Scars
Chapter 7
Painful Scars
By: Yuy Ren
"Hey Kid, you better be careful. You could have fallen in there." …. "Kid??"…. "Hey, are you still alive?" Slowly, he opened his eyes. There was a diffused ray of light coming from behind a figure. Slowly, the figure came into focus. It was a boy, around the age of 16, he looked tough for his age, but still slender. The shock of blonde hair reflected the penetrating sunlight that pierced through his eyes. He shut them, opened them, and blinked a few times. The 16 year old boy hovering over him came into view again. This time, his hands were outstretched.
"That was a nasty fall you took. You better be more careful." He said with concerning eyes, "you could have fallen in THERE." The boy jerked a finger at the deep hole left by the construction workers after a day of hard work. It was early afternoon, he noted, and there were tons of debris around him. The evidence of his surrounding suggested that he was working at this construction site, slipped off the building and nearly fell into a giant whole inches behind him. He took the outstretched hand and propped himself up. Staring at the older blonde haired boy for a while, he managed a weak "thank you.". Glad to hear him speak, the blonde boy shook his head lightly and smiled. "Don't mention it. Name's Solo, and if you're going to be hanging around here, you'll hear plenty about me."
He was racing through high planes of grass. There was a voice behind him. "Yo! Kid, wait up!" It was Solo. He was racing after him. Smiling to himself and his long brown hair flowing behind him, he raced forward. There's no way ol Sol's gonna be me he thought seconds before he was tackled by the older boy. I was wrong. were his last thoughts before he burst into laughter. Solo was 18 now. His best friend.
There was no one there. Nobody came to see that shock of blonde hair. He was the only one. Solo was known by everyone. Everyone was Solo's buddy, but why was nobody here? Why didn't anybody else bother to show up? Was Solo really not that important? It was said that the cause was a contagious virus. It kills people, and there was no cure for people who can't at least afford a Mercedes from pocket money. No cure for the common person. Everybody isolated Solo. He was like a plague, nobody wanted to be near him. Except that one boy who Solo had met at the construction site, Duo. Solo was 18 now. His best friend.
Work was tedious. Waiters at night clubs don't get a lot of respect either. At least people can appreciate the talent of holding 12 glasses in one hand. There was a new customer. Must be someone who just passed legal drinking age and wanted to see what the club interior looked like. The braided boy walked over to him, gave him a glass to see his reaction. The other boy drank it without hesitancy. He didn't turn red. Hm Maybe he's not as inexperienced as I thought Duo wondered as he handed him another glass and pulled over a chair to sit beside him since his shift had ended. That boy didn't talk much, but he gave out a familiar feeling. He was not Solo, not even close. But somehow, he provided the same comfort just to be around. Heero was his name, as it was the only thing he found out that night. Heero was 20 then. He became his best friend.
A jolting alarm set Duo body on fire as he jumped hastily out of bed. Shaking himself off the odd feeling, he glanced at the alarm. It was 6 AM. Duo shook his head and realized that his bangs were plastered onto his face by sweat. He touched his shirt with a hand and grimaced at the damp feel and gave out a deep sigh. Damn, Solo dreams keep on giving me a depressed feeling for the day, and I still have to go job hunting. Chuckling at the image of a employer happily interviewing a person under a thundercloud, he got up and headed for the shower.
As hot water droplets bombarded his body, a new thought came into Duo's mind. He couldn't place it anywhere but somehow, he felt that this Solo dream was different, there was something else. Another part that he was missing. Feeling the blank in his mind, he gave out a small yelp of frustration and surprise as the hot water suddenly turned cold.
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"OY WHO FLUSHED TOILET?" Quatre could hear Duo scream in the next room. The bathroom had an interesting design. Because the apartment was created for sharing individuals, the bathroom at the main hallway, was divided into two. One had a toilet and the other one the shower, each with their individual sinks. That way, if one person was in the shower, others could at least visit the porcelain seat. However, because this was a modification added on later, water flow seem to come through the same main pipe, creating interesting water sharing mishaps whenever two bathrooms were occupied. These things can not even be predicted. Quatre was a little surprised over the fact that Duo was up at 6:30 in the morning. Duo's usual day does not start until noon, considering he doesn't work. Perhaps Duo is actually going to find a job now? Quatre was puzzled over the fact. But why? Duo's never worked before… well ever since I've known him. Why the sudden change?
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Relena buried her head in her pillow and gave out a frustrated moan. News around school spread fast and if a rumor can be spread out to the entire school population of 5000 people in one day, that means there were many eyewitness reports going on at the same time. And that means the rumor is probably true. Relena sighed, sinking into her pillow and nearly bursting into tears. How could she have betrayed me like this? Jenna, what happened to the letter I asked you to deliver? You said "Mission Accomplished." But now this? How can that be? Why are you dating both Mr. Winner and Mr. Yuy????!?!.......I hate you.
She was interrupted by the ringing of her cell phone. Hesitantly, she picked it up.
"Hello?" She muttered, sniffing at little.
"…"
"Yeah… I heard it."
"NO! I didn't know!"
"I swear."
"Of course I'm pissed… She IS my best friend after all!"
"well.. WAS."
"No.. I mean.. Yeah.. Oh… I don't know."
"Yes, I told you already. I'm angry at her. First by not telling me about it and by stealing awa-.. never mind."
"Yes! Totally!"
"..uh… yeah…. Sure… Nono, I'll do it."
"Ok. Bye."
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Rubbing her eyes to get rid of the sleep, Jenna opened her eyes to stare at the mess about her. She was sitting at her desk in her room. Who had woken her? Suddenly, she felt a presence beside her. Slowly, she turned around and stared at her mother's angry face. She managed a weak grin. Her mother obviously wasn't very happy about Jenna drooling on her homework.
"Hey." She greeted her mother, smiling defensively.
"Um.. Mom? Can you stop shaking your head and tapping your foot?"
"Um… OK.. you just stand there and pout. I have to go to school."
You'd think having a daughter who wakes up early to study is enough for mom (even a daughter who falls asleep whilst studying). Jenna shook her head at that thought just as the door-bell rang.
Hastily packing her bag, she raced down the stairs and out the front door to greet her waiting friend, Rofis. He was leaning against the wall outside her house and gave her a smile as she came out of the house with half a sandwich still sticking out of her face.
"Did you study for the chem. Quiz?" Rofis inquired, knowing full well what the answer would be, considering he's talking to Jenna.
"You know full well what the answer is, Rove, considering it's me you're talking to." Jenna replied. Jenna had noticed the change in Rofis' spirit. It has been about four days since Rofis had left her house. Her father's influence on Rofis was something Jenna would never be able to comprehend. For all she knew, her father could have cast a spell on Rofis for he packed his bags and left for home the very same day her father came home. It wasn't because Rofis wished to avoid her father, not at all. In fact, Mr. Gollins was probably Rofis' best friend, probably even before Jenna. Jenna had never figured out what her mother meant when she said "He was born." She debated on questioning her father, but she had a feeling a straight answer was out of the question. However if Rofis was fine, then Jenna thought that perhaps, no matter how curious she was, that it may be better that she didn't know. Maybe time will tell.
Things seemed normal now. Rofis was back to his old self and things were finally settling down.
"Things are stirring up again, Jen." Rofis commented.
Damn you, Rove, You HAVE to contradict my every thought? "What's up this time?" Jenna inquired, half curious, half making conversation.
"Well, you'll probably not like this one much, but this one's about you."
"Me?" Jenna eyed him suspiciously.
Rofis grinned. "Hah, so it's true that the subject of a rumor is always the last one to find out."
"Duh! You'd never SPEAD a rumor TO the subject…! Now tell me!" Jenna inquired, completely curious.
"OK, but you gotta tell me HONESTLY the truth."
"Yeah yeah." She muttered, finishing up the sandwich.
"Rumor has it," Rofis stopped for dramatic tension. "that you're dating Mr. Winner and Mr. Yuy and that—Whoa Jenna! Don't choke!" Rofis abruptly stopped talking as he patted Jenna's back, who was bent over, trying not to choke on a piece of sandwich.
"SAY WHAT?"
"That's the rumour." Rofis declared, trying hard to contain his grin.
"EW! Really??" Jenna croaked, then suddenly something dawned on her; Relena's NOT going to like this. "Rove! What if Relena thinks this is true? She's gonna HATE me!"
"Aw come on!" Rofis contered lazily, "this thing'll blow over in a few days, just wait it out. When you go to school and everyone sees that there's absolutely nothing.. I still don't know how people got this idea… ah, they'll stop pretty soon." Rofis said as he opened the front door of the school to allow Jenna to enter.
SPLAT
Jenna was blind. She couldn't see anything but a dark green. It stung her eyes. She screamed. She could feel someone beside her trying to steady her. Rofis. She was sure it was Rofis. He was always there for her. She could hear his voice.
"JEN! Yo, you ok?"
Jenna wiped her eyes with her right sleeve, then stared at it. Her white blouse was smeared with green stuff. It was paint, she noted. Poster paint. The only cheap non-washable paint that the school possessed. Who?
"Who did this?" Jenna muttered with her head down. It was so soft that Rofis barely caught it. Rofis looked around. He kicked himself for not looking for the source of the paint. Instead, he had all this eyes on Jenna and trying to help her. He looked around now as a crowd of people were starting to gather, but there was no one to point fingers to.
"Jen, I'm sorry. I don't know. I didn't see." Rofis whispered to Jenna as she tried to wipe more paint off her face with her already tainted sleeves. Without a second thought, Rofis took off his sweater, leaving him in a red Nike T-shirt, and started to help her wipe off the paint.
Slowly, the snickering crowd dispersed.
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Quatre jerked as he heard the scream. He hurriedly rushed out of the office and ran to the origin of the shriek. It came from the school's front foyer. As the foyer came into view, he could already see a crowd of people gathering. If someone was in trouble, why are they not helping? Why are they just gathering around? This isn't some kind of circus show! Only when he got closer, did he gain full knowledge of what had happened. There stood Jenna, covered in green paint. Without thinking, he began to rush over to help- when someone stopped him by grabbing his wrist. Quatre whirled around to see who was preventing him to help a student. It was Heero. Quatre eased and gave him a questioning look.
Heero glanced at Jenna and Rofis, then at Quatre.
"Don't bother." He told Quatre.
"Your helping will only worsen the situation."
"What? Heero, are you ok? How can a teacher's help worsen this?"
"Not a teachers help; Yours and mine. Let someone else handle it. Call Wufei if you're worried. He's in the Gym."
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Smiling at Wufei, who handed her a cup of water, Jenna sat in the Phys. Ed. Office, staring at her tainted clothes. Rofis' sweater was smeared with green paint as she stared at it in her lap. Mr. Chang had come to the scene soon after and led her here. He was now fumbling for something in the nearby closet. Jenna had always wondered about the teachers at AYR High. This mid term, they were ranked the school with the youngest teachers. Jenna supposed it was a good thing, since this way the teachers would be able to connect more with the students and perhaps teach something that will go into the think skulls of the average high school student. But then again Jenna thought, contradicting her initial theory. then again, you get people who can't seem to see these young teachers as the authority figure. Take this guy in front of me for an example. If a parent came and asked to speak to Mr. Chang and see that he looked no older than their 17 year-old-son, they'll have some doubts on his ability to teach.
"Are you sure you're ok?" Mr. Chang asked for the fifth time. He was searching so hard in the closet that Jenna was beginning to be curious of what he was looking for.
"Yeah, I'm fine. It's just a prank, I guess." Rofis had said that it probably had something to do with the rumor going around. He had also said that there must be a lot of jealous girls in the school. And he's probably right. Jenna concluded. Besides, there's nothing she can do for now, until she catches who actually did this. 'Girls that like Quatre and/or Heero really don't rule that many out.
"I'll have you know that the behavior is not acceptable and whoever did this will be dealt with." Mr. Chang told her.
"Do they know who did it?"
:He eyed her and grinned. "Some teachers in this school are like detectives, they can move around unnoticed and get any kind of information."
"Oh?" Jenna inquired, then remembered how Mr. Yuy had popped out of nowhere when she was delivering Relena's note. I guess he's right.
"Here." Mr. Chang nudged her with something soft… like a piece of cloth. It was a grey sweater. From the looks of it, it had been buried in that closet for some time. "Put this on, take off that green stuff."
She accepted the sweater and unfolded it. It was the AYR High Baseball Team sweater. It had AYR written in front of it with big proud letters and a picture of a ….pig?
"Pig?" Jenna asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Oh, I see you're not very active in the school Physical Education department, are you?"
"Actually, I am. I'm in the badminton team; we had a match last Tuesday." Jenna countered, somewhat offended, then stopped to think, "But you're right. I don't know much about the other teams' whereabouts."
Mr. Chang nodded in what can only be translated as 'See? I was right.'
"Well for your information, Ms. Gollins, the baseball team is called the piglets. Eheh! Before you laugh, I'll have you know that we're currently in the finals. Don't make fun of a team because of its name." Wufei told her. Seeing that she was about to burst into laughter, he had to think of something quick to put her in her place. Heck, if it were HIS choice, he'd die first before naming his team The Piglets. But it wasn't exactly his choice; it was just tough luck that the school principal is a farmer's son. He'd have called it something cooler, like The Rockets.
"Don't just a book by it's cover, hence don't judge a Team by it's name. For example, what's the Badminton team called?"
"The Rockets."
Damn. Mumbling something under his breath he motioned her to hurry up and change the shirt.
Jenna eyed him weirdly. "Um.. Here?"
Wufei looked at her, and then rolled his eyes. "Well if you WANT, for which case I'll step outside" he grinned. "But I think the change room behind you is a good idea."
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Rofis exited the school building form the rear doors. He was worried about Jenna, but Mr. Chang seemed to be able to handle the situation pretty well. When Mr. Gollins took him out and they had the chat, Rofis had moved back home. He had thought that everything would go back to its usual self. But now, he felt even angrier than he did before. Setting a foot inside that house and facing his brother and parents just makes his blood boil.
"Yo." Came a voice from above Rofis. He looked up and blinked as the sun went straight into his eyes. Squinting, a silhouette which he recognized was sitting on the roof of the school. The back end of the school had an interesting design, where there is an entire stretch the length of the school that had an extended first floor, which made the roof of the back of the school only one story high.
"Yo, Rofis!" The voice called again. "Come on, up."
With a leap, Rofis grabbed the side and the silhouette pulled him up. Rofis realized that were was someone else there too. "Hey Carmen… Sanji. I'm here."
"Ya we can see that. You're such a dork." Carmen muttered as he fumbled in his pockets and took out a pack of cigarettes. He took one out and handed the package to Sanji, who repeated the process and tossed it to Rofis.
Rofis eyed the package. "Guys, I don't.." You're such a dork. "..Thanks." He took one out.
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AHHH, this is the LONGEST chapter by far --;;; hehe, I guess that's ok since I didn't update for a really long time.
OK now to those people that have supported me .:
Mithros: Heero did put his foot in his mouth…. And more trouble to follow with that too… just can't fit everything in one chapter --;;
gundam06serenity: Sorry about that, I end thinks like that when I don't know what more to write :P
SaMmi SnEeze: I'm glad you like it. Keep supporting me J
Bama: Yeah… actually, I wish I named Rofis :P I think it's a cool name.
Sakura123: Sorry about that… well I'm glad you still liked it.
Vylian Li: --;; Vyl, don't confuse yourself, la!
akira shinamori : Well you see, he fell out of the tree trying to save Jenna. This caused him (one would think) to break a few bones and such. Let's just say that that Hospital visit changed his life.!! That's a pretty big hint :P
Water Lily2: Yeah.. but I didn't write anything about Heero at all in this chapter. Lol, but I will in the next.. ahh… so many loose ends.. have to tie up..
GothicValley Girl: Now that is GREAT (). Please keep supporting me.
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