No Strings Attached
Chapter 4: The Arts
Salima and I walked towards the door of our first class today, art. Second day of school…and if anyone besides me was keeping score, it was Kai: 1 and Hiromi: 1. Plus one friend.
"I wonder if the classroom still looks like a classroom," the redhead bit her lip as she spoke.
"It still is probably…" my voice trailed off as Salima stealthily opened the door. I let the redhead in but just as I was about to enter, I felt someone shove me against the lockers. With my arm slamming onto the lockers, my textbooks and my binder fell as I winced in pain. Oh…shit.
"Oops…I didn't see you there!" the blonde with green eyes laughed. She wore a red halter-top and blue skirt as her blonde tresses were styled into waves. She was flawlessly beautiful like the rest of the two girls.
'Maybe you need my glasses, bitch!' I had wanted to yell back but I had to keep silent for my own good. Sephoria might begin to sharpen her pitchforks with the rest of the student body and hunt me down as a nerdy witch or the "ugly fairy" as anyone (i.e. no one) could recall. Or perhaps summon up the soccer team since she knew the captain and the co-captain really well and have them torture me to death. Either one didn't sound so appealing, despite of how much I'm used of being bullied 24/7.
Bianca had left to go inside with the rest of the group. Coincidentally, these girls were in my art class too. Here I thought I didn't like art before but I sure hate it now.
For a moment, Salima glared at the three and then helped me gather my books. "Are you alright, Mimi?" she had sounded worried. "Those clones should know better."
Picking up a book, I glanced up with a fake smile, "I'm okay. Those girls know nothing aside from which colour of eye shadow should they apply on special occasions!"
I stood up with a grunt, all the books I held before were now in Salima's arms. "I'll carry these in," she smiled and toddled into the room now full of people. I frowned as I headed into the class and soon my funeral—if I didn't escape from Sephoria, quick. My glasses once again fell from down my nose as Salima and I took our seats. She sat behind me since she wanted to keep others away with one look while I sat on second row to the front. Salima was not only the best friend but the protective sister I never had! Tears welled up in my eyes as emotions overtook. I shook my head, no crying!
The art classroom was still an ordinary classroom except for the latex paint smell that cut the air. Romero had said this room was under some serious planning and soon the renovating part.
Not a moment too late, Romero gracefully strode into the room with the attendance clipboard in one hand; his blonde hair carefully gelled into curls. Ah, the art of hair gel…half the school does it. As he walked in, several other jocks followed in. In shorter term: the players. Kane, Tala and that blonde who met up with his two girlfriends, Enrique. Romero then began the roll call after kicking the door close.
"Tachibana Hiromi!" he smiled as he said my name. I knew exactly why. I had a funny last name…Orange in Japanese. People often referred to me as the orange-girl or when they assumed I was jealous, they'd say I was orange with envy. I never found my way around these insults and in these days, they still exist.
"Here," I said in a flat tone.
"Tanaka Seph!"
No answer. Where was that slut off to? Curious, I peered over my shoulder, simply to find her flirting with Kane. A wave of disgust went through me and I twitched as Brooklyn's smiling face flashed back in my mind. He loved this girl yet she used him big time for his money. I wished Brooklyn could see her now.
"Tanaka!" he yelled without glancing up. "Is Tanaka Sephoria here?"
"Psst, Seph!" Rosetta, the red-haired girl said across the room. "Mr. Sensitive said your name!"
"Here!" she cried angrily, returning her attention back to the blue haired jock, which seemed to be giving the attention back. I watched Salima's gaze turn cold on both of them. I didn't know why though.
Romero took a piece of paper and jotted the names of the absent people down. "Cade Johnny, Granger Tyson, Hiwatari Kai…are they not here for the last time? Johnny…no, Tyson…-" he groaned at the thought of the glutton-"no not here… and Kai-"
The door opened and wouldn't you know? Kai walked in calmly, keeping a stoic glance at everyone and the teacher. He looked different. 'He actually decided to attend class today,' I thought sarcastically and held him in my eyes. He was in those clothes again, with that backpack slumped over his back. But his usual jacket of blue and yellow buckles and red straps…was gone and his indigo shirt was rumpled. Where had he been?
Then I saw a mark of his neck, (not that I meant to look there, heck no!) and found a hickey. I stifled a gasp as thoughts swirled inside my head. I could be so sick-minded sometimes. I groaned as my eyes were set downcast. And what freaked me out the most was my perverted thoughts had him in it.
"—is here," the teacher sighed then glared at the teen, "You're late."
He grinned as he kept a scorn in his eyes, "I know. Sorry."
"It's just your luck that I'm in a good mood today. Now, take your seat next to Miss Tachibana," the blonde demanded as he handed the list of absent people to a random person at the back. The person sat up and left the room to the office.
"Lucky me," he said sarcastically. His crimson eyes bore down on me and, lazily, he plopped onto his chair, dropping his backpack with a loud boom on the side. "Do I have to sit beside you?"
"Yes, and for that stupid stunt you've pulled, you're going to stay there for the rest of the year. You are sitting front and centre and next to Hiromi here due to her stigmatism."
I felt my lips twitch into a smile. Kai: 1 and Hiromi: 2! Check and mate! Startled, I recoiled at the next moment realizing the other side of reason. He was going to sit beside me for the rest of the year! "NO!" I yelled in thought, springing out of my seat. "You can't!"
"What's that?" My cheeks flushed as the whole class stared at me.
Embarrassed I said again, "You can't let me sit by him!" I heard the others laugh and whisper that I had officially gone nuts. Maybe I had. I could see him leering at me from the corner of my eye.
"Why not?" Romero asked almost disbelieved about my sudden outburst. "You're a harmless flower, he won't bite." A harmless flower, he just called me a weakling! And yeah right, in a million years he won't try to bite me…who knows where those teeth had been? Being harmless screamed and clearly spelled "weak" for predators or bullies. The "harmless" stuck out from huge crowds and were easy to target and manipulate.
"That's not it Romero—" I glanced at the jock's face, which was gracefully adorned with a sly grin. I desperately prayed for a miracle. This idiot next to me will torture the hell out of me!
"Sketchbooks out!" the blonde teacher ignored my rant and turned his gaze towards the whiteboard. "My decision is final." Defeated, I sighed and sat on my chair. His eyes were still set on me as I stared down the desktop and struggled to avoid them. He had levelled with me once again, Kai: 2 and Hiromi: 2!
Then out of the blue, I heard him laugh. I quirked a brow and spun my head eerily.
"What the hell are you laughing at, jock?" I spat keeping an icy glare.
"You," he pointed mockingly at me.
"I don't see anything funny about me," I pouted as I gripped tighter onto my pencil.
"…You should look in the mirror more often then," he laughed harder.
"Speak for yourself gel head," I muttered. Stupidly, he ran his hand through his hair and found it ruined. I flinched and turned my attention back at the teacher. 'He will pay one day for making me miserable.'
"Today, you are going to learn gesture drawing. This drawing is the base of anything you draw. It requires the sense of action so the drawing wouldn't seem so stiff…" he began to draw on the board with the red felt. It was a person, sitting with a desk, a hand rested on their cheek and their face faced to the side.
'Wait a second…' I paused to think. The Romero began to draw his hair. 'That's Kai! I'm positive!' I peeked at him and saw him staring at the window. The typical Hiwatari. The rest of the class began to realize it too and Tala was first to howl in laughter, "Hey blue-boy! You look fine!"
Blinking out of his thoughts, I stifled a laugh as he suddenly glared at me. Probably to check if I was laughing because I'm the only nerd he picks on. Then he switched his glare to Tala who sat all at the back of the room with Enrique.
I took my binder and math book and opened both on certain pages. Today's art class was going to be boring, I concluded, chewing on the end of my pencil. I might as well make this time useful for some homework I didn't do last night, which completely shocked the hell out of me this morning…
"Mimi?" Salima whispered, poking my shoulder.
"Yeah?"
"Can I borrow an art pencil? I wanna draw something!" she chirped waving her sketchbook.
Carefully, I handed her a blue pencil with a blackened top and an eraser. And she took it quickly and scribbled down some drawing on her paper. I didn't bother to look because I knew she would only inch away.
"Mimi?" Oh great. He heard Salima say my nickname. "Mimi?" he laughed. "What about me? What about Mimi?"
"Great attempt," I muttered at his sad effort to be funny. What a loser.
"No shit, Sherlock!" he snapped right back.
"Mr. Hiwatari and Ms. Tachibana, stop talking!"
"It was Kai!" I sneered at his crimson eyes.
"No. Hiromi!" he snarled, grounding his teeth.
"Kai!" I yelled for the first time in class. I'm so tired of taking blame for this stuck-up!
Kai was tempted to punch me, "Hiromi!"
"Kai!"
"Hiromi!"
"…Salima," the redhead chirped and the rest of the class laughed.
"That's it, one word from any of you three and you're staying in after class!" Romero huffed and pointedly glanced at Kai. I placed on an innocent look through my thick lenses. Kai stared at me, the teacher then at his desktop without a word. I sighed and peered back at my math homework that I had to hand in less than forty-five minutes.
Soon the class ended and our sketchbooks were empty. Romero got too bogged down with his renovation plans for this room since Sephoria had asked about it earlier to pass the time.
Smirking he shot up from his seat, with everything over his shoulder, he strode past my desk. With his swift arm, he slid my binder and books down to the floor. His lips quirked into a usual smirk as he exited the room. Scoreboard: Kai 3 and Hiromi: 2. I wasn't surprised one bit but Salima was.
"Hiromi!" she rushed over to my side.
"I'm okay," I sighed as I angrily gathered my things. "Time for math! I guess I'll be seeing you later?"
She hid something behind her back and waved goodbye, "Yup! See you at break!"
Lunch came and I had Salima's company. Her eyes though weren't as bright and cheery as before…I wonder what went down. Sitting down on a chair next to hers, I gently placed my tray down and glimpsed at her. Something was wrong…
"Is everything alright?" I sent her a curious look.
Her mind remained on the sketchbook and her fingers stayed still around the art pencil I had lent her. "I'm okay," she replied with a sigh. I glanced at the sketchbook and saw a sketch of one of the players. She was precise on the details of his hair and the girl next to her. They were arguing…It was like staring at a black and white photograph. But why was she drawing him and a girl?
"You knew Kai before…did you ever like him?" she finally mentioned.
"No chance!" I snapped, springing up from my seat. "I never liked him! That jerk, I don't ever want to know him!" I bit her lip and my balled fists shook and punched the air. Then I gasped in shock as the sketch slowly became recognizable. "The girl…YOU DREW—" she nodded. "Salima!"
"Please don't hurt me!" she cried, putting her sketchbook as a shield from me. Like that thing will stop me from clobbering her! But somehow, my body froze as I took one last look at the girl in the picture. She was beautiful compared to me. At least she didn't wear these stupid glasses like I did or that limp ponytail that always hung down my back. No, she looked absolutely normal. Salima wasn't very precise after all…
"Oh don't be stupid," I sheepishly smiled. "…I was kidding around…"
"Good, you had me there!" Salima chirped back to normal. "So did you like Kai?"
I could feel myself tense up at the question. "No. I DON'T LIKE HIM! He's a JERK! A TOTAL JACKASS! A FREAKIN' PLAYER! NO ONE SHOULD LIKE HIM!"
Salima's reaction was undecipherable for a moment as her lips cracked into a grin. Hadn't any of what I had told her so far sunken in yet? I don't like him. But that grin of hers was now saying otherwise.
"So tell me, why are you blushing?"
I rolled my eyes. "Blushing, me? This is the look of hate, Salima!" I shot right back. I haven't let out this much anger for a long time. I huffed as I glared back my food: fries and chicken strips. I suddenly lost all of my appetite, not that I had much to begin with anyway. Kai was a player for crying out loud! He could never stay with one girl in his life. By the time this year was finished, he'd be out and used every girl in the whole 12th grade. Not that I really count as a girl but you get the picture. Salima and I would be the last virgins!
"Hey, I'm sorry about that," she said, placing a comforting hand on my shoulder. "I just thought maybe you might like him."
I cocked an eyebrow, "That arrogant asshole?"
"Who's the arrogant asshole?" I heard a certain voice. I turned and found Brooklyn staring right back at me. I almost screamed. Salima jumped.
"…Hi Brooklyn!" I found myself lost in words. How long had he been standing there? I hope he hadn't heard every little word I've said or it'll be the end of me!
"Quit sneaking up like that!" Salima screeched, her hand over her chest, over her pounding heart. "Do you have any idea of the cost of a new heart in the market these days?"
"I can buy you a new one," he smiled at her.
"No thanks. Is sarcasm another language for you?" I could tell she was recovering fast.
"Yeah and so is Spanish, which by the way Hiromi, here." He handed me my two-page notes on conjugating verbs, past tense and inversion. "I couldn't read any of them…"
"Uh…maybe because they're all in Spanish," a heated reply came from Salima.
"What can I say? I'm European," he shrugged with a clueless look. I decided to not get involved with the argument.
"That did not make any sense!" she cried. He then turned his head away from her and back at me. His blue eyes gleamed and instantly, I knew what he meant. Another favour.
"Can you—"
"Of course Brooklyn, we can go through it later," I groaned in reply and Salima's ears grew hot and steam came puffing out. "So how was your date with Seph'ria?" I asked as I nibbled on a fry. It was probably the best night of his life. Maybe he would keep on praising her forever.
"She was fine I guess." I almost choked on my fry. 'I guess?' That was unexpected. He never said 'I guess' in the topic 'Sephoria Tanaka' unless her true colors were finally showing. "Sephoria doesn't seem to be enjoyed around me anymore like she used to. On our last date, we went to the amusement park and she was lifeless. Boring."
"I think I know why! Because Sephoria is chea—" I grabbed a handful of fries and stuck it in Salima's mouth. I hissed at her and switched my attention to Brooklyn. I waited for his response or even a shocked look. Nothing. He hadn't heard her, good. He loves Sephoria with his whole heart and would gladly die for her. Because after all…Sephoria was a manipulative girl; she asks someone else to do her bidding. She always got what she wanted. She had Brooklyn wrapped around her line finger and Salima and I weren't about to change that! It would crush him and I can't let that happen.
"She's got quite a handful," Brooklyn had gone astray in the discussion. His eyes were set on the redhead who stood with a chagrined look in her black eyes, as fries fell out of her mouth. "Can I have one?" he took one from her mouth and bit it. He was up to something, as always. He may be a rebel but he was also the world's biggest flirt!
Salima grabbed the rest out of her mouth, more ticked off than earlier. "Don't you have birds to feed, bird boy?" She dumped them on the ground, of course.
"I'm feeding a Robin right now," he smirked, offering her a fry from my lunch. He held it close to her mouth.
"ARRGGHH!!"
"Guys, stop!" I finally intervened. Brooklyn scoffed and backed away from the infuriated girl.
"I'll see you after school." And with that, he waved and left Salima and I alone. I held Salima back from attacking him.
"That carrot-headed bird-boy french fry-eating-freak! I'll kill him!" Salima let out a string of insults as she regained composure. "He pisses me off!"
Sighing, I glanced at the far table were the soccer jocks were. I wrinkled my nose in distaste. They were flinging fries at the girls nearby. All of them were laughing, of course, and no one seemed to step in to defend the girls. I wish one day I could. I wish I had the courage…
:After school:
Hastily I opened the door to the library. A pair of cerulean eyes lit up and a flash of orange made my heart skip a beat. He sat up and smiled, "You're here!" I nodded and smiled too. The library was usually empty and the librarian had given me free access anyway since I was the only one in 12th grade who actually checked out books and in fact read them. See, I am a geek!
I toddled my way to him and I was almost there when he suddenly pulled me into a hug. I instantly felt my blush reflex kick in, colouring my cheeks pink. "Thanks a lot pal," I heard him whisper. Then I woke up to reality. Yeah, that's all what I was…his pal.
"No problem," I said as we broke apart. "I'm here to help you." I walked past him to get to work. There was no time to waste. He had to learn or the teacher will have my head.
"…Hiromi?" I turned and saw him with a serious look. "Does Seph hate me?"
Hiromi...be convincing, just this once! "No...no she doesn't! She loves you! You had said it yourself!" I strained to control the tremor in my voice. "You are the best guy in the world. I'd like you too if I wasn't so nerd—" AHH! What have I done! I covered my mouth with my hand and squeaked. Stupid me! That last part was supposed to stay inside my head! Blushing, I turned away from him.
He paused for a minute then placed a hand on my shoulder, "No…I meant; would she ever cheat on me?" So he heard Salima after all.
I placed a loose strand of hair behind my ear and shook my head. "No, I don't think she would."
It was a lie. He had to believe it was the truth. That was all there was to it. It wouldn't hurt to lie to your crush...
Right?
A/N: Thank you for all those who reviewed by the way. :) Newbies deserve a chance to be better.
I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Thank you for reading and please review! I strive for constructive criticism and personal feedback, so don't hesitate!