WHASSAP!? Here we go... Chapter 3. Took me long enough, ne? This chapter here really has next to nothing to do with the plot... it seemed like a good idea at the time all right!
~*~*~
I hated transferring schools; it was pure torture. At least at this school the uniforms weren't too bad. The guys wore navy blue pants and white shirts, and the girls wore short plaid, pleated skirts in blue, green and white, with a white sailor top and a plaid tie of the same colors. I had said I wouldn't attend a school where the girls' skirts weren't at least 2 inches above the knee... However, I knew it wouldn't really be that different from the rest. No matter where they were, they gave you the same look and asked the same questions when they found out what you used to do...
"Hey Maxwell! Somebody told me you used to pilot those huge machines in the war!"
Of course I told the truth: I run, I hide, but I never lie. Once they find out, they keep their distance. That was not what I wanted however; I wanted to be a normal seventeen-year-old with a normal life. It wasn't so bad now that we were fighting again, and had been for 4 months, but still...
~*~*~
The teacher had mentioned in passing that we were going to have 5 new students today. It was weird because it was so late in the year... After some major pestering, I managed to get her to spill that fact that they were all guys. I was really hoping they were cute. Kat passed me a note from behind.
I grinned and wrote back.
~*~*~
"Class... your attention please!"
A rubber band whizzed by her head. I could barely stifle my laugh; and, looking around to see who had done it, spied a girl with long brown hair in a messy bun at the nape of her neck. She was also sitting very close to the front -- practically on top of the teacher. She seemed very familiar and didn't notice when I tried to get her attention by waving.
"These are our new students. Let's let them introduce themselves."
Another rubber band -- tailed closely by a paper clip, stuck in the teacher's hair. I looked at the other guys to see if I had to be first -- I did.
"My name is Duo Maxwell."
I took the empty seat next to the dark-haired troublemaker. She was staring out the window, totally oblivious. I sighed; this would be difficult, but at least she wasn't staring mindlessly like the rest of the class was...
"My name is Quatre Raberba Winner; the pleasure is all mine."
She still wasn't paying attention.
"I am Chang Wufei."
She continued to stare out the window.
"Trowa Barton."
Whatever was outside that window must be really interesting...
"Heero Yuy."
I couldn't stand it any longer; my curiosity killed the non-existent cat. Easing over and putting one hand on her desk to keep myself from falling out of my chair, I could see what she was looking at: nothing but blue skies and green grass. Fairly interesting considering we were in school but...
"Mr. Maxwell!"
I shot out of my chair.
"Yes'm?"
"Please leave Miss Thompson alone; you can see her after class."
The class giggled at the implied relationship. I grinned, but could feel my face get warm anyway. I sat down quickly and tried to pay attention, but my thoughts turned instead to the girl next to me. Thompson. Thompson... Thompson?! I hastily scribbled a note and passed it to "Miss Thompson".
She looked at me for the first time since I had joined the class -- with those purple eyes. She bent her head to the paper and wrote back.
She sighed out loud -- obviously exasperated with me, and looked at the clock.
~*~*~
*Brrrrriiinnngggg!!*
I got up and stretched. I could feel my skirt ride up and felt the staring of the various males in the room. I loved to torture them... I grinned. Kat came up with her lunch in one hand and mine in the other. We went outside quickly to avoid the swarm of nerdy guys that asked me to sit with them everyday. My bad behavior must turn them on or something...
In the hallway I bumped into one of the new guys -- literally.
"Gomen nasai..." I pressed my palms together in an apologetic gesture.
He looked at me for a second "Quatre wants to see you."
He then grabbed my wrist and hauled me off with Kat trailing and my skirt rising -- again.
He took us the rest of the way outside. We stopped under a tree on the grounds where he released me. The rest of new guys were also under the tree, sitting, eating lunch.
"Ninmu kanryou" he said unemotionally to no one in particular as he sat.
"Good for you, Heero..." responded one with a black hair in a tight ponytail.
I calmly sat in the only open spot in the circle, next to Duo, and made Quatre on my other side make room for Kat.
"Quatre, I wasn't paying attention in class (Quatre sighed): could you introduce me to your friends that I haven't met please."
~*~*~
Only half-listening to Quatre make the introductions, I scanned the grounds for a certain someone. I spotted him when he was still a good ways away. Chastising myself for the fiftieth time since I had upset the guy that morning, I turned to the nearest girl so I could attempt to explain what I was doing before I did it. Thereby, hopefully, reducing the chance that I would be slapped. It happened to be... Serena. This is gonna cost me... I looked back, the guy was coming up fast: a little too fast for my comfort.
"Uhhh, Serena..."
"Yes, Duo?"
"Whatever I might do, just go with it and try to play along. The rest of you, no matter what I do or say, keep your mouths shut. Okay?"
I got a good number of reluctant but curious yeses. I looked slyly over my shoulder and inwardly tensed: now was the time to use my brain and act, if I valued my life that is.
"Gomen, gomen, gomen..." I said under my breath like a mantra as I grabbed Serena's hand and pulled her close to me.
She raised her eyebrow questioningly but went along with it. Quatre looked like he wanted to rip my head off and shit in the hole for touching his niece. The antagonist was less than 2 feet away now and the moment had arrived for my act of shameless self-preservation. I pulled Serena even closer, wrapped my arms around her and began to have an interesting looking make out session. The nice gentleman tapped me on the shoulder.
"You said you'd fight during lunch, little girl" he said, insulting my taste in hairstyle.
I detached myself from Serena and gave him a winning smile. Serena figured out what I had meant by "play along" and put her head on my shoulder. I could hear her mumbling about something the something out of someone...
"I also said I would fight you if I wasn't already busy with my girlfriend."
Just for good measure I kissed Serena again; I was really enjoying pissing this guy off even more than he already was. It was then that the guy recognized who I was kissing. He got a look in his eye almost like -- fear.
"S - S - Serena?" he asked nervously.
She moved away from me and looked the guy in the eyes.
"Go. Away. Now."
I latched onto her mouth again. Watching from the corner of my eye, I was astonished to see a 200 pound goon move as fast as greased lightning. However, this train of thought was abruptly derailed when --
*SMACK!*
"Itai! Shimatta Serena! What was that for?!"
She raised her other hand and - *SMACK!*
"Ok! I get the point! Jeeze..."
At this point, I took a look around our little circle, massaging my face. Kat's mouth was hanging open. Quatre was bright red with anger and his eyes were narrow slits. Heero's mouth was twitching like he was fighting hard to keep from laughing his ass off. Trowa was hiding his mouth behind his hand and his shoulders were shaking. Wufei was recovering from a sudden nosebleed.
Weird...
~*~*~
Well, that was interesting -- Duo's mind touch was a bright, happy, blue. He was also gingerly touching his cheeks. I almost smiled -- he looked like he'd had a run-in with an escaped mental patient who had managed to get their hands on some really atrocious blush...
"Why, pray tell, braided baka, did you do that?!"
"He wanted to fight me..." he said, looking sheepish.
Trowa cut in: "Him, Heero and Wufei keep getting us expelled... Duo for starting, ending and getting involved in any fight under the blue sky, Heero carries weapons onto school grounds and Wufei makes an enemy out of just about every female that sucks oxygen..."
Heero, Duo, Quatre and Wufei blinked.
"I think that is the most I've ever heard you say in one go" said Heero.
Trowa gave him a sly look that seemed to say "and you're telling me this because?" Damn, Trowa was... well... cute. Hell, they all were... I slightly shook my head to bring me back to the problem at hand.
Turning to Duo, I said "So, you didn't want to fight him because you would get expelled. That would mean you would have to switch schools again, and that would mean in turn, that you would have to deal with people thinking you're going to kill them because you're a pilot..."
I drifted off into my own thoughts.
"Hai" he said, still rubbing his face.
I rummaged in my lunch box and produced one of those lunch box cooler packs. I gave it to him.
"Sorry for slapping you, but, there were other things you could have done to get out of that situation that did not involve my tonsils in such an intimate manner... In fact, next time, you should use Kat: she's a lot less likely to be so surprised that she slaps you. She might even enjoy it..."
Duo grinned, Trowa smiled ever so slightly and Kat opened her mouth to retort, but never did, because at that second a volley of laserfire erupted in the distance. We all hit the dirt. When the firing stopped the guys jumped up, and produced small black boxes. Five huge machines came out of the woods behind the school: the gundams. Quatre turned to me and took me by the shoulders.
"Go inside" he said in a tone that plainly refused argument.
I grabbed Kat by the wrist and ran. About halfway to the school, I stopped.
Turning to Kat, I smiled and said "Duty calls, girlfriend."
Kat nodded and kept running.
Pulling my pistol from it's holster on my thigh, I then got out my own box and pushed the button. I ran after the Gundams who were now flying towards where the shots had come from and rang up X on the cell.
*Ring!*
"Yes, Syren?"
"We've got a situation here, X..."
I drew my other pistol from my other thigh and ran into the woods, ready to board Nemisis.