Pharaoh's Girl

Chapter 2: Acquaintances

When I woke up and opened my eyes, I was immediately blinded by the sunlight coming through the window overhead. Then a bird flew into the wind-THUNK. Good morning to you too, Domino city, I thought to myself. I then slowly rolled to my side and off the bed, my vision was a bit blurry but I could still make out most of myself in the mirror. Short, messy dark brown hair, Blonde highlights and side bangs fluffed up and tired amber brown eyes all greeted me. I yawned and stretched then dragged myself to the bathroom and began to get ready. After wiping my face dry on a towel I walked over to my small closet and skimmed over my clothing. I just picked out a pair of light blue skinny jeans and a vintage striped shirt. I once again inspected myself in my mirror now that I was dressed and more conscious. I looked fine but I went and quickly dug through my suitcase for my makeup bag. I took out my mascara and gave each set of lashes to strokes. This time when I looked in the mirror I looked like a normal 14 year old kid, so I tied my hair in a ponytail and headed downstairs.

I sat at the caramel brown breakfast table across from my dad, who was currently squinting hard at his phone screen. I paused before taking my next bite of cereal,

"Dad, is everything alright?" He immediately looked up with a shocked expression.

"HUH?" He asked, "Oh sorry, I was just reading up about cool stuff to do here, and guess what? There's plenty of stuff to do! So today… I want you to go explore the city, eat out and drum roll please. On cue I began to viciously alternate tapping my fingers. "Visit the game shop that's down the street." He finished with a grin. I raised my eyebrows in surprise, I didn't understand why my dad was so keen on me playing a fad game. It's not like I hated card games, I love them, just he's never truly encouraged me to specifically do something. He's the type of guy that tells you to go where your heart tells you to, and he does. Since this seemed to matter greatly to him, I agreed, on one condition. He would have to take me out to ice cream one day, he agreed and stuck his hand, "It's a deal dear." So we shook on it. I grabbed my purse and phone, then headed out the door. When I finally got out onto the main street I began to think about my plan for the day. So the agenda is pretty blank right now, then let's fill it up. First, I looked around and saw a street with tons of clothing stores, perfect, let's go shopping. So I headed to the first store, it was called Style Me Not, and the clothes seemed decent so I went in. However I came out empty handed because nothing was small enough for me. So I headed over to the next, and the next, and the next. I had been to a total of 7 stores and still found nothing. I was a little disappointed, I turned the corner and caught a couple of girls skipping into a store called Closet Craze. So I followed, and headed over to the racks for this size small. Boy did I find stuff! I picked up a dark blue biker jacket, a black top and a pair of skater shoes. I found other tops too but the black top was my favorite for some reason, it gave off edgy vibes without overdoing it.

As I was looking through a rack in the back, I caught sight of one of the girls I saw walking in the store earlier, she was looking through a pants rack on the other side. So I put on my best grin and carefully walked over to her, she didn't notice me until I sneezed beside her.

"Oh bless you!" She chimed,

"Thanks." I paused but added, "Any luck with those pants?"

Her face took on a slightly serious look,

"No," she got up and turned to show me a pair of pants that were neatly draped over her arm. "but I did find this beauty." She then held it up and my eyes widened, it was a pair of black leather pants.

"Ooh those are nice, what size are they?" I asked politely but secretly hoped they were small. The girl sighed,

"They're an extra small." She concluded sadly, "Definitely not my size." When her eyes met mine she seemed to see the hope in them; she glanced back down and stroked the pants with longing, then sighed, "Would you like them, they kinda look like your size." She offered while looking at the floor and smiling.

"Sure." I replied as calmly as I could. He handed them over to me and began walking away, I took them gingerly and stroked them myself. The leath felt soft and supple and they smelled amazing for some reason too. (Or maybe that was just my imagination.) When I looked up, the girl had almost gotten to the door, I sprinted after her. "Hey! Wait!" The girl looked over her shoulder at me and turned around, I bent over panting. "I didn't catch your name."

The girl beamed and her sky blue eyes shone, "The name is Teá, what's yours?"

"Ally." I replied coolly. She smiled again,

"I guess I will see you around, Ally." Then one of her friends came and tugged at one of her arms and led her away. I smiled and mentally praised myself for not being awkward. I then walked back to the cashier area and checked out. When I finally got

out of the store I checked my phone for the time. 4:30pm is what it read, then as if on cue my stomach grumbled. I laughed to myself and looked up the closest place to eat and began to make my way there.

I arrived I stared at the menu and began to think about what I was in mood for. Maybe I'm feeling a burger, no a hot dog, no a hot sandwich, maybe just a milkshake… but my train of thought was interrupted by me being pushed by someone. I tripped and hit my shoulder against the wall, I gasped and began rubbing my injured limb. I looked around for the jerk who ran into me. Luckily it wasn't that hard, there was a tall blonde guy doubled over laughing in my direction, and a brunette guy who was trying hard to cover his laughs too. I marched over to them, "Which one of you was the one who ran into me?" I asked sharply. Look I was hangry, you can't blame me… well not that much. They both stopped laughing and stared at me dumbly. "WELL?" I asked, the brunette guy nudged the blonde forward, he began to clear his throat.

"Well madam…" he began in a mocking tone. The brunette face palmed,

"Joey, you're supposed to apologize not make a bigger fool out of yourself!" The blonde named Joey looked up,

"Oh what and you're not a fool too? Don't deny that you were laughing too Tristan." He remarked. Tristan rolled his eyes,

"You can't ever own up to your mistakes without putting someone else down."

Joey's face took on fierce expression, then he grabbed Tristan by the collar and put him in tight headlock.

"You want to say that again, tough guy?!" Joey yelled. I began to quickly back away, then Tristan elbowed him in the gut and put Joey in a headlock.

"Yeah, I think I'll just keep you like this for a while." I was called up next to the cashier, but realized I didn't know what I wanted. But when I looked behind me the two jocks were still fighting with each other so I said whatever came to mind.

"Uh hi, could I get a small burger, but hold the tomatoes and onions. Oh and add extra pickles." The woman looked up and asked if I wanted fries, and I nodded.

"Will that be all?" She asked, I looked up and squinted at the menu.

"Could I also get a medium chocolate milkshake?" I asked. The woman nodded,

"That comes down to, $25." I nodded and pulled out my debit card. I heard Joey behind me,

"Ooh isn't she fancy. She must be one of them spoiled rich kids who bribes their parents to give'em a fortune just to spend on a single pair of shoes." I expected to hear a laugh follow, but there was none. After I finished paying and received my food I tried to find a table that was far far away from other people. I ate in silence, just thinking about all that had happened. By the time I finished and checked my phone again, it was 5:59 pm. I need to head home, I thought to myself as I glanced outside and noticed it was getting dark. Then I remembered how my dad had encouraged me to check out he game shop. I glanced at my phone again and thought hard. I can make it. So I hurried out and began to make my way to my destination. As I neared the shop there was a blur of white that flew past me. I gasped once again, and quickened my pace. When I stood outside the shop I did a quick sweep of the area before I went and thought I saw a pair of green eyes watching me. But when I blinked, they were gone so I shrugged it off and headed inside. There was an old book smell that lingered in the air but the place was spick and span. I began checking out the displays. I wasn't aware of the shuffling behind me at the moment until someone spoke,

"Hi how can I help you?" Asked a gruff yet pleasant voice from behind me. I turned around and found a small gray haired man standing there.

"Hi, I was just looking around. You see I'm new around here and I wanted to see what the rave was about this game called 'Duel Monsters'." I explained, and the old man's eyes lit up upon hearing the name.

"Well, you came to the right place. First things first, let's assemble a good deck."

"Actually," I said as I reached in my back pocket and pulled out the gift from dad. "I've got one already." The old man nodded,

"Do you mind if I take a look at it?"

"Go right ahead." I agreed and handed it to him. He immediately began sifting through each card and scanning them up and down carefully.

"A good deck has to have cards that build off each other, but you can't solely depend on the cards. He explained without looking up at me. But I wasn't bothered, because what he was saying made sense to me. "A good deck also needs a good player, and your deck is a good deck." He remarked as he handed it back to me. "A really good one, I would say it's just as good as my own. But the most important part is-" CRASH!

We both flinched upon hearing the horrible sound, he laughed uncomfortably and told me he needed to check on it. I nodded. He quickly disappeared behind a red curtain behind the desk. I waited patiently and heard a little bit of yelling, the old man came back with frustrated, "Sorry about that, some of my grandson's friends are over and they thought it was a good idea to play catch in the room with my grandfather clock." He sighed, "I need to go back there and help them, but I told my grandson to come up here to help you." He smiled. Quickly reassured him there was no need for that and that I should be heading home anyways. He shook his head, "Every customer is a valued customer, so I like to be at my best for everyone. And that includes you!" He pointed out. I laughed and gave in. He walked behind the curtain once again and began calling for someone. I heard quick shuffling behind the curtain, and this time they sounded different. When someone came through the curtain this time, my jaw almost dropped. Out popped a short kid with spiky purple hair with gold bangs, his eyes were bright and welcoming and his smile was… indescribable. I was so busy inspecting his features that I almost missed the question he asked me.

"Hi, sorry about that, what was my grandpa talking about before I got here?" He asked sweetly. His voice rang out, and bounced off the walls.

"Uh, yeah he was telling me that a good deck requires a good player, but then he got cut off and you know…" I replied nervously. The kid nodded understandingly, he came out from the table and appeared that we were the same height. I looked him up and down and noticed the large pyramid necklace that hung from his neck. He must've noticed me staring at hit and held it to his chest protectively. Embarrassed, I looked away, he stared at the floor. Then cleared his throat,

"Well, not only does a good player need a good deck, but they need to believe in the heart of the cards." He said in a daze with a small smile on his face. I raised an eyebrow,

"What is the heart of the cards?" I asked curiously. He grinned and locked eyes with me, oh man this kid is really into all this. Dang.

"It's when you believe in your deck, you believe that it will be there for you and it's also when you respect your deck. Only then can you actually be a good duelist." He concluded. He searched my face for something, approval maybe? I really didn't know. I nodded genuinely,

"Wow, that's amazing. Thanks um, what's your name? I'm so sorry." I replied while slightly blushing. Why am I blushing? This kid is probably 3 grades younger than me anyways. I was probably right too, he looked to be 12 or something. Just way too young for high school.

"Sorry," he kind of scolded himself then met my eyes, "My name is Yugi. What's yours?" He asked cheerfully. I smiled too,

"My name's Ally, it's a pleasure to meet you!" I stuck out my hand and he gingerly took it.

"Nice to meet you too." He chimed while blushing a bit. We stood there and then I mentioned that I needed to start heading home. He tried to offer to walk me home, but I refused. I wasn't sure how my dad would react. So we simply said our goodbyes and parted ways. As I headed out, I swear I saw look back at me before disappearing behind the curtain. I smiled to myself as I walked home, maybe I was warming up to Domino city. I mean hey anything is possible.

END OF CHAPTER 2