CHAPTER 1

--A kick to the teeth is good for some--
--A kiss with a fist is better then none --

That clock was a persistent bastard. No matter how many times she abused, verbally or physically, the damn thing just wouldn't shut the Hell up. She pulled her pillow from under her head and threw it in the general direction of the clock. The crash on the floor and the sweet silence afterward was peaceful. At least, at first. She then realized she had lost her pillow. Groggily, she turned in her bed to inspect the havoc she had wreaked. The face of the clock was cracked, and it was obvious that it wouldn't work ever again. She frowned at the silver of the dialogue clock's base and its hand that was froze on seven fifty-eight. She put a lazy hand in her fading red hair and muttered a half-hearted "oops."

She lazily threw off her covers, not want to get up. There was no way she was going back to sleep now, though. Her mother was sure to come up any minute now, asking what the crash was, then see the clock and start another lecture about throwing pillows at the poor clock that did her no harm. It was just doing its job: annoying the Hell out of her until she got up. As soon as her feet hit the floor, the red-head heard her mother call from downstairs.

"Lottie, this is the third clock you've broke in a month! I can't keep paying for these, you know!"

The girl stepped over the broken clock and kicked it under the bed with her heel on the way to her closet.

"Mom, I asked you not to call me that!" she yelled back at her. It's not that she hated that particular nickname; she just didn't think 'Lottie' suited her. Personally, she preferred Charlie. Indeed, it's a little less refined than Lottie, but then again, Charlie wasn't a refined person. In private, anyway.

She crinkled her nose at the yellow pleats of the uniform she was supposed to wear. The bow, in her opinion, was the most obnoxious part of the whole ensemble. She poked the skirt of the dress, which moved with her touch. She crinkled her nose again.

Her mom slid in the door and knocked politely at the door frame, even though she was in the room already. Charlie poked at the skirt again, disappointed. Her mother's face fell to a frown when Charlie looked at her.

"Char, honestly," her mother said, beat, "it's not.. that bad." She attempted to sound reassuring. charlie continued to frown at the yellow, not to mention the stockings. "At least you don't have to finish school in that horrid excuse for a high school. It was nice of your father to pull some strings."

"I cant even wear my Doc Martins..." She took the ugly dress violently off of the hook ans stomped to the bathroom. Her mother smiled wistfully after her, knowing that wasn't what she was thinking.

---

Char tried to push her father out of her head. It wasn't easy, mind you, which confused her a bit. How can you think about someone who's never there? She replaced her pajamas with her ugly uniform, holding her breath as she did it. No, THE ugly uniform. She refused to be connected to it, or show any signs of possession. Her father was a mystery. She hadn't an inkling of who he was, or what he looked like. She didn't even know his name. And what's worse? Her mother wouldn't tell her.

The person in the mirror wasn't her.

The white and yellow of the uniform washed her face out and made her look paler than she already was. It didn't complement anything either. She looked like a yellow snow monster. The dress cut off right before the knee, showing her calves which were white with the stockings which were a pain in the ass to get on. The sleeves puffed at the shoulder and were wrist length so it was quite hot. She poked at the bow.

"Mother, this is embarrassing. I'm not going out in public like this." She stared blankly at her reflection.

"It's not public, aka-chan, its just school!" Sometimes, her mother was too cheerful for her own good.

"I'm not going."

---

The car sped away, leaving Charlotte alone in front of the wrought-iron gates of Ouran Academy. She stood there, trying to take in the Cinderella palace-like school. She held her yaoi-love tote bag closer, uncomfortable with her bag choice all of a sudden. She sweat dropped. It even had a clock tower. What kind of school was this?

Speaking of the clock tower, it was almost eight o'clock. Charlie sighed and took her first step into a whole new world. It gave her a clean slate. She wasn't just the daughter of Izumi Kakubo, one of St. Lobelia's finer proteges. She was a completely different person than that girl who was as insane as she was clumsy. She was just Charlotte Kakubo. A whole new person.

Out of nowhere, a banana peel appeared in front of her. She slipped before she even got in the gate.

A/N:

NEW STORY! yay for me! i know, they havent made an appearance yet, so sue me. i really wanted to get this up today, and i'm working on chapter two. pleas read/review! everyone love R/R! i would love to know how crappy you think my writing is so i can improve it! lyrics i used were kiss with a fist by florence and the machine, because i straight-up love that song

much love - - alice-chan