"Jessie! Come on down honey. It's time to get you to practice." Jessica's mother called up the stairs.
"I'll be there in a sec Mom. I just need to grab my purse." Jessie Klinto smiled as she raced downstairs. She loved her new gymnastics school here in Tokyo. The last one she'd attended had been a real dump. They hadn't encouraged any form of creativity at all!
She picked up her purse from the kitchen table and rushed out the door. "Let's go." she said, her black eyes sparkling. "Ms. Alice said she wanted to talk to me about something. I wonder what she has to say."
Laura Klinto shrugged, not knowing. Although she supported her daughter's talents, she didn't really understand them. No one else on either her or her ex-husband's side of the family had been all that active in any sport. "We'll see, sweetie." she answered. "Don't forget to put your hair up back in the car."
"I won't. I've got the hairband right here. Maybe she wants me to help her teach. That would be so awesome!" The young woman couldn't forget about her meeting with the head trainer.
"Jessica calm down." her mother warned. "I don't want you getting your hopes up again. You just made it into the school last month. Let's not get ahead for ourselves. She might just want to move you up into the next level."
"I know Mom. But we won't find out if we don't get going."
"Alright. Get in the car and we'll take it from there.
The drive should have been a short one, but due to a slight traffic jam, they were held up for another ten minutes.
"Are you sure you can find the way back home from the school, Jessie?" Mrs. Klinto asked again. "I don't have to be anywhere until an hour after your practice is over. I could wait for you to finish."
"Mother! It's only a few blocks to the house. Even I couldn't get lost at this distance you know. Besides, you have to get ready for your date with Jim."
"How did you-" her mother stopped in mid-sentence. "Never mind, I don't want to know."
They had reached the small building where Jessie took her gymnastics classes.
She laughed. "I'll see you when you get home tonight if your date doesn't keep you out too late. Otherwise, I won't see you until you get home from work tomorrow." Jessie ran into the building to meet with Ms. Alice in her office.
"Oh, Jessie," Mary said in surprise. "So, Alice did get ahold of you then? She hasn't said anything about why she wanted you here before class and that's not like her at all. You know the way to the office, so I'll leave you alone. See you in a few minutes, alright?"
"Sure." The dark-haired girl went on her way to the head trainer's office. "You wanted to see me, Ms. Alice?" she asked, knocking on the already opened door.
"Yes, Jessie." Alice said, looking up from her paperwork. "There's something I need to talk to you about. Thank you for coming in early."
"Sure. What did you need to talk to me about?"
"How long have you been taking gymnastics, Jessie?" Alice asked, even though she knew, having just finished going over the file.
"I've been taking classes for about three years now. But I've been goofing off on my own almost since the day I started walking."
"So you've only had three years of formal training." the teacher mussed. "Jessica, you're one of the best gymnasts I've ever seen. I realize that most of what we've done so far is only review for you, but even so, you're absolutely perfect. It normally takes years of hard work to master what seems to come so easily to you.
"Why do I hear a 'but' coming in?" Jessie asked, looking uncomfortable.
"Despite all this, you're also strong-willed and stubborn. You had trouble following the rules of any of the other four schools you've attended before coming here. We've begun to see signs of that happening here as well. Jessie, I'm afraid that after this month, we will no longer be able to allow you to come to this gymnastics school. You could cause another student to get hurt trying to copy your style. I don't want to see that happen."
"Ms. Alice, have you seen the rules that I broke? I mean, at the last school, they were trying to force me to switch which foot I start off on when turning a cartwheel. The other rules I ignored were just as stupid. I've always avoided hurting another student. You know I'm very careful about that."
"I know that Jessie, but it's out of my hands. If we continue to teach you here, the owners will shut us down. I'm truly very sorry."
"The month is over next week." Jessie moaned. "What'll I tell my mom?"
"I don't know, Jessie, but I wish I didn't have to do this. Believe me, if I had it my way, this wouldn't be happening."
"I understand. Well, guess I'll have more time for schoolwork." Jessie tried looking on the bright side, but her gentle black eyes were filled with an unimaginable pain. "I may as well just go home now." she sighed. "As you said, everything you're teaching is only review for me. It's just a waste of time for both of us." She stood up and glanced at her watch. She had two hours before class would be over. See ya around, Ms. Alice." she said, walking out of the office. Without even thinking about it, she also left the school, not turning back, ignoring everyone's calling after her to stop.
"I may as well stop at the Arcade," she muttered. "It's on the way home, and I've got time to kill. I don't want to tell Mom until tomorrow anyway. It'll just ruin the first date she's had since Dad..." she stopped the thought, unable to continue it.
Jessie passed through the Arcade doors and nearly bumped into a blond-haired girl wearing pigtails who was also walking in. "Oh, I'm so sorry." she said. "I guess I'm a little distracted.
"Don't worry about it." another girl said. "Serena's always crashing into people. It's about time someone ran into her."
"Shut up Rei." the blond replied absently. Hi, I'm Serena. The girl with the black hair and smart mouth is Rei, the one with the laptop is Ami, the tall brunette is Lita, and the other blond is Mina."
"And I'm Jessica, but most people call me Jessie. I just moved into town last month.
"Yeah? Rei and I have lived in Tokyo all our lives, but everyone else just got here within the last few months. What school do you go to?"
"I start at Crossroads Jr. High tomorrow. We wanted to start me at the beginning of the semester. How fun." She pretended to gag, causing some of the others to giggle.(AN: Guess who didn't even crack a smile.)
"Have you been here before?" Serena asked. "I don't think I've seen you around."
"No. Normally I'd be in my gymnastics class but they kicked me out as of next week, so I decided to just leave. I can practice better on my own anyway. All they've done is review for me. So, what games do they have here? Do they have Sailor V?"
"Yeah." Mina replied, brightening. "You play it?"
"Don't know. I've never tried it before. I was always too busy with gymnastics. It looks like fun though."
"It's right this way." Rei pointed. "So, why'd they kick you out? That is, if you don't mind telling us."
"I'm strong-willed and stubborn." Jessie shrugged. "And my style could hurt someone if they tried to copy it. Plus, I make up my own rules and ignore some of theirs. I understand, I just don't agree."
"What grade are you in?" Ami asked. "You look a little old to be going to Jr. High."
"Well, I should be going into grade eleven, but they're putting me into grade nine because Japan's so far ahead of the US. Some of what they're studying will be a little behind or ahead of where I'm at, but for the most part, we're on the same page."
"That would make you what? Seventeen?"
Jessie nodded. "Yeah, last July. Let's see... how does this thing work? There's the joystick, the jump and attack buttons, oh there's the start."
*@*@*@*@*@
Zoisite moved through the city of Tokyo without allowing herself to be seen. "I know you're here somewhere, Sailor Night. she whispered. "I can feel that you're nearby. We will destroy you. You shan't get in the way of the Negaverse again. Not this time.
She headed toward the north end of the city and paused. "You've been here recently, foolish child." She followed the feeling to a small side street, and stopped at a large, two-story house. "You live here, but you're not home right now, are you? No matter, I'll wait until you return."
Zoisite heard the front door open and turned to see who was leaving. A small redheaded woman closed the door behind her and taped a piece of paper just above the doorknob. Then, she walked to the car parked in the driveway. Zoisite waited until after the woman had left, then went to the door and read the note.
"Jessie,
I'll be out later than we thought.
There's food in the pantry for supper.
Don't wait up for me, you have
school in the morning.
Love,
Mom"
"So, your name is Jessie, is it Sailor Night? And it seems that you're going to be home all alone tonight." Zoisite laughed coldly and teleported back to the Negaverse.
AN: Here ends Chapter One of my first fanfic. Chapter Two will be out sometime next week. Again, comments are welcome!