." She wanted to encourage him to a more positive mentality.
"Really!? You're not happy of getting rid of your parents, are yuh?"
"Right," clearing her throat, she avoided answering an already obvious question.
"Are you seeing Dr. Okawashi?" he asked.
"Unfortunately." She hated the topic that was about to start. "He said he was going give you a call sometime next week."
"Hm, nothing but good news I suppose."
"Right," she answered, unenthusiastic.
"How far have you been progressing?"
"Mm…" Mimi contemplated the possible disciplines she could receive. Could she even get punished? Even across seas? Most likely.
"Mimi." He knew his daughter too well to know that she was withholding information from him.
"Not much."
"Mimi…" he was disappointed, she knew.
"I know, I know… it's just," she didn't want to get scolded, but the way the conversation was carrying, she just might get yelled at, "it isn't much help."
"If you cooperate, I'm sure you'll see the results." He knew his daughter was going to give the poor man a hard time, she did same thing to the one in New York. "Promise you'll try,"
"I just, don't, like, feel comfortable."
"Dr. Oka—"
"I don't favor seeing him."
"You have to, I'm obligating you to go."
…
"Well?" Keisuke was getting frustrated with the tone of his daughter, she promised him she would respect all his demands when she asked if she could return. Circumstances separated them apart, but only for a while. He had to take care of her mother back in New York, but she was not about to get away from the responsibility she had. "I told you not you were better off staying with me."
"I couldn't possibly imagine how I would feel if I was back there," she piqued.
"Better than you are now."
"Can we not do this, I want to leave off on a good note."
"Well you certainly aren't making the effort. To leave on good terms, you need to oblige by the rules," he sighed, he had a lot of work to do, and his daughter was complicating things again. "Do you want me to find some else to help?"
"No…" It was her inability to want to confess to anyone of what was going on in her life that was holding her back. "It isn't him, I'm just not use to this." Mimi didn't like making promises, especially ones that prompted to be forgotten. "But fine, I'll try, for you."
"You sure? I could look for someone else if it's not working out for you,"
"Don't. It won't matter who it is." She would let her father win this time, but things weren't going to be so easy in the future. "I'll make the effort, I promise."
"Okay…"
"I'll try," she repeated in whisper.
"Thank you honey, that's all I ask. Anyways, I have to get back to work, I'll see if I can come visit you soon. I love you babe. say hi to your aunt for me."
"Okay daddy—I'll tell her, Love you too."
"Bye, take good care."
She held her cell in her ear seconds after the call ended. A part of her wanted to keep talking to her dad, to tell him how alone and unsecured it felt being back in Tokyo, but she couldn't be so selfish, she—herself—had chosen this ultimatum.
It was approximately half past six; her aunt almost returned from work.
She continued her studies and afterward packed everything neatly back into her bag. To her discomfort, she still had a manila envelope to attend to, so she started at its contents with a pen in hand. She let out a loud sigh and began writing; there were a lot of questions, too many for her liking.
Looking over the sheets, she proofread everything. Mimi didn't even know why she indulged the idea of college right now, she had at least over a year to get back into the normality of things, and it's not like she was academically excellent, she was above average but nothing more. All of this was for the welfare of her parents, to ease their worries.
It was good thing her aunt came home really exhausted, it meant it was going to be a quiet night.
Looking down at her wrist—checking the time, she went up to the second floor to get some much needed r&r in.
The hot steaming water of the shower hitting against her bare skin, gave her a small surge of energy. In all honesty, taking warm showers at night was the most enjoyable part of the day. In a moment of comfort, the stream of water seemed to become her best friend.
Koushiro frantically paced back and forth inside his room, waiting for the person on the other end to pick up. Why he signed-up for keeping maintenance on the digital world, he did not know. Was the responsibility solely his? He couldn't understand how his friends were all so irresponsible. Perhaps, if they just applied a little interest for their digital friends, then they could look after things in his absence.
"Yes?" Taichi's mother answered.
"Hi Mrs Kamiya, Its Koushiro. I was just wondering if Tai was home."
"Hello Koushiro, how are you? Are you feeling better?"
"Yes, a lot better, thank you. My mom said your recipe came in handy, she sends her thanks."
"I'm glad, give her my regards, will you."
"Mhm."
"Thanks, hold on, I'll go get Taichi for you."
"Thank you," he muttered, he spun the telephone cord around his forefinger out of sheer boredom. He would have used his cell to message him, but it was lost somewhere in the clutter of his room.
Soon after, his grumpy friend's voice came through the other end. "Koushiro? Why ar—"
"What the hell Tai! WhyDidn'tAnybodyMonitorTheLabYesterdayWhenIWasGone!?ICan'tBelieveIt, ICantLeaveAnythingForYouGuysBecauseYouLeaveItUnattended!"
"Koushiro. Koushi-Kou-Kous," Koushiro had obviously gone off the deep end, it was impossible to understand a single word the kid was uttering. "KOUSHIRO!"
After hearing small breaths from the other side of the phone, he decided to approach the situation again. "Now," he breathed, "what happened that has you so hyped up?"
"I'M NOT HYPED, I'M UPSET!"
"Calm down." Taichi hated how distorted the phone was when someone was really loud on the other end. "What happened?"
"Look," he quickly recomposed himself, "nobody checked that lab yesterday, and because of my absence, the equipment got damaged."
"Damaged—how?"
"The storm, Tai, there was a leak in the lab room." Letting out a breath-full sigh, he deciding to continue. "I went to the counselor, she told me that she would inform the principle about the incident."
"Ah, damn," Taichi new there was something he forgot to do yesterday. "Sorry Koushiro, I was meeting Jo yesterday and—"
"And you couldn't just—oh, I don't know—check the lab," he questioned.
"Sorry, it completely slipped my mind. What's going to happen to the digital server?" Clueless as he was, Taichi knew that they need to keep observation on the digital world, for everyone's safety.
"I have a feeling that it will be fine—for now—we won't be able to do anything until we can get another viable computer."
"Use your laptop."
"I'm afraid that laptops and home computers can't handle that kind of power." Sure they could track some activity through regular computers, but appropriate action would be rendered useless. "The counselor told me that she would see what she could do, not sure how much faith I have in that."
"Do you think it's replaceable?"
"I don't know, but we need to come up with an immediate course of action; expect the worse, just in case."
"Maybe the consular will have a solution."
"Uh, I'm not so sure." Koushiro didn't have much faith in the counselors, mostly due to his experience with them. "I really don't know what we'll do if we can't find a server."
"It's going to be Okay," Taichi reassured him, "let's see what happens tomorrow and we can decided what to do from there."
Koushiro sighed, "Fine, meet me in the lab tomorrow."
"Will do. Oh, and Koushiro?"
"What."
"Next time, call my cell."
"Whatever."
Taichi chuckled, "Night Kou—"
"Bye," he hung up flatly. Koushiro was very much upset for the lack of a plausible solutions they had come up with. Hopefully, the digital could hold its own, in the meantime, they needed to solve this problem.
After hanging the phone Taichi retreated back to his room, dragging his idle body back to his mattress. Koushiro was so rude to interrupt his restful nap-sleep-slumber, now it was going to take him ages to fall back asleep.
A/N: Hi everyone. If you've made it this far, hopefully, that means you read at least a bit of my story, if so, thank you so much, it really means a lot. Um, I guess i should clarify a bit of whats going on. First off, I'm not going to write Mimi as the sweet, bubbly, airhead she is. Her character is going to go through more of a cause-and-effect, kind of phase, which means you might find her a bit OOC. Also, Romance wont be the main theme for this fiction, but it will be incorporated. Anyways, I don't have the story quite mapped out yet, but I'll fill in the gaps as best I can. Additionally, any Original characters will play a minor role and will help Mimi progress through the story, some will serve no relevance.
By the way, I don't own any of the original Digimon characters, or names, etc.
I don't have much experience writing these, but hopefully I can provide a good read for you. Anyways, thanks for reading, drop me a comment/review, any constructed criticism is greatly appreciated. Thank you!