"So, I'll see you guys at school tomorrow?" Jessie asked, still laughing from all the fun they'd had.
"You bet." Serena smiled. "Are you sure you won't get in trouble for being late? It is our fault you weren't home on time."
"Nah... Mom's out on a date and shouldn't be home until I'm in bed. You should get home yourselves. Normal people are eating dinner." She ran up the walkway to her house, grabbing the note off the door before unlocking it. "Bye!" she called over her shoulder. She went upstairs and dumped her things on the bed. After that, she read the note from her mother and smiled. "Go Mom!" she cheered.
Then, she heard a light knock on the door. She ran back down the stairs and looked out the window. A young woman with blond hair stood on the porch. She seemed harmless, so Jessie opened the door. "Yes?" she asked. "May I help you?"
The woman nodded shyly. "Could you? I'm new in town, and I'm a little lost. Could you give me directions back to Main Street?"
"Of course." Jessie smiled. "Won't you come in? We just moved in ourselves, so I'll need to check the map."
"Oh, thank you so much." the woman said as she walked in.
As soon as the door closed behind her however, the woman changed drastically.
"Alright, Sailor Night," she said, her simple blue dress fading into a gray uniform. "How did you survive when Malachite and attacked you the last time?"
"I-I'm sorry, but I have no idea what you're talking about. My name is Jessie- Jessica Klinto. I don't know any Sailor Night, nor have I ever seen you before in my life. Please, tell me what you mean. Jessie felt her eyes water up as she tried to understand what the woman was saying. "Who are you?"
Zoisite looked at her coldly. "You don't remember, do you? You've forgotten everything about the Moon Kingdom. Queen Beryl was frightened of you for nothing."
"Who?" Jessie asked, feeling a shiver run down her spine at the name. "You're not making any sense."
"Never mind." Zoisite snapped. "Just forget I was ever here. Don't mention this to anyone, understand?"
"Fine, whatever you say, just leave me alone. Whatever you're up to I want nothing to do with it."
"Perhaps you'll be able to convince yourself that this was just a very bad dream. But remember, talk to no one about this. Zoisite vanished in a swirl of flower petals as she returned to the Negaverse.
*@*@*@*@*@
"Did you notice something different about Jessie, Ami?" Rei asked. "She seemed kind of strange to me."
"Not really, Rei. Don't forget, she's from another country, so she's bound to have different customs than we do. She's only been in Japan a month. I think she's acting in a perfectly natural way, don't you?"
"Yeah, I guess you're right." Rei admitted. "It's just that she gives off some really weird vibes. Not dangerous exactly, but weird."
"What do you mean?" a new voice asked.
"Luna! We were just talking about a new girl who's starting school with us tomorrow. She's from America." Serena explained.
"And you were receiving strange vibes from her Rei?"
"Yeah," Rei said. "But Ami's right. She's not gonna hurt us."
"Central Control told me that there's a new girl we have to keep an eye out for. They showed me her picture. Does she have coal-black hair that's really long?"
"Yes, black hair and even blacker eyes. They look very odd with her chalk-white skin." Mina observed. "That girl really avoids the sun."
"That's her alright." Luna agreed. "Serena, I'll be going to school with you in the morning. I want to meet her."
"Alright Luna." Serena agreed. "If you can get me up in time that is."
*@*@*@*@*@
Zoisite finished her report and waited.
"She doesn't remember anything?" Malachite asked. "I find that very hard to believe. How could she forget everything about who she once was? I don't understand."
"But remember what she said the last time we spoke with her before the battle began?" Zoisite reminded him. "She said that if she could have any one wish-"
"It would be to forget everything about our war. She somehow got her wish, didn't she?"
"Yes, she did. But what shall we tell the Queen?"
"Nothing right now. Keep an eye on this 'Jessie' though. She may lead us to the Sailor Scouts yet if we're lucky."
"I will, Malachite, I will."
*@*@*@*@*@
"Oh, I hate that alarm clock!" Jessie shouted. "Why didn't I buy one that plays music? I wake up more easily that way." She pounded the snooze button before turning it off completely.
Jessie zipped through her shower and scrambled into her new school uniform. Then, struggling with her bookbag, she went downstairs for breakfast.
"Morning Mom!" she called into the den where Laura Klinto was preparing her briefcase.
"Hey Jessie. How'd practice go yesterday?"
"It didn't." Jessie said sadly. "They told me that I couldn't continue after next week, so I just walked out.""Oh, Jessie, I'm so sorry." Her mother answered, coming into the kitchen. "I know how much gymnastics mean to you."
"Bright side?" Jessie added. "After I stormed out of the school, I decided to check out the Arcade on my way home. While I was in there, I met five really cool girls. Three of them go to Crossroads Jr. High too."
"That's great honey. It's about time you started making friends out here. We've been here for a month now."
"Well, I've gotta go now. I'll eat on the way to school. When you get home from work, I want to hear all about your date, got it?"
"Yes, Mommy." Mrs. Klinto laughed. "Don't forget your lunch."
"It's in the bag and it feels like you packed enough to feed ten people. Tomorrow, I'm cooking." She went to the living room and opened the door. "Bye Mom. See ya later."
*@*@*@*@*@
"Serena! It's time to get up!" Luna shouted. "Why do we have to go through this every morning? You're going to be late for school."
"Alright." Serena mumbled. "I'm up, I'm up." She sat up and stretched. "Why are you in such a hurry today, Luna?"
"I told you, I want to meet this Jessie friend of yours. Central Control told me to watch out for her, remember?"
"That's right, I forgot." the young girl admitted. "I think you'll really like her, Luna. She's a sweet girl. If it wasn't for her accent, you'd never know she's from another country. And, she's into gymnastics too."
"Hurry up." Luna retorted. "You're going to miss breakfast if you don't."
"Not again! Okay, I'm going." Serena hopped out of her bed and scrambled into her uniform. As usual, she raced downstairs, bookbag in hand. "Thanks for lunch Mom!" she yelled, grabbing a piece of toast from the table. She ran out the door, nearly slamming it on Luna's tail when she closed it.
*@*@*@*@*@
"Hey Serena, what's up?" Jessie asked as she saw the other girl running down the halls.
"Jessie hi." Serena replied. "How much time before class starts? I'm running late, like always."
Oh, 'bout five minutes. Could you tell me which way Miss Haruna's room is? She's my first period teacher."
"You've got Miss H?" the blond asked. "She's really strict and gives a ton of homework, but she's really cool. C'mon. I've got her first class too."
Luna followed Serena to school as she had planned, but instead of going inside, she decided to wait until lunch to look for Jessie. She walked to the nearest tree, curled up, and fell asleep for a short nap.
*@*@*@*@*@
Luna wasn't the only one who had come to the school to observe Jessie.
Following Malachite's orders, Zoisite had also gone to Crossroads Jr. High in order to spy on the raven-haired girl. "How could she have forgotten everything?" she mussed. "Of all of us, Sailor Night is the last one I'd have believed able to forget all that happened one thousand years ago. The peace which once existed between the Universe and Negaverse, Queen Beryl's decision to destroy it? And the day she first transformed into a Sailor Scout. What a pity she'll never get the chance to remember. As soon as I'm sure this is truly the girl we're looking for, she'll be destroyed.