I think this is my third and probably last try at this story. It was so ridiculous I had to stop writing. And I didn't really have time to write and I considered giving this story up. But the characters were still in my head and they were really annoying. I kept getting ideas for a chapter but I really didn't want to write it. I wrote it down in the end, all the ideas I got. I collected them and now I think I might have a proper story. I will try to update every now and then. I usually write in a notebook I carry around with me all the time and then type it into the computer. Luckily, I'm on holiday now. School is finally over, yes! Though I'm still not quite free…
I'm not going to give up. I will finish this story. Just bear with me, OK? Thanks.
You are in a library and I am a librarian. There is a book by your feet, I pick it up and hand it to you. You are quite surprised, I wonder why. This book is special, you know. This book tells a story about three young girls who were unsatisfied with their lives. They wished for a miracle, and Luck waved its wand at them. This is a story about friendship, love and maturing. This is an adventure.
I really like this story. I'm sure you will too. Would you like me to read this story for you? Come and sit down beside me.
Chapter 1
Chocolate, cake and a big red button
What were they doing there again? Ah, that's right. To find a manga store. Because Akira really wanted to buy the new volume of Ouran High School Host Club. Riko couldn't understand why her friend was so interested in manga. To her, it was just a bunch of pretty pictures. Nothing special. She glanced sidewards at her friend.
"Akira!"
"Akira!"
"What?"
"You can't be so caught up in that manga that you've forgotten," Riko said impatiently. "We are lost!" Riko narrowed her eyes at Akira. Riko had ebony hair, a trait she thanked her Japanese father for, and dark violet eyes that she got from her mother's genes. She was blessed with wit and strength. She would be popular, if her personality wasn't so cold, but that is irrelevant for now. Just forget I mentioned it.
Akira sighed and lowered the book so that she could look at Riko. "I thought I could read some manga, you know, while you figure out the way to the store."
"What? It's you that wanted to go there so badly. Why am I the navigator?" Riko inquired. All the time her voice was low and calm. Being so collected at all times, that was what Riko was infamous for, and also the reason for her unpopularity. Some people found her composure creepy.
"OK, OK. I will take over." Akira closed the manga and jumped off the wall she was sitting on. It was 2 metres high but the girl landed safely on the ground. Like a cat. How did she get up there anyway? There are many ways, she could have used her friend as a stand or taken a ladder from somewhere, but the answer is simpler hence all the more amazing. She jumped. 2 metres high. I read somewhere that the highest vertical jump recorded was by a Chinese acrobat named Yan Zhi Cheng. He jumped 2.46 metres. So I am impressed with this girl.
The girl took the map from Riko's hand and spread it out on the wall. She pondered it for a moment. A while later, she opened her mouth to speak. Riko, who was highly anticipating the remark, was deeply disappointed. Though none of it showed on her face.
"Where is Yaya?"
As if she heard the call, Yaya appeared behind the two girls holding a cup of milk chocolate. "It's tasty! Want to try some?"
"No," was Riko's immediate answer. In her opinion, sugar makes you dumb. Of course, this is not true. I'm sure you eat sugar and feel fine. I feel fine after eating chocolate too. Though I admit to feeling very excited and jumpy when I've had a bite or two.
Yaya smiled. Riko's refusal meant all the more chocolate for her. Happily, she scooped a spoonful of chocolate into her mouth. It was very thick and stuck to the roof of her mouth. "Kiya-kan, goo you ngo ge way ngow?" Would you like me to translate that? What she had wanted to say was, "Kira-chan, do you know the way now?"
The blonde haired girl, to whom the question was directed at, stood frozen for a while. Then she turned around, smiled in such a carefree way she might as well wave her hands up in the air, and hummed as she strolled on the pavement, carefully dodging the crowd of people heading the opposite direction. Her friends, mistaking the girl to have known the way, followed like sheep.
Baa. Baa. Baa. Wait a minute. Where are they going?
"Akira, are you sure you know the way?" Riko asked. They were standing in front of a cake shop. "Caramel's" it was called.
"I don't know how to get to the manga store, but maybe we can ask the people in here," Akira smiled hopefully.
Riko pulled Akira's long hair. There was a sound. I think it was Akira's neck.
"Ri-Riko! That hurts!" Akira complained while massaging her neck. "I just thought we could rest here, since we're lost and all. Besides, this shop is holding a promotion since it's the first day of opening. Everything is free!"
"You're the idiot that dragged us here to find a stupid manga store. Do you know how many hours of training I have missed already?" Riko pulled Akira's hair again. Akira massaged her neck again.
"Is it really free?" Yaya's dazed question stopped Riko from breaking Akira's hair, or neck – whichever gave way first.
What Akira had said wasn't exact. It was free, yes. But only for the first slice. It was a taster since no one will wander into a newly-opened cake shop and buy cake with the risk of not liking it. The girls sat down on a round table near the window, Yaya having chosen a triple chocolate banana cake and Akira with a slice of strawberry cheesecake. I told you before that Riko doesn't like sweet things, so it should come as no surprise that the girl had chosen a chicken pie instead.
They were happily digging into their cakes, and pie, when Yaya whispered something. "I need the toilet."
"Did you really have to whisper? It's nothing embarrassing. We are human after all," Riko said in monotone.
While I'm not completely sure why Yaya had whispered it, perhaps it had something to do with the handsome guy who sat at a nearby table – Yaya is overly conscious around guys – but she dragged her friends to the toilet with her because she had a fear of public toilets. This is due to something that happened when she was younger, but that too is irrelevant for now. So please forget I ever mentioned it.
Akira had the appearance of a princess. Every step she took was graceful and light. Her long golden hair was like a crown that framed her pretty face. Bright green eyes were her best feature second to her teeth and ears. Despite that, her personality is quite a contrast. Though she was intelligent, athletic and charming with her smile, her one big flaw was her clumsiness and that she was an anime and manga enthusiast. She tripped.
A door opened and on the floor inside it was a dishevelled Akira. "That hurt…" the girl muttered while sitting up. "Hey where am I?"
In the chaos of the newly-opened cake shop, no one noticed that the storeroom door was opened because a girl had fallen and opened it by accident, and that two girls entered the room, and no one realised that the door closed afterwards.
"Ouch, I fell too," Yaya muttered as her knees met the floor. "Pain…"
"You idiot, you closed the door as you fell," Riko tried to open the door again, but it wouldn't. In these situations, I would blame fate, jinx, and rusty hinges. Take your pick.
After failing at opening the door, Riko rummaged the darkness, searching for a light switch. She found none and was very embarrassed at having to reduce herself to crawling on the floor so as not to trip up, which is another embarrassing thing to do. Lucky for her, it was pitch-black in the room. She banged her head on something cold and smooth.
"I think I've found something," she spoke louder than she would have normally to be heard and probably because she was surprised too.
Her friends quickly found her and they felt the mysterious object. "I wonder what it is," Akira murmured softly. She had already imagined seven possible scenarios that they were in. This ranged from the highly unlikely, to the fairly likely; they had come across a truckload of gold which the shop owner, really a thief in disguise, had hidden, they would be granted publicity and wealth for finding the stolen gold; they had found the fridge where the shop owner keeps all her ice cream cakes, they would be told off for sneaking around, and banned from the cake shop.
Akira's daydreams were far from the truth. She would never have imagined what the contraption actually was.
"It's too dark, I can't see anything," Yaya complained. "Open sesame!" she cried.
Riko gritted her teeth. What an idiot, she thought. But to her surprise, the lights came on as if they were called upon by those magic words.
"I don't believe it," Riko mumbled.
There in the middle of the room was a large mushroom-shaped machine. Hanging down from the umbrella were head caps attached by wire. Along the stem were many green buttons. Yaya was immediately fascinated and was the first to playfully swing the head caps side to side.
"Kitty, quit it." Rather sarcastic of Riko since cats are known for their curiosity. She had been hit by a swaying head cap, and was very irritated.
Yaya stopped and began to press random green buttons despite Akira's warnings.
"Yaya! Don't touch that red button!" Akira cried.
Nobody noticed that three girls had entered the storeroom and never came out. So as the crowd disappeared with time, the shop owner became aware of three coats hanging upon three chairs that seemed to have no occupants. She couldn't just dismiss it as an accident. You couldn't just forget your coat and go outside in the cold and not realise.
As she mused over this, two cars were parking outside the shopping complex; one an elegant black car, the other an equally elegant silver car. Out of the black car stepped a blonde haired woman in 3-inches high heels. She spoke urgently to the people who came out of the silver car. Her hair was shining like gold and her deep green eyes sparkled. See the similarity? Yes, this woman is Aimée Misora, mother of Akira Alicia Misora. And the chestnut haired woman with dark violet eyes is of course, Riko's mum, Rebecca Hanami. The couple standing near the two said women should not surprise you as Yaya's parents.
"I smell cake," Mrs Cook sniffed the air. "Chocolate cake, with banana, a hint of orange and peach…" She began to follow the smell unconsciously.
"Amy, you're going the opposite direction. The manga store is over there!" Rebecca cried, pointing her finger south.
Thunder rolled threateningly and the lightning cracked the sky in two for a second. Could it be a mere coincidence? But, standing in front of the cake shop as the lightning zapped, it certainly felt like fate. Or a horror movie. But there was nothing frightening about a cake shop.
They entered the shop warily. It was empty, apart from a woman who was sweeping the floor and oddly, there were three chairs with no one on them but coats instead. Aimée's grew wide when her eyes rested upon a red dolly empire jacket.
"It's, this is Akira's!"
"Are you sure?" Rebecca asked.
"Positive. I bought this for her when I couldn't come home for autumn break."
"When you couldn't come home?"
Ayaka Smith stood by the chair, a somewhat confused expression on her face. Aimée, realising what she had said, flustered immediately.
"Ah, I-I, what I m-meant…"
"Where are the owners of these coats?" Rebecca asked.
Ayaka narrowed her eyes at the coats and shrugged. "I don't know."
Rebecca then began to fervently explain their situation, their daughters had not returned home from a shopping trip, they are absolutely clueless as to where the girls could be, so please, "can you help us?" Amy, who started describing her daughter's appearance, caught a scent and quickly changed topic to asking "What brand of vanilla drops do you use?"
"Back to the big problem, Amy," Michael patted his wife's back softly.
Amy shook her head. "Right. I meant to say, have you seen her?"
Ayaka was very surprised, and maybe a little frightened, at being bombarded suddenly with questions. Since no one knew the answers, they decided there was only one other solution. Yes, the CCTV. The eye that watches and never comments. The witness that will never be bribed by the opposition. The one that never lies. It is the truth. They are really amazing, but quite annoying. You have to put them in a good place so that it gets a good view. But sometimes the image is so blurry you can't really make it out. Nevertheless, it is still a great piece of machinery.
After Ayaka called someone, she served cake to her 'customers'. They barely touched it. Except for the one with short blonde hair.
"You know, when making meringue, you have to be careful when adding sugar. If you put too little, it'll become runny and the meringue won't set, but putting too much isn't good either. To see if the sugar has dissolved into the meringue, rub a bit of the foam between your fingers. If it feels gritty it means it hasn't dissolved. Your meringue could do with two more grams of sugar, but this is not half bad," Amy smiled while licking the spoon.
"Remember our daughter, Amy," Michael said softly.
"Of course! How could I forget Yaya-chan?" Amy retorted defensively. "I was just giving my comments on the cake so that Ayaka-san can improve."
Ayaka wasn't sure whether to smile. Her lips twitched halfway at her attempt at smiling. The bell rang and a man stepped into the shop.
"I came as fast as I could. I have the tape, and I've watched it." He took out a tape from his bag and waved it in front him.
Rebecca and Aimée stood up immediately, Amy did too and her chair fell behind her. "So?"
"Yes, I saw three girls who fit your description." He inched closer to his sister and put a hand beside his mouth. The parents could see his mouth moving, but they couldn't make out what he was saying. Only Ayaka could hear, and whatever he said made her very shocked.
"What?" the parents chorused.
"It's-It's…" She turned to her brother for help.
He fiddled with his fingers, was snapped at by Rebecca and glared icily at by Aimée. "My name is Ryou Smith. I'm a technician/engineering/inventor…"
"Excuse me, but does your occupational status really matter in this case?" Aimée interrupted.
"Well, see….it, it does matter. I created a computer and designed software that would allow…mind transportation…"
Rebecca shook her head and stomped towards the door. "What is this, a science fiction movie? I'm going to find my daughter."
"No, wait, Becca. It….could be true…." Aimée looked at Ryou with stern eyes. "Could you be that person who was sponsored for this project?"
Disclaimer: I do not own Ouran High School Host Club and Yan Zhi Cheng belongs to himself.