Hello!
LieutenantsLady here.
I know I have some other fics to work on, but this one just bugged me until I started to write it.
It's going to be rated PG 13 for any language that might slip out.
Disclaimer: I own none of the recognizable characters in the Enterprise universe, unfortunately. I gain no profit from writing this fic, and any infringement on Paramount's legal rights is unintentional. Please don't sue me! I'm just a poor student. Trust me, you wouldn't get much.
I called Hoshi's parents Agama and Dashiki Sato in 'What a Difference a Day Makes'. I'm using the same names again, because I like them. This is a completely separate fic though. I'm just letting you know in case you get confused.
I know there is more of an age difference between Malcolm and Hoshi than four years, but for this fic, there's not.
Slight spoiler for 'First Flight'
Thanks to my beta, G.Eliot for the advice and constructive criticism. You rock!!
I got the idea for this fic from the Bowling For Soup song 'The Girl All the Bad Guys Want'. I mightn't stick to the theme of the song, but I love the title.
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"Hoshi! Hoshi! Hurry up. You're going to be late for school, and you haven't even had breakfast yet."
Hoshi could hear the irritation in her father's voice, but chose to ignore it. So what if she was late for her first day? It's not as if she actually wanted to go to Cochran High School in Colorado Springs.
"Hoshi! Get down here now!" her father yelled, going from irritation to angry in the space of a minute. "I mean it. You have twenty seconds. One... two... three..."
"Alright, I'm coming!" Hoshi shouted down to him. "Just give me a minute."
She picked up her brush and started to brush her long dark hair. She squinted at the streaks of red that ran through it, and sighed. It would have to be dyed again soon. That reminded her; she needed to find a good hairdresser. Something else to add to the endless list of things for her to do.
She resisted the urge to stomp down the stairs in a fit of juvenile petulance and entered the kitchen. Her father was sitting at the table reading a paper. Her mother wasn't there yet, and Hoshi assumed that she was still in the shower.
Agama lowered the paper as his fifteen year-old daughter sat down at the table. Her jaw was stuck out at an angle to let him know that she still hadn't forgiven them for moving her from her home in Atsugi in Japan to Colorado Springs. Agama stifled a particular surge of anger that arose in him whenever she displayed such juvenile behaviour, and folded his paper. This would have to be dealt with once and for all.
"Hoshi? Drop it."
"Excuse me?"
"I said drop it. The sulky child act has gotten pretty tired now. You are always asking us to treat you like an adult, so start acting like one."
Hoshi's face suffused red in anger.
"I am not acting like a child," she protested.
"Oh yes you are. Ever since we told you about the move, you've done nothing but sulk and make snide remarks. That is hardly the behaviour of an adult."
"What do you expect me to do? You tell me one day that Mom has been offered a job in the United States, and that we are moving. I grew up in Atsugi, all my friends and family are there. You pull me out of there against my will, you won't let me stay with Grandpa and Grandma like I asked, and they offered. God Dad, I won't be happy here."
"We wanted you here with us, not all the way across the world. That's why you're not staying with my parents. Give it a chance Hosh, that's all I'm asking. You're school has an incredible language programme, we live in a lovely house, and your mother has a wonderful job. The Cochran Institute of Engineering head-hunted her specifically to teach, and she loves it there. I can be an artist anywhere, but your mother really wants this to work. Now, I will miss Japan too, and our family and friends, but I love your mother and I love you, and I know that we could be very happy here if we give it a chance."
Hoshi looked at him, disbelievingly. They both turned when footsteps sounded on the stairs.
"Hoshi," her father whispered. "Please give this a chance, and don't say anything to upset your mother. Please?"
Hoshi looked torn for a moment, and in that second, her mother entered.
"Hoshi," she breezed. "All set for your first day?"
She looked very surprised when Hoshi smiled brightly at her, and said "Yep Mom. You ready to drop me off?" For a moment, Dashiki was speechless. That was the first smile that she had seen on her only child's face in months, and she was taken aback a little.
"Of... of course Hoshi," she stammered. Hoshi grinned and ran upstairs to get her back-pack. Dashiki turned her stunned glance to her husband, who looked vastly amused.
"I haven't seen you this speechless since Hoshi dyed her hair."
"Do you know what that change was about?"
"Nope," Agama lied. "Maybe she's just adjusting."
"I don't know," Dashiki replied as Hoshi bounded down the stairs.
"Ready?" she asked her still stunned mother.
"Of course."
"Good luck Hoshi. You'll do great," her father called as they left. "I hope." he murmured to himself.
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The sun shone brightly down as they pulled up in front of the school. It was a large, modern building made of granite. Yet Hoshi found it beautiful to look at, with all its sharp angles and clean lines. Students streamed through the double doors of the airy building and Hoshi felt a twinge of nervousness. There were so many people!
"Now honey," her mother was saying, "You know what to do, don't you? You go to the office and ask for Mr. Darcy. He'll give you you're timetable, and..."
"Mom," Hoshi interrupted, exasperated, "Yes, I know what to do. You've already told me fifty times since yesterday. Now, I've gotta go. I don't want to be late for my first day."
"Alright. I know a 'get lost' when I hear it," Dashiki grinned. "You're father will be here to pick you up after school. Good luck!"
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"Now, we've all heard the story of Cochran's first warp flight, but did you know that Warp Three was breached just two short weeks ago? It seems that Commander's A.G. Robinson and Jonathan Archer stole..."
Mr. Collins' history class was interrupted by a knock on the door. Mr. Darcy, the principal entered followed by a young Japanese girl with dark hair with red streaks through it. She looked nervous to Mr. Collins, but the set of her jaw indicated that she wished no-one to realize it.
"Mr. Collins, everyone," Darcy began, turning to face the class. "This is Hoshi Sato. She's joining us from Atsugi, Japan, and I know you are going to make her feel right at home. Aren't you?" he asked, soliciting a general murmur from the class. He gave them all a pointed stare as he left and Hoshi stood nervously at the top of the class.
"Welcome Hoshi," Mr. Collins said, indicating to an empty seat near the front. He could see that she was pretending not to notice the curious stares that she was getting from her fellow classmates, and he decided to try to get the class back on track so she'd feel less self-conscious.
"We were just about to discuss the success of the Warp Three flight two weeks ago. Tell me; are you familiar with the history of the Warp engine?"
"Yes sir," she answered sweetly. "My mother is an engineer, and she's always talking about the developments in Warp theory."
"Excellent. Now, what was I saying? Oh yes. It appears that the two commanders stole the test ship X-02 straight from..."
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The class ended shortly after, and Hoshi stood, feeling lost in the sea of chatter and friends. She had spent half the morning being shown around the school by Mr. Darcy, and it was much bigger than it appeared from the outside. The facilities were top class though, and she listened eagerly as Darcy explained about the language programme.
Hoshi loved languages, always had. She had a talent for them, picking them up easily and could already speak nine languages despite her young age. Upon hearing this and consulting her old school records, Darcy put her down for French and Russian classes with the seniors.
"You look a bit nervous. Are you ok?" A kind voice asked from behind her, startling her out of her reverie. She turned to see a very pretty girl whose deeply tanned skin and dark hair proclaimed her to be of Hispanic descent.
"Is it that obvious?" Hoshi asked, smiling shyly.
"Not really, but I was the new girl last year, and I know how hard it is to start in the middle of a term," the other girl laughed. "My name is Rosa Martinez."
"Hoshi Sato. Pleased to meet you," Hoshi extended her hand to shake.
"Likewise. Have you gotten your locker number yet?" Rosa asked her.
"Yep. It's... um... It's here somewhere," Hoshi said, scrambling around in her bag for the scrap of paper with the locker number written on it. "Aha, success!" she cried triumphantly, holding it up. Rosa laughed along with her, and scanned it.
"Cool, you're just a few lockers down from me. I can show you the way if you like." Rosa offered tentatively, extending the hand of friendship, which Hoshi gladly grabbed.
"That'd be wonderful. Thank you."
"No problem. What do you have next?" Rosa asked, consulting Hoshi's timetable. "Let's see, oh, you have Mrs. Carter for Communications Technology. So do I. Carter's cool enough, but a little strict at times." They had reached her locker by that point, and Rosa leaned against one while Hoshi loaded up her books. When she had finished, they moved on to Rosa's.
"After Com. Tech. we have lunch. If you'd like, you can sit with us. I can introduce you to my friends."
"Thank you," Hoshi replied with feeling. She was going to add more, but she was distracted by a boy walking down the corridor. No, not a boy. The man walking towards her looked as if he had left all traces of boyhood behind long ago.
His blue jeans were moulded onto his muscles legs and the black tee-shirt he wore clung to his well defined arms and flat stomach. His hair was short, dark and spiked, and dark sun-glasses prevented her from seeing her eyes. Though he was not too tall, he exuded power and authority, and a hint of danger hung around him like a shield. He walked straight and swiftly, stopping to talk to no-one, and the corridor seemed to hush as he walked through it.
As he passed Hoshi and Rosa, Hoshi sensed his eyes flicker towards her behind his dark glasses, but only for a moment. He walked on, as if he had never looked at her, but Hoshi felt a thrill run through her.
"Who was that?" she exclaimed, resisting the urge to look down the corridor to see just how tight his jeans were in the back.
"That was Malcolm Reed," Rosa answered, disapproval evident in her voice. "Trust me; you don't want to get to know him."
"Why not?"
"He's has the worst reputation in the school. He's dangerous."
"And gorgeous," Hoshi silently added, but decided on a more tactful reply.
"He goes after all the girls?" she asked Rosa, really interested in their topic of conversation.
"No. In fact, he doesn't date anyone from school. I'm talking about his background."
"He looks older than most people here."
"He is. He's nineteen. He's older cos of that year he spent in prison."
Hoshi whipped around to face her. "Prison?"
"Come one. I'll tell you about it on the way to Com. Tech," Rosa replied, pulling a stunned Hoshi in her wake.
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What do you think? Go on, be honest. I can take it.