A Good Thing
Anna sat, looking around the room. Butterflies fluttered about her stomach as the teacher began passing out the tests. She and the boys had spent the entire weekend studying, but she still didn't think she was ready for this mid-term exam.
Yoh reached across the aisle and held her hand. She glanced at him, and he smiled reassuringly. "Don't worry, you'll do fine," he whispered.
"No talking! Tests are out," the teacher commanded. Yoh took his hand back to his own desk. When he got his test, he started. Anna glanced around again. Everyone seemed to be struggling, even Manta. Yoh kept reading the question and then looking out the window.
When Anna finally began, she had already lost nearly ten minutes. She read the first question and a smile came to her face.
I know this! she thought, adrenaline now pumping at an excelled speed. She knew the next question and the next. Soon she was zipping through it, stopping occasionally to study a diagram, or decide her opinion. She finished with twelve minutes to go, and checked her responses.
Anna sighed when the teacher called "Pencils down," as everyone else groaned or cried out, scribbling a few last answers. Manta was writing as fast as his hand could go.
Yoh lazily flipped his notebook closed. He stretched and yawned as the teacher came to collect it. He nearly had to wrench Manta's test away. Anna stood up, and she headed to the door. Yoh skipped ahead and held open the door for her. She walked through without acknowledging the fact.
In the lunch line that afternoon Manta was complaining about not answering three questions because he couldn't find them to finish. "I mean, I was struggling, so I skipped a few, and then I couldn't find them again! I was so frustrated."
"Oh, you'll be fine, cream puff," Anna said. "I did well, so you couldn't have screwed up that badly. Three questions are not going to kill you."
"No, but my dad is. If I get any lower than an 'A' I'll be in summer school for the rest of my school career."
"Quit whining," Anna ordered, picking up a sandwich, fruit cup and milk. She reached in her pocket for her lunch money, and realized she'd left it in her locker. "Great."
"No money, no lunch," the woman taking money said.
"I know, I know," Anna sighed. She turned to put the food back, but Yoh pulled out his money and handed the woman what Anna needed.
"Okay," she said. "Go ahead dear." Anna walked off to find a table as Manta handed the woman the money for his food. Yoh counted his money and came up extremely short.
"You know I'd spot you man, but all I get is what's necessary. Sorry," Manta said.
"That's okay. I can get something," Yoh said. He put back his sandwich, fruit and dessert. "I always get a little more than Anna, so I've got a little money left." He paid for his milk and grabbed a straw for each of them, then followed Manta to where Anna was sitting. "I've even got a penny left over," he said with that doofus grin of his on his face. The boys sat down, and they talked about everything but the exam from that morning.
"Did you hear about Kaleb in Gym class fourth period?" Manta asked.
"No," Anna said, eating her fruit.
"Well, he was climbing the rope and reached up to grab the rail when his other hand slipped and he slid all the way down it and he bruised his tailbone when he hit the mat and went home."
"That's too bad, I hope he's okay," Yoh said, removing his straw from his mouth. Even though the milk was empty, he kept it until the bell rang, so as not to be caught not eating by the principal. Yoh escorted Anna all the way to her next class, making himself late for his. Yoh sat through all of his afternoon classes, thinking about food. He wished he'd had enough for a sandwich, but he'd bought the only thing he could afford.
Manta kept looking out the window during their last class, watching the weather. It was getting cloudy the entire time, but just as the bell rang, the downpour started. Everyone in the room groaned simultaneously. Manta got his umbrella out of his locker and put on his raincoat. "Thank you Mom, for being insistent this morning," he muttered, walking towards the doors.
Anna was standing, looking outside, willing the rain to stop, when Yoh walked up to her. "What's wrong?" he asked.
"I don't have an umbrella," she grumbled. Yoh stepped out into the rain and opened his own, getting soaked in the process. She stared at him like he was an imbecile.
"Bad luck, opening an umbrella inside. Come on, you won't get wet," he said. She stepped out cautiously, getting nothing wet but her shoes in an unavoidable puddle. Yoh smiled brightly at her, and said, "What'd I tell you?" She smiled sarcastically at him, unable to believe that she had to walk home through puddles and rain, whether she was getting wet or not.
Manta came up to them, smiling. "Hey! Some rain, huh?"
"Yeah, it's a real hoot," Anna growled.
"I can only walk part way with you. I have to go straight home today," Manta said as they started off.
"Okay," Yoh said, holding the umbrella so that no part of Anna was being hit by rain. He had no coat and the umbrella didn't cover him at all. They walked in virtual silence and Manta split halfway. Yoh and Anna continued to walk quietly. When they got home, Yoh held open the door for her, then changed out of his sopping wet clothes and Anna removed her shoes and socks. Yoh went to the kitchen and hunted up a snack while Anna turned on the television. Yoh came out and sat with her, eating his sandwich. Anna looked at him and rolled her eyes. Yoh noticed.
"What?" he asked.
"You're going to ruin your appetite. We just had lunch three hours ago."
"Anna, I didn't eat," Yoh pointed out.
"Yes you did."
"What did I have?"
"You picked up a… Egg salad sandwich, a banana, milk and some kind of chocolate bar," she said.
"Wrong. I picked up a tuna sandwich, apple, strawberry milk and cake."
"Fine, you still a- No you didn't! I would have eaten some of your cake if you had," she challenged.
"I know. I didn't eat. I paid for your lunch, returned the sandwich, apple, cake and strawberry milk and grabbed white milk. The only thing I could buy with sixteen cents."
"No-huh."
"Yea-huh."
"No you didn't," Anna protested.
"Yes I did!" Yoh exclaimed. "All I want right now is to eat a sandwich, is that so much to ask?"
"Maybe!"
"Well maybe I want to call off this marriage if this is how you're going to act when all I want is to eat!" Yoh threatened.
"Maybe I don't care!" she retorted.
"Fine!"
"Fine!" Yoh stomped out of the room with his sandwich, very upset. He'd done so much for her over the last several days. He hadn't been able to focus on the test, worrying about whether she was doing alright or not. He had only read twelve questions and answered four. He hadn't been able to focus to study over the weekend either. So nothing had been in his brain to help him. He was getting a zero, and he knew it. He may as well not have even opened the test.
He walked out the back door and sat in the rain, eating his sandwich as it got wet. He wondered what she was doing. If she was packing, or watching his cable, or calling up some guy. That last one pissed him off. He sat there, getting wetter and wetter, long after his sandwich was gone. Then he stood up and went back inside to apologize.
"Anna?" he called. There was no answer. "Anna?" he tried again. "Anna!" She still wasn't answering. Yoh started to worry she might be hurt, and ran through the house calling her name. She was nowhere to be found. He walked into her bedroom and found all her things gone. "No." He found a note, and read it a dozen times before the full message sank in.
Yoh, I'm leaving. Call home and say it's off. I'm going to be with Hao. Don't look for me. I'll be happier here, I'm sure. Anna.
"No. No, no, no, no, no," Yoh whispered. "NO! Sh-she can't do this! I've given her the last four years of my life! I did the training for her, I did everything she ever wanted, how could she do this to me! How!" Yoh slid down the wall, curled himself into a ball and started to cry. For the first time since he was very small, Yoh cried. He cried for hours. The next day he didn't go to school. Or the next. Manta came looking, but Yoh didn't answer the door. He didn't move. He sat there for a week before Manta finally made his way in and looked around. He wouldn't have even touched Anna's bedroom door if it hadn't been open a crack.
"Yoh? Anna?" Manta called quietly. His eyes fell on Yoh's huddled body, and Manta ran to him. "Yoh! Yoh, are you okay?" Yoh looked at him, hollowly. "Yoh, what happened?" Yoh pointed to the note that was still on the floor. Manta picked it up and read it. "Oh my god, Yoh. Are you okay?" Yoh just looked at him. "What am I saying? Of course you're not okay. How long have you been here? Let's get you something to eat, and you can tell me what happened."
Manta made some lunch and Yoh changed out of his still slightly wet clothes. Yoh ate a little, and then broke into tears again. Manta had never seen Yoh cry, and was a little worried. "A sandwich," he choked out. "The whole thing started over a sandwich. I was eating, because I hadn't had lunch, and we started fighting about it ruining my appetite. A sandwich. I can't believe I got that mad because she didn't want me to eat a sandwich."
"Yoh, you had every right to be upset. You hadn't eaten all day. She knew that."
"But she didn't. She thought I'd eaten lunch."
"But you spent most of your money on her lunch."
"I know, but somehow that seemed to have slipped her mind."
"Yoh, if she can't take notice that you gave up your lunch for her, she doesn't deserve you," Manta assured him. "You're better off this way."
"I-I know," Yoh sniffed.
"Don't worry about it. We're getting the exam grades back Monday," Manta said, trying to change the subject.
"Oooooohh!" Yoh groaned. "Crap! I wonder if I can get a re-do."
"What?"
"I only answered four questions!"
"What!"
"Yeah, I know, I'm stupid. What are you gonna do? Screw it, I'll take the zero. How many was it out of?"
"One-seventy-five."
"Crap. What's four out of that?"
"Uh… Two percent."
"Crap."
\one-thousand miles away/
Anna was sitting alone, crying. "Yoh," she sobbed. "I miss you, so much. I wish I could come back. But there's no way you'd ever take me back." Anna had been with Hao for only a few days, and she knew Yoh was much better. Hao never held doors or umbrellas for her. He didn't talk to her, he didn't comfort her. He didn't help her with anything. He just had her around and she couldn't get out. She realized now, what a good thing she'd really had with Yoh.---
I don't own shaman king, or it's characters. Sorry if Anna was too bitchy for you, but oh well. --chelsea