A/N: LALALA. Pretty short, yeah, I know. But had to update. So..sorry for the wait then. Here's the ninth chap :]
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The car came to a halt.
"Thank you," she said as she opened the door and got off the car. She watched as it went away, getting smaller and smaller before fading.
A gentle breeze passed through, making the trees sound as the air passed through the leaves and as the leaves fell down one by one.
"Akira!"
She turned around to face the person.
It was Hikari.
"Akira!" she called out again, waving her hands in the air. Akira smiled and waved back. "Hey Hikari!"
When Hikari was already where Akira stood, she said, "You're pretty late—is anything wrong?" Akira looked over at Hikari. "No, nothing at all," she said. It was true, really. She ignored the butterflies in her stomach—must mean nothing, anyway. She smiled at Hikari, who smiled back. "Shall we go in then?" Hikari asked. "Sure," Akira replied, and the two walked the path to the greenhouse together.
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The girls got inside the greenhouse, attracting the stares of everyone. "Good morning!" Hikari said, cheery as usual. "Good morning," the others replied to her with smiles gracing their faces. Tadashi, lying on the couch, said, "Hey Akira. You're late today." Akira looked over at him. "I know. So?" she raised her eyebrows up. Inside, Tadashi smiled to himself. That's the Akira I know.
Akira and Hikari dropped what they were holding and Akira proceeded to the kitchen when she saw Hikari in a hurry to walk out the greenhouse.
"Hikari, where you heading?" Everybody wasn't minding Hikari anymore—they knew what she was up to. Apparently, Akira didn't, so.
"I'm going to see if the ranking results are up," she said, the excitement in her voice and clearly seen in her face. "Coming with?" Akira temporarily forgot everything and grabbed Hikari's hand. "Yeah," and both girls walked out the greenhouse, one excited with everything she's got, the other wanting to know but nervous to find out.
As Hikari walked along Akira on the path connecting to the main school (where the other classes were, btw), she wondered. So she decided to ask.
"Hey Akira.." Akira glanced at her. "What?"
"Why are you with me today?"
Akira slightly felt hurt. "Don't you want me here?" she got disheartened and thought about going back.
"No! It's not that, it's just that..usually I'm alone when I go take a look at the rankings," Hikari said. Akira nodded as she understood. "Oh. Sorry Hikari-chaaan~" Akira said as she hugged Hikari.
"Yuri!"
"I thought she was with Kei."
"I thought she was with Tadashi."
The two stopped hugging and looked at those who whispered. Shameless bitches.
Akira faced them eagerly. "Why yes, I love Hikari-chan. Is that something to be scandalized about?" Hikari kept her mouth shut, not understanding what was going on, looking from Akira to the girl. "And if you need to know—This is not yuri." Akira flashed them a big grin which looked both sincere and sarcastic. The two continued to walk through the path, ignoring everyone, forgetting everything. Another breeze passed through them, which Akira loved to feel on her face It relaxed her, and she always liked the cold.
"Akira, what were those girls talking about earlier?" Hikari asked Akira with such an innocent expression on her angelic face. "Nothing, Hikari," Akira said, smiling again. "Nothing to worry about, at least."
--
The two of them stared into nothing, dumbfounded.
It seems the results weren't out yet.
And as far as they knew, the students were also talking about it.
"Where's the rank list already?"
"Shouldn't it be out, like, now?"
"It's not out yet?" Akira said, breaking their silence. Hikari sighed, turning to her. "Yeah." It seems the both of them were just as disappointed as the other students also waiting.
"Aww, wanted to see if any of the SAs have gone lower," a passing voice said. Akira whipped her head around to look for the voice, but all she saw was a girl's retreating figure as she laughed along with her friends. She did nothing but watched the girl walk away. I mean, what was she to do anyway? Another gust of wind blew, and she looked up at the sky as it darkened. Guess it might rain.
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The two walked back to the SA's greenhouse. The doors opened and everyone looked up to see the girls. It was creepy, feeling their sad aura spread around.
"Anything wrong with the rankings?" Ryuu asked, nervous. He didn't want the answer to that.
"No," Hikari said quietly. Everyone sighed quietly in relief. But why were the girls still all…uh, depressed?
"The results haven't come out yet," Akira said, answering everyone's question.
--
Halfway through the day, at lunch period, everyone had forgotten all about the rankings. Everyone except Akira. She forced herself to forget though, by cooking the most complex foods she could think of. (Tadashi had a lot of fun with that.)
It hadn't rained though, like Akira predicted. The skies were still dark and gloomy, but not a single drop had fallen to the floor.
The greenhouse's doors suddenly banged open to reveal Hikari, desperately trying to catch her breath. She looked as if she'd been running.
"*pant* The *pant pant* results *pant* came out," she said, still breathless.
Every head turned to Hikari, who was still breathless—they stared at her, both in fear and pity. Why else would Hikari run so hard? Was something wrong?
Takishima came forward, and helped Hikari to a seat. "So, any changes in the ranking?"
Hikari stared at Takishima for a moment, looking scared.
"Akira's tenth."
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A/N: WAHAHAHA. Cliffhanger, right? =)) Sorry. But anyway, review lots. I'll update soon if you do. :]