"Beep. Beep. Beep," my alarm was ruthless. I sat up and groggily rubbed my eyes. Morning? Already? Impossible! But it was true. I woke Kariana and headed next door for Tessia and Ariana. We didn't have all day to get to school.
Ryo was already at the table when we got to the kitchen. He choked back a laugh when he saw us in our uniforms. I gave him a menacing glare that easily silenced him. Ryo and I had come to a mutual understanding during our outing Sunday: we respected each other, and didn't get in the other's way. My premonition he wasn't always as quiet as Friday night had come true. Ana jokingly said I should consider a career as a psychic.
Our rosters were all the same, thank God. The four of us reported to the main office when we arrived at school. We were told a girl in our grade, Anemone Dayo, would be showing us around. Her roster was the same as ours. We waited for this girl to arrive. She came through the door after only a few minutes. Anemone had long black hair and aquamarine eyes. She was taller than Ariana. Excitedly, Anemone led us out of the office; I could tell she was hyper. Maybe she'd had sugar for breakfast? No matter, the day still seemed like it would be fun.
"Hi! I'm Anemone Dayo and I'll be your waitress this evening!" Anemone giggled, "wait, no, that's not right. I'm Anemone Dayo and I'll be your guide around school today! There, that's better!" I couldn't help myself; I laughed. Anemone seemed like a flake. She led us down halls crammed with people. After dumping our stuff off at our locker, the bell rang, and we began to make our way to first period, History. The halls were so packed we had to go single file in some places. I was always the last in the line.
"Ren!" I spun around and looked up into the brightest blue eyes I had ever seen. This guy was gorgeous. My mouth dropped open. Who was he and how did he know my name?
"Yes?"
"Uh, I was calling to my sister, Nem. She's your tour guide," he grinned.
"Anemone... Nem... Oh! I thought you said, 'Ren,'" I felt my face grow hot.
"Well, tell Nem that her brother is looking for her, please."
"No problem." I was no longer flustered.
"Oh, I'm Akira Kenshin, by the way."
"Kerensa Nile. Nice to, er, meet you." I hurried to catch up to my friends.
I slid into the seat Ariana had saved me just before the bell rang. She and Mr. Kanagawa, our teacher, both gave me curious glances. I whispered I'd tell her later and then opened my notebook. Out of all of my friends, I'm the nerd. Ana knew better than to pursue the topic while class was going on.
After class, I hurried to the front of our procession and mentioned to Nem that Akira was looking for her. She gave me a look and asked how I knew she even had a brother.
"I met him in the halls before first period," I grinned and felt my face growing red with embarrassment as I remembered the whole stupid scene. Of course, Kari noticed.
"Ren, you're blushing, aren't you? You never blush! C'mon, what's up?" She started.
"REN's blushing?! Lemme see!! Hey, why were you almost late for class?" Ana hustled over. Tess was right behind her, supressing a giggle.
"I am not blushing," I said, as I turned even redder, "I was almost late for class because I thought someone was calling me and it was really Nem's brother saying 'Nem.'"
"Uh-huh," Ariana gave me a knowing look. Luckily for me, they dropped it and we continued walking. Not surprisingly, I enjoyed most of my classes. My friends laughed at me for it. The day had passed quickly in my opinion. Due to locker placement and other first day things we needed to take care of, we agreed to meet in front of the only tree on the school property, in the schoolyard. I arrived first and leaned against the trunk, savoring the shade. Waiting for my friends, I opened my bag and began the little bit of homework we had that day. I didn't see Akira sneak up behind me. Well, maybe he didn't sneak, but how was I supposed to tell?
"Hi." I must've jumped 50 feet in the air. My book landed a few feet away as I spun around.
"Oh, hi, Akira. I didn't see you there." I fumbled for my book, "Nem and the rest of my friends should be here any minute. I was just finishing my homework." I stuffed the book back in my bag.
"That's cool, Kerensa. Or is it Ren?" He added, "Maybe I should call you Kerensa so you know whether I'm talking to you or my sister." We laughed. Now that I wasn't in complete awe of his looks, I could talk like a rational human being.
"So, you're from the US?"
"Yes, New York City, to be exact."
"Do you miss it yet?"
"I've only been here for 3 days, and Juuban already feels like home. NYC's great, but when you've lived there your whole life it gets a bit complacent." Just then, Tess, Anemone, and Kariana came walking up to us.
"Hi Akira! I see you've already met Ren," Anemone looked at me as she spoke. I, in turn, looked at Tess, who was looking at everyone.
"Yeah, Nem. I'm trying to convince her not to hang around people like you," he winked at me. I grinned at him and assured Anemone he was doing no such thing. Kariana, meanwhile, had been eying Akira.
"So, your Nem's brother?"
"Unfortunately."
"Akira!"
"What?!" Just then, Ariana came running up to us, breathless. She stopped dead in her tracks and gawked at Akira. He, luckily, didn't notice. I turned to her nonchalantly.
"What took you so long, Ana?"
"I, er, had to, uh, locker," she stammered. We all laughed. Then Anemone started the introductions.
"Akira, I'd like you to meet my friends, Tessia. And this is Kariana... The breathless twin is Ariana, and then, of course, there's Kerensa. Girls, this is my brother, Akira Kenshin." We all mumbled out "nice to meet you's."
"What did you want, Akira?" Anemone asked him. Maybe she wasn't quite as flaky as I had first anticipated her to be.
"I needed to tell you that Mom won't be home tonight, and neither will Dad, so we need to fend for ourselves, and suggest we just get burgers...," he shrugged.
"Can my friends come?"
"Sure, why not?" We went to the Takeshi's house to get our money and drop off our books. Ryo was already home. We invited him to come along. Soon, the seven of us were piled into a huge booth at the local McDonald's. We ate in silence for a few minutes, then Ariana asked me if I had finished the homework for Kanagawa's class and could she borrow it. I rolled my eyes.
"Why do you bother asking? You know I'd never give it to you anyway."
"I thought you might've changed your mind or something," she grinned. I sighed and turned back to my cheeseburger. I got the distinct feeling someone was looking at me, but when I looked up, everyone was intent on their food. Well, everyone except for Anemone, who was intent on hitting the person across from me, her brother, with her pickle. She apparently doesn't like pickles. Her aim wasn't very good, until she managed to get one to land on top of his burger. While she dissolved in a fit of giggles, he merely brushed it off his burger, shot her a look, and kept eating. I noted that while Akira had a sense of humor, his was of a different nature than his sister's.
Ryo was already at the table when we got to the kitchen. He choked back a laugh when he saw us in our uniforms. I gave him a menacing glare that easily silenced him. Ryo and I had come to a mutual understanding during our outing Sunday: we respected each other, and didn't get in the other's way. My premonition he wasn't always as quiet as Friday night had come true. Ana jokingly said I should consider a career as a psychic.
Our rosters were all the same, thank God. The four of us reported to the main office when we arrived at school. We were told a girl in our grade, Anemone Dayo, would be showing us around. Her roster was the same as ours. We waited for this girl to arrive. She came through the door after only a few minutes. Anemone had long black hair and aquamarine eyes. She was taller than Ariana. Excitedly, Anemone led us out of the office; I could tell she was hyper. Maybe she'd had sugar for breakfast? No matter, the day still seemed like it would be fun.
"Hi! I'm Anemone Dayo and I'll be your waitress this evening!" Anemone giggled, "wait, no, that's not right. I'm Anemone Dayo and I'll be your guide around school today! There, that's better!" I couldn't help myself; I laughed. Anemone seemed like a flake. She led us down halls crammed with people. After dumping our stuff off at our locker, the bell rang, and we began to make our way to first period, History. The halls were so packed we had to go single file in some places. I was always the last in the line.
"Ren!" I spun around and looked up into the brightest blue eyes I had ever seen. This guy was gorgeous. My mouth dropped open. Who was he and how did he know my name?
"Yes?"
"Uh, I was calling to my sister, Nem. She's your tour guide," he grinned.
"Anemone... Nem... Oh! I thought you said, 'Ren,'" I felt my face grow hot.
"Well, tell Nem that her brother is looking for her, please."
"No problem." I was no longer flustered.
"Oh, I'm Akira Kenshin, by the way."
"Kerensa Nile. Nice to, er, meet you." I hurried to catch up to my friends.
I slid into the seat Ariana had saved me just before the bell rang. She and Mr. Kanagawa, our teacher, both gave me curious glances. I whispered I'd tell her later and then opened my notebook. Out of all of my friends, I'm the nerd. Ana knew better than to pursue the topic while class was going on.
After class, I hurried to the front of our procession and mentioned to Nem that Akira was looking for her. She gave me a look and asked how I knew she even had a brother.
"I met him in the halls before first period," I grinned and felt my face growing red with embarrassment as I remembered the whole stupid scene. Of course, Kari noticed.
"Ren, you're blushing, aren't you? You never blush! C'mon, what's up?" She started.
"REN's blushing?! Lemme see!! Hey, why were you almost late for class?" Ana hustled over. Tess was right behind her, supressing a giggle.
"I am not blushing," I said, as I turned even redder, "I was almost late for class because I thought someone was calling me and it was really Nem's brother saying 'Nem.'"
"Uh-huh," Ariana gave me a knowing look. Luckily for me, they dropped it and we continued walking. Not surprisingly, I enjoyed most of my classes. My friends laughed at me for it. The day had passed quickly in my opinion. Due to locker placement and other first day things we needed to take care of, we agreed to meet in front of the only tree on the school property, in the schoolyard. I arrived first and leaned against the trunk, savoring the shade. Waiting for my friends, I opened my bag and began the little bit of homework we had that day. I didn't see Akira sneak up behind me. Well, maybe he didn't sneak, but how was I supposed to tell?
"Hi." I must've jumped 50 feet in the air. My book landed a few feet away as I spun around.
"Oh, hi, Akira. I didn't see you there." I fumbled for my book, "Nem and the rest of my friends should be here any minute. I was just finishing my homework." I stuffed the book back in my bag.
"That's cool, Kerensa. Or is it Ren?" He added, "Maybe I should call you Kerensa so you know whether I'm talking to you or my sister." We laughed. Now that I wasn't in complete awe of his looks, I could talk like a rational human being.
"So, you're from the US?"
"Yes, New York City, to be exact."
"Do you miss it yet?"
"I've only been here for 3 days, and Juuban already feels like home. NYC's great, but when you've lived there your whole life it gets a bit complacent." Just then, Tess, Anemone, and Kariana came walking up to us.
"Hi Akira! I see you've already met Ren," Anemone looked at me as she spoke. I, in turn, looked at Tess, who was looking at everyone.
"Yeah, Nem. I'm trying to convince her not to hang around people like you," he winked at me. I grinned at him and assured Anemone he was doing no such thing. Kariana, meanwhile, had been eying Akira.
"So, your Nem's brother?"
"Unfortunately."
"Akira!"
"What?!" Just then, Ariana came running up to us, breathless. She stopped dead in her tracks and gawked at Akira. He, luckily, didn't notice. I turned to her nonchalantly.
"What took you so long, Ana?"
"I, er, had to, uh, locker," she stammered. We all laughed. Then Anemone started the introductions.
"Akira, I'd like you to meet my friends, Tessia. And this is Kariana... The breathless twin is Ariana, and then, of course, there's Kerensa. Girls, this is my brother, Akira Kenshin." We all mumbled out "nice to meet you's."
"What did you want, Akira?" Anemone asked him. Maybe she wasn't quite as flaky as I had first anticipated her to be.
"I needed to tell you that Mom won't be home tonight, and neither will Dad, so we need to fend for ourselves, and suggest we just get burgers...," he shrugged.
"Can my friends come?"
"Sure, why not?" We went to the Takeshi's house to get our money and drop off our books. Ryo was already home. We invited him to come along. Soon, the seven of us were piled into a huge booth at the local McDonald's. We ate in silence for a few minutes, then Ariana asked me if I had finished the homework for Kanagawa's class and could she borrow it. I rolled my eyes.
"Why do you bother asking? You know I'd never give it to you anyway."
"I thought you might've changed your mind or something," she grinned. I sighed and turned back to my cheeseburger. I got the distinct feeling someone was looking at me, but when I looked up, everyone was intent on their food. Well, everyone except for Anemone, who was intent on hitting the person across from me, her brother, with her pickle. She apparently doesn't like pickles. Her aim wasn't very good, until she managed to get one to land on top of his burger. While she dissolved in a fit of giggles, he merely brushed it off his burger, shot her a look, and kept eating. I noted that while Akira had a sense of humor, his was of a different nature than his sister's.
