Chapter 3- Green Ayame
Green eyes slowly opened to the sound of cars honking and people shouting. The city was at full-swing as the eyes opened more fully. Thankfully the window shades were closed. Otherwise the occupant of the room would've been blinded by the bright light. Wearily she sat up and flexed her fingers and toes. God, it hurt to do even that. She felt sore. Where was she? Looking around she found herself in a very spartan room, plain and empty except for the bed she was sleeping on and a side table. How boring. She felt like exploring and she needed to go to the bathroom. Sitting up more fully, she swung her legs over the bed side and stood up.
Then she fell down. Her legs just couldn't support her own weight. They hurt like hell and they felt like they were numb from sitting too long. She couldn't move. Wearily, she opened her dry mouth and called for help. "Help." A cracked voice wheezed. That was not her voice was it? She cleared her throat. "Help." Well at least it was louder. "Help. Someone please help me." No one can hear her. She wasn't loud enough. She gave up and slumped on the floor. The door to her room banged open. A brown-haired middle aged woman walked into the room, eyes scanning before dropping to the figure on the floor. "Ms. Mizuki!" The woman ran to the body and helped her back to the bed.
"Where am I?" The girl's young voice croaked.
"Hold on dear." The lady ran out and came back with a cup of water which she handed to the girl. "Drink." She said firmly. As the girl drank her fill, feeling the cool soothing liquid run down her throat, the woman spoke. "You are in the hospital. Had a car accident. Damn kids were drunk driving." The woman shook her fist in the air. "Now sit here and wait while I call your parents." The lady made her way to the door.
"Wait." The girl's voice came clearer now. The woman stopped walking. "Who am I? Why can't I remember anything?"
"You were scratched up pretty badly when you came here. Bleeding from the side of the head. You might have some memory loss. But don't worry, it'll come back eventually." "What's your name ma'am?"
"Name's Nami. Now sit tight young lady I'm going to call your parents." The lady exited closing the door behind her. Only after the lady left did the girl realize what an idiot she was. She didn't ask the lady what her own name was! Well at least she knew her last name was Mizuki. Mizuki what? She would just have to wait till the woman came back. Minutes ticked by, then half an hour. The lady wasn't back yet. Argh, what if she forgot me? When it almost turned 2 PM, an hour later, the door opened. Turning her bored gaze from the clock she rested her eyes on to a plump lady with red hair standing at the doorway. The lady walked in, bearing a fruit basket. She was radiant in her beauty, despite the white hairs beginning to grow and the worry lines on her face. Behind her bounced in a little girl with short cropped black hair. The little girl met her gaze and smiled. Mizuki couldn't help but smile back. The girl came in and closed the door behind her. She bounced her way over to the bed and plopped down next to Mizuki.
"Hiya Ayame!" The little girl hugged her, leaving the hugged young woman very confused. "I missed you big sister." Ah, so this energetic girl was her little sister. Then Ayame must have been her name. Mizuki Ayame. She liked it. Ayame turned to the older woman. This must have been her mother.
"Mother?"
"Yes Ayame?"
"I'm sorry I don't remember you." The woman pulled Ayame into a comforting hug.
"Shh... it's alright. We know what happened. It's not your fault. You will remember in due time."
"The nurse said you can leave today, but you'd be a little tired because you haven't moved in weeks!" The little girl chirped. Ayame smiled. Releasing her mother she turned to the little girl.
"What's your name? I'm sorry I don't remember."
"It's ok Ayame. My name's Natsu!"
"Summer. What a pretty name."
"I like your name too Ayame. It's pretty." They both smiled at each other.
"Come now let's get you home. It's much more comfortable than the hospital." With that the woman set about packing up her belongings and tidying up the room whilst Natsu told Ayame everything that happened in the 3 weeks she was gone.
~*~*~ Ayame was wheeled out of the hospital by her mother as Natsu walked beside her. They made their way across the courtyard and into the parking lot. There taking up two spaces was a limousine. Upon seeing them a man in his twenties came out the car and helped Ayame and Mrs. Mizuki into it. Natsu preferred to just run in while the man chuckled. The driver seemed pleasant enough, making conversation with Mrs. Mizuki about the weather and the government's plan on constructing new highways. As the car drove to the highway she soon realized why. The traffic was bumper to bumper. Ayame fell asleep on her mother's shoulder.
She awoke later when the car came to a halt. Opening her eyes, Ayame looked out the window to see a large mansion. Wow, my family must be really rich. Slapping her forehead, Ayame realized how stupid she must have been. Duh! We have a limo and a driver. "Mom, can I walk by myself?"
"Are you sure you can? You just got out of the hospital."
"I'm feeling a lot better."
"Well alright. I'll help you."
Slowly stepping out of the limo, Ayame stood up. She waited awhile to make sure she wouldn't fall over and took her first step. It felt weird. And her leg hurt only a little. Giving a reassuring smile to her mom and Natsu, she continued forward. Slowly walking around in a circle before standing in front of her family beaming. They clapped and said their congratulations. The driver (which Ayame found out to be called Aki) took care of the luggage and the group walked back to the mansion.
~*~*~ In the foyer, there was a family portrait. There was her mother, her sister, a tall man and another girl. With a start she realized that that other girl must be her. Studying the portrait more closely she found that she also had black hair, like the man in a portrait and her sister. But why was she frowning while everybody else was smiling. Albeit the smile the man had looked a bit forced. Was she an unhappy child? "Mom, was I an unhappy child?"
Her mother fidgeted, thinking for words to say. "Well you weren't difficult in anyway, it just seemed you weren't satisfied with your lifestyle that's all. I think it was the influence of your friends."
Her friends? What did her friends have to do with this?
"Were my friends bad people?"
"Let's not speak of this now Ayame. Come, let's have you settled in and then we'll have dinner."
"Hai okaasan."
~*~*~ Ayame was in her room. Looking around she found it utterly bland and boring. Sure, her room was furnished with the most beautiful of furniture, probably the most expensive too. Her tall canopy bed had to have cost a fortune while her elegant vanity made of redwood screamed expensive. But other than that and a few plush cushions, the room was devoid of contents. Oh yes, there were clothes. Tons in the walk in closet. But there was nothing on the walls. No pictures, no posters, nothing to identify this room with the person living it. Not even a bookcase to see what her favorite books were. Sighing she tucked herself in and prepared to go to bed. She was about to fall into slumber-land when her mother knocked on the door. "Come in." The round woman walked in and sat on the bed. "Honey, if you feel up to it tomorrow, you can go to school."
"Ok mom." After Mrs. Mizuki exited Ayame finally fell asleep.
~*~*~ The next morning Ayame awoke to a light tapping on her arm. She wanted to ignore it but the tapping persisted and after a while a voice kept on saying, "Come on Ayame wake up." or "Wake up sleepy-head." Needless to say, Ayame was really annoyed and finally opened her eyes to meet the brown gaze of her sister.
"Ok, I'm up I'm up."
"Ayame if you don't wake up you'll be late for your new school!"
"New school? Why can't I go to my old school?"
"Cuz the teacher said you were bad. I don't think you were bad Ayame, you're the nicest person I know!"
"Thanks Natsu, now lead me to the bathroom."
"N'uh. Not until we eat breakfast. I'm starving." Chuckling the two made their way to the dining room. After a hearty meal in the large dining room, the two sisters rushed up the stairs to the bathroom they both shared. In the bathroom were two toothbrushes, one blue one black. Black? Who uses a black toothbrush? Ayame thought. As Natsu picked up the blue one Ayame found out that the black one was hers.
"Uh. Natsu, I don't like black can I have another color?" Natsu stopped brushing for a second, eyeing Ayame before spitting out the foam.
"Ayame black used to be your favorite color. But I'll get you other colors." Natsu stood on her tippy-toes and opened the medicine chest. In there was a whole assortment of things, floss, rubbing alcohol, acne medicine, blue hair dye, gel toothpaste, and finally two different colored toothbrushes. Taking the two brushes out, Natsu held them up for Ayame. One was green while the other was pink. Ayame liked green but thought the idea of a pink brush was much more appealing. She took the pink one and put the green one away. After they brushed their hair and did all that good stuff, they went back to their respective rooms to get dressed and ready.
Ayame made her way to her walk in closet and walked down the wide aisles scanning both sides for clothes that she liked and would be appropriate to wear to school. She wanted to make an impression on the first day of school. She didn't need to choose however when she came across a school uniform. It was at the end of her closet and newly pressed. Attached to the shirt was a note reading: Ayame, have a good first day of school; I'm sorry I won't be here in the morning because I'm busy but I wish you luck. Your school supplies and the information you need would be in your book bag, which should be by your door. Have fun, school starts at 9! - Mom.
Smiling Ayame took the outfit off its hanger and decided to explore a little. Continuing on she found that there was a doorway at the other end of the closet. Near the doorway was an assortment of accessories: watches, bracelets, earrings, rings, necklaces, and hair items too. Picking out a watch and a black scrunchie she quickly tied her hair up and put on the watch. As she walked through the doorway she realized it was an entertainment room. Maybe it was where I hung out, thought Ayame. Beanie chairs were placed in a circle around a short table with a laptop sitting on it. Across from the beanie chairs was a large television with a VCR and a DVD player. In a niche in the side wall was a stereo system. Nice. was all Ayame can think of. Very nice. Looking down at the watch she realized it was 8. She better get dressed for school. She quickly dressed and grabbed her book bag, running down to the foyer where she met her sister.
"You ready big sis?"
"Yeah."
"Ok, let's go to the driveway to meet Aki." The little girl led the way to the driveway. There they entered the modest black car and said their greetings to Aki. On the ride to school, Ayame realized she didn't know much about her little sister.
"Natsu, where do you go to school?"
"Tomoeda Elementary."
"What's your grade?"
"2nd"
"So you're 8?"
"Yeah sis. And you're 13."
"Ah." Silence resumed as Ayame looked through the tinted glass. The scenery was beautiful, the flowering trees swaying in wind. As the car continued, the trees got less and less frequent and gave way to the concrete blocks of the city. There would be the occasional potted tree on the sidewalk. The city wasn't large and populated but resembled more of a small town. The car halted and Natsu stepped out.
"Cya sis! Have fun in your new school. Bye Aki!"
"Goodbye Ms. Natsu." The car continued for a bit before stopping at a red light.
"Um. Aki, where is my school?"
"Just a little bit ahead, a couple of blocks I'd say."
"Can you drop me off here? I want to start off walking on my first day."
"Are you sure? You could be late."
"Positive. I have fifteen minutes before class, I'll be fine."
"Alright. It's still red, why don't you get off here."
"Kay. See you later Aki." Ayame grabbed her bag and exited the car.
"Later Ms. Ayame." Aki said before driving off.
~*~*~ Walking on the sidewalk along the planted trees of the school, Ayame felt at peace. She was happy, scared, and nervous. Above all, she was excited. Who would she meet in her new school? What would she encounter? She walked quickly towards school. ~*~*~ Tomoyo and Meilin were making their way towards school. They were literally dragging their feet they were so tired. Yesterday both of them were unable to sleep. They didn't know why but now they were paying the price. And it was a Monday! Mondays were never good.
"Devil's work! That's what Mondays are." Meilin whined.
"Mondays aren't evil. They just suck." Tomoyo mumbled.
"Yeah." Meilin trailed off. Both girls turned towards a girl walking quickly to school.
"She seems happy." Meilin replied with a bitter laugh.
"Yeah, new girl? I've never seen her before."
"Heh, probably." And both girls made their way up the stairs towards the gates of hell. er, school. Translation: Ayame is Iris (the flower or the part of the eye. get it? Green Iris? err.. never mind.. if anyone actually gets it tell me. O((o.o))O) Natsu means summer.
Author's Note: I've hit writer's block. Can't find motivation. God, I gotta get myself a muse.
Green eyes slowly opened to the sound of cars honking and people shouting. The city was at full-swing as the eyes opened more fully. Thankfully the window shades were closed. Otherwise the occupant of the room would've been blinded by the bright light. Wearily she sat up and flexed her fingers and toes. God, it hurt to do even that. She felt sore. Where was she? Looking around she found herself in a very spartan room, plain and empty except for the bed she was sleeping on and a side table. How boring. She felt like exploring and she needed to go to the bathroom. Sitting up more fully, she swung her legs over the bed side and stood up.
Then she fell down. Her legs just couldn't support her own weight. They hurt like hell and they felt like they were numb from sitting too long. She couldn't move. Wearily, she opened her dry mouth and called for help. "Help." A cracked voice wheezed. That was not her voice was it? She cleared her throat. "Help." Well at least it was louder. "Help. Someone please help me." No one can hear her. She wasn't loud enough. She gave up and slumped on the floor. The door to her room banged open. A brown-haired middle aged woman walked into the room, eyes scanning before dropping to the figure on the floor. "Ms. Mizuki!" The woman ran to the body and helped her back to the bed.
"Where am I?" The girl's young voice croaked.
"Hold on dear." The lady ran out and came back with a cup of water which she handed to the girl. "Drink." She said firmly. As the girl drank her fill, feeling the cool soothing liquid run down her throat, the woman spoke. "You are in the hospital. Had a car accident. Damn kids were drunk driving." The woman shook her fist in the air. "Now sit here and wait while I call your parents." The lady made her way to the door.
"Wait." The girl's voice came clearer now. The woman stopped walking. "Who am I? Why can't I remember anything?"
"You were scratched up pretty badly when you came here. Bleeding from the side of the head. You might have some memory loss. But don't worry, it'll come back eventually." "What's your name ma'am?"
"Name's Nami. Now sit tight young lady I'm going to call your parents." The lady exited closing the door behind her. Only after the lady left did the girl realize what an idiot she was. She didn't ask the lady what her own name was! Well at least she knew her last name was Mizuki. Mizuki what? She would just have to wait till the woman came back. Minutes ticked by, then half an hour. The lady wasn't back yet. Argh, what if she forgot me? When it almost turned 2 PM, an hour later, the door opened. Turning her bored gaze from the clock she rested her eyes on to a plump lady with red hair standing at the doorway. The lady walked in, bearing a fruit basket. She was radiant in her beauty, despite the white hairs beginning to grow and the worry lines on her face. Behind her bounced in a little girl with short cropped black hair. The little girl met her gaze and smiled. Mizuki couldn't help but smile back. The girl came in and closed the door behind her. She bounced her way over to the bed and plopped down next to Mizuki.
"Hiya Ayame!" The little girl hugged her, leaving the hugged young woman very confused. "I missed you big sister." Ah, so this energetic girl was her little sister. Then Ayame must have been her name. Mizuki Ayame. She liked it. Ayame turned to the older woman. This must have been her mother.
"Mother?"
"Yes Ayame?"
"I'm sorry I don't remember you." The woman pulled Ayame into a comforting hug.
"Shh... it's alright. We know what happened. It's not your fault. You will remember in due time."
"The nurse said you can leave today, but you'd be a little tired because you haven't moved in weeks!" The little girl chirped. Ayame smiled. Releasing her mother she turned to the little girl.
"What's your name? I'm sorry I don't remember."
"It's ok Ayame. My name's Natsu!"
"Summer. What a pretty name."
"I like your name too Ayame. It's pretty." They both smiled at each other.
"Come now let's get you home. It's much more comfortable than the hospital." With that the woman set about packing up her belongings and tidying up the room whilst Natsu told Ayame everything that happened in the 3 weeks she was gone.
~*~*~ Ayame was wheeled out of the hospital by her mother as Natsu walked beside her. They made their way across the courtyard and into the parking lot. There taking up two spaces was a limousine. Upon seeing them a man in his twenties came out the car and helped Ayame and Mrs. Mizuki into it. Natsu preferred to just run in while the man chuckled. The driver seemed pleasant enough, making conversation with Mrs. Mizuki about the weather and the government's plan on constructing new highways. As the car drove to the highway she soon realized why. The traffic was bumper to bumper. Ayame fell asleep on her mother's shoulder.
She awoke later when the car came to a halt. Opening her eyes, Ayame looked out the window to see a large mansion. Wow, my family must be really rich. Slapping her forehead, Ayame realized how stupid she must have been. Duh! We have a limo and a driver. "Mom, can I walk by myself?"
"Are you sure you can? You just got out of the hospital."
"I'm feeling a lot better."
"Well alright. I'll help you."
Slowly stepping out of the limo, Ayame stood up. She waited awhile to make sure she wouldn't fall over and took her first step. It felt weird. And her leg hurt only a little. Giving a reassuring smile to her mom and Natsu, she continued forward. Slowly walking around in a circle before standing in front of her family beaming. They clapped and said their congratulations. The driver (which Ayame found out to be called Aki) took care of the luggage and the group walked back to the mansion.
~*~*~ In the foyer, there was a family portrait. There was her mother, her sister, a tall man and another girl. With a start she realized that that other girl must be her. Studying the portrait more closely she found that she also had black hair, like the man in a portrait and her sister. But why was she frowning while everybody else was smiling. Albeit the smile the man had looked a bit forced. Was she an unhappy child? "Mom, was I an unhappy child?"
Her mother fidgeted, thinking for words to say. "Well you weren't difficult in anyway, it just seemed you weren't satisfied with your lifestyle that's all. I think it was the influence of your friends."
Her friends? What did her friends have to do with this?
"Were my friends bad people?"
"Let's not speak of this now Ayame. Come, let's have you settled in and then we'll have dinner."
"Hai okaasan."
~*~*~ Ayame was in her room. Looking around she found it utterly bland and boring. Sure, her room was furnished with the most beautiful of furniture, probably the most expensive too. Her tall canopy bed had to have cost a fortune while her elegant vanity made of redwood screamed expensive. But other than that and a few plush cushions, the room was devoid of contents. Oh yes, there were clothes. Tons in the walk in closet. But there was nothing on the walls. No pictures, no posters, nothing to identify this room with the person living it. Not even a bookcase to see what her favorite books were. Sighing she tucked herself in and prepared to go to bed. She was about to fall into slumber-land when her mother knocked on the door. "Come in." The round woman walked in and sat on the bed. "Honey, if you feel up to it tomorrow, you can go to school."
"Ok mom." After Mrs. Mizuki exited Ayame finally fell asleep.
~*~*~ The next morning Ayame awoke to a light tapping on her arm. She wanted to ignore it but the tapping persisted and after a while a voice kept on saying, "Come on Ayame wake up." or "Wake up sleepy-head." Needless to say, Ayame was really annoyed and finally opened her eyes to meet the brown gaze of her sister.
"Ok, I'm up I'm up."
"Ayame if you don't wake up you'll be late for your new school!"
"New school? Why can't I go to my old school?"
"Cuz the teacher said you were bad. I don't think you were bad Ayame, you're the nicest person I know!"
"Thanks Natsu, now lead me to the bathroom."
"N'uh. Not until we eat breakfast. I'm starving." Chuckling the two made their way to the dining room. After a hearty meal in the large dining room, the two sisters rushed up the stairs to the bathroom they both shared. In the bathroom were two toothbrushes, one blue one black. Black? Who uses a black toothbrush? Ayame thought. As Natsu picked up the blue one Ayame found out that the black one was hers.
"Uh. Natsu, I don't like black can I have another color?" Natsu stopped brushing for a second, eyeing Ayame before spitting out the foam.
"Ayame black used to be your favorite color. But I'll get you other colors." Natsu stood on her tippy-toes and opened the medicine chest. In there was a whole assortment of things, floss, rubbing alcohol, acne medicine, blue hair dye, gel toothpaste, and finally two different colored toothbrushes. Taking the two brushes out, Natsu held them up for Ayame. One was green while the other was pink. Ayame liked green but thought the idea of a pink brush was much more appealing. She took the pink one and put the green one away. After they brushed their hair and did all that good stuff, they went back to their respective rooms to get dressed and ready.
Ayame made her way to her walk in closet and walked down the wide aisles scanning both sides for clothes that she liked and would be appropriate to wear to school. She wanted to make an impression on the first day of school. She didn't need to choose however when she came across a school uniform. It was at the end of her closet and newly pressed. Attached to the shirt was a note reading: Ayame, have a good first day of school; I'm sorry I won't be here in the morning because I'm busy but I wish you luck. Your school supplies and the information you need would be in your book bag, which should be by your door. Have fun, school starts at 9! - Mom.
Smiling Ayame took the outfit off its hanger and decided to explore a little. Continuing on she found that there was a doorway at the other end of the closet. Near the doorway was an assortment of accessories: watches, bracelets, earrings, rings, necklaces, and hair items too. Picking out a watch and a black scrunchie she quickly tied her hair up and put on the watch. As she walked through the doorway she realized it was an entertainment room. Maybe it was where I hung out, thought Ayame. Beanie chairs were placed in a circle around a short table with a laptop sitting on it. Across from the beanie chairs was a large television with a VCR and a DVD player. In a niche in the side wall was a stereo system. Nice. was all Ayame can think of. Very nice. Looking down at the watch she realized it was 8. She better get dressed for school. She quickly dressed and grabbed her book bag, running down to the foyer where she met her sister.
"You ready big sis?"
"Yeah."
"Ok, let's go to the driveway to meet Aki." The little girl led the way to the driveway. There they entered the modest black car and said their greetings to Aki. On the ride to school, Ayame realized she didn't know much about her little sister.
"Natsu, where do you go to school?"
"Tomoeda Elementary."
"What's your grade?"
"2nd"
"So you're 8?"
"Yeah sis. And you're 13."
"Ah." Silence resumed as Ayame looked through the tinted glass. The scenery was beautiful, the flowering trees swaying in wind. As the car continued, the trees got less and less frequent and gave way to the concrete blocks of the city. There would be the occasional potted tree on the sidewalk. The city wasn't large and populated but resembled more of a small town. The car halted and Natsu stepped out.
"Cya sis! Have fun in your new school. Bye Aki!"
"Goodbye Ms. Natsu." The car continued for a bit before stopping at a red light.
"Um. Aki, where is my school?"
"Just a little bit ahead, a couple of blocks I'd say."
"Can you drop me off here? I want to start off walking on my first day."
"Are you sure? You could be late."
"Positive. I have fifteen minutes before class, I'll be fine."
"Alright. It's still red, why don't you get off here."
"Kay. See you later Aki." Ayame grabbed her bag and exited the car.
"Later Ms. Ayame." Aki said before driving off.
~*~*~ Walking on the sidewalk along the planted trees of the school, Ayame felt at peace. She was happy, scared, and nervous. Above all, she was excited. Who would she meet in her new school? What would she encounter? She walked quickly towards school. ~*~*~ Tomoyo and Meilin were making their way towards school. They were literally dragging their feet they were so tired. Yesterday both of them were unable to sleep. They didn't know why but now they were paying the price. And it was a Monday! Mondays were never good.
"Devil's work! That's what Mondays are." Meilin whined.
"Mondays aren't evil. They just suck." Tomoyo mumbled.
"Yeah." Meilin trailed off. Both girls turned towards a girl walking quickly to school.
"She seems happy." Meilin replied with a bitter laugh.
"Yeah, new girl? I've never seen her before."
"Heh, probably." And both girls made their way up the stairs towards the gates of hell. er, school. Translation: Ayame is Iris (the flower or the part of the eye. get it? Green Iris? err.. never mind.. if anyone actually gets it tell me. O((o.o))O) Natsu means summer.
Author's Note: I've hit writer's block. Can't find motivation. God, I gotta get myself a muse.