Disclaimer: see Part One. Any names used here are made up, and do not reflect any real world personalities.
Brief A/N: Just a reminder that there really isn't much in the way of plot movement. I apologize now, and there will be some movement in the next couple parts. I don't think I've mentioned this yet, but everything I'm writing will setup something one way or another down the line. Please be patient, and I hope you enjoy this part. We are now more than halfway through Chapter Zero.
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Parallel and Perpendicular
A romance/fiction story by ShaggyDiz
Chapter Zero: Parallel
Part Five: Talk Soap
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"Good afternoon students. My name is Mr. Amazuki, and I am the principal of Orange Star High," the short, pudgy man stated to the teenagers in the room. The room currently held all of the transfer students that had made the switch from their old schools to this one. All of them, of course, except for one half-Saiyan, though one would argue that his was a special case, and yet, not a special case. He was never in a school, but at the same time, he was transferring from his mother's system to a new one. It was quite the change; the simple fact he knew all too well.
"Today is a special day for you all," the principal continued. "Today unofficially marks the first day of the rest of your high school careers. For most of you, it will be just one year until graduation. For the rest of you, the junior class program will fit your needs. Of course, it all determines today on the tests currently on the desk behind me.
"For the next two and a half hours, each of you will be administered three tests: all equaled in content and all able to meet the challenges of the high school level. All three tests will be forty-five minutes in length, with a five-minute break in between each test. This will be timed strictly, so the faculty here will know when time is up.
"The first test given will be a math comprehension test. It consists of elementary math functions, algebraic functions, and geometry. There are fifty questions on the test, so you should be sufficiently challenged for the duration of the time.
"The second test we will be giving is a grammar test. No surprise there: it will consist of advanced grammar functions that you will be asked to figure out. Grammar and knowledge of Japanese is required to graduate this high school, so please take this very seriously." He paused for a moment, drawing in a deep breath.
"The final test will be a history and geography test. Again, this is required to graduate this high school. The first half of the test will ask you to explain certain instances in Earth's history, most of it predating the time of Cell. The second half is basic geography. You will only be required to know the certain states and cities on the main continent, as well as some of the islands located around it.
"The requirement for making it to the senior class will be an eighty percent cumulative average on all three of the tests. Anyone that makes below an eighty will be placed in the junior class.
"I wish you all the best of luck. I need to be off now, so the faculty here will be taking care of anything and everything you need for these tests. You have…" he paused, looking down at his watch, "two minutes until the first test will begin. Good luck." With that, Mr. Amazuki took his leave.
"Three tests, huh?" he asked himself, making a final check on his pencils. His mom told him before that only pencils were to be used. He realized now how simple these tests would be. "This should be a breeze, I suppose. I just have to be careful and not do these tests too fast." As he formulated his plan for the tests, a teacher stood up.
"Okay everyone!" she shouted above the murmur of the students. "Please return to your seats so that we may hand out the tests." The few students who had opted to get up had returned to the seats they had chosen earlier. The teachers there – three total – began handing out the first test booklet and an answer sheet. It had taken less than thirty seconds for the three of them to finish the task. The one that had spoken before reached for a stopwatch by her desk, then looked up at the clock on the wall.
"Remember students: you have forty-five minutes to complete the test. Ready… and begin!" With that, she clicked on the watch, matching it perfectly with the clock on the wall. All of the students proceeded to open their booklets to begin the test.
He had looked over the first page of the test, looking at what he had to do. Basic triple and quadruple digit adding functions? Piece of cake. He started through the problems, quickly getting done the first page – mostly adding and multiplication – in just under three minutes. He proceeded to the second page, which started the algebraic functions.
Gohan smirked to himself, and continued on with the test.
* * *
"Good afternoon seniors. Today is the unofficial first day of the last year of your high school careers!" the young female teacher shouted out happily, attempting to get the students in attendance to get excited – and her attention, in general. She succeeded quite nicely, getting a good happy shriek from most of the girls and a loud 'whooping' sound from the boys. The only one unexcited was she, but that was typical of her. She only scoffed in boredom at how excited everyone got for one simple little thing: graduation.
Now that I think about it, she thought, graduation is a reason for being happy. Oh well. It'll get me out of this hellhole. It was clear that her mood had barely changed from earlier: her ritualistic morning-PMS mood had now drifted over into the early afternoon. It usually took three hours or so for her to come out of this and become tolerable around people. Essentially, she prayed that no one would annoy her in the next hour, or hell would be paid.
Her thoughts were ended as the cheering and hollering stopped, and the teacher prepared herself to continue with the discussion. "Now, I know all of you have done this before, but since you only do this once a year, I will explain to you how this goes. Each of you already has a predetermined homeroom and classes picked. For most of you, all of your classes will be in your designated homeroom. All of you have the option of deciding whether or not you want the classes you have set before you.
"Also, I believe I should mention now, that everyone here is in the same homeroom together. Get used to each other now, for you will be spending a lot of time with them this year." She sighed, glad to have both Sharpener and Erasa in her homeroom. She knew she had someone to talk to if her classes turned out to be boring.
"I should also mention that there is a new homeroom this year: twelve-nine. This will make the chance for changing classes this year even easier, as the extra homeroom will move students out of other various homerooms, allowing for more seating in each of the classes. The last time I checked, there were close to ten empty seats in each of the rooms." To this, the students made some chatter at the prospect of being able to find a better class if needed. Some of them pulled out their phones and started text messaging – a relatively new feature for the cell phones on the main continent – to all of their friends, relaying the message that they already knew: they have a greater chance at getting into the same class together.
"Now, for the actual class selection. If you are satisfied with the classes that have been picked for you, then verify that you are the person in the file and press 'Submit'. That will lock your classes and prevent you from making any new choices. If you have to make any changes, all you have to do is click on that class, and then a sidebar menu will pop up, showing you the options of other classes like this available. Also, since everything is on multiple cable lines, updates are done almost instantaneously. There is practically no lag when you're doing this.
"Now that you all know how to do this, you can open the envelopes that I gave you when you came in," she said, picking up the closest student's white envelope as an example. "This contains your login information. I leave all this up to you at this point. If you have any questions, I'll be in the back of the room. Good luck to you all!" With that, the students assumed positions at each of the available desks. There were only ten computers in the room, so only half the class had the chance to go at the time. The three friends had to wait, slow to the task of getting to an available computer.
"Wow! I can't believe that the three of us are going to be in the same class this year!" Erasa piped out, her usual abundant excitement showing through.
"Hoorah," the black hair teen replied, giving her answer in one sarcastic word.
"You know Erasa… I don't think Videl wants to be here today," Sharpener said, trying hard not to make his hushed statement and very blatant pointing obvious.
"You know I can hear you. I'm not deaf."
"I think you're right Sharpie. I don't think she got enough sleep last night," Erasa replied to her boyfriend, using the nickname, which, strangely enough, she had just come up with now. It was clear that the couple wasn't paying attention to their now pissed friend.
"It's like I'm not here you guys."
"Well, her fault then. She knew that she had to come here today. Did she explain why she didn't get enough sleep?"
"Am I fucking invisible or what?"
"She said something about me rambling on about you for a couple hours last night. You know she could have shut me up at any point."
"Fuck this… I'm giving up."
"You're right about that. You know how pissed off she gets when you talk about boys in front of her."
"This is my life. Fucking shoot me for crying out loud."
"I know. Why do you think I like doing that to her? And don't answer that: it's…. rhetorical, or whatever that big word is."
"Ah look… a computer's open."
"I think I will. She needs a guy in her life. Once that happens, then maybe she can mellow out some."
"Name and password… that was simple enough."
"I told her that already today! And, as usual, she just brushed it off like nothing."
"Videl Satan… welcome… I know. That's my fucking name."
"Hmm… hey, maybe I can find that guy I bumped into earlier. He didn't look too… what's that word Videl always uses?"
"Hate him… fuck, stuck with him. Hate her… fuck, stuck with her too."
"Um… roach-infested scum?"
"Ugh… my head is starting to hurt a lot."
"Yeah, something like that. Has she called me that before?"
"This year is going to fucking suck."
"Probably. She usually says that about guys in her sleep."
"Hey, I'm done. One of you want this now?"
"I see. Slumber party?"
"Guys?"
"Yeah. The old days were fun like that."
"Guys?"
"Tell me about it. Just think though: in ten months, we're out of here."
"…"
"Oh I know! I'm so excited."
"Hey, they're not paying attention to me. You can have this."
"Same here. We got to go and celebrate!"
"Yeah, I know… fucking morons those two are."
"Hey Videl!" Erasa shouted, finally acknowledging her friend.
She made the point to inform her. "About fucking time. I already registered while you two were going off on something stupid."
"Hey, watch your language Videl! You know how my ears are sensitive to that," the blonde hair girl retorted.
"Yeah! Watch your mouth around my girl!" Sharpener added.
"Will you two just cut it out? My head is pounding because of you." She paused for a second, taking in a deep breath, trying to calm herself down. "Go ahead and register you two. I'm going outside for some air. Get me when you're done… we'll go out for some ice cream I suppose."
"Yay!" Erasa shouted, jumping up from her chair and ensnaring her friend in a vice-like hug.
"Good. Now let go," she said, her life being drained out of her.
"Sorry." She paused, and then: "Hey wait. You registered without us? And you didn't save us a computer at all? What kind of friend are you Videl?"
All Erasa got for an answer was a dumb look and a finger, pointing to two open computers. "Ah… right. Sorry."
She sighed. "Children," Videl said, smirking as she did so. She left the room moments later.
* * *
He sat back in his chair, his hands locked behind his head. The look on his face was neutral: he didn't want people to look at him after he had completed the math test in twenty-five minutes and see him gloat in achievement. He was smart, and like he told himself before, he took pride in that. There was no need to announce to the world that he was a genius.
It was now one fifteen, exactly forty-five minutes after the test started, which had also signified its ending point. As the teachers came around to collect the tests, he raised his hand to get the attention of one of them. "Yes?" the closest one asked him.
"Would it be okay if I used the bathroom? I know the next test starts in five minutes, but I'll be quick," he asked her.
"I don't see the problem with that. Just make sure you do get back soon, or we'll start the test without you."
"I see. Thank you." With that, he got up and left the classroom. The closest bathroom was down an adjacent hallway, so that was where his feet led him. Soon enough, he came upon it and entered, finding out that within this bathroom was the boy that helped him out earlier: Sharpener.
"Hey," he said, getting his attention. Apparently he startled him, causing him to accidentally get urine on his hands.
"Hey Go- ah shit!" the blonde said, the delayed reaction clearly evident. He quickly zipped himself up and moved away from the urinal, moving to the sink to wash his hands.
"Sorry about that," he apologized.
"No problem. Taking a piss I presume?"
"Yeah… I'm taking a leak." It was rare for him to curse – despite the fact that he did it a lot on occasion – but he felt no need to impress others with the explicit language.
"I hear you. I guess you need to since you've been cramped up in that room for a while now. How are those tests coming along anyway?" Sharpener asked.
"We just got done the first one actually… kind of a breeze, really."
"Yeah? That's cool. I wish I could do these tests pretty fast, but of course, I'm not the smartest person around. One of my girlfriend's friends is though, so I get help from her sometimes."
"I see. What year are you, if I may ask?"
"Senior. Why?"
"Well, if the next two tests goes like the first one did, then it'll be safe to assume that I'll be in your class."
"Really now? You're that smart?" he asked, shocked a bit.
"Yeah. If you want to know the truth, my mom taught me most of my knowledge. I've been home schooled most of my life, so this is the first time I've been to a real school, or made any real friends."
"Ah, okay. You know… I can help you out around here. There are some gangs here that believe they're in charge of things, so you might need some muscle to prevent yourself from getting any beatings."
"I… see," he said, a little disbelieved.
"Yeah. I've seen it happen sometimes too: they stalk on a poor, unfortunate first year or transfer, and then they pants them and steal their money. It's never a pretty sight." At that moment, they heard the bathroom door being slammed on, followed by a yell of "Sharpener", and then followed by another yell, this one higher pitched than the other one, trying to keep the lower and much meaner voice calm.
"What was that?" he asked, confused.
"My girlfriend's friend… she's a bit pissed off you see. We said that we would meet her after we got registering for classes and she found us down the hall a bit making out in a closet. Erasa and I just got together yesterday you know."
"Understandable," he said, nodding.
"Well, it was nice talking to you Gohan. And good luck with those tests!"
"Thanks! And good luck with the girls."
Sharpener laughed. "Thanks, I need it." With that, he left the bathroom.
He stood in front of the sink, washing his hands after going to the bathroom – most of the conversation took place with him standing in front of the urinal – while listening to one of the girls literally chew out Sharpener. "That must really suck, getting a new one torn like that." The yelling was becoming quieter, which he took as them moving into another part of the school. He dried his hands off and left the bathroom, just as the trio made a left turn down the far hallway.
He got back to the room just in the nick of time, as the teachers had begun handing out the second test booklets. It was obvious to him that these books were larger than the first ones, causing him to cringe slightly. "I guess this one will take me a little bit more time," he muttered to himself.
"Ah, Mr. Son," the teacher said. It was the one that had excused him to the bathroom earlier. "Glad you got back on time," she said genuinely.
"Thanks. Next test?" he asked.
"Yeah. Here you go."
"Bring it on," Gohan said, ready to take on the next test.
* * *
She leaned back in the bench, locking her hands behind her head. The look on her face was neutral, though now it was bordering on the edge of anger. She had sat there for twenty-five minutes now, slowly losing her patience, as she waited for her friends to get there. She had thought of going several times to fetch them, figuring that they might be in the room still. But now it was one-oh-five.
She was ready to snap.
"I'm going now," she whispered to herself. "If I catch them in a closet, I'm hanging them." And so she went, walking through the lobby, peeking in rooms – though not bothering with the closets just yet – and scanning the girl's room, thinking that maybe they had gone to the bathroom on their own occurrence.
It was one-ten when she thought she heard some hushed whispers and giggles from a closet. She prepared herself for the worst, taking hold of the knob and jiggling it slightly.
"Oh shit Sharpener," a whispered voice – clearly Erasa – said. "Quick, we got to hide! Someone is coming in!"
"But where?" the boy – already revealed by his girlfriend – asked as quietly as her.
She smirked. It was the only thing to do at a time like this. But then she remembered what she told herself earlier. So then she decided to start the beatings.
She pulled open the door roughly and glared in, spotting her two friends – both fully clothed, luckily – trying desperately to find a place to hide from the person coming in. The shock on their faces showed that it was clearly quite the opposite of who was opening the door.
"Videl!" they cried out.
"Get out here now so I can kick your asses!" She was clearly pissed off, and she had made the grim mistake of lunging into the closet to grab them. Oddly enough, Sharpener pushed Erasa to the right as he dove to the left, letting the black haired girl dive right between them and nearly smack herself into the back of the closet. He quickly grabbed his girlfriend's hand and pulled her out of the closet, both running for their lives. They looked back for a brief second while running and saw the closet literally explode outward, with their friend standing in the middle of the rubble, steam somehow coming out of her ears. She slowly cocked her head to the side, and they shuddered when they saw her eyes.
The word "pissed" was thrown out the window that day.
"Damn it Erasa! You're slowing me down!"
"Well excuse me if I'm not in shape!"
"Really? I thought you worked out to get that look!"
"Sharpener! It's all-natural! Don't make me hurt you after Videl does!"
"What? It's a compliment! I think…"
Erasa growled, something that scared Sharpener immensely. "That's it! You're dead!" She tried pulling on his hand, trying to slow him down. He saw what she was doing, and decided to just ditch her completely instead of having to face his girlfriend's wrath as well as her best friend's wrath. Speaking of which:
"If you don't stop right now, I'm going to make your pain twice as hard!" she seethed out.
So Sharpener decided to ditch his girlfriend. He let her go, letting her stumble and fall down, landing roughly on her stomach. He continued on, silently thanking his (occasional) brainpower for deducing something as brilliant as this.
Erasa, meanwhile, was silently praying for her safety, for as soon as she fell, she turned around and saw her friend running straight for her. She put her arms up; trying to cover her face from whatever violence the black haired girl was going to throw at her. She screamed when she was a step away, and Erasa continued screaming as she hurdled over the blonde, continuing down the hall. She stopped screaming, seeing her life out of danger.
Then a thought struck her: "She's after Sharpener. She's after Sharpener! No one can kick his ass but me!" And so the chase was on yet again.
Sharpener, luckily, had finally found a bathroom to hide in. He slid in there and leaned back against the door, slowly regaining his lost breath. Outside, his first attacker stood at the door he was in. She was ready to pound the door in when Erasa had suddenly come up from behind her, grabbing her wrist while also wrapping her arm around her waist, attempting to stop her friend.
"Videl! Don't knock down that door!"
"And why not?" she yelled back at the blonde holding on for dear life.
"Cause it's the boys room!"
"I don't care!"
Erasa gasped. "Videl! Its forbidden territory! Don't you know that?"
"Of course I know!" she cried out. It was the unwritten rule of the halls: the girls were forbidden from entering the boys room, for fear of what odorous smells they would find when stepping in there, and the boys were forbidden from the girls room for much the same reasons. It was only among the students, though, since the janitors and high faculty members could go into the bathroom of the opposite sex, mostly to disrupt illegal activity, and in the janitors case, to clean.
Erasa had managed to drag her friend towards the girls' room, hoping to calm her down some before they left. They got in there just as a tall, black haired boy stepped around the corner, on his way to the bathroom.
"You!" she said, pointing to Erasa, her anger still flowing over the top. It was the only thing she did say, as she realized that it was the wrong person she wanted to vent at. She dropped her hand and leaned back against the wall.
"You okay Videl?" the blonde asked, wary of her friend's state.
"No. My head hurts." She looked up and gave her a slight smirk. "It's your fault, you know."
"Hey, don't look at me. It was Sharpener's idea."
"I figured as much. The male species has such limited thinking. 'Making out' and 'sex' is probably the only things that were on his head at the time."
Erasa had to giggle at that. "I know! You should have heard him. He was like: 'Oh, oh Erasa! I can't go another moment without touching you! Oh!' and I was like: 'But Sharpener, what about Videl?' and so he said: 'What Videl? I only got eyes for you,' and I said – "
"Okay, okay. I get it," she said, cutting off her friend from saying anything more. She looked down at her watch. "You ready to get him?"
"Sure." They left the bathroom, walking the small distance to stand outside of the boys' room. "Oh Videl. Do me a favor and don't make too much of a scene?" Erasa asked.
"No problem." With a neutral face, she slammed on the door. Hard. "Sharpener!" she yelled.
"Damn it Videl! You promised!"
"Promised what? I never shook your hand on it, or specifically said 'I promise'."
"I see you are out of your morning mood," Erasa muttered under her breath.
"What was that?"
"Nothing." She was going to say something else, but never had the chance, as the bathroom door opened, revealing Sharpener with a sheepish look on his face.
"Hello," he said loudly, acting as if nothing was wrong. And that's when she hit him upside his head. "Ouch! What was that for?"
"I don't know. I'll think of an excuse later." She walked away from Sharpener, going down the hall.
"Damn that hurt," he muttered, rubbing his head. He got smacked again though, this time by Erasa. "Ouch! Erasa!"
"Don't 'Erasa' me, Sharpener! Besides, we were supposed to go to the ice cream parlor with Videl once we got done registering!"
"Well don't look at me! It's not my fault you got a bit horny all of a sudden!"
"Me? Don't you go saying that! You know it was your fault for getting Videl mad. You were the one who said to go in the closet to make out."
"What, is everyone against me today?" Sharpener cried out, tossing his hands into the air.
"Will you two hurry up? I don't have all day. My sister is expecting me to spar with her today," she called back to the two blondes.
"Really now? How is Kagero doing?" Erasa asked, turning down the hallway with their friends, just missing the black haired boy that was about to come out of the bathroom.
"Just fine Erasa. Just fine," Videl said, smiling slightly.
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End Part Five
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I hope you enjoyed. Please review.
