Chapter Four: Gakusha High School
Author's Notes: This chapter is written from Takumi's point of view.
Pulling up to the Hell-hole known as Gakusha High, I reluctantly turned off Denkou and climbed out of my precious vehicle of obvious doom. Grabbing Hotaru and dragging her crying self into the school, I made my way to the doors of evil. Involuntarily checking my watch, I realized that I was ten minutes late. Oh great. I'm turning into to some kind of male Sora. Just great…My thoughts were violently interrupted when I heard a screech from my sister.
"I'm probably going to regret asking this, but, what the heck is wrong with you now?!" I asked the wailing chibi with the TV Guide in front of me.
"They canceled my K!" was the astoundingly loud reply.
Rolling my eyes, I slowly walked away. Oh joy. Now all I'm going to hear for the rest of the day is my idiotic sister complaining about how the networks canceled Gravitation yet again. Sora would want to throw a party…maybe I'll go ahead and join her. It couldn't hurt. Hmm…Sora…The beautiful hair, the slender body, the deep eyes…BAM! Ouch! Good God almighty! I need to concentrate…last time I checked, walls don't move for day-dreaming idiots like me. Re-checking my watch, I realized that I was now twenty minutes late. Yep. Definitely turning into Sora… Sora, Sora, Sora…
Shaking my head, I walked into my first class, which happened to be English. And the room that contained none of the schools rare windows. Being late to school: A detention and a lecture. Walking into a class twenty minutes late: Odd looks and yelling. Walking into a class twenty minutes late and realizing that the teacher is asleep: Priceless.
Slipping past my snoozing teacher, I sidled into my desk and started copying the morning's assignments from the board. Ignoring the snickers and glances coming from my peers, I went on with my copying. However, I could not ignore the heavy text book flying through the air towards my head. Three, two, one, contact. Rubbing my temples, I calmly stood up and returned the cursed object to it's owner. Yeah, Takumi. That's the way to handle it. Don't fight back.
That's all I had been hearing from my father since I could remember. He had always been a peaceful man. Reluctant to fight, even when mom's life depended on it. He had made her give up the fight against cancer. Maybe he was just sparing her all of the pain, or maybe he was just trying to save himself the money. I personally thought that it was the first. Unlike Hotaru, who hadn't seemed to forgive him. Just like the rest of the family. My father had changed so much since moms died. He became quiet, almost completely reserved to himself. He had always been fun loving and loud. But then again, so had moms. Maybe being his old self was just too painful for him still. The world may never know.
Breaking out of my daze, I focused on the day's assignments. Oh God I hate English. I really do. Now they're attempting to make everyone copy Japanese into English. Don't they have any respect for our native language? Obviously not. Oh well. I guess I can just stare at the clock until this piece of crap class is over. Hmm…1….2…..3….RING! Halleluiah. I'm free.
Walking out of the torture session known as English, I made my way to the art room. I just love living up to my name. Oh well. That's really a rather long story and I really need to clear my thought process for my creative juices to be able to flow freely. Hmm…Clear, clear, clear…think clarity….This is just great. I'm talking to myself yet again… Or more like thinking to myself…I'm too out of it to notice if I'm saying things aloud. I disagree with Sora, for once. Sleep is GOOD for you. Not BAD for you… She seems to have it all wrong. I didn't think that that was possible Shows what I know. Oops. Five seconds to the bell. Time to show off that track record.
Sprinting down the hall, I noticed my still blubbering sister plotting maniacally in a corner. I'm going to choose to ignore this one. I probably don't want to know. Last time that I asked what she was up to, I wanted to rip my ears off. Then when she started describing a lemony scene between her and K, I didn't just want to stop at the ears. I attempted to rip my whole head off, forcefully. The look on my father's face was perfectly hilarious. I was laughing for weeks. Hotaru was too absorbed in plotting to notice the funny part, and thought that I was some crazy loon, which I am. I'm surprised she didn't think that before. I mean, Sora figured it out ages ago, but then, Sora is perfect. Perfect laugh, perfect smile, perfect everything. I really need to stop obsessing over her. She's never going to go out with me. She's just too busy.
Skidding into my art class just as the bell rang, I gave the teacher a quick apologetic glance and scurried over to my seat and drawing table. Taking no notice of anyone else in the room, I began on my latest sketch. It was of the light of my life, who would never be. Her eyes were the hardest to draw. They described her personality. So different, yet complex. And so beautiful. She would probably never know how perfect she was. And if anyone ever told her, they would have beaten me to it. I have no guts, and don't want to ruin our friendship. She only thinks as me as a friend. Nothing more. I wish that this weren't the obvious truth. I wish that things could be perfect. And that she would just think of me, as I think of her, for even just one second in time. For her to bless her train of thought upon me, would enable me to die a happy man.
Exiting away from my drastic and wishful thinking, I focused on my art piece. Ignoring the snickers coming from around me, I concentrated on the delicate art of capturing the form of the beautiful Sora. All these idiots had had their own chance with Sora, and one of them was the infamous 'Life Support Patient'. He tried to touch the Jeep. Big no no. Not even Hotaru was that stupid, and that's really saying something.
When creating art, one can become so absorbed in the complex process that he may lose track of the time. Of course, being the geek that I am, this frequently happens to me. Listening to the end of the screeching bell, I grab my binder and head out the door. Opening the door to be glomped by a still wailing chibi sister is no way to start a passing period. Especially when the chibi in question is Hotaru. Prying her mini-form off of my head, I attempt to escape. Bad idea.
"TAKUMI! THEY CANCELED K! NO! NOT MY K!" was her reply to my failed escape plot.
"Hotaru , calmly remove yourself from me this instant." I muttered to my idiotic sister.
"WAAAAAH! NOT K! NO!" came the screeching response.
At this point, I was flat out hoping for a miracle, laying there in the hallway, with my sister on top of me. How embarrassing. How lucky for me, a miracle did arrive. In the purest form possible. I was so relieved to see Sora walking down the hallway, carrying that cursed saxophone, ready to whack my sister over the head. Much to my disappointment, that moment never arrived. Hotaru was off of me in a second and ready with her violin. I got out of there as soon as I could. It's never a smart thing to be involved in an instrument war.
Ah. At last. Fourth period. Choir. Most think it torturous, yet I find it fun. Thus increasing the geek status bar above my head. Ah wonderful. We're singing some random theme song to some random video game. I wonder if Sora knows it…she most likely does. At least I don't have to think about anything until later on…Yes. Time to sing.
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That bell is my savior. I can't wait to get home. Sora wants me to head over to her house later on. I think she really is going to have that party. I do wonder where Hotaru is though…she disappeared during lunch muttering about avenging K. She's probably off attempting to break into the TV station… I had better get going. I have to change my shirt. Maybe I should make a custom 'I Hate Gravitation' shirt. Sora would be pleased. Hotaru would be rabid.
Walking over to Denkou, I climbed in and started the engine. I love this car. So perfect. So fast. So American. I can't believe my parents actually paid for an imported car when they won't ever buy Hotaru a skateboard… I feel special. Oh so special. Cranking up the radio, I quickly put in my latest CD. Linkin Park: Meteora. I had to illegally download all of the songs, but heck. I wasn't about to pay full price for a CD when I could pay less than a dollar to burn one off myself. Some people just don't see the simplicity of it all.
Driving past the park, I heard loud, chibi-ish screaming that sounded too familiar to be good. Just as I suspected. Hotaru was again protesting the cancellation of tonight's Gravitation episode. The people I'm related to. No wonder Sora always invites me over. I think she pities me.
Finally arriving home, I quickly change my shirt and grab some walking shoes. Sora lives right down the street. No need to fire up Denkou again. Waste of gas, which is a waste of money, which is something I don't have. Discovering both parents still at work, I quickly scrawled a note stating my location and how to locate it, I jogged out the door, past the angry cop dragging my sister down the sidewalk. I'll let her handle this one on her own…
Walking up to Sora's house, I felt watched. As in someone was seriously staring at me. Oh. Hello Kage. You evil scum of the devil, you. Stepping past the evil cat in the bushes, I cautiously rang the doorbell. I remember the last time I came here. I got whammed with a soapy frying pan for looking in the wrong direction. I was only staring at the bush. Touchy family.
To my relief, the door was opened by Sora, who was wearing a party hat. I started to say hi, when she stepped right past me and started talking to the cat in some odd language. Who knows. She does that every once in a while. I think it's Elvish from Lord of the Rings. She's a big fan.
As I started to talk to her, her eyes just glazed over and she looked ghostly for a moment. I was quite freaked out. All of a sudden she started running, Kage in her wake. I decided to follow. I didn't trust that cat. On the way to the destination, which was still unknown to me, I grabbed Hotaru from the clutches of the law and told her to run. She got an odd look on her face, then just followed my orders.
It was dark when we got there.