Unraveling Miss Mysterious
Bright light washed over her golden locks as Mina gently stirred from a restless sleep. The transition from the king sized mattress she had at home to the twin xl she currently lied in was not extremely welcoming. She wondered how she even managed to stay in the bed since she was known to be a violent sleeper. At least the bed was pushed against the wall so the chance of her falling out was at least cut in half.
Cracking one eye open Mina groaned as the sunlight shone directly onto her face. She has to remember to ask Miss. Mysterious if they could get a curtain for the window. Speaking of her today is the day. Today Mina planned to get as much out of that girl as she's willing to disclose. Which still may not be a whole lot however knowing her name is imperative. Glancing around the room, Mina saw the same silk sheets on the bed once again perfectly folded back under the pillow. Not noticing anything out of the ordinary she continued scanning the room. The bonsai tree sat unmoving next to the desk which was currently occupied by the black haired girl. She sat in the same rigid position as she had yesterday for countless hours. Upon further review Mina noticed in the sun her hair had a similar color to her eyes, a deep violet. Mina couldn't help but think how exotic this girl was. She might even go as far as saying that she might have the most beautiful hair and eyes Mina had ever seen. Her skin was so clear, her skincare routine must be intense. Turning her head toward the clock on her own desk Mina realized it was only around 6:30 in the morning. On one in their right mind would be up this early today, not only was it Sunday but classes didn't start until tomorrow. Today is the last day of summer break to sleep in. What time had the other girl gotten up? If she even went to sleep that night. If Mina were in her right mind she would have gone back to sleep but now that her curiosity was piqued she decided to get up and start interrogating her roommate.
"Morning" Mina said cheerily.
"Ohayo gozaimasu" the girl replied quietly without looking up the desk.
'Okay this is great. It seems like she's in a talkative mood today, but I guess she doesn't really speak English' Mina thought to herself.
"Name. Uh oh yeah so what's your name? … Your naaameee" she dragged the last word out as if it would help the other girl understand the language better. The girl turned to face Mina before speaking.
"Rei" it was quiet but Mina heard her no less.
'Oh sweet victory'
"Where are you from? Like what country?"
"Japan" Rei replied through a thick accent.
"That's really cool my great grandparents are from Japan too, what year are you? Is this your first time in America? I'm a freshman so this is my first year here, heh. Here as in at this school. I lived in California before though."
"Eighteen"
'Huh? Oh eighteen years.'
"So you're a freshman too! That's cool" Mina realized that was the end of the questions she had prepared. She wasn't expecting it to be that easy. Although she still wasn't convinced this girl, Rei, actually knew how to speak English. After a slight pause Mina announced she was going to get ready for the day and headed towards the bathroom.
Once safely hidden from the unwavering violet gaze Mina let out a sigh of relief. She had finally gotten answers to her most desired questions but didn't feel like she knew Rei any better than before. Hopefully over time she would be able to discover more. Sighing again she started her morning routine of showering, putting make up on, and the painstaking task of brushing her endlessly long hair.
Today she would go to the bookstore to buy all the texts she is supposed to have before the semester begins. Thankfully her father had planned ahead and bought all the books she needed so all she was to do was pick them up.
After spending longer than any normal person would in the bathroom Mina finally emerged ready to head out. With one final glance at Rei and a simple goodbye she stepped out the door.
"Ohayo Ami-chan. How are you? I finally made it here are you around? I have to tell you about my roommate!" Rei almost yelled in the phone she grasped in her hand.
"Hai! I'm actually free right now do you want to meet somewhere?"
"Hai. Mina just left why don't you come over I have something to give you anyway."
"Okay I'm leaving the library now. What room are you in?"
"Tell me about her." A petite girl with short blue hair sat across from Rei.
"She probably thinks I'm an idiot because I never answer her questions. It's pretty funny actually. She's started dragging out the words. I don't think she knows any Japanese since she hasn't tried to talk to me using it even though she doesn't think I can speak English. So our secret is safe." Rei said with a slight rare smile.
"Rei-chan I think it's less of our secret and more of your secret. I don't understand why you can't just be nice to her and at least speak to her. I know you can speak English dare I say speak it very well too. Even if you exchange pleasantries she won't figure out who you are unless she searches online. And if you don't give her a reason to she won't. But if you remain mysterious then she might be inclined to look elsewhere." Ami sighed wondering why her friend of six years always had to be difficult.
"Ami-chan I think I know what I'm doing. She'll probably just lose interest and move on and do some other dumb blonde thing maybe join some club. You know she reminds me of Usagi, stupid."
"You can deny it but we all know you can't resist Usa. All your bickering is just for show. When are you going to stop being childish?"
"Heh, me? Childish? Have you taken a look at our other friends? Haruka's head is stuck in the gutter, Makoto used to go on about her old sempai before you grew up and confessed, and Usa is in a category of her own. You can't object to that. Michiru is the only other contender. Although I've seen her laugh at Ruka's jokes. And Setsuna doesn't count since she's basically an adult." Rei ranted.
"Okay fine you may not be the worst but you have your moments. But, speaking of Mako-chan… have you heard from her? I haven't talk to her in a while." Ami added quietly.
"Hah, Ami-chan you are smitten. She sent me with this and told me to give it to you." Rei reached over her desk to a small package and handed it to Ami.
"Arigatou she's so thoughtful. I think I'll go home and call Mako-chan. I'll see you tonight at the meeting right? Everyone is excited to see you. Maybe you should bring Mina-san, you know it's open to everyone. She might even try to join on her own if you say she's looking to a club."
Rei did little to conceal a look of horror on her face, "You know I would never bring her! She doesn't even speak Japanese. Just because she's like one percent Japanese doesn't mean she'll be accepted. And I'll make sure she doesn't get in even if she does show up to the meeting!"
"Oh Rei-chan lighten up for once. You know its like starting a new life here. You don't have to be the same person here you were at home. Especially outside of the club. Mina-san doesn't know who you are and even if she does this is America, your name means less to people here. No offense." Ami laughed as she stood up and walked towards the door.
"Ja ne Ami-chan. Tell Mako-chan I say hi."
"Ja ne."
Rei sat back in her chair and started thinking about her situation with Mina. Rei wasn't really sure what she had expected from her roommate but it wasn't Mina. Since Rei had left Japan to come to school in America she knew that she didn't have any desire to make any new friends. To her chagrin it seemed Mina was in the opposite boat and was intent on making friends with her. Rei had studied hard since junior high and was almost fluent in English. But she would never let Mina know that. After Ami she had proved to be the most intellectually inclined in their group, as shown by the opportunity to study in America with Ami. She had left all her other friends at home to continue her studies abroad. Luckily Ami had already been here a year and knew the ins and outs of the school and surrounding area. Ami had also joined an elite society of Japanese students that had happened to also be from Tokyo and remembered her from their time in high school. Rei had been quite famous at her own school and was a hot topic of conversations at other schools. Once the students in Ami's club caught wind that she was friends with the infamous Hino Rei they had gone wild and demanded that she come to the first meeting since arriving in America.
Rei accepted the fact that her family is well known in Japan and tried to enjoy the attention it brought her but she sometimes wished for the simpler times before people knew her father was Hino Takashi, a famous billionaire politician. Her father had left her with her grandfather at the Hikawa Shrine as a child after her mother died so he could pursue his political career. She thought she was going to despise him for the rest of her life but recently someone reminded her that she was only hurting herself. Her father paid her no mind and would be the same man whether or not she spoke to him again. In the last few years Rei believed she matured and came to terms she was her father's daughter despite the fact she would never be loyal to the man. She allowed the people of Tokyo to faun over her although she always gave them just enough for them not to think poorly of her. They just wanted the attention of the billionaire's heir and who was she to deny them? However, she always pined for the quiet days at the shrine before her identity was uncovered but this was her life now and she'd have to deal. Now, in America she would be able to restart her life the way she wanted. She would be able to reconnect to her religion and the peaceful life she had lead at the shrine before it was constantly being flocked with want to be suitors. Unfortunately the members of Ami's club begged her to join them and who was she to deny them…
"Hino-sama! We're so grateful you took time out of your busy schedule to come to our meeting. We're established as an international student organization for Japanese students here. It's quite a high honor to be inducted. We all decided that we would like you to be an honorary member. Honorary since we have nullified all induction traditions for you" Rei assumed this strange man kneeling in front of her was the president of the club.
"What's in it for me? I don't have much time to devote to such gatherings" Rei bit back. She figured she might was well make the most of her time here if she were willing to accept their invitation.
"We'll do anything for you Hino-sama. Any wish you may have is our command. As the president I will be more then happy to oblige to any of your suggestions! You are our divine ruler. We have set up a private tea room for you to relax during your time in this house provided for us the by the organization"
Rei looked at him with a smug expression. 'This will do nicely' she thought. "Please show me there, bring two sets of tea and notify Ami to join me."
"Of course. JADEITE BRING THE TEA!" the president called to another boy peeking around the corner attempting the eavesdrop on their conversation.
On her relatively short walk to the room many members of the club came to her expressing the infatuation with her very existence. She gave them small smiles every once in a while but decided to keep her mouth shut and not say anything back to fuel the fire. Once she arrived in the room she sat down on one of the plush pillows aside the low table and waited for a knock on the door. 'What do I even do in this room? I could make it more homey and use the room for meditation. Or hold meetings pretending like I actually have pressing matters to attend to so no one will bother me.'
There was a knock at the door "It's Ami."
"Come in."
Sliding the door open Ami said "I told you they would be excited for you to join us. What do you think so far?"
Rei thought for a moment, then decided she would be honest with her only true friend here "Ami-chan, what are you doing with these people? The blindly follow money and seem barely to think for themselves. I know you're not like them. We've been friends since before all this happened so I know you're not a gold digger. You're also the smartest person I've ever met so know you can think for yourself."
"I was afraid you would ask that. Just because we can lead new lives here doesn't mean we should forget the one we had before. It's nice to get away from the monotonous life back home but here we're a minority. I want to at least remember who I am before I lose myself in this new place. Also, the people here are real people who do good for themselves. Everyone here is talented and earned their position at this school but we're all in the same boat. Life is hard sometimes, sometimes a sliver of hope is needed and can be found in the person who they believe already has success. I don't want you to forget who you are because as much as I hate to be that person you do have an obligation to return home. It's part of the deal. You owe it to your sponsor."
"My sponsor is the biggest joke of the millennium. I don't owe him anything. If anything he owes this to me. This is the only time he has ever acknowledged I exist since he left me with Grandpa. He only did it so I can inherit the fortune making him look like a family man who raised the perfect daughter by himself."
