"Kriee? Kriee are you okay?" she heard someone ask. Slowly, her eyes
cracked open and the blurred vision of a girl with long, blonde hair stood
over her.
"Peko?" Kriee coughed. She sat up abruptly and started coughing.
"No, no, no! You should lie down!" Peko said quickly, slowly laying Kriee back on a cot.
"Where am I?" Kriee mumbled. "You are in the hospital wing. While you were running in gym class, you became overheated and fainted." "And Asura rescued me!" Kriee ended. "You remember," Peko commented happily. "For a second I thought that it could have been a small stroke." "It wasn't a stroke," the nurse interrupted. He stepped through a fabric curtain blocking out the other patients that had come in that day. He was actually a strong, burly man to be a nurse. "She was really fatigued and couldn't handle the rest of the run." Kriee and Peko gave the nurse their full attention. "Anyways, I call yer mother. She should be here any moment, I reckon." "She's not my mom," Kriee garbled. However, she was overrun by Peko's excitement. "Daidouji Tomoyo is going to be here!" Peko squealed. "Correction: Daidouji Tomoyo [i]is[/i] here." A middle-aged woman walked through the curtains. Her hair was jet black and long. She wore a sweet. modest outfit of a blue summer dress with yellow flowers. Kriee liked that dress. "Hi, Ma-chan," Kriee said lowly. She really didn't want her step-mother to be here, seeing as it would only attract more attention to herself. Peko was so excited that she couldn't move, much less think. "What happened? I got a phone call saying that you fainted while running laps!" "Yep. Yer daughter suffered a pretty bad fall, but I patched 'er up right." Kriee took this time to notice the stabbing pain coming from her arm. There was a cotton bandage wrapped tightly from her forearm to her shoulder. Tomoyo turned towards the nurse cheerfully. "Oh, are from Britain?" she asked in English. "O'ay, how'd yeh guess?" he asked happily. Kriee wasn't too fluent in her English, yet, but Peko seemed to be catching every word. "Oh, that's right. Lil' girly over here told me that meh patient's mother was the famous Daidouji." "What are they saying?" Kriee whispered to Peko. "Our nurse is from Britain. It's just a formal introduction," she answered quickly. "I'm going to Britain over the summer. My show is going to be held there," Tomoyo added. "Really? No kiddin'? I'll be going there myself to visit meh mum." "That's nice," Tomoyo said kindly, then turning her attention back to Kriee. "Would you mind me asking what happened?" she asked back in Japanese. "Not at all! My guess is that she's not a seasoned runner, and taking to a mile for her first time wasn't the best of ideas." "It wasn't my fault! The coach made me do it! He wouldn't even let me borrow the proper shoes." "I know, I know. I'll be contacting the coach on that; make sure he don't push you too hard, s'all. Anyways, the poor girl must've tuckered out on her last lap and couldn't take it. She needs to be taken home, school's not a good place for her right now." "But it's just my first day!" Kriee contradicted. "I want to stay!" To prove her point, she jumped out of the cot and faltered into Peko's arms. "Not in this condition," Peko said. Kriee sighed and hobbled back to the bed. "It's not fair," she said under her breath. "A lot of things in the world aren't fair, but I'm sure things will be better when you get home and have a nice rest," Tomoyo reassured.
Kriee went back to Tomoyo's cottage with much detest. All the way home, she kept the same, dank glower out the window. When she got to her room, Tomoyo ordered that she get to bed quickly try to sleep so she could regain her strength. Kriee huffed and sat on her bed, mostly just thinking about how things went so horribly wrong. She tossed and turned, unable to find a comfortable position. The thoughts still crossed her mind how the whole school laughing at her and mocking the way she dressed and acted. Slowly, she reached across her bed to a small table which lay her cell phone. She pressed a speed dial button and the numbers instantly dialed in. There was a small ringing tone twice until a small voice answered. "Mushi mushi," Tomoyo answered. "Kriee, I told you to stay in bed." At first, Kriee was shocked that Tomoyo knew it was her, then she silently cursed the caller ID. "Um, I will. I just wanted to tell you that my school requires a uniform." "I know. I've already started making it." Upon hearing this, Kriee sat up and stared to her closet nervously. "You're [i]making[/i] my school uniform? Are you sure that's wise?" "Of course! Why not? You love the clothes I sew for you." "I know, I know. Just try to not add to much to it, okay?" "Don't worry about it. It's going to be perfectly normal!" There was a small click on the other end of the receiver and Kriee placed the phone back down on the table. Tomoyo's version of 'normal' can sometimes be distorted with her freakishly popular fashion sense. Sighing, Kriee laid back on her bed and slowly fell asleep.
When she woke up, she felt better one hundred fold. She stood up and stretched, realizing how sore her legs were. All that running must have gotten the best of her. She stumbled out of her room and downstairs to the atrium. Tomoyo sat on the long table in the dining room eating her dinner. "Oh, good evening Kriee," she said happily. "I didn't expect to see you up so soon. I'll have the chef prepare you something nice." Upon saying this, a waiter walked up and took Tomoyo's order on what Kriee should eat. The thing about Tomoyo's house is that it was never empty. She kept seven maids in the house at all times along with three butlers, one waiter (two to three on special events), and a secretary. The waiter soon left as Kriee took her seat on the opposite side of the table from Tomoyo. "I ordered you something healthy so you can get your strength back." "Thanks," Kriee said to the tabletop. "And I also finished making the designs for your uniform." At this, Kriee perked up. "Designs?" she asked in a panicked fashion. "No, Tomoyo, there are no designs for a basic school-girl costume. What did you change?" she demanded. "Nothing big. Trust me, you'll blend in just like every other kid at school," Tomoyo sighed. "Thank you," Kriee answered with an exasperated sigh. "The last thing I need right now is standing out of the crowd." "Are you listening to what you're saying?" Tomoyo asked. "If you were only there today. Everyone laughed at me because I was different. I was ridiculed in front of every class! I never want that to happen again." "Touya is coming over tomorrow," said Tomoyo, trying to change the subject. Kriee looked away from the wooden tabletop happily. "Really?" "Yes. He said he was going to drop by and give you your birthday present." "But my birthday was three months ago!" "I know, but I remember him telling you he forgot. He's visiting Tokyo and decided to go ahead and drop it off. He might come by after school, he said." "Really? So soon? I have to clean my room! Tell the maids to do a better job mopping the living room. I'll vacuum the den. Of course the bathtub needs a good scrubbing and -" "Kriee, don't worry. He's not staying long. Besides, the living room is spotless, the den is perfect, and I don't think Touya has to worry whether the bathtub has spots in it or not -which it doesn't- so don't worry so much." Kriee's dinner arrive which consisted of green beans, another vegetable, and some sort of raw meat. "Ma-chan, if you don't mind me asking, what is this?" "I read it in a magazine. The green beans help blood circulation, diced beets are supposed to help the heart, and raw swordfish supports the visibility in the eyes and memory cells in the brain." "Are you sure you read that right," Kriee asked, poking the swordfish in question. "Just eat then go back to sleep. I promise you'll fell better in the morning."
"Peko?" Kriee coughed. She sat up abruptly and started coughing.
"No, no, no! You should lie down!" Peko said quickly, slowly laying Kriee back on a cot.
"Where am I?" Kriee mumbled. "You are in the hospital wing. While you were running in gym class, you became overheated and fainted." "And Asura rescued me!" Kriee ended. "You remember," Peko commented happily. "For a second I thought that it could have been a small stroke." "It wasn't a stroke," the nurse interrupted. He stepped through a fabric curtain blocking out the other patients that had come in that day. He was actually a strong, burly man to be a nurse. "She was really fatigued and couldn't handle the rest of the run." Kriee and Peko gave the nurse their full attention. "Anyways, I call yer mother. She should be here any moment, I reckon." "She's not my mom," Kriee garbled. However, she was overrun by Peko's excitement. "Daidouji Tomoyo is going to be here!" Peko squealed. "Correction: Daidouji Tomoyo [i]is[/i] here." A middle-aged woman walked through the curtains. Her hair was jet black and long. She wore a sweet. modest outfit of a blue summer dress with yellow flowers. Kriee liked that dress. "Hi, Ma-chan," Kriee said lowly. She really didn't want her step-mother to be here, seeing as it would only attract more attention to herself. Peko was so excited that she couldn't move, much less think. "What happened? I got a phone call saying that you fainted while running laps!" "Yep. Yer daughter suffered a pretty bad fall, but I patched 'er up right." Kriee took this time to notice the stabbing pain coming from her arm. There was a cotton bandage wrapped tightly from her forearm to her shoulder. Tomoyo turned towards the nurse cheerfully. "Oh, are from Britain?" she asked in English. "O'ay, how'd yeh guess?" he asked happily. Kriee wasn't too fluent in her English, yet, but Peko seemed to be catching every word. "Oh, that's right. Lil' girly over here told me that meh patient's mother was the famous Daidouji." "What are they saying?" Kriee whispered to Peko. "Our nurse is from Britain. It's just a formal introduction," she answered quickly. "I'm going to Britain over the summer. My show is going to be held there," Tomoyo added. "Really? No kiddin'? I'll be going there myself to visit meh mum." "That's nice," Tomoyo said kindly, then turning her attention back to Kriee. "Would you mind me asking what happened?" she asked back in Japanese. "Not at all! My guess is that she's not a seasoned runner, and taking to a mile for her first time wasn't the best of ideas." "It wasn't my fault! The coach made me do it! He wouldn't even let me borrow the proper shoes." "I know, I know. I'll be contacting the coach on that; make sure he don't push you too hard, s'all. Anyways, the poor girl must've tuckered out on her last lap and couldn't take it. She needs to be taken home, school's not a good place for her right now." "But it's just my first day!" Kriee contradicted. "I want to stay!" To prove her point, she jumped out of the cot and faltered into Peko's arms. "Not in this condition," Peko said. Kriee sighed and hobbled back to the bed. "It's not fair," she said under her breath. "A lot of things in the world aren't fair, but I'm sure things will be better when you get home and have a nice rest," Tomoyo reassured.
Kriee went back to Tomoyo's cottage with much detest. All the way home, she kept the same, dank glower out the window. When she got to her room, Tomoyo ordered that she get to bed quickly try to sleep so she could regain her strength. Kriee huffed and sat on her bed, mostly just thinking about how things went so horribly wrong. She tossed and turned, unable to find a comfortable position. The thoughts still crossed her mind how the whole school laughing at her and mocking the way she dressed and acted. Slowly, she reached across her bed to a small table which lay her cell phone. She pressed a speed dial button and the numbers instantly dialed in. There was a small ringing tone twice until a small voice answered. "Mushi mushi," Tomoyo answered. "Kriee, I told you to stay in bed." At first, Kriee was shocked that Tomoyo knew it was her, then she silently cursed the caller ID. "Um, I will. I just wanted to tell you that my school requires a uniform." "I know. I've already started making it." Upon hearing this, Kriee sat up and stared to her closet nervously. "You're [i]making[/i] my school uniform? Are you sure that's wise?" "Of course! Why not? You love the clothes I sew for you." "I know, I know. Just try to not add to much to it, okay?" "Don't worry about it. It's going to be perfectly normal!" There was a small click on the other end of the receiver and Kriee placed the phone back down on the table. Tomoyo's version of 'normal' can sometimes be distorted with her freakishly popular fashion sense. Sighing, Kriee laid back on her bed and slowly fell asleep.
When she woke up, she felt better one hundred fold. She stood up and stretched, realizing how sore her legs were. All that running must have gotten the best of her. She stumbled out of her room and downstairs to the atrium. Tomoyo sat on the long table in the dining room eating her dinner. "Oh, good evening Kriee," she said happily. "I didn't expect to see you up so soon. I'll have the chef prepare you something nice." Upon saying this, a waiter walked up and took Tomoyo's order on what Kriee should eat. The thing about Tomoyo's house is that it was never empty. She kept seven maids in the house at all times along with three butlers, one waiter (two to three on special events), and a secretary. The waiter soon left as Kriee took her seat on the opposite side of the table from Tomoyo. "I ordered you something healthy so you can get your strength back." "Thanks," Kriee said to the tabletop. "And I also finished making the designs for your uniform." At this, Kriee perked up. "Designs?" she asked in a panicked fashion. "No, Tomoyo, there are no designs for a basic school-girl costume. What did you change?" she demanded. "Nothing big. Trust me, you'll blend in just like every other kid at school," Tomoyo sighed. "Thank you," Kriee answered with an exasperated sigh. "The last thing I need right now is standing out of the crowd." "Are you listening to what you're saying?" Tomoyo asked. "If you were only there today. Everyone laughed at me because I was different. I was ridiculed in front of every class! I never want that to happen again." "Touya is coming over tomorrow," said Tomoyo, trying to change the subject. Kriee looked away from the wooden tabletop happily. "Really?" "Yes. He said he was going to drop by and give you your birthday present." "But my birthday was three months ago!" "I know, but I remember him telling you he forgot. He's visiting Tokyo and decided to go ahead and drop it off. He might come by after school, he said." "Really? So soon? I have to clean my room! Tell the maids to do a better job mopping the living room. I'll vacuum the den. Of course the bathtub needs a good scrubbing and -" "Kriee, don't worry. He's not staying long. Besides, the living room is spotless, the den is perfect, and I don't think Touya has to worry whether the bathtub has spots in it or not -which it doesn't- so don't worry so much." Kriee's dinner arrive which consisted of green beans, another vegetable, and some sort of raw meat. "Ma-chan, if you don't mind me asking, what is this?" "I read it in a magazine. The green beans help blood circulation, diced beets are supposed to help the heart, and raw swordfish supports the visibility in the eyes and memory cells in the brain." "Are you sure you read that right," Kriee asked, poking the swordfish in question. "Just eat then go back to sleep. I promise you'll fell better in the morning."