Hey guys!
I'm back from the dead. Or at least, I seemed to be dead, since I was gone for months. It's 2018! It's been 4 years since I created this account. Huh. Time flies, I guess. Anyway, this is a fic for FeralG3, even though it's WAAAAAY late (since I said I'd have it out by Christmas or soon after). Lots of problems with school and family and life in general. But here's a chapter!
I hate this school, Mari thought. If she was honest, it was true. She hated everything about that school. Maybe because she'd been picked up from her old life and plopped straight into a crappy town in the middle of red-neck USA.
Okay, maybe it wasn't that bad, but it was close. She left all her friends back in her home town, including the guy she liked, and had been moved to a brand new school and a brand new town practically in the middle of the week. A brand new student in the middle of February of her sophomore year, not to mention the fact that she was fairly sure her parents had moved the entire family just so that Mari couldn't talk to the boy she liked. Time passed quickly, and it was her junior year before she knew it. She just had a month left until that year ended, and she'd be free for a while before she had to go back.
When her shoulder was bumped for the sixth time in 2 minutes, she finally had enough. She turned to her left and hissed angrily in Japanese. Oh boy.
Immediately, snarky laughter filled the air as the students around her turned toward her.
"Did you hear that?" one student laughed, "the new girl forgot how to speak English!"
"What was that, anime?" another added.
"What a freak!"
Mari's face turned bright red, but she didn't try to defend herself anymore. She remembered that much after the last time she got beaten up. She simply turned on her heel and almost ran to her next class. She couldn't afford to go home with more bruises.
When the day finally ended - with Mari counting every last second until the final bell rang 1 minute and 26 seconds after 3 - Mari shoved her books into her backpack and hoisted the heavy bag onto her shoulders.
2 minutes, 27 seconds past 3, she thought.
She hurried through the halls to her locker, glanced at her watch, and hurried right past. No time.
4 minutes, 6 seconds past 3.
She ran as fast as she could across the parking lot to her car, dragging her keys out of the pocket of her jeans and stuffing the keys into the door.
5 minutes, 14 seconds, hurry Mari! She urged herself in her head as she unlocked the old car and jumped inside, tossing her backpack into the back of the car.
At exactly 3:06 pm on the dot, Mari drove out of the student parking lot and exhaled a sigh of relief. The buses left at 3:10, and if she didn't beat them she'd be late getting home.
And that thought scared her more than all of her bullies combined.
As she pulled into her drive way at 3:28 pm, Mari couldn't help but sigh. Tradition demanded that she be home on time, and she hated when she cut it that close.
She climbed out of her car and grabbed her backpack, braced herself for the bombardment of questions from her parents, and prepared the lies she'd have to tell them.
She slipped her shoes off outside the door, leaning against the wall to pull off her socks before slipping her feet into her house slippers. When the door opened and Mari's mother stared out at her judgmentally, she cringed inwardly. She knew she'd picked the wrong outfit.
"Come inside." She stepped into the house and bowed to her mother.
"Hi mom."
"Why do you insist on wearing those? Do you want to look like a gaijin?" Mari instinctively averted her eyes.
"No, mama. They were a gift." Mari almost groaned when she realized what she said.
"Gift? Gift? Who from, huh?" Her mother's eyes narrowed suspiciously.
"A friend."
"Why don't you introduce us to your friends? Are you ashamed? Is that it? Ashamed of your family?" Mari lowered her head.
"No, mama. They just moved here and I showed them to their locker, so they gave me these pants as a thank-you."
"Oh really? And what is their name?" Mari froze for a fraction of a moment.
"Anthony."
Who was Anthony? No one. Anthony didn't exist. But did Mari's mom have to know that? Nope.
"An-tony? Huh." Mari's mother paused. "...alright. But you must bring An-tony home for dinner some time."
Mari sighed inwardly with relief. "Of course, mama. I'm going to go upstairs and get ready for work now. Sumi-masen." Mari bowed again and shuffled away after her mother dismissed her. When she got to her room, she sighed with relief, putting her bag on her chair and walking to her closet to grab the uniform for the grocery store she worked nights at. If she was lucky, she could get a few hours of sleep before she had to go down for dinner, and then leave for work after that. She was lucky to get more than 3 hours of sleep per night.
When she got to work, prepared to hang around and look busy for her 8 hour shift until she could leave and go to school. But, at around 11pm, she heard the classic bing-bong of the doors opening for a customer, and she walked back to the register. A boy, several inches taller than her with wavy brown hair, was looking around tiredly.
"Hello! I'm Mari, how can I help you?"
The boy blinked and looked up at her with soft brown eyes. "Hm? Oh, sorry. I didn't catch that."
"I'm Mari. I'm the only one working tonight. How can I help you?" Mari smiled as the boy yawned, covering his mouth before apologizing again and looking around.
"I'm looking for something quick I can just open and eat. I just moved in and now I don't have anything to eat or drink."
"Sure!" Mari pointed to one of the aisles. "That aisle has chips, and if you want something with a little more substance, I can direct you to the sandwich meats."
The boy smiled gratefully. "Thanks." He stepped forward and offered a hand, which Mari gladly shook. "I'm starting school again tomorrow and I need some lunch." Mari perked up.
"Oh! Where are you going to school?" Mari hoped that maybe he'd be going to the same school.
"I'm going to Wild Meadows High. I'm a junior." He smiled a lop-sided, dorky smile.
"My name's Anthony, by the way."