Part 3: Friends?
I'm assuming that if you read this far, you are either desperately bored or actually like this. In either case, pleas r/r! Even if you just want to insult me... I'll understand…
After dinner, Serena took Tranquilla and Rini with her to Cherry Hill Temple. It was a fairly long walk, so the girls had time for conversation on the way there. "You'll love my friends! They're soooo neat! And they can help you get used to Tokyo- Mina even speaks English! What were you friends like back in America?" Serena said, smiling eagerly.
"Um," Tranquilla said absently as she attempted to memorize her surroundings and still keep a watch for the black cat, "I didn't really have any. We never stayed anywhere long enough for me to get close to anyone." And, she thought, I was always too busy fighting or training for even casual friends.
Serena and Rini came to a dead stop, staring at her. "Oh Quilla! You'll have friends here- I can't believe you've never had any! Come on, the temple's just at the top of this hill, and I know everyone'll be there- we were supposed to have a study session tonight." Serena broke into a run, and after Tranquilla and Rini exchanged glances, they took off after her. How could I be so stupid, Tranquilla wondered. I have to stay in character. I guess I'll just have to turn on the bubbles when we get to the temple.
The temple was strangely empty and seemed very serene. It was the kind of place Tranquilla would like to stay whenever she had to think, or deal with emotions. It was strangely comforting in a way that seemed almost familiar. But how can it be familiar, she wondered, when I've never been to Tokyo or a temple before. This city gets stranger and stranger.
Serena grabbed Tranquilla's hand and dragged her along to the temple door. "My friends will be in here. Hey guys," she called as she slid the door open, "I've brought my cousin to meet you all. She's from America, but is going to be staying with us for a while. And since were studying today, we can help her figure out what her classes will be like!" Serena's cheery mood actually distracted Tranquilla from her thoughts of the Enemy, and she wondered how her friends could stand to be always around someone this cheerful. Serena opened the door, and pushed Tranquilla into the room in front of her. Four girls who seemed vaguely familiar were sitting around a table, sharing cookies and textbooks. Serena walked over to them and smiled at Tranquilla. "Lets see… Amy has blue hair, and she's really smart; the one with the black hair is Raye, and she's actually a priestess here; Lita baked our cookies; and Mina, the blonde comes from England, so if there are any words you don't know, she can help. What do you think?" Serena looked eager and exited, abut the other girls all seemed shocked and slightly suspicious
::She burst in to the room. Usa! Usa! I want to…" She stopped noticing the girls in the room. All five had turned to look at her with annoyance. "Quilla sweetie," The one with blond pigtails and buns said, "now is definitely not the time. You've interrupted a council session. There are problems we have to take care of." "But.. but.." she stammered, "I didn't mean to. In a few years, I can be a soldier too, and help you, you'll see."::
Tranquilla shook her head, frightened. This flashback went farther back then any of her previous ones had. She couldn't have been any older than ten… and though her hair was still jet black, it was done in the style that both Serena and the blond in her mind wore. This city was starting to scare her. "Um. Hi! I'm Tranquilla Tsukino. Serena's told me what great people you all are. I'd love to hang out with you guys… that is, as long as I'm not interrupting anything, or a problem or anything?"
"No… that's fine." The one with black hair said. "We'll be ok. Amy, why don't you help her… I think you're most prepared for this." Tranquilla noticed that Raye still seemed suspicious, so tried her best to seem a normal vapid teen.
"That'll be great! Thanks for the help." She said, walking over to Amy, but noticing that Raye went over and began whispering to Serena. "So Amy, what are your classes like?"
"Well," the blue-haired girl said blushing, "I take calculus, computer technology, literature of the world, English, Japanese, history of Japan and the world, physics, chemistry, and biology during school- but the others don't take as many courses. Poor Serena is still struggling with algebra. What level math are you at? That'll probably be best for us to start with." Amy smiled, and cocked her head to the side.
"Well, I'm probably about at a pre-calculus level… I'm working on trig, advanced algebra, and I've done geometry. I'd probably be in whatever level comes right before you."
Amy smiled. "Good! I've heard that American schools aren't as advanced as ours are. It should be easy to get you caught up to that level of math course. We'll wait to worry about the other subjects until you actually are assigned to classes."
Amy found a math text for Tranquilla and began explaining where the classes currently were. Tranquilla felt comfortable with Amy. She didn't seem to have to try as hard to be a "normal" girl as she usually did. Amy was very obviously a brain, and seemed less connected to people- more like Tranquilla, who had always stayed away from everyone but Loke. Loke… she missed him. Why had he sent her to this city? Why couldn't she just stay with him? She shook her head reflectively. It was best to think of the present. She looked back at Amy who had scribbled a problem on the paper.
"Do you know how to do this?"
"Yes. That's just algebra." Tranquilla smiled at Amy. She was nice in a soft sincere way, not abrasively cheerful like Serena.
::She smiled at the older girl. "Is it right this time?" "Yes," the older girl said, her creamy blue curls falling into her face. "I don't know why you say it's difficult. You just have to look for your mistakes, and double check. I have to get to practice now though- if you need anymore help, come to my room after dinner."::
Tranquilla fought to keep the smile on her face. Amy hadn't noticed her mind was elsewhere, and now she had to concentrate on her words to avoid notice. "…and the people at Crossroads are very nice. I'm sure you'll like it!"
"I think I will, Amy." Tranquilla said. It was upsetting to her that she had had another flashback or vision- and even worse that she couldn't tell anyone. She decided that before making the cat "Luna" a priority, she would discover why these strange images were increasing. She had always thought them to be memories of the time before she had come to Loke, but the more she saw of them the less likely their co-existence in this world seemed. They had to be connected to her strange powers… that was, after all, where she had first heard the name "Sailor Earth" and learned how to call on her powers… in a memory of herself fighting that had caused her to run tearing to Loke's room, crying.
"Ami? I don't think this can be too much more help until we find out where my class is at. But thank you for helping me to find out my level"
"No problem!" Ami laughed, "I should probably go check on the others now. Raye is conscientious about her studying, but Serena, Mina, and Lita are horrible." The two girls joined the other four at a table. Tranquilla envied their closeness and comfort in each other. She tried to be just as peppy and cheerful as the others, but something inside of her hurt. She couldn't afford to let herself get close to these girls, or they might get hurt. Occasional study parties were fine, but this couldn't become a regular thing. Even if the girls were including her, and did seem genuinely friendly. Tranquilla enjoyed being with them, and thought it was funny how studying slowed, and gossip took over. So this was what friends are, she thought to herself. They don't look like trouble… Lita's such a good cook and Amy's so smart.
I'm assuming that if you read this far, you are either desperately bored or actually like this. In either case, pleas r/r! Even if you just want to insult me... I'll understand…
After dinner, Serena took Tranquilla and Rini with her to Cherry Hill Temple. It was a fairly long walk, so the girls had time for conversation on the way there. "You'll love my friends! They're soooo neat! And they can help you get used to Tokyo- Mina even speaks English! What were you friends like back in America?" Serena said, smiling eagerly.
"Um," Tranquilla said absently as she attempted to memorize her surroundings and still keep a watch for the black cat, "I didn't really have any. We never stayed anywhere long enough for me to get close to anyone." And, she thought, I was always too busy fighting or training for even casual friends.
Serena and Rini came to a dead stop, staring at her. "Oh Quilla! You'll have friends here- I can't believe you've never had any! Come on, the temple's just at the top of this hill, and I know everyone'll be there- we were supposed to have a study session tonight." Serena broke into a run, and after Tranquilla and Rini exchanged glances, they took off after her. How could I be so stupid, Tranquilla wondered. I have to stay in character. I guess I'll just have to turn on the bubbles when we get to the temple.
The temple was strangely empty and seemed very serene. It was the kind of place Tranquilla would like to stay whenever she had to think, or deal with emotions. It was strangely comforting in a way that seemed almost familiar. But how can it be familiar, she wondered, when I've never been to Tokyo or a temple before. This city gets stranger and stranger.
Serena grabbed Tranquilla's hand and dragged her along to the temple door. "My friends will be in here. Hey guys," she called as she slid the door open, "I've brought my cousin to meet you all. She's from America, but is going to be staying with us for a while. And since were studying today, we can help her figure out what her classes will be like!" Serena's cheery mood actually distracted Tranquilla from her thoughts of the Enemy, and she wondered how her friends could stand to be always around someone this cheerful. Serena opened the door, and pushed Tranquilla into the room in front of her. Four girls who seemed vaguely familiar were sitting around a table, sharing cookies and textbooks. Serena walked over to them and smiled at Tranquilla. "Lets see… Amy has blue hair, and she's really smart; the one with the black hair is Raye, and she's actually a priestess here; Lita baked our cookies; and Mina, the blonde comes from England, so if there are any words you don't know, she can help. What do you think?" Serena looked eager and exited, abut the other girls all seemed shocked and slightly suspicious
::She burst in to the room. Usa! Usa! I want to…" She stopped noticing the girls in the room. All five had turned to look at her with annoyance. "Quilla sweetie," The one with blond pigtails and buns said, "now is definitely not the time. You've interrupted a council session. There are problems we have to take care of." "But.. but.." she stammered, "I didn't mean to. In a few years, I can be a soldier too, and help you, you'll see."::
Tranquilla shook her head, frightened. This flashback went farther back then any of her previous ones had. She couldn't have been any older than ten… and though her hair was still jet black, it was done in the style that both Serena and the blond in her mind wore. This city was starting to scare her. "Um. Hi! I'm Tranquilla Tsukino. Serena's told me what great people you all are. I'd love to hang out with you guys… that is, as long as I'm not interrupting anything, or a problem or anything?"
"No… that's fine." The one with black hair said. "We'll be ok. Amy, why don't you help her… I think you're most prepared for this." Tranquilla noticed that Raye still seemed suspicious, so tried her best to seem a normal vapid teen.
"That'll be great! Thanks for the help." She said, walking over to Amy, but noticing that Raye went over and began whispering to Serena. "So Amy, what are your classes like?"
"Well," the blue-haired girl said blushing, "I take calculus, computer technology, literature of the world, English, Japanese, history of Japan and the world, physics, chemistry, and biology during school- but the others don't take as many courses. Poor Serena is still struggling with algebra. What level math are you at? That'll probably be best for us to start with." Amy smiled, and cocked her head to the side.
"Well, I'm probably about at a pre-calculus level… I'm working on trig, advanced algebra, and I've done geometry. I'd probably be in whatever level comes right before you."
Amy smiled. "Good! I've heard that American schools aren't as advanced as ours are. It should be easy to get you caught up to that level of math course. We'll wait to worry about the other subjects until you actually are assigned to classes."
Amy found a math text for Tranquilla and began explaining where the classes currently were. Tranquilla felt comfortable with Amy. She didn't seem to have to try as hard to be a "normal" girl as she usually did. Amy was very obviously a brain, and seemed less connected to people- more like Tranquilla, who had always stayed away from everyone but Loke. Loke… she missed him. Why had he sent her to this city? Why couldn't she just stay with him? She shook her head reflectively. It was best to think of the present. She looked back at Amy who had scribbled a problem on the paper.
"Do you know how to do this?"
"Yes. That's just algebra." Tranquilla smiled at Amy. She was nice in a soft sincere way, not abrasively cheerful like Serena.
::She smiled at the older girl. "Is it right this time?" "Yes," the older girl said, her creamy blue curls falling into her face. "I don't know why you say it's difficult. You just have to look for your mistakes, and double check. I have to get to practice now though- if you need anymore help, come to my room after dinner."::
Tranquilla fought to keep the smile on her face. Amy hadn't noticed her mind was elsewhere, and now she had to concentrate on her words to avoid notice. "…and the people at Crossroads are very nice. I'm sure you'll like it!"
"I think I will, Amy." Tranquilla said. It was upsetting to her that she had had another flashback or vision- and even worse that she couldn't tell anyone. She decided that before making the cat "Luna" a priority, she would discover why these strange images were increasing. She had always thought them to be memories of the time before she had come to Loke, but the more she saw of them the less likely their co-existence in this world seemed. They had to be connected to her strange powers… that was, after all, where she had first heard the name "Sailor Earth" and learned how to call on her powers… in a memory of herself fighting that had caused her to run tearing to Loke's room, crying.
"Ami? I don't think this can be too much more help until we find out where my class is at. But thank you for helping me to find out my level"
"No problem!" Ami laughed, "I should probably go check on the others now. Raye is conscientious about her studying, but Serena, Mina, and Lita are horrible." The two girls joined the other four at a table. Tranquilla envied their closeness and comfort in each other. She tried to be just as peppy and cheerful as the others, but something inside of her hurt. She couldn't afford to let herself get close to these girls, or they might get hurt. Occasional study parties were fine, but this couldn't become a regular thing. Even if the girls were including her, and did seem genuinely friendly. Tranquilla enjoyed being with them, and thought it was funny how studying slowed, and gossip took over. So this was what friends are, she thought to herself. They don't look like trouble… Lita's such a good cook and Amy's so smart.