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February 14th; 7:55 AM
Odaiba Elementary
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Yolei strolled down the hallway, oblivious to the throng of students running to get to class. Many of them were busy asking their friends about what they were going to do for Valentine's Day, and whether so and so was going to give a valentine to so and so. Yolei tried her best to ignore these conversations, but despite her best attempts, they got her mind racing with anticipation.
Oh I just love Valentine's Day- All the cute guys proclaiming their adoration and showering gifts upon the object of their affections. Sigh…I really need to stop reading those romance novels. Maybe this year I'll get a valentine. I wonder if maybe TK will give me one…or maybe *gag* Davis.
"Hey Yolei!" screamed a voice within the mass. Yolei looked up to see Kari waving at her as best she could with all the students in the way. She waved back and pushed her way through the crowd to meet Kari in front of their homeroom.
"Hi Kari." Yolei looked left and right, sensing that something was missing…or rather, someone. "Hey, where are TK and Davis?"
"Oh, TK said he forgot something in his locker, and Davis said he had to get something too." Kari smiled. "Why, is there something you wanted to ask them?"
"…Nah, I'll ask them later."
"Okay." Kari said. She sat inside the classroom, while Yolei walked out into the hall to get away from the overcrowded room. Almost instantaneously, a group of boys moved to where Kari stood, and started asking her who her valentine was this year. Kari giggled and said that she hadn't decided yet. The guys then started telling her what kinds of gifts they were planning on giving their valentine, hoping to impress Kari.
Why doesn't anyone act like that for me? All the guys in school are drooling over Kari, while I get to watch her act shy and modest. I know we're friends, but…
Yolei balled her fists and stormed down the hallway towards her classroom. …Why does she have to be so perfect!Yolei was nearly trampled when TK and Davis raced to the room, carrying some valentines' gifts. TK carried a bouquet of fresh red roses, while Davis held a box of expensive chocolates. They ran past her, saying a quick hello as they tried to beat the other to the room.
…As if Kari needed any more admirers.
Yolei trudged the rest of the way to her class and parked herself in her seat near the front. The bell rang as homeroom officially started."Okay class, settle down." said the teacher. "As you well know, today is Valentine's Day, so now you have ten minutes to hand out your valentines." With that said, the class started going around the room, placing valentine's gifts in pre-made boxes for each person. Yolei pulled out the cards she had made for the cute guys in the class (signed with her name and phone number) and the small boxes of candy from her dad's store.
Okay…Brad, Li, Satoshi, Akira, and Duo. There, all done. No, wait, gotta stick the candies in…there.
Yolei returned to her seat, as did the rest of the class when the ten minutes ended."Okay class, good. When class ends, you can pick them up."
Ooh…hurry up! I'm dying over here!
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8:39 AM
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Yolei ran up to the box with her name on it, and held her breath as she peaked inside. She whipped the box open and looked inside to find…nothing.
…Why is it empty? Don't tell me nobody gave me a valentine.
Yolei turned the box upside down and shook it, hoping that maybe a card would fall out. A couple of shakes later, Yolei's desk was still empty."See you tomorrow kids!" said the teacher as the homeroom bell ended the class. The kids got up and headed for their next class…except for Yolei, who just remained at her desk, staring at her empty box.
"Um…Miss Inoue?" said the teacher as he walked over to her. "You realize class is over, don't you?"
Yolei sighed and stood up. "Yeah, sorry sir." she replied. Yolei trudged out of the classroom, leaving her red valentine box on the desk for the teacher to deal with.
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12:00 PM
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Yolei went down the lunch line, trying to find something she liked. Nothing caught her fancy. Today, she didn't care about eating anyway. She was in no mood for eating.
"Hey Yolei, what's up?" said TK as she walked by the table the digi-destined usually sat at.
"Hey." she said simply before walking by.
"What was that all about?" said Davis before taking a bite out of his peanut butter and mustard sandwich, making Cody twitch in disgust as he watched.
"I don't know, but she's been like that all day since I last saw her this morning." said Kari. "I wonder if she's not feeling well..."
"I don't think so," said TK. "It looks like something's bothering her."
"Maybe nobody gave her a valentine." suggested Cody before eating a piece of his packaged sushi. "I know how much she obsesses over it. She does it every year."
"What do you mean? I would think she gets lots of valentines," said Kari.
Davis nearly choked on his food as he laughed. "You've gotta be kidding. She's the president of the computer club and head projectionist! Her glasses have bigger lenses than the Hubbell!"
"Davis!" barked Kari. "That's so mean!"
Davis cringed. "S-sorry, but that's the truth. None of the guys even talk about her around here. She's just...'there'."
"Poor Yolei..." sighed Kari. "We've gotta do something to cheer her up."
"Like what?" asked TK. "I'm all out of money."
"Me too." added Davis.
"I don't get my allowance until next week," said Cody.
Kari moaned again. "I can't believe none of you gave her a valentine!"
"I ran out of cards!"
"I spent all my money on your chocolates!"
"I'm only eight!"
Kari fell back in her seat. "Oh brother..."
Davis shrugged. "Don't worry about Yolei. I gotta feeling that she'll get over it."
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3:00 PM
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The final bell sounded through the school, and as was typical at the end of the school day, every kid in school was in a hurry to go home…well, most of them. Yolei walked at a pace that a sloth could beat, staring at the ground through her wide-rimmed glasses with a feeling of dejection apparent on her face.
"Hey Yolei!" yelled Kari from her locker up ahead. Yolei glanced up, and not too surprisingly, Kari's locker was overflowing with Valentine's Day gifts. "Could you help me with these, please? I'd really appreciate it."
Sure, just rub it in my face.
Yolei walked over and gathered up the smaller items- small rhyme cards, pocket-sized candy boxes, and tiny trinkets with "I love you" all over them- into her snack bag that she used to feed the digimon. She picked up some of the bigger things- TK's roses and Davis' ten-pound box of sweets, for instance- and carried them, while Kari gathered together several other boxes, containing valentines and sweets. The two trekked home, slowly but surely."So how was your day?" asked Kari as she pushed the button for the crossing light.
Yolei shrugged as best she could with fifty pounds of stuff in her grasp. "Eh. It was better than a kick in the face I suppose."
The light changed to green, allowing them to cross. "That bad, huh?"
"Do you see mountains of gifts in my hands?" Yolei growled. "…I mean besides yours!"
Kari frowned sympathetically. "…I'm sorry."
Yolei groaned. "No, it's okay. I know you didn't do it on purpose."
"Yolei, if there's-"
"Please...let's just forget the whole thing." Yolei asked. Kari didn't press the issue, and the two continued to walk in silence. That is, until...
"What's this?" asked Kari, looking at a letter on the ground behind Yolei. "I think it fell out of your backpack."
Yolei tried to look at it without dropping all of Kari's stuff. "I don't know... I don't remember having a letter. Kari, you'll have to read it, unless you want me to drop your stuff all over the street." That wouldn't be a bad idea actually...nah, that'd be too mean.
Kari opened up the letter and read it aloud.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Dear Yolei,
I'm sorry for not being able to give you this in person, but I haven't had the courage to face you again since that day I saw you in a new light. I don't know what it was, or why it happened; all I know is that it did happen. I saw you, standing in that forest under the radiant sun, your beautiful brown eyes shining like twin stars. Your hair was a waterfall of violet silk, falling gracefully around your shoulders. Your beauty was unlike anything I could ever imagine, and believe me; I have quite an imagination. You offered your hand to me in friendship, but I refused to grasp it, for fear of soiling your loveliness. Forgive me, for I am not worthy of such an honor, but I ask that you please take all that I can give to you... my heart. Please be my valentine, Child of Love.
-Your Secret Admirer
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
A dreamy-eyed Yolei waited expectantly for the signature. "...Who signed it?"
Kari shrugged. "Nobody. It just says 'Your Secret Admirer'."
Yolei took the letter with her free hand, and managed to rearrange the boxes and bags in her hand so that she could reread the letter. When she reached the end again, Yolei's face turned red as a rose, and she spun around in a circle, screaming happily. "I got a valentine! I can't believe it!"
Kari giggled at her friend's display of happiness, which was starting to attract a small crowd. "Yeah, but who wrote it. That letter made my heart skip a beat just reading it."
Yolei stopped spinning around. "Yeah...who would give me a love letter?" She glanced back down at the wording again. "And why did they call me Child of Love?"
"Well, you have the digi-egg of Love," said Kari simply. "But who would know that?"
"Only another digi-destined!" she answered. "That means my secret admirer is a digi-destined!"
"Well that narrows it down to about..." Kari counted in her head. "...Seven boys...well, eight if you count Willis...oh, and there's Michael, for nine..."
Yolei interrupted. "Yeah, but Willis and Michael are in America, so unless they have a rocket in their po- err, backyard, then they couldn't have given me the letter." Yolei showed Kari the letter yet again. "And look, it's handwritten in ink... fresh ink."
"I wonder who it could be?" Kari said. "I wouldn't think any of the digi-destined males could write something so... sweet."
Yolei held the letter to her heart, and started to hum and spin around down the street. "Oh, I've got a secret admirer...La La La."
Kari ran after her. "Yolei, please be careful with my stuff!"
(Author's Note: It's a game of cat and mouse now, as Yolei goes on a mission to find out just who her secret admirer is. Hopefully I'll put up part 2 sometime soon…but only Fate can decide that.)
