Chapter 3 – Cafeteria Pranks
"And when you add the two chemicals together, a white smoke should begin to seep out of the test tube…" Duo tuned out Prof. Kushranada's voice, watching Heero perform the task. He hated this class, it was boring and they never got to blow anything up. Heero said that Duo's love of explosives was dangerous, and never allowed him to purchase firecrackers when they went to the mall. What Heero didn't know was that when he turned his back, Duo bought at least twelve. He'd almost burned down the tree in his backyard, but it had been fun.
Duo sighed, arching his back and stretching lazily. Heero calmly sat and awaited further instructions, not interested in how the other students were doing. He turned to Duo, who was trying his hardest not to fall asleep. The violet-eyed boy smiled. "Ne, Heero? Doesn't this class make you wanna sleep?" Heero shrugged and Duo chuckled, knowing that would be his answer.
"I wish that it this class hadn't been a requirement. I already know how to do things far more advanced than this." Heero drummed his fingers on the desk, the only sign of Heero's boredom.
Duo nodded. "Hai, I think the Prof. would agree with you," Duo replied, gesturing to where their teacher was trying not to strangle a boy who'd done the entire exercise wrong.
Heero sighed, knowing it would take the professor awhile to get the boy caught up. Duo yawned, looking around the room. He found his gaze drawn to the window, and his brow furrowed.
Heero turned back to his friend and saw his features as they changed. His lazy but content face was gone, replaced with one of disappointment, anger and anxiety. Heero blinked at the sudden change, but followed Duo's gaze. His jaw dropped in a silent gasp.
Outside, one of the fiercest blizzards in the town's history continued to add layers to the previous blanket of snow.
Once they were finally dismissed from Professor Kushranada's class, Duo immediately headed to the cafeteria. He snagged a spot in the line, grabbing two trays and placing them on the racks. He slid them along as the line moved, deep in thought. When Heero found him he was still shuffling along slowly. Heero smirked and snuck up behind him. He would probably catch hell for this later but it would be worth the show.
Heero smirked, approaching slowly and reached out slowly. Suddenly, his hands snatched the shoulders of the jacket and he pulled back abruptly. "Duo!" he shouted. "Duo! Come quick! The monkeys are flying, Duo!"
"WHAT?!" Duo hollered, jumping a foot into the air and spinning, looking around wildly. He blinked and paused, staring at Heero. "Oh, you bastard!" Heero smirked and was turning a light shade of red from containing his laughter. Others didn't bother, though, and chuckled out loud at the sight of the boy with a braid and his messy haired friend. It was a game they played, the two of them. Every once in awhile one would get the jump on the other, and the other would extract revenge. The monkeys, however, were a running joke.
"Heero, you know that the monkeys only come out at night!" Quatre Winner smiled brightly at the two from his place in the line behind Duo. Their scene had slowed the line, but nobody made a move to cut in front.
"Yes, I know that, Quatre. I'm afraid that Duo forgot, though," Heero cast a disapproving look at Duo, who was glaring at him and shuffling the trays along.
"And to think I saved a tray for you, you sneaky asshole." Heero grinned, but Quatre beat him to the punch.
"Aww, you did? That's sooo sweet of you, Duoo!" Quatre pretended to swoon, and would have fallen on the floor had Trowa Barton not been behind him. He caught the blond boy swiftly, settling him back on his feet. "Why thank you, my dear Trowa!" Quatre grinned and spun away, not noticing the faint blush that spread on the taller boy's cheeks. Duo, however, did, and filed it away inside his memory.
"Hey," Heero said after taking his place in front of Duo with the saved tray. "Isn't that the new guy?"
"Wufei?" Duo asked, looking around. "Where?"
"In the doorway, Duo," came the response, and Duo's eyes swiveled in that direction. Sure enough, the Chinese boy was standing and looking around cautiously at the room. Duo also noticed that a Chinese girl was accompanying him. Duo grinned, taking a step from the line and trusting his friends to keep his tray moving.
"WUFEI!" he bellowed, his voice thundering across the room and causing the Chinese couple to jump in surprise. Both pairs of eyes were wide turned to stare at him. Duo waved. The girl smiled and waved back, muttering something to Wufei before grabbing his arm and dragging him over.
"Hey there!" Duo said when they were within hearing range. "Did I scare ya?" He grinned when Wufei's eyes narrowed.
"Maxwell, I don't know what possessed you to holler at the top of your lungs, but I'd appreciate it if you never did it again." Duo just shrugged, deciding not to answer. He smiled at the girl and stuck out his hand.
"Duo. Duo Maxwell. And you are?" The girl grinned in return, eyeing Wufei before returning the handshake.
"I am Meiran Long. It is good to meet you."
Duo immediately noticed that Meiran's accent was much more distinct than Wufei's had been. The two looked a lot alike.
"Are you two related?" Duo couldn't help but ask, surprised when Wufei began to sputter and Meiran laughed.
"No, we're not related. Yet," she eyed Wufei out of the corner of her eye again. "But that is not something I would like to discuss in the middle of a cafeteria." She smiled again, and Duo blushed sheepishly.
"Yeah, I s'pose. I gotta get my…" Duo turned to the line and saw that Heero, Quatre, and Trowa were no longer in it. He sighed and scanned the room, finding them sitting at a larger table than usual. He smiled at their consideration. "Never mind. You guys wanna grab some food and then join us over there?" Duo gestured to the other guys, pleased when Quatre waved. Meiran waved back, and Wufei nodded to Duo.
"That would be fine. Come, Meiran." He tugged on Meiran's elbow, and though she did follow him she complained the entire way.
"You will not command what I do, Chang Wufei. I am my own person and do not have to answer to your every whim. I do not wish for you to order my lunch, either!"
Wufei eyed her. "Do you not wish for me to pay as well?" Meiran frowned.
"That is not fair. You are the one with the money."
Wufei smirked and continued to the line, grabbing two trays, considering, and ending up with only one. Meiran huffed and snatched her own tray, hurrying forward so she wasn't left too far behind.
Duo chuckled at their antics and sank into his seat beside Heero. The table was round, and there were two seats left vacant, no doubt for the Chinese couple. "I gotta say, it was nice of you guys to include them."
Trowa smirked, nodding. "It was Quatre's idea, of course." The blond Arabian blushed and continued to eat his soup.
"Oi, Heero! You got me soup?!" Duo exclaimed, staring down at the puddle in shock. "I know that there was a special on Spare Ribs today!"
Heero smirked and handed him a spare rib from his own tray, which Duo snatched up and ate. He frowned at the Japanese boy.
"Duo, soup is better for you. It's also much cheaper. If you're not full after that then you can get another bowl."
"Augh, Heero, the soup'll be cold!" Duo glared at Heero again before shoving a piece of bread in his mouth.
"Cold day. Soup good." Trowa piped up, gesturing to Quatre's bowl of soup. It didn't go unnoticed to Duo that Trowa had spare ribs on his own plate. He was about to comment when Wufei and Meiran decided to make their appearance.
"Hello!" Meiran chirped, smiling broadly. "I am Meiran Long. Would it be all right for Wufei and I to sit with you all?"
The group nodded in unison. Wufei placed his tray on the table and regarded them all solemnly. "I thank you for your hospitality."
The Chinese couple took their seats. Meiran sat next to Quatre, and Wufei ended up next to Heero. Wufei had soup identical to Duo's, but Meiran had… spare ribs…
"Heeero! Even Mei has spare ribs! You're just doing this to torture me!"
Meiran's eyebrows rose at 'Mei, but Heero smirked. "Wufei has soup. Now stop complaining."
"Can I have one of yours? Pleease Heero!"
Quatre laughed. "He sounds like Relena-san!" Trowa smirked.
"Quatre, I think he's doing it on purpose."
Meiran blinked in confusion and turned to Quatre. "Who is Relena-san?"
Duo paused in his pleading to point across the room at a table filled with females. They were all talking animatedly to each other, but one stood out more than the rest. She had golden hair pulled back from each side, and thick bangs hanging over her forehead. She somehow managed to look completely calm while talking as excitedly as the rest of the table. She had big, bright blue eyes, and looked straight into the eyes of every person she spoke to.
"Relena-san has very rich parents, and is kind of like a princess around here. We get quite a few Japanese exchange students, and they started the trend of calling her Relena-san. After awhile, everybody started doing it, whether they knew Japanese or not."
Duo grinned. "I think Heero's the only Japanese guy in this school that doesn't call her that."
"Hn. I've known her since I was six. She wasn't Relena-san back then and she isn't now."
Meiran considered this carefully. "So… Relena-san is Japanese? What does it mean? I have studied some Japanese, but…" She smiled shyly.
"Relena-san means Miss Relena, does it not?" Wufei asked, directing his question towards Heero.
Heero nodded. "More or less, yes. You studied Japanese, Wufei?" Wufei smirked.
"It was a requirement in my studies that Meiran never got around to doing."
Meiran stuck her tongue out at Wufei, surprising them all, and she smiled at the group. "I have been concentrating more on my English than Japanese."
"You are doing a very fine job," Trowa commented before shoving another spare rib in his mouth. Duo glared at him.
"You got a double order, didn't you, Barton?"
Quatre gasped loudly. "Oh Allah! We forgot to introduce ourselves. I'm so sorry. My name is Quatre Raberba Winner. It is a pleasure to meet you both." He gestured to Wufei, who nodded in return.
"Trowa Barton," Trowa spoke up, grinning at Duo and biting on another spare rib
"And I have already met Duo," Meiran nodded, smiling. She turned to the Japanese boy, who was watching the conversation. "You, however, I have not met."
"Heero Yuy. It's nice to meet you, Meiran." Meiran grinned.
"You're all such nice people! See, Wufei? I told you not all Americans were loud and obnoxious!"
Duo spit out the soup he had in his mouth, and Quatre looked disgusted while Heero and Trowa laughed.
"Actually," Trowa said. "Duo is the only real American. I am European, Quatre is Arabian, and Heero is Japanese."
"But Duo is still loud and obnoxious," Heero added, earning him a smack in the arm from Duo. Quatre had gone to retrieve napkins for the braided boy. Wufei smirked.
"See, woman? I was right." Meiran stuck her tongue out at him, and continued to eat her spare ribs. Duo whined and Heero finally caved, handing the dripping boy a spare rib. He ate it happily, thanking Quatre when he returned with napkins.
Ten minutes later the intercom buzzed to life, conversation in the cafeteria dying down a bit so the announcement could be heard. "Duo Maxwell, please report to the Guidance Counselor's office. Duo Maxwell. Also, would Mia Serause please come to the office? You have a package waiting for you." The intercom beeped loudly to show the end of the message and Duo sighed.
"I knew Aunt Noin's session was too short. I guess I'll see you guys later, eh?" Duo grinned, snatching a spare rib off Trowa's plate and walking out of the cafeteria. Trowa frowned at the place his last spare rib had sat for a few minutes before sighing forlornly. Quatre patted him on the shoulder and smiled sympathetically.
"Aunt Noin?" Meiran questioned. Heero had to hand it to the girl - she was definitely inquisitive.
Quatre nodded, removing his hand from Trowa's shoulder. "Yeah, Duo's mom and the Guidance Counselor are sisters. Miss Noin's name is really Lucrezia Noin, but Duo calls her Aunt Noin in and out of school."
Heero smirked. "Miss Noin doesn't appreciate being called Lucrezia; not even by her sister."
"Not even by Millie!" Trowa added, causing the other two boys to laugh. The Chinese couple looked mildly confused, but before Meiran could ask, the bell rang. Heero frowned at Duo's half-eaten bowl of soup, mentally noting to get him some for after school. His friend was likely to be hungry. He collected both their trays, nodded to the rest of the table and maneuvered to the front of the cafeteria.
Quatre smiled at the couple, picking up his tray and waiting patiently for them to do the same.. "We'll see you guys later, right? I have English first period, Science period two, Advanced Math period three, and Phys. Ed period four. What about you?"
Wufei gathered up his own tray, knowing Meiran would yell at him if he attempted to collect hers as well. "I have Math first period and Science second period. In the afternoon I have English and finally Phys. Ed."
Meiran nodded. "I have the same first, second and fourth, but my third period is Visual Arts."
Trowa smirked. "You have Arts with Duo next, then." Wufei's eyebrows rose but Heero had just returned.
"Are you going to stand around all day? We're going to be late!" he scolded, watching as they hurried to the front of the room. He smirked and made his way from the cafeteria, watching for a certain braided boy by reflex with no realization of it at all.
End Chapter Three – Cafeteria Pranks
