Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom Hearts, its characters or storyline. This story is mine. Blah, blah, blah. Kind reviews welcome!
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Chapter Six: Moody Monday
The rain persisted for the rest of the weekend and the following Monday. By then, everything was well saturated and muddy. The choppy waters kept the kids from crossing to the other island for those few days, during which Sora just ran rampant around the village instead.
Sora decided to nix what he'd said about Tuesday being the worst day of the week. Monday was infinitely worse. First off, the rain seemed to get heavier wherever he went, plastering his hair to his scalp. The mud incurred by the rain caked his shoes and sucked at his feet with each step. Secondly, the soccer match set for Monday was cancelled.
It wasn't that Sora was a soccer fan. The bad thing about soccer being cancelled was that Riku, being on the team, was at school now. By the look of the team, they had gotten about halfway through the match when the lightning forced them to call it off. They were all soaked and covered in mud. Normally Sora would have enjoyed seeing Riku as a disgraceful, filthy mess, except that all the girls seemed to be enjoying it too.
Sora tromped across the school yard as lunch hour was ending, shuffling toward the muddy halls and his locker to get his afternoon books. The rain hadn't lessened in the least, although by now everyone was so soaked that no one bothered to carry umbrellas anymore.
The same held true for the soccer team, which were a combination of soaked and muddy. Sora made a face at their backs as they walked by, slogging over to his locker and opening it with lackluster enthusiasm.
A disgusted grunt made him look up. Kairi was shaking her head at a group of girls as they ogled over Riku and the other soaking wet soccer 'stars'.
"Isn't that pitiful? They can't find anything better to do with their eyes than look at that mess." Kairi muttered, standing beside Sora at his locker.
"Yeah," Sora grumbled, slamming his locker, "I can think of better words to describe it."
Kairi tilted her head at him, "Are you okay?"
Sora ran his hands through his hair in his final attempt at fixing it. Giving up, he shrugged, "Yeah. It's just this weather." He threw a hand out at the clouds, which were dark, angry, and nasty looking.
Kairi followed his gesture and nodded, "I know what you mean. All this rain is really getting everyone's spirits down."
That wasn't exactly what Sora had meant. He'd actually meant to use the weather as another example of how much the cosmos hated him and were always trying to ruin his day. But, pawning his bad mood off on the weather was better than coming off as a party pooper, so he went with it.
It rained through all of fourth and fifth periods, and there was no end in sight as Sora tromped into his sixth hour class. Selphie was squirming in her seat, staring ahead at the teacher's desk, determined not to let her gaze deviate to the lightning and rain lashing against the window. Every so often, that girl from gym, Kelly was her name?, looked at her strangely.
Sora was having a hard time not squirming too, but it had nothing to do with the storm. Sixth period was the class Kairi had with Riku, biology. He somehow knew that. Did that make him creepy? Sora unceremoniously dropped his head on his desk, not bothering to look like he was trying to pay attention.
Kairi had told him she thought Riku was ugly. Well…it was more like not attractive. Actually, Sora corrected himself, her exact words were 'you should powdered milk his lawn'. Surely that meant something. She didn't like Riku; she'd made that clear. Yet, as his mind wandered, all he could think about was that she and Riku were lab partners. Riku was a jerk. He was probably putting the moves on her right now, with his stupid hair and stupid face—
"Wonk! Wonk! Wonk!"
Sora jerked to attention in his seat at the sudden noise. Kelly giggled at him.
"That'll be the hurricane alarm." Their teacher, Mrs. Carter, droned, standing from her desk.
Selphie bolted to her feet, "Hurricane?" She glanced furtively at the window, just as a large fork of lightning lit the sky. "Okay, people, get movin'!" She scampered through the line to the front as they filed out to the hallway.
Sora ambled after his classmates. They were walked out into the hallway and forced to sit against the wall. Selphie was at the end, twitching and muttering things about her will and wanting to see the eight wonders before she died.
"She doesn't take well to storms, does she?" Wakka chuckled from his seat across from Sora, nodding towards Selphie.
Sora listened to the alarm, "Guess not." He looked down at Selphie.
The girl was rocking back and forth slightly, pressing her back against the lockers, all the blood drained from her face. She really was a mess? Sora frowned.
"See you later, Wakka." He said, standing up.
"Son? Sora, sit down until they turn off the alarm." Mrs. Carter instructed.
Sora pointed his thumb at Selphie, "I'm just gonna go sit by Selphie."
Who else would be sitting close enough to hear but Trent? The teenaged orangutan grunted in laugher and sent out a whistle, "She's a little out of your league, dork. Why don't you aim a little lower…like a badger or something?"
Sora opened his mouth, thought better of it, and just kept walking down to where Selphie was nearly hyperventilating. Trent's jeering followed him, but for once Sora didn't feel the urge to make a smart remark back at him. Instead, he dropped down in the space between Selphie and the wall adjacent to the lockers.
"Hey." He said, stretching his legs out on the floor.
Selphie hiccupped, "Hey. When are they going to turn the alarms off?"
Sora shrugged nonchalantly, "As soon as the drill's over I guess."
Selphie sat up sharply, "This is a DRILL? What kind of sick trick is that?"
Sora looked down the hall and spotted Tidus, who mouthed "It wasn't me!" Sora rolled his eyes as he sat back, ignoring Trent, who was still guffawing like a monkey.
"Ah, they gotta do these drills, just to…you know, make sure everyone's prepared." He offered.
"That's dumb." Selphie said, folding her arms defensively, no longer scared but angry.
Trent was making kissy noises now. No one was really laughing, but that oaf just kept at it. Sora gritted his teeth but didn't look at him. Trent called Sora a dork, yet it was Trent who was being a complete—
Trent's absurd noises came to a stop with the sound of flesh smacking against flesh. Sora involuntarily glanced down in time to see Riku's elbow disconnect from Trent's jaw.
"Ow, man, what was that for?" Trent said, rubbing his jaw.
Sora blinked. The biology class was filing into the hall now. Riku slumped down to the wall beside Trent, looking irritable. He muttered something along the lines of "She was upset, you doink." Kairi was a few students behind Riku, still wearing a lab coat and a pair of ridiculous goggles that magnified her eyes, giving her the expression of a severely startled bug. A few people laughed, and she just made faces at them as she walked by.
Kairi looked around and her overlarge eyes roamed over near his and Selphie's direction. She waved a hand and Sora started to wave back, when another girl five students in front of him waved. Kairi grinned and plopped down on the wall beside her friend.
Having half-lifted his hand, Sora snatched at the air a few times.
Selphie pulled her knees to her chest, "What are you doing?"
Sora dropped his arm, feeling stupid, "I—Swatting at a fly."
Selphie quirked an eyebrow at him, "You're weird. You know that, right?"
Sora offered her a crooked grin, "Yeah, I know. Are you okay?"
Selphie pouted, "Stupid storm drills."
Sora knocked his knee against hers, "Would it make you feel better if you hit me in the head with your jump rope?"
She shoved his shoulder in response, but she didn't look so put off now at least.
After another ten agonizing minutes during which the alarm droned and Mr. Simmons droned about safety and the effectiveness of order and time, they were allowed to stand up and head to their next class, since the drill had taken up the rest of their sixth period.
The rest of the day was comparatively less eventful.
Sora's mood hadn't improved by the time final bell signaled the end of the school day. He dumped his books in his locker and headed outside with the rest of the school into the downpour. No one was running from it anymore. They were all wet, and they knew there was no avoiding that. Someone, Sora suspected Tidus, had tried to lighten the generally sullen mood of the students by starting a water flinging commotion. The motion was short lived and died quickly. Everyone just wanted to get home.
Sora spotted his mom's dark blue car rolling in behind Riku's mom's car. He would have wondered why his mom was here if he hadn't been distracted by Riku's mom's car. The normally dark red paint was splotched in several places. It looked like someone had taken a giant white-out pen and doodled along the side. He felt a knot clench his insides. He'd done that?
"Hey. Get in." His mom was saying.
Sora snapped back to himself, "What? Mom, what are you doing here?"
She studied his drenched appearance, "Well, I was hoping to pick you up so you wouldn't have to get soaked on the walk home…That cause is lost, I see. Get in anyway."
Sora slid into the passenger seat of the car, where his mom had cleverly dropped a small pile of towels. "Thanks."
"Oh that's just awful." His mom declared.
"Thank you, madam?" Sora tried to sound more proper.
"No, look at Tara's car. Oh, who would do that?" She commented.
Sora looked through the splatters of rain on the windshield at the car ahead of them. Riku was piling his soccer equipment in the back. He glanced back before he climbed into the car and Sora felt the heat on the glare before Riku was in the car. All was not forgiven, in the car department at least.
"Ah, you and Riku still not playing nice, huh?" His mom was saying as she pulled away from the school.
"You could say that." Sora leaned his head against the window, staring out at the clouds.
"What did you do this time?"
"Me?"
"I've never seen Riku misbehave, so I assume you're the one screwing it up. Plus, it's fun to pick on you." She crinkled her nose in a silent giggle.
Sora groaned, "Contrary to popular belief, Riku can be a jerk."
She quieted, "I'm sorry, honey. Don't let him bug you."
"Easy for you to say." He grunted. The clouds outside were getting darker. Sora wondered what it would be like to have a real hurricane hit Destiny Islands. Nah, fat chance.