Chapter 06: Free Period ~ Miku
Seriously, Miku? Did you really have to play the prissy card again? It was fine the first time, but saying the word again before lunch is overdoing it. You're starting to sound like Cousin Ona.
Anyway, I try to be polite with conversation during lunch, but I have so much on my mind that whenever I'm asked a question, all I give is few-worded answers.
"How far away is your old home from here?"
"Six hours."
"Why did you move?"
"Dad's job."
"What school did you go to?"
"Pineneedle High School."
"How do you like it here so far?"
"It's all right."
"Do you have a boyfriend?"
Seeing how Len asked that question, I choose to ignore him.
"What's your dad do?"
Interesting question, Piko. My dad works for an organization designed to keep what Norms call "Monsters" - we prefer the term "Average Challenged," thank you very much - hidden from the general public. If the whole world knew vampires and dragons and the like exits, serious shiz would be going down. Most of the worst wars in history started because a few Norms got paranoid by us Monsters and wanted to wipe us off the face of the earth. People like my dad do their best to prevent such events from happening ever again.
"Stuff," is what I actually answer.
I know I'm coming across as anti-social and somewhat rude, but I'm in no mood to interact. I pay enough attention to the conversations around me to give a real answer whenever someone asks me for my thoughts on the topic of discussion, but other than that, my mind is racing five hundred miles per hour.
TM. At first I was confused since the first thing to pop into my head was "Technical Machine," but since Pokémon obviously has nothing to do with anything, I toss the words aside. It's with horror creeping up my spine I realize that by "TM" Piko meant "Time Manipulator." They know exactly what I am.
Thankfully Rin slipped up by calling Sonika a "Normie." If not for Rin's loose tongue, I wouldn't be able to relax. Minus the green haired girl helping herself to a bacon cheeseburger, it seems nobody else at this table is a Norm. If Len and Piko were Norms and knew what I was, things would have gone very bad very quickly; but since that's not the case, I can calm down and not have to worry about my secret being revealed to the whole school.
Of course that doesn't mean I'm going to fess up.
"Are you always this quiet?"
Looking towards the voice, I find Len smiling at me as if he's genuinely interested as to whether or not I'm shy and is trying to make me feel comfortable. Don't worry, buddy. I am plenty comfortable.
I take my attention away from my peanut butter and banana sandwich with a side of vanilla yogurt - a favorite lunch combo of mine - and smile at him in a kind manner. "Hey, Len," I play the name on my lips and am grateful it sounds so natural that I don't seem as if I'm forcing it out. I'm not going to lie: I like Len's name. "Have you ever heard the joke they don't tell stupid people?"
A mixture of surprise I addressed him by name and confusion by what I said having nothing to do with his question appears on his face. "No," he replies. It isn't until my smile evolves into a smirk and everyone at the table begins to laugh does Len discover, too late, his fatal mistake. "Dammit!"
I knew throwing him off would produce good results. He probably wouldn't have fallen for it had I sounded like my usual snarky self.
"You walked into that one," Piko laughs as he wipes an imaginary tear from his eye. Len glares at Piko, causing the white-haired boy to laugh even harder.
Miki raises an arm. "I request the highest of fives." I reply by slapping her open palm.
"I can't stop," Rin gasps between laughs. "Every time I see Len's face, I crack up all over again."
My mistake was looking at said blond's face. His scowl was funnier than the joke. I laughed so hard I'm pretty sure I snorted once or twice. Maybe three times. Curse my dorky laugh.
"Hahaha, very funny," he says in perfect monotone.
"Just be happy I didn't ask you if you've seen the clown in Wal-Mart that hides from gay people," I say as I feel the rest of my earlier tension vanish. I'm not sure about he and I getting along, but I think I can at least tolerate him. When he chooses to be tolerable, of course.
"Wait, what clown?" Piko asks, completely innocent and oblivious. "I haven't seen a clown."
This throws the rest of us back into laughter as poor Piko looks as confused as ever. Maybe this place won't be so bad after all.
After lunch is free period. Well, only for Rin and me. Everyone else has a class they need to go to.
"It was nice meeting you" and "See ya around" is thrown at me as each person heads of to his next class, or maybe I should say "her" because the only guys here look feminine. Who made masculine pronouns the default gender pronouns of the English language, anyway?
I waved back at all of them and simply smile instead of replying. I'm not sure what to say, really. Never once had I been the center of so many people's attention. Add in the way Len's looking at me, and I begin to feel as if I showed up to school naked. Thank God X-Ray vision is just a myth and there's no way anyone is capable of it.
"Don't you have a picture you can stare at?" I ask, my smile now wiped off my face as I sling my backpack over my shoulder, my relaxed stature now fading as I feel my body tense up again.
"It's not as pretty as the real thing," Len says as he gives me his most charming smile.
"I am not interested," I say for the second time that day, and it wouldn't surprise me if I have to repeat it during the next class we share. As the thought crosses my mind, I consider showing Len my syllabus and asking him which class we have together, but I don't. It would take too much effort to pull my syllabus out.
"Such a shame. I find you very interesting," Len replies, lax as ever. He grins, making it clear exactly what it is he finds intriguing about me.
"Careful, Kagamine," I growl, and I know I'm walking on a tight rope. Even though I'm not stupid enough to think it's a good idea to make an enemy of him, I can't stop myself as I say, "There's no proof of what you saw. It would be my word against yours. Let's just forget the whole thing. Please?"
Rotating his neck as if to stretch the muscles, Len asks, "What are you offering in exchange for my silence?"
My spine goes rigid. He probably thinks this is a game. Hell, it may very well be.
"Not what you're looking for, I'm afraid," I answer. "Cocky flirts aren't my type."
"Well, what is your type?" Len questions as he shoves his hands into his pockets.
I snort. "Not blond."
"What's wrong with blonde hair?!" Rin demands, and I notice she has her hand in her brother's backpack. I don't ask her what she's doing, and Len doesn't bother to acknowledge his twin.
"It's my natural hair color," Len says as if that will make a difference.
"Stop wasting your time on me," I order. "Just leave me alone, okay? That is all I ask of you." With that I spin on my heel and begin to stalk out of the cafeteria.
"Could I at least get your number?!" Len calls after me, his tone of voice heavily suggesting he has no interest in taking me seriously.
I respond by, without looking back, raising my right arm high above my head and showing Len my pretty middle finger. The sound of his laughter soon follows. He sounds so relaxed that I can't help but grit my teeth in irritation.
"Hey, Miku, wait up!"
Looking over my shoulder, I see Rin running after me. In my annoyance over Len, I forgot about her. Good going, Miku. That's the perfect way to start a friendship.
"Sorry about Len," Rin says when she catches up to me. With how fast she was running, I'm surprised she doesn't have to catch her breath.
"Is he always this annoying?" I ask. "Len, I mean?"
"Usually," Rin answers, "but he's not so bad once you get to know him. I'm sure in time, the two of you will get along famously."
I have my doubts, but I don't voice them. "Why were you digging through his backpack?"
"He was bothering you, so I thought I would take this." With that Rin flashes a paper covered in scribbles of ink, and an impish grin covers her face. "And he ate the last pudding cup last night after I clearly told him I wanted it, so there's that."
"His math homework," I say after I realize what Rin is holding.
"He didn't even finish it, though," Rin frowns as she stares at the sheet, "and he got most of the answers wrong. I think I might have actually done him a favor by taking this." With that she shoves the paper back into her bag, creating various random crests in the sheet.
"Speaking of which," I begin, "have you had math class yet?"
Rin practically glows she's smiling so brightly. "Mr. Hiyama was speechless when he saw my sheet. I got a perfect score! And it's all thanks to you, Miku! I really owe you one."
"Don't mention it," I wave off. Now if only I can see Len's reaction when he gets to his math class and notices his homework is missing. Serves him right for ignoring his sister in an attempt to flirt with me.
"So anyway," Rin bounces on the balls of her feet, "since today's your first day, I should probably show you around campus before free period ends."
"You would?" I sigh with relief. "Rin, that would be so helpful."
"Then let's not wait another second!" Rin grins as she takes hold of my wrist and pulls me along with her. Good thing I'm a fast runner, because Rin is already pushing me towards a full on sprint. Regardless, I almost stumble over when something falls right in front of us.
"Kya!" I jump back, coming to a complete stop and yanking my hand back, but Rin only smiles.
Pointing at the fallen figure, Rin proclaims, "This is Nero, the person I mentioned earlier." The look on my face must be surprise from how casually Rin reacts to someone falling from the sky, because Rin easily waves off, "He falls out of trees all the time. It's no big deal. Nero has a thick skull."
"I don't think you know what that means, Rin," Nero, the shaggy, dirty blond-haired boy I recognize as one I share Psychology with, says as he rubs his hand over his face, still lying on his back on the grass under an oak tree.
Rin crouches next to Nero and smiles at him. "This is my new friend Miku." She points at me. "I'm going to spend free period showing her around. Want to join us?" Flicking her gaze in my direction, Rin adds, "As long as it's okay with Miku, of course."
"I don't mind," I insist. "The more the merrier, right?"
The blonde girl beams at my reply. "What do you say?" Rin asks Nero. "Would you like to help me show Miku around?"
"Sure," Nero answers as he looks up at Rin's face. "Your nostrils look beautiful at this angle."
I furrow my brows at the weird compliment paid towards Rin, but said girl doesn't even seem to notice or catch on. "Come on, goofball," she says as she stands to her feet. "Free period won't last all day."
The first stop on our tour is the tennis court, something that surprises me for my old school, or really almost any school, doesn't have a tennis court.
"Sports at this school are really popular," Nero explains as we pass each field. "This used to be a park. When the school was built, the courts were left so students could play sports instead of pass time looking at their phones. Some students use the fields during free period while others form clubs like tennis clubs or soccer clubs."
"Why do you Americans call football 'soccer'?" Rin randomly asks as we continue our trek. "It makes sense to call the game 'football' because the players are kicking around a ball with their feet, but in your version of football, an egg-shaped ball is being thrown around by the players' hands."
"I honestly don't know, Rin," I answer with a sigh. "We Americans just like to be different, I suppose. Nearly every country except this one uses the metric system and the Celsius scale."
"This country is weird," Rin mumbles.
"Please," Nero says as he begins walking backwards, "you call fries 'chips,' chips 'crisps,' and sweaters 'jumpers.' I even heard you refer to the cafeteria as 'the canteen.' You have to admit, Rin, the UK is weird, too."
"Fair enough," Rin bounces her shoulders. With her lips making an O shape, Rin begins, "Nero, watch out for that-" Nero, walking backwards and thus paying no attention to where he's going, slams his back into thick bark. ". . . Tree."
"Thanks for the heads up," Nero says, shaking off the impact.
"Well, at least we're at the tennis court." Rin smiles as she runs ahead, leaving Nero and me behind.
I follow after her with Nero close on my heels. There are two girls on the field. One of them has a bob cut brown hair styled in a boyish way. Her shirt looks tight on her chest, but based on her bust size, I think she doesn't have much of a choice on the matter. Playing with the brunette is a girl I immediately recognize.
"Hi, Miku," Luka waves when she notices me, missing the ball as it sails past her in the process.
"Fifteen-love," the other girl announces, a large grin plastered to her face.
"That's Luka, but you apparently already know her," Rin points out as I wave to the pinkette, "and the other girl is her best friend, Meiko. They usually play tennis during free period, and sometimes after school. They're pretty athletic, especially Meiko." After looking at them in their sports attire, I can't say they don't look the part of sporty girls.
"'Sup?" Meiko calls out to me, walking towards the fence while Luka retrieves the tennis ball.
"Other than being the new girl, nothing much." I casually shrug as I also approach the wired fence. "'Sup with you?"
"Kicking Luka's butt," Meiko grins. Now that I'm closer, I can tell that her eyes are a lovely shade of honey. "Luka told me about the new girl who flat out rejected Len Kagamine, and unless I'm mistaken, that would be you."
"It's me all right," I say. "I don't dig cocky flirts."
"Must drive him crazy. I'm impressed. We should get along very well." Meiko replies. Noticing Rin and Nero standing not far behind me, Meiko waves at them and offers a friendly smile. "I see you befriended Hyper Piper, despite her relation to the flirt."
"My name is not Hyper Piper," I hear Rin grumble in annoyance. Remembering the episode from this morning, I don't doubt for a moment that there's more to Rin's reputation I have yet to learn.
Nero rubs Rin's shoulder, leans in, and whispers something in her ear. Face splitting into a smile, Rin nods and mumbles something back. I'm amazed at how easily Nero changed Rin's attitude. What type of connection do they share?
Looking back at the older girl's, I say, "Even if her twin is currently my least favorite person, it's kind of hard not to befriend Rin when she's so darn lovable," I smile. I don't have to look at her to know Rin brightens considerably at the compliment.
"I'm glad you have managed to make friends on your first day," Luka says, the softest smile touching her lips as she, too, moves to stand next to the fence.
"And thank you for helping me find the cafeteria, Luka."
"No biggie," Luka returns. To Rin and Nero she yells, "So how are you two doing?"
"Wonderful, my beauty queen," Nero smiles. "Ow!" he suddenly exclaims, startling me.
"Sorry," Rin quickly apologizes.
"What happened?" I ask, turning my attention back towards to the two and find Nero rubbing his ribs.
"I was putting my hands on my hips," Rin answers, "and since Nero was standing too close to me, I ended up elbowing him in the ribs." Rin then places her hands on her hips in demonstration, her elbows threatening to stab anyone who stand in their way.
"You need to be more careful," Nero tells her, his hand still on his ribs.
"You need to be more careful," Rin counters, and unless I'm thinking too much into the statement, she sounds somewhat threatening.
"Are they always like this?" I ask Meiko and Luka.
"Sometimes," Meiko answers.
"My apologies for the disruption," Nero says as he stops rubbing his ribs.
"Isn't he just adorable?" Meiko whispers to me, sounding as if she's talking about a younger brother. I notice Rin is glaring at Meiko as if she's trying to accomplish murder by staring.
"In his own way," I casually remark.
"Well, it was nice chatting with you," Rin says, "but I promised Miku I would show her the campus, and we need to go now if we're going to finish before free period ends." Grabbing my wrist, Rin pulls me along and tells the girls, "See you two later."
Rin and Nero show me around fairly quickly, leaving us plenty of time to hang out before our next classes. We're now standing in an open field, probably used for soccer. Rin had long since taken off her hoodie and tied the sleeves around her waist, and Nero removed his own jacket as well. For January, it's pretty warm.
Strangely, it was not hard to feel a part of Rin and Nero's little group. They're so easygoing with each other, and their openness of their quirks and flaws has made it easy for me to like them. There's this unspoken connection, and there wasn't a single moment I felt like an intruder trying to fit in where I didn't belong. Hanging out with them both was enough to make me forget about my problem.
But now that I'm thinking about it, I'm worrying all over again. This can't continue any longer.
"Say, mind if I make a phone call?" I ask.
"Sure," Rin answers, bouncing on the balls of her feet.
"I'll be just a moment," I promise as I walk away from the duo and stand by the bleachers. As my cell is calling the number I punched in, I focus my attention on my new friends.
Rin punches Nero in the shoulder and takes off, and he chases after her. After he taps her on the back, Rin turns around and begins chasing him. They're playing tag, and by the looks of things, Rin is going easy on him. There's not a doubt in my mind she can run much faster than that.
"Hello?" a familiar voice answers through my phone after the third ring, breaking my attention away from the field.
"Hey, Luc," I reply. "Remember me?"
"Miku!" I can hear the smile in Luc's voice, "Cul told me you moved here. How's it been?"
"Can't say just yet," I say as I watch Nero chase after Rin again. The two of them look like oversized children, but at the same time it's kind of cute to watch. "Could we meet up sometime this week and talk? I kind of need a brother right now."
Luc is silent, probably trying to interpret the meaning to my request. "What's wrong?" he asks.
"Someone . . . ," I trail off, terrified to hear how Luc's going to react. "I got careless," I say. "Someone knows."
I jump with how loudly Luc swears. Even with my vague statement, Luc knows exactly what I mean. "How bad is it?" he asks.
"Not too bad, I hope," I answer. "I've been given the impression he's not all that average."
"Did he tell anyone?"
"His friend, apparently." Luc swears again. "I know I made a terrible mistake, but I need someone to talk to and get advice from. My parents are out of the question, and after getting on to Cul for her problem, I can't tell her I was so reckless. Please, you're the only person I can turn to."
For the longest moment the only thing I hear is the sound of my heart pounding in my ears. "I have morning classes on Wednesday, but the rest of the day I'm free," Luc finally says. "After school you can meet me at the pizza parlor by the gaming store."
Today's Monday, meaning I have two days to keep everything to myself before I can talk about all this to someone. Better than nothing, I suppose. "Wednesday is perfect," I respond.
"See you then," Luc says.
"See you," I reply before hanging up my phone. I look again at the blonde duo having a ball on the empty field. Nero is panting and struggling to tag Rin, but said girl hasn't so much as broken a sweat. Where does she get all that energy?
I'm about to approach them when a loud noise makes me jump out of my skin. On the other side of the fence is a large golden retriever, its large brown eyes staring at me as it wags its tail at amazing speed. It barks again, causing me to flinch.
"A dog!" Rin exclaims with joy as she runs to where I am and kneels by the fence. She sticks her fingers through the diamond pattern wire and laughs as the dog licks her fingers. "What are you doing here, little guy?"
Little? There's nothing little about that thing! I slowly keep putting one foot behind the other in attempt to get away from the creature.
"Is something wrong, Miku?" Nero asks when he finally gets to where Rin and I are and notices me backing away. Seeing how I'm looking at the dog, Nero concludes without a doubt in his mind, "You're scared of dogs."
Slowly nodding, I reply, "When I was six, a German shepherd attacked me and bit the back of my leg. The bite mark required nineteen stitches. I've hated dogs, especially big ones, ever since."
Rin looks at me in a way that suggests I just flat out insulted her and not stated my dislike towards canine-kind. I'm not surprised. All dog lovers always give me such a look whenever I state I hate dogs, but Rin seems to be taking the fact a bit more personally.
"Want to go inside?" Nero suggests. I nod as an answer.
We begin to walk away, and after casting one last look at the dog, Rin follows us. "So you hate all dogs?" she asks. "Does this . . . Does this include wolves as well?"
"Wolves, coyotes, dingos - I don't like any of them," I say. Rin purses her lips together and begins marching ahead of us. "Did I say something wrong?" I ask Nero.
"Rin loves animals, especially dogs," Nero answers. "She'll be all right. It's not the first time she's been told that someone hates dogs."
I don't respond. The bell then rings, signaling students to move on to their next class. As I don't share any classes with Rin, this will probably be the last time I see her today. Not wanting the day to end on a sour note between us, I call after her. "Hey, Rin!" When I have her attention, I shout, "Save me a seat in homeroom tomorrow?"
It takes her a few seconds, but it's to my relief Rin smiles and replies, "Sure! See you later!"
"See ya!" I wave before the blonde takes off.
"How can she play a round of tag and still have so much energy?" Nero wonders aloud.
"I'd like to know the same," I mumble to myself. What type of Monster is Rin? And Len, for that matter?
And why do I feel as if I don't want to find out?
A/N
Sorry for the irregular updates, Raye and I are trying to get on top of things! Anyway enjoy Raye's latest chapter. Reviews are also welcome, I've been bad with replying, but I'll try to be better :)
Kate