"Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep!" rang the girls alarm clock. She pushed her arm out from under her comforter and hit the loud beeping object that had woken her up. She put the blanket back over her head and fell back asleep. She wasn't sure how long it had been since she had fallen back asleep, but she knew there was someone beside her bed trying to wake her up again.
"Atsuko! Wake up this instant young lady! You're going to be late for school again!" the woman's voice had said.
"No," the girl replied.
"I think you better reconsider that answer young lady!" the woman said in a tense and firm tone.
"Fine Mother, I'm getting up", the girl told her as she threw her blankets to the floor. She sat on her bed for a moment before she made her way to the bathroom to shower.
The girl had finished her shower and made her way back into her bedroom to get dressed in her blue and yellow uniform.
"Why do we have to wear these goofy things?" she asked the cat that was now sitting on her bed, "They're ridiculous!" She reached for the small black cat and scratched under her chin. "You don't have to wear a uniform do you Emiko? All you have to wear is your fur, you're practically naked!"
The girl picked the cat up off of her bed and hugged it before she set it down. Emiko, as the cat was called, rubbed her body against the girl's feet, purring loudly.
"Atsuko! Get down here for breakfast!" the woman called.
"Coming Mother!" the girl replied.
The girl scrambled to find her shoes and her bag. She had found one of her shoes under her bed, and her bag was on the table beside her bed stand. She stood for a moment, thinking where her other shoe could have been. She quickly rushed into the bathroom and found it lying there on the floor, almost invisible behind the mound of wet towels.
"Atsuko dear," her mother had said as she walked into the kitchen, "Will you bring me that bowl, its right beside you."
"Yes Mother, this pink one right here?" Atsuko had asked.
Her mother nodded as she handed her the pink bowl. Atsuko sat down and waited only a moment before her mother had placed a delicious looking breakfast in front of her.
"Thank you Mother, these eggs look wonderful," Atsuko has said to her. She loved breakfast more than any other meal of the day. Eggs, bacon, ham, toast, pancakes, waffles, cereal and orange juice, she loved them all. Her mother had made her a delicious looking breakfast of eggs and bacon this morning.
"Mother, I know it's early, but have you started on my costume yet?" Atsuko had asked with her mouth full of eggs.
"You know you shouldn't talk with your mouth full, it's very impolite," her mother had said as she took a seat by her daughter.
"But is that a yes? Or a no?" Atsuko asked impatiently.
"I got all the materials and the pattern. We can start on it after you get home from school today if you'd like. Although the parade is still months away, you might grow a few inches and not fit into it if I make it now," her mother said as she laughed.
"I know, but it's such an honor to be on the school's float. I mean, I'm not the only one, but I'll be the one on the top of the float! And in a brand new kimono, I'm going to be the highlight of the float! No, the parade!" Atsuko said with stars in her eyes.
"Atsuko, I need to know what you'd like for your birthday, it's only a week away and you've said nothing about it," her mother asked as she took a drink of her coffee.
"Mother, you know I don't want to spend money on it, the kimono for the parade is a good enough present!" Atsuko told her.
"I know that dear, but you'll be fourteen, even more of a teenager than last year, at least we should go out and celebrate," her mother replied.
"How about we go into town and just get some cake and ice cream, can we do that?" Atsuko said. It was really all she had wanted to do.
"That would be lovely dear," her mother said as she cleared her place and began the dishes.
She finished her breakfast quickly and cleared her plate. She kissed her mother and ran out of the kitchen into the living room. She walked over to the window and opened the blinds. She saw the storm clouds and thought that it'd be a good thing if she brought an umbrella.
"Mother, where is the umbrella? I want the blue one, not the black one," Atsuko had said as she walked back into the kitchen.
"I think it's in the closet," her mother said as she washed the dishes.
"Thank you," Atsuko called as she walked out of the kitchen and over to the closet. She opened it up, seeing nothing but coats and shoes she began to dig for it. After a minute or two she spotted it and put it in her bag. She walked to the front door and looked at her watch.
'It's already 8 o'clock', Atsuko thought to herself as she began to sprint towards the direction of the school. She ran for about five minutes before she saw Raiven, her best friend in the world. She remembered how they met, before she had began middle school. She was walking down the street when some guys started to harass her and threaten her, asking for her money and telling her that she better give it up or they'd hurt her bad. She had tried to walk off but then they began to push her around. That's when she saw a boy about her age punch one of them in the jaw. The boy that had her around the shoulders threw her to the ground and attempted to hit the boy, but it had been too late, the boy had already hit him. She remembered thanking him when he offered to walk her home. They became quick best friends.
"Raiven, wait up," Atsuko called as she ran to catch up with him.
"There you are, I figured you weren't coming today, you were later than normal," he said as he smiled at her.
"I couldn't find anything this morning. Not my shoes, umbrella, or anything," Atsuko said as she smiled back.
They continued to walk until they got to a large school, Sarayashiki Jr. High. They continued to walk into the building, making their way to class, they both had the same class together, which was a good thing, because Raiven needed as much help as he could get in Science, and Atsuko needed help in Math. They were a perfect pair of friends.
Raiven and Atsuko both walked into class, and were greeted by a not so friendly looking teacher.
"That's the third time this week you two, if you don't start getting to class on time, I'm afraid I'm going to have to take disciplinary action," Mr. Hoshi said as they both made their way to their seats.
"Lunch time, my favorite," Raiven said as he became to unwrap his lunch, "I can't believe I only got a 73 on that stupid Science test, I was almost positive I knew the material.
"It's no big deal, a 73 is nothing to be ashamed of, we're having another test next week, I'll help you study," Atsuko replied as she began to eat her lunch.
"It's no big deal to you, what did you get, a 100000000," he replied in a sarcastic tone.
"No, for your information, I only got a 96," Atsuko replied to his sarcasm with pride.
"Oh, I'm so sorry, a 96, the world is going to end!" Raiven said as he laughed.
"Get over yourself, you're no comparison when it comes to Math scores!" Atsuko said as she threw a chip at him.
"What's this?" he asked as he picked up the chip, "Charity? I'm just going to flunk with this bad score, and I'll have to dance for my supper!"
"Stop it," Atsuko said as she tried to suppress a laugh, "People are looking!"
"Oh, so I should get on my chair and dance?" Raiven asked her.
"Don't you dare!" Atsuko warned. She didn't want to draw any more attention to herself.
She was already one of the smartest students in school, and her family wasn't even close to being rich. It wasn't a good combination. Atsuko was often teased for both, being too smart and making everyone jealous, and her being poor was another weakness that the other children could torture her about. It also didn't help that she didn't have a father, he ran off when she was 3. Her mother never talked about him, but she didn't want to hear about him. She was often threatened and made fun of, until she met Raiven, who made sure no one made fun of her, or at least he tried. He was a good friend and had made her happy. She thought sometimes, if he ever thought of her in a different way.
Like, more than a friend...