Disclaimer: I don't own Fruits basket, but Julian, Trent, his 3 friends and
Howard are mine!
Pairings: There aren't any romantic pairings in this fanfic, at least not
yet(
"People, people! I realize class is over in 5 minutes, but we still have several questions to go over. Now, who can tell me what the square root of 30, 625 is?" The Professor yelled at his classroom of students, pointing at the problem written on the board.
Julian rolled her eyes from where she sat in the back of the classroom, her chin resting on her hand. She'd probably end up answering again. None of those other idiots in class probably even knew how to read the board, let alone know what buttons to push on their calculators. This was just a junior college, after all, and most of the people there weren't exactly the cream of the crop. She waited as the seconds slowly ticked by on the clock. The Professor glancing around the room again, that perpetual frown on his face. With a sigh, Julian reluctantly placed her hand up into the air, a smile flickering across the Professor's face.
"Ms. Bennett! Perhaps you could shed some light on the problem?" He asked, as she rolled her eyes again.
"It's 175." She said, her voice flat, uninterested, as the teacher beamed at her.
"That's absolutely correct! Can any of you tell me how Ms. Bennett found her answer? "He asked, his beady little eyes scanning his squirming students. None of them paid any attention to him, as usual, and he opened his mouth to berate them for not living up to his standards when the bell rang, the classroom clearing in 30 seconds flat.
"Remember what we studied today! Have a good weekend! "He yelled after his fleeing students, as the door slammed back into the wall, the classroom empty.
"Young people are so rude nowadays. Why, when I was young..." He muttered to himself, as he turned to wipe the board off.
Julian shifted her books from one arm to the other, her head down as she walked through the hall. Her goal was to merely make it out of the building and to work unnoticed. However, as she looked up and saw the four guys loitering around the entrance, she figured that probably wasn't going to happen.
"Hey Julie! How's it hangin' freak?! "The guy with the long black dreads called as she got closer, snickering with his friends, 3 other guys, who thought they could finally be cool by mimicking him. She scowled at him as she rolled her eyes; her sunglasses still perched on the top of her head.
"Get out of my way, Trent. I don't have time for your stupid-ness today." She announced as she shoved past him, glowering at his 3 groupies, who hurriedly got out of her way.
"Come on Julie! That was way harsh! Everyday we rib you exactly the same way, and everyday you tell us to drop dead, or get out of your sight. Can't ya come up with something better?" Trent asked as he trailed after her, dropping his arm around her shoulder.
"Don't touch me with your skanky arm. There. How was that? I've never told you that before." She hissed in irritation, stomping along.
"I don't know. It still doesn't seem very original. "Trent replied, rubbing his chin with his other hand before he shot her a sly grin.
"Whatever, Trent. Anyway, you guys coming over tonight? I get off work at 11, and I just got the latest Comic Party and Kiddy Grade DVD's. Didn't you say you wanted to see them?" Julian asked him, glancing at him out of the corner of her eye, aware the 3 lackeys, Mike, Al, and Jared still trailed after them.
"Are you kidding!? Heck yeah! I'm totally there! But I'm not telling them about it. Those 3 goons are getting on my nerves." He said, his voice lowering to a conspiratorial whisper, as he glanced back at them. Julian snorted, biting her lip to keep from laughing out loud.
"Look, I know we've had this talk before about them thinking they need to dress, talk, and act like you, but seriously. Do you at least think you could talk them into loosing that ...walk...or whatever it is they think they're doing? Cause they look like they're mentally disturbed. "Julian said with a smirk as they drew up in front of the video store where she worked.
"I'll have a word with them. See ya later, say 11:30ish?" Trent asked her, removing his arm before he shoved his hands in his pockets.
"Yeah, I'll see ya." Julian replied, waving as she hurried into the store.
"Hey, Julian! "Howard, the other clerk working that night said as she bounded behind the counter, shoving her books out of the way.
"What's up Howard. How's it been?" She asked as she tied the Video Time apron around her waist, flashing him a quick smile.
"It's been pretty good. Here, come help me put these new releases out, and I'll tell ya all about it." He said with a mellow grin, holding up a DVD case.
"Sure thing! "
"Boy, things were pretty busy tonight! "Julian said with a laugh later that night as she untied her apron, hanging it on the hook behind the counter.
"Yeah. We raked it in pretty good. All those new releases and such." Howard said from where he sat counting the drawer, a pencil tucked behind his ear.
"Yeah, probably. Well, I'm going to go. See ya tomorrow night! "Julian said after she gathered up her things, heading for the door.
"Be safe. I wouldn't want anything to happen to my favorite co-worker. " Howard said, glancing up at her with a grin on his face.
"I'm your only co-worker Howard! "She said with a laugh, letting herself out.
It had gotten a bit cooler that evening and Julian shivered as she began the short walk home, her hands shoved in her pockets. She didn't particularly like having to walk home by herself this late at night, but her car was in the shop, and she didn't want to bother Howard to bring her home. She didn't see anyone out, but she still quickened her steps. She was nearly home when 3 guys leaning against one of the darkened storefronts, smoking as they passed a bottle between them startled her.
"Well, whatta we got here? What's a pretty little thing like you doing out here by yourself? You lookin for a good time, baby?" One of the guys slurred, shoving off the wall as he leered at her.
"Yeah, we can show ya a real good time, if ya interested?" One of the others said, as the third one snickered, throwing his cigarette on the ground.
"No. Leave me alone." Julian growled as she hurried past them, glancing back at them over her shoulder.
"Aww! You say that, but we don't think you really mean it." The third one hissed a knife suddenly in his hand as he watched her.
Gulping, Julian turned and fled the guy with the knife cursing as she ran off.
"Get after her! "He hissed at the other 2, who began to chase her.
"This is freaking bad." Julian muttered to herself, ducking into an alley. It might not have been the best idea, but it was her only idea. She could hear the guys' footsteps pounding on the pavement behind her, and she slid as she rounded another corner, glancing around in confusion.
"This isn't right. Something weird is going on. "She thought as she saw that the alley dead-ended several feet ahead of her. Her heart racing, she stopped and glanced around again, spotting some crates stacked along the one wall. She darted behind them as the 3 guys rounded the corner, her heart in her throat.
"Come on. She must have kept going. "One of the guys yelled, their pounding steps echoing off into the distance. She held her breath, listening for them, and she slowly stuck her head out after several minutes had gone by, relieved to see that she was alone in the alley. After which she promptly frowned. This alley just stopped about 5 feet from where she stood, and she hadn't seen those 3 guys run past her and head in the other direction, so where had they gone? She scratched her head in bewilderment for a few seconds, than hesitantly stepped over to the wall that cut off the alley from continuing further. She laid her hand against the cool brick for a moment, started as the spot she was touching suddenly began to glow. Her eyes wide she tried to jerk her hand back from the wall, but it wouldn't move, no matter how hard she tried to pull it away.
"What the freak..." She muttered as she, without thinking, put her other hand on the wall. Or well, she would have put it on the wall, had there been one there to touch. Her hands though, pushed through the brick; her arms quickly following as she involuntarily took a step forward. It was like some one was pulling her into the wall, and she had the faint impression this is how Alice must have felt. You know, the Alice from those books by Lewis Carroll she'd read when she was a little girl. Yes, this is probably much how she felt when she was sucked into the looking glass in that book, Julian thought as her body passed through the wall into dark nothingness. Panicking, Julian promptly passed out from the shock, slumping forward.
Something was tickling her face. With a groan, Julian tried to push it away, but found that it was incredibly difficult for her to move. Some where deep in the recesses of her mind, she must have realized that she was lying on her face, as she pushed herself up with her arms, her eyes opening as she sat up. She was sitting in a field or something, so she figured it must have been grass that was tickling her nose as she rubbed a hand across her face. Everything looked so...so... WERID! The colors seemed...artificial or fake maybe. Where was she anyway? The sun was shining, and from its position, she'd guess it was about 1 or 2 in the afternoon, but that just couldn't be right.
"Where am I?! "Julian muttered, beginning to panic as she got to her feet, he steps shaky at first. Suddenly it all came rushing back to her. Leaving the video store, being harassed by those thugs, hiding in the alley. And wait! After she'd hid in the alley, she'd been sucked into the brick wall?! She whirled around, glancing around in confusion. She certainly wasn't in any alley now... though things did look vaguely familiar. With a frown, Julian wandered off into the woods, her thoughts growing more and more troubled by the minute. Maybe...maybe she hadn't gotten sucked into the wall. Maybe she'd fallen, and hit her head. She remembered passing out. Perhaps someone had found her and brought her here. But where was here?! And why did things look so different? Ever her shoes, clothes, and skin looked different. And it was daylight out...even if the colors did look artificial...how long had she been unconscious? She'd left the store at about 11:15 ...and strangely her watch said that it was only 11:45 p.m. But...that couldn't be true either. Maybe it was broken too. Her frown deepened into a scowl as she shook her wrist with the watch, holding it up to her ear. The persistent ticking of her watch confirmed it. She must have been going insane.
Suddenly the woods thinned out and she found a dirt path before her. She stopped and scratched her head in bewildered confusion. Everything looked so familiar...but why? She nodded her head in silence, resolved as she stepped out into the path, turning to follow it to the left. It had to lead somewhere, someplace. Well, whatever was down there she'd soon discover, and she was going to get some answers, darn it!
About 5 minutes later, she figured she'd picked the right direction, as a house came into view. She stopped and stood on the hill the path was on, glancing down at it, her arms folded across her chest. Why, the house looked familiar too! She watched as a guy with dark hair, who was wearing a kimono walked out onto the porch, a newspaper in his hand, before she realized why everything looked familiar.
"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! I've been sucked into Anime Land! "She screamed at the top of her lungs in shock, before she pitched over in a dead faint.
"People, people! I realize class is over in 5 minutes, but we still have several questions to go over. Now, who can tell me what the square root of 30, 625 is?" The Professor yelled at his classroom of students, pointing at the problem written on the board.
Julian rolled her eyes from where she sat in the back of the classroom, her chin resting on her hand. She'd probably end up answering again. None of those other idiots in class probably even knew how to read the board, let alone know what buttons to push on their calculators. This was just a junior college, after all, and most of the people there weren't exactly the cream of the crop. She waited as the seconds slowly ticked by on the clock. The Professor glancing around the room again, that perpetual frown on his face. With a sigh, Julian reluctantly placed her hand up into the air, a smile flickering across the Professor's face.
"Ms. Bennett! Perhaps you could shed some light on the problem?" He asked, as she rolled her eyes again.
"It's 175." She said, her voice flat, uninterested, as the teacher beamed at her.
"That's absolutely correct! Can any of you tell me how Ms. Bennett found her answer? "He asked, his beady little eyes scanning his squirming students. None of them paid any attention to him, as usual, and he opened his mouth to berate them for not living up to his standards when the bell rang, the classroom clearing in 30 seconds flat.
"Remember what we studied today! Have a good weekend! "He yelled after his fleeing students, as the door slammed back into the wall, the classroom empty.
"Young people are so rude nowadays. Why, when I was young..." He muttered to himself, as he turned to wipe the board off.
Julian shifted her books from one arm to the other, her head down as she walked through the hall. Her goal was to merely make it out of the building and to work unnoticed. However, as she looked up and saw the four guys loitering around the entrance, she figured that probably wasn't going to happen.
"Hey Julie! How's it hangin' freak?! "The guy with the long black dreads called as she got closer, snickering with his friends, 3 other guys, who thought they could finally be cool by mimicking him. She scowled at him as she rolled her eyes; her sunglasses still perched on the top of her head.
"Get out of my way, Trent. I don't have time for your stupid-ness today." She announced as she shoved past him, glowering at his 3 groupies, who hurriedly got out of her way.
"Come on Julie! That was way harsh! Everyday we rib you exactly the same way, and everyday you tell us to drop dead, or get out of your sight. Can't ya come up with something better?" Trent asked as he trailed after her, dropping his arm around her shoulder.
"Don't touch me with your skanky arm. There. How was that? I've never told you that before." She hissed in irritation, stomping along.
"I don't know. It still doesn't seem very original. "Trent replied, rubbing his chin with his other hand before he shot her a sly grin.
"Whatever, Trent. Anyway, you guys coming over tonight? I get off work at 11, and I just got the latest Comic Party and Kiddy Grade DVD's. Didn't you say you wanted to see them?" Julian asked him, glancing at him out of the corner of her eye, aware the 3 lackeys, Mike, Al, and Jared still trailed after them.
"Are you kidding!? Heck yeah! I'm totally there! But I'm not telling them about it. Those 3 goons are getting on my nerves." He said, his voice lowering to a conspiratorial whisper, as he glanced back at them. Julian snorted, biting her lip to keep from laughing out loud.
"Look, I know we've had this talk before about them thinking they need to dress, talk, and act like you, but seriously. Do you at least think you could talk them into loosing that ...walk...or whatever it is they think they're doing? Cause they look like they're mentally disturbed. "Julian said with a smirk as they drew up in front of the video store where she worked.
"I'll have a word with them. See ya later, say 11:30ish?" Trent asked her, removing his arm before he shoved his hands in his pockets.
"Yeah, I'll see ya." Julian replied, waving as she hurried into the store.
"Hey, Julian! "Howard, the other clerk working that night said as she bounded behind the counter, shoving her books out of the way.
"What's up Howard. How's it been?" She asked as she tied the Video Time apron around her waist, flashing him a quick smile.
"It's been pretty good. Here, come help me put these new releases out, and I'll tell ya all about it." He said with a mellow grin, holding up a DVD case.
"Sure thing! "
"Boy, things were pretty busy tonight! "Julian said with a laugh later that night as she untied her apron, hanging it on the hook behind the counter.
"Yeah. We raked it in pretty good. All those new releases and such." Howard said from where he sat counting the drawer, a pencil tucked behind his ear.
"Yeah, probably. Well, I'm going to go. See ya tomorrow night! "Julian said after she gathered up her things, heading for the door.
"Be safe. I wouldn't want anything to happen to my favorite co-worker. " Howard said, glancing up at her with a grin on his face.
"I'm your only co-worker Howard! "She said with a laugh, letting herself out.
It had gotten a bit cooler that evening and Julian shivered as she began the short walk home, her hands shoved in her pockets. She didn't particularly like having to walk home by herself this late at night, but her car was in the shop, and she didn't want to bother Howard to bring her home. She didn't see anyone out, but she still quickened her steps. She was nearly home when 3 guys leaning against one of the darkened storefronts, smoking as they passed a bottle between them startled her.
"Well, whatta we got here? What's a pretty little thing like you doing out here by yourself? You lookin for a good time, baby?" One of the guys slurred, shoving off the wall as he leered at her.
"Yeah, we can show ya a real good time, if ya interested?" One of the others said, as the third one snickered, throwing his cigarette on the ground.
"No. Leave me alone." Julian growled as she hurried past them, glancing back at them over her shoulder.
"Aww! You say that, but we don't think you really mean it." The third one hissed a knife suddenly in his hand as he watched her.
Gulping, Julian turned and fled the guy with the knife cursing as she ran off.
"Get after her! "He hissed at the other 2, who began to chase her.
"This is freaking bad." Julian muttered to herself, ducking into an alley. It might not have been the best idea, but it was her only idea. She could hear the guys' footsteps pounding on the pavement behind her, and she slid as she rounded another corner, glancing around in confusion.
"This isn't right. Something weird is going on. "She thought as she saw that the alley dead-ended several feet ahead of her. Her heart racing, she stopped and glanced around again, spotting some crates stacked along the one wall. She darted behind them as the 3 guys rounded the corner, her heart in her throat.
"Come on. She must have kept going. "One of the guys yelled, their pounding steps echoing off into the distance. She held her breath, listening for them, and she slowly stuck her head out after several minutes had gone by, relieved to see that she was alone in the alley. After which she promptly frowned. This alley just stopped about 5 feet from where she stood, and she hadn't seen those 3 guys run past her and head in the other direction, so where had they gone? She scratched her head in bewilderment for a few seconds, than hesitantly stepped over to the wall that cut off the alley from continuing further. She laid her hand against the cool brick for a moment, started as the spot she was touching suddenly began to glow. Her eyes wide she tried to jerk her hand back from the wall, but it wouldn't move, no matter how hard she tried to pull it away.
"What the freak..." She muttered as she, without thinking, put her other hand on the wall. Or well, she would have put it on the wall, had there been one there to touch. Her hands though, pushed through the brick; her arms quickly following as she involuntarily took a step forward. It was like some one was pulling her into the wall, and she had the faint impression this is how Alice must have felt. You know, the Alice from those books by Lewis Carroll she'd read when she was a little girl. Yes, this is probably much how she felt when she was sucked into the looking glass in that book, Julian thought as her body passed through the wall into dark nothingness. Panicking, Julian promptly passed out from the shock, slumping forward.
Something was tickling her face. With a groan, Julian tried to push it away, but found that it was incredibly difficult for her to move. Some where deep in the recesses of her mind, she must have realized that she was lying on her face, as she pushed herself up with her arms, her eyes opening as she sat up. She was sitting in a field or something, so she figured it must have been grass that was tickling her nose as she rubbed a hand across her face. Everything looked so...so... WERID! The colors seemed...artificial or fake maybe. Where was she anyway? The sun was shining, and from its position, she'd guess it was about 1 or 2 in the afternoon, but that just couldn't be right.
"Where am I?! "Julian muttered, beginning to panic as she got to her feet, he steps shaky at first. Suddenly it all came rushing back to her. Leaving the video store, being harassed by those thugs, hiding in the alley. And wait! After she'd hid in the alley, she'd been sucked into the brick wall?! She whirled around, glancing around in confusion. She certainly wasn't in any alley now... though things did look vaguely familiar. With a frown, Julian wandered off into the woods, her thoughts growing more and more troubled by the minute. Maybe...maybe she hadn't gotten sucked into the wall. Maybe she'd fallen, and hit her head. She remembered passing out. Perhaps someone had found her and brought her here. But where was here?! And why did things look so different? Ever her shoes, clothes, and skin looked different. And it was daylight out...even if the colors did look artificial...how long had she been unconscious? She'd left the store at about 11:15 ...and strangely her watch said that it was only 11:45 p.m. But...that couldn't be true either. Maybe it was broken too. Her frown deepened into a scowl as she shook her wrist with the watch, holding it up to her ear. The persistent ticking of her watch confirmed it. She must have been going insane.
Suddenly the woods thinned out and she found a dirt path before her. She stopped and scratched her head in bewildered confusion. Everything looked so familiar...but why? She nodded her head in silence, resolved as she stepped out into the path, turning to follow it to the left. It had to lead somewhere, someplace. Well, whatever was down there she'd soon discover, and she was going to get some answers, darn it!
About 5 minutes later, she figured she'd picked the right direction, as a house came into view. She stopped and stood on the hill the path was on, glancing down at it, her arms folded across her chest. Why, the house looked familiar too! She watched as a guy with dark hair, who was wearing a kimono walked out onto the porch, a newspaper in his hand, before she realized why everything looked familiar.
"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! I've been sucked into Anime Land! "She screamed at the top of her lungs in shock, before she pitched over in a dead faint.