"Yay, we're here!"
"I have never seen you so eager to go back to school," Anne muttered as their limo stopped in the school's driveway and Zenna bolted out, running into Road's open arms.
Anne sighed as she took her backpack and Zenna's satchel, thanked the driver then stepped out into the late summer sun.
"Zenna, your bag!"
Zenna grinned as Anne walked over to the girls and handed her satchel over.
"Good to see you as always, Anne," Road drawled and Anne smiled politely "Oh, you look so pale. Been avoiding the sun this summer?"
"Yes and no," Anne replied as she swung her backpack on.
"Aw, Anne, you forgot to clean your shoes!" Zenna moaned "And tuck your shirt in! Your tie is messy! Your collar's sticking out! One of your socks is even pulled down!"
"Zenna, I don't care," Anne sighed "School is for education, not for tidiness."
"But it's the first day back and you're already embarrassing me!" Zenna whined as she stood in front of me and began adjusting my appearance "Oh, and I let you get away with not putting pigtails in!"
"Hmph. She acts like she's ten, pretends to be twenty and is actually sixteen…" the older twin thought tiredly.
"Oh, don't worry, Zenna, Tyki got moved down a year," Road sighed "Imagine how I feel. He's my big brother who's supposed to set an example. Lulubell has even moved down with him to make sure he passes this year's exams."
"See, Zenna," Anne grinned "I'm smart, I won't fail any exams and be moved down anytime soon."
"You smell of soil," Zenna narrowed her eyes.
"Oh yeah, Lavi and I had a kick about earlier this morning."
"You are so unladylike!"
The bell rung and Anne grinned.
"See ya!"
"Wait!"
Anne dashed into school as the other students began cramming themselves into the school building. She made her way down the entrance, through the playground, through the corridor, up the stairs, down another corridor and arrived on time at Mr Tiedoll's tutor group.
"Hello, sir!" she greeted loudly, causing a couple of tired moans from the class.
"Good to see you again, Anne," the art teacher greeted as Anne strode across the classroom and sat herself next to Yu Kanda.
Kanda glanced at her through the corner of his eye and bookmarked his page on the book he was reading.
"Good summer then?" Anne grinned cheerfully.
"Yeah, I guess," her friend shrugged and put away his book "Yours?"
"Kind of boring," Anne shrugged "But Lavi and I managed to go out once in a while to play some football!"
She giggled and punched her fist into her palm.
"I'm so pumped, I can play in a team again now school's back on!"
"Tch," Kanda glanced out of the window moodily.
"What's the matter?" Anne grinned and poked his cheek "Still sore about the baseball match from last term?"
"You got lucky, the same thing won't happen twice," he growled.
"Oh really? Football at lunch time then?"
Kanda matched her challenging gaze.
"You're on."
Anne giggled gleefully as the new timetables were handed out to them. She picked hers up, scanning the schedule for the day. She glanced at Kanda who had a noticeable scowl on his face.
"What's the matter?" she asked.
"I got Maths with Mr Millennium."
"Same, we can sit together!" Anne grinned and nudged his shoulder.
"I hate Maths," Kanda lamented as the bell rang.
Anne sighed as she got up and yanked him up onto his feet.
"Come on, let's get it over with!" she said as everyone else began packing their things and leaving "The sooner we get there, the more chance we can grab seats at the back!"
Kanda sighed as he followed Anne out of the classroom, being dragged along by his sleeve.
"He's going to pick on me," he muttered.
"Oh lighten up, he won't!" Anne said as they weaved their way through the crowds of students in the corridor.
They eventually found their classroom and secured the two seats at the back, comfortably settled in a dark corner where they could have a good view of the class and whisper about the work without getting disturbed. As the large, grinning Maths teacher waltzed in, Lenalee at the front cast a look at the two of them. Anne followed her gaze towards Kanda and swallowed softly.
"You and Lenalee, huh?" she murmured under Mr Millennium's voice.
Kanda remained silent as they took their pencil cases out as the textbooks were handed out.
"Who told you?" he whispered as they began working on an exercise.
"Lavi."
"Are you alright with it?" Kanda kept asking "I know you and Lenalee don't exactly see eye to eye."
"I'm fine," Anne waved him off "I don't control your life, so if you want to go out with her, go out with her. I won't get in the way."
She remained silent for the rest of the lesson. Homework set, pencil cases and textbooks put away and the bell rang. Anne stood up with a solemn look, swinging her backpack over her shoulder.
"I have Drama with Mr Marian, see ya."
"Bye."
Both friends turned to head down different directions of the corridor. Anne looked over her shoulder briefly to watch Lenalee attach herself to Kanda's arm before turning away and striding over to the drama room.
"Oi, Anne!"
Anne smiled softly as she saw Lavi by the drama room.
"Oi, Lavi, you got me into trouble with my sister," she said and Lavi chuckled, wiping some soil off his cheek.
"Hey, you wanted to have a kick about at four in the morning in your school uniform, your problem."
"I didn't expect her to have a hypersensitive nose, did I?"
"Oi, idiot students!"
Both of them jumped and saw Mr Marian towering over them.
"Urgh! Filthy! Clean your face! Tuck your shirt in! Sort out your tie! Straighten your collar! Tie your shoelaces! Pull your socks up! Comb your hair! Don't you know you're in the presence of a beautiful being?"
"Beautiful being, where?" Anne asked as she looked around.
She and Lavi shared a loud laugh which was short-lived as Mr Marian threw a heavy copy of Macbeth and they ducked to avoid getting hit.
"Miss Miller, you have not changed," he grinned evilly "Shall we recite soliloquys from Othello this time?"
"Oh God, no!" Anne exclaimed in horror as she neatened herself up in record time and widened her eyes to plead to her drama teacher "I'm sorry, sir, you are beautiful, sir, forgive me for sullying your presence with my filth."
"Anne, do you realise how wrong that sounds…?" Lavi whispered.
"Apology accepted but sit in the front row where I can keep an eye on you," Mr Marian looked appeased as he stepped out of the way and Anne scurried into the classroom hurriedly "Now you, come up with a better apology."
Lavi coughed uncertainly as he looked up at the drama teacher with a thoughtful grimace.
"Well…" he grumbled as he began neatening his tie.