'Kaguri, wake up! You'll be late for school!' Kaguri rubbed the sleep from her eyes and sat up, brushing the hair out of her eyes. She sighed sadly and thumped her head back in the pillow.
'My first day of school and I'm running late. Not a good sign, Kaguri. Well, it can't be any worse than my old school.' Kaguri grimaced as she thought of her past school experiences and her cold isolation from the rest of her class. Her quite and somewhat aloof nature had made her appear callous to the rest of her class, despite her pretty face and polite way of talking. The other girls were envious of her, so they taunted her, and the guys learned if you wanted a girlfriend you avoided Kaguri and hung out with the popular girls instead.
'This year will be different, though. I'll do anything I can to make friends and be accepted. Anything!' Kaguri jumped out of bed and started getting dressed when she heard a thumping noise on the stairs. 'Oh no, it can't be-'
'WAKE UP, KAGURIIII!!!! TIME FOR SCHOOL, ONEESAN!' Kaguri's little brother, Okkuu, jumped through the door and slammed into her, causing her to fly across the room.
"Ha-ha oneesan! I got you again! Okkuu laughed as his sister untangled herself from her sheets, her face red with anger. Okkuu's laughter turned into a strangled gulp as Kaguri cracked her knuckles and advanced on her younger brother.
'O-oneesan, you'll be late for school! Shouldn't you get go-'
The last thing Okkuu saw that morning was Kaguri's foot traveling at high speeds towards his face.
'Class, I have an announcement to make. We'll be receiving a new student today, Tasogare Kaguri. I want you all to make her feel welcome and show her around. Kaguri, would you tell the class about yourself?' The teacher, a small, wrinkled old lady with a tight bun asked a now fidgeting Kaguri.
'Typical of a teacher to make the new kids feel really awkward and weird looking.' Kaguri stepped in front of the class and gave a small, confident smile. 'Just be natural and calm, and try not to trip when you're walking to your seat.' "Hi everyone, I'm Kaguri. I just moved here from Tokyo a few weeks ago with my little brother and older sister, so it's a big change. I hope I get to know you all better.' Most of the class looked up at Kaguri as they took in the bronze streaks in her jet black hair and her somewhat careless and scatterbrained appearance with interest. Their town was small and isolated, especially compared to big city Tokyo
'Well, I'm sure we're all glad to meet you. Why don't you take a seat, and we'll start the lesson.' As Kaguri walked towards an empty seat in the back row, she heard someone say 'Hey Taso-chan, there's an empty seat over here.' She glanced over to a short, slender girl with a sharp, angular face and spiky black hair smiling at her and gesturing to a seat next to her.
'I wonder what she wants with me already?' With a puzzled expression, Kaguri sat next to the shorter girl and smiled tentatively. 'Um, thanks. I'm Kaguri. You are..?'
The girl smiled and whispered 'I'm Mijikai, but call me Midge or Miji. My parents must've known I'd be a midget or something, but it's still an embarrassing name, right?' Kaguri laughed, surprised by the girl's casual attitude. 'It must suck being the new girl, especially with Sazouki making you stand in front of the class like that. She does t every year. Don't worry though, you handled it well.' Miji looked at her with a quirky smile on her face, like she new a secret or something.
Kaguri laughed again. 'Thanks. I've had a lot of practice as the new kid. Me and my siblings move around quite a bit.'
'Oh yeah? That stinks, having to move around so much. So you lived in Tokyo, right? How was it there?'
Without knowing it, Kaguri talked with her newfound friend for the entire class period¹ without either running away out of fear. 'My first friend in sixteen years. I'm on a roll.'
¹No, they don't actually learn anything in class. What's wrong with you?
The week went by well for Kaguri. At lunch she sat with Miji and her friends. The people at her table were Shinju, a wiry guy with long hair that fell into his eyes, Hana, a pretty girl with long hair and a gentle voice, and Alex², an American foreign exchange student with pale skin, brown hair, and an aloof, calculating look on his face. Also, a guy with short gelled hair named Usui who was in her Trig class and a girl with long curly hair and an arrogant look about her named Sune joined them later. They all talked and laughed with each other, and everybody loved Kaguri and her confused state of being, except for Sune. Her skin, pale because of lack of sunshine, and her black eyes and hair made her look like a beautiful porcelain doll compared to her more tan classmates. These features made many heads turn as she smiled and talked, which didn't go unnoticed by her or Miji throughout the week.
'Hey Miji, everybody's looking at you.' Kaguri finally whispered to Miji at lunch one day, who just laughed and looked at her with an amused expression.
'You baka, they're not looking at me. They're looking at you!' She giggled as Kaguri turned red with embarrassment.
'Me?!? Why would they be looking at me? I just moved here! Have I pissed someone off or something?'
Miji rolled her eyes at Kaguri's density. 'Oh Kaguri, you're so naïve. Do you really not know why?' Kaguri shook her head rapidly. "Oh fine then. Since you walked into our class, eighty five percent of the male population immediately lost their minds. They are absolutely crazy over you. Now do you get it, Kaguri?'
"Kaguri blushed an even deeper red. 'You've got to be kidding me Midge. Me? I'm nobody special. I'm not even that pretty.' Midge rolled her eyes and walked away.
'That's what you think, Kaguri. You'll notice it soon enough, believe me!'
'Midge is just crazy, I know it. There's no way any guy would notice me after one week of school.' As Kaguri got up to leave, Usui walked up to her and smiled.
'Hey Taso-san, you ready for trig?' Taken by surprise, Kaguri just nodded her head. Usui looked at her books and said 'Hey, those look sort of heavy. You want me to carry them for you?' Again, another nod. He gathered about her books, and they walked off to trig. 'So, how do you think you're doing here? Its pretty different here, after all, compared to Tokyo.'
She smiled at his energetic question. 'It's not bad here. Most people are nice enough, and a lot of people talk to me. I get a lot of stares, which I don't really understand.' Usui, surprisingly enough, blushed.
'Well, I can understand that. You're pretty different looking, compared to the rest of us. Still, I think people would be crazy not talk to you.' He blushed again, but not as deep as Kaguri. They walked the rest of the way to trig in an awkward silence. When Sazouki told everyone to get in their seats, Usui looked at her with a rueful face and went to his seat on the other side of the room. She sat down and thought about why he seemed so eager to be near her.
'Could Midge have been right? After all, I guess nobody here knows me as the unpopular girl.' She dismissed the thought as she focused on her work, but it still kept nagging at her until school was over. As she started to walk home, Shinju, the guy at her table with the long hair, intercepted her in the parking lot. Inwardly Kaguri groaned as she now new that Miji was actually right. 'Shinju, right? What's up?' If he asks me out I may have to kill him.'
He grinned. 'Oh, not much, just wondering what you were doing this weekend, and if you're not busy, if you would consider going to a movie with me.' Kaguri managed to cover up her squeal of frustration with a high pitched cough.
'Thanks, Shinju, but I'm actually busy this weekend, sorry. Got a lot of chores to do. Maybe some other time.' He just shrugged and gave her a wave as he walked off. Meanwhile, Kaguri walked home as fast as she could in order to avoid getting asked out yet again.
She didn't get very far.
²Sorry, I had to put me in there. I can't help myself.
A/N: My first completely original story, Called Last Period Romance. Next chapter, Kaguri will meet someone who will turn Kaguri's world upside down, and maybe even find out about her former life as a reject. Who is it? Read Chapter Two; New Subject to find out!