Chapter One
Mysterious
Girl
"Class...Class!
Please take your seats! Thank you!" Miss Sakurada was starting another typical
day of class. Usagi, who is usually late, was already at her desk...sleeping.
"Please give me your attention class. That means you too Usagi."
"Huh? Wha? I
didn't eat that last piece of chocolate cake Mom, honest!"
The class
laughed as Miss Sakurada rolled her eyes. "Usagi, this is a Junior High, not a
Preschool. We don't take naps in the middle of class. Now get up." Usagi slowly
pulled herself up from her comfortable spot and leaned her head back, still
half asleep. "Will everyone please take everything off your desk and place it
on the floor. All you will need is a pencil. No talking after I hand out the
History test. Remember, this test will count toward thirty percent of your final
grade, so take your time." The class groaned as Miss Sakurada passed out the
test. "You may begin."
Goodness! Why did she have to make this test
so hard? And why does it have to be worth thirty percent of our final grade!? Usagi thought. She then grinned deviously,
leaning over toward Umino and whispered, "Psst...Umino. What's the answer to
number two?"
"Usagi! I'm
not going to let you cheat on this very important test! That's wrong!" Umino
whispered.
"Either way
I'm going to get the question wrong anyway. ... Please?"
"No!"
Gah! Why does he have to be such a
goody-goodie? Usagi turned back to
the test, struggling to answer the questions. One after another, kids in the
class turned in their tests to Miss Sakurada. After two hours had passed, Usagi,
being the last person in the classroom, finished the ten-question history test.
"Here you are
Miss Sakurada!" Usagi threw the test on the desk and started toward the door.
"Wait a
minute Usagi! Get back here!" Usagi stopped in her tracks, slowly walking back
to Miss Sakurada's desk. "Oh Usagi, what are we going to with you? You knew this
test was going to count toward thirty percent of your grade. Did you even
attempt to study?"
"Yes Miss
Sakurada! I swear I did! You could go ask– "
Just at that
moment, the door started to open. A young lady, not much older than Usagi,
walked into the room, looking around curiously. Her slightly below-shoulder red
hair swept across her face, complimenting her baby blue eyes. She was tall, but
only a few inches taller than Usagi. She tugged down on her dark blue tank
slightly and gently brushed her khaki pants.
Usagi gazed in awe at the stranger, wondering who she could be. There
was something mystifying about her.
"Excuse me,"
the girl said sweetly, "Is this the high school?"
"No," Miss
Sakurada replied. "Can I help you with something?"
"Oh,
umm…could you please tell me where the high school is? I just moved here and I
don't know where everything is yet. I saw this building thinking it was the
high school but I guess I was wrong."
"Oh! Miss
Sakurada! I know where the high school is," cried Usagi. "I could show her the
way."
"Oh I'm sure
you could, Usagi, but we were discussing–"
Usagi grabbed
the girl's arm and pulled her out of the room before Miss Sakurada could finish
what she was saying.
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Usagi and the mysterious girl walked silently down the
street toward the high school. Usagi glanced at her, trying to figure out who
she was and why she moved to Tokyo. Her Japanese didn't sound very fluent and
smooth. "So..." Usagi started slowly.
The girl
looked over at Usagi. "Yes?"
"Where are
you from? You have a slight accent, so I am guessing that you aren't from
Japan."
"I moved from
California."
"Yeah,
Carifonia," Usagi nodded, trying to look smart. "...Umm..." she said softly,
"Where is that at?"
"Oh, It's a
state in America...you know...the United States of –"
"Oooh! Wow! I
never met anyone from the US before. Well, I have, but I didn't talk to them
much."
The girl
giggled. "You seem like a nice young lady."
Usagi blushed a little. "Oh, I'm sorry, how rude of me! I haven't
introduced myself to you. My name is Brooke Ki."
"I'm Tsukino
Usagi. Nice to meet you."
"And you as
well." Brooke nodded and smiled.
"I hope you
don't find this personal or anything, but how old are you?"
"I'm turning
sixteen on Saturday."
"Oh wow!
Maybe I could throw you a party! I have some really nice friends that I'm sure
you would love to meet."
"I don't want
to put you to any trouble," Brooke said politely. "I mean, we just met and
all."
"No trouble
at all! It'll be fun! How about Saturday around noon? I'll meet you at the
junior high since you already know where that is." Usagi and Brooke came up
upon the high school. They stopped, turning towards each other.
Brooke
smiled. "Sure. Hey, thanks for showing me to the high school. I didn't know
that people around here would be so nice to a stranger."
Usagi
returned the smile. "No problem! I actually enjoyed it!"
A convertible car drove up to the
curb close by to where Brooke and Usagi were standing. The driver had short,
blond hair, and was wearing the usual male Mugen Gakuen High School uniform.
The passenger had longer, aquamarine colored hair that was about as long as
Brooke's. She was wearing the usual female uniform. They both got out of the
car; the blond leaned against the car with her arms cross, looking over at the
two girls while girl with aquamarine hair walked over to greet them.
"Hey Haruka and Michiru!" Usagi
shouted.
"Hey Usagi,
who's your friend?" asked the girl with aquamarine hair.
"Michiru, I'd
like you to meet Brooke. She just moved from Car...Cari--"
Brooke
giggled. "California."
Michiru
smiled. "What brings you to Tokyo?"
"My dad
transferred here with his job."
The blond, who was none other than Haruka, looked at Brooke
with her sharp glare. She walked over to Michiru, leaning in close to whisper
into her ear. "She has something mysterious about her. I don't know if we could
trust her."
"We just met
her, how could you know for sure?" Michiru returned.
"I'm sorry if I'm interrupting something,"
Brooke walked over to Michiru and Haruka, "but do you go to this high school
too?"
"Yes we do."
Haruka replied coldly.
Brooke gave her a strange look. "Oh...I was just
gonna...never mind." She turned her head away, embarrassed.
"Do you want us to show you around the
school?" Michiru spoke up. Haruka looked at her in surprise. Brooke looked up,
smiling.
"Yes! I would
greatly appreciate it! I would look around myself but I'm afraid I would get
lost and I don't speak Japanese very well."
"I think
you're doing a great job," Usagi said. "Oh my goodness!" She screeched. "I was
supposed to meet Mamo-chan at the arcade thirty minutes ago! I have to hurry!
Nice meeting you Brooke! See ya around, and don't forget about Saturday!"
"Bye!" Brooke
waved while Usagi ran back the other direction.
"What about
Saturday?" Haruka questioned, the coldness still in her voice.
Again Brooke
looked at her strangely. "It's my birthday and Usagi offered to throw me a
party with her friends so that I could meet some people."
"Haruka, we
need to get to the concert hall so I can practice for Saturday night's
concert." Michiru placed a hand on Haruka's shoulder.
"That's
right. Hey, sorry to leave you like this but we really need to go."
"Nice meeting
you Brooke." Michiru smiled. They two older girls walked back over to the car.
Haruka helped Michiru into the car. Then she walked to the driver's side of the
car, got in, initiated the car, and speed off. Brooke watched them, wondering
what she did to upset them.
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Author Note:
Oh,
by the way, the pronunciation for Brooke's last name is K-I...it rhymes with
Tie....heh. Anyway, tell me what you think so far!
