A/N: Does a white, victory danceSingingI have reviews, I have reviews! Here's chapter three. Rejoice. I had someone review me saying that Rhonda was a Mary-Sue. I assure you people she is not a Mary-Sue. I'll explain below.
Disclaimer: I own everything here...not! Well, except for Maria, Rhonda, Danny, and Liz.
A Fine Line Between Love and Hate
KiahWMConnie
Chapter three: Tension, is there?
Maria looked through the crowd of hungry students, searching for a pink ponytail. She spotted it.
"Rhonda!" she ran to her new friend, nearly knocking over several of her peers.
Rhonda greeted the almost-scary Texan.
"You look really tired," Maria commented, "Did your little bro keep you up or something?"
"Heh, yeah, pretty much," she laughed as they sat down.
"You know, I never asked your brother's name."
"It's Danny. I also have an older sister named Liz. What about you? Do you have any siblings?"
"Yes, my older brother, Derrick. He's back in Midland," Maria glanced down for a moment. When she looked up she saw the boys, "Be back in a moment."
She ran over and half-way tackled a certain British boy.
"What's up guys?" she giggled as she held Cye's neck in her arm, making him blush furiously.
"Hi, Maria," the others chuckled in unison at Cye's expression.
Maria let go of Cye and sat at the table, "Where's Ro?"
"Present," he responded as he came up to the table.
"Hey, Rowen!" she laughed, "Did you get my message?"
"Yeah, it's okay."
Rhonda watched from a distance what they were doing. They were all talking and laughing. She particularly watched the blue-haired one. Rowen, was it? He was wearing a simple purple T-shirt and blue jeans. He was very sloppy in the way he dressed and acted. Rhonda wasn't sure why, but there was just something about him that got on her nerves.
Rhonda got up and threw away her trash and began to walk over to where Maria was.
"So, Rowen," Maria started, "I found out that you and Rhonda have a lot in common."
"Really?" Rowen raised an eyebrow.
"Yep! She's really smart, she lives in an apartment, and her hair is not quite so average!"
Everyone laughed.
"You gotta admit," Kento laughed, "Rowen's pretty easy to pick out in a crowd!"
Rowen got up with his tray and said jokingly, "You guys suck, you know it?"
Rowen spun around and suddenly, "CRASH!" he ran into someone.
The boys and Maria were silent.
Rowen suddenly realized who he ran into; his eyes went wide. Rhonda stood there half-covered in meatloaf, mashed potatoes, peas, and lemonade. Time seemed to stand still.
The silence was broken by the surrounding tables. Laughter and finger-pointing was aimed at one, particular, fuming American. Rowen didn't know if he should apologize or laugh.
"You jerk!" she yelled at him, "Are you blind! Watch where you're goin'!"
"Excuse me? I wouldn't have hit you if you weren't right behind me!"
"How dare you! Why don't you go work on your manners or something?"
"Well, excuuuse me for being human."
"Rhonda," Maria got up and tried to calm down her friend, "Now, it was just an accident. It's no one's fault."
Rhonda stomped off in anger towards the bathroom, leaving behind a dumbfounded group of friends.
"Sorry, guys, Rowen," Maria apologized quickly before running after Rhonda.
Maria slammed the bathroom door. Thankfully, no one else was in there.
"What is wrong with you!" she yelled at Rhonda, who was wiping off herself.
"Excuse me?" she shot an annoyed glance.
"Rhonda," Maria began, a little calmer, "Those are my friends back there, and so are you. Please don't make me have to play peace-maker."
Rhonda sighed, "I'm sorry I blew up back there. But still, there's just something about that Rowen that makes me uneasy."
"And what's that?"
"He's just…"
"Yes?"
"He's just…he's…he's just another guy!" she threw the paper towel down.
"What did you expect him to be? A banana!"
Rhonda sighed and leaned against the sink, "I'm sorry, Maria. It's just that…oh, I don't know. He just makes me tense for some reason. More than usual…"
"Is there something you have against guys?"
Rhonda groaned, "It's a long story."
Maria detected a hint of sadness in her voice. She wanted to hear her explanation, but the bell rang instead.
"See ya," Rhonda sighed and quickly left the room. This was great. Rhonda just wanted to go home. She managed to get the food off, but she still felt dirty, not to mention she reeked of cafeteria food.
Rhonda and Rowen avoided each other for the rest of the week. However, there was tension in the air. Anyone could feel it.
A/N: I'm sorry for the shortness, but I think I'll be busy for awhile and I wanted to get at least one update in over spring break.
To the person who reviewed me, please don't take offense to this. I know for a fact that Rhonda is no Mary-Sue. One, a MS is the authoresses' perfect self inserted into fanfiction. Rhonda is not me by a long shot. Two, MS is completely flawless and the most gorgeous woman in the world. Rhonda is not flawless; far from it, actually, and it will show later in the story. She isn't butt-ugly, but she's not super-model-material either. Three, even though she is smart, she isn't as smart as Rowen (which will lead to some pretty funny stuff later on) though Maria thinks so at first. Four, I made her an exchange student so it will be believable without me having to do any hard-core research (a.k.a. I'm lazy. Haha). Five, I don't know why strange hair color is a characteristic of a MS. It's anime, people. They're supposed to have weird hair.
Again, please don't take offense. I just wanted to clarify some things. The last thing I want is a fight. I'd tell more, but I don't want to spoil anything. Thanks for the review, anyways. Also, my apologies go to those who had to read all of that.
Arigato, keep reviewing!
P.S. I'm sorry about my crazy friend, anime-tenshi10. She gets p.o.'ed sometimes to the point of mass destruction. HAHA! I imagine her with demonic eyes and background flames while writing that.
P.P.S. I may or may not re-write The Ronin Song. If I do, I will make sure and follow guidelines and actually put some plot into it. Still, I'm kind of paranoid since the previous incident. I don't want another penalty! oO That would suck big-time.
