Chapter 7: Summer Plans

"Gee, I wonder how we ended up on cleaning duty, June!" Fira said with major sarcasm.

We were cleaning the music room. I was wiping down the tables as Fira was sweeping the floors. We were cleaning not because we were punished or anything; I had volunteered us. I figure since it was so close to summer, we should do something nice. Fira disagreed.

I rolled my eyes and kept wiping down the tables. I heard the door open and close again. Was Fira pissed off at me enough to ditch? I looked up. It was the twins.

"What the hell are you guys doing here!?! Get out!" Fira practically shouted.

"We figured," started Hikaru.

"That you need some help." Kaoru finished.

"We don't need any help! Leave!"

Why didn't Fira want help? Wasn't she just complaining about the work? "Well, Fira, we could use the help. We'd finish faster." I told her. She gave a look of hatred. That look was like a bullet in the chest.

"We don't need help." She growled.

"You guys can keep us company." I said, turning to the twins. They sat down at a nearby table that I had cleaned already. Fira eyed me angrily and went back to sweeping.

"Do you guys have plans for the summer?" I asked them.

"Yeah." Kaoru said.

"We might go to Hawaii," explained Hikaru.

"Or Tahiti." Continued Kaoru. "But if milord has his way, it won't happen."

"Really, why?" I asked curiously.

"How long have you been here?" Hikaru asked rudely.

"Don't be rude to June, Hikaru," Kaoru told him firmly.

"If you talk to June like that again," Fira started, "I'm gonna kick your ass."

"Hey guys," I said before Hikaru could make a comeback. "Don't worry about it. I know Hikaru a dense, immature little blockhead. I'm okay with it."

"HEY!" He shouted.

"So what are you doing for the summer, Fira?" I asked only to change the subject.

She thought for a moment. "I think I'll try to see as many concerts as humanly possible."

"How many is humanly possible?" Kaoru asked.

"Well," She leaned on her broom like a cane. "At most I've seen four to five concerts a week."

"Damn." I said in awe.

"What are you going to do for the summer?" asked Kaoru.

I shrugged. "I haven't really had a summer vacation before."

"What!?" asked the twins in shock.

"I've been homeschooled until now."

"You guys didn't know that?" Fira asked.

"How were we supposed to know that?" Hikaru asked.

"How did you know that?" Kaoru asked.

"We're pen pals." Fira and I said together.

"Really?" Kaoru asked again.

"I sent an email to the wrong person." I explained. "I was only nine and I was just starting to the computer a lot. So I emailed the wrong person and I received a reply email from her that told me I had the wrong girl. So, naturally, I decided to keep emailing her."

Fira gave a hearty laugh. "I remember thinking who in the world is sending me emails? But I replied anyways."

"Before we knew it, we were pals."

"Hey June, do you remember that one year that we hardly emailed each other? What happened?"

"I-I'm not sure." I lied.

"Anyways," I said trying to change the subject.

"I have no summer plans."

"Oh yeah, we were talking about summer vacation." Fira whispered to herself.

"That's pathetic." Hikaru stated.

Fira swung her broom like a sword and delivered a swift and graceful hit on Hikaru's head. "DON'T TALK TO HER LIKE THAT!!!!!" She yelled as she hit him. I don't think she hit him too hard. I bet she would hit him harder next time; I'm pretty sure that it will happen again. Hikaru was so pissed that he was sitting there in silence, just boiling over. Kaoru started laughing (but not like hysterical laugher, just a little more than a chuckle.) at his twin. "Well" Fira started, sniggering, "You asked for it." I smiled.

* * *

I was under the tree in the school yard. It was a big oak tree. The branches stretched out and curved at the end. Its leaves mimicked this sort of movement. It was perfect for me. As I was under it, it seemed to make a shield around us. I was hugging my knees, crying .I needed this protection.

"I thought I'd find you here."

I looked up. It was Maryanne. I down my head on knees. She must have walked over to me, sat down, and put her hand on my back because I felt it.

"You know that they're just evil kids, right? Don't worry about them. I took care of it."

"Why do they make fun of me?" My voice went high. "I never did anything bad to them! Never! Never ever, never…" I trailed off.

"They're just evil and jealous." She told me.

I looked up at Maryanne. "Jealous?" I asked, my voice returning to normal pitch.

She smiled. "Of course. Who else has two eye colors? No one."

I staid silence.

"Look," She said with a kinder smile, "if they ever talk to you like that again, I'll kick their butts, kay?"

I smiled. "Kay."

"Hey, is everything okay?" Came a different voice. Someone was coming towards us.

I turned to the voice. It was him.

"You okay, sis?"

I snapped back. Nothing changed. Everyone was laughing at Hikaru. No one knew I left.

"I have to go." I said quickly and before anyone could question me, I fled the room.

It took me fifteen minutes to run home. Normally, it takes twenty five minutes to make it home at a walking pace. By the time I made it to my front door, I was clinging to my heart. It was beating so fast. My watch was beeping loudly because of it. With my free right hand, I unlocked the door. I started to walk upstairs.

"Why are you late?"

"CHEEEP!" I jumped and cling to the railing.

Nancy laughed. "You still do that? That's so cute!"

"DON'T SCARE ME LIKE THAT!" I yelled.

"Keep it down will ya? You're dad's 'working' in his study. But back to the question, why are you late? Were you out with someone?" She put a lot of unnecessary emphasis on that last question.

"Why did you ask that last question like that?" I asked nervously.

"I can't be interested in your love life?"

"No." I said bluntly. "Plus I don't have one."

Nancy put her hands on her hips and smiled. "Sure you don't. Oh and by the way, if your father asks where you were, just say that you and Fira made a stop to a music store and lose track of time."

"Why would I say that?" I asked curiously.

"That's what I told him."

I smiled. "H-he asked about me?"

"Yeah."

I started to walk up the stairs again. "See ya later."

"Dinner's in an hour."

"You're cooking?" I asked. I don't remember the last time Nancy made a dish.

"You kidding? That's why we have cooks!"

I made it to the top of the stairs. I walked over to my room but stopped in front of my father's room. I opened his door a little and peaked in. His back was facing me. He typing on his computer. I couldn't see the screen but I could heard him typing on the keyboard. He was going over a hundred miles on that thing. He works too hard. I was about to call when I stopped myself. "He's busy." I thought. "I'll talk to him later." I haven't had a real conversation with him yet.

I walked on into my room and closed the door. I leaned on the door and slid down to floor. I didn't forget why I ran home. Why did I remember him? This hadn't happened since he- I don't want to remember it. Why am I having flashbacks again? I couldn't answer the question no matter how many times I thought about it. I stood up and walked over to my dresser. I picked up one of the few photos on the dresser. The one I picked was of a boy, about nine. He looked like me. He had jet black hair; some of bangs fell on his left eye. His eyes, through the photo didn't show it becomes it was a black and white photo, was violet. I almost forget their color...

"Hey." I said to the photo as if I was talking to the boy in it.

"How are you, Thomas?"