Disclaimers: I do not own Yu-gi-Oh!
A/N: Hi there peeps! I'm back for another installment! Okay, so I'm supposed to be working on my other installment in DLM, but I was so ever tempted to write for "Memory"! Nothing, I was just kind of hyper today, ya know? Okay, on to the story then, folks! But before that, a little notes to my reviewers…
To:
Lass: Hey, thanks for the review! You don't know how much I appreciate it. Yup, Seren is younger than the rest of them but this time I intentionally made her in the same grade level as Tea and the others… it'll be easier for her to meet Kaiba that way… whoo!
firefly of hell: Seren is younger than the others, I know, but I really made her in the same grade as the gang… easier to meet Kaiba that way… but I really appreciate the review! Thanks for telling me what you think! I'm glad you're honest on what you think of my story…
vendred 13: Yeah! THEY RULE SUPREME! I just love them together… lol… yeah, that's a word in English… Cool, you're French? Never met anyone French before… cool! Slaps herself for being so inquisitive anyway, thanks for the sincere review!
nkitty: thanks for the support!
Goten0040: Really? They're green? Gee, didn't know that… other people say it's brown, but I'll research on it… I saw some pictures of her in which her eyes are kind of brownish… gee! Thanks for the review!
Sorceress Vanessa: Gee! Now I know her eye colors… thanks so much! I really appreciate your review! I luv your stories! Thanks a lot for reviewing me!!!
Cute Peridot816: WHEN ARE YOU GOING TO SIGN UP????? Haha. Sorry, no pressure. Anyway, hope you get registered soon!
Subaru the Jaguar: I read your "Ignorance is Bliss" and it's awesome! Keep it up! Luv ya!
Lexi-chan: hey there! Thanks for reviewing all my fics even if you don't know the anime or whatever I'm talking about…thanks so much, I really appreciate it…
To other reviewers: THANKS A MILLION FOR REVIEWING ME!! Haha. LUV YOU ALL!
Sorry for the quite long wait. Alright, this is for all of you guys out there who want more!
Seto Kaiba sauntered into the classroom after he had a quick call with the principal. He had requested that he would not be put in special classes this term, knowing that he had supreme intellect and all… (A/N: Yeah right! Joke. He is intelligent but I don't think he should boast about it often.)
"Mr. Kaiba, where have you been?" his sensei asked him with impatience.
"To the Principal's office. Is there a problem?" Kaiba said impertinently.
The teacher was obviously scared of him, even if he was showing signs of evident rudeness.
"F-fine, Mr. Kaiba… s-sit down." Was the trembling stutter of his sensei.
'Ha. Stupid teacher…' he thought meanly.
Serenity Wheeler came in the room, totally breathless. She had lost Tea's lead but she was lucky she reached her classroom in time.
To her dismay, she saw the classroom sitting down in perfect order. She glanced around wildly for some sign of recognition…
Then she saw the solitary smirk in the front row. Her eyes met his face… The guy who had a place in her memory… or maybe it was some different guy… her so-called best friend in her childhood days didn't smirk like that…
"How may I help you?"
Serenity turned her gaze quickly to the teacher in front. "Um, hi… I belong to this class, I guess I just got lost." She said lamely.
"Okay then, but I have to mark you for being late. Do bring a school map around with you next time."
She sighed. Not a good start to the day. 'Damn it… I should have gotten a school map or asked Joey to tour me around the school…' she cursed to herself, regretting what she wasn't able to do.
She leaned on the wall near the door, waiting for the teacher to check his records.
"Your name?"
"Serenity Wheeler." She said in monotone.
"Okay, Miss Wheeler, I marked you down for late… now take a seat. Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't realize that there were no seats left…" he trailed off.
Serenity looked around. True enough, there weren't any seats.
'Damn…' she swore inwardly.
"I guess you'll have to stand in the corner then." He said dismissively and began the lecture for the class. Serenity sighed and hung her head. This was NOT going well…
……
"Miss Wheeler, can you please answer my question?"
"Yeah?" she had been taking a short doze.
'Damn… I don't even know what the question is!' she thought.
She straightened up. "Um… 264?" she said, glancing at the blackboard, looking at the one equation that her teacher had scribbled down.
"No, that's wrong. You're not listening… the question was on the book. Detention."
'DETENTION???' She was so freaking out. This was so NOT happening to her… come on, first day at school, then she had a detention AND a late mark?
She opened her mouth to protest at the unfair trial but the teacher silenced her. "No buts, Miss Wheeler. I will see you promptly later at my office during dismissal."
THIS WAS SO NOT FAIR. 'He should reconsider!!!' she thought.
Sorry Serenity, but I guess he's not going to…
RECESS…
"Damn! That was a long 60 minutes of droning from your teacher, and you got marked down for late and detention, and you were standing up the whole time? That's UNFAIR, he should have done something about it…" Tea muttered.
"Yeah, don't make such a big deal out of it, Tea… I don't want my brother to know." Serenity whispered.
"What's that got to do with Joey?"
"He's NOT supposed to know that I got a lot of reprimanding today…"
"Fine. Whatever. But it's so unfair to you!" Tea repeated. "You can't just stand there and let yourself be beaten all the time by a teacher! Stand up to him!" She encouraged.
Serenity sighed. What words didn't Tea understand? "I said, give it a rest. For now, okay? I don't want any more trouble. Besides, if I protested, he might give me another detention." Serenity pointed out.
"Suit yourself." Tea said with a sniff of discomfort.
They walked on until they reached a deserted school garden. Serenity fingered the sleeves of her cream-white blouse, debating whether she should tell Tea about her secret.
But then, she needed to tell someone… she couldn't keep it locked in inside forever-it was a part of her. She was already up to the point that she was certain that she loved this childhood friend of hers. She remembered the moments they shared together, the near-to-happy moments she had with him… they were unforgettable.
So…
"Hey, Tee. Let's stop here, I need to tell you something." Serenity finally blurted.
Tea gave her a strange look. "Is it important?" she asked.
Serenity shot her a begging look. "Come on, I really, really need to tell someone. I need your advice-and your reaction."
"Okay." Tea said slowly, digesting all that Serenity had said. "You mean to say that you're telling me something when you don't even know me all that well?" Tea asked.
"Um, I was hoping we'd get to know each other better through this." She muttered.
Tea nodded and waited for her friend to proceed.
"Um, well… you see, I have this friend in my childhood… I've been thinking about him all day and I saw this guy today who looks very, very much like him and I was wondering if it really is him…" Serenity explained. She sighed. "It sounds ridiculous right?" she asked.
"No, it doesn't. That's really sweet… you remember him until now?"
"Yeah, I do. But it sounds really weird… honestly." Serenity buried her face in her hands.
They approached a bench and sat on it. "It's not weird," Tea said softly. "Tell you what. Why don't you describe him and tell me what he looks like." She said. "Maybe I can identify him."
Serenity hesitated for a while, but gave in. "Okay. Here goes… he has deep-set sky blue eyes, mahogany-brown hair that's combed neatly, and he's really handsome. I don't know, but he smirked at me during class."
Tea gasped.
"Why?"
"Um, nothing, nothing. Maybe I'll check out your class list. I kind of have an idea on who your mystery guy is." She said hurriedly. "I'll tell you later!" she got up from the bench as the bell rang, signaling the end of recess, and Serenity watched as she disappeared into the crowd.
'I think she's hiding something from me…' Serenity thought, but she brushed it aside. She had to hurry if she didn't want to be late again.
RECESS, IN A DIFFERENT POV…
He barged into the guidance counselor's office after one loud knock.
"Good morning, Mr. Kaiba. How can I help you?" asked the counselor in monotone.
"I need to see the class list." He said curtly, walking up to the counselor's desk and sitting down across him, carrying his briefcase protectively.
"Okay, here it is."
Kaiba took the list impatiently from the counselor and browsed through it until he found what he wanted. "Mr. Ikegami-who is this Serenity Wheeler? Is she, by chance, a relation to the m- I mean, Joseph Wheeler?"
"Hmmm… Yes, she is."
"Ok." Kaiba said gruffly and strode from the office. He knew who she was.
Tea made her way smoothly through the crowd, struggling to go to different classrooms.
"Excuse me." She muttered until she reached the guidance counselor's office. "Hi, Mr. Ikegami. I was wondering if I could see the class list of Class A?" she inquired.
"Here." He said, ripping off a paper and handing it to her.
She glanced through it and knew who caught Serenity's eye.
'Oh man… how do I break the news to her?' she thought.
DISMISSAL
Serenity knocked loudly on the door. She was at Mr. Draken's (The teacher who gave her detention) office, and she was ready to receive her detention.
"Good afternoon Ms. Wheeler. Come in." he said curtly and she sat down.
"Wait here while I get some files." He said and went out of the office door. She sighed, slumping against the back of her chair. It was so boring, and she lapsed into a daydream…
Flashback
The vivid image of her friend came to life again. "What's wrong?" she asked, seeing that he was so down, so unhappy… She hated seeing him like that.
"My mum… she's… gone…" he murmured, closing his eyes, tears sliding out of his eyelids.
"What happened to her?" Serenity asked, suddenly feeling sorry for him.
"She's just… gone." He repeated. "The doctors say she died…" he murmured. He couldn't stop the tears from falling.
Serenity's heart was filled with even more pity. "I don't know where my mom is, either." She said.
"Really?" He asked, turning to face her.
"Yeah. Dad says that she is with my brother. He said that I won't ever see her anymore." Serenity whispered. She felt tears spring to her eyes.
"At least we have something in common…" He said softly.
End of flashback
"Now, Ms. Wheeler… your detention." Said Mr. Draken, opening the door.
Serenity took a deep breath. 'Please tell me it isn't anything hard…' she prayed.
"You're going to clean out the trophy room in the center of the school." Draken said, straightening out his glasses. Serenity wanted to laugh so badly.
'That's it? That's a lame detention… but anyway, the easier the better!' she thought happily. "Ok, sir, if that's all…"
"Yes, go." He said distractedly and she closed the door quietly behind her.
A/N: How was it? It SUCKS, right? Please R&R! You have every right to voice out your opinions… flames accepted! Thanks so much! Luv you guys!