CN
Unfurling
Chapter Two: Idiots and Snobs
♣
♣
♣
♣
♣
Bijou could hardly believe it as she snapped her phone shut.
Maxwell wants to apply to a school that would break Sandy's heart? Bijou thought. Why would a certain school upset Sandy...? Bijou speculated for a bit as she walked across the auditorium's stage, noticing the inductees that were already starting to sit themselves down in the first few rows.
Cats! Maxwell's message was distracting her from her duty to the French Honor Society! She tried to momentarily shake the message from her brain as she went to the side of the stage.
Would she mind if Daichi went to a particular school? Not really, unless of course that school was particularly faraway, for she would hardly ever see him.
That must be it, Bijou decided, smiling slightly because she figured it out. Her smile immediately faded when she remembered that this school, according to Maxwell, was not exactly the one Sandy had in mind for him.
Perhaps Sandy needed a good talking to. Yes, all Bijou had to do was explain to Sandy that the school Maxwell had in mind couldn't possibly be that faraway, right? But then again, this was really a matter between Sandy and Maxwell…But Maxwell had asked for Bijou's advice so should she stay out of it?
Bijou put a hand over her eyes and sighed as she massaged her temples for the second time that day. She would talk to Maxwell later, she supposed…
"-Mother, I told you, I'll be at the sound check in a couple of hours, and I am really not in the mood to hear any more of this! You make no sense sometimes! No, I'm doing this, and if you say I can't, then I'll take away that 10 you get from my paycheck every year. Good-bye!"
Everyone at the side of the stage (and perhaps a few of the inductees who were sitting in the front row for the voice was so incredibly loud) turned to see Sparkle shove her phone into her designer handbag. It took her a few seconds to realize that everyone was quiet, and also that everyone had been staring directly at her.
Sparkle took a couple of steps, yet the eyes of everyone still remained on her.
"What?" she asked, obviously annoyed. It was then that everyone decided to resume their conversations and take their eyes off of her.
"Common folk can be so stupid," Sparkle mumbled under her breath. "Why am I saying 'can be'?" she laughed as she enjoyed this little joke to herself.
"Sparkle," Bijou called as she walked over to the singing sensation. The French girl lowered her voice as she asked. "Is everything alright?" she tried to look as indifferent and casual as possible as she pretended to check the microphone battery on Sparkle's back.
"Of course it is," the brunette snapped as she glanced at her nails. "Why do you care?"
"That was quite the performance you just put on," Bijou explained as she walked around Sparkle to make sure that the actual microphone was in its proper place. "I just want to make sure you're ready to perform tonight."
"Am I ready to perform?" Sparkle asked as she slapped Bijou's hand away. She stepped back yet lowered her voice so as not to cause another scene.
"I am one of the biggest names in teen pop music right now. I have performed more concerts than you'll ever go to. I have the numbers of all the major record producers on my speed dial. I'm a big deal. You don't get to my status unless you have pure talent. And you have to bring that talent on at a moment's notice sometimes. So don't you ask if I'm ready to perform at a stupid induction ceremony. I was born ready."
Bijou forced herself to not roll her eyes. Somebody really had to remind Sparkle that her 'talent' was all mostly microphone and that the record label really just loved her tween-friendly face.
"You just sounded really upset," she reminded.
"Well my mother makes me go through mood swings. She can be so demanding," Sparkle complained.
"I know the feeling," Bijou admitted quietly.
"Eww, Ribon," Sparkle cried as she waved her index finger in Bijou's face. "Don't you ever say that you and I have anything in common ever again. We are nothing alike. And don't pretend like you care about what I'm going through. I hate fake people, you know." And without another word, Sparkle walked away and left Bijou in an ever more frustrated state.
The French girl walked across the stage. It was time for the ceremony to begin, anyway. She had to clear her mind of all things that weren't the French Honor Society. However, that became a little more difficult when, the moment she reached the podium, the spotlight immediately became so incredibly strong that Bijou had to put her hand over her wincing eyes to block the light.
She had a feeling that, up in the lighting booth, Hamtaro Haruna was having a really good laugh.
It was people like Haruna and Sparkle, idiots and snobs, that made Bijou's job a little harder.
She waited for a few seconds and the spotlight eventually dwindled down; Bijou seized the moment.
"Bonsoir tout le monde and welcome to the annual French Honor Society induction Ceremony!.."
♣
♣
A few hours later, Maxwell Librius eagerly answered the knock on his door.
"I'm glad you came," he said, gesturing for the girl to come inside.
"Is Sandy here?" Bijou asked as she stepped inside.
"No, actually, she left a couple of hours ago," Maxwell explained as he led the girl into his family room.
"If we're here to talk about what I think then shouldn't she be here?" Bijou asked. She unbuttoned her jacket and sat across from Maxwell, staring at the boy from across the coffee table.
"Not really," Maxwell said sheepishly. He was fidgeting with his hands, and it was then that Bijou realized that he had a large envelope lying on the couch beside him.
"Why not?" Bijou asked quizzically as she eyed the envelope.
"Well she tends to get overemotional sometimes," Maxwell explained. Bijou's attention suddenly snapped back to the boy.
"You do realize that you're talking about one of my best friends who's also your girlfriend, right? And if she thinks that you might go really faraway for college, I think she has the right to be emotional."
"But it's just that I hadn't even opened the envelope yet before she started worrying. She's just so freaked out that I want to go to school out of the country. She wants me to go to Ham Sapian University," Maxwell explained.
"That's a really good school and it's close by; I can understand why she wants you to go there," Bijou said, trying to hide the offense in her voice. She had actually thought about going to that very same school.
"But I got sent an application from this really great school, although it's faraway from here…" Maxwell trailed off, and Bijou found herself getting angrier with the boy. He was obviously persistent on this school.
"You don't have to go really faraway to get a good education. In fact, there are really amazing schools here in Japan," Bijou reminded.
"But this is a really good school," Maxwell insisted as he wrung his hands nervously.
"No one really cares how good of a school you end up going to these days. It's about how well you're able to perform there," Bijou explained. "So if you want to go to this 'really good school' in hopes of getting a really good job, I wouldn't recommend it."
"But it's such a good school," Maxwell repeated as he started to bite his lip. Bijou rolled her eyes and stood up.
"Then what do you want from me? Permission to apply?" Bijou asked angrily. She knew she was taking out her stress from the induction ceremony on him, but at the moment, Maxwell was acting like a child.
"No," Maxwell responded, keeping his voice calm. "I just wanted to know your opinion about this school, and since you're also one of Sandy's best friends, I want to know what you will happen to her if I decide to apply here," he explained as he glanced upwards at Bijou.
"I'm not an encyclopedia, Maxwell," Bijou started to say as she lowered her voice. She turned her head to look down at him and then sat back down on the couch. "I don't know about every school, you know."
"I know, but I'm pretty sure that you'll be able to tell me about this one. You told me once a while ago that you might apply here," Maxwell reminded.
"Which school?" Bijou asked as she glanced back to the envelope beside Maxwell.
Maxwell sighed and picked up the envelope. He looked at it for a few seconds before he turned it around to show Bijou.
"Sorbonne."
Bijou's mouth couldn't help but to fall open.
"Sorbonne sent you an application?" she asked at length. Maxwell put on a weak smile and nodded.
Bijou couldn't help but be amazed. Sorbonne would be up in the ranks of Harvard and Oxford. They had thousands of kids applying to them every year, so to think that such a good school would contact Maxwell and actually send him an application? It was like saying that they had already accepted Maxwell, and the two Ham-Humans in the room knew that.
And it was an amazing school, one that Bijou's mother and father had both attended. One that Bijou's mother, in hopes of continuing this tradition, was making Bijou apply to.
"Well I can't lie and say that it's not a good school," Bijou responded quietly as she kept her eyes glued to the insignia on the envelope.
"Do you think I should apply?" Maxwell asked.
"I don't see why not if you think you can get in." Again, Bijou took her time to answer as she tried to comprehend how such a wonderful school actually contacted him. Well, Maxwell was very intelligent. But still, a school as good as Sorbonne was constantly filled with applications from thousands of other students, so to think that it actually took its time to get in touch with Maxwell…
There was a silence in the room as the two Ham-Humans thought. Of course he would get in. If a school sends an application to someone, that person is almost guaranteed admission. Bijou tried to imagine what would happen if Daichi applied that far…then again, she didn't have the right to be hypocritical since she was also planning on applying to Sorbonne.
"Sorbonne isn't faraway like China, Maxwell. France is literally on the other side of the world. This will kill Sandy," Bijou reminded as the two looked straight into each other's eyes.
"I know," Maxwell responded simply. "But she isn't the only person who influences where I apply."
"But she's still important," Bijou rebutted as she leaned in further. "You've been together for over five years, Maxwell. You have to care for her enough to at least consider how upset she will be."
"I'll be upset, too," the boy reminded, slightly indignant.
"You sure aren't acting like it," Bijou countered.
"I'll miss her; I do care for her a lot," Maxwell explained.
"Then you really shouldn't be having this conversation with me," Bijou explained as she tilted her head slightly to the side. "I would suggest applying to any school that you liked and thought you had a chance at, but do remember how this will effect everyone around you."
With that said, the French Ham-human stood up and, without another word, left the room.
♣
♣
"Why did you tell him to apply?" Daichi asked as he brought his spoon away from his face, unable to think about eating for the moment. "Did you even really think about what you were telling him to do?"
"Why are you getting so emotional about this?" Bijou asked as she took a sip from her straw. "This doesn't involve you."
"Well now that it involves you it sort of does involve me," the boy explained. Bijou gave him her sweetest smile in response, but he wasn't falling for that trick…not again.
The girl sighed as she lowered her voice, making sure that no one else in the cafeteria would be able to hear them.
"If he gets in, he'll probably go…and what will happen to Sandy?" the boy asked as he dropped his spoon into his plate. "She'll never forgive you."
"Well it's not like if I said no he wouldn't have applied," Bijou explained. "He just wanted a second opinion. And Sandy never has to know I told Maxwell anything."
"Maybe," Daichi responded, but the way his voice hinted at suspicion, Bijou didn't feel all too safe about her decision anymore.
"Maybe he will get into Sorbonne, but the reality is those schools cost an arm and a leg. Not everyone has that type of money lying around," she reminded. "I don't think there's anyway he can afford it."
"Your parents did," Daichi said. Bijou sighed for a different reason this time. And here we go again. As much as he cared for her, he could never get over how different the two were financially.
"Lots of dead, rich uncles; I told you, I'm no richer than your average girl," she lied, putting on a smile that would seem slightly too reassuring to a close observer…
"Would you be upset if I applied somewhere faraway like that?" he asked, changing the subject, as he looked at the girl intently.
Bijou's eyebrows furrowed. "What kind of question is that? Of course I would."
Daichi smiled. "That's good to hear."
♣
♣
♣
December came and swept the land with a cool frost. Kids awaited the first snowfall of the season and adults ran here and there in hopes of getting all the Christmas shopping done before the last minute. Stores adorned themselves with greens and reds and golds and whites. Music stations had started to play all the classic seasonal songs. All in all, for most of the people, it just seemed like a wonderful time.
As for the ones in the middle, the teenagers, well, some were stressing over getting their college essays just right or finishing all their applications and some were eagerly—better yet, they were anxiously—awaiting their early application decisions.
The price of applying Early Action. One would send their application in around early November and expect a response around this time. Normally someone would only apply early to their top school of choice, to know from the start whether or not they were going there. So at the moment, for those students who were awaiting the colleges' responses, December was anything but seasonal.
For one such student, the waiting was about to be over.
"..and so that's why the salt can keep the ice from forming," Maxwell explained as he and Sandy walked through the neighborhood. "Rocks of salt work much better than the fine crystals, of course."
"I'll keep that in mind," Sandy teased as she leaned her head on Maxwell's shoulder. "Maxy, how do you remember all this …stuff?" she asked as a puff of hot air escaped her lips.
"You don't find that interesting?" Maxwell asked, sincerely surprised. "I mean with the way the ionic compound of the salt can interact with the hydrogen bonds of –"
"Your mom," Sandy said as she lifted her head off of his shoulder. Maxwell, in response, simply stared at the girl angrily.
"Well even if chemistry isn't exactly your passion, I hardly feel that such petty, mother-related comments are necessary!"
"No, Maxy…your mom!" Sandy said as she ran down the street to the gate in front of Maxwell's house. In front of Maxwell's house stood his mother, and his father wasn't too far behind her. She was waving her hand in order to get his attention, completely overlooking the strange look Sandy was giving her.
"Mom, what's wrong?" Maxwell asked as he went over to the gate. Maxwell's mother opened the gate and, pushing Sandy to the side, ran over to her son and hugged him.
"Oh I knew you could get in! I just knew you would! No school in the world would be foolish enough to reject you," she cried as she squeezed the life out of him. "I just knew it."
"Congratulations, Maxwell," Mr. Librius said as he patted his son on the back. Sandy was completely lost.
"Did you apply to a school Early Action?" she asked, relatively quietly, as Maxwell's mother broke away from her son. Maxwell looked at Sandy and before he had a chance to answer, his mother took him by the wrist and led him inside. Maxwell's father followed suit and soon Sandy was left all alone outside.
"Well I suppose you should come in, too, Sandra," Maxwell's father said as he stood at his front door. Sandy, now knowing how to react, went inside without saying a word.
Once inside, Sandy realized that the family room had been decorated in tones of blues and whites. They were school colors, but which school? A large cake that had "Congratulations" written on it in blue frosting sat in the middle of the family room table, and Sandy noticed that Mrs. Librius had already taken the liberty of cutting a slice for her son.
Maxwell. Sandy' eyes searched the small room for him and found him in one corner, reading and rereading a piece of paper with great intensity.
"I can't believe it," he cried as he looked up and smiled at his parents, but when he saw the confused expression upon the face of Sandy, his smile fell.
"Congratulations, Maxy," she said softly as she approached the boy, trying to look through the piece of paper in his hands to see the name of the school.
"Thanks," Maxwell said quietly as he tried, uselessly, to hide the piece of paper behind his back.
"So…are you going to tell me what school has the honor of having you as their newest student?" she asked as she stepped closer to him, now staring straight at him.
"You didn't tell her?" Mrs. Librius asked as she came between the two. "Well, Maxwell is often so busy, I suppose he often loses sight of the little things." She glanced at Sandy as she said this last part. Maxwell cringed at his mother's words but Sandy kept listening without a flinch. "My son was accepted to Sorbonne Nouvelle—you probably don't know what that is, do you? It's a school of Sorbonne…the Sorbonne!" she turned around to face Maxwell and hugged him once again.
"Like the one in France?" Sandy asked as she took a deep breath. Maxwell tried to scan her face for any signs of emotion—good or bad—but she was deliberately trying to keep her face clean of such things.
"Of course the one in France, which other one? I'm just so happy that you took Bijou Ribon's afvice and decided to apply!" Mrs. Librius cried. Maxwell flinched once again. He was hoping not to get Bijou's name into this.
"Bijou Ribon's advice?" Sandy asked quietly as she looked at the boy. "I didn't know she was a college counselor."
"Oh, well, I'm sure you know of all the things she can do. She is one of your good friends, after all, right? Oh she is so very lovely, wouldn't you agree?" Mrs. Librius asked Sandy, obviously comparing the two girls. "Very goal-oriented."
"Mother," Maxwell said as he cast his head down. The truth was, Mrs. Librius had only met Bijou a handful of times and hardly ever got to talk with the girl. She just knew, from Maxwell, that Bijou happened to have a strong family history and was a good student, and that was all that really counted to the woman.
Sandy blinked a few times and stared around the room. She wanted to be in her room, under her sheet, and just stay there until the summer came so that she would never have to face these people ever again.
"Well, now, who am I to intrude on what is obviously a family moment?" She asked. She said a barely audible "Good-bye" and ran out the door.
Cats. Warm tears stung so much in the cold air. Thankfully, though, it was already starting to get dark, so maybe no one could notice how upset she was.
"Sandy," Maxwell cried as he ran out onto his front lawn. Sandy ignored him and kept walking down the street. "Sandy!" He nearly tripped over the gate as he ran after her. He ran in front of her and grabbed her shoulders.
"I'm sorry, I should've told you," he said as his chest stung a bit; it hurt to see that the tears that Sandy was crying were because of him.
"Yeah, really, but who am I compared to Bijou, right? We're not as close as you are with her," Sandy spat back as she shrugged his arms off of her. Maxwell walked beside her, looking sideways to keep a continuous view of her face.
"That was just my mother talking. You know how much-"
"I'm sure it was, Maxy. Now just go away," she said as she increased her pace.
"Why are you making such a big deal out of this? This is really big for me," Maxwell explained as he caught up with her. "I know I should've told you but this is like a dream come true."
"You should've told me. That's what you're supposed to do with your girlfriend, but don't worry: you never have to worry about that again," she exclaimed as she increased her pace as fast as she could and ran away, leaving Maxwell in a mess of emotions that he could not possibly sort out.
And as he watched her run, the first few snowflakes of the season fell, as if to come and wash everything that had just happened far, far away.
♣
♣
Bijou put her hand against the giant glass window as she watched the flakes fall. Those were flakes, right? It was actually getting too dark to tell. It felt strange to put her warm hand against the cold smoothness of the glass, yet she found herself smiling at this thought.
Her smile faded, though, as she remembered where she was. She stood in the highest room of a building none of her school friends knew existed. She looked at the room—the dark furniture, the large, monstrous desk—all of it was to be hers very soon.
She heard a swooshing sound and immediately turned around to face the glass double doors that were the entrance to the room from the rest of the building. She felt a knot come into her stomach as she tried to think of why she was called here.
"Mother," Bijou greeted as she crossed the large room. Her mother, Josie Ribon, gave one of the largest smiles she had ever given to the girl. Bijou was slightly alarmed by this, seeing as how her mother wasn't exactly into smiles and all.
"Is everything alright, mother?" Bijou asked. Josie wordlessly walked over to her desk and sat down in the overly-large leather seat. Bijou followed her mother and cautiously sat down in the seat across from her.
"No, eet eez not," her mother cried. Bijou's eyes immediately widened with fear. What could've happened? Was it the company? Did the stock market go against them or something? What could possibly be wrong?
"Eet eez better zhan alright!" Josie cried as she pulled open a drawer in her desk. She took out a large envelope and handed it to Bijou. The latter tentatively took the envelope, but upon recognizing the French insignia on the upper left side, she knew exactly what happened.
Josie Ribon stood and walked over to a set of French glass doors that lead out to the patio that was adjacent to the room. She stared out at the city below her, watching the snowflakes cumulate upon the tables and chairs that were currently unoccupied.
"Your fazzer wanted zhis ever since 'e first brought you 'ere," she explained as Bijou read the acceptance letter in her hands. "Go zoo Sorbonne, like we did all those years ago, and learn to be zee leazer we alwayz knew you could be. Ahhh…remember how zcared you were of zee balcony? Mon dieu! You were zo tinee, and now, you are a Sorbonne girl!"
Had Josie been paying careful attention to Bijou's reflection in the glass doors, she would've seen Bijou get up from her chair and kick and punch the air around her vehemently. However, Josie was lost in her own memories and was paying no attention to the state of distress her daughter was showing.
"This is wonderful," Bijou said as she stood up and crumpled the letter in her hands. Josie, upon hearing the paper's crackles, turned around and raised an eyebrow. "I'm so excited I…guess I couldn't control myself!"
"So, I'm guessing I got into the business academy?" Bijou asked.
"Well of course. 'ow could zhey accept a Ribon inzoo any ozzer major? You know zhat your great-great-great-great grand-pere-"
"Was part of one of the first graduating classes of Sorbonne, I know," Bijou explained. She tossed the crumpled piece of paper onto the large desk and sighed.
"Soon, ma chere, you will be setting at zhis very dezk. Eet eez your destiny!" Josie cried as she turned around and hugged her daughter. "Zhis will all belong zoo you."
"Don't remind me," Bijou mumbled so that even her mother couldn't hear. She hugged her mother back, in an attempt to feign happiness, but she couldn't help but feel so horrible that her mother was so excited over this.
"I muzt eenvite all of our relatives, n'est-ce pas? And you muzt eenvite all of your leettle friendz! Anuzzer Ribon eez going zoo Sorbonne!" Josie cried as she released Bijou and went over to her seat. She went to her computer and started to type out a name of all of their relatives in France.
"Umm…what exactly are we inviting zhem—I mean them—to?" Bijou's accent had a way of slipping back when she got a little upset, but Josie didn't seem to notice. The knot in her stomach increased as she saw her mother type more and more names.
"Your grazuation party, of courze," Josie explained without looking up from the screen. "You will be zee finest 'eiress zhat Sorbonne 'as ever seen, and everyone at zee party will be aware of zat," Josie exclaimed animatedly as she continued typing.
Bijou's knot became a full on stomachache. "Muzzer—mother! I…eet iz a bit early for a party, don't you zh-zhhh-think?"
Josie instantly lifted her head from the screen. She, for the first time that night, figured out what was wrong with her daughter.
"You steel 'ave not zold zhem who you are?" she asked. Bijou put on a sheepish look and nodded slowly. She slid back into her chair as her mother scrutinized her with her sharp, gray eyes.
"Mother, it was your idea to hide the fact zat—no, that—I was an heiress when we first came here. Can't we keep it a secret for a little while longer?" Bijou asked as she looked at her mother pleadingly.
"Bijou, je ne comprends pas. You 'ave nuzzing zoo be ashamed of. You are a Ribon, and you should be eekzited about zhis!"
"Mais-" (But)
"Your fazzer would 'ave been zo proud," Josie sighed as she closed her eyes and leaned back into the leathery plush of her chair.
Bijou's eyes widened for a split-second before she agreed.
♣
♣
The next morning, Bijou walked into school in one of the worst moods she ever remembered having.
How to tell her mother? Would she be disappointing her father?
Business never interested her, and every time she was in that office, looking out those windows, imagined her name on a gold plate…it never clicked. There had to be something wrong with that, right?
But there was still a chance, though…Her mother had made her apply to Sorbonne Early Action. The deadlines for regular decision were in January. She could still apply to a program—and a school—that she really wanted to go to.
Sciences came to mind, but Bijou immediately shook that away. Science had to be the furthest thing from business. Her mother could never allow that. Science wasn't the dream that her father had for her all of those years ago…
As she got to her locker, she was greeted by a familiar face leaning against her locker.
"Hey," Bijou said, honestly happy to see her friend. The person, in response, however, gave no smile. Their hands remained crossed over their chest and their eyes remained still as they stayed locked on Bijou's form.
"Everything alright?" Bijou asked, completely lost as to what the problem was.
"We need to talk, Bij," Sandy said as she stood up.
♣
♣
♣
♣
♣
At the time I wrote this chapter, I was being bothered with a whole bunch of college letters. That's why every scene basically revolves around this topic.
This story has been types up and ready for a few months now, but I have a pattern of updating and I actually wasn't sure how to update. Then I smacked myself on the forehead because I remembered:
Daichi makes an appearance in Petals.
And for those of you who read that story, he doesn't come soon, actually…he comes after that 'big twist'. But when he comes…it becomes a key part of the story.
So yeah I basically am updating this story so that you guys get a feel for him.
Please read and review! I'd really appreciate it!
-CN