This chapter was… beyond difficult. I am so sorry for the wait. Now… The first day of school, at long last. I want to span the whole week, but we'll see what happens. This should segue into the next Time Stamp, which'll be Trunks and Pan's first anniversary.
This time stamp is a little more Chyna-focused, as you'll soon see. I honestly wasn't expecting to struggle with this one as much as I did, guys. I'm so sorry.
Corra's pronouns will switch around a bit. If the excerpt is from the "perspective" of someone who doesn't know she's genderfluid, they'll use feminine pronouns. Of course, her pronouns might be feminine at that time but if they're not, you'll know from the parts from her "perspective". I use the word perspective loosely, as I'm writing in third person.
Title is "Schoolin' Life", and it comes from Beyonce's album '4' and has little to do with the time stamp itself. Just thought the name was perfect.
Time Frame: Mid-to-Late August-Early September, Age 804 (About a week after Something Entirely New and then skips two weeks)
Summary: Countdown to the First Day of School for the twins! Navigating the first day comes with varying difficulties and unexpected developments.
"Welp, first things first, you guys need another physical," Pan clasped her hands together, "and your shots probably need to be updated."
"Shots?" Chyna gulped audibly, "we need shots to go to school?"
"Yep," the elder Son sister snickered, "don't give me that look, Chai-chan. Your immunizations have to be up to date or they won't let you attend your classes."
"It's just a needle, Chai," Corra admonished, "I'll hold your hand if you want." She smiled warmly at her twin, "look at this," she gestured to her ears, both of which had a bar piercing stuck through the cartilage, "I got both of these done at the same time and the needles they used were way bigger than the ones they use for shots. You'll be fine."
Chyna had been in the room while Corra was getting the piercing done, and she recalled feeling the blood drain from her face when the piercer removed said needles from their sterilized packaging. She wished she hadn't gone in there, but it'd been too late to leave. Thankfully the entire process hadn't taken too long, not even five minutes, and they were out of there in no time.
"I've been thinking about getting mine done," Pan murmured thoughtfully, leaning in to examine her sister's ears, "how bad was the pain?"
"Not too bad," Corra shrugged, "the crunch noise it makes when it goes through the cartilage was weird, but the pain actually wasn't that bad. It doesn't hit until after they slide the bar through."
"Have you been keeping them clean?" she inquired in a very doctoral tone, "they won't heal right if you don't."
"Yes, big sissy." The younger quarter saiyan's cheeks flushed pink as her twin giggled quietly, "Chai reminds me if I forget."
"She forgets a lot."
Videl nosed her into the room with a cheery Sosai on her hip. The baby squealed happily at the sight of her mother, making grabbing hands at her. Pan snickered and held her hands out to take her daughter, "hi, my baby."
Sosai cooed as her mother settled her in the space between her crossed legs, placing her hands on the sides of Pan's calves to help hold herself upright. Both of her aunties smiled adoringly as she grinned happily, showing off her tiny teeth.
The girls were seated on Pan's old bed, the latter having come over to visit on her day off. The morning had been spent by the twins showing their older sister the new clothes they'd gotten for school, and now they were lazing about and conversing.
"So," Pan entreated, "what do your schedules look like?"
"Me and Chai have all the same classes except for three," Corra eagerly explained, "we don't have 3rd, 4th, and 7th period together."
Chai looked down at the orange bedspread below, twisting fistfuls of it around in her hands. She was still very apprehensive about being away from her twin. Sure, it was only three hours out of their eight hour school day, but it might as well have been an eternity.
"Nervous, huh?"
"A little."
"You're gonna be fine," Pan told her warmly, "it's a little daunting at first, but once you settle in, you'll wonder why you were worried in the first place."
"Their circumstances are a bit different from yours, Pan-chan. You started public school a lot earlier on than they did." Videl admonished gently, "and no one was questioning your parentage." This additive was accompanied with a dark look.
"True," the eldest quarter saiyan conceded, "but you know we'll handle it if someone decides to make things difficult for either of you, right? Not every problem can be solved with a punch to the face." This she directed at Corra, who flushed pink.
"And how long did it take you to learn that lesson?"
"Long enough." Pan turned her nose up in the air, drawing giggles from both of her little sisters and her daughter.
"I'll make an appointment later this week," the wife of Gohan decided, "if you're off work, we can make a girl's day out of it."
*~*s*~*S*~*s*~*
Chyna rubbed at her upper arms, feeling cold despite the relatively comfortable temperature in the room. Her socked feet swung back and forth, stopping just shy of hitting the underside of the examination table on the backswing. She'd been left alone to disrobe for her well woman's exam.
She hated going to the doctors. Due to their… unique upbringing, both Corra and herself were required to get a pelvic exam and pap smear every time they came, which meant two to three minutes of being uncomfortably exposed while the doctor poked and prodded their insides to check out the leftover scar tissue and to make sure they hadn't developed any diseases.
For her, those few minutes may as well be an eternity.
The first time she'd had one done, Chyna panicked and immediately shut herself off from the outside world. Doctor Minako had been gentle and patient, telling her what she was going to do before she'd even begun and even that hadn't been enough to keep her calm. It took her mother and older sister nearly an hour to coax her back out of the numb stupor she'd forced herself into.
The warm comforting feel of her mother's ki brushed over her senses before she heard the soft knocking at the door. She swallowed thickly to clear her throat, "C-come in."
Videl quietly let herself into the room and shut the door behind herself. She smiled warmly at her daughter as she crossed the room to stand at her side, "Pan's gonna sit with Corrie, okay?"
"Okay." Chyna's breathing hitched slightly and she inwardly cursed herself. It'd been two years since she started getting these examinations, why was it still so hard? Her hands clenched into tight fists in her lap, trembling minutely.
"I'll be right here," Videl soothed, "if it's too much, just grab my hand." She kissed her daughter's temple lovingly. Chyna nodded jerkily, thankful for the lifeline.
The petite quarter saiyan jerked in surprise when the door swung open, too far in her own head. The doctor who entered, a tall blonde woman with bright blue eyes, was very clearly not her usual physician, and that immediately set her on edge.
"Doctor Minako's out sick," the woman announced briskly, not bothering to face them; she was too busy laying her things down and getting settled, "I'm Doctor Suwabe," she finally turned to look at them, smiling cordially, "I'm filling in for her today."
Chyna felt no warmth or care whatsoever in the woman's tone, and it was clear by the way her smile didn't reach her eyes that this was just business. She didn't want this woman anywhere near her.
"I'm sorry," Videl began, smiling pleasantly, "my daughter's gotten used to Doctor Minako doing her examinations. I think it'll be best—"
"Corra's gonna be just fine," Doctor Suwabe waved the concerned mother off rather dismissively, if not rudely, eyes trained on Chyna's chart, "now, you're getting a physical and a well woman's ex—"
"—if we reschedule for another day when her usual doctor is available," Videl's voice grew steely with annoyance, "with all due respect, Doctor Suwabe, I think I know my own daughter. This is Chyna, by the way. Corra's in the next room over." She flashed a brief sarcastic smile.
"Mama," Chyna entreated quietly, "don't I need to get this done for school?" she was inwardly grateful that she wouldn't have to expose herself to yet another doctor. It'd taken some time to acclimate to Doctor Minako, the last thing she wanted was to start over with a doctor who seemed like she could care less. At least her usual doctor had good bedside manners.
"You need your immunizations to be up to date, the physical and the exam can wait another day," she corrected gently, "if you could tell us what shots she needs, that would be wonderful." This was directed at Doctor Suwabe, who looked like the wind had been knocked out of her sail.
"M-Mrs. Son, I – if there's a problem, I—"
"It's fine, we'll just do shots today," Videl waved her off, just as dismissively as she'd been only moments prior, "the nurse can do those, can't they?" her periwinkle eyes flashed with her ire, but not once did the cordial smile on her face waver.
"Of course," the blonde woman stiffly gathered her things up, "I-I'll send the nurse right in." She left the room in a hurry, and Chyna could hear her grumbling irritably under her breath for a few seconds before the door clicked shut.
Videl glowered at the door for a moment, and then frowned, glancing over at the wall separating their room from the one Corra and Pan were in. Her eyes went blank for a few moments, abruptly clearing as she rolled them towards the ceiling in apparent exasperation.
"Mama?" Chyna frowned at her mother in confusion, somewhat concerned.
"Your big sister just asked me what I did to piss the doctor off that badly." The wife of Gohan explained, raising a finger to her temple, "she went next door to tell them that they'd just be doing shots today."
"Thank you."
"You're welcome," Videl kissed her forehead gingerly, "I could tell she was making you uncomfortable. Now, we can get your shots out of the way and then we'll go grab a bite to eat and maybe do a little more shopping."
*~*s*~*S*~*s*~*
Pan huffed a quiet laugh, drawing her little sister's eye. The wife of Trunks was sitting on one of the chairs just inside the examination room, her fussy daughter cradled in her arms. She'd been napping peacefully in her car seat until the blonde doctor burst in and brusquely announced that they'd just be doing immunizations.
"What's so funny?"
"Mom." Pan snickered, "she nixed the physical and exam because the doctor was making Chai-chan uncomfortable." She crooned softly to Sosai, "oh you poor little thing, did the loud doctor lady wake you up?"
Sosai whined plaintively and hiccupped, threatening to burst into real tears. Pan gently popped her binky into her mouth and lifted her up so she was laid against her shoulder. She swayed gently from side to side, trying to get her calmed down before she could reach her boiling point.
"I thought we needed the physical and exam…"
"Nope, that stuff can wait," Pan explained gently, "you just need all your shots to be up to date. I think you and Chai-chan have three that you need to get done." She rose from her seat and made her way over to the desk, where Corra's chart was still lying out, "yep, you've got three."
"Great…"
"Oh please, you got a bigger needle shoved through your ears when you got your bar piercings done and you were fine," the older quarter saiyan jibed, "shots take way less time than piercings."
"Just because they take less time doesn't mean it doesn't hurt, neechan." Corra shot back, pouting at her sister.
"Okay, okay," Pan conceded, "I get it. When I was still pregnant, Marron was stabbing me with needles at pretty much every appointment. I guess I'm just desensitized to it now." Laid against her shoulder, Sosai seemed to have settled down for the most part. The little Princess suckled contently at her pacifier with one tiny fist curled in the fabric of her mother's light cardigan.
"What do you want to eat, hon?"
"I dunno," Corra shrugged, "can we get Slurpee's?"
"I haven't had Slurpee's since before I had Soso," Pan's midnight blue eyes glimmered with eagerness, "that sounds perfect."
*~*s*~*S*~*s*~*
Corra flopped back on her bed with a sigh, grumbling under her breath about how sore her upper arms were. Chyna shuffled into the bedroom after her, pointedly stepping over the shoes she'd carelessly toed off and left in front of the doorway, and padded over to her own bed.
"I hate shots."
"You and me both, sister," Chyna drawled, heading over to the closet to remove her own shoes before climbing onto her bed. She settled against the pillows and grabbed her music player and the paperback copy of 'Everything, Everything' that she was halfway finished with, and proceeded to lose herself in the music and the story.
Corra glanced over at her twin, finding her completely absorbed in her book, and sighed softly before a yawn slipped out of her mouth. She rolled over onto her hands and knees and shuffled up to her pillows, where she promptly face planted and lapsed off into slumber.
Chyna glanced up from her book and giggled softly when she saw her twin snoozing away. If she didn't know any better, she'd assume the other girl couldn't breathe with the way her face was buried in the pillows. Tutting softly, she pushed her glasses back up on her nose and turned her attention back to her book.
*~*s*~*S*~*s*~*
Chyna raised her forearm to block the punch headed towards her face. She smirked wryly at her assailant, lashing out with her left leg in a sharp jab. Corra growled, pivoting on her toes to avoid the kick. The smaller girl followed up with a series of deadly precise kicks, with a few sharp jabs interspersed throughout.
Corra distanced herself with a flare of her ki, narrowly avoiding a kick to the face. She leapt backwards, out of Chai's immediate range. The smaller girl followed readily, slinging a flurry of bright yellow ki blasts after her opponent.
The taller quarter saiyan erected a small ki shield to fend off the bombardment with one hand, and began charging a Hyper Masenko with the other.
Chyna frowned, narrowing her eyes as she sensed her sister's ki beginning to gather. Her instincts demanded that she stay on high alert, so she continued her barrage while slowly moving backwards.
Corra worried at her bottom lip as sweat beaded up on her brow. Using both hands to do two different things with her ki was a skill she hadn't really honed just yet, and the effort was a little taxing. She could feel, however, that the Masenko was sufficiently charged, but she'd yet to find an opening.
Can't find an opening… so let's just make one.
The short haired quarter saiyan dropped her shield and phased out a split second later, narrowly avoiding the barrage coming her way. She zipped across the field, phasing in and out of sight, trained on her target.
An alarm went off in the back of Chyna's head, and she dropped her attack and hastily drew up a bubble shield. She cast her sixth sense out, searching for Corra's ki. A flash of brilliant yellow in her peripheral caught her eye, and she gasped.
"HYPER MASENKO!"
Chyna hastily fed more of her ki into her shield, but she wasn't quick enough. The shield shattered on contact, and she barely had enough time to get her arms up to guard her face and upper body before the beam hit her. The heat of it singed all the hair off of her forearms, and had her skin stinging from the resultant burn.
The petite quarter saiyan flared her ki and dug her feet into the ground, unwilling to let the blast send her flying. How long is she gonna keep this up? She wasn't strong enough to knock the blast away, and she couldn't get enough wiggle room to put another shield up without it crumbling immediately.
Corra let up on the blast and leapt blindly into the smoke and dust it'd kicked up, hoping to catch her sister off guard. That would be her downfall.
Chyna glanced down at her burnt forearms, luckily not badly burnt, and glanced up when she felt her sister's ki approaching. Using the smoke screen left over from the Masenko to her advantage, she moved away from the epicenter and kept her senses trained on her sister's ki signature.
Damn, Corra thought to herself, she moved. She toed the deep grooves in the ground, obvious remnants from Chyna digging her feet in to keep the blast from overwhelming her. Her ears pricked, catching a small whizzing noise… and then another… and another… and another.
The soft noises came from all sides, and Corra dropped into her stance, unable to catch a glimpse of her sister through the dense dust cloud. She kept on her toes, pivoting sharply in time with each quiet burst of sound.
"Come on out, Chai-chan," she called out jauntily, "that's enough hide and go seek." The quarter saiyan flared her ki in a sizeable pulse to clear the air so she could see… and promptly blanched.
The soft whizzes she'd heard had been ki balls. Dozens of pale blue energy spheres were suspended in the air all around her, with barely any wiggle room for Corra to escape. Chyna stood outside of the dome, hands outstretched and fingers splayed wide.
Gotcha. Chyna curled her fingers in a sharp claw-like gesture, sending the blasts hurtling towards her twin.
Corra brought her arms up in an 'X' shape, and cried out sharply as the first round made contact. The volley went on for what felt like an eternity. I guess I deserve this for the Masenko…
Gohan's brows rose in surprise at the amount of control Chyna had over her ki. He was on the outskirts of the field, observing their spar from a distance. Both girls were advancing rapidly, growing in power with every spar. He was constantly in awe of their progress, considering they'd only begun their training two years prior.
Corra's ki flared sharply, rising to her newly attained super saiyan. The last few ki balls flying towards her were deflected by her aura. Chyna growled lowly, dropping into her stance. She spied the fiery golden aura through the dust and smoke and huffed with annoyance.
I guess I'm about to lose this one.
Like hell was she going down without a fight.
*~*s*~*S*~*s*~*
"Girls!" Videl shouted up the stairs, "we need to be out of here in the next fifteen minutes if we're gonna beat traffic and make it in time for your orientation!"
"COMING!"
Gohan puttered past his wife on his way out the door, pausing to kiss her cheek lovingly, "I'm off to work."
"You know you should've left five minutes ago, don't you?" the brunette cocked a single brow at her husband. She leaned in to kiss his cheek and adjust his tie, "have a good day, don't forget your lunch."
"Yes ma'am," he grinned sheepishly, "keep me posted, kay?" he nodded towards the stairs, where the twins were still getting ready for their orientation/practice first day.
"Will do, goober. I love you."
"I love you too." Gohan wrapped his arm around her waist and drew her in for a quick kiss before leaving the house. Videl watched him go fondly, and then looked back up the stairs expectantly.
She was on the verge of heading back up the stairs when she heard a door fly open. There was a rush of displaced air, and then both Chyna and Corra were standing in front of her.
Chyna wore a shimmery dark green mini dress with a swishy skirt, a pair of black opaque tights, and a pair of matte black Doc Martens with a red rose embossed on the side of each boot. Her hair was pulled away from her face in a high pony, and she accessorized with a bit of silver jewelry and a chocolate brown cross-body bag.
Corra wore a pair of light wash, loosely fit jeans, a three-quarter sleeved white Henley with grey sleeves, a pair of red elastic cloth wrist bands, and a pair of hi-top red Vans. Her short locks were artfully tousled, and she finished the look with a black messenger bag.
"Kami, you two," Videl jerked her thumb towards the door, "lets roll." As they headed out ahead of her, she couldn't help but sigh good naturedly, these two are gonna be the death of me, I swear…
*~*s*~*S*~*s*~*
Chyna blinked owlishly at the still dark sky outside of the bedroom window. The clock on the bedside table told her she was up entirely too early, even though they had to get up much earlier to make it to school due to the location of their home, but she was too wired to go back to sleep.
With a soft sigh, she pushed the covers back and kicked them down to the foot of the bed with sharp stabs of her feet. The gust of cool air on her sleep-warmed skin made gooseflesh prickle up, and she shivered a bit as she swung her legs over the side of her bed. She spied her twin through the wispy bangs hanging in her eyes, snoozing away without a care in the world.
Lucky.
Chyna envied her sister's ability to sleep peacefully when basically everything they knew was going to change. It'd been two years since the mess with Channing had gone down and, while the talk had died down, it was far from forgotten. The kids at the school were probably well aware of who they were.
They rarely went out in public alone; this would be their first of many times to do so. Chyna wasn't exactly thrilled at the prospect but it was a bit too late to back out. She scrunched her toes in the thick plush carpet and brushed her bangs aside before plucking her glasses from her nightstand.
"Might as well start getting ready." she thought aloud, shuffling into the bathroom to begin her morning routine.
*~*s*~*S*~*s*~*
The annoying metallic trill of the alarm clock on Corra's bedside table dragged her kicking and screaming from the warm sleepy haze she'd been in. She growled and sleepily batted at the annoyance, sending it crashing into the bedroom wall with a loud crunch. The metallic 'bring' finally ceased, and she sank back into blessed slumber.
She was immediately hit in the face with a pair of balled up socks.
Bewildered, Corra flailed around in the bed until she was facing the culprit, bleary eyed and confused. Chyna sat primly on her own bed, cross-legged, dressed in a sea blue tunic with capped sleeves, and a pair of darker blue tights that stopped at mid-calf. Her hair spilled over her shoulders and down her back in loose waves.
"We have school," the petite Son told her matter-of-factly, pushing her glasses back up on her nose, "pronouns?" she lowered her voice to a whisper to inquire. Though she could sense that her parents weren't near the door, it was habit that kept her voice low.
"Girl," Corra responded, smiling sleepily, "I told you, it doesn't change that often." She raked a hand through the veritable rat's nest on her head and grimaced when she spied the remains of her clock, "crap, I broke my alarm clock."
"Let me be a good sister," Chyna huffed, though with no real annoyance, "go clean up, we got an hour or so until we have to leave. Mine's still in one piece." She tacked on somewhat smugly.
"Harhar," the quarter saiyan tossed her sheets back and clambered out of the bed, making her way to the bathroom. Chyna bit back a snort when she wobbled a bit, nearly taking out part of the doorframe as she entered the restroom.
Today felt like a good day. She was normal today; her soul matched her body today. It was hard to get rid of the negative thoughts about being genderfluid, but it got better and better with time. Chyna kept her right, and she was more grateful than ever to have her twin in her corner.
Corra splashed cold water on her face a few times to wake herself up fully, and then braced her hands on the edge of the sink. She met her own gaze in the mirror and smiled jubilantly, "today's gonna be great."
*~*s*~*S*~*s*~*
"I don't know why you didn't pick an outfit out yesterday," Chyna mumbled under her breath, watching Corra pore through her clothing selections in their closet in exasperation, "that would've saved time."
"HEARD THAT!"
"I know you did." the smaller girl shot back, absently perusing the contents of her backpack repeatedly… mainly to soothe the well of anxiety-borne nausea bubbling low in her gut. She wasn't sure she'd be able to stomach breakfast.
There was a brief knock on the door before it opened a bit, and Videl poked her head into the room. She smiled warmly when she saw Chyna sitting on the bed, "I see somebody's already ready to go."
"More than I can say for Corrie."
"Rude!" Corra emerged from the closet, short hair mussed, scowling playfully at her twin as she laid her clothing choices out. She'd picked out an olive green t-shirt with a group of Shonen characters on the front, a pair of loose fitting dark wash jeans, a dark green zip-up jacket with white accents, and a pair of red and white checked Vans.
"Alright," Videl snickered, "well, breakfast's downstairs whenever you two are ready. Your Dad's gonna drop you off at school, and your sister or Trunks will pick you up. Depends on whether or not she's at work; I think Pan's on-call today." She winked and ducked out of the room, quietly pulling the door shut behind her.
"Welp," Corra shrugged out of her pajamas, "why don't you go down and eat, Chai? I'll be down in a little bit." She grabbed a plain black bra and put it on, grimacing as she reached around herself to clasp it.
"Honestly, I don't think I can eat," Chyna admitted softly, "too nervous." Her stomach twisted as if to back this up, and she gulped audibly to counteract it.
"Chai-chan, we'll be fine," she soothed, voice muffled due to the fact that she was stuck halfway in her shirt, "you'll be fine. We made it through orientation alright, the real thing'll be a breeze."
"Fine," she gracefully unfolded herself and crawled off of her bed, "I'll eat a little something, but I'm blaming you if I puke at school." She shouldered one of the straps of her rucksack and grabbed the pearl grey cardigan and the silver embellished black flats she'd chosen to complete her outfit before leaving the room.
*~*s*~*S*~*s*~*
"Hey, sweetie," Videl smiled in greeting as she carried two platters of grilled fish over to the already overflowing kitchen table, "take a seat, what kind of tea do you want with breakfast?"
"Genmaicha," she responded absently, taking a seat in her usual spot next to her father, who was already tucking away his own breakfast. He mumbled a greeting through a mouthful of rice and tamago, making her lips twitch with amusement.
"I know that voice," the mother of three raised a brow pointedly, "nervous, huh?"
"A little," Chyna admitted reluctantly, "Mama, what was it like when you first started high school?"
"Nothing like you or your sister, I'm afraid," Videl smiled apologetically, "I was always in public school, from primary on up," her gaze flicked over to her husband, "your Dad didn't start public school until his senior year, he'd be the better one to ask."
Gohan slowly lowered the mostly empty bowl of steamed rice from his mouth, finally noticing his wife and daughter looking in his direction, "huh?" Chyna giggled softly as her mother placed a cup of genmaicha sweetened with a hint of honey in front of her.
Videl rolled her eyes, exasperated, "tell your daughter about going to a real school, and wipe your… mouth…" she placed her hands on her hips, "how did you get rice on your forehead, you goober?"
The Son's cheeks flushed a light pink and he mumbled something noncommittally as he hastily grabbed a napkin to clean himself up. Afterwards, he turned to his daughter and smiled affectionately, "well, I'm not sure I'm the best person to ask either. I didn't have a clue what was going on half the time while I was in high school."
"True that." Videl mumbled as she placed an empty bowl in front of Chyna and another where Corra would be sitting once she was ready.
"But it was a bit of a shock, I admit," he pursed his lips in thought, pointedly ignoring his wife's teasing, "I'd never been around other kids my age and I'd never had friends my age before either. At the time, my only friends were Piccolo and Krillin."
"He was clueless, it was adorable," Videl gushed, taking a seat next to her husband with her own bowl, "he got blackmailed into going on a date once, you know."
"Videl!"
"What?" Chyna's eyes lit up, she'd never heard this before, "was it you, Mama?"
"Unfortunately for him, not that time," she waggled her brows at her blushing husband, "it was this girl named Angela," Videl snickered, "he thought she knew he was the Great Saiyaman, but the only dirt she had on him was that she'd seen him wearing teddy bear underwear."
"Your mother blackmailed me into teaching her how to use her ki," Gohan mumbled, pouting a bit, "she used to follow me all over Satan City trying to learn my secret," he sighed nostalgically, "I didn't have a clue what was going on."
Corra burst into the kitchen, a ball of energy. She slid over to the table on socked feet and plopped down next to her twin. Her short wavy hair was artfully tousled to perfection, and the tapered sides were perfect for showing off the new cartilage piercings she'd gotten two weeks prior.
"What'd I miss?"
"Mama blackmailed Papa when they were younger." Chyna chirped, smiling amusedly at the heated flush staining her father's cheeks, as well as the cat-like smirk her mother was sending his way.
"That wasn't in the story you told us, Papa." Corra snickered as she filled her bowl with rice from one of the several dishes on the table.
Gohan blushed even more furiously, much to the amusement of his wife and daughters. He sighed, knowing there was no way for him to win, and went back to tucking into his breakfast at a cutthroat pace.
*~*s*~*S*~*s*~*
"Alright girls," Videl shared a nervous look with Gohan before she grabbed the identical sleek smartphones resting on the kitchen counter, "your dad and I figured that, since you're going to school now, you need some way to get into contact with us in case of an emergency."
"But we have telepathy with our ki," Corra pointed out bluntly, earning an elbow in her side from Chyna for her efforts, "what, it's true."
"Just humor us, Corrie," Videl rolled her eyes good naturedly, "we weren't sure what color to get, so we got plain black," she passed a device to each of her girls, "if you want, we can go shopping for cases later this week. They're already programmed with all our numbers, so you don't have to worry about that."
"Keep it on vibrate," Gohan told them both sternly, "try not to text in class."
"If you do text in class, don't get caught," their mother winked conspiratorially, huffing at the betrayed look her husband sent her way, "what? They're teenagers, goober, it comes with the territory."
"You're not supposed to encourage them, Vi."
"I do what I want, I thought you knew that by now."
"Oh I do," Gohan drawled teasingly, "more than you know." A chorus of cheerful laughter filled the warm kitchen.
Videl wrapped each of her twins in a tight hug and kissed them on the tops of their heads, "have a good day. Pay attention, behave, and try to have fun. Remember what I told you."
"We will, Mama," Chyna pecked her mother's cheek, "love you."
"We'll be fine, Mom." Corra kissed Videl's other cheek, "don't worry."
"I'm a mother, it's part of my job description to worry." Videl stepped away from her girls, grabbed Gohan by his tie, and dragged him into a kiss, much to her girls' chagrin. They each groaned and covered their eyes, feigning disgust.
*~*s*~*S*~*s*~*
Corra slid out of the backseat of her father's dark blue air car and looked around. Orange Star High was a hive of activity, vastly different from what it'd been when they'd taken their entry exams. She slid the strap of her red backpack over her shoulder and stood aside to let her sister exit the car.
Chyna was trembling as she stepped out of the car, one hand wrapped around the strap of her rucksack in a death grip. She watched multitude of students milling about with wide periwinkle eyes, already dreading the daunting task ahead of her. There were hundreds of them, loitering near the doors with their friends and making their way inside of the school.
"Alright, girls," Gohan called out through the passenger window, "have a great first day. Remember to keep calm and enjoy yourself."
"We will, Papa," Corra smiled brightly. She could see through her peripheral vision that Chyna was otherwise occupied with watching all the other kids wandering about.
"And stay out of trouble, Corrie-chan."
"Papa."
Gohan winked teasingly at Corra and eyed Chyna with concern, "keep an eye out for Chai-chan." He could sense the edge of nervousness and anxiety in her ki, growing more and more prevalent with each passing moment. He fervently hoped she'd be able to make it through the day alright; he was more worried about her acclimating than he was Corra's.
If Chyna heard her father's remark, she didn't react to it in any way.
"I will, Papa. Have a good day at work. We'll see you later."
"Alright, you too. Love you both."
"Love you too." The twins chorused, Chyna finally getting her wits somewhat about herself. She smiled, a brittle thin thing, for her father's benefit before the going's on around them nabbed her attention and focus yet again.
Gohan pulled off, with no small amount of reluctance, and watched his baby girls grow smaller and smaller in his rearview mirror until he could no longer make them out. They'll be fine, he silently soothed himself as he made his way through traffic to the university, just fine.
*~*s*~*S*~*s*~*
The twins shared a look as they passed through the ajar glass doors and stepped into the barely controlled chaos that was OSHS's first day of school. There was a swell of noise that washed over and subsumed them as they stepped through the second set of doors. Chyna had to fight back the urge to tuck tail and flee the vicinity.
Corra and Chyna kept close together, arm in arm as they ventured further into the bedlam, the latter with eyes the size of dinner plates. Everything was so loud and jarring. The sheer volume was almost overwhelming.
The incessant hum of the innumerable conversations going on simultaneously made Chyna twitch, it was like having a million flies buzzing in her ears. All the talking, cheerful shouting, cries of joy and elation, and laughter swirled into a staggering auditory jumble. Her breathing sped up and the grip she had on her sister's forearm grew almost painfully tight.
"Chyna?" Corra regarded her twin with concern, "Chai-chan, what's wrong?" she watched her wide periwinkle eyes flit from place to place, disconcertingly wide, and realization dawned. I had a feeling something like this would happen…
Her twin tried her best to placate her, but Chyna didn't seem to register her soft platitudes. Her ears were filled with the thrum of her racing heartbeat and the mindless din that surrounded them. Cold sweat formed a sheen across her brow and began trickling down her spine.
The school was teeming with activity, there were kids from all grade levels wandering to and fro, standing in groups in the hallway, sitting together at the round lunch tables, ambling along at varying paces… it was a lot to take in.
So many people, all clustered together, tooclosetooclosetooclosetooclose!
Chyna felt an almost overwhelming urge to run and hide clawing its way to the forefront of her mind. Only the grip on her sister's arm kept her buoyant as she fought to keep her inner struggle from consuming her. It seemed like everywhere they turned, there were more people. Her mouth was dry, uncomfortably so, and her throat bobbed as she tried to swallow.
And she'd thought orientation had been too much to handle. This was easily a million times worse.
"Alright, c'mon." Corra wrapped an arm around her rapidly paling twin's middle and firmly guided her to the nearest restroom. Of course it was full to brimming with other girls, and Chyna recoiled instantly. The taller girl hustled her back out of the crowded space and guided her outside, searching for somewhere quiet. It took some time, there were a lot of kids, but she found the perfect spot in the school's courtyard, tucked under a stairwell. A few tall shrubs provided cover should anyone decide to peak over into the compact area.
"Sit down," Corra directed, gently but firmly guiding her sister to take a seat on a small stone bench, "just put your head between your knees and try to take some deep breaths."
"C-Corrie… I think I'm gonna be sick." Chyna mumbled shakily to the concrete between her feet, shivering as she struggled to do as she was told. Her throat bobbed threateningly as the acrid tang of bile tickled the back of her tongue.
"It's your claustrophobia, Chai," the taller twin soothed, "your nerves are just getting the better of you and triggering it, you'll be fine once you relax a little." Corra took a seat at her sister's side and began rubbing soothing circles over her tense back.
"There's too many people in there," Chyna whispered bitterly, "I didn't think it'd be this bad, I should've just stayed home." Her breathing hitched and her eyes burned as they swam with unshed tears. She swallowed thickly and struggled to keep her tears at bay, "it's not even first period and I'm already falling apart."
"I'm nervous too," Corra admitted truthfully, "and scared, I just hide it better." The attempt at a joking tone fell flat, and she fell silent, instead continuing her comforting ministrations.
It took some time, but Chyna slowly went lax, and her ragged shallow breathing eased. Her heartrate dropped back to normal levels and the invisible fist that'd been clenched around her heart and lungs finally let up on its death grip.
Corra eyed her with some concern when she sat upright, revealing her sweaty, flushed face and bloodshot eyes. Chyna pressed the heels of her palms against her eyes and groaned, "This sucks."
"Do you wanna go home?" Corra asked quietly, resting a hand on her shoulder, "if you want, we can just leave and try again tomorrow."
"If I go home now, I'm not coming back. Ever." The petite quarter saiyan slowly lowered her hands from her face and heaved a sigh, "I need to clean up." She could feel the sweat drying on her skin in the cool morning air.
"How about we sit here for a while longer?" Corra laughed, the notes tinged with worry, "just until you're a little more settled. We've got time," she glanced at her new phone, "there's a little under half an hour till first bell."
"I look that bad?"
"Yeah, actually," the taller twin grimaced apologetically, "sorry."
Chyna shrugged her off, she always looked bad after a bout with her phobia, and leaned against her sister's side, "I'm sorry, I really wish I wasn't like this."
"It's not your fault," Corra wrapped an arm around her shoulders, "if you-know-who hadn't—"
"Please don't bring him up right now," Chyna cut in desperately, eyes fluttering closed as the locked box those hellish memories resided in began rattling ominously in the back of her mind, "not exactly in a good frame of mind, sissy." The last thing she wanted was to take a trip down memory lane and descend into an even more intense breakdown.
Things were better these days; they went to therapy once a month now versus the biweekly sessions they had after the court decided to let them go home to their real family. However, that didn't mean it was nothing to bring those memories up, dredging that up was stressful and almost always ended in tears, an anxiety attack, impotent anger, or a combination of the three.
"Shit, sorry." Corra kissed the top of her head, "but it's not your fault, that's all I was trying to say."
"I know it's not," Chyna whispered back, "but I'm still sorry."
"There's no point in apologizing for something you can't control, sissy." Corra entreated gently, "d'you wanna stay out here until first bell or do you want to try again?"
"Stay here."
"Okay," she kissed Chyna's forehead again, "we'll stay."
*~*s*~*S*~*s*~*
The earlier panic attack seemed like a blessing in disguise. The crowded hallways and boisterous noise didn't bother Chyna nearly as much as they did beforehand. Yes, she was still a bundle of nerves and her heartrate was elevated more than usual, but she felt… distant from it all in a sense.
Corra led the way up the steps to the third row of their shared first period, where she took the second seat from the end, leaving the aisle seat open for her sister. Chyna smiled gratefully and settled down, slinging her rucksack off and pulling it into her lap so she could get her supplies out.
"… seen Iden yet?" The tail end of the question piqued her ears, and the petite Son watched two tall, slender and leggy girls enter the classroom, their strides fluid and effortlessly graceful. Both of them were so gorgeous in completely different ways.
"No, not yet. Why?"
"Irie, he's gotten even cuter over the summer." The girl who'd asked the half-heard question had long, ruler black brown hair and clear, coppery skin. Her cheek bones were high and looked as if they'd been chiseled by the Kais themselves, and her eyes were wide and almond in shape, colored a striking bright golden brown.
"I haven't seen him yet," the other girl, Irie, with deep caramel colored skin, reddish brown hair that framed her face in kinky curls, responded softly, "I hope we have a class or two together." Her cheeks were more rounded than the other girl's, her lips fuller, and her round eyes were colored a soft green with hints of gold.
Wow, Chyna thought to herself, furtively watching them as they took two seats in the second row, they're so pretty. She went back to fishing her supplies out of her bag, none the wiser to the tension leaching off her sister.
Corra watched the two girls, cheeks flushed a light shade of red. Her palms felt clammy and her heart was fluttering in her chest as she listened to the dark haired girl gripe about afterschool dance practice. Her blue-black locks were so glossy they were almost reflective.
She busied herself with removing her own backpack and pulling her own supplies from its depths. As the quarter saiyan fiddled, the pretty girl with the glossy black hair turned to look in her direction furtively. The light caught her golden brown eyes just right, and Corra made a soft noise of surprise as the flush in her cheeks deepened.
Chyna eyed her sister in her peripheral, she'd heard the soft whine, mildly concerned. She frowned at the vivid color in her cheeks and poked her in the side to get her attention.
"What?"
"What's wrong with you?" the petite Son murmured, "you're blushing your face off." The corner of her lip twitched a bit, and her periwinkle eyes danced with mirth.
The copper skinned girl turned back to her curly haired friend, Irie, giggling quietly at something she'd said, and Corra sighed wistfully. She had such a pretty laugh…
Kami…
"Corrie?"
"Wha – Huh?"
Chyna raised a brow pointedly, "what's going on?" her eyes darted between her sister's blushing face and the two girls sitting directly in front of them, heads close together as they whispered.
"It's nothing," the taller twin admonished, "just nervous, I guess."
"Okay…" Chyna opened her mouth to comment again, but the final bell rang and their Algebra II teacher called the class to order. She swallowed thickly and sat up a bit straighter in her seat.
Here we go…
*~*s*~* Third Period *~*s*~*
Chyna
First class without Corrie… everything's gonna be fine.
Chyna kept her eyes trained as low as possible as she made her way through the maze of hallways, only looking up to make sure she was headed in the right direction. Orientation had helped immensely with getting around, but it was still a little confusing at times.
A wonderful scent wafted into her nose as she made a right turn, and she couldn't help the soft pleased noise she made as it grew stronger. Smells like fresh buttermilk pancakes with real maple syrup and cinnamon butter…
A slender woman with fair skin, wide pale grey eyes the color of silver coins, and long dark brown hair hanging over her shoulder in a braid was standing next to one of the many ajar doors on the corridor. Namely the one where the wonderful scent was coming from.
"Good morning," the woman chirped warmly as Chyna drew closer, "are you headed to Home Economics? If so," she waved a small hand towards the classroom, "you've come to the right room. Head on in, grab a syllabus from the table just inside, and have a seat wherever you'd like. I'm Mrs. Morrigan."
Chyna offered a shy smile and made her way into the room, absently taking a syllabus from the table as she passed. It was divided into three areas, one with several fully equipped kitchen spaces, one with tables with sewing machines and other such equipment, and the last with large desks meant to seat four students at each one.
Lovely.
Just when she was beginning to despair, Chyna spied a familiar face. Mikori looked up from the papers she'd been sorting through, and her face lit up when she spotted the quarter saiyan.
"Hey Chyna," she greeted eagerly, waving her over, "you can sit with me if you want."
Releasing the breath she hadn't even noticed she'd been holding through her nose, Chyna skirted through the desks, making her way over to the cinnamon haired girl. She took the seat on the end, with Mikori to her right and, thankfully, no one to her left.
"How's your first day been?" the curvier girl inquired softly.
"Fine, I guess," Chyna whispered back, other than this morning, "yours?"
"The same," Mikori shrugged, "same old same old." She seemed to realize just who she was talking to and flushed red, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean—"
"It's okay," the petite quarter saiyan admonished gently, "I get it. You're probably used to all of this, huh?" she craned her head, smelling that scrumptious scent she'd picked up in the hall, "whatever that is smells heavenly."
"Mrs. M always cooks for her Home Ec classes on the first day," Mikori told her softly, "it's part of the reason why I picked the class. Mostly I just like cooking."
"Me too."
"Well," the green eyed girl mused, looking over the syllabus, "looks like we'll be focusing on cooking and childcare, which probably means baby dolls at some point, and then next semester, we'll do sewing and other kinds of homemaking type skills."
"Sounds interesting…"
As they chattered quietly, more students made their way into the room and took seats. Luckily enough, there were so few students in the class that Mikori and Chyna were left alone at their table when the final bell rang. Mrs. Morrigan swished her way into the classroom, moved the door stopper so the door would shut behind her, and made her way to the front of the class.
"First things first," she smiled brightly, "is anyone hungry?"
A multitude of hands went up, and Chyna was mildly surprised to find herself among their number. She'd eaten this morning, but for a saiyan it was a fairly light meal. Besides, whatever was smelling so amazing was bound to taste just as good.
I have a feeling this is gonna be one of my favorite classes.
*~*s*~* Third Period *~*s*~*
Corra
Corra breathed a quiet sigh of relief when she finally found her Graphic Design classroom, thankful to be freed from the crush of students rushing to and fro. She was more outgoing than her twin, but being around so many people was still a little anxiety-inducing.
The class was in a computer lab not far from the library, with computers set in a 'U' formation around the teacher's desk. The teacher, a tall rain-thin balding man with glasses and pale skin, asked her name as she stepped a bit further into the room to avoid blocking the entry.
"Corra Son."
"Alright, Miss Son," he pointed to a computer to his upper right, just outside the curve of the 'U', "your seat is there, next to Miss Song."
Corra looked where he was pointing and felt her heart speed up in her chest when she spotted her neighbor. It was the girl from her first period, the one with the ruler straight black hair and glowing coppery skin. The girl's golden hazel eyes were trained on her computer screen as she fiddled with something, none the wiser that she was being stared at.
"Miss Son, please take your seat."
"I – yessir," Corra flushed deep pink and hurried over to her computer. Miss Song finally looked up when the quarter saiyan pulled the chair next to her out to take a seat.
"Hi," she greeted warmly, and then her eyes lit up with recognition, "hey, aren't you Pan Son's little sister? I saw you in Algebra II."
"Y-yeah, I am," she offered a hand, a little too quickly for normal human speed, "C-Corra. I'm Corra."
"Hey Corra," the lovely girl took her hand and shook it, sending a pleasant tingle coursing up her arm and through the rest of her body, "I'm Nayeli, but my friends call me Naya." She smiled widely, dark pink lips parting to reveal rows of bright white teeth. A shallow dimple formed on the left side, adding to its charm.
"Nice to meet you, Naya." Corra slowly lowered herself into the chair, feeling a bit like she was floating.
"You too, Corra." Naya turned back to what she was doing, causing her glossy blue-black hair to form a curtain between herself and her new neighbor. She was none the wiser to the furtive side-eye glances coming her way.
Is this a crush?
Corra settled at her computer, stomach full to brimming with butterflies, and hung her backpack off the back of her chair. She twiddled her fingers nervously in her lap.
"Is this your first time here at OSHS?" Naya asked softly, turning to look at the short haired girl, "sorry, you seem a little on edge, I just… thought I'd ask."
"Yeah," Corra replied, losing herself a little in the pools of burnished gold Naya called eyes, "I'm new." Her eyes are so pretty…
"Well you'll be fine once you get the hang of the layout and everything," she told her assuredly, "it's a little daunting at first, but after a week or two you'll wonder why you were worried in the first place." She turned back to what she was doing, unknowingly leaving Corra in a daze.
Corra shook herself inwardly, you just started school and you're already making googoo eyes at the first pretty girl you've met, get it together! She took a measured inhale through her nose and held it, centering her mind and banishing the fluttery feelings to the back of her mind. Once she was certain they wouldn't distract her again, she let the breath go and made herself busy by retrieving her supplies from her backpack.
Naya glanced furtively at the Son through her hair, curious. She could tell, despite the jacket, that the girl was well toned and carried herself well. Maybe she's a martial artist like her older sister. It runs in the family on both sides… There wasn't much information about Videl Satan's husband made public, aside from his work as a Professor and Scholar, other than the fact that he was not only a martial artist but also the son of a former Tenkaichi Budokai champ.
Naya had very little experience with martial arts herself, she'd taken lessons for a few years as a child before quitting to focus on her dancing. Neither of her parents were inclined for it, though her dad and older brothers liked to go to the yearly tournaments as well as some minor ones.
It was fun to watch if there was nothing else on TV, but she personally never saw the appeal of beating other people up for money. Plus, there were almost never any women in the tournaments.
She wouldn't mind watching Corra fight, though. I bet she's amazing.
The final bell rang, and their teacher called the class to order. Naya closed the window she'd opened to check her emails and sat up, alert and attentive. Yes, this class was bound to be boring, but she needed the computer credit. Also, academic eligibility was very much a thing. If she wanted to be on the field with the rest of the dance team come halftime during the football games, then she'd best keep her grades up.
With that in mind, Naya dutifully opened the syllabus and listened attentively to the teacher's droning voice as he read off each section. Her eyes slid back to her right, eyeing Corra from behind her hair. To her surprise, the other girl was looking back at her. She stiffened minutely before realizing that her hair concealed her own staring. The dancer breathed a sigh of relief and turned back to the teacher.
Corra blinked in surprise when Naya twitched suddenly and tuned back into their teacher, Mr. Ellenburg's lecture as he explained his grading process and expectations when it came to turning in assignments, both in person and online via the portal they'd be using for certain homework assignments throughout the year.
"I expect each and every assignment I give you to be turned in on time or not at all, whether it's in person or via Turnitin. Only certain exceptions will be allowed. I do not hand out partial credit without good reason."
Well crap, Corra mused silently, talk about strict!
*~S~* Fourth Period *~S~*
Chyna
Having gotten a little turned around after leaving her Home Economics class, Chyna was one of the last students to arrive. The class seemed to be a small one, as there were less than 20 kids scattered throughout the stands of the lecture hall. Actually, she realized, there were a dozen students counting herself.
Suddenly she missed Mikori.
Chyna could feel the stares boring into her as she awkwardly shuffled further into the room, mumbling a greeting to her teacher, before making her way up the steps. She chose a seat on the end of the aisle, on the side of the room closest to the door. Easier to make a quick retreat once the bell rang.
Soft whispering piqued her sharp ears, and the quarter saiyan quietly cursed her heightened hearing as the other students muttered about her under their breath, and kept her gaze trained on the worn wooden desk as they glanced furtively in her direction. Her heart was in her throat, practically choking her as she tried to move as naturally as possible while pulling a notepad and pen from her rucksack.
"Is that her?"
"Aren't there two of them?"
"Yeah, the other one's got shorter hair."
"She looks just like Videl Satan…"
Great. Just what I need. More staring and whispering.
"Hey," a lanky boy with messy brown hair, olive toned skin, and olive green eyes turned in his seat to look at Chyna, "aren't you Pan Son's little sister?" he asked the question quietly enough, but the few kids within hearing range turned to look at her expectantly.
A wad of what felt like glue lodged in the Son's throat, leaving her staring mutely at the boy like a deer in headlights. Her hands clenched into such tight fists she could feel the plastic barrel of the pen she held creaking in protest. Her shoulders rose to meet her ears, unconsciously defensive.
Chyna shrank down in her seat, this scenario was exactly what she'd feared would happen. Fortunately, she was saved by the bell and the teach calling the class to attention. The eyes on her whipped back towards the front and she breathed a quiet sigh of relief as the tension eased from her body.
"I'm Miss Love," the diminutive bespectacled woman greeted the small group of students exuberantly, "welcome to Creative Writing 101. Fortunately for you lot," she grinned mischievously, "no homework just yet. Today we're gonna go over the syllabus and do a couple of icebreakers."
Icebreakers? Chyna swallowed thickly, mildly nauseated. Icebreakers meant talking… talking to people she didn't know. How the hell did people do this day in and out? The tension returned with a vengeance.
"Now," the dark skinned woman returned to her desk, "I'm gonna call roll, and then we'll jump right into it. If there's a nickname you want me to use, let me know when I get to your name."
"Moira Doore."
"Here."
"Ellison Fields."
"Just call me Ellis, Miss L." The brown haired boy drawled, drawing a small burst of laughter from those around him. Chyna worried at her bottom lip, dreading the moment when Miss Love finally got to her name.
"Alright then, Mister Fields. Call me Miss Love," she narrowed her gaze pointedly at him, "if I wanted to be called Miss L, I would've introduced myself as such."
"R-right," Ellis stammered, "sorry Miss Love."
"No hard feelings, Ellis," she nodded once, a small grin on her lips, "Iden Fuwa?"
"Here." A tall, lean, clean faced boy with vividly blue eyes and wavy dark hair sitting at the opposite end of the row Chyna had chosen raised his hand. He was deeply tanned and wore an OSHS letterman jacket. Based on the patch on his right shoulder, he'd lettered in swimming.
A soft pink flush colored the quarter saiyan's cheeks as she took Iden in. He was very cute. She wondered what a sporty guy like him was doing in a creative writing course, but quickly banished the thought. Don't judge a book by its cover.
"Nezuko Kamado."
A small girl with long, wavy dark hair and wide pink eyes sitting in the row above Chyna's raised her hand. She wore an oversized black cardigan over a hemp leaf patterned pink top with a red, white, and orange checkered band around the middle, and a pale green scarf that obscured the lower third of her face. A small pink ribbon on the left side of her head held some of her hair back, out of her face.
"Chyna Son."
"Here." Chyna inwardly cursed at the wavery, almost reedy quality to her voice. She sounded breathless, as if she were on the verge of a faint. She could hear the students in the row in front of her whispering under their breath.
"It IS her!"
"Oh shit!"
"Megumi Tadokoro."
"H-here." A timid, petite girl with dark blue hair, styled in braided pigtails with bangs covering her forehead, raised her hand shakily. She wore a cream colored long-sleeved sweater with thin pale brown vertical strips. Chyna vaguely recalled seeing her in her Home Ec class.
*~*s*~*S*~*s*~*
"Alright, now that we're through with our syllabi, let's move on to better things," Miss Love chirped, pushing her glasses back up on her nose, "take the sheet with the icebreaker questions on it and partner up."
Oh kami no.
Before Chyna could so much as blink, the chair to her left was being dragged out and the boy who'd asked if she was Pan-chan's sister was plopping down noisily into it. He was so close to her she could almost feel his body heat. She cringed away from the invasion, scooting to the very edge of her seat to make space between them.
"Hi," he smiled winningly at her, completely ignorant of her discomfort, "I'm Ellis. You're Chyna, right?" to her horror, he slid the chair even closer. The irritant scrape of the wood on the floor made her hackles rise even higher.
"Y-yes," she stuttered, "I-I'm sorry, could you please scoot over?" a sharp note of irritation wormed its way into her usually light voice, "you're too close to me."
"Oh c'mon," Ellis griped, "I'm not even touching you. Now, how about we do this icebreaker?" he reached over to grab her copy of the questions, but she jerked it out of his reach before he could snatch it.
"I'm not doing anything until you scoot over," Chyna hissed, scowling at him, "please." The subtle ire in her voice made it clear that she wasn't asking.
"Jeeze," the teen raised his hands in mock surrender, sliding out of her personal space, "just trying to be friendly." His green eyes flashed with annoyance as he moved and the quarter saiyan's breath caught in her throat.
A completely different set of green eyes forced their way to the forefront of her mind.
Nope, we're not doing this, Chyna closed her eyes tightly, fighting the memories back, he's dead, he can't hurt you anymore. Just breathe… it's not him, just breathe. She began counting backwards from ten in her mind while utilizing a breathing exercise she'd learned in therapy.
"Uh… are you okay?" A warm, coarse hand pressed against her forearm out of the blue, startling her. Chyna jerked away from the unfamiliar touch, accidentally knocking her things to the floor in the process. Several people near them turned to look at the commotion, and the Son felt her cheeks flush with warmth and embarrassment.
Kami…
"M-miss Love," Chyna raised her hand to be acknowledged, "may I be excused?" her voice was thready with distress, and she swallowed thickly in an attempt to remedy it.
Miss Love cocked her head to the side, "is something wrong, Miss Son?" she took a few steps towards the girl in concern.
"I just need to use the bathroom, ma'am."
"Alright," the teacher seemed unconvinced, but relented, "be quick."
Chyna hurriedly shoved her things into her bag and flew down the steps at a slightly-faster-than-humanly-able level of speed. She was hardly in the state of mind to properly conceal her abilities, too frazzled to do more than hold back the barest minimum. She flung the door open, barely stopping it from hitting the wall, and left the room at a brisk jog.
The quarter saiyan was three corridors away from her classroom when she realized that she couldn't remember where the nearest bathroom was, not that she'd been looking in the first place. Her jog petered out to a halt, and she heaved a sigh.
What a day…
First, she had a miniature meltdown before school even started, and now some alarmingly forward kid in her creative writing class managed to trigger her with his eye color alone. She was thankful that she managed to curb her reaction until he went and touched her. She would've been fine if he'd just kept his hands to himself. Perfectly fine.
"Fuck," she groaned aloud, removing her glasses so she could pinch the bridge of her nose, "fuck, fu–"
"Language." A warm tenor voice chided amusedly.
Chyna jumped and whirled around to face the owner of the voice. The lean swimmer boy from her class, Iden, stood a few feet away, watching her struggle to compose herself.
"Sorry for scaring you," he smiled crookedly, "Miss Love sent me after you to make sure you were okay. You had her worried." There was a dimple in his left cheek when he smiled, she absently noted.
"I'm fine," Chyna lowered her hand and smiled, a weakly wobbly thing that probably looked more like a grimace… it certainly felt like one, "sorry about that."
"Well," Iden pursed his lips, looking around in mock curiosity, "this definitely isn't the girl's bathroom, and you're definitely not fine." He eyed her closely, "you look like you're one good scare away from having a heart attack and a stroke all rolled into one, sweetheart."
"Don't call me 'sweetheart'," Chyna told him coolly, fishing her cleaning cloth from the back pocket of her bag, "I'm fine, I just… forgot to look for a restroom, that's all." She unfurled the soft cloth and began cleaning her lenses with it.
"The closest one's two corridors back the way you came," if the boy was fussed over her chilly tone, he didn't show it, "I could walk you." The crooked smile reappeared, and the petite Son couldn't help but notice how pristine and white his teeth were. Her heart fluttered strangely in her chest.
"I can find it, that's fine." The last thing she wanted was some strange boy, no matter how attractive, following her to the restroom of all places, "thank you for coming after me. I'm fine," she insisted, "I'm just… nervous, that's all. It's my first day."
"Ah, figured you were a first timer. I saw Fields being pushy with you," Iden admitted, "figured he was being an ass and got you upset. If you want, you can come sit by me and we can be partners for the ice breaker thing. Pinky promise not to chase you off." He grinned and offered his right pinky for her to take.
That damn smile again. The quarter saiyan flushed a soft pink, "… I'll think about it." She smiled wryly and, spurred on by some untapped well of confidence, hefted her rucksack a bit higher on her shoulder and glided past him, "I'll see you back in class?" she put her cloth away and replaced her glasses.
"Sure thing. It's Chyna, right?"
"Yeah. You're Iden?"
"Yep." He went into a dramatic series of poses, "Iden Fuwa, sophomore and star swimmer on the varsity swim team who's somehow only known as 'the baby brother of the superstar wide receiver Zeke Fuwa who graduated back in Age 797'."
Chyna giggled; the poses reminded her of the ones Papa demonstrated when he told her and Corra about his stint as the Great Saiyaman. She was so tickled; she didn't notice the way Iden's eyes lit up when she laughed.
"We better get a move on," the swimmer glanced down at his smart watch, "we've been out of class for almost ten minutes. I'll see you, partner?" he offered his pinky again, patiently waiting for her response.
"Sure… partner." Chyna gingerly looped her pinky around his, marveling at how small her hand was in comparison to his, "I'm gonna go to the restroom. For real this time."
"Catch ya back in class."
*~*s*~*S*~*s*~*
"Glad to see you made it back to class, Miss Son," Miss Love greeted warmly when Chyna reentered the classroom.
Chyna nodded once in acknowledgement, the weight of the stares on her rendering her mute… at least until she spotted Iden waiting on her. She swallowed the nerves down and crossed the room, taking the opposite staircase to get up to his end of the row. She could see Ellis gawking at her in her peripheral vision as she approached.
Iden rose from his seat so she could pass by smoothly instead of making her squeeze behind him, jauntily tilting his head as she passed, "milady."
"Thank you," she whispered, sliding into the row and taking the seat next to his.
"No prob." Iden plopped back down in his seat and slid the sheet with the ice breaker questions over to her, "shall we?" his blue eyes glowed with warmth as he regarded her.
"Mmhmm." Chyna fished her notebook and pen out of her bag and then hooked it over the back of her seat, "ready when you are."
"First question is oddly on the nose for this class," Iden snorted, "if you could write a book, what would it be about?"
Chyna's cheeks flushed pink, recalling the half-finished fanfics she had saved on her laptop, and hummed thoughtfully, "I think I'd like to write an epic adventure story with a dash of romance. Something totally cliché," she smiled goofily, "the whole 'dashing hero saves the girl and they live happily ever after' thing is one of my favorite tropes. It's overused," she shrugged dismissively, "but I love it… what about you?"
"Something sci-fi, set in space with a ton of action," Iden was quick to answer, "I think I'll have a romantic storyline, but I'll keep it to the side. I want the focus to be on the story itself, not just the romance. I like the 'unlikely hero' trope, like Guardians of the Galaxy. I think I'd have a rag tag group of everyday people who come together and save the universe, not because they're sure they can, but because it's what's right. Maybe not so much on the nose," he grinned sheepishly, "because that's borderline plagiarism, but something similar in that respect."
Wow, the Son thought to herself, watching the way his eyes lit up as he spoke, he's REALLY passionate about this. No wonder he's in this class. Her heart fluttered a bit before settling again.
"Hey," Iden gently poked at her nearest elbow, stirring her from the brief reverie, "next question's yours, Chyna."
"Oh," she flushed deep pink, "what's one song you'll always remember the lyrics to?"
"Hm… that's a tough one," the dark haired boy admitted, and promptly flushed beneath his tan, "don't laugh, but… Say You Won't Let Go by James Arthur."
"Why would I laugh?"
"Because it's weird that… never mind," Iden bit his lip, seeing the lack of comprehension in Chyna's expression, "you wouldn't get it. What about you?"
"The Sun Ain't Gonna Shine Anymore by Frankie Valli."
"Old school, huh? Any particular reason?"
My "foster" mother would sometimes play Frankie Valli on repeat while she was in her room getting high and my abusive "foster" father was away on "business". It was the one of the few times my sister and I could get some kind of peace while we were growing up.
Chyna smiled wanly, thinking of the super-secret super quiet dance parties they'd have in the hall outside of Jana's room.
"Early childhood memory." She blinked hard, dispelling the memory, "next question?"
Iden gave her an odd look before glancing down at the sheet, "What's your best scar story?"
A chill settled in deep in Chyna's gut, spreading quickly to the rest of her body and causing her to shut down.
None of the scars she carried had a good story attached, not a single one.
Iden frowned at the shuttered, distant expression that'd formed on his partner's face. Concern warred with consideration. He'd seen the way she'd reacted when Ellis touched her while she was out of it, he didn't to cause a repeat performance.
"Hey Chyna?" he entreated softly, "sweetheart, you okay?"
Just as he was thinking about biting the bullet and touching her elbow, Chyna blinked hard and gasped softly, startling him. He could see she was trembling just the slightest bit, and the smile she gave him seemed brittle and didn't meet her eyes.
"You mind if I skip this one?" Chyna barely kept the quaver out of her voice. The ice cold shard of dread in her gut was still trying to overwhelm her, but she was holding it off now.
"Sure, sweetheart," wonder what that was about; I hope she's okay, "well, when I was seven," he raked the bangs hanging over the left side of his face back, revealing a light red scar, jagged like lightning and faded with age, "I decided it'd be a great idea to do a back flip off of the deck overlooking our pool and brained myself on the cement underneath the deck mid-flip before belly flopping in the pool. My mom just about died."
It must be nice, having normal scar stories to tell, Chyna surmised, laughing as she assumed Iden had expected her to. His story was funny, though probably not to his mom, but at the moment she couldn't find it in herself to muster the amusement up. Her laughter felt and sounded hollow and forced.
"What's your favorite thing to do after school?"
"Chyna," Iden implored gently, "are you okay? You look a little…"
"I'm fine," she murmured, smoothly deflecting back to the ice breaker, "do you want me to answer first since I skipped the last one?"
"Uh… sure."
"Well… huh," she laughed bitterly, rereading the question in her mind, "this is my first day of school ever so I guess I'll find out later on."
Iden cocked his head to the side, "wait, you've never been to school before? Like… ever?"
Chyna realized, belatedly, what she'd inadvertently revealed and bit down on a frustrated groan. No one said that she wasn't supposed to tell anyone that she'd never been to school before, but she'd assumed that it wouldn't go over too well with other people.
"Please don't tell anyone," she looked up at her partner with wide eyes, pleading, "I just – I'm not – I don't know if I was – I don't think I was supposed to tell anyone that." She sighed sharply and muttered lowly, "great job, Chyna."
"I won't tell," Iden conceded, his own eyes just as wide, "it just… caught me off guard, I guess." Holy shit, she's never been to school? Like EVER? That's insane… and kind of illegal… no, it's definitely illegal.
"My twin and I didn't grow up with our birth parents," Chyna haltingly explained, "they – our "foster" parents – weren't big on education." She left it there, choosing to elaborate no further than that. Just that little bit was enough.
Oh fuck, that's right, Iden vaguely recalled the big scandal from two years back, they were kidnapped at birth. He wanted to ask more questions but, judging by the stony look on Chyna's face, he wasn't likely to receive any more information.
"I like naps."
Chyna turned to look at him, caught off guard, "huh?"
"Naps," Iden reiterated, "my favorite thing to do afterschool is taking naps. Lemme tell you," he grinned widely, "afterschool naps on the first day of school are better than any other afterschool nap."
"Really?"
"I swear on my future Olympic swimming career."
Chyna snorted sharply; the odd additive was unexpectedly amusing. She covered her mouth to muffle the giggling that spilled forth, cheeks flushed pink. Iden gave himself a mental pat on the back, pleased to have gotten rid of the tension in the air and the shuttered look in his partner's periwinkle eyes.
"I hope you didn't just lose out on that Olympic career of yours."
"Wait till you get home. You'll see."
*~*s*~*S*~*s*~*
"Hey, partner," Iden poked Chyna's arm gently as they packed up their things, "lunch's next, which one do you have?"
"Oh um, first lunch," she responded, eyes self-consciously low as she placed her things neatly in her rucksack, "what about you?"
"Third lunch," the swimmer grumbled bitterly, "which means a whole hour of physics. Should be fun." The sarcasm was so apparent it was almost visible.
Chyna swung her rucksack over one shoulder and slipped around Iden so she could make her way down the steps of the lecture hall. As she plodded her down, she heard what sounded like a small avalanche coming from behind her, and turned to watch. Her classmate thundered down the steps, hastily throwing his backpack over his shoulders as he went, in an attempt to catch up with her.
"Trying to get rid of me?"
"I have to meet up with my sister," she explained, "we both have first lunch." She was eager to see Corra, and to finally assuage the bereft feeling of being parted. Funnily enough, it hadn't been nearly as bad while she was working on the icebreaker with Iden…
She immediately distanced herself from that line of thought.
"At least let me walk you," he entreated, vivid blue eyes beseeching, "it's not too far out of my way."
"Aren't you passing the science hall entirely to get to the cafeteria?" Chyna raised a brow at him as they crossed the front of the classroom to reach the door, "that's the definition of out of your way."
"I walk fast," Iden drawled amusedly, reaching around her to prop open the door for her without touching her, "if you don't want me to, it's fine. Just thought I'd offer. After you, milady."
Chyna giggled and softly thanked him before stepped through the door and into the maelstrom that was class-change. Some people were hooting and hollering, eager for lunch, while others were bemoaning the fact that they had to wait until later to eat. She cringed away as someone flew past her at a sprint, darting through the throng of bodies without losing any speed.
This is so chaotic…
She and Iden slowly made their way down the hall, traffic was a bit congested in this particular hallway, in companionable silence. There was no point trying to have a conversation, what with how loud everyone else was at the moment.
As they made it to the juncture that branched off into one of the main corridors that led directly to the cafeteria, someone called Iden's name over the den.
"IDEN!" A tall girl with cinnamon hued kinky curls and caramel skin plowed into the swimmer, eagerly throwing her arms around his neck, "oh my gosh, it's so good to see you!"
"Hi Irie," Iden greeted amiably, if not a bit awkwardly, "'s good to see you too." He smiled warmly for her benefit, and her pale green eyes lit up.
"How was your summer?" Irie bubbled eagerly, "I have to tell you all about mine. What's your next class?" she pulled away from him, though she stayed very close.
Chyna stood back, silently observing with a strange feeling bubbling low in her gut. She didn't know what it was, but it was bitter and cloying and she didn't like it one bit… but it seemed to worsen the longer she watched Iden and Irie interact.
Maybe I should just go ahead and leave, she surmised, they seem pretty preoccupied. Maybe she's his girlfriend or whatever. The bitter feeling grew more apparent, and she gave the pair one last sullen look before slipping away into the crush of students.
"Look Irie," Iden held up his hands, "I'd love to catch up, but I'm a little busy right…" he trailed off, head whipping back and forth in search of the diminutive lilac eyed girl whose laughter made his heart pound, but she was nowhere to be found, "now… dammit."
"Busy doing what?" Irie entreated kindly, concerned by the dimming of his eyes.
The star swimmer shook his head sullenly, "nothing, it's nothing. I've gotta get to class now, we can catch up later." He shifted around her and made his way to the nearest staircase. Maybe we'll have another class together…
The petite quarter saiyan weaved in and out of the crush of bodies, following her twin's ki down the hall towards the gyms. She could feel Corra making her way towards her, and hoped to meet her halfway so they could go eat their lunch together.
Corra exited the gym, senses piqued. She'd felt her sister's unease and distress earlier, but she hadn't been able to get out of class to go see about her. At present, Chyna felt calm, her ki a bright beacon bobbing in her direction. She pushed into the throng of high schoolers headed to first lunch or their next class, searching for her twin.
A flash of muted green caught Chyna's eye, and she nearly sagged to the floor with relief when her eyes locked with an identical pair of periwinkle eyes. Corra smiled jubilantly and took her twin's hand, "come on, we're gonna go eat outside, kay?"
"Okay."
*~*s*~*S*~*s*~*
Corra found a nice spot under the shade of a tree and plucked the capsule containing their lunches from her backpack. Chyna hung back as she pushed the plunger down and tossed it to the ground, where it exploded in a puff of pink smoke. When it cleared, a veritable feast was spread out on a picnic blanket.
"Wow," Corra mumbled, taking in the spread, "Mama thought of everything. Ready to munch?" she turned to look at her twin, "Chai-chan?" Chyna was staring blankly at the ground, arms wrapped loosely around her torso.
Corra stepped over the picnic and hurried over to her sister, gently taking her hands and pulling until her arms hung loose away from her body. The smaller girl looked up at her, for a moment it seemed like she didn't recognize her, and blinked slowly.
"What happened in 4th period?" she inquired softly, "I felt your ki spiking, but my gym teacher wouldn't let me out of class when I asked."
"Nothing," Chyna responded just as softly, subdued, "I overreacted to something stupid, that's all."
"You're not exactly prone to overreacting, hon."
"Well I did," the quarter saiyan's voice grew sharp, "can we just eat, please?"
"Just tell me what happened," Corra implored, leading her sister over to the picnic blanket, "it's clearly still bothering you, and you know I won't judge."
"Corrie… kami, fine," Chyna lowered herself to sit primly on the blanket and plucked up a handful of grapes, "there was this boy in my creative writing class. He was really, um… what's the word," she frowned, wracking her brain, "really forward," she snapped her fingers, "the teacher had us pair up to do an icebreaker—"
"Your worst nightmare."
"—pretty much," Chyna acceded with a shrug, "and he basically forced me to become his partner. He was being rude and he sat too close to me," her breathing sped up a bit just recalling it, "and I told him to move and he wouldn't and the light caught his eyes and they were green and… and…"
"Slow down and relax," Corra reached out to take her hand, "you're crushing your grapes." Juice and bits of pulp and grape skin oozed from between the smaller girl's tightly clenched fingers.
Chyna employed her breathing exercise to calm herself while her twin gently unfurled her fist and removed the crushed fruit from her palm. She plucked up a pack of wet wipes that'd been included with their lunch spread and used one to wipe the sticky juices off of her sister's hand.
"I had a moment," Chyna mumbled at last, shamefaced, "his eyes caught the light and for a second, it was him," she needn't elaborate on who the 'him' was, "but I caught myself. I did my breathing like I'm supposed to, but he touched me and it made things worse, so I left the classroom to calm down."
"What happened when you came back to class?"
"I partnered with someone else," Chyna uttered aloofly, popping a few grapes into her mouth, "they were much nicer." A light pink flush colored her cheeks.
"Well that's good," Corra stuffed a whole drumstick into her mouth and sucked the meat from the bone, "I'm glad the whole period wasn't ruined for you."
"What about you? How was graphic design and gym?"
"Fine, a little boring," Corra deadpanned, "my graphic design teacher is super strict." She groaned, "Gym was okay; it's gonna be fun trying to keep from showing off my powers."
"Oh right," Chyna cringed in distaste, "Gym's my last class."
"So you'll be able to go home and shower right afterwards. I'm gonna have to spend the rest of the school day smelling like outside and BO."
"You could always shower…"
"In those showers? Just wait till you see them, Chai-chan," Corra shuddered, "only ten of them have privacy stalls and even then they don't have a curtain or anything. If someone walks by…" she shuddered again, "I wouldn't be comfortable being that exposed."
Chyna cringed in distaste, "me either," she acquiesced, "this day has been an absolute trip, and I'm ready for it to be over."
"We have to come back and do it again tomorrow," Corra admonished gently, "but it'll be easier the more we do it, I think."
I sure hope so…
*~*s*~*S*~*s*~*
The rest of the day passed rather uneventfully, for which Chyna was absolutely grateful. She had her fifth and sixth period, literature and government, with Corra, which was a nice reprieve after the two classes without her, and then lastly, her gym class. Thankfully, they wouldn't start dressing out until the following week.
All in all, it'd been a trying day, and Chyna just barely held off her fatigue as she made her way to the area designated for students who were driven to school. She didn't understand why they didn't just fly to school… maybe she'd ask once they got home.
The petite Son stepped out of the shade of the awning hanging over the entrance and into the heat of the late August sun. If anything, the warmth made her even sleepier, and she swayed on her feet as she cast her senses out.
Huh. Looks like Pan-chan's picking us up.
A large warm hand fell on her right shoulder, catching her off guard.
Chyna reacted instinctively, jerking away and pivoting to face the threat. Her arms came up in a defensive pose as her feet shifted to bear her weight evenly, ready to retaliate if need be. But there was no need. The so-called foe was a familiar and welcome face.
"Shit, sorry. Didn't mean to scare you, sweetheart," Iden smiled brightly, pristine teeth glistening in the sunshine, "just wanted to say bye, that's all. I got swim practice in a bit," he jerked a thumb over his shoulder, towards a boisterous group of boys of similar build loitering at the corner around which the student parking lot and outlying sports facilities were located, "so… see you tomorrow?"
"Yeah," Chyna flushed pink, "I'll see you then."
"Maybe tomorrow you won't sneak off on me during the lunch rush." Iden winked slyly, absently waving his fellow swimmers off when they began catcalling him, "enjoy your nap."
"Huh?"
"Remember the ice breaker?" he cocked his head to the side, blue eyes glowing in the afternoon sunlight, "afterschool naps are the best, but first day back afterschool naps are even better."
The petite Son giggled softly, recalling their conversation in creative writing, "oh right… I guess I'm about to find out. Maybe you should get a move on," she nodded towards his friends, "your friends seem a little… impatient."
The swimmers were now making kissy faces and cooing at Iden's back. One of them cupped his hands around his lips and boomed, "BRING YOUR ASS, FUWA!" The other boys around him burst into riotous laughter.
"Hey, do you have a phone?"
Chyna blinked in surprise, "a what?" she dimmed recalled the high-tech looking black rectangle she'd shoved into the back pocket of her rucksack that morning, "oh! Yes, I do!" she hastily dug the phone out and smiled sheepishly, "I just got it today, I don't really know how to use it yet…"
"Holy crap, this is the latest Capsule model," Iden breathed, "I'll give you a quick rundown. This button," he gestured to the round button set in the middle of the phone at the bottom, "is the home button. You hit that to exit out of your apps and come back to your homepage. You might want to set up a password later on, by the way."
Iden showed Chyna how to operate the new device, patiently answering her questions even as his friends jeered and teased in the background. He showed her how to text, how to call, how to add music to listen to, he even added her to his subscription of Capsule Music, and where to find her contacts, where upon he entered his own information.
"Now, all you have to do is send me a text," he pulled out his own phone, an older Capsule model in a bright red, "so I'll have your number."
Chyna did as directed, cautiously typing out 'Hi' and hitting the button to send it. The phone made a quiet whooshing noise, before a sent receipt popped up in smaller lettering below the text bubble, accompanied with the time and date.
"Alright, got your digits," Iden smiled when his phone chimed, "I'll save 'em to my phone in a bit. Duty calls. See ya later, Chyna." He waved jauntily as he jogged backwards, towards his teammates.
"Bye Iden." Chyna smiled, heart all fluttery in her chest and cheeks hot as she watched Iden go. He stepped on a loose shoelace and very narrowly avoided falling on his butt, and she chuckled when he hastily caught himself and looked around to make sure no one had seen. His teammates, on the other hand, roared even more boisterously.
Chyna raised a hand to her mouth to conceal her laughter, and turned back to watch the cars pull—
"Who was that?"
"ACK!"
Corra frowned at her startled twin bemusedly, "what? You didn't sense me? I've been standing here for the past two-ish minutes, Chai-chan," she leaned in close, scrutinizing her sister's flushed face, "wait a minute…"
"Corrie–"
"You like him," the Son twin gasped sharply, "oh my Dende, you just – this is your first day and you already have a crush?" her voice carried a little too well, and a few of the students near them turned around curiously.
"Can you shut up," Chyna snapped lowly, eyes darting around as her cheeks flushed darker still with embarrassment, "you're too loud. I don't have a crush," she denied weakly, "he's in my fourth period and he was nice, that's all."
"Mmhmm." Corra's eyes went blank for a second, "Panny's about to pull up. Thank kami," she smirked wryly at her twin, "just wait till she hears this."
"Oh my kami, I do not have a crush," the petite quarter saiyan groused, mildly annoyed, "he's just friendly, that's all."
Chyna turned away from her teasing twin, instead glancing towards the glass doors leading back into the school. To her surprise, she saw the girl from their first period, Irie, loitering underneath the shallow overhang, watching her with narrowed eyes and pinched lips. She didn't look happy.
Huh. Wonder what her problem is…
Irie turned on her heel and went back into the school. She was dressed in what looked like a dancer's practice kit, and her dark cinnamon curls were drawn back in a neat bun at the nape of her neck.
Chyna dismissed the odd encounter, if it could be called an encounter, and turned back to Corra, intending to berate her again, when she spied her older sister's dark orange aircar at the curb. She'd never been more relieved to see it… until she remembered that Corrie planned to tell Pan that she had a crush.
Crap.
"Hey girls," Pan smiled brightly as her little sisters slid into the car, Chyna in the backseat and Corra in the front, "you look wiped. How was school?"
"Exhausting." In more ways than one. Chyna's eyelids fluttered, threatening to slip closed as she settled next to Soso's empty car seat.
"Hey Panny, guess what?"
"What?"
"Corra," Chyna pointedly stressed her twin's name, blinking to rouse herself from the half-sleep stupor she'd fallen into, "drop it."
Pan looked between her younger sisters curiously, and then smirked, "this wouldn't have anything to do with that boy I saw you talking to while I was in the car line, would it?"
"He's a classmate," Chyna dismissed immediately, though the warmth in her cheeks betrayed her, "that's it." She crossed her arms over her chest and cut her eyes to the side, "can we drop it, please?"
"Alright, we'll leave you alone," Pan could sense that her little sister had had enough for the day, "Corrie-chan, be nice. She's gonna remember this whenever you come home with a crush."
Corra scoffed, though her mind was filled with visions of ruler straight glossy blue-black locks, smooth coppery skin, sharp cheekbones, and almond shaped eyes the color of raw honeycomb.
"That's never going to happen."
*~*s*~*S*~*s*~*
Pan sighed as if terribly put upon when she pulled up to her parents' home with two peacefully snoozing passengers in her aircar. She sighed in memory of her own exhaustion from her first days back to classes and exited the vehicle.
Videl poked her head out of the door curiously, smiling when she spied her eldest, "let me guess, they're out like a light, huh?"
"Oh, absolutely," Pan snickered, making her way around to the passenger side of the car, "Papa not home yet?" she opened the passenger side door and carefully scooped Corra into her arms. Her head lolled against her collar bone, facial expression slack in slumber.
"He had a student to deal with after hours," Videl moved around Pan to open the back door, "Chai-chan, honey," she gently cupped her baby's face, "sweet pea, you're home."
"Huh?" Chyna mumbled, disoriented, "Mama?"
"Yes, dove," Videl smiled warmly, "c'mon, let's get you inside so you can sleep."
*~*s*~*S*~*s*~*
Pan and Videl hovered about just outside of the twins' bedroom as they sleepily changed out of their school clothing and into something more comfortable. Corra skipped bottoms entirely, going for an oversized t-shirt, and faceplanted on her own bed. Chyna selected a soft chemise made of pale mauve jersey silk blend with white lace and curled up on top of her bedsheets with a pink sherpa blanket for warmth.
"Good Dende, they're out of it," Videl admonished amusedly, moving to cover Corra with an orange throw blanket, "I remember how sacked out you'd be after your first days."
"I never slept the night before," Pan shrugged, "too keyed up. I don't know why, I never really liked going to school." She waited just outside of the door for her mother to finish fussing over her youngest before leading the way downstairs.
"Where's my grandbaby?"
"With her other grandparents, of course," the wife of Trunks snickered, "Trunks is gonna bring her home when he gets off work."
"C'mon, I'll make some tea while we wait for those two to wake up."
*~*s*~*S*~*s*~*
"Alright, sleepyheads," Videl entered her twins' bedroom purposefully, "if you sleep any longer, you'll be up all damn night." In the doorway, Gohan hovered, dressed comfortably in a pair of sweats and a well-worn t-shirt with a bright eyed Sosai cradled against his chest. He smiled fondly at the sight of his girls sleeping so peacefully and followed his wife into the room.
Videl took a seat on the edge of Chyna's bed and stroked her hand over her cheek, gently rousing her from her nap. The bleary eyed girl moaned plaintively and curled up even tighter, drawing the blanket up over her head.
"Come on, sweetness," her mother cooed, "you're going to sleep right through dinner at this rate."
"Dinner?" Corra pushed herself upright with a snort, "where?" her head whipped back and forth rapidly for a few seconds before she realized where she was. Her parents laughed when her confusion collapsed into a mildly annoyed pout.
"Dinner's going to be ready in another hour. Pan-chan and Trunks-kun are here but they're not staying, they just wanted to check in with you two before they headed home."
Chyna grumbled bitterly, "why can't we just stay in bed?" she poked her head out of the blanket to squint sleepily at her mother.
"Because you'll ruin your sleep schedule." Videl pecked her nose, "and neither of you told us if you had any stuff for us to sign." She rose from the bed and met her husband just inside the bedroom.
"We'll be downstairs when you're ready." Gohan led the way out of the room, leaving the twins to their privacy. Corra immediately climbed out of bed and hastily shrugged into a pair of cotton sweats, mumbling about her hunger as she went.
Chyna begrudgingly extricated herself from her warm sherpa cocoon and slowly climbed out of her own bed. She shrugged into her soft pink terrycloth robe and meandered over to her desk chair, where her rucksack had been settled.
Wait, my phone!
She hastily freed the device from the back pocket and tapped the screen to awaken it. To her surprise, there was a text from Iden.
Hey.
Just left swim practice.
So… how was the nap? *insert smirking emoji here*
-sent at 6:13 pm-
Chyna snorted and tapped the text. The screen shifted to the messenger app, and a keyboard appeared on the lower half of the screen, below the conversation. She worried at her bottom lip as she began to type.
It was nice.
I think need to take
a few more naps before
I decide if first day naps
are really the best naps overall, though.
-sent at 6:33 pm-
Chyna went to lock the phone and head downstairs, but the sent became a read and a trio of blinking dots encased in a speech bubble appeared on the left side of the screen. She frowned, what does that mean, and watched them a moment. There was a soft whoosh, and then a new message appeared.
Trust me, they don't get much better than that.
I'm glad you slept well.
-read at 6:35 pm-
Chyna smiled despite herself and before she knew it she was typing out a new message of her own.
How was swim practice?
-read at 6:36 pm-
Grueling. Coach tried to kill us.
Gotta get us whipped back in shape for the first meet.
Maybe you can come watch me blow the comp
out of the water. ;)
-read at 6:37 pm-
I dunno about that.
I'll have to ask my parents.
Though I WOULD like see if you're
as good as you seem to think
you are… ;P
-read at 6:37 pm-
Very funny, missy. Come and find out.
October 21st, 8 am sharp
the Satan City Natatorium.
I'm swimming the 200 free,
the 200 free relay, the 500 free,
and the 400 free relay. The last two are
in the afternoon, the first two will be early on.
-read at 6:39 pm-
Uh… what does 'free' mean?
-read at 6:40 pm-
Oh shit, sorry. It means freestyle.
It's a swimming discipline. Weirdly enough,
it's not very 'freestyle' considering it doesn't
include the other stroke methods. That'd be medley.
I have to go eat dinner with the fam, but I can
give you a rundown tomorrow in class if
you'd like. A crash course if you will. ;)
-read at 6:41 pm-
I'd like that.
-read at 6:41 pm-
Great, so tomorrow?
-read at 6:41 pm-
Yep. I have to go eat, too.
See you then, Iden.
-read at 6:42 pm-
Have a good night, sweetheart.
-read at 6:42 pm-
Chyna flushed pink and responded in kind.
You too. Good night.
-read at 6:43 pm-
The blinking text bubble didn't return, and a part of her felt sad that it didn't. Her heart and stomach were fluttering away like hummingbird's wings, and she couldn't help the soft, wistful sigh she let out when she locked the phone and put it away.
Maybe she did have a crush.
"… CHAI!"
Chyna whirled around to face her twin, who frowned at her flushed cheeks. Corra jerked a thumb over her shoulder, "Neechan and Trunks are getting ready to leave, and I know you want to hold Soso, so c'mon."
Corra disappeared as quickly as she'd appeared, and Chyna gave her phone one last contemplative look before making her way downstairs to say her goodbyes.
*~* Friday Fourth Period *~*
Chyna
"So the freestyle is the easiest discipline?"
"Yeah."
"And it's your strong suit?"
"Yeah. I'm pretty good at the other kinds, but my fastest times are in freestyle… er, not saying that my times in the other ones are low, they're pretty good but not as good as my freestyle."
Chyna looked pretty today. Really pretty.
Her hair was drawn back in a perky high ponytail, and she wore a flowy brown crochet cardigan over an olive green tank top, with a pair of black capris and a pair of shimmer gold flats. She completed the look with gold jewelry, a simple gold pendant that was tucked into her shirt, and a pair of studs shaped like flowers and adorned with shiny white stones. Her face was clean, devoid of any makeup, and yet she glowed with beauty.
"So," Iden blinked, focusing back on the simple writing warmup they'd been assigned at the beginning of class, "d'you think you'd like to come watch?"
"I don't know…" Chyna hedged, eyes trained on her warmup, "It's only the beginning of September. Give me some time to think about it?" she turned to look at him with wide lilac eyes.
Iden's breathing stuttered and stalled in his throat for a moment, rendered momentarily speechless by the sight, "yeah, sure. Let me know if you do," he smiled warmly, "I can get you in for free." There was a whisp of hair hanging near her right eye; he wanted so badly to brush it back.
"Will do." She chirped, looking back to her writing, "I was looking through the music on the Capsule Music thing this morning, and," she pursed her lips, "there's so much to choose from, I don't really know where to start."
"If you want, I could send you some playlists," Iden hedged, "I don't know if our tastes are anything alike, but maybe there'll be something you'll like."
"You don't have to do that…"
"'s no trouble, sweetheart," he waved her halfhearted protest off, "after class, I'll show you how to share music so you can return the favor."
*~*s*~*S*~*s*~*
Irie slipped in between the narrow spaces between people's bodies, searching eagerly for Iden. She'd see him at third lunch, but it was the principle of the thing. As she made it to the juncture that led towards his fourth period, she spied the tousled head of dark hair and those broad shoulders, cloaked by an OSHS letterman jacket. He was leaned up against a wall, sheltered from the crush of students. She opened her mouth to call his name… and stopped short.
Iden was leaning down, smiling and talking avidly to the little brunette haired girl from her first period, the one with the twin and the famous big sister. He was focused entirely on her, she could see it in his body language, how he leaned towards her, sheltering her smaller form from the hustle and bustle though he was always careful not to touch her. She could see him showing her something on her phone, maybe showing her how to do something…?
What the hell?
A part of the dancer wanted to march over, to make a space in between them for herself, but Irie held herself back. Jealousy wasn't becoming. Besides, he was probably just being his usual sweet, helpful self.
Irie took a step towards them, meaning to go greet Iden, but stopped short.
The girl's head fell back as she laughed, inaudible in the din, and Irie felt something inside her fracture as Iden's face lit up at the sound. His eyes glowed, and that crooked smile she loved formed on his deep pink lips.
He liked her. It was plain as day, as clear as the sunshine outside.
Irie gave the couple one last discerning look before turning on her heel and heading off to her own fifth period class.
*~*s*~*S*~*s*~*
"Iden, you're going to be late," Chyna told the tall swimmer admonishingly as he tailed her on her way to the gyms to meet up with Corrie, "it's three minutes till the bell, you should go to class."
"Oh, come on," he razzed gently, "don't tell me you're ashamed of me."
No, just not keen on what's going to happen when Corrie lays eyes on you and puts two and two together.
As if on cue, Corra broke out of the crowd and spotted her. Today, she wore a plain dark blue hoodie with a white stripe down the left side, a pair of black skinny jeans, and some blue checkered Vans.
"Hey, Corrie," Chyna greeted tensely, "ready to go eat?"
"Who's he?" Corra eyed Iden suspiciously, eyes narrowed as she regarded him warily.
Iden blinked in surprise. On the surface level, the twins were completely and utterly identical but once you looked past that, looked deeper, it was quite clear that they were two totally different people. Corra lacked the shyness and timid nature of her sister, she was far less reserved and, right this moment, she looked tense and was giving off a weird vibe that was almost palpable.
She felt dangerous.
"This is Iden Fuwa," Chyna gave her sister a quelling look through her reading glasses, "he's in my fourth period creative writing class." She could feel her ki spiking minutely, not nearly enough to raise alarms with their family, but it was clear she was assessing him as if he were a threat.
"Not the asshole who tried to make you partner up with him yesterday?"
Chyna spluttered, caught off guard, "Corrie!" Her cheeks flooded with color.
"Oh, no, no, no, no, no," Iden held up his hands in mock-surrender, "I'm the non-asshole who asked for permission before becoming her partner. The other guy was Ellis Fields." A mild sweat began to build up along his brow.
Corra's eyes narrowed even further before she relaxed. The tension in the air abated somewhat, though the swimmer could tell the other Son twin didn't trust him.
"Nice to meet you," Corra's gaze darted in between her blushing sister's face and the mildly shaken Iden, "c'mon, Chai-chan," she jerked her head towards the doors leading out to the courtyard, "let's go eat."
"See you later?"
"Yeah, sure," Chyna smiled weakly at her classmate, "bye, Iden. Don't be late." As if on cue, the warning bell rang, echoing through the halls. Some of the other students loitering about and dragging their feet began to move with more purpose. Some of them began sprinting outright.
Iden waved jauntily before taking off on his own sprint, darting in and out of other, slower moving students as he went. Chyna snorted with laughter as he narrowly avoided colliding with another boy before disappearing around the corner. She then felt a pair of eyes burning into the side of her face, and turned slowly to face her twin.
"Iden, huh?" she smirked wryly.
"What was that? I told you yesterday he was nice to me," Chyna hissed lowly as they made their way outside to their tree, "I thought you were going to attack him or something!"
"I dunno, just felt like scaring him a little," Corra shrugged aloofly, "he seems nice."
"He is, so stop being weird."
"You've only known him for two days, sissy," Corra cautioned, "isn't that a little too soon to start making heart eyes at him when he's not looking?"
Chyna rolled her eyes skywards as a breeze cut through the courtyard rustling the hems of her cardigan and her ponytail, "I'm not stupid, Corrie." Her cheeks reddened with mild embarrassment. Maybe she was being a little too trusting with Iden…
"I didn't say you were," she quickly assured, "just be careful."
"… I will."
*~* Afterschool *~*
"Y'know, I kinda get the feeling your twin doesn't like me." Iden began, sidling up to Chyna under the awning of the carport as she waited for her father to come pick them up. He was dressed in his warmup suit, ready for another rough swim practice, and smiling crookedly at his classmate
"She doesn't know you," she shrugged, "she's not super open with people she doesn't know. Honestly, I don't really know you either." she gave him a searching look.
"Hey, what's that mean?" the shuttered look was back in her eyes, Iden noticed. His smile weakened, threatening to melt off of his face entirely. He hated that look.
"I don't know," she murmured, subdued, "just… why are you being so nice to me?" Chyna asked boldly, craning her neck to meet his gaze.
"Uh… because it's common courtesy," he shrugged, caught off guard by her bold inquiry, "y'know the whole 'treat others as you want to be treated' deal?"
"But why did you follow me from class yesterday?" she asked, somewhat rhetorically, "I'm a girl, it would've made more sense for another girl to follow me since I said I was going to the bathroom…"
"Sweetheart, I—"
"Don't call me that," her voice went frigid, "please don't call me that."
"Chyna," Iden corrected pointedly, his own annoyance beginning to assert itself, "I guess Ms. Love didn't think you were really headed for the bathroom, and she picked me at random. I just went because she asked me to. What, d'you think I just went to try and take advantage or something?"
Chyna stiffened and looked away, "I – I'm sorry, I didn't… I'm sorry," she looked down at the ground, "I just… this is new to me. All of it," she gestured around herself at large, "I don't spend a lot of time with people outside of my family and it's hard to…" it was hard to put the feeling into words, and after a few awkward beats, she gave up trying.
"Look, I can't really relate to what you've been through," the swimmer admitted, letting the bite of annoyance in his voice go, "but please believe when I say I didn't come after you to try and use you or whatever, I just wanted to make sure you were okay. That's all there is to it."
"I'm sorry," the petite quarter saiyan expressed firmly, "really I am, I didn't mean to hurt your feelings, Iden."
"'s fine," he told her gruffly, "look, I gotta get to practice. See you next week?"
"Yeah… next week." Chyna replied lamely, watching him go. Kami, I'm such an idiot!
Corra emerged from the school then, drawing Chyna's attention, loitering in the glass doors as she talked eagerly to the tall copper skinned girl from their first period. What was her name again…? Something Native American? Naira or something similar?
"See you next week, Naya!" Corra waved to the other girl as she retreated back into the school to head to dance practice.
Naya. That was it.
Corra sauntered over to her twin, smiling brightly with her phone in hand. She eyed the screen's contents for a moment before she looked up, sensing the tension emanating off her sister's body.
"Chai, are you okay?"
"Can we spar when we get home?"
Corra's smile widened, and her eyes flashed wickedly, "Oh hell yeah."
*~*s*~*S*~*s*~*
A bright yellow ki blast whizzed past Chyna's face, so close the heat singed her skin. She growled lowly and hurled a ki blast of her own at her assailant. Corra ducked the meager attack and darted towards her twin, blue eyes bright with adrenaline and battle lust.
She missed the triumphant smirk on her sister's face. Corra thrust her fist towards her sister's jaw, only for it to pass through. A split second later, the copy vanished. Afterimage, damn!
The quarter saiyan closed her eyes and cast her sixth sense out, searching for her sister's ki while her ears remained sharp, trained on any and every sound that was out of place. Other than the wind rushing through the trees, and the dull droning of the nearby stream, nothing was out of place… or so it seemed.
A small foot collided with the small of her back, sending her sprawling. Corra caught herself and quickly scooted back on her bottom, spreading her legs out in a split to avoid the axe kick coming down on her head. It landed in the hard packed dirt between her thighs, and she took in her twin with wide eyes.
Chyna bit back a yelp of pain when her right ankle, upon digging into the dirt, twisted painfully. She could tell, based on the feel of it, that she'd twisted it. She pushed the pain to the back of her mind, fluidly performing a reverse aerial to get out of Corra's range, shifting her weight to her other leg.
Corra rose to her feet and dropped into her stance. She'd already spotted her twin's injury and was ready to take full advantage. Her lower back still smarted from the surprise kick, and it hurt every time she shifted her hips, but she wasn't out of the fight yet.
The taller quarter saiyan surged towards the latter; fist cocked. Chyna ducked the strike and countered with a sharp fist to her sister's solar plexus, winding her. She quickly limped backwards, creating distance while her sister got her breath back. As she moved, Chyna gauged the pain in her ankle and found the sprain was worse than she'd thought. Every time she tried to put weight on it, hot sparks would course up her leg and make her eyes sting.
Why put weight on it when I can fly…
Corra lunged towards her again, ki ball in hand, but the smaller girl avoided it entirely by taking to the skies.
"Thought we said no flying." The taller quarter saiyan drawled, shooting a wry smirk at her twin.
"Shut up and get up here so I can kick your butt."
*~*s*~*S*~*s*~*
The eldest son of Goku whistled lowly when he located his youngest daughters. They were sprawled out side by side in the middle of what had once been a beautiful meadow, but had been ruined by their earlier spar.
"Dende, you two," Gohan remarked as he landed on the decimated battlefield, standing between the limp forms of his youngest daughters, "what happened here?"
"Spar," Corra huffed, grimacing against the pain of her bruised ribs, "got a little ugly." Everything ached, from the backs of her eyeballs to the very tips of her toes.
"A little," Chyna rolled her eyes, shooting a disbelieving look at her sister, "nobody told you to go super saiyan." Her ankle was throbbing, and she was willing to bet it'd be swollen by the time she got home, if it wasn't already.
"It was an accident and I powered back down after like a second."
"Sure it was," the smaller girl sat up and spat out a wad of bloody saliva, "kami, everything hurts. What are you doing here, Papa?" she peered up at him in the rich orange light of the sunset.
"Your mom sent me to find you guys, it's almost time for dinner and we've got company tonight," Gohan crouched down to his daughters' level, "though I'm thinking you two might need a trip to see Dende first…"
"It looks worse than it is," Corra flashed a winning smile, "it's mostly bruising." She made to sit up, but the pain in her ribs kept her prostrate. She tried to play it off, but the knowing look on her father's face told her she was unsuccessful.
"Yeah," Chyna echoed, "it's just bruising. We held back a little." She glanced down at her right ankle, cringing at what she'd find once she got the boot off.
"A little, huh?" Gohan snickered, "alright, come on. I'll give you two a lift."
"You're the best, Papa."
*~*s*~*S*~*s*~*
Pan carefully wrapped a beige ace bandage around Chyna's ankle, careful not to make it too tight, and furrowed her brow at her sisters' bruised states, "at least you didn't mess your faces up too badly. Luckily it's the weekend and you don't have school in the morning."
"Just imagine the phone calls," Videl shuddered as she entered the twins' bedroom with a pair of cold compresses, "here," she handed one to Corra, "for your ribs, hon. You think you'll be up to eating with the rest of us or do you think you need to stay horizontal."
"I'll be fine, Mama."
"What are we gonna do with you two?"
"Love and cherish us?"
Pan and Videl exchanged an unimpressed look, much to the girls' amusement. All four of them burst into raucous laughter.
"Hopefully it'll heal fast and you'll be able to put weight on it by the time Monday gets here," Pan told Chyna softly, "it should be fine by then, so you won't have to worry about people asking you how you hurt it at school."
"That would be wonderful."
*~* Monday Morning *~*
Corra snagged the towel hanging from the rack mounted into the wall beside the sink and patted the excess water away from their face. They sighed when they made eye contact with themself in the mirror. Morosely, they placed their hands against the curve of their breasts, clad in a sports bra, and pressed them as flat as they would go. It did little to assuage the discomfort they gave them.
I could wear a sports bra… but it's not enough.
Periwinkle eyes alighted on the beige ace bandage Chyna had wrapped around her ankle after their spar a few days prior, laying on the floor near the tub. Her ankle was feeling better this morning, and she felt she no longer needed to wear it.
The bandage made a bubble of inspiration well up in the back of their mind.
Corra worried at their bottom lip for a moment, eyes flickering between their reflection and the ace bandage. A knock at the door startled them, and they jumped as their twin called out to them through the door, "Corrie, are you done in the bathroom yet?"
"N-no," Corra barely swallowed the stutter, "just give me a few more minutes and then it's all yours." They pushed away from the sink and scurried over to the bandage, plucking it up in shaking hands.
They knew that ace bandages weren't a proper binding method, but it wasn't like they had the means to get a real binder without their parents finding out. Besides… since they weren't transgender, maybe it wouldn't hurt if they only did it some of the time…
Mind made up, Corra removed the sports bra they wore and began winding the elastic beige fabric around their upper torso, as tight as it could go without restricting their breathing too badly. Satisfied, they put the sports bra back on and pulled the dark t-shirt they'd chosen over it. Marveling at how flat and streamline their chest looked in the mirror, Corra smiled secretively to herself before leaving the restroom.
Chyna jumped from her bed and scrambled into the bathroom the moment her twin emerged, eager to pee. There was only the slightest limp left over from her injury.
Meanwhile, Corra slipped into the pale pink cuffed capri pants and low cut black socks that completed their outfit for the day. They hemmed and hawed a little over what shoes they wanted to wear before selecting a pair of black and white high top converse.
Today felt like it was going to be a good day.
PSA: I DO NOT CONDONE BINDING WITH ACE BANDAGES. Please, if you bind, try to do it safely with a real binder if you're able to procure one.
Now… I am beyond sorry for the wait. I wasn't expecting to put so much content into this particular time stamp, but here it is in all it's 20k+ glory. Feel free to point out typos and grammatical errors, I just really wanted to get this up ASAP. A lot of things I touched on here will crop up in future time stamps, so keep a close eye.
Next up is Trunks and Pan's anniversary!
*~*CloudSpires1295*~*
