Disclaimer: I own not Sailor Moon. I own only the plot, my characters, and my fish.
The Essence of Friendship: Chapter 2
Confrontations
Serena quietly crept down the stairs and into the kitchen. It was still early and her family wasn't awake yet. She didn't want them to see her until Audrey had gotten a chance to speak with them. Serena hurriedly packed her lunch and slipped silently out the door.
The air was crisp, a sure sign the winter was staying for a while. She ambled in the general direction of the school. She was going to get there early and she actually did her homework for once. Serena hoped no one would have a heart attack. Suddenly, she stopped.
There it was. The Crown Arcade. With Darien sitting at the counter. Well, Serena thought, I can do one of two things. One, I can turn round and go straight to school, which is the most logical choice. Or...I can go inside and see if he recognizes me. If he does, then I shall leave. If not, however, I shall have some fun. With that, Serena entered the Arcade.
She slid onto a stool next to Darien who was immersed in the paper. She lightly hit the counter to get Andrew's attention. Both Andrew and Darien turned and looked at her.
"Excuse me, sir," Serena said, reprising her British accent. "Could I possibly persuade you to get me a cup of hot tea?"
Andrew laughed. "You're so polite, how could I refuse? What kind would you like?"
"Orange, please."
Serena pulled out a book and began reading while she sipped her tea. Shortly afterwards Serena felt someone watching her. She turned to find Darien looking at her, confused.
"May I help you?" her voice was clipped. "I do not appreciate being stared at by strange, potentially dangerous men."
"Do I know you?" Darien asked.
"I doubt it," Serena said. She rested her chin on her hand and looked at him. "Someone wise once told me that one can never truly know another person."
"Do you believe that?"
"Yes, I do."
"Well I, uh, I'm sorry I interrupted you."
"As well you should be." Serena returned to her book. A few moments passed. "Your apology is accepted, by the way."
Serena saw Darien smile out of the corner of her eye. "What book are you reading?"
"Poetics and Rhetoric."
"Wow. Aristotle. Aren't you a bit young to be reading something that heavy?" That ticked Serena off.
"Forgive my youthful ignorance, but have you actually any clue as to my age? No, you haven't, have you? The only ways you could know are if I told you, which I haven't, if someone else told you, which no one has, or if you're a forensic anthropologist, which I strongly suspect you are not. Therefore, I advise that you not make assumptions based on nothing."
"How do you know I'm not a forensic anthropologist?" Darien asked, irritably.
"Well, are you?"
"No."
"That's how," Serena said as she shoved her book back into her bag.
"Who ARE you, anyways," Darien asked, clearly very annoyed.
"I can't tell you that. But what I can tell you is that I've got to leave," she said as she payed for her tea.
"Why are you leaving?"
"Because if I don't leave now then I'll be late,"
"Late for what?"
"A very important date," she said cheekily. She nodded to Darien. "Goodbye, Ignorant Man." She called to Andrew. "Goodbye, nice man with the very delicious tea."
"Bye," Andrew called back. Serena swept past Darien and out the door.
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Even with the detour to the Arcade, Serena still managed to beat everyone else to school. She opened the door to her homeroom class to find Ms. H fast asleep on her desk, surrounded by papers. Serena put her bag on one of the student desks and quietly approached Ms. H. She gently should her teacher's shoulder to wake her. Ms. H stirred slightly.
"No...no...no more weasels in the pudding. There are enough already..." Ms. H mumbled in her sleep.
"Ms. H wake up," Serena said shaking her more.
"Huh?" Ms. H lifted her head, clearly not recognizing her.
"Ms. H, it's me. Serena?"
"Oh, Serena. Of course it's you," Ms. H nodded sleepily. Suddenly she jerked upwards. "Serena? What are you doing here? Oh no, oh no! What time is it?"
"It'll be an hour until anyone else gets here," Serena said, slightly taken aback. "Are you alright, Ms. H?"
"No, I'm not ALRIGHT!" Ms. H exclaimed frantically. "I was supposed to have these graded YESTERDAY! I'll never be finished in time!"
"Ms. H, calm down. Don't you have a rubric for these?" Serena said slowly.
"Y-yes," Ms. H said.
"Ok, then, here's what we're going to do," Serena said while she pulled Ms. H away from the desk. "You're gonna go home, take a quick shower, change, eat, and get some coffee. Scratch that. Get a lot of coffee. You're gonna do all that while I stay here and grade the rest of these papers to the best of my ability."
"But--"
"Ms. H, you need to take a break. It'll be fine," Serena said as she shoved Ms. H out the door.
Serena sighed and turned to face the pile of papers. This'll be interesting.
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Close to an hour later Ms. H opened the door to her classroom. She was surprised at what she saw. All of the papers had been graded and her desk had been organized.
Serena looked up from her book when she heard the door open. "Hi, Ms. H. I graded all the papers except for mine."
"Thank you, Serena," Ms. H replied, still slightly shocked. "I think I'll grade yours right now."
Serena gave a small smile and returned to her book. Ten minutes later, Ms. H spoke.
"Serena..." Ms. H said. "You don't belong in this class."
Serena furrowed her brow. "I don't understand."
"This is the most insightful and well written student paper I've ever read," she explained. "Not even Amy has managed this yet. I'm having you moved to a more challenging class."
Serena nodded as she left the room.
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Serena's day had been...different. She had spent her entire day in the library testing and reading. Ms. H wanted to re-evaluate Serena's academic talent over the coming days. The only class Serena had gone to had been AP Literature with Mr. Rustov. It was a senior class and they had just started reading Dante Alighieri's The Divine Comedy, which Serena already liked. She had eaten lunch in the library and hadn't seen any of her friends yet.
Serena looked at the clock. Mina should be out of school by now. She dug around for her cell phone.
"Hey Minnie...Can you meet me at the Star Salon and Spa?...40 minutes...Cool...Oh, and can you not mention this to the girls?...Thanks, see you then...Bye."
She gathered her materials and departed from the library. While she was walking, she passed by a new boutique. Serena looked down at her uniform and then back at the shop. Yeah, I'm going in.
The name of the boutique was Smak Parlour and the outside of the store was pink. The clothes were really cute; some of the clothes were pink but the majority were not. With the assist of the owners, Abby and Katie, Serena was done in 10 minutes. Serena walked out of the store wearing 3 ½ in. red heels, gold bangles, and a white mini dress that reached just below mid-thigh. The dress was made out of a T-shirt-like material, with cap-sleeves and an obvious hem about 4 in. wide. Over her dress she wore a warm grey, woolen peacoat. She had also bought a new bag that she fit her other bag and her uniform into. She put on her Chanel sunglasses and made her way to the Arcade.
Of course Darien was there at the counter. Again. What, does he LIVE here or something? Geez.
"Hello, lovely man with the good tea," Serena called as she walked in, once again picking up her British accent. She took the stool next to Darien. "Oh, look. You're still here. Haven't you got a life?"
"Yes, I have, actually, not that it's any of your business," Darien growled. "And who said that you could comment on my life?"
"No one. It amuses me," she said while reading the menu. She inwardly smiled. This is way too easy.
"Hey, Britain," Andrew said to Serena. "What can I get ya?"
"More hot tea, please. Peppermint's good, thanks."
"Sure thing," Andrew said. "Hey, Dare, where's Rini?"
"Who's Rini?" Serena cut in.
"Little girl," Darien answered shortly.
"Ah. Daughter? Sister? Niece? Any of those close?"
"Nope. None."
"Relative of any kind?"
"Uh uh."
"Huh. So you guys hang out, yeah?"
"Yup."
"Where?"
"The park. My apartment. Just around."
"Alone?"
"Mostly, yeah?"
"And how old is she?"
"About eight. Why?"
"So let me get this straight," Serena turned to face him fully. "You, a legal adult, frequently spent time alone with an eight-year-old girl, who is in no way related to you, alone in your apartment, unsupervised. That is really creepy."
"Well when you say it like that--" Serena cut him off.
"What are you talking about?" Serena was having an immeasurable amount of fun screwing with him. "Any way you spin it, you come off looking like a pedophile."
"Look--" Darien was cut off again.
"Darien!" something small and brat-like squealed in the most annoying way possible. "Buy me some ice me some ice cream. Now."
After hearing this, Serena quickly burst out in laughter. "Oh my God. Oh. MyGod."
"What?!" Darien half-shouted.
"The little bugger said 10 words and I already know that she's the most ridiculous, egotistical, annoying, spoiled little brat in creation. I almost feel sorry for you."
"Hey, Lady, that's not fair," Rini said from below. Serena looked down at her.
"Learn this now. Life's not fair. Buh-bye," She said. Two birds with one stone, she thought. Today is a good day.
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Star Salon and Spa
No sooner had Serena walked in the doors then she was attacked (with a hug) by Mina.
"Hey. Minnie." Serena choked out. "Can't. Breathe."
"Sorry. Oh my gosh, I was so worried," Mina gushed. "You were so sad and then Amy and Lita said you weren't in school today. What's going ON?"
"I'll tell you about it inside."
"Ok. You look a lot better by the way."
"I feel a lot better."
Mina gave her a genuine smile. "I'm glad. Hey, what are we doing here anyway."
"Oh, you know, everything. Mud baths, massages, hair treatments, mani-pedis..."
"Great. I'm in."
Hey guys! Review! P.S. Smak Parlour is and actually boutique in Philadelphia. It's on Market Street and it's the only pink store on the block, you can't miss it. If you're ever in Philly, check it out. you can look it up online, too.