Author's note: Sorry it took so long, I have school :) From now on, expect new chapters every Friday or Saturday- it really depends on my schedule . anyway, hope you like it... this one introduces a possible new love interest. VOTE IN THE REVIEWS FOR WHO YOU WANT TO WIN!!!!
School was a delight, that day. I'd succeeded for the fifth day in a row at defeating Kaiba in class, and to celebrate, Yuugi and Joey asked me to come with them to a well-known burger joint where one of their friends, Téa, had once worked. I was excited to hang out with my new friends outside of school, even as Joey had walked me home nearly every day since commencement. "We have a special surprise for you!" Yuugi said excitedly. "Well, what is it?" I asked, while Joey whacked him over the head. "We can't tell ya, it's a secret," Joey said, glaring at Yuugi.
As we walked into the restaurant, a few people our age waved over at us. Yuugi waved back, rushing over to them. He beckoned to Joey and me, but we took our time- it was obvious to me that Joey didn't want to look uncool and rush right over to them, as Yuugi had done. Yuugi was already situated between the student body president- Tristan, I thought- and a cute raven-haired girl with a dice-shaped earring in her left ear. Yuugi smiled brightly, and said, "Joey, why don't you pull up a chair, and Mingming can sit next to Téa." I sat next to her, smiled, and introduced myself. The plain brunette smiled back and cried, "Friendship!" Confused, I frowned a bit, and Joey confidentially leaned over to me and whispered, "That's all she really ever says." I nodded, and Yuugi proceeded to introduce the rest of his friends. "So now you know Téa, and of course Joey and me, and this is Tristan- you saw him at commencement, right?- and this," he said, pointing at the pretty girl next to him, "is Duke." "Duke? That's an odd name for a girl," I said. Suddenly, the room went very, very quiet. Duke blushed. "I- I'm a boy," he said. I immediately realized my mistake and practically fell over myself apologizing. "I'm so sorry! It's just that- well, you're so pretty and-" at which point I realized I was emasculating the situation, and shut up. Yuugi laughed, dissolving the tension in the air. "It's all right, you didn't know. Right, Duke?" Duke nodded, adding, "Happens all the time." I didn't think it did, but I could see that he'd forgiven me already. We chatted, ordered and ate, and at some point I asked, "Yuugi, where is that cool necklace from?" "This? Oh, it's the Millennium Puzzle, it's something my grandpa bought for the store. It's from Egypt." I nodded, in awe. "That's so cool! So it's a puzzle? Can I try it?" "Uh, no... see it's really hard to put together and there's this thin-" Yuugi began. "It's really special to him," Joey interrupted. Yuugi glanced confusedly at Joey, obviously of a mind to say something. "Well yeah, but there's also a spirit inside of it, who can only come out if the puzzle is put together. See?" Taken aback, I could only say "Oh, wow." The story sounded kind of crazy, but anything's possible, right?
Joey, sensing some awkwardness in the air, came out with "Who wants to play Duel Monsters?" This submission was met with various phrases of agreement, so everyone (excepting me and Téa) pulled out a deck of darkly-colored cards from their pockets. Téa, however, pulled out pom-poms seemingly from nowhere and began to chant "Friendship!" vigorously. I decided not to pay attention to her, and instead asked "What's Duel Monsters?" Yuugi smiled while the other gasped. "It's a really popular card game." Joey added, "You's sittin' with some of the world champs... and Yuug's the King of Games. Duke over there invented Dice Monsters. And I-" Tristan interrupted. "He's never won anything in his life." The group laughed while Joey raged. I wondered why I'd never heard of it, if "duel monsters" were so popular. Yuugi handed me a card. "That's Swords of Revealing Light, you can have it. Why don't you start your own deck?" I smiled and replied, "Well, maybe. Thanks!" Joey, looking over at us, said "That's a damn good card. Ya better take good care of it!"
Joey 'dueled' Tristan and won, while Yuugi "dueled" Duke, and won, to Duke's apparent fury. The winners faced off. For a half hour, Joey and Yuugi battled it out, using strategies indeterminate to me. The rules, however, seemed surprisingly simple, for a card game. I supposed it was pretty easy to play, since the cards had instructions on them, and the basic layout of the playing area was relatively uncomplicated. I watched with great interest, as Yuugi inevitably won with a card called "Kuriboh." The two boys shook hands, and Joey said "Well, ya probably wanna get home, dont'cha?" I nodded, turning to the others. "See you guys later!" Joey waved.
We walked home, chatting idly, when Joey stopped, taking my hand in his and rubbing it softly with his thumb but not looking me in the eye. "Joey?" "Ah, Mingming-chan... I jes' wanted to ask ya... how do ya see me?" Taken aback, I sputtered. "W-well, up 'till now, I just thought we were friends- nobody's ever asked me that before." "Oh, okay," Joey said, disappointment and hurt showing clearly in his eyes. He released my hand, putting his own into his pockets. I didn't want to hurt him... but the prospect of physical relations with him- with anybody- scared me beyond anything else. Just thinking about it brought up visions of my uncle, and before I knew it, there were tears in my eyes. I sniffed. Joey immediately turned to me, touching my shoulder. "What's wrong, Mingming?" I wiped my eyes, smiling at him. "I like you too...Joey-kun." THough he hadn't said it, I knew that he did like me, and had wanted to confess it to me. His eyes widened at the term of endearment. "Y-Yeah! I mean, I really like ya and I wanna be there to protect ya... I mean, would ya consider going out with me?" I considered. "Sure. But- can we take it slow?" I asked. "Whatever ya want, I'll give ya- we'll go as slow as ya want, okay?" I smiled back at him. "Then I guess you can call me your girlfriend." Joey grinned, looking down at his feet. One tattered boot kicked a rock ahead of him on the worn sidewalk. I looked up, towards the darkening horizon. He looked at me furtively. "What is it?" I asked. "Would it be okay with ya if we held hands?" I nodded. HIs large, warm hand around mine was gentle and reassuring. I squeezed it, and he squeezed back. The moment was perfect- I felt as if nothing could ruin it.
Boy, was I wrong. As we neared Sojourner, I caught sight of a familiar tall, cape-clad figure hunched in the doorway. Oh, crap, I thought, rolling my eyes.
"Isn't that sweet," Kaiba drawled. "The lady and the tramp finally found each other." Joey practically leapt at him, his fingers tightening around mine. "Ye'r damn right she's a lady!" I shushed him. "Kaiba, what are you doing here?" I asked. "Have you considered my very generous offer, 'lady'?" Crap! I'd forgotten to ask for advice! Joey turned to me, confused. "What offer?" "Um, he offered me a job as a maid..." Joey growled, but then surprised me. "Well, I'd take it, the bastard prolly has loads of cash. Prolly pays well, too." Kaiba was obviously just as surprised as I was, his mouth hanging uncharacteristically wide open. "O-okay," I said. "Fine, Kaiba, I'll take the job." Kaiba nodded briskly. "Okay, report tomorrow morning, and bring your... uniform." Then, he finally stalked back into his limo.
Joey grimaced. "Wish ya didn't have ta work for that asshole... but I guess it's for the best. His company is one of the only companies still hiring." I nodded. "Yeah, but it sucks that I have to live with him." "WHaa?!" Joey exclaimed, dropping my hand. "You's gonna live with dat guy?" His accent had nearly become unintelligible. "Yeah, that's why I was hesitant to accept it, but I really don't want to be a burden on the shelter," I explained. Joey nodded grimly. "Okay, but if he harasses ya, or ANYTHIN', ya better quit, okay? I could prolly find ya a place to stay." I smiled and nodded. "I promise."
He waved good-bye to me and I turned and walked the last steps home, ready for my last night in my own bed.
The early morning came too fast. I gathered my sparse belongings, squinting in the pale dawn-light. Rising and dressing, I bid a fond farewell to my friends-who I had come to know as family- from the shelter. As I left the shade of the crumbling building, I waved one last time to Kaita before I was pulled into Kaiba's awaiting limousine. Kaiba took one look at me, wrinkled his nose, and said, "Do you really dress like that?" "What?" I said, looking at my plain jeans and tee-shirt. "You're rather informal for a meeting with your new boss. Thankfully, I have a uniform prepared for you at home, in your new room." I pursed my lips,knowing that this was the end of the so-called 'conversation.' Kaiba seemed particularly insuffereable today, and I was going to live with him? I felt tears of frustration prick my eyes, but looked away so Kaiba wouldn't see them. I didn't want to give him the satisfaction.
Absorbed in my own thoughts, I didn't notice when we pulled up to Kaiba's house, at least until he said "Get out. Now." I pursed my lips again. Remember, it's a great job, I kept telling myself. I only wished that Kaiba would at least be bearable, though I sorely doubted it. Kaiba didn't seem to be the type I'd enjoy living with. Somehow, I'd have to put up with living with him. Kaiba's house was too big, to say the least. Compared to where Iwas from, it seemed incredibly extravagant. Where perhaps hundreds of people could live in some comfort, Kaiba langoured in his wealth, in a house much too big for one person and his staf. I wondered if I was the only maid.
To my surprise, Kaiba picked up my bag himself. "What about the driver?" I asked. "No driver," he replied. "The car runs through llive GPS so I don't have to pay for someone that will make mistakes on the road, not to mention deal with him. This is safer, cheaper, and easier." I nodded, a little surprised; Kaiba had always seemed that he was the type to make as many people as possible as miserable as possible. "Um, is there any other staff besides me?" "No." "Um, I can cook too, you know." "Okay, Mokuba will like that." "Who's Mokuba?" "My little brother." He politely opened the front door for me and I thanked him, again somewhat astounded. THe inside of his house was absolutely sumptuous, with wall-to-wal carpeting, cherry wood kick and crown molding, and paneled red and pink walls. The decoration was all in gold leaf, and- "This way." I nodded, reaching for my bag. Kaiba frowned at me, picked it up instead, and walked briskly out the door, leaving me to follow. He led me to a smaller room decorated mostly in green, again with gold accents. "This is your room," he said. "You have a weekly allowances of five hundred dollars, not including food or clothing- which I see we will have to buy for you." I raised my eyebrows. Five hundred dollars? That was like telling me I got to live in Heaven, with a pension! Kaiba dropped my bag on the four-poster bed- which, I was sure, was bigger than my entire room back at home. He motioned me to follow him. Kaiba gave me the grand tour of his home, showing me Mokuba's room, the gaming room, the dining room, the kitchen, all the while telling me what he especially wanted cleant... finally ending in his own room. ""Only come in here if the house is on fire, or if I expressly ask you to clean it. Never come in here when I'm asleep. Do you understand?" "Yes, I do." I took a quick look around. This room was surprisingly minimalistic. Like mine, his was a four-poster bed, but this was the only extravagant piece in the room. It was all in light-blue, with a faded poster of a white dragon on the wall above his pillow. A dresser and a coffee table with his alarm clock were the only other furniture. How... interesting. Then I was rushed out of his room and told that we would be going to school in ten minutes, exactly. I put on my uniform, excited to see my new friends again.
The ride to school was silent. Kaiba worked on his laptop, typing away at some important email or document. His face was drawn, his deep blue eyes strained but focused. I didn't realize that I was staring until Kaiba lifted his head, looking at me intently, as if to say "What is it?" I quickly looked away, seeing him go back to work out of the corner of my eye. When he wasn't insufferable, when he was focused on something other than tormenting me and my friends, he was really quite beautiful. It was a subtle moment of grace-- silent but somehow meaningful. Then, the car stopped, and we went back to being intellectual rivals, with nothing more between us than a shared ride to school. Joey was waiting for me, and smiled when he saw me stepping out of the vehicle. I smiled back and we shared a hug. Holding hands, Joey walked me to class. I only spared one glance back at Kaiba, but I know that he saw me. He nodded, and I looked back at Joey, smiling broadly. I would never trade anyone, no matter how beautiful, for the one that I had at that moment. And in that moment, I was completely and totally happy.
Somehow, I've learned that these feelings always predict a coming storm.