Lucky Legacy

Chapter Four

School Daze

"Mmm…nngh…yaaaHHHHHHHHHHHHH…"

Patty looked at Hiyori out of the corner of her eye as her friend struggled to fight down another jaw-popping yawn. "Having a little trouble coming off your summer schedule, huh Hiyori?"

Hiyori shook her head a couple times in quick succession, earning a few weird stares from the other passengers on the train. "I don't know wh-wh-why I'm not more alert…" Hiyori smacked her lips a few times listlessly, rubbing her eyes with the back of her hands before looking at Patty. "Hey…you and I went to bed at the same time last night, right?"

"Yeah…after I got off the phone with you, I called my sister and we talked for a few minutes. But other than that I went to bed."

"Then how can you be so perky?" Hiyori demanded.

"Conditioning." Patty said simply. "I've been getting up early for the last two weeks to get my body used it." Patty took a sip from her plastic travel mug. "That, and enough coffee to kill a small dog." She said, shaking the mug for emphasis

Hiyori looked at the mug for a few seconds before shaking her head. "Conditioning…right. Come talk to me after lunch when the caffeine wears off." Hiyori said, rubbing her eyes again.

"Well…" Patty huffed, screwing the lid back on her thermos. "Someone's crabby today…"

"Sorry…" Hiyori said sheepishly. "I couldn't get much sleep last night…kinda had a weird dream."

Patty leaned in, clearly interested. "Go on."

"It's silly." Hiyori insisted as the conductor announced the next stop.

"Silly enough to keep you up at night." Patty said. "You have some pretty odd dreams."

Hiyori shook her head. "It's a little fuzzy. I can't really remember much…just little flashes here and there."

"Like what?" Patty prodded.

"Like…a train station…some fish…"

"Fish?"

"Like leftover fish…I dunno…then there was this bright light and then I woke up."

"Hmmm…" Patty crossed her arms thoughtfully. "Well, that's not exactly the weirdest dream you've come to me with…it's close, but I think the one with giant pumpkin eating the gouda takes the cake. "

"I know…it just irked me, that's all…" The train doors slid open and in the midst of the incoming crowd, Yutaka bounced in, standing on her tiptoes and craning her neck until Patty waved her over.

"Good morning, Yu-chan!" Patty said cheerfully, scooting closer to Hiyori so Yutaka could sit on her left.

"Good morning Patty-chan! Good morning Hiyori-chan!" Yutaka cheerfully greeted, hopping up on the bench and laying her bookbag on her lap.

"Ready for school, Yu-chan?" Hiyori asked.

"I guess so…" Yutaka said sheepishly scratching her cheek. "Even though I got plenty of sleep last night, I'm still not used to getting up so early."

"I'll drink to that." Patty said, knocking back another gulp from her mug.

"It'll be a few weeks yet before I'm back to normal." Hiyori said almost sadly.

Patty patted Hiyori reassuringly on the shoulder. "There, there…it'll be alright."

"So…have you guys given any thought about which homeroom we're going to be in?" Yutaka asked

"I'm not sure." Hiyori said. "I don't know much about the upper-class teachers beyond what I've heard from the older girls."

"I remember Konata saying that she was pretty fond of Kuroi-sensei." Patty said.

Yutaka laughed nervously. "Onee-san liked Kuroi-sensei just fine but…"

"Kuroi had her hands full with your cousin, huh?" Hiyori chuckled.

"Yeah…that's…what she…said…" Yutaka trailed off, looking out the window as they pulled up to another stop.

"Where's Minami-chan?" Patty asked, sitting up in her seat to get a better look at the crowd of passengers filing in.

Yutaka bit her lip, scanning the faces of the people filing on to the train. Minami had asked Yutaka to call her when she woke up to make sure that she wouldn't sleep in and miss the train. When she had called this morning, Minami sounded groggy and barely mumbled a "goo mornighg" before the line went dead. Yutaka glanced worriedly out the door, hoping the next person to get on would be-

Suddenly, there was a flash of green and as the doors started to slide closed Minami bolted in, nearly bowling over a young man as she did so. Her hair was still damp and a half-eaten piece of toast was clenched between her teeth but she slid on the train just as it started to roll forward.

"Minami-chan!" Yutaka said, bouncing up and waving her friend over.

"Mmmph…gdd mrni…" Minami blushed scarlet and took the toast out of her mouth. "Uh…good morning everybody." Minami said a little sheepishly.

"We were worried that you weren't gonna make it." Patty said, scooting over to allow Minami to squeeze in between Yutaka and the handrail

"Sorry to have worried you." Minami said, nibbling on her toast. "I-"

"Had a little trouble getting up this morning?" Patty teased gently.

Hiyori gently patted Minami's shoulder. "Don't worry, Minami-chan. We'll get used to it e-e-eyAHHHHHHHHHH"

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"Class 2-B?"

Minami stood on her tiptoes, trying to crane her neck over the crowds of bustling students clamoring for the class lists. She gave the list a once over before turning back to Patty, shaking her head. "No…I don't see our names either."

"Man…" Hiyori sighed, turning away and moving down the hall. "I was kinda hoping to land in one of the first two classes on this floor."

"I know what you mean." Patty said, greeting a former classmate before catching up with the others. "These two are the only ones on the east wing."

"Does that mean we have to pass the all club rooms before we get to our classroom?" Yutaka asked.

"And the science labs." Patty said glumly

"And the judo hall." Minami reminded them.

"I think we just passed the nurse's office." Yutaka said.

"Lame." Patty said bluntly.

"What she said." Hiyori added with a sigh.

After passing the aforementioned judo hall, science labs and club rooms (and apparently the janitorial shed) they arrived at class 2-C where a small cluster of students gathered around the class listing.

"I really hope we're in this one…" Patty sighed. "It's either this or 2-D and from what Tatsuki told me, that's where they put the dropouts waiting until they come of age."

A barely visible shudder ran through group and they picked up the pace ever so slightly until Minami could peer over the heads of the students.

"Excuse me…" Minami said, squeezing between two girls to get a better look at the list. "Uh…let's see…well, there's your name Patty…"

"Yes!" Patty cheered.

"And Hiyori…and Yutaka in this class too and…"

Minami trailed off as Yutaka and Hiyori made identical sounds of joy but Minami paid them no mind. She checked over the list again to see if she was wrong, but from what she could see, her name wasn't there.

"I…don't think…"

"Wow, I can't believe how lucky we are…" Hiyori said. "I never thought we'd all land in the same class together."

Minami at a loss for what to say, wondered if it would be just better to slip away before the others noticed she wasn't in their class. Maybe if she just slipped away and just explained everything at lunch, then she could-

"Hey Minami-chan…" Too Late. Minami thought as Yutaka glanced over the list before turning to look up at her. "I didn't-"

"It's okay, Yutaka." Minami said peaceably. "I'll just-" Minami was cut off by Patty's giggle.

"My kanji may not be that good…" Patty said, leaning in to get a better look. "But it looks to me…"

"I think they misspelled your name, Minami." Hiyori said, pointing to a character smudged by an inkblot.

"Oh…" Minami sighed, more than a little relieved. "For a second there…"

"Yeah, and last I checked my name didn't have an "o" in it." Patty said, crossing her arms. "You would think a teacher would at least be able to put a list in some kind of coherent order."

"This doesn't bode well for us, does it?" Hiyori sighed. "Well, let's get going then..."

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Patty checked her watch, leaning up out of her seat and craning her neck to check out the door. She turned back to the others with a confused shrug. "She's not here yet."

"Man…if I'd known the teacher was going to be this late, I would've slept in…" Hiyori mumbled

"Maybe she drives to school and got stuck in traffic today." Minami said

"Maybe she just flaked on us." Patty mumbled darkly

"I'm sure she has a good reason." Yutaka said diplomatically. "She probably just-"

BANG!

Thirty-two students jumped as the door slammed against its frame. A frazzled mass of blonde hair stuck its way through the door, glancing over the class for a second before ducking out as quickly as it came.

Hiyori looked uneasily at her friends but before she could say anything the door opened again, this time revealing a slightly rumpled Nanako Kuroi, pulling her tousled hair into a long ponytail.

"Well then…" Kuroi said casually, writing her name on the board as if nothing about her untimely entrance and haphazard appearance was out of the ordinary. "Let's begin, shall we?"

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AN: Lame, lame, lame, lame, oh GOD that was lame. If that chapter felt forced, it's because it was. BUT, and here's the big BUT, I'm finally done with the most painful exposition I've ever written. From here on out, I can write more freeform chapters that should flow more easily. It will get better, I swear! This was just needed to advance the plot. As always, read and review.

Bye-nee!

DOTMW!