It was all gone in a week, my life as being Tsubaki Arisa high-school-teen-who-helped-her-mother-out-in-the-family-bakery (long title- but that's who I was) was replaced to be Higashi Arisa now stepdaughter to famous socialite Higashi Rota. I no longer worked at the bakery, instead Rota-san wanted me to focus on my studies to be something great like Midori, my now little sister, who wanted to be a Neurosurgeon.

And somehow this involved in Rota-san enrolling me into a rather expensive pink school named Ouran where Midori also attended. I wasn't going to be seeing my friends anymore this fall, my name wasn't going to be called in Roll-Call, and I wasn't going to walk to the bakery from the school anymore.

My life as I knew it was utterly and completely gone.

"Tsubaki-chan! Tsubaki-chan!"

I craned my head around the moving truck, arms full of two packed boxes, they were starting to cramp so I placed them at my feet before moving out to see who was calling out.

"Tsubaki-chan, don't leave," a tall brunette cried at the boarded up bakery door. "Tsubaki-chan!"

I rolled my eyes and ignored the way my heart clenched tightly at the sight of the damn door. Instead I focused my eyes on the boy who banged relentlessly on the door. Kenji was always a bit of an airhead when it came to situations like these. I'm just glad he wasn't pronouncing his supposed undying love for me.

"Oi, Gaki, you're gunna break that door if you don't stop," I called out. "Didn't you see this big ass truck?"

It didn't take long for Kenji to turn from sad and sappy to irritated and angry. He gave me a mean look, which honestly looked like he was having stomach troubles, as he took long strides toward where I stood. I smiled up at him once he towered over me, my forehead barely reached his chin, the damn kid was always taller than me.

Kenji glowered down at me, "Ya know, just cuz I'm a year younger than you doesn't get you the right to call me 'Gaki', ya hag."

My eye twitched and the smile felt tight on my face. "Hag? Come up with something better, ya Gaki," I responded finishing with his speech habit. "Gaki, what are you doing here anyways? Don't you have a street gang to run?"

Even with my back turned away to finish in the boxes, I could tell Kenji curled his nose in distaste. He was always fun to tease.

"Stop calling it a 'street gang'," he groaned as I jumped down from the inside of the truck and he closed it up. "All we do is sit around the convenience store."

"Doing odd jobs to anyone who pays high enough," I added.

He shrugged, "Yeah, so what? You used to do it too."

"That was before mom started the bakery, and that only brought me trouble Gaki," I sighed. "Just don't something dumb while I'm gone."

At the mention of leaving Kenji's shoulders slumped and he dropped his head. There was an odd silence that surrounded us as we both stood, awkwardly around each other. I clenched my fists, I didn't want this to happen, me and Kenji…Kenji and me. Aside from the one year age difference, we were inseparable. When things were bad it was always Kenji who got me up, who taught me that giving up was never the solution, and he was like my brother. Annoying as he was, Kenji made me feel better. We never had these kind of good-byes; the kind where we didn't know when we would get to see each other. I didn't know if I wanted to cry or smile. I was really infuriating.

Then just when I thought the silence would be it for us, Kenji threw his arms around me, pulling me close into his body. It was different, we never hugged. Kenji had this thing with space –there had to be at least five inches between him and the person next to him- so for him to initiate the hug, I knew that Kenji felt the same thing I felt. And for some reason that got me crying.

"No tears alright," he scolded me even though his tears were wetting my hair. "We have phones and there are such things as cars, baka. Arisa, just…just don't forget to visit alright."

I nodded too emotional to talk, I pressed my face closer into his shoulder. The use of my name suddenly bringing a rush of blood to my cheeks that I didn't want Kenji to see. "I'll see you later, Gaki."

His body shook with laughter as he pulled me away, a small smile, but a smile none the less, pulled at the corner of his lips, "Call me by my name for once Arisa."

In that instant I didn't see the boy that would turn up on my doorstep with a new injury every day. It was the trick of the light I told myself that made him look like a man, as I blushed hard yet again, "Stupid, Gaki, leave me alone!"

And with that I rushed into the passenger seat of the truck, the driver (who I had completely ignored and who I'm pretty sure heard the whole thing) started up the car while Kenji ran with it screaming out "Tsubaki-chan!"

I smiled as we turned a corner, Kenji long gone, and the only sound I could hear was that of the jostling boxes in the back. I felt content, the knot in my stomach disappeared and I wasn't so angry anymore. I guess Kenji was all that I really needed and to be completely honest, our good bye wasn't so bad after all.

Ouran was very different from any public school I had been to. For one, it was pink. Another was how they treated the students here. The teachers stepped on eggshells around them, it was as if they seemed frightened of what might happen if they were to call out on their behaver. Not that the students did anything bad intentionally, but for example in first block three of them failed to turn in their assignments 'my prized poodle thought it would be a great idea for a snack' one of them had even dared to say with a bored look on their face and I sat there waiting, wincing at the punishment to come but our teacher only smiled and told them to turn it in tomorrow, full credit.

If the lunch bell hadn't rang I think I would have sat there, shocked but I was getting hungry.

I followed twins and a really feminine boy from my class to find the lunchroom. Another, thing to add to my list, I thought bitterly as I was catered. The food here was made by famous chefs. Kenji is sure to have a fit once I tell him I thought starring at my food dumb founded.

"Are you not going to eat?"

I jumped at the sudden interruption. The voice that didn't not belong well to this boy, I thought. It was high pitched and while it fit for his feminine look, it did nothing but only add confusion to his gender.

"Fujioka, right?" I asked. "I'm hungry but it just looks to pretty to eat."

The boy, Fujioka laughed lightly, "Finally someone who feels the same way I do. It's not normal for food to look this fancy."

"Yes! I mean I'm totally new to this whole rich thing but does the food have to look perfect?," I giggled.

Is this a possible friend? Did I not have to be alone in this horrible school? My future here at Ouran was suddenly looking better until two elbows smashed down on Fujioka's head, causing him to bang his forehead on the table with a loud sound. It was what got every ones attention as the two identical boys glared at me.

"New money even worse than commoners. Don't you think so Koaru?," the one on the left stated.

The one on the right laughed, "Couldn't think of a better way to say it Hikaru. Now why don't you go bother someone else new money, Haruhi doesn't need someone like you."

The food didn't look so appetizing anymore, I thought as I stood up and walked out of the room. The whole class was watching me as I stiffly moved one foot after another, concentrating on the rhythm rather than the act. It wasn't until I was few feet away from the closed lunch room door that I heard someone call my name. I looked back to see Midori's long black pony tail swish around widely as she ran to catch up to me. Relief washed over me, sweet little Midori was here to cheer me up. I smiled at her.

"I saw the whole thing, Tsubaki," she commented. "Quite humiliating to be honest."

The other shoe dropped.

Midori tilted her head as she continued to talk, "I did tell Father, marrying your mother was a wrong move. New money like you can never be on the same pedestal we 'elites' are born with. It's a very good thing your paperwork doesn't have our family name on it or else that really would be embarrassing for me. Don't you think?"

She left me there, dumb founded in the hallway. Somehow I had found a dark small janitor closet, I decided to curl myself in there for the time being. When the bell rang again signaling the start of class I chose to ignore it and decided the closet was as good as any hide out for today.