Disclaimer: Digimon is Toei's.

Author's Notes: I know I made home ec sound like some really stupid girly-girl class. Sorry if I offended any of you over this, but I made the class this way to fit in with the story. The characters are probably OOC but I'll try not to make them overly OOC as the story goes along. Alternate universe, the characters never went to the Digiworld and Mimi never met Yamato. The school system is based somewhat on the US's as I find it more compatible, and if you have issues, there's a nice X on the top right. Later on, there'll be more flashback chapters to explain how the story came to the point it's at.

Summary: Yamato's in his senior year of high school. What is he doing in the junior class filled mainly with girls, home economics?

MANNERS MANNERS
—Chapter Two—
by Ascendo Tuum

She flipped shut her bright pink notepad after having copied down all her physics homework, and with a smile on her face, tucked it into the pocket of her white leather satchel. Class was going to be over in a few minutes, and Mr. Hiro acknowledged that fact by ending class early and reminding the students to take down the homework on the sideboard. Mimi capped her pen, placing it into one of several loops on her bag, and crossed her legs as she examined her chunky black loafers. They were part of her uniform, which consisted of a pleated olive green skirt that was supposed to touch at the knee and a crisp white blouse with the school insignia on the pocket.

Mimi eyed the end of the green collar around her neck and frowned. She didn't like olive green, thinking it too regulation, like orange. Why couldn't Odaiba High choose gray uniforms instead? They were much nicer looking, and easier to accessorize when she could get away with it. She grinned at the thought, recalling the nasty look she had received from a matronly secretary when she entered the building, her skirt a full four inches higher than it should be. It was only the first day luckily, otherwise she'd probably have gotten a verbal reprimanding and possibly even a detention. However, her teachers didn't see the first day as a day for the students to coast through, getting oriented to teachers' syllabi and grading policies. Half her teachers had assigned reading homework, and the other half even began teaching.

The bell rang, and Mimi breathed a sigh of relief. Only forty five more minutes of school, and then she was free, if only for thirty minutes before she had to go to prep school. She knew her parents meant the best for her, but to have school for nine straight hours a day really got her dizzy sometimes. At least Hoshiko went to the same cram academy as she did. Mimi didn't know how she'd be able to endure it all without her chatty friend.

Grabbing her satchel, Mimi was practically the first one out the door as she walked quickly to her last class, home economics. She wanted to grab a pair of good seats in the back before anyone else could. The hallways were full but Mimi was able to slip through wherever possible, so that within a minute and ten seconds, she had reached her classroom in the other end of the building.

She strolled in and bowed respectfully to the teacher, a frail-looking old woman, who in return smiled at her. Going up the riser, Mimi selected two seats in the middle of the last row and plopped down in one, placing her satchel on the desk of the desk adjacent to hers. Within a minute or two, more girls began entering the room, and Mimi spotted the blonde head of her friend. Catching the girl's eye, she waved her over.

Hoshiko placed her tan messenger bag onto the desk as she sat down in the plastic seat. "Thanks Mi-chan," she said with a bright grin. "You wouldn't believe how boring history was!"

The late bell rang, and Mrs. Sato went over to close the door. Suddenly it swung open, nearly hitting the teacher in the face. The girls all simultaneously turned their heads to see who could be so unobservant and almost hit the teacher.

The culprit, a tall blonde male student did a double take as he stared back at thirty pairs' of eyes. He then noticed an elderly woman staring at him expectantly and he bowed, apologizing profusely.

"I'm so sorry, Sato-sensei, please forgive me," he babbled, feeling more and more like an idiot by the second. How great his life was, making him late for his first day of home economics, and making him almost hit his teacher with the door.

"Please close the door behind you," the woman spoke calmly, as she adjusted her sleeves. "And take a seat quickly, so I may begin."

Yamato groaned under his breath as he scanned the room. There were two seats left, one in the first row which he most definitely was not going to take, and one in the last row, next to some very familiar-looking girl with chestnut-brown hair. He scratched his neck, wondering why she seemed vaguely recognizable, and then it hit him like a truck. She was that girl who gave him his schedule on orientation day back in the summer! He winced, realizing he hadn't been particularly too grateful for her deed and wondered if he should stick with the front seat. But he didn't want to be so up close, among these girls who were already practically breathing down his back.

"Any time this century," one girl sang out and was instantly silenced with a look from Mrs. Sato.

Hastily, he went up the risers to take the seat next to the brunette and tried his best to look attentive. He hoped the girl sitting next to him wasn't vindictive, as he really didn't need to ruin his day any further.

"Welcome to home economics class. I will be your teacher, Sato-sensei. In this class, you will learn about consumerism. You will be taught how to make budgets, culinary skills, sewing skills, child development, and other domestic issues." She took a breath, sipping quietly from a glass of water. "Normally, this course is designated only for females, but we have an exception this year. Class, please welcome Yamato Ishida."

Yamato's cheeks burned a bright red, and he realized half the class was laughing at him over his "misfortune." Even the girl next to him was giggling her permed little head off. He bit back the urge to make some snappy comeback, recalling Sora's advice that morning about "behaving properly." "It's nice to meet all of you too," he said quickly.

"I would like to start off with an ice-breaker. Starting with the first row on the left, please stand up and introduce yourself. Mention your name, hobbies and goals. Please begin."

A red-haired girl stood up. "My name is Aya Haraguchi. I play the flute and my goal is to go to a prestigious university to make my family proud." She sat down.

"I'm Rinko Matsuda. I like to play tennis and volleyball. My goal is to join a team after college."

"I am Mitsuko Watanabe, my hobbies are cooking and gardening and my goal is to be top student of my year." The introductions went on and on.

Hoshiko stood up. "The name's Hoshiko, Hoshiko Yamada. I like to go shopping with my best friend and talk to friends. My goal is to um… have lots of clothes?" The class tittered, and the blushing blonde sat down hastily.

"My name is Mimi Tachikawa. I enjoy cooking, shopping and singing. My goal is to become a big star, a model or singer preferably."

Yamato stood up, and now the class grew deathly silent, all eyes once more upon him. "I'm Yamato Ishida. I like to play the guitar and my goal is to have a band."

"Why are you in this class?" A girl shot out curiously.

He grinned and said smoothly, "Only real men take home economics." With that he winked at her, and sat back down, his legs comfortably stretched out.

Mrs. Sato clapped once to get the class's attention before it broke out into titters. She then picked up some papers on her desk. "This course is not a particularly difficult one, given that you do the work asked of you. You will have tests every two to three weeks, depending on how much of the curriculum is covered. I do give pop quizzes occasionally, and two quiz grades equal a test. I give homework every few nights, it's not much usually. My tests and quizzes are not always going to be written ones, so do keep that in mind. When there are notes, please make sure to take them down. If you do not pay attention, you will receive detention. I also do not appreciate tardiness," she said, eying Yamato. "Please take this time to take down the phone numbers of a few students in this class so that if you are ever absent, you will be able to call for homework assignments."

Yamato groaned silently as a barrage of heads turned to face him, all eyes asking the same question, "Can I have your number?" He wanted to sink under his chair and not come out till the end of the period, but fortunately Mrs. Sato saved him.

"Class, what did I say? Please ask your neighbors for their numbers. Do not ask for Ishida-san's when he is obviously not your neighbor. Now please do this in an orderly fashion."

The girls meekly obeyed, turning to one another as they wrote down their digits in each other's planners. Yamato contemplated asking Mimi for her number, but decided against it. He had no intention of cutting, therefore he didn't need anyone's number.

Mimi was whispering something to Hoshiko, who was giggling madly. Yamato was amazed that Mrs. Sato seemed to not hear her irritatingly loud laughing, yet could detect his silent grumbling. "She must be sexist," he mumbled to himself and yet again she gave him a look. He wanted to stand up and protest this gross injustice, but recalled once more Sora's advice. Plastering a fake grin on his face, he looked up and was rewarded with a small smile from Mrs. Sato.

"Have you each gotten at least two numbers? Good. I do not believe in forcing material into your minds on the first day of school, so please chat quietly. Tomorrow we will begin our course, starting with budget planning. Bringing a calculator will help, although it is not necessary." With that, the teacher sat down in her chair and began writing in names in her slender pale blue grade book.

"So, did you pack lunch for juku later?" Hoshiko asked, putting things away into her bag. "I only have sugiyaki."

Mimi nodded. "My mom packed me salad and some tuna maki rolls. I wanted to go see the new shoes at the mall, but oh well. This weekend perhaps?"

"Sure thing," the other girl said. "Ugh, I really do hope all this extra prep is worth it. We're only eleventh graders, we shouldn't have to go to juku so early! I don't see why my parents couldn't let me go next autumn, when I need it then. I could be buying pretty new things now!"

Yamato rolled his eyes. This Hoshiko girl was such a whiner.

"Aw Hoshi-chan, I'm sure after you get into Tokyo University, you'll show more gratitude. Sure it may seem pointless and a waste of time right now, but later on you'll thank your parents. Besides, we do spend a bit too much money each month on unnecessary purchases," Mimi laughed as she played with her satchel's buckles.

Hoshiko rolled her eyes. "Oh you're such a loser Mimi. We're like dedicating half our day to school, a girl needs to rest!"

"And your idea of rest is shopping?" Yamato interjected sarcastically.

The blonde girl glared at him. "Excuse me? Did I just hear a big bag of wind whistling by, or did someone actually interrupt my conversation?"

"You flatter yourself," he retorted.

Enraged, she made efforts to strangle him, but Mimi blocked her path. "Hoshiko, he's not worth detention. Let it go."

"Ugh, I hate people who just barge into other people's conversations. It's so rude!"

"I know, but unless you want to get in trouble, just disregard it," Mimi advised. "Come on, the bell will ring soon, you don't want to go to juku in a bad mood."

"Yeah you're right. Gosh Mimi, I don't know what I'd do without you. You're so mature!"

Mimi rolled her eyes. "Thanks a lot, you make me feel old. My parents told me to stop being so childish if I wanted a car, so here I am hehe."

"Oh you're lucky!"

"I honestly don't know if I really want one though. Having a car is a hassle because it's so hard to find a parking spot and other drivers can be sooo rude! Like once my father was driving my mother and I to a mall and this person just cut my father off! What was his problem? I wanted to get out and tell him off!"

Hoshiko nodded. "Yeah the train's more convenient. And we're helping the Earth by not adding more toxic fumes."

"Yup."

Yamato snorted derisively and Mimi arched an eyebrow at him. Hoshiko was not so discrete. "Ass," she said, glaring at Yamato, who merely shrugged in response.

The bell finally rang, and as the girls surged out in one mass wave, Yamato found himself thinking.

Writer's block, this chapter could've used more work. There will most definitely be a re-write sometime soon.