aquiyang: Thanks!! Hope you liked the story. Hehe maybe u could give me some ideas on how to show her klutziness (is there such a word???)
ray: haha I'll try and write a longer one this time! My Bio mock exam today was horrible =( but thanks for the good luck anyway!!
Yun Fei: 5!!! Physics sucks totally...especially considering the fact that my physics teacher is totally sadistic and she enjoys torturing people... hmm. Maybe I should get her to join Rukawa's fan club so she could torture Riko too! –runs away from knives thrown by Rukawa-
Maybe my physic's teacher is like Kurozawa.. =D
Chiche: Ok! I'll try and do a longer one. =) And I hate Mary sues too!! Yucks! thanks for the review!
Chapt 4: Gym
The final bell rang. School was over. Gathering her stuff and packing her bag, Riko stood up, preparing to leave the class.
She was trying to mentally decide if she should go to the library to catch up on her homework or if she should go around looking for a job.
Job...
Her spirits dropped just thinking about that word. Again, she was reminded of the bad economic situation at home. Her mother's job as a cashier at a supermarket did not pay much and they were already having difficulties trying to make ends meet. Her father... that good-for-nothing scum had walked out of the family after taking whatever money they had.
What a wonderful home huh...
She sighed bitterly. If she did not go and look for a job today, she reasoned, she probably would not even have any food on the table by next week. But then again, she might not even have a table. The landlord had threatened to throw them out of their house if they did not pay the three months rent they owed him.
What about the project thing? Weren't she supposed to be with her partner for after school activities?
Throwing a look at her still sleeping partner, she squared her shoulders. That can wait. Finding a job was more important. And, not like HE would care anyway.
Sighing resolutely, she walked towards the rows of lockers outside the classroom to dump her books into the locker.
Uh-oh. Trouble.
Her locker door suddenly closed with a bang. Turning up, she found herself staring face to face with Rei Tanamachi.
Oh it's her. For a moment, I thought it was a pig.
Rei Tanamachi. Daughter of the chairman of Tanamachi Holdings. Chairman of the Ru-ru club. Rich, pretty, smart. And her archenemy since she poured water all over her skirt. Not that it wasn't worth it for seeing her horrified face (oh! My Gucci skirt!), but still, it wasn't wise to cross Rei's path.
Instead, it was very dangerous. Very dangerous indeed.
Rei had been picking on her ever since they stepped into the same class. And they were in the same class for two years! Sucking in a deep breath, she wondered what it was again.
Laugh at my hair for looking like a mop again? Or accuse me for stealing her Prada handbag? Not that she have enough brains to think of that, considering the empty-headed look she has on her face everywhere she w—
"So... Rukawa's partner now, aren't you?" Rei glanced at her menacingly.
Riko eyes darted nervously to the sides, looking for an escape path. Not that she could not fight with Rei. She was sure she would even be able to pull some hair out of that thick head single handedly. But...
Her eyes laid on the followers around Rei
Fighting singled-handedly was out. Not to mention trying to escape.
"You better stay away from him. Or we would never let you off. Not that he would pay any attention to you with your filthy hair and disgusting face. Plus the fact that you are poor." Rei spatted out the last word like it was filth. Her followers laughed.
"Or maybe we should let you see an example of what we would do to you if you ever dare to harm our precious Rukawa sama." Raising her hand to slap her, Rei smiled sadistically.
Riko closed her eyes, tilting her face daringly for the slap.
If she dares to hit me, I'd..I'ld
Then,
"Oi, are you coming?"
Riko opened her eyes in surprise. What she saw made her even more surprise.
Standing right in front of her, with his arms crossed and a bored look on his face, was Rukawa.
"Rukawa kun! How nice to see you here! We were just talking to your nice partner. How poor thing of you to be stuck with her for one whole week." Rei said in a fawning tone, walking towards Rukawa and placing one hand over his.
Throwing a disinterested look towards Rei and her followers, he shook off Rei's hand and repeated his words, with his gaze directed at her.
"Oi, are you coming?"
She could feel her face heating up at being addressed by him. She said the first words that popped up.
"Huh? Go where?"
"I have basketball practice."
With that, he strode off, in the direction of the gym.
Willing to do anything, everything, just to escape from the clutches of Rei and her followers, she hurried to catch up with him, praying that Rei and her followers would not stop her. As she predicted, they did not. They would not risk bullying her in front of their darling Rukawa-kun, she thought with a snort.
Reaching his side, she took a deep breath.
"Thanks," she said lamely.
"Hn." He grunted, and stepped into the gym which they had just reached. Making his way towards the net, he started practicing his shooting, occasionally pretending to be playing against an invisible defender.
Not knowing what to do, she walked towards one of the benches and sat down. It was lucky, she decided, that it was not the team's practise day today, or she would feel even more out of place. Concluding that it was rude of her to just leave to find her job now, considering that he had saved her (even though his reply towards her thanks was a "hn"), she settled herself more comfortably on the bench and watched him.
He was good. She gave him credit for them. Practically every one of his shots went in and he dribbled the ball with incredible speed.
Perhaps he sensed her watching him. Turning around, he glanced at her with his killer- blue eyes.
"Get one of the mops by the side and mop the floor. What do you think I asked you here for? To slack?"
Stunned for a moment, she stood there, not believing what she heard. To think that she had thought that he was a gentleman for saving her. Then, anger at being spoke to like a slave engulfed her.
Gentleman... begone!
Walking towards the side of the gym to get the mop, she reasoned that that was the only thing she could do to repay his 'kindness' for saving her. She would never want to owe that cocky guy any favor. Besides, it was not in her nature to do so. She prided herself on being independent.
Slack? I'd show him I can mop this gym as well as anybody!
With an iron-hard resolve, she walked towards the mop.
I would not fall. I would not make any mistakes. I would not let him look down on m—
"Wham!"
She had knocked into the bleachers along the way. What a wonderful way of showing him how graceful she was.
I would not cry. I would not cry. I would not let him think I am a crybaby aside from being a klutz.
She struggled to ignore the pain and to stand up. But her knees buckled under her weight and she found herself on the floor again.
He must really think I am a klutz now.
"Sit still. You've sprained your ankle." He was by her side, speaking in a commanding tone. Yet, his touch was surprisingly gentle as he examined her ankle.
Then, he vanished into a room at the corner of the gym and appeared in a moment with a first-aid kit. Kneeling by her side, he helped her to bandaged her ankle.
Riko stared at Rukawa in disbelief. She did not know what to make of him. One moment he was cold and the next? She could only stare at him wordlessly as he took her ankle.
At the contact of his hands and her ankle, a jolt seemed to surge through both of them. It jolted her out of her senses and she jerked away. What was she doing, accepting help from this conceited guy?
"I don't need you help!" Yanking the bandages over, she started bandaging her ankle herself. He handed the bandages over without a word, as though he could not be bothered. For a second, she felt something twitch in her heart. Had she been hoping that he would do something? Protest, refuse to hand the bandages over... anything?
He would never, she scoffed.
That momentary display of warmth was probably due to pity, she decided. Standing up, she tried to leave the gym to return home. Any longer in the gym and she would probably die of embarrassment. Grimacing under the pain, she fell again. Why must her ankles, she blamed, fail on her at this point of time?
Suddenly, she felt a pair of strong arms lifting her up. Looking up in surprise, she almost double over in shock.
He's carrying me on his back.
Chapt 4 done! Hope you guys like it! I tried to make it longer. Hope it wasn't badly written!
Go on... just click that button down there! Review please =D