Author's Note
I think I might have been a bit unclear about the time period of this book, sorry! It is before Stanley came. Sorry if I happened to confuse anyone!!! Also, Zero talks to Keoko so much because he can't really talk to anyone else. I say this because both of them are kind of similar. A bit of background on Zero also: Zero came to Camp Greenlake a long time before Stanley, then he was allowed to, in a short period of time (about one day) he stole the shoes and ended up at Camp Greenlake again, where he was with Stanley. This is before he stole the shoes and was allowed out.
Chapter Three
Keoko rose quietly, earlier than the others again. She felt slightly confused when she had found herself on her cot, but had dismissed it. It wasn't really something that important. She got dressed quickly and scribbled a few notes in her journal, most of them about the piano at camp. She was eager to play it, as she had worked quite hard in tuning and repairing it. She put her small journal away when all the others had begun to wake up. They scrambled about for a few minutes before one commented.
"Olive, how is it that you wake up so early?" asked Armpit, tone slightly slurred from sleepiness. Keoko made the first sarcastic remark of her time spent at Camp Greenlake.
"You don't actually expect me to dress in front of you, do you?" she asked, laughing mentally. A lot of the occupants of Group D burst out laughing at Armpit, who might have blushed, even Zero had a huge grin on his face.
Soon, the heat of the day found everyone digging harshly at the under nourished soil, if you could really call it that. The sun was beginning to make itself present in the horizon and more heat was to come to the diggers.
Keoko was grumpily shoving her shovel into the soil, when a small critter made itself known to her by squeaking loudly. It was some sort of mouse. She smiled slightly and looked at it. It was rather cute. She brought one finger down to the soil and waited quietly for it to come to her. It did, and it nuzzled her finger affectionately. Keoko removed the cap from her canteen and poured some water into it, which she put down for the mouse. It drank it graciously. She smiled again, this time more fully, and began digging her hole again.
She was finished shortly after and walked back to camp with Zero beside her once again. They both seemed to finish at similar moments. Keoko was unaware that the little mouse was following her until Zero commented on it.
"You have a mouse following you, Keoko," he said with a hint of amusement. Keoko turned around, and lo and behold, the mouse was there. She laughed.
"I know you just want water, little mouse, so I guess I will allow you to follow me. But since you are following uninvited, I will have to name you. I shall call you Tomo. Because Tomo means friend, and you are my friend now!" she said in mock demand. Zero was slightly surprised. She seemed so warm with the mouse, not cold and sad when she was around others.
"What is 2876 plus 9834? Do not write it down," said Keoko. She was proving to be a stern teacher indeed. Zero thought for a few moments, about 4 seconds actually.
"12710," he replied.
"You are correct." Keoko continued this as a warm up for about 15 minutes, with subtraction involved. He was a bit slower at subtraction, but that was quite understandable. She taught him all about substitution next. She wrote on a piece of paper the following equation: 2x + 2y; when x = 2 and y = 3. He caught on fast enough.
"The answer would be 10, right?" Zero asked, a bit uncertainly.
"Yes, do you know what to do with negative numbers?" Zero shook his head, so Keoko proceeded to teach him the values of negative numbers. "A negative times a positive is always a negative. A positive times a negative is always a negative. A negative times a negative is always a positive, and finally, a positive times a positive is a positive. I suggest you write this down," she concluded. Tomo was watching silently, occasionally sitting on Zero's paper and looking at the both of them with warm, watery black eyes. At times like these, both would smile, signifying laughter. The rest of the crew tramped as Keoko was packing up all her math material and pencils.
"So, what's up Olive?" asked Zigzag, plopping down beside her. The boys suddenly surrounded her. She decided to answer this question.
"Obviously not your IQ," she replied. It took a few seconds for the insult to take place, until they suddenly roared in laughter.
"That's funny! Never knew you had an attitude, I'm proud of you!" said X- Ray, thumping her on the arm. Keoko rolled her eyes mentally. They were so weird. She liked Zero; he was quiet and not really intimidating. She looked at Zero again; he was staring at the wall. He was cute. Whoa, where did those thoughts come from? Asked Keoko to herself.
"So, you gonna go play the piano?" asked Armpit. Keoko brightened immediately.
"Yes, please show me!" said Keoko. They led her to the Wreck Room, and she sat down on the piano bench, her fingers hovering over the piano for a moment.
"Play something fast!" said someone, she did not know whom. Well, she decided to play something fast, as they had asked.
Her fingers zoomed across the keyboard as the melody of the Third movement of Moonlight Sonata came out. (Author's Note: It's by Beethoven, but this isn't the slow, relaxing Moonlight Sonata, it's a really fast, different thing. If you get a chance to hear it, you should!). Everyone's faces mirrored awe as she continued. Zero even had a look of shock on her face. She was good! Mr. Sir suddenly came storming in. He came over and sharply closed the piano lid, right on her fingers. Keoko yelled and pulled her hand out. They would definitely have some several bruises on them.
"What the hell are you playing?" he asked. She was nursing her hands.
"Ouch."
"What?"
"I am playing the third movement of Moonlight Sonata, and you did not have to close the piano lid on my hand!" She said, slightly angry. Mr. Sir kind of popped. He grabbed her by her collar and pulled her up.
"Don't play that damn piano, got it?" he yelled. Keoko didn't answer. He shook her hard and dropped her on the ground. Her head banged into the bench and her world went black.
Everyone was staring at Mr. Sir in shock. Why had he overreacted? Zero's eyes were wide and he went over to Keoko and tried to wake her up. Zigzag came, along with the other Group D people and they carried her back to the cabin. This girl got in so much trouble!
Keoko woke up, and at first her vision was really hazy, then it outlined to several faces peering down at her.
"Are you okay?" asked X-Ray. He sounded like he was actually worried. Keoko didn't want to nod, she had a bad headache.
"Kuso," she muttered. It was a Japanese swear word. Her head really hurt! "My head hurt amount big," she said. When she was nervous or hurt, she tended to forget a bit of English and speak as though she had just learned the language again. The boys looked at her in confusion. "Head hurt," she said again. Zero put a wet washcloth over a nasty bruise forming on her forehead. "Sir san no baka!" she said angrily. (Stupid Mr. Sir).
"Why did the bug guy get so worked?" asked Zigzag to Armpit. He shrugged. Keoko was still muttering dark and none too polite phrases in Japanese as she attempted to sit up. She suddenly yelled as she sat up.
"ITAI!!!!" She yelled. (OUCH). She clutched her head and closed her eyes tightly. Zero dabbed the cloth over her bruise and she pushed his hand away.
"Do not put thing on it!" she said. She kind of fell off the bed slightly and crawled over to her bag. In it she had some basic first aid things, most of them herbal remedies. One was a small jar that she pulled out and began rubbing some of the contents on her bruise and sore fingers. The sky outside was dark and Keoko crawled under her covers, changed under them, and threw out her orange suit. She curled up into a little ball, still muttering in Japanese, and tried to fall asleep. She did this all in front of the boys of Group D, and they had to crack a smile. She was, for lack of a better word, adorable, even if she did have a stern attitude.
Author's Note: I'll explain later why Mr. Sir got so worked up. Don't worry, there's a reason! Tomo will turn up more in the next chapter. Please review! Thank you to those who reviewed me!
I think I might have been a bit unclear about the time period of this book, sorry! It is before Stanley came. Sorry if I happened to confuse anyone!!! Also, Zero talks to Keoko so much because he can't really talk to anyone else. I say this because both of them are kind of similar. A bit of background on Zero also: Zero came to Camp Greenlake a long time before Stanley, then he was allowed to, in a short period of time (about one day) he stole the shoes and ended up at Camp Greenlake again, where he was with Stanley. This is before he stole the shoes and was allowed out.
Chapter Three
Keoko rose quietly, earlier than the others again. She felt slightly confused when she had found herself on her cot, but had dismissed it. It wasn't really something that important. She got dressed quickly and scribbled a few notes in her journal, most of them about the piano at camp. She was eager to play it, as she had worked quite hard in tuning and repairing it. She put her small journal away when all the others had begun to wake up. They scrambled about for a few minutes before one commented.
"Olive, how is it that you wake up so early?" asked Armpit, tone slightly slurred from sleepiness. Keoko made the first sarcastic remark of her time spent at Camp Greenlake.
"You don't actually expect me to dress in front of you, do you?" she asked, laughing mentally. A lot of the occupants of Group D burst out laughing at Armpit, who might have blushed, even Zero had a huge grin on his face.
Soon, the heat of the day found everyone digging harshly at the under nourished soil, if you could really call it that. The sun was beginning to make itself present in the horizon and more heat was to come to the diggers.
Keoko was grumpily shoving her shovel into the soil, when a small critter made itself known to her by squeaking loudly. It was some sort of mouse. She smiled slightly and looked at it. It was rather cute. She brought one finger down to the soil and waited quietly for it to come to her. It did, and it nuzzled her finger affectionately. Keoko removed the cap from her canteen and poured some water into it, which she put down for the mouse. It drank it graciously. She smiled again, this time more fully, and began digging her hole again.
She was finished shortly after and walked back to camp with Zero beside her once again. They both seemed to finish at similar moments. Keoko was unaware that the little mouse was following her until Zero commented on it.
"You have a mouse following you, Keoko," he said with a hint of amusement. Keoko turned around, and lo and behold, the mouse was there. She laughed.
"I know you just want water, little mouse, so I guess I will allow you to follow me. But since you are following uninvited, I will have to name you. I shall call you Tomo. Because Tomo means friend, and you are my friend now!" she said in mock demand. Zero was slightly surprised. She seemed so warm with the mouse, not cold and sad when she was around others.
"What is 2876 plus 9834? Do not write it down," said Keoko. She was proving to be a stern teacher indeed. Zero thought for a few moments, about 4 seconds actually.
"12710," he replied.
"You are correct." Keoko continued this as a warm up for about 15 minutes, with subtraction involved. He was a bit slower at subtraction, but that was quite understandable. She taught him all about substitution next. She wrote on a piece of paper the following equation: 2x + 2y; when x = 2 and y = 3. He caught on fast enough.
"The answer would be 10, right?" Zero asked, a bit uncertainly.
"Yes, do you know what to do with negative numbers?" Zero shook his head, so Keoko proceeded to teach him the values of negative numbers. "A negative times a positive is always a negative. A positive times a negative is always a negative. A negative times a negative is always a positive, and finally, a positive times a positive is a positive. I suggest you write this down," she concluded. Tomo was watching silently, occasionally sitting on Zero's paper and looking at the both of them with warm, watery black eyes. At times like these, both would smile, signifying laughter. The rest of the crew tramped as Keoko was packing up all her math material and pencils.
"So, what's up Olive?" asked Zigzag, plopping down beside her. The boys suddenly surrounded her. She decided to answer this question.
"Obviously not your IQ," she replied. It took a few seconds for the insult to take place, until they suddenly roared in laughter.
"That's funny! Never knew you had an attitude, I'm proud of you!" said X- Ray, thumping her on the arm. Keoko rolled her eyes mentally. They were so weird. She liked Zero; he was quiet and not really intimidating. She looked at Zero again; he was staring at the wall. He was cute. Whoa, where did those thoughts come from? Asked Keoko to herself.
"So, you gonna go play the piano?" asked Armpit. Keoko brightened immediately.
"Yes, please show me!" said Keoko. They led her to the Wreck Room, and she sat down on the piano bench, her fingers hovering over the piano for a moment.
"Play something fast!" said someone, she did not know whom. Well, she decided to play something fast, as they had asked.
Her fingers zoomed across the keyboard as the melody of the Third movement of Moonlight Sonata came out. (Author's Note: It's by Beethoven, but this isn't the slow, relaxing Moonlight Sonata, it's a really fast, different thing. If you get a chance to hear it, you should!). Everyone's faces mirrored awe as she continued. Zero even had a look of shock on her face. She was good! Mr. Sir suddenly came storming in. He came over and sharply closed the piano lid, right on her fingers. Keoko yelled and pulled her hand out. They would definitely have some several bruises on them.
"What the hell are you playing?" he asked. She was nursing her hands.
"Ouch."
"What?"
"I am playing the third movement of Moonlight Sonata, and you did not have to close the piano lid on my hand!" She said, slightly angry. Mr. Sir kind of popped. He grabbed her by her collar and pulled her up.
"Don't play that damn piano, got it?" he yelled. Keoko didn't answer. He shook her hard and dropped her on the ground. Her head banged into the bench and her world went black.
Everyone was staring at Mr. Sir in shock. Why had he overreacted? Zero's eyes were wide and he went over to Keoko and tried to wake her up. Zigzag came, along with the other Group D people and they carried her back to the cabin. This girl got in so much trouble!
Keoko woke up, and at first her vision was really hazy, then it outlined to several faces peering down at her.
"Are you okay?" asked X-Ray. He sounded like he was actually worried. Keoko didn't want to nod, she had a bad headache.
"Kuso," she muttered. It was a Japanese swear word. Her head really hurt! "My head hurt amount big," she said. When she was nervous or hurt, she tended to forget a bit of English and speak as though she had just learned the language again. The boys looked at her in confusion. "Head hurt," she said again. Zero put a wet washcloth over a nasty bruise forming on her forehead. "Sir san no baka!" she said angrily. (Stupid Mr. Sir).
"Why did the bug guy get so worked?" asked Zigzag to Armpit. He shrugged. Keoko was still muttering dark and none too polite phrases in Japanese as she attempted to sit up. She suddenly yelled as she sat up.
"ITAI!!!!" She yelled. (OUCH). She clutched her head and closed her eyes tightly. Zero dabbed the cloth over her bruise and she pushed his hand away.
"Do not put thing on it!" she said. She kind of fell off the bed slightly and crawled over to her bag. In it she had some basic first aid things, most of them herbal remedies. One was a small jar that she pulled out and began rubbing some of the contents on her bruise and sore fingers. The sky outside was dark and Keoko crawled under her covers, changed under them, and threw out her orange suit. She curled up into a little ball, still muttering in Japanese, and tried to fall asleep. She did this all in front of the boys of Group D, and they had to crack a smile. She was, for lack of a better word, adorable, even if she did have a stern attitude.
Author's Note: I'll explain later why Mr. Sir got so worked up. Don't worry, there's a reason! Tomo will turn up more in the next chapter. Please review! Thank you to those who reviewed me!