1Chapter 2
School Blues
Kitsune accompanied Mei and Hikari to a hall full of lockers, where they came upon a girl with waist-length blond hair. All of her blond hair was smooth and straight, except for two thick, loose braids that hung over her ears, concealing them completely. Her eyes were forest green, her skin was a beautiful pale, like white cream, and she was as tall as Kit, which would be about 5' 6".
Upon seeing the three girls, the blond-haired girl smiled and waved. Then, a girl with a long orange braid walked past the blond-haired girl, purposely knocking her into the lockers. Mei, Hikari, and the blond-haired girl shrugged it off, but Kit could not. As Mei and Hikari began talking to the blond haired girl, Kit walked right past them to confront the rude girl. Mei and Hikari's friend tried to stop Kit, but to no avail.
As Mei and Hikari joined to hold Kit back, Kit finally yelled to the rude girl, who had stopped to talk with three other girls. "Hey you!" she yelled, "You with the orange braid! Turn around here and apologize for that!"
The girl turned around and walked up to Kit, putting her face in Kit's. The three girls behind Kit still tried to pull her back. "So, you're the new girl, aren't you?" she said smugly to Kit. The three girls behind Jeane giggled. "You have a lot of guts to yell at me. Do you know who I am?"
Kit looked her straight in the eyes and said, "No, and I don't really care to know. I want you to apologize to her."
The rude girl replied, "Ha! Yeah right! Do you even know that thing's name?"
Kit stared back in the same position, and replied, "No, but what you did was really rude, and calling her a thing is just as bad! Apologize, now!"
A group of students was now gathering around the little verbal war. Kids began to softly chant, "Fight, fight, fight, fight." The other students were expecting the two girls to get into a big fight.
The rude girl loved attention, but this wasn't her type of attention. "So, you want me to apologize to her for bumping into her because she was in my way and for calling her by her real name?" the girl said. "You make no sense, you cute little kitty whose trying to look big."
Now, Kit was getting made. "My name is Kit, Kitsune to you, if you ever address me by my rightful name," Kit told her.
The girl smiled, no longer bending down so that their faces were aligned. "Look at this face," she said, pointing at her face, "Does this look like a face that cares? Look, Kitsune, I have money, power, and the looks. You don't look like you could possibly have money, you don't appear very powerful if three weaklings can hold you back, and you don't have the looks! You are nothing." Kit's bottom lip began to quiver out of anger, but the rude girl thought she was about to cry. "Oh, look! You're about to cry! Why don't you go home and cry to your mommy and daddy? If you're this weak, then your whole family must be weak." Here, the girl had crossed the line.
Kit lunged out of the hold she was in and tackled the girl to the floor, putting everyone in shock because of how fast she had been. The girl tried to get up, but Kit pinned her down with her arms. The girl now looked shocked and frightened. She started to speak, but Kit cut her off, saying, "Look, you. Don't you ever insult my parents! You may have parents to run to if you're having a bad hair day or something like that, but I lost my parents a year and a half ago! I have no one but my brother, and I will never cry because of a rude, insulting, prissy girl like you!" At this point the girl tried to get back up, but Kit held her down. Then she tried to speak, but Kit cut her off again, saying, "No, you will listen to me! And so will everyone else," she said, looking around at the onlookers, "I will not be bullied around, and neither will any person who is innocent and does not deserve it. My name is Kitsune Williams, and if you mess with me, you'll regret it!"
At that, Kit got off of the orange haired girl, now stricken with fear and surprise. Kit gathered her things from the feet of Mei, Hikari, and their blond-haired friend, and began heading for her first class just as the warning bell rang. The ring of students opened a path for Kit. As she disappeared into another hall, the kids began to talk in hushed voices. The orange-haired girl stood up with the help of her friends, who had already picked-up her things, and hurried off in the opposite direction of Kit.
Mei and Hikari separated to go to their classes, saying good-bye to their blond-haired friend, who followed the path Kit had taken to the same hallway. She turned to the hallway, where she went directly to the room on her left. The first thing she noticed was that all of the students were on the front side of the room by the teacher's podium. She looked to the back of the room, where she found Kit sitting alone, face flushed, eyes red beneath blue oval glasses, reading a book from left to right.
The blond-haired girl walked to the back of the room to take her seat, which was to the left of Kit's. Kit lifted her eyes from the book for a second, focusing them on her neighbor, and then going back to her book. The girl began to talk to Kit. "I really didn't get to get introduced to you properly," she began, "My name is Emily Pike."
Kit lifted her eyes again and stared at her neighbor. Again, her eyes fell back on her book. Emily saw out of the corners of her eyes that the rest of the class stared in fear at Kit and amazement at Emily. Emily tried to talk to Kit again. "You know, you had a lot of guts to do that to Jeane," she said.
"What did guts have to do with it?" Kit asked as calmly as she could, keeping her eyes ever on her book.
"Well, a lot. Jeane's's father is really rich," Emily replied. "He could have you thrown out of this school if Jeane complains, which she most likely will."
Kit made no reply. She kept reading. As she turned a fourth page, a teacher walked in. "Miss Williams?" she asked as she looked around the room. Kit snapped her book and set it down on the desk as she stood up. The teacher stared at Kit as if she dared Kit to snap the book again. "I presume that you are Kitsune Williams?" she asked sternly.
Kit nodded her head and replied, "Yes ma'am. I am Kitsune Williams."
The teacher walked over to Kit until she was on the opposite side of Kit's desk that Kit was standing. The teacher cleared her throat and spoke to Kit. "I overheard some students talking in hushed voices that a young lady by the name of Kitsune Williams tackled a Miss Jeane Evenstone in the hallway this morning. I would hope that they are not correct, for that would mean that I would have to suspend a student on her first day of attending Mugen High School."
Kit spoke in replying to the teacher. "Yes ma'am," she began, "It was I who tackled Jeane Evenstone. I, however, have no regrets in doing so. If you were to suspend me today, it would give me more time to read in the library two blocks from my house."
The students at the front of the room stared in shock as Kit admitted to the attack. "Well, Miss Williams. For such an attack, you will indeed be suspended," The teacher said sadly. "I should hope that all American transfers are not like this."
The teacher took Kit by her sleeve and began to lead her out of the room. Then, Emily stood up. "Permission to speak, Ms. Yong!" she exclaimed. The teacher turned around and stared at Emily.
"Permission granted, Miss Pike," she replied.
"Ma'am," Emily began, "Kitsune was provoked."
The teacher now looked interested, as if she wanted a reason to get Kitsune off the hook. "Continue," she said.
Emily took in a deep breath and began. "Kitsune was walking with two of my friends toward me. I was standing by the lockers. I started to wave at them when Jeane Evenstone purposely ran into me, pushing me roughly into the lockers. I shrugged it off, because it is a daily occurrence. My friends, who were with Kitsune, ignored it too. Kit, however, did not." Emily went into the account of the whole ordeal. Then, she arrived to the provoking part. "Jeane made fun of Kit's family. Kit doesn't have parents, having lost them a year and a half ago. Therefore, Kit tackled Jeane and made her listen to what she had to say. She addressed her little speech to everyone listening, too."
Ms. Yong looked at Kit. "Miss Williams, please tell me what you said." Kit looked back at Mrs. Yong and told her what she had told Jeane, word for word. Satisfied with the excuse, Ms. Yong let go of Kit. "Please sit back in your seat, Miss Williams. That goes for the rest of you as well," she said, turning to the rest of the class. "We have a lesson to get on with." The rest sat in their respectful seats, nervous of Kit. Kit looked over at Emily, leaning over to whisper, "Thank you, Emily." Emily smiled, opening her textbook. All of the students sat down in their seats, still frightened by Kit. As the teacher began the lesson, the classroom door burst open.
In the doorway stood Jeane Evenstone, who appeared as if nothing had happened to her that morning. Ms. Yong turned to Jeane. "Miss Evenstone, May I ask why you were tardy today?" she asked. "This tardy will mean that you have still been tardy every day this week and last!"
Jeane panted a bit, but she stood up and replied, "Ms. Yong, I was delayed by a rather rude girl. She attacked me in the hallway this morning, and in my attempt to locate her so that I may report her to the principal, I became tardy." Jeane wore a face that was confident that her story would work.
"Well, Miss Evenstone, I don't know how well your story works, but it is amusing to me that the victim came to class later that the attacker!" Ms. Yong said, smiling.
Jeane looked around the classroom to see what Ms. Yong was talking about. Jeane froze when she saw Kit sitting of the left of her seat. Jeane pointed a trembling finger at Kit, saying, "What are you doing in here? You should be suspended!"
Ms. Yong went up to Jeane and slapped Jeane's hand. Jeane sent her hand promptly into her dress pocket. Ms. Yong took Jeane by the shoulder and sat her in her respectful seat next to Kit. Ms. Yong looked Jeane in the eyes and said, "You have a bad habit of provoking people, Miss Evenstone. For once, you managed to cross the line. You will not provoke our first American transfer again, unless you wish to be looking for another school, do you understand?" Jeane nodded as she swallowed hard. "Good," Ms. Yong said. "Now, this will count as a tardy since you managed to not give me a decent excuse. However, decent excuse or not, you will stand in the hallway with the tardy sign throughout the remainder of the class hour until it is time for outdoor class. Do you understand?" Again, Jeane nodded. Ms. Yong pointed to a sign hanging on the wall by the door. Jeane promptly stood up and, sulking, grabbed her belongings. Jeane walked over to the door and took the sign off of the small nail and hung it around her neck by the thin string. Still sulking, Jeane walked out into the hallway to stand up straight, no leaning, until permitted to discontinue her punishment.
"Now," Ms. Yong began again, "I hope that we can get on with our lesson." The rest of the hour and thirty minutes went on without any more delays. Finally, Ms. Yong set down her book and announced that it was time for outdoor class. The students smiled and sighed sighs of relief. The class stood by their desks, waiting for Ms. Yong's approval for them to change into their outdoor uniforms. Ms. Yong nodded her head and the students filed out, row by row. A while later all of the students, including Jeane, were outside in their gym clothes and ready for to start. Boys were filed in one line while the girls were in another. "Now," Ms. Yong said, "Today, we will be pairing up. One boy and one girl make a pair. Don't give me that look, Miss Meiou; you have to learn to work with the opposite gender." Ms. Yong said, looking at an orange-haired girl standing behind Kit. "Now, you will pick you partners. Today, the girls will be choosing. Now, girls, choose your partner." The girls turned to the boys in an unexpected unison. The orange-haired girl, Kit, and Emily hesitated while the other girls chose. Jeane also hesitated, but she soon went promptly to a popular-looking boy that was her height. The orange-haired girl went to a shy-looking boy that was possibly two inches taller than her. A boy that was Kit's height with shaggy blond hair signaled Kit like he wanted her to pick him. Emily nudged Kit, encouraging her to pick him. Emily went over and picked the second of the two boys. Kit went up to the blond-haired boy and stood beside him.
"Now then," Ms. Yong said as the pairs lined up in a row. "Mr. Pike, I will expect that you will try to help Miss Williams today, given that your knee doesn't give out?"
Kit's partner replied to Ms. Yong, saying, "Yes ma'am, I will!"
Ms. Yong moved them off to side, and then went to work with the other pairs. Kit quietly whispered, out of the corner of her mouth, "Are you related to Emily?"
The boy smiled and said, "Yes, I am. We're twins. My name is Brian. I already know that you are Kit." Kit smiled. She looked down at Brian's right knee, which was bandaged. She looked back to the class.
The two quieted as they watched the other pairs do gymnastics; girls on the balance beam and both doing cartwheels and tumbles on a gym mat. Everyone looked like they had done these things many times before. Jeane, Emily, the orange-haired girl, and her black-haired partner appeared to be doing the best of everyone, like they were professionals. Finally, all of the pairs had done their sets; Ms. Yong motioned to Kit and Brian.
Kit followed Brian to the balance beam. She placed her hands on the back-end as Brian helped her up onto it. He stayed by her, in case she should fall, as Kit got into balance. "Now, Miss Williams," Ms. Yong addressed Kit, "since you are new, I will ask that you simply walk back and forth as steady as you can without falling. Should you fall, Mr. Pike will catch you."
Kit nodded and slowly began to walk the beam. She had barely made three steps when she fell. Brian caught her gently. The rest of the class, minus Emily, the orange-haired girl, and her partner, laughed. Ms. Yong snapped her head toward the class. Their laughing immediately diminished. Kit stood on her feet, but did not look the least bit embarrassed. She looked up at Ms. Yong and said, "Ms. Yong, may I try again?" Ms. Yong nodded.
Kit got back on the beam, this time without help, so quickly that no one noticed she was even on it that soon. The rest of the class, including Ms. Yong, was surprised at her agility. Brian quickly got beside her. Kit hesitated at first, but she soon was showing how agile she truly was. She was soon going back and forth on the beam, well balanced and almost too quick for Brian. Suddenly, Kit stumbled and fell forward. Brian ran forward to catch her, but instead of falling off of the beam, she did an unexpected cartwheel and landed safely on her feet in front of the beam. She wobbled a bit and fell onto her backside, panting as if shocked. Brian went to her side.
Ms. Yong started to go to Kit, but she stopped as Kit promptly got on her feet with no help from Brian. "Are you all right?" Ms. Yong asked Kit.
"Yes, ma'am, I am all right," Kit replied.
"Are you well enough to continue onto the mat?"
"Yes ma'am. I tripped. That's all. I caught myself before I got hurt."
"Very well," Ms. Yong said, unsurely. She motioned to the mat. Brian did a few cartwheels and tumbles, as professionally as Jeane, Emily, and the two others had. He stepped aside, for it was now time for Kit. She tried a cartwheel and a tumble, but both times she did miserably. The class laughed as before, and as before, Emily and the two others, did not. Brian did not laugh either. Another look from Ms. Yong silenced the laughing class. Again, Kit tried. Again, she started so quickly that the rest of the class was shocked. She did three cartwheels followed by three tumbles. She tripped after her third tumble and skidded on the mat and into Brian. Brian caught her and held her, making sure she was not hurt. No one laughed as Kit tried to get up with Brian, but fell when she put pressure on her left ankle. Brian wasn't much better. The bandage on his right knee was torn and his knee gave out.
Ms. Yong went over to the two, then said, "Emily, Amanda Rose, Cody, Jeane; come here and help these two to the nurse's office." Jeane, Emily, the orange-haired girl, and her black-haired partner went promptly over to the two. Emily and Cody helped Brian up while Jeane and Amanda Rose helped Kit. The six headed for the nurses office, hobbling slowly.
A little while later, Kit and Brian were sitting in chairs as Kit's ankle and Brian's knee were straightened by boards and wrapped in tape. After being done so, Kit and Brian changed their clothes in the bathrooms and were escorted to lunch by Emily, Jeane, Amanda Rose, and Cody. Once outside, Brian and Kit were seated on a long bench. Jeane then left them to go to her friends, saying that she would help take them to class after lunch. Emily sat with Kit and Brian, asking Amanda Rose and Cody to sit with them. They accepted with pleasure. The five were later joined by Mei and Hikari, along with two others, both with short sandy-blond hair with tapered ponytails. The two looked a lot alike, but one was male and the other female. Mei and Hikari sat next to Emily while the other two sat next to Brian. The story of their class was told to Mei, Hikari, and the two others. Then, Kit questioned the two newcomers. "So, who are you?" she asked them.
The two smiled. The girl answered Kit, "My name is Donna Yang. This is my twin brother, Jason Yang. We are the older siblings of Mei and Hikari, who have told us all about this morning's quarrel with Jeane Evenstone."
Kit blushed as she looked over at Mei and Hikari. "I just wanted to make sure that she understood me and read me clearly," Kit said.
"Well, everyone read you loud and clear!" Jason said jokingly.
They continued eating, and then Kit brought up an odd point. "You know," she started, "There are a lot of twins at this school. I mean, there are Emily and Brian, Donna and Jason, and Mei and Hikari! Next thing you know, Jeane, Cody, and Amanda Rose will have twins!" Everyone laughed at this, saying that this was true.
"Don't worry," Amanda Rose said, "I don't have a twin, and neither does Cody or Jeane. There are just four sets of twins. This is, unless YOU have a twin."
Kit smiled and shook her head. "No, just my older brother," she said.
"Jeane has an older sister named Micha," Brian said, "She is 18 right now, 19 in two months. Hold old is your brother? Maybe they should get hooked up!"
"She doesn't need another boyfriend! She already had one that cheated on her!" said a voice. Everyone looked behind Brian to find Jeane standing there. "My sister already had a boyfriend. He was a football player named Mitch. He cheated on her. I expect that they will be breaking up soon. After that, Micha will have no need for another boyfriend and have another chance of being hurt."
Kit looked at her and said, "Tommy would never hurt a girl, whether physically of emotionally. It is my brother who has been hurt. He had a girlfriend in America that cheated on him with a quarterback. My brother broke up with her because of it. Then, she started to tell everyone that he was cheating on her with a foreign girl from Japan! Then, she told everyone that he was going to Japan to stay with that girl and leave my parents and me. Then, after the accident, which she didn't know about at first, she heard that he was taking me to Japan. She then started rumors that he was kidnapping his own sister. All the while, my brother did nothing. However, when she heard about the accident, she started apologizing and wanting his forgiveness. He refused it. He humiliated her in the middle of the hallway by saying that she had cheated on him and that he had been lying about everything. Then, much to everyone's surprise, the quarterback came up and supported Tommy, confirming everything he had just said! Needless to say, she was popular no more."
Jeane looked at Kit and asked, "So, your brother did hurt her, but she rightly deserved it" Kit nodded. "So, how old is your brother? Maybe we could hook them up."
"He is nineteen," Kit replied. Just then the bell rang.
Everyone got up. Cody and Emily helped Brian stand up while Amanda and Jeane got Kit up. Hikari, Mei, Jason, and Donna said good bye and headed for their classes. Jeane looked over at Kit and said, "Kit, I'm really sorry for everything I've said. This doesn't mean, though, that we're buddies, so be warned."
Kit smiled as they went to their classes.