Part 2

I was sitting, out in the court yard, on a bench by the fountain. I had a free last period, and it was such a beautiful day, so I decided to sit outside & knit.

Yes, I knit. Despite the tough, "I-don't-give-a-shit-what-you-think-of-me" vibe people usually get from me, I like to knit scarves. Is that an oxymoron or what?

Anyway, I was knitting when I saw someone walking towards the building with two big bags full of groceries. Then, they started to slip.

I dropped my stuff.

I ran toward them.

I caught the person just before they hit the ground.

"You okay?"

"Yeah, thanks.

I finally saw the persons face.

It was young with brown hair and eyes.

They were dressed in a boys uniform but… even I could see, they were actually a girl.

I decided not to ask why they were pretending to be a boy. I figured it wasn't my business.

"Here, let me help you with those."

I grabbed one of the bags & helped her up.

"Oh, you don't have to do that."

"Maybe so, but it would be rude if I didn't."

I smiled at her and she returned it.

"Thanks."

"Let me just grab my bag."

I ran over to my stuff & packed it up.

Then, we started walking back to the school.

"I'm Haruhi, by the way.

"Kerushii. Nice to meet you."

"I haven't seen you around before."

"I'm an exchange student from America."

"Wow. That's impressive. How are you liking Japan?"

"It's different. But, I've always wanted to see Japan. And it sure beats that how-dunk town I used to live in."

Haruhi & I continued to talk.

We finally reached the room where she was headed.

We set the groceries down on a table.

"So what year are you?"

"I'm a first year."

"Nice. I'm a second."

"Really? Do you have class with-"

"AH! Lady Kerushii! I was so I afraid you wouldn't come!"

I looked in the direction of the voice.

'Of course. Just my luck.'

Blondie from my class was standing in a dramatically "elegant" possision. 2 red-headed twins stood at his sides. A blonde miget was getting a piggy back ride from a really tall, dark haired guy.

I smiled bitterly.

"Don't worry. I'm just leaving."

I turned back to Haruhi.

"See ya around, Haruhi."

I started walking out when someone grabbed my hand.

"But, you've only just arrived. And, it's my duty, as a gentleman, to welcome you to this school, properly."

He left my hand & was about to kiss it, but I slipped it away.

"A gentleman? If you were a real gentleman, you would've been with her, ready to carrying her bags for her and ready to catch her when she tripped. But, no, you send her out, on her own, to get your groceries, like some maid. Gentleman my ass."

The look on his face was, once again, priceless.

I nodded a goodbye, & started walking out again. But the red-headed twins shut & locked the doors before I could leave.

They were looking at me with suspicious faces.

"You refered to Haruhi as a 'her'."

"Yeah. So?"

Blondie, suddenly, got a hold of himself & yelled, "How do you know that Haruhi's a girl?"

I slowly turned back to him, cocking my eyebrow at him.

"Do you think me blind? Or dumb?"

Suddenly, the blond miget decided to speak up. "You mean, you could just tell that Haru-chan was really a girl?"

I gestured to Haruhi.

"It's kinda obvious, when you take the time to look."

The twins looked at me in shock. "But, that's impossible. No one's been able to tell before."

"Then, they haven't taken the time to look… for what ever reason."

Suddenly, someone forced me into a chair. It was the tall guy who was giving the miget a piggy back ride earlier.

Blondie decided that he had an incredible amount of courage. He marched right up to me & looked me straight in the eye.

"Do you know why she's incognito?"

"I figure it wasn't my business, so I didn't ask."

Suddenly, the twins were on either side of me, getting up in my face along with blondie.

"I don't think you understand the severity of this situation."

"No one knows about Haruhi, nor can they ever know."

"Geez, relax, will ya? If Haruhi doesn't want me to say anything, then I won't."

Blondie: "I wish that were enough, my lady, but we don't know if we can trust you. So, in order to ensure you don't say anything, we going to need to know a secret of yours. We won't tell if you won't."

I crossed my arms & legs in defiance, letting them all know that they weren't going to get any of my secrets.

"Let's see. Kerushii Hedorikusu."

I looked behind me to see tall & dark, with glasses reading from a little black note book.

"Age:16

Height: 5'9"

Exchange student from America. Orphaned at 13. Attending Ouran on a fine arts scholarship.

GPA usually ranges around a 3.85."

They all kept watching my face, waiting for a reaction to something I won't want people to know. They were wasting their time.

"Medical History."

Oh, shit.

The twins smirked.

"What's it say, Kyouya-senpie?"

"Diagnosed with Aplastic Animia at 14. Basically, her bone marrow had stopped making blood. Spent 5 months with weekly blood tests and monthly blood transfusions, trying to get the bone marrow to start working on it's own. Went through intense ATG therapy in November. Spent four days in the hospital while her entire immune system was torn down. Spent 2 weeks in Denver, after therapy, just to make sure she was alright. Skipped 2 entire months of school, but still managed to keep her grades up."

Everyone was looking at me in astonishment.

I glared at Kyouya.

"I don't know how, in the name of hell, you know that, but let's get something straight; It's not something I'm embarrassed by. I'd just rather forget it. Okay? So now you have your 'insurance'. If you'll excuse me."

I ran out of the room and back to my dorm room.