Author's Notes--Some of the people portrayed in this fic are not meant to be stereotypes. They are based on people I encountered in my years at high school.
~*~Kaze no Tenshi~*~
Chapter I
"A Burden So Heavy..."
The high school stood tall, ten floors high, as various students milled around and in it. It was still several minutes before classes started and they took that time to socialize. A certain group of girls were sitting on benches beside the steps that lead to the main entrance. Squeals could be head from them through almost the entire building as they literally drooled over the male population of the school they deemed as 'sexy dreamboats'. In the parking lot, a group of gutter punks were around a car, listening to a song with a heavy bass beat playing on the radio. The football team was hanging around the steps, talking and joking with one another or flirting with whatever attractive girl walked by. A few students were sitting in different places, studying for a test.
This was the scene that Carry walked into from the woods that surrounded the school. She glanced behind her to make sure her bike was hidden and secured her backpack on her back before she made her way to were her friends might be. Even before she had left the woods, she had heard the squeals. Now that she was passing by them, she could not help but roll her blue eyes in annoyance.
"Oh my gawd! There he is!" the one who was the unofficial leader said, motioning to a guy standing under a tree beside the parking lot. Carry and her friends as well as other people had dubbed her 'Squealer', because even if she talked casually she usually squealed.
"Isn't he so perfect!"
"That hair! Those eyes!"
Carry wanted to gag. She could not understand how those girls could stand doing that day after day. It was sickening!
"Look! Look! He's brushing his hair behind his head!!"
"Even his ears are cute! Perfectly rounded!"
"Everything about him is perfect!" Squealer said, and all the girls swooned.
Carry snorted, spotting her friends sitting on the top steps. She jogged up the steps to them. "How long have they been at it?" she asked, jerking her head back to the girls.
"Since the crack of dawn!" Stacie answered--making a face when the girls in discussion hit a particularly high note--while Carry and Amy slapped each other high-five. She rolled her eyes as she and Carry tapped fists. "Every guy on the football team is talking about Squealer's new shirt."
"It's hers?" the blonde named Kourtni said, she and Carry giving each other 'surf's up' signs. "I thought it was her baby sister's. For crying out loud, you can see her bra!"
"And I would not call those 'shorts'," the only male in their group said, lowering his Chemistry book to include himself in the conversation. One of his eyebrows quirked upwards as he smiled with his green eyes. "I would call them 'underwear' except that they have a zipper."
"Nicely put, Matt," Carry grinned. "Hey, let me copy your notes from yesterday, 'k?"
"Sure." He shifted through an over-stuffed binder before pulling out a few sheets of paper. "Where were you anyway?"
She hit his spiky brown hair with the papers, saying, "Never pry into a woman's business. You'll have a longer life." She sat down and began copying the notes. "Anything happen while I was gone?"
"We got an assistant coach in PE," Stacie answered, the smile on her face a mile wide. "And--mmmm!--he is fine!"
"I have got to agree on this one!" Amy exclaimed.
"What's he look like?" Carry asked, knowing that if Amy thought he was cute, he most definitely was.
Stacie sighed, a dreamy expression in her hazel eyes. "Tall, long blonde hair, and gorgeous blue eyes!"
"And a body worthy of the gods!" Amy said, throwing her arms into the air and her head back, her brown ponytail slapping her in the face.
"I don't hear you chiming in, Kourtni," Matt said, teasing his younger sister. "You were about to melt when he tried to show you how to properly hold a baseball bat."
Kourtni blushed. "Well, he cute and all. But *he's* more my type," she said, pointing to who she meant.
Carry frowned. "Him? The one Squealer's obsessed with? But he's got blonde hair and blue eyes too."
"Yeah," she sighed. "But he's just so hot. Especially in those leather pants!"
"Let's keep the hormone level down, shall we?"
The five jerked, having been caught off-guard by the voice coming from behind them. There was one of their teachers--well, actually, he was a college professor teaching an elective course for the semester. He was an elderly man with gray hair and a beard. He smiled as the five faced him, "Shouldn't you be getting to class?" The bell rang as soon as he spoke.
The students began to pile in, pushing against each other to get to class on time. Carry took her time, finishing the notes before gathering her things. When she stood, she saw the teacher was still there. She smiled, "Hey, Mr. G. Miss me?"
He chuckled, shaking his head. "The class was more quiet without you in it to debate over one thing or another."
"Can't help it," she said with a shrug as they walked into the building, "I love mythology. I mean, hey, I might not believe in all of it, but it's still interesting to learn about it. Right?"
Mr. G smiled. "Indeed it is. Now, let's go to class."
---
Kourtni tried not to nod off, but it was so hard. She couldn't help it if she found chemistry so boring! She suddenly felt something jabbed into her ribcage. Her head reflexively jerked to the culprit. Carry grinned innocently, tapping her pencil on her desk behind Kourtni. Kourtni scowled and started to say something when their teacher announced that they would now demonstrate the lecture in the lab.
"Get with your partners in the lab and I will hand out your assigned elements you need to identify. Remember, this is a review so you should know..."
Kourtni tuned out the rest of what their teacher was saying, frustrated that he always gave this same speech before they went into the lab. She pulled on her apron and adjusted the goggles to fit snugly on her face. Beside her, Carry was going over the lab procedures. She nudged her friend, saying, "Can't you ever keep your nose out of a book? It's bad enough you always hang out at the library after school, but this is actual work."
Carry shrugged. "Whatever."
Their teacher came by, placing a petree dish on their station. He went around, doing the same to all, then stood at the front of the room and said, "Keep in mind, this is a simple fire test first. Be careful when opening your samples because some might be explosive."
"Hehe," Carry laughed under her breath, eyeing the substance under the glass lid. "Go boom!"
Kourtni smacked her with her pencil, saying, "Enough of that, Pyro!"
Sticking her tongue out at her partner, Carry carefully opened the dish, getting a little of the sample on the end of a wire and holding it over the Bunsen burner. The sample sparked a bit then burned a violet color.
The rest of the lab went smoothly with little incident. The only notable one was that every now and then Carry had to get Kourtni's attention back on the lab and off of the blonde guy in the leather pants she kept staring at. "You need to make at least an A on this to pass, Kourtni," Carry said as they were finishing up.
"I know, I know," Kourtni said, frowning. "It's just that I get so distracted, especially when he wears those pants!" She sighed, staring at him yet again while she ran on autopilot, turning on the faucet to wash out of equipment.
"Boy-hunt later," Carry said, flipping a strand of her copper and gold hair back out of her face. "You really got to work on this if you want to do anything over the break coming up and you know your--"
Kourtni bearly heard her. She was concentrating more on the fact that those leather pants looked especially good right around the butt area...
"Kourtni! That's potassium!!" Carry shouted.
Kourtni snapped back, realizing that she had started to wash out the petree dish. Carry's hand shot out just as the remaining potassium reacted to the water. She knocked the dish out of Kourtni's hand, having it shatter right above her own hand because of the explosion. She bit her lip as the shards cut into her skin.
"Oh my--Carry!" Kourtni gasped. "I'm sorry! I'm so sorry!" she exclaimed, looking on the verge of tears.
"'S okay," Carry managed, gritting her teeth as the teacher checked the extent of the wounds before sending her to the nurse. Since Kourtni was almost hysterical, he sent Matt with her.
"Man, that's gotta hurt!" he whistled when they were in the hallway.
Carry shot him a look. "Shut up, Matt."
"Sorry," he mummered. "I'll be sure to pound Kourtni later, 'k?"
That got a bit of a smile from Carry, who shook her head. "The things I miss not having an older brother. It's just me, the Ape, and the Squirt beside mom and dad."
They got to the nurse, who determined that she probably would not have to go to the hospital. She carefully removed the glass shards and bandaged her hand. She was wrapping her hand with some gauze when the door opened. A young woman, black-haired and gray eyed, walked in, her face pale and strained as if she was in pain.
"Coach Gina!" Carry gasped, recognizing the volleyball coach. "What's wrong?"
Coach Gina smiled despite whatever was ailing her and said, "I should ask you the same thing. And I thought you just got injured in my class. It's just my stomach. More than likely some bad food."
Carry nodded though she was still worried. Coach was really pretty, and she did not have to use any make-up to enhance it. Many of the girls idolized her because she was so graceful, centered, and well-poised all the time. "Do you need help?" she asked as she stood off of the bed she had been sitting on.
She waved her off, saying, "I'll be fine. You guys should get back to class anyway."
Carry nodded, following Matt out the door.
---
Amy had seen some 'attractive' guys in her day. Definitely some 'cute' ones. A few who she described as downright 'adorable'. But a scare few were given her label of 'hot', and Carry had never heard her call a guy 'sexy' before.
Then came that fateful PE class she would never forget--for one reason or another.
They sat on the bleachers in their dorky black shorts and gray shirts, waiting for the coaches to show up. Amy and Stacie rattled on and on about the new assistant to Carry, who was eager to see him herself.
"I can't believe how lucky you are today, Carry," Amy said with mock-envy.
"How so?" she said, cocking an eyebrow in question. She motioned to her bandaged hand. "I got my hand shredded in Chemistry."
"Exactly," she said, a grin splitting her face underneath her brown eyes. "You can sit out and stare at him to your heart's content while we have to sweat."
"You've got a twisted way of looking at things, Amy," Carry said.
Amy started to reply, when she caught sight of three people walking into the gym. Her eyes widened in pleased surprise as she whispered under her breath, "There he is! There he is!" Carry turned to see this coach Amy had been drooling over since morning classes.
One of the three was Coach Gina. The other was a man with dark hair just above his shoulders and keen gray eyes. His proud chin had a bit of stubble on it but it all enhanced his appearance. This was the head PE coach, Mark Young.
Amy nudged her. "Well?" she said, discreetly motioning to the remaining one. "What do you think?"
Carry's mouth hung open as she gawked at him, so she could not answer.
The last one was a young man, and all the eyes of the girls were glued to him as he followed the other two. He was tall and thin yet his muscles were toned to where they could be made out. He had golden blonde hair a bit past his shoulders and piercing, pale blue eyes that made Carry want to melt as he swept his gaze over the group, focusing on her for a moment before moving on. The only thing she saw that made her frown was that there was a sock hat pulled down on his head, their school logo printed on the front. She thought it was a shame to hide that beautiful hair of his. She had never seen a more attractive guy.
Carry tried to say that to Amy, but fumbled over the drool that had developed in her mouth. Amy grinned again. "Looks like I'm not the only one crushing, eh?"
Carry could only nod.
---
Carry could have been happy sitting on those bleachers for the rest of her life, staring at Coach Lee. She sighed, watching him as he directed the boy's basketball team in their warm-ups before a practice game. "Dreamy," she mummered to herself.
Atop the bleachers, a group of guys sat, watching her. A few were glowering in obvious rage at the new coach.
A squeal came over the P.A. system, then the voice of the secretary came through. "Attention, students and faculty members. There will be an assembly today during last class. Also, whoever keeps putting the soap in the fountain system, be warned: you will be caught and punished accordingly. Thank you."
A laugh came from the gym floor as two guys high-fived each other. Carry rolled her eyes yet smiled. It was Derek and Dirk; the Terror Twins as they were called. Though they were not really twins--they were not even brothers--they were cousins and were behind most of the pranks pulled at the school. The soap in the fountain had only been their recent stunt. Once they managed to flip the superintendent's brand new Porsche without leaving a scratch, and he had only been gone from it for a maximum of ten minutes. That prank had gone down in the school history.
Soon after that, the bell rang. Most of the students began to file out. Amy climbed up the bleachers to Carry and sat down. "So," she said, leaning back against the seats, "what do you want to do now? We got nothing until that assembly."
Carry shrugged. "I'll probably head over to the library."
Amy rolled her eyes. "Don't you ever get tired of reading?"
"Nope!"
"Weirdo."
"Well, well, well. What do we have here, boys?" a sneering voice said.
Everyone else had left the gym, with the exception of the five big, muscled guys currently standing behind the two girls. One had his arms crossed over his chest, smirking. "If it isn't little miss Amy and her friend Carry. To what do we owe this pleasure?"
Carry inwardly groaned, while Amy did nothing to hide her disgust. Out of all the arrogant football players, Lester was the worst. As Kourtni often said, his thought process happens only below his waist. Carry almost started laughing, thinking back to a day a few weeks ago, at the beginning of school.
There had been an assembly, and the principal had been delayed for some reason, so a lot of the students had been talking and goofing off. Amy and Carry along with the rest of their friends had found a spot in the front corner of the bleachers to sit on and were just talking when Lester and his football passe came and started hitting on them, pushing Matt out of his seat so he could sit down. Of course the term 'hitting on' was used loosely. He was pretty much trying to get them to have sex with him. Carry could not remember exactly what she said, but Amy made a comment about how if she did she would have no chance at getting pregnant, since Lester's dick was so small. Needless to say, he got made and stormed off, but Stacie had snipped the back of his pants with a pair of scissors which made them slip off just as he was in front of the bleachers. It was surprising because Lester had chosen that day to go commando. The whole room had erupted in laughter that shook the building. Carry had stood up and shouted "Hey! It's Lester the Molester!!" Since then, the nickname had stuck, and he hated them for it.
"What do you want?" Amy snapped.
The smirk fell from his face. "Dropping that attitude of yours might be a good place to start."
Carry snorted, standing. "Come on, Amy," she said, going down the bleachers. "Let's go. The air suddenly became fouler here." She had just gotten off when she heard Amy shout in protest. She spun around to see what had happened. Before she could stop him, one of the other guys grabbed her. She struggled, but he was too strong. She saw that Lester had Amy, the smirk back on his face.
"Pay back time," he said.
---
"Tell me again how this happened?" Carry called over to Amy.
"Don't remind me!" Amy called back, fuming silently at how stupid she had been to let that creep touch her.
If one had walked into the gym at that point, they would have laughed at the comical scene before them: both of the girls were in each of the basketball goals on either end of the gym, their legs dangling over one side. The guys had accomplished this by restraining them long enough for them to stand on each other's shoulders and 'dunk' them in the hoop.
Amy scowled, muttering to herself about how she was going to get Lester back at this. She grunted, moving to see how much mobility she had in the hoop. She was surprised to find she had a lot. "I think I can get out!" she said, pushing up against the hoop to get herself out of it.
Carry frowned. "Now fair! You're a twig! I can't even wiggle loose with my fat butt stuck in this thing!"
Amy did not answer. She steadied herself before taking a breath and throwing herself out of the hoop. She landed with a 'THUD' on her feet under it, wincing when her right ankle popped. "Ow!" she whimpered, rubbing it. "Oh, they're really gonna get it now!" she swore. She turned to Carry, saying, "I'll go get one of the coaches or something! Just hold on!" That said, she limped out as fast as she could.
Carry grumbled, crossing her arms in a huff. "Stupid hips," she said, wiggling to see if she could get loose. She could not even budge. "Thanks a lot, Mother."
"Do you need some assistance?"
Carry snapped her head down to the one who spoke. Her breath caught in her throat. Standing under the basket was Coach Lee. He was looking up at her, a confused look on his face. "Uh...I--um....uh," Carry fumbled, unable to form the thought much less the sentence. "They...they dunked us....Amy left."
A frown crossed his face. "Hold on, I'll be right there," he said.
Carry regained her thoughts and started to ask what he meant. Before she could, he jumped straight up onto the metal bars that supported the backboard. She stared in shock at him, mouth open. "How did you--What just--How?!" she exclaimed.
Coach Lee blinked and shook his head, saying something to himself. He climbed over the backboard and stood on the hoop over Carry, who noticed that she bearly felt any weight shift on the hoop. He lifted her up by her arms carefully, his grip was firm yet gentle. Carry felt her insides turn to mush. He was much stronger than he looked.
"Hold on," he said, slipping an arm around her waist.
Carry bearly heard him. Suddenly she felt the ground rushing up and saw that he had jumped off the hoop. She squeaked, clutching onto his neck in fright. He landed neatly on his feet--and without a sound, Carry noted.
"Can you walk?" he asked, seeing her legs wobbling under her weight.
"Yeah," she said, trying not to swoon. Life could not get any better.
---
The school's library had originally been the public library in the town's earlier years. Once the school had been built, they just added on to it. It was a few levels high and had a couple offices in the basement level. On the ground level's lounge area there was a fireplace that was kept lit in the winter months. Stairs leading to the upper levels were dotted with landings and balconies. Shelves reached high up to the ceiling and across all the walls. Research books bearly made up half of the books there. Fiction, non-fiction, poetry, romance, sci-fi, fantasy--anything you wanted could be found there if you looked hard enough.
Carry could never get enough of this place. She loved to find a good book, go to a secret corner amid the labyrinth of shelves, and lose herself in another time and place. She often cut classes, especially if she was in a bad mood or stressed out over one thing or another. Sometimes during the summer and on holidays, she found it was unlocked for some reason; and always when she needed it.
She smiled, running a hand along the aging bindings of the books in the fantasy section. She scanned the titles, finding one to her interest. She carefully pulled it out, memorizing the place it had been, and went on her way downstairs. The stairs that lead to the lower levels were closed off by two large doors, both looking as if they were locked all the time. Yet Carry knew they only appeared this way. She quietly opened the door on the right and slipped in. The scent of old paper wafted up to meet her. She sat down mid-way down the steps, leaning against the wall as she let out a contented sigh. She opened the book and began to read.
The bell rang, signaling the end of the period. Carry shrugged, standing. "Might as well head home." She walked back up the steps, back to where she had gotten the book. When she was on her way to the door, she spotted a familiar head on the other side of the bookcase. She smiled, rushing to the other side.
"Hey!" she whispered, thumping the person on the head. It was the head librarian, Brice. Because he was so young, he let Carry call him by his first name. He was a little on the short side, about the same size as Carry. His hair was dark brown, cut short and Carry was sure it would curl if he let it grow out a little bit more. His eyes were a cheerful, pale blue color that made her want to laugh.
He looked up, face breaking into a smile as he straightened. "I was wondering when you'd arrive," he said. "Where were you yesterday?"
She rolled her eyes, "Don't ask. Anything happen?"
He shook his head. "No, very quiet. We did get a new shipment of books, though, if you're interested."
"Maybe tomorrow," she said, stifling a yawn. "I didn't get much sleep last night so I need to go."
"All right, then," Brice said. "I'll see you later."
"Ditto," she said over her shoulder, walking out of the aisle. When she reached the end, she stopped, looking back. Brice was putting away the large stack of books at his feet, unaware she was watching him. Carry could not explain it, but it felt like there was a shadow always following him. As if he had to carry a burden so heavy that even now, after he got rid of it, he suffered from it. She felt sorry for him and wished she could help him in some way. She sighed, going back on her way.
---
School rules prohibited the use of motorcycles on school grounds, much to Carry's annoyance. Her motorcycle was the only means he had to get to school since her parents both worked in the morning and she lived twenty minutes from anywhere so no one could give her a ride. so, everyday, she would ride to school and hide her cycle in the woods that bordered the campus grounds.
Carry picked her way through the trees, having memorized the way to the clearing she used as a hiding place. The clearing connected with a small road that led back onto the main road, making it quite easy to get in and out of. She was deep in thought when she heard the familiar roar of an engine. She froze, then burst out in a run. 'Someone's stealing my bike!' she thought.
The trees ahead thinned out. She saw someone on a motorcycle just beyond them and anger flew through her. She ran and, without giving them any warning, tackled the person to the ground.
"What the hell are you doing with my bike?!" she screamed, pinning the thief to the ground. "I've got half a mind to sue you!!"
The person was stunned into silence. Carry stopped, recognizing who it was. It was that blonde guy Kourtni and Squealer were both so crazy about. What was his name? She kept forgetting.
"Do you mind getting off?" he said at last.
"Not until you tell me what you were doing with my bike," she said, eyes narrowing.
He made a frustrated growl, then said, "That's not your bike, it's mine."
Carry blinked, then turned her head to look at the bike in question. It was the same kind of motorcycle she had, with one exception: it was black, hers was silver. She fumbled an apology, quickly getting off him. He stood, shaking the leaves out of his chin-length hair. He kept his eyes on Carry, in case she would attack him again, when he noticed her bandaged hand. "What happened to your hand?"
"Huh?" Carry looked at her hand, surprised at the question. "Oh, an accident in chemistry class, no bid deal." 'You'd never believe you were the cause,' she thought to herself. Out loud she said, "I'm just glad it wasn't my right hand."
He frowned. "Why?"
Carry chuckled, beginning to walk to where her bike was, "Because I wouldn't be able to paint for quite a while."
"You paint?" he asked.
Carry stopped walking and turned to face him. Something in his voice caught her attention. She was not able to tell what it was, but it made her say, "I don't think I'm any good, but, yeah, I paint."
He was silent. His blue gray-blue eyes were cloudy, as if he were in thought. After a while, he gave her a half-smile and said, "Maybe I'll come over and see them some time."
Carry found herself nodding. "Yeah. Well, see ya." She turned and almost ran back to her bike.
---
When she got home, she was greeted by the sounds of the Ape and the Squirt--a.k.a., her little brother and sister--screaming at each other. the Ape ran out of the garage, saying a quick 'hello', before running on his way, a small black cat chasing after him. Or was the cat after the two fish he had sticking out of his pocket?
Soon after, a young girl came running out, a gooey blue and brown substance covering her from head-to-toe. "You get back here!" she screamed, running after the Ape. "I'm gonna make you pay!"
"Hey, Squirt," Carry said, moving past her.
"Hey, Carry!" she called back, then proceed to chase after their younger brother.
The next one to greet Carry was her faithful dog, Angel. Angel was a mixed breed; her fur was mostly black but was spotted with brown and her face was completely white. Angel was a strange dog. The only person she liked was Carry and growled at anyone else that get near her mistress.
"Hey, Angel," Carry said, rubbing the dog's head. "Miss me?"
Angel barked in reply.
Carry entered her house, not surprised at the blue and brown handprints on the walls. Her mother was hard at work cleaning up the mess. "Hey, Mom," she said.
"Hello, Carry," she said. "There's a snack on the kitchen counter if you want it."
"Thanks." Carry found the snack and brought it up to her room. She sat on her bed, Angel sitting down on the floor beside her, and started on her homework. She sighed, thinking, 'Another day. As always...'
~*~
Interested yet? R&R!!!
~*~Kaze no Tenshi~*~
~*~Kaze no Tenshi~*~
Chapter I
"A Burden So Heavy..."
The high school stood tall, ten floors high, as various students milled around and in it. It was still several minutes before classes started and they took that time to socialize. A certain group of girls were sitting on benches beside the steps that lead to the main entrance. Squeals could be head from them through almost the entire building as they literally drooled over the male population of the school they deemed as 'sexy dreamboats'. In the parking lot, a group of gutter punks were around a car, listening to a song with a heavy bass beat playing on the radio. The football team was hanging around the steps, talking and joking with one another or flirting with whatever attractive girl walked by. A few students were sitting in different places, studying for a test.
This was the scene that Carry walked into from the woods that surrounded the school. She glanced behind her to make sure her bike was hidden and secured her backpack on her back before she made her way to were her friends might be. Even before she had left the woods, she had heard the squeals. Now that she was passing by them, she could not help but roll her blue eyes in annoyance.
"Oh my gawd! There he is!" the one who was the unofficial leader said, motioning to a guy standing under a tree beside the parking lot. Carry and her friends as well as other people had dubbed her 'Squealer', because even if she talked casually she usually squealed.
"Isn't he so perfect!"
"That hair! Those eyes!"
Carry wanted to gag. She could not understand how those girls could stand doing that day after day. It was sickening!
"Look! Look! He's brushing his hair behind his head!!"
"Even his ears are cute! Perfectly rounded!"
"Everything about him is perfect!" Squealer said, and all the girls swooned.
Carry snorted, spotting her friends sitting on the top steps. She jogged up the steps to them. "How long have they been at it?" she asked, jerking her head back to the girls.
"Since the crack of dawn!" Stacie answered--making a face when the girls in discussion hit a particularly high note--while Carry and Amy slapped each other high-five. She rolled her eyes as she and Carry tapped fists. "Every guy on the football team is talking about Squealer's new shirt."
"It's hers?" the blonde named Kourtni said, she and Carry giving each other 'surf's up' signs. "I thought it was her baby sister's. For crying out loud, you can see her bra!"
"And I would not call those 'shorts'," the only male in their group said, lowering his Chemistry book to include himself in the conversation. One of his eyebrows quirked upwards as he smiled with his green eyes. "I would call them 'underwear' except that they have a zipper."
"Nicely put, Matt," Carry grinned. "Hey, let me copy your notes from yesterday, 'k?"
"Sure." He shifted through an over-stuffed binder before pulling out a few sheets of paper. "Where were you anyway?"
She hit his spiky brown hair with the papers, saying, "Never pry into a woman's business. You'll have a longer life." She sat down and began copying the notes. "Anything happen while I was gone?"
"We got an assistant coach in PE," Stacie answered, the smile on her face a mile wide. "And--mmmm!--he is fine!"
"I have got to agree on this one!" Amy exclaimed.
"What's he look like?" Carry asked, knowing that if Amy thought he was cute, he most definitely was.
Stacie sighed, a dreamy expression in her hazel eyes. "Tall, long blonde hair, and gorgeous blue eyes!"
"And a body worthy of the gods!" Amy said, throwing her arms into the air and her head back, her brown ponytail slapping her in the face.
"I don't hear you chiming in, Kourtni," Matt said, teasing his younger sister. "You were about to melt when he tried to show you how to properly hold a baseball bat."
Kourtni blushed. "Well, he cute and all. But *he's* more my type," she said, pointing to who she meant.
Carry frowned. "Him? The one Squealer's obsessed with? But he's got blonde hair and blue eyes too."
"Yeah," she sighed. "But he's just so hot. Especially in those leather pants!"
"Let's keep the hormone level down, shall we?"
The five jerked, having been caught off-guard by the voice coming from behind them. There was one of their teachers--well, actually, he was a college professor teaching an elective course for the semester. He was an elderly man with gray hair and a beard. He smiled as the five faced him, "Shouldn't you be getting to class?" The bell rang as soon as he spoke.
The students began to pile in, pushing against each other to get to class on time. Carry took her time, finishing the notes before gathering her things. When she stood, she saw the teacher was still there. She smiled, "Hey, Mr. G. Miss me?"
He chuckled, shaking his head. "The class was more quiet without you in it to debate over one thing or another."
"Can't help it," she said with a shrug as they walked into the building, "I love mythology. I mean, hey, I might not believe in all of it, but it's still interesting to learn about it. Right?"
Mr. G smiled. "Indeed it is. Now, let's go to class."
---
Kourtni tried not to nod off, but it was so hard. She couldn't help it if she found chemistry so boring! She suddenly felt something jabbed into her ribcage. Her head reflexively jerked to the culprit. Carry grinned innocently, tapping her pencil on her desk behind Kourtni. Kourtni scowled and started to say something when their teacher announced that they would now demonstrate the lecture in the lab.
"Get with your partners in the lab and I will hand out your assigned elements you need to identify. Remember, this is a review so you should know..."
Kourtni tuned out the rest of what their teacher was saying, frustrated that he always gave this same speech before they went into the lab. She pulled on her apron and adjusted the goggles to fit snugly on her face. Beside her, Carry was going over the lab procedures. She nudged her friend, saying, "Can't you ever keep your nose out of a book? It's bad enough you always hang out at the library after school, but this is actual work."
Carry shrugged. "Whatever."
Their teacher came by, placing a petree dish on their station. He went around, doing the same to all, then stood at the front of the room and said, "Keep in mind, this is a simple fire test first. Be careful when opening your samples because some might be explosive."
"Hehe," Carry laughed under her breath, eyeing the substance under the glass lid. "Go boom!"
Kourtni smacked her with her pencil, saying, "Enough of that, Pyro!"
Sticking her tongue out at her partner, Carry carefully opened the dish, getting a little of the sample on the end of a wire and holding it over the Bunsen burner. The sample sparked a bit then burned a violet color.
The rest of the lab went smoothly with little incident. The only notable one was that every now and then Carry had to get Kourtni's attention back on the lab and off of the blonde guy in the leather pants she kept staring at. "You need to make at least an A on this to pass, Kourtni," Carry said as they were finishing up.
"I know, I know," Kourtni said, frowning. "It's just that I get so distracted, especially when he wears those pants!" She sighed, staring at him yet again while she ran on autopilot, turning on the faucet to wash out of equipment.
"Boy-hunt later," Carry said, flipping a strand of her copper and gold hair back out of her face. "You really got to work on this if you want to do anything over the break coming up and you know your--"
Kourtni bearly heard her. She was concentrating more on the fact that those leather pants looked especially good right around the butt area...
"Kourtni! That's potassium!!" Carry shouted.
Kourtni snapped back, realizing that she had started to wash out the petree dish. Carry's hand shot out just as the remaining potassium reacted to the water. She knocked the dish out of Kourtni's hand, having it shatter right above her own hand because of the explosion. She bit her lip as the shards cut into her skin.
"Oh my--Carry!" Kourtni gasped. "I'm sorry! I'm so sorry!" she exclaimed, looking on the verge of tears.
"'S okay," Carry managed, gritting her teeth as the teacher checked the extent of the wounds before sending her to the nurse. Since Kourtni was almost hysterical, he sent Matt with her.
"Man, that's gotta hurt!" he whistled when they were in the hallway.
Carry shot him a look. "Shut up, Matt."
"Sorry," he mummered. "I'll be sure to pound Kourtni later, 'k?"
That got a bit of a smile from Carry, who shook her head. "The things I miss not having an older brother. It's just me, the Ape, and the Squirt beside mom and dad."
They got to the nurse, who determined that she probably would not have to go to the hospital. She carefully removed the glass shards and bandaged her hand. She was wrapping her hand with some gauze when the door opened. A young woman, black-haired and gray eyed, walked in, her face pale and strained as if she was in pain.
"Coach Gina!" Carry gasped, recognizing the volleyball coach. "What's wrong?"
Coach Gina smiled despite whatever was ailing her and said, "I should ask you the same thing. And I thought you just got injured in my class. It's just my stomach. More than likely some bad food."
Carry nodded though she was still worried. Coach was really pretty, and she did not have to use any make-up to enhance it. Many of the girls idolized her because she was so graceful, centered, and well-poised all the time. "Do you need help?" she asked as she stood off of the bed she had been sitting on.
She waved her off, saying, "I'll be fine. You guys should get back to class anyway."
Carry nodded, following Matt out the door.
---
Amy had seen some 'attractive' guys in her day. Definitely some 'cute' ones. A few who she described as downright 'adorable'. But a scare few were given her label of 'hot', and Carry had never heard her call a guy 'sexy' before.
Then came that fateful PE class she would never forget--for one reason or another.
They sat on the bleachers in their dorky black shorts and gray shirts, waiting for the coaches to show up. Amy and Stacie rattled on and on about the new assistant to Carry, who was eager to see him herself.
"I can't believe how lucky you are today, Carry," Amy said with mock-envy.
"How so?" she said, cocking an eyebrow in question. She motioned to her bandaged hand. "I got my hand shredded in Chemistry."
"Exactly," she said, a grin splitting her face underneath her brown eyes. "You can sit out and stare at him to your heart's content while we have to sweat."
"You've got a twisted way of looking at things, Amy," Carry said.
Amy started to reply, when she caught sight of three people walking into the gym. Her eyes widened in pleased surprise as she whispered under her breath, "There he is! There he is!" Carry turned to see this coach Amy had been drooling over since morning classes.
One of the three was Coach Gina. The other was a man with dark hair just above his shoulders and keen gray eyes. His proud chin had a bit of stubble on it but it all enhanced his appearance. This was the head PE coach, Mark Young.
Amy nudged her. "Well?" she said, discreetly motioning to the remaining one. "What do you think?"
Carry's mouth hung open as she gawked at him, so she could not answer.
The last one was a young man, and all the eyes of the girls were glued to him as he followed the other two. He was tall and thin yet his muscles were toned to where they could be made out. He had golden blonde hair a bit past his shoulders and piercing, pale blue eyes that made Carry want to melt as he swept his gaze over the group, focusing on her for a moment before moving on. The only thing she saw that made her frown was that there was a sock hat pulled down on his head, their school logo printed on the front. She thought it was a shame to hide that beautiful hair of his. She had never seen a more attractive guy.
Carry tried to say that to Amy, but fumbled over the drool that had developed in her mouth. Amy grinned again. "Looks like I'm not the only one crushing, eh?"
Carry could only nod.
---
Carry could have been happy sitting on those bleachers for the rest of her life, staring at Coach Lee. She sighed, watching him as he directed the boy's basketball team in their warm-ups before a practice game. "Dreamy," she mummered to herself.
Atop the bleachers, a group of guys sat, watching her. A few were glowering in obvious rage at the new coach.
A squeal came over the P.A. system, then the voice of the secretary came through. "Attention, students and faculty members. There will be an assembly today during last class. Also, whoever keeps putting the soap in the fountain system, be warned: you will be caught and punished accordingly. Thank you."
A laugh came from the gym floor as two guys high-fived each other. Carry rolled her eyes yet smiled. It was Derek and Dirk; the Terror Twins as they were called. Though they were not really twins--they were not even brothers--they were cousins and were behind most of the pranks pulled at the school. The soap in the fountain had only been their recent stunt. Once they managed to flip the superintendent's brand new Porsche without leaving a scratch, and he had only been gone from it for a maximum of ten minutes. That prank had gone down in the school history.
Soon after that, the bell rang. Most of the students began to file out. Amy climbed up the bleachers to Carry and sat down. "So," she said, leaning back against the seats, "what do you want to do now? We got nothing until that assembly."
Carry shrugged. "I'll probably head over to the library."
Amy rolled her eyes. "Don't you ever get tired of reading?"
"Nope!"
"Weirdo."
"Well, well, well. What do we have here, boys?" a sneering voice said.
Everyone else had left the gym, with the exception of the five big, muscled guys currently standing behind the two girls. One had his arms crossed over his chest, smirking. "If it isn't little miss Amy and her friend Carry. To what do we owe this pleasure?"
Carry inwardly groaned, while Amy did nothing to hide her disgust. Out of all the arrogant football players, Lester was the worst. As Kourtni often said, his thought process happens only below his waist. Carry almost started laughing, thinking back to a day a few weeks ago, at the beginning of school.
There had been an assembly, and the principal had been delayed for some reason, so a lot of the students had been talking and goofing off. Amy and Carry along with the rest of their friends had found a spot in the front corner of the bleachers to sit on and were just talking when Lester and his football passe came and started hitting on them, pushing Matt out of his seat so he could sit down. Of course the term 'hitting on' was used loosely. He was pretty much trying to get them to have sex with him. Carry could not remember exactly what she said, but Amy made a comment about how if she did she would have no chance at getting pregnant, since Lester's dick was so small. Needless to say, he got made and stormed off, but Stacie had snipped the back of his pants with a pair of scissors which made them slip off just as he was in front of the bleachers. It was surprising because Lester had chosen that day to go commando. The whole room had erupted in laughter that shook the building. Carry had stood up and shouted "Hey! It's Lester the Molester!!" Since then, the nickname had stuck, and he hated them for it.
"What do you want?" Amy snapped.
The smirk fell from his face. "Dropping that attitude of yours might be a good place to start."
Carry snorted, standing. "Come on, Amy," she said, going down the bleachers. "Let's go. The air suddenly became fouler here." She had just gotten off when she heard Amy shout in protest. She spun around to see what had happened. Before she could stop him, one of the other guys grabbed her. She struggled, but he was too strong. She saw that Lester had Amy, the smirk back on his face.
"Pay back time," he said.
---
"Tell me again how this happened?" Carry called over to Amy.
"Don't remind me!" Amy called back, fuming silently at how stupid she had been to let that creep touch her.
If one had walked into the gym at that point, they would have laughed at the comical scene before them: both of the girls were in each of the basketball goals on either end of the gym, their legs dangling over one side. The guys had accomplished this by restraining them long enough for them to stand on each other's shoulders and 'dunk' them in the hoop.
Amy scowled, muttering to herself about how she was going to get Lester back at this. She grunted, moving to see how much mobility she had in the hoop. She was surprised to find she had a lot. "I think I can get out!" she said, pushing up against the hoop to get herself out of it.
Carry frowned. "Now fair! You're a twig! I can't even wiggle loose with my fat butt stuck in this thing!"
Amy did not answer. She steadied herself before taking a breath and throwing herself out of the hoop. She landed with a 'THUD' on her feet under it, wincing when her right ankle popped. "Ow!" she whimpered, rubbing it. "Oh, they're really gonna get it now!" she swore. She turned to Carry, saying, "I'll go get one of the coaches or something! Just hold on!" That said, she limped out as fast as she could.
Carry grumbled, crossing her arms in a huff. "Stupid hips," she said, wiggling to see if she could get loose. She could not even budge. "Thanks a lot, Mother."
"Do you need some assistance?"
Carry snapped her head down to the one who spoke. Her breath caught in her throat. Standing under the basket was Coach Lee. He was looking up at her, a confused look on his face. "Uh...I--um....uh," Carry fumbled, unable to form the thought much less the sentence. "They...they dunked us....Amy left."
A frown crossed his face. "Hold on, I'll be right there," he said.
Carry regained her thoughts and started to ask what he meant. Before she could, he jumped straight up onto the metal bars that supported the backboard. She stared in shock at him, mouth open. "How did you--What just--How?!" she exclaimed.
Coach Lee blinked and shook his head, saying something to himself. He climbed over the backboard and stood on the hoop over Carry, who noticed that she bearly felt any weight shift on the hoop. He lifted her up by her arms carefully, his grip was firm yet gentle. Carry felt her insides turn to mush. He was much stronger than he looked.
"Hold on," he said, slipping an arm around her waist.
Carry bearly heard him. Suddenly she felt the ground rushing up and saw that he had jumped off the hoop. She squeaked, clutching onto his neck in fright. He landed neatly on his feet--and without a sound, Carry noted.
"Can you walk?" he asked, seeing her legs wobbling under her weight.
"Yeah," she said, trying not to swoon. Life could not get any better.
---
The school's library had originally been the public library in the town's earlier years. Once the school had been built, they just added on to it. It was a few levels high and had a couple offices in the basement level. On the ground level's lounge area there was a fireplace that was kept lit in the winter months. Stairs leading to the upper levels were dotted with landings and balconies. Shelves reached high up to the ceiling and across all the walls. Research books bearly made up half of the books there. Fiction, non-fiction, poetry, romance, sci-fi, fantasy--anything you wanted could be found there if you looked hard enough.
Carry could never get enough of this place. She loved to find a good book, go to a secret corner amid the labyrinth of shelves, and lose herself in another time and place. She often cut classes, especially if she was in a bad mood or stressed out over one thing or another. Sometimes during the summer and on holidays, she found it was unlocked for some reason; and always when she needed it.
She smiled, running a hand along the aging bindings of the books in the fantasy section. She scanned the titles, finding one to her interest. She carefully pulled it out, memorizing the place it had been, and went on her way downstairs. The stairs that lead to the lower levels were closed off by two large doors, both looking as if they were locked all the time. Yet Carry knew they only appeared this way. She quietly opened the door on the right and slipped in. The scent of old paper wafted up to meet her. She sat down mid-way down the steps, leaning against the wall as she let out a contented sigh. She opened the book and began to read.
The bell rang, signaling the end of the period. Carry shrugged, standing. "Might as well head home." She walked back up the steps, back to where she had gotten the book. When she was on her way to the door, she spotted a familiar head on the other side of the bookcase. She smiled, rushing to the other side.
"Hey!" she whispered, thumping the person on the head. It was the head librarian, Brice. Because he was so young, he let Carry call him by his first name. He was a little on the short side, about the same size as Carry. His hair was dark brown, cut short and Carry was sure it would curl if he let it grow out a little bit more. His eyes were a cheerful, pale blue color that made her want to laugh.
He looked up, face breaking into a smile as he straightened. "I was wondering when you'd arrive," he said. "Where were you yesterday?"
She rolled her eyes, "Don't ask. Anything happen?"
He shook his head. "No, very quiet. We did get a new shipment of books, though, if you're interested."
"Maybe tomorrow," she said, stifling a yawn. "I didn't get much sleep last night so I need to go."
"All right, then," Brice said. "I'll see you later."
"Ditto," she said over her shoulder, walking out of the aisle. When she reached the end, she stopped, looking back. Brice was putting away the large stack of books at his feet, unaware she was watching him. Carry could not explain it, but it felt like there was a shadow always following him. As if he had to carry a burden so heavy that even now, after he got rid of it, he suffered from it. She felt sorry for him and wished she could help him in some way. She sighed, going back on her way.
---
School rules prohibited the use of motorcycles on school grounds, much to Carry's annoyance. Her motorcycle was the only means he had to get to school since her parents both worked in the morning and she lived twenty minutes from anywhere so no one could give her a ride. so, everyday, she would ride to school and hide her cycle in the woods that bordered the campus grounds.
Carry picked her way through the trees, having memorized the way to the clearing she used as a hiding place. The clearing connected with a small road that led back onto the main road, making it quite easy to get in and out of. She was deep in thought when she heard the familiar roar of an engine. She froze, then burst out in a run. 'Someone's stealing my bike!' she thought.
The trees ahead thinned out. She saw someone on a motorcycle just beyond them and anger flew through her. She ran and, without giving them any warning, tackled the person to the ground.
"What the hell are you doing with my bike?!" she screamed, pinning the thief to the ground. "I've got half a mind to sue you!!"
The person was stunned into silence. Carry stopped, recognizing who it was. It was that blonde guy Kourtni and Squealer were both so crazy about. What was his name? She kept forgetting.
"Do you mind getting off?" he said at last.
"Not until you tell me what you were doing with my bike," she said, eyes narrowing.
He made a frustrated growl, then said, "That's not your bike, it's mine."
Carry blinked, then turned her head to look at the bike in question. It was the same kind of motorcycle she had, with one exception: it was black, hers was silver. She fumbled an apology, quickly getting off him. He stood, shaking the leaves out of his chin-length hair. He kept his eyes on Carry, in case she would attack him again, when he noticed her bandaged hand. "What happened to your hand?"
"Huh?" Carry looked at her hand, surprised at the question. "Oh, an accident in chemistry class, no bid deal." 'You'd never believe you were the cause,' she thought to herself. Out loud she said, "I'm just glad it wasn't my right hand."
He frowned. "Why?"
Carry chuckled, beginning to walk to where her bike was, "Because I wouldn't be able to paint for quite a while."
"You paint?" he asked.
Carry stopped walking and turned to face him. Something in his voice caught her attention. She was not able to tell what it was, but it made her say, "I don't think I'm any good, but, yeah, I paint."
He was silent. His blue gray-blue eyes were cloudy, as if he were in thought. After a while, he gave her a half-smile and said, "Maybe I'll come over and see them some time."
Carry found herself nodding. "Yeah. Well, see ya." She turned and almost ran back to her bike.
---
When she got home, she was greeted by the sounds of the Ape and the Squirt--a.k.a., her little brother and sister--screaming at each other. the Ape ran out of the garage, saying a quick 'hello', before running on his way, a small black cat chasing after him. Or was the cat after the two fish he had sticking out of his pocket?
Soon after, a young girl came running out, a gooey blue and brown substance covering her from head-to-toe. "You get back here!" she screamed, running after the Ape. "I'm gonna make you pay!"
"Hey, Squirt," Carry said, moving past her.
"Hey, Carry!" she called back, then proceed to chase after their younger brother.
The next one to greet Carry was her faithful dog, Angel. Angel was a mixed breed; her fur was mostly black but was spotted with brown and her face was completely white. Angel was a strange dog. The only person she liked was Carry and growled at anyone else that get near her mistress.
"Hey, Angel," Carry said, rubbing the dog's head. "Miss me?"
Angel barked in reply.
Carry entered her house, not surprised at the blue and brown handprints on the walls. Her mother was hard at work cleaning up the mess. "Hey, Mom," she said.
"Hello, Carry," she said. "There's a snack on the kitchen counter if you want it."
"Thanks." Carry found the snack and brought it up to her room. She sat on her bed, Angel sitting down on the floor beside her, and started on her homework. She sighed, thinking, 'Another day. As always...'
~*~
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~*~Kaze no Tenshi~*~