A/N: OK, guys, this next chapter is huuuuge. A lot of stuff happens, pop culture references, yadda-yadda.

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

Chapter 10: Hippie Chicks and other Random Things

"I swear that if I have to read one more chapter of Lord of the Flies, I am taking out a samurai sword to stab myself with," I complained miserably, almost trudging beside my new good buddy Pence. He was a freshman too as well as in my first hour English class with Spit Lady. He could sympathize with me pretty well. But, I seriously thought that book was stupid. It was British kids treating each other like KFC fried chicken. I'll leave it up to you to figure that one out.

"Yeah, I know," Pence sighed. "But, it's not that bad."

"Sure, sure, we are really savage on the inside," I admitted. "But, the book didn't have to get all gross about it. And they're kids! I mean, cannibalism from ten-year-olds—come on!"

Let's just say that when I don't like a book, the whole world knows. I kept ranting to Sora on how much I hated Twilight until he snapped. I guess he didn't want to hear my negative views on sparkly vampires and obsessive werewolves. Then again, I told him just how I felt about it for exactly two months. Obviously, I had very strong feelings about it.

Pence grinned, even though I acted depressed from having to read chapters nine and ten for homework. "Look at it this way. At least we're not all stranded on an island."

"Or eating each other. Though you look like a nice, plump turkey."

"And you're a French fry," he joked back, and we both laughed.

High school English really is stupid, worse than junior high English. Basically, you get introduced to crappy books that no one would ever read. Maybe that's why we have to be forced to read them. It's to reassure publishers that yes, people still actually read those books written by dead old dudes, even if it's twenty kids in a classroom.

Math class was so boring. I always hated thinking about numbers, and solving equations just makes me feel stupid. Sure, sure, it's great that there's only one set answer. But, then, I get migraines from staring at the board. Mrs. Highwind is probably a genius at math, unlike me. It also doesn't help that Wakka, who I was assigned to sit next to, is as clueless at algebra as I am.

"I dunno, Namine," he said to me. "Every time I look at numbers, I freeze up."

Yeah, it's a total bummer that he has to sit next to me. Then, in science, we learned about the planets in detail, oooh-aah. Seifer aka the held-back idiot raised his hand in the middle of the class.

"Hey, Mr. Vexen, when do we get to blow stuff up?"

Mr. Vexen sighed, rubbing his forehead exasperatedly. "Maybe if you didn't fail last year, Seifer, you wouldn't still be in geological science. Honestly, this is not Mythbusters."

Some random kid I don't know chose to wake up. "What about Mythbusters? Is there a new episode on tonight?"

The rest of us laughed at him for being nerdy, not like that was a bad thing.

In study hall, Mr. Xemnas just sat at his desk, reading one of the Twilight books, because some random chick named Yuna dared him to. The implications of the dare were read a book off that series or he would have to let us skip out on study hall. Of course, he was in a tight situation, so he settled on reading it, surprisingly. Usually, any other teacher would have sent her to the office, but this showed that Mr. Xemnas didn't give a crap. I guess Axel really broke him down. That redheaded freak knows how to get to someone. He's a brain ninja. Dane Cook: Vicious Circle, check it out.

"Why do you kids like this garbage?" he asked us.

"It's not garbage, it's a modern classic!" Yuna protested, though everyone else denied liking the series. Axel, who randomly wore cool shades, leaned back in his chair.

"Mansex, you gotta understand this. We kids...we're not into stuff that has a legion of female fans. If it's not that, the plot is terrible. Do you honestly think we're stupid enough to like crap like that? Besides, who reads any more?"

Silence. Nothing but silence for five minutes and then...

"Good point. But, Axel, take those sunglasses off, and I told you not to call me that name. This is slightly shortened schedule, though, due to homeroom. I can't really care about you and your back talk at this point."

Maybe this is why everyone either doesn't challenge Mr. Xemnas or does. He's brutally honest.

Then again, Axel is brutally honest, too. It's always interesting to watch these match-ups between the two of them. They're both kind of sarcastic, each in their own way. Why do I stay silent sometimes in each class? Well, I'm either tired or not talkative. That's the way I am. Force me to talk, and I might punch someone in the face.

Almost challenging Mr. Xemnas again, Axel told him, "OK, Mr. Xemnas, have it your way. I'm telling you right now, though, that there's almost zero action in that book, people cry, and there's kissing every, like, ten pages. See you at Wal-Mart tonight, man."

"I prefer to shop at K-Mart, Mr. Iwasaki."

"Bad choice, man, bad choice. I get paid by the hour, you know."

I laughed at Axe while he played with his sunglasses and smoked an invisible cigarette. Since Mr. Xemnas (a math teacher) did not care about study hall in general, he even let us talk. Though, he's still a stiff. He makes sure of that.

Technically, the redhead acted like a cold turkey. "I need to light up, Nam. I haven't lit up since two hours ago."

"Pyro."

"I am. Hey, what you reading?"

"Why would you care? After all, who reads?" I imitated his tone from earlier.

He shrugged at me, proving he was obviously bluffing. Guys don't like admitting they read for some reason. Maybe they all think it's a girly thing to do.

"Well, I'm reading Misery by Stephen King."

"What's it got?"

"Usually his books are page turners, have a lot of the 'f' word, and all the gore you could want."

Being a typical guy, Axel looked pleased. "Oooh, give me that!"

"OK, fine, just give it back to me when you're done."

"No prob, Nam. You're a rad chick."

I gave him the thumbs-up, and then I had nothing to do other than homework from math. But, heck with that! I settled for watching Mr. Xemnas wince in pain from his novel. Poor dude.

Mmm, lunch has to be the best part of the day. It was basically the only time I got to talk to Selphie other than pit stops at our lockers. The nachos were OK today, though the cheese was crappy to say the least.

"This looks like snot," Selphie pointed out.

"Ugh, don't remind me...," I groaned, about to puke from hearing stuff like that. Not while I'm eating please. An appetite like mine can be ruined at any time. I'm delicate! In the mean time, a random girl I've only seen out of the corner of my eye before showed up. Salad and grapes and a bit of chocolate pudding were on her tray, and she immediately headed toward us. Selphie seemed to know this girl, because she waved at her, as hyper as a hamster on crack.

"This is Xion, Nami. She's one of my other friends who usually hangs out with Pence and those two but also with Roxas and Axel. She's cool," Selph told me.

Xion wore a strange outfit of beaded butterfly jeans, sandals that looked like they were made of wood, a blue tie-dye T-shirt, and a pleated tan vest. She also had on rainbow colored peace sign earrings, a peace sign silver necklace, and heart-shaped sunglasses. Wow, that was more accessories than I would ever wear at once. I just had the light blue Navajo bracelet from that store on. Xion then held up an actual peace sign.

"Hello sisters," she greeted brightly. "How is it with you?"

She was weird. I liked that. I mean, come on, I'm making quite a variety of friends in this place. My only enemy, I guess, is Seifer, but I don't really care what he thinks. So, even so, he's not really my enemy. I try to get along with people, because I'm a peaceable, sensitive artist who dislikes war. Maybe like Xion, I should have been born in the 60's.

"We're doin' fine, Xi, doin' fine," Selphie replied, chowing down on her soft pretzel. "You ever met Namine? Oh, you probably haven't, but...yeah..."

"It's always rad to meet a new person. The last new girl I met made fun of my lack of participation in P.E. Like I should care! P.E. encourages violence. That's what my mom always says," Xion told me cheerfully while shaking hands with me.

I grinned back. "That's what I always thought, too! P.E. is such a waste of time."

My new acquaintance flipped back her black hair that was cut short, and she laughed at the fact we had that in common already.

"Right on, sister! And nice bracelet, too."

"Um, it's Namine."

"I call anybody brother or sister. It's a habit of mine. Then again, I did grow up in a commune when I was younger. But, anyway, I don't wear these because 60's clothes are back in. I wear them, because that's what I am. A hippie chick."

Selphie nodded my way. "It's true. She grew up in a commune in Oregon before coming here."

Oregon, hm? Wow, she was definitely out of the ordinary.

As she nibbled on one of the peeled carrots in her salad, Xion asked out of us in a rhetorical way, "Guess what I did over the summer, guys?"

"I have no clue. Been to the beach?" I tried, not being particularly sure.

Selphie shrugged. "Concert?"

"Closer on the mark there, Selphie. I went to the Warped Tour!" Xion yelled, making some of the kids over at the punk/emo table look at her enviously.

Shaking my head out of amazement, I shouted about as loudly, "Really?!? Ah, lucky!"

"Mmm-hmm, my mom got me the tickets for my birthday. She had them reserved for six months."

We then started talking about how awesome the bands were that played on the Warped Tour before Pence walked over to us...wearing a weird costume. He had on a red kangaroo costume that had a green jersey while he held the kangaroo's head.

"They actually picked me to be the mascot this year! Um, kind of weird, huh?"

Xion got up and hugged him. "I'm happy they recognized your talent, brother!"

Pence looked rather uncomfortable being hugged by such a strange chick (though contrary to popular belief, she does shower) but completely accepted it.

"All right, but the coaches just decided I could fit in the costume pretty well. First football game's tonight, so that's why it's OK for me to wear it."

I grinned. This was amusing. "So, what? Are you gonna dance around the bleachers?"

I almost thought, though, that Pence might seriously take offense to my joke, since technically, being a school mascot isn't something to be proud of. But, you know, he's a good sport about jokes at his expense. He chuckled.

"Sure, and I just might get everyone to do the wave. Maybe they picked me because I'm the fat kid. I still have to be playing in the band, though, at half-time."

Selphie let out a whistle. "Sounds like a lot of work, Pence."

"Oh, come on, it's not that bad. Being a mascot can't be too much work, can it? Well, I gotta go." Pence put on his kangaroo head and hopped off.

"Go and be a marsupial tonight, my brother!" Xion yelled after him, which made us all laugh.

Hm, what was kind of weird was that the school really let Pence get away with wearing that mascot get-up. Maybe school spirit was too much of a big deal around here. I don't think that there is a school out there devoted to artsy stuff, unless it's some specialized academy or something. Sports excess sucks around here. Then again, I would probably have to go with Mom to Sora's game (that is, if Mom wasn't too busy). After all, I suppose I would give my brother my support. Then, surprisingly, Roxas and Axel showed up to sit near Selphie, Xion, and me.

Xion grinned. "Hey, guys! I thought you were eating at Taco Bell today."

"Well, Woodstock chick, we decided just to hang around here today...only no moldy food for us," Axel told her.

The hippie girl herself seemed to beam at Axel's nickname for her. Obviously, she was proud to be all free-spirited and random. I would be too, if I let go a little more.

"You know, my mom really went to Woodstock. It's true," she bragged, folding her arms behind her head.

"Your mom must be old then," I said.

"Yeah, she had me late. But, we're both vegan, so she still looks young. Dad can't give up that red meat, though."

Selphie sighed heavily, probably thinking about bacon. "I can't be vegan. I know what they do to cows is wrong, but Burger King is so good!"

Xion fake gasped. "That's horrible, Selph! Oh well, it's your health."

Roxas snacked on a Kit-Kat bar he got from the vending machine. "So, big game's tonight, huh?"

"I'm blowin' it off, Rox," Axel replied dismissively. "Maybe a good motorcycle ride is what we both need."

While I tossed my cheese that looked like snot apparently in the trash can, I swore I caught Roxas blushing. Maybe he had some imagery about the two of them on a motorcycle. I wasn't quite sure, but I was guessing those rumors were true. And why should anyone think less of him for it? I just wondered if Axel returned those feelings or even knew about them. I think he did, since he talked about Roxas a lot, like they were already a couple. It was so cute! I had no idea, though, it was their lives.

"I'm blowing the game off too, so I'll take you up on that offer, Axe," Roxas finally mentioned with a smile. "It's not that I don't think your brother is any good, Namine, but it's basically the juniors' and seniors' show out there. And they're really not that good."

I nodded. It might be that way with every high school football team. Or not, it's just been my experience, it seems like. Besides, Sora did have the athletic skills, I'll admit it. He'll probably get a sports scholarship in a couple more years.

Axel told me, "Hey, that book you gave me is awesome. I'm on page forty already."

"Glad I got you back into reading, Axel, even if there's a lot of cussing in that book."

Selphie rolled her eyes. "How come I'm not surprised?"

"That's Axel for you," Xion pointed out, practically laughing.

Roxas punched Axel in the gut jokingly just in the spirit of laughing at the redhead.

The blond then looked at me, like he wanted to talk with me. Seriously, talk with me, and I got nervous. It was about Riku, I just knew it.

"Nam, could you try to be nice to Riku? I've known him since third grade, and he's not as bad as you think."

"I didn't say he was, Roxas."

"Yeah, well, you were looking at him, and now you're not."

"So? That doesn't mean anything."

"Come on, don't be mad at him just because he cares about Yuffie's feelings."

I looked up at the clock. "Oh, I gotta go soon. See you, guys."

Roxas looked a little concerned but dropped the subject. Good, at least I wouldn't have to dropkick it for him.

Riku this, Riku that. Maybe Riku Aoki should drop off the face of the planet, I thought bitterly. That stupid silver-haired guy always stared at me, and I was getting sick of it. I went out to the foyer and stood blankly around, not like there was anything better to do. So, I leaned back against the wall and closed my eyes. Then, I saw him in my mind. For some reason, I still managed to think he was attractive. But, that was because he was—no, duh! Definitely sexier than Johnny Depp, Hugh Jackman, and Brad Pitt combined. And I'm not a Brad Pitt kind of girl. Yeesh, though, even remembering what Riku looked like was...oh, good God, I am not thinking about him! Yuffie's dating him. She's gonna get hurt if she ever finds out. I will be killed!! Can't I get that through my head?

"Hey, sister," Xion greeted, walking up to me and patting my shoulder. "I'm guessing you have got to figure things out over Riku."

"There's nothing to figure out," I said defensively. "He has a girlfriend I wouldn't want being hurt, but he's looking at me. OK? And, if he cares that much about Yuffie's feelings, he should stay with her, dammit!"

"Whoa, whoa, your aura is getting red-hot, sister. Calm down. I was just trying for some friendly advice. Besides, this is seriously disrupting the karma here."

Who knew that the hippie chick actually made sense? No need to judge by books' covers, I guess.

I did calm down, realizing that maybe I needed to think about things other than guy issues. It made me look like one of those single chicks who were whiny.

"So," I said to Xion, pretending I hadn't been yelling. "Is karma the hippie equivalent of the Force?"

"Well...yeah, if you want to put it that way. And my mom always says everyone has an aura."

"You're starting to sound like Forrest Gump."

She shrugged. "Well, I guess his mom and my mom know a lot of stuff about life."

We both laughed from that truth, even though I only referenced a movie. But hey, Xion got me already, and that is not an easy thing to do. I had a feeling she would have best friend potential, too. In the meantime, though, I would have to go to homeroom.

A/N: I pray to God that I won't have to read Lord of the Flies in my lifetime. I heard it's a really crappy book, and cannibalism isn't exactly a turn-on for me when it comes to reading material. Plus, I couldn't think of another book they make you read in high school to make fun of. I mean, I couldn't really make fun of Shakespeare, since I actually kind of like his stuff. You know?

Well, Xion is a hippie. It's amazing the random things I come up with for her. And Roxas is just a good guy sticking up for his buddy Riku. Too bad Namine doesn't see it that way...yet.

Hope this chapter was as good as the others.