Keoko followed the crowd of boys out to where the shovels were kept in a
place labeled the "library". Instead of books, there were shovels. A lot
of shovels. She noticed all of the others grab them down and start to walk
off with them in their hands, so she grabbed one too. They were big
shovels! She followed the people of her group and watched curiously as
they began to dig holes. She remembered vaguely what Mr. Sir had said. 5
feet wide and five feet deep.
Keoko thrust her shovel into the dirt and grimaced slightly when it made absolutely no effect. She put her whole weight onto the shovel, which was not that much, but it finally did something. Her shovel went down slightly and she continued doing this for several moments, trying to pry up the dirt. From the outside of her hole, all that could be seen was an occasional burst of dirt.
"How's it going, Olive?" called Armpit from somewhere outside her hole. She thrust up her shovel and waved it around a bit, showing that she had listened. The others laughed. Zero had finished his hole and spit into it when he noticed that Keoko was also done. Now this surprised him. No one ever finished at the same time as him and he expected her to be done much later than the rest of them. He walked over to offer a hand of help, since she would probably be stuck in her hole. Surprisingly, she sprung out quickly in one graceful jump.
"You're finished already, Olive?" yelled Magnet. Keoko nodded vaguely. She may have been small, but she was a quick learner. Zero waited for her to catch up, and they both walked off towards camp. The others were surprised. Zero waited for her?
Zero glanced over at Keoko and down at her hands. They were covered in blood and she seemed to be ignoring it completely.
"Your hands are covered in blood," commented Zero quietly. Keoko looked at him.
"Yes I know that, I plan to do something when I get back," she replied softly. When they reached back to the group D lodge, Keoko walked in and began to rummage through her backpack. Zero watched curiously as she pulled out a white piece of cloth. She dumped the rest of her canteen water onto her hands and quickly wrapped them with the white cloth. "Are you particularly interested in me washing my hands?" she asked. Zero shook his head. He was instead staring at something in her backpack. It was her math notebook. Keoko loved math, so she would continuously make up problems and answer them in her notebook, which was covered with numbers and signs. She was pretty good at it also.
"Are you good at math?" asked Zero. Numbers fascinated him, but he didn't really know how to work them out, since he hadn't really learned.
"I love math, therefore I guess that makes me somewhat decent at it," she replied. "Why?"
"Will you teach me how to do all the figuring out things? Don't worry, I can count perfectly, just need help at figuring it out," he said. Keoko looked at him curiously. He wanted to do math? She though everyone here would hate school or anything to do with it.
"Alright, I guess. Just do me one favor. Please do not call me olive, because I really hate olives," she said sincerely. Zero smiled. That was a start.
"Okay, your name is Keoko right?" Keoko nodded.
"Okay, lesson one starts now, as soon as I tie the knot on my hand," she said as she quickly tied the knot. "I need to know what you know, so tell me what 2+2 is please."
"4, I'm not that stupid. I just need help with the big numbers is all," he replied. Keoko fetched out a piece of paper and a pencil. She gave to Zero, who took it happily. She scratched onto the paper the following problem:
254+485=_____
She taught him how to put the second number under the first and add them effectively. He learned this quite quickly. She then taught him how to subtract these numbers. She taught him a different way of learning math because she had learned it a different way, when she was in Japan. So instead of having to do all the numbering on paper, she taught him how to do it mentally and fairly quickly. He was eager to learn everything.
After about one hour, Keoko was a completely different person. She was teaching him sternly and she was talking a lot. After two hours, Zero was learning how to solve equations like 2x + 5 = 25. This took a bit of explaining, but she did it successfully, and Zero understood after some time.
"Why did you come here?" asked Zero. He was still very curious. Keoko sighed.
"If I told you, you would think I was a terrible person. If I tell you, will you stop being friendly to me?" she asked back.
"Of course, people have done some pretty terrible things here," he replied.
"Okay, fine. I came here because I was always trying to kill myself. I did this because my father asked me to. He didn't want me because my mother dies giving birth to me. For a while, I worked with him tuning pianos in Japan, then we came here and he changed completely. He met a terrible woman and they both hated me. I could never actually succeed in killing myself because someone always found me trying. I had to go to a hospital for a long time. Then my father disowned me completely and I was alone. His new wife was a little more kind, I still hate her, but she gave me some money and then she turned me out. I still tried to kill myself after that, and then the hospital managers decided to send me here. They didn't know where to put me, and here I am now," she concluded. She said this all with a neutral face. "Plus, I got in a lot of trouble for slapping my stepmother once, but I think I got punished a lot worse," laughed Keoko. Zero's eyes were completely wide and he was silent. That really was terrible. But it wasn't her fault. She hadn't done anything.
"You aren't a terrible person. He is. Your father is a terrible person. It wasn't your fault that your mother died."
"Yes it was. Even though I hate to admit it, she would still be alive if I had never been born," replied Keoko. Her eyes took on a sad, dull gleam. "Anyways, can you show me to the piano? I really want to see it!"
"I guess so. Come on, it's in the Wreck Room," Zero led her to the Wreck Room and she quickly tied a rope around her waist. The orange suit was far too big.
When Keoko first set eyes on the piano, she immediately rushed over. It was an Everett piano. If properly taken care of, it would probably sound okay. She didn't really like Everett pianos, but t would have to do. She took the lid off the old instrument and peered in. All the strings were in tact, but they were severely too loose and the hammers were falling off.
A group of boys crowded around her curiously, but she ignored them. She was busy cleaning the hammers with the sleeve of her shirt. She tightened the strings and polished them as best she could. She worked her way down until she got a good look at the pedals. They needed work. She fixed them as best she could and occasionally played chords to test the sound. It took her about an hour to actually get the piano clean, and even longer to get the sound nice. But in the end, it began to sound incredible.
"Dude, the chick fixed the piano," whispered Armpit. As he said that, her pant legs rode up a bit and people could see a bit of her thin legs. They had red welts on them, as if she had been whipped or something.
Keoko was working on the piano when suddenly she heard murmuring all around her. She turned around and noticed everyone was staring at her leg. She looked down and noticed that her pant leg had gone up a bit and everyone could see her scars. Keoko immediately ran out of the room angry. Zero followed her quickly.
"Keoko wait!" he yelled after her. He caught up with her and grabbed her wrist.
"What do you want?" she said, suddenly stopping. Her face was completely neutral.
"I want to talk to you. Why are their scars on your legs?"
"I used to like inflicting pain on myself. It made me feel better, alright?" she said. Zero's eyes did his trademark expanding motion.
"Zero, do not be angry with me please. I told you that I wasn't the best person, so please don't go against me now! Onegai!" she pleaded, completely unaware that she had switched to Japanese.
"What was the last word you just said?" he asked curiously.
"I meant please," she said, laughing suddenly. She burst out laughing and dropped onto the ground, still laughing. Zero looked nervous and concerned. She was clutching her stomach laughing.
"Are you okay?" he asked. She couldn't stop laughing.
"I was acting so serious! It was so funny! I was acting dramatic like a gossipy little girl," she gasped between breaths. Zero's eyes widened. She was definitely different. Suddenly, she stopped laughing and took off towards the cabin. By then, the rest of the boys had come out and wanted to converse with 'Olive'. She was still pretty gorgeous to them.
Keoko reached the cabin and began violently kicking the wall. It wasn't fair! Why was she so stupid? She kept venting her anger out on the wall until she fell in a heap on the floor. She sat there fuming silently until she eventually fell asleep right on the floor. That was how the boys of group D found her and Magnet scooped her up and put her on her cot. She was still asleep, but her breathing was very quiet. Zero shook his head slightly. She definitely needed some help.
Author's Note: Hope you liked this chapter! I had to write it late because I had to finish my math homework. It was hard, but I liked it. I like math! Anyways..I'm kind of tired right now. ZzZZZzZzzzZzZZzzZzZzzZ
Keoko thrust her shovel into the dirt and grimaced slightly when it made absolutely no effect. She put her whole weight onto the shovel, which was not that much, but it finally did something. Her shovel went down slightly and she continued doing this for several moments, trying to pry up the dirt. From the outside of her hole, all that could be seen was an occasional burst of dirt.
"How's it going, Olive?" called Armpit from somewhere outside her hole. She thrust up her shovel and waved it around a bit, showing that she had listened. The others laughed. Zero had finished his hole and spit into it when he noticed that Keoko was also done. Now this surprised him. No one ever finished at the same time as him and he expected her to be done much later than the rest of them. He walked over to offer a hand of help, since she would probably be stuck in her hole. Surprisingly, she sprung out quickly in one graceful jump.
"You're finished already, Olive?" yelled Magnet. Keoko nodded vaguely. She may have been small, but she was a quick learner. Zero waited for her to catch up, and they both walked off towards camp. The others were surprised. Zero waited for her?
Zero glanced over at Keoko and down at her hands. They were covered in blood and she seemed to be ignoring it completely.
"Your hands are covered in blood," commented Zero quietly. Keoko looked at him.
"Yes I know that, I plan to do something when I get back," she replied softly. When they reached back to the group D lodge, Keoko walked in and began to rummage through her backpack. Zero watched curiously as she pulled out a white piece of cloth. She dumped the rest of her canteen water onto her hands and quickly wrapped them with the white cloth. "Are you particularly interested in me washing my hands?" she asked. Zero shook his head. He was instead staring at something in her backpack. It was her math notebook. Keoko loved math, so she would continuously make up problems and answer them in her notebook, which was covered with numbers and signs. She was pretty good at it also.
"Are you good at math?" asked Zero. Numbers fascinated him, but he didn't really know how to work them out, since he hadn't really learned.
"I love math, therefore I guess that makes me somewhat decent at it," she replied. "Why?"
"Will you teach me how to do all the figuring out things? Don't worry, I can count perfectly, just need help at figuring it out," he said. Keoko looked at him curiously. He wanted to do math? She though everyone here would hate school or anything to do with it.
"Alright, I guess. Just do me one favor. Please do not call me olive, because I really hate olives," she said sincerely. Zero smiled. That was a start.
"Okay, your name is Keoko right?" Keoko nodded.
"Okay, lesson one starts now, as soon as I tie the knot on my hand," she said as she quickly tied the knot. "I need to know what you know, so tell me what 2+2 is please."
"4, I'm not that stupid. I just need help with the big numbers is all," he replied. Keoko fetched out a piece of paper and a pencil. She gave to Zero, who took it happily. She scratched onto the paper the following problem:
254+485=_____
She taught him how to put the second number under the first and add them effectively. He learned this quite quickly. She then taught him how to subtract these numbers. She taught him a different way of learning math because she had learned it a different way, when she was in Japan. So instead of having to do all the numbering on paper, she taught him how to do it mentally and fairly quickly. He was eager to learn everything.
After about one hour, Keoko was a completely different person. She was teaching him sternly and she was talking a lot. After two hours, Zero was learning how to solve equations like 2x + 5 = 25. This took a bit of explaining, but she did it successfully, and Zero understood after some time.
"Why did you come here?" asked Zero. He was still very curious. Keoko sighed.
"If I told you, you would think I was a terrible person. If I tell you, will you stop being friendly to me?" she asked back.
"Of course, people have done some pretty terrible things here," he replied.
"Okay, fine. I came here because I was always trying to kill myself. I did this because my father asked me to. He didn't want me because my mother dies giving birth to me. For a while, I worked with him tuning pianos in Japan, then we came here and he changed completely. He met a terrible woman and they both hated me. I could never actually succeed in killing myself because someone always found me trying. I had to go to a hospital for a long time. Then my father disowned me completely and I was alone. His new wife was a little more kind, I still hate her, but she gave me some money and then she turned me out. I still tried to kill myself after that, and then the hospital managers decided to send me here. They didn't know where to put me, and here I am now," she concluded. She said this all with a neutral face. "Plus, I got in a lot of trouble for slapping my stepmother once, but I think I got punished a lot worse," laughed Keoko. Zero's eyes were completely wide and he was silent. That really was terrible. But it wasn't her fault. She hadn't done anything.
"You aren't a terrible person. He is. Your father is a terrible person. It wasn't your fault that your mother died."
"Yes it was. Even though I hate to admit it, she would still be alive if I had never been born," replied Keoko. Her eyes took on a sad, dull gleam. "Anyways, can you show me to the piano? I really want to see it!"
"I guess so. Come on, it's in the Wreck Room," Zero led her to the Wreck Room and she quickly tied a rope around her waist. The orange suit was far too big.
When Keoko first set eyes on the piano, she immediately rushed over. It was an Everett piano. If properly taken care of, it would probably sound okay. She didn't really like Everett pianos, but t would have to do. She took the lid off the old instrument and peered in. All the strings were in tact, but they were severely too loose and the hammers were falling off.
A group of boys crowded around her curiously, but she ignored them. She was busy cleaning the hammers with the sleeve of her shirt. She tightened the strings and polished them as best she could. She worked her way down until she got a good look at the pedals. They needed work. She fixed them as best she could and occasionally played chords to test the sound. It took her about an hour to actually get the piano clean, and even longer to get the sound nice. But in the end, it began to sound incredible.
"Dude, the chick fixed the piano," whispered Armpit. As he said that, her pant legs rode up a bit and people could see a bit of her thin legs. They had red welts on them, as if she had been whipped or something.
Keoko was working on the piano when suddenly she heard murmuring all around her. She turned around and noticed everyone was staring at her leg. She looked down and noticed that her pant leg had gone up a bit and everyone could see her scars. Keoko immediately ran out of the room angry. Zero followed her quickly.
"Keoko wait!" he yelled after her. He caught up with her and grabbed her wrist.
"What do you want?" she said, suddenly stopping. Her face was completely neutral.
"I want to talk to you. Why are their scars on your legs?"
"I used to like inflicting pain on myself. It made me feel better, alright?" she said. Zero's eyes did his trademark expanding motion.
"Zero, do not be angry with me please. I told you that I wasn't the best person, so please don't go against me now! Onegai!" she pleaded, completely unaware that she had switched to Japanese.
"What was the last word you just said?" he asked curiously.
"I meant please," she said, laughing suddenly. She burst out laughing and dropped onto the ground, still laughing. Zero looked nervous and concerned. She was clutching her stomach laughing.
"Are you okay?" he asked. She couldn't stop laughing.
"I was acting so serious! It was so funny! I was acting dramatic like a gossipy little girl," she gasped between breaths. Zero's eyes widened. She was definitely different. Suddenly, she stopped laughing and took off towards the cabin. By then, the rest of the boys had come out and wanted to converse with 'Olive'. She was still pretty gorgeous to them.
Keoko reached the cabin and began violently kicking the wall. It wasn't fair! Why was she so stupid? She kept venting her anger out on the wall until she fell in a heap on the floor. She sat there fuming silently until she eventually fell asleep right on the floor. That was how the boys of group D found her and Magnet scooped her up and put her on her cot. She was still asleep, but her breathing was very quiet. Zero shook his head slightly. She definitely needed some help.
Author's Note: Hope you liked this chapter! I had to write it late because I had to finish my math homework. It was hard, but I liked it. I like math! Anyways..I'm kind of tired right now. ZzZZZzZzzzZzZZzzZzZzzZ