Ami had almost left her school ID. It was atop her now-empty dresser, and in her hurry to finalize her packing checklist she had forgotten to double-check that she had put her ID in the side pocket of her book bag. Two blocks away from her house she realized her mistake, stopped and sighed while staring up at an overcast sky, and turned around to retrieve the forgotten item. Twenty minutes later, she was finally three quarters of the way to the train station, chest tight from running to make it on time.
Seiyo was not nearly as large a city as some made it out to be, but it was still large enough for the only high school in town to have renovated an old nearby house for a dorm. Certainly an hour and a half commute wasn't a big deal, but now the dorm seemed to be the only option. She presses her cheek to the cool glass and allows herself to feel the bump and pull of the train wheels beneath her seat, the occasional horn blaring ahead of them.
This is right, she thinks. Because sometimes, she realized while walking out of her house for the second time that morning, you can't ever know right then and there if something is good for you or not. All you know is that sometimes looking forward is all you can do, because behind you is too murky to see anything clearly. Nothing makes sense back there. All you have is here and now and that should be, eventually will be, enough.
She turns her right wrist so she can eye the face of her watch. It's a little past ten now; it'll be another hour before she can get off the train.
Ami shuts her eyes, exhales, drifts into an easy, dreamless nap.
The way to school is burned in her memory: catch the northbound bus towards the outskirts of Seiyo, get off by the small market area, follows the signs towards Seiyo Academy. Before long she is walking up a slight incline, the sides lined with hydrangea bushes and the occasional senior walking their dog. Her heart flutters. She cannot discern between the excitement and the winding up of her nerves, but she decides that it's okay.
The road curves and flattens outside the gates of the school. She looks around, wondering if the dorm is behind the building, but she thinks that that's probably not right. All that's back there is the track and the gym sheds, nothing more. Ami takes out her phone, the sakura phone strap knocking against her palm. She is on time. Where could-
"Ah, I made it!" Behind her is the voice of a girl, exasperated. She is leaning against a column, her other hand clutching at her chest. Hair dark like the feathers of a crow sits in a neat low braid that bumps against her hand. "Sorry, sorry," she breathes, "just give me one moment."
"Ah...no rush," Ami responds when she realizes she is speaking to her.
When she catches her breath, she dusts off her knees and approaches Ami. She's taller, sort of thin, eyes the night clouds that devour the sunset. "Hanazawa Yuina. I'm gonna take you to the dorm. Sorry for being late, did you wait long?"
"Not at all. I actually just got here, so…." Yuina nods. Ami gasps and with a gracious bow, "Ah, H-Hinamori Ami! Please take of me from now on!"
The girl whistles low. "That's the first time in a while I've gotten such a polite greeting, I'm kind of unnerved now." Ami grips the hem of her shorts. "Well, mostly because all of us really haven't greeted each other in such a polite way. Don't worry about such formalities, no one really gives a shit."
Ami stands and nods, settles for fixing her bangs to avoid eye contact with Yuina. Her face is hot. Maybe it would've been nice to meet everyone before just moving in so that way she wouldn't feel so embarrassed, but what's done is done. Yuina turns on her heels and begins the walk back down the hill. Ami follows her.
Her new room has a bed low to the ground, a surprisingly large closet within the wall, a dresser, and a desk. There is a mirror on the back of the door. By her desk is a long window, looking out onto the small market area at the bottom of the hill. At the moment it's empty, minus a few seniors with their dogs. It still is pretty early this Sunday.
Tonight she'll meet everyone at dinner: the four other residents, Yuina included, and the keeper. Ami stares at her open, unpacked suitcase, then glances over to her desk, book bag hanging on the back of the chair.
Her eyes grow glossy.
Maybe she wasn't right after all.
A knock at her door draws her attention towards the door. Wiping her eyes on her sweater sleeve, she removes the garment and goes to open the door. Yuina stands there, chewing gum, a slight smile on her lips. Ami stands aside so she can enter.
Yuina looks around, taking in the barren walls, the empty desk. "You still haven't unpacked?"
"Ah, I was getting to it. I just wanted a moment to get myself together."
'Hmm…anyways, Mori-san-the keeper-asked me to give you the rundown of the rules, 'cause she honestly hates giving that schpiel. Mind if I sit?"
"No, please." Yuina sits backwards in the chair, dress hiking up high on her thighs. Ami forces herself to stare at her socks as she returns to her bed, crossing her legs once she sits atop the comforter. Yuina stares at her face long and hard. Ami squirms. "What?"
"As I figured, you and Hinamori Amu really do look alike. It's in the eyes, mostly."
"...I get that a lot."
"I'm sure you do." Yuina looks away then and Ami takes the opportunity to pull her bangs back with a barrette. She rubs at her neck, eyes narrowing at the ground. "Anyways, simple rules: every Sunday girls and guys switch off to clean their respective bathrooms. Has to be done before ten at night or else. You're allowed to enter the room of the opposite sex until nine at night, twenty four-seven, no exceptions, but if you want to go into my room or Emi's room past then that's fine. Friends and girlfriends or boyfriends can visit during the day, but the only ones allowed to stay overnight are family members, and that's limited to two nights, also no exceptions.
"Curfew is nine, which gives you time to leave the little market at the bottom of the hill; things there usually close around eight-thirty anyways. Breakfast is at seven every morning, dinner is on a day-by-day basis, and the weekends you have to cook for yourself. Every two or three weeks or so a few of us go out to get more groceries with the budget so every now and then you'll have to do that. No drinking, smoking, sex, blah, blah. Laundry is downstairs in the basement and there are clothes lines in the backyard. Other than that, I think that's about it. Questions, concerns, comments?"
Ami mulls over the information again in her head, making sure to note the times and schedules. She shakes her head no and Yuina rests her elbows against her desk. Ami watches as she soon pulls the hair band from the bottom of the braid and watches as she shakes her dark hair until it falls around her shoulders, straight and glossy.
"You don't talk much, do you?" she asks then, fingers running through her locks.
Ami shrugs, turning slightly to look out her window. "I've done a lot more listening in my life, I think."
"Makes sense, what with your sister being all famous and whatnot." Ami wraps her arms around her thighs, fingers drumming along her bare calves. "I kept hearing all about you in my class at school. 'Her sister goes here!' and 'I wonder if she can get us tickets to her fashion shows!'-that kind of stuff. Didn't think it was true, but lo and behold."
Ami doesn't know what to make of this conversation. She imagines it's just Yuina trying to be nice, warm her up to the idea of living with a bunch of strangers and trying to make her feel welcome. But Ami knows what that entails: smiles so wide the muscles in the face start to cramp, ignorance feigned to keep her in the loop.
If that is what it will take, she would rather skip it all together.
But she does not say this.
Instead, she smiles at Yuina and says, "Yup, it's really me."
a/n: I've finally managed to get this first chapter to a place where I can begin easily. This is a story about Ami, with minor appearances from the other major characters and my OCs. Thanks for reading!