Smile For Me
- chapter 2 -

Morning classes came and flew and the students cheered as the bell rang, signaling the time for lunch break.

"Hey!" A navy-blue haired boy wearing a blue and red cap (which was not allowed in school, but Tyson is Tyson.) practically bounced his way across the room, "Uhm... Kai, right?"

Kai looked at him through his bangs and nodded slightly, feeling a bit nausea at the attention he was getting from all the girls. Giggling and squealing, it made him a bit sick. Tyson grinned and took out his hand, his grin widening as Kai shook it with his own, "I'm Tyson Granger! You eating lunch or what? You haven't made a move to stand up or anything."

Granger... Kai shook his head and coughed, No way. He stood up and nodded at the person in front of him, "Kai Hiwatari."

"Well, if you want, we could eat lunch together!" Tyson offered, a thoughtful look on his face, "The guys are all absent right now, and one of them are still in computer class. You don't mind, do you?"

Kai raised an eyebrow, but shook his head, "Not at all."

"Hmm..." Tyson looked at him up and down and announced cheerfully, "You're not very talkative, are you? Well, that's fine. I'm not a very good listener anyway." He grinned as he motioned for Kai to follow him, "I have this really cool spot at the back of the school. No one really goes there, so it's a nice place and the flowers are nice, even though this school is crap despite it's high reputation, I kinda like the gardens here. It's probably the only thing I like about this place and well... why are you looking at me like that?"

Kai blinked and shrugged, "You have a big mouth."

Tyson clutched the front of his shirt dramatically and mocked a gasp, "I'm hurt! How cruel! No pity at all for such a poor misguided soul such as I!"

An elbow made contact with the back of his skull after that and the boy turned around to glare at the person behind him, "Hey!"

The group of boys behind him all laughed and poked Tyson by the waist, "Come on, Ty. Don't scare the kid. Admit it, though, you do have a big mouth."

Tyson stuck his tongue out at them, "My big mouthnessness has absolutely nothing to do with you. And I am perfectly aware that mouthnessness is not a word, but I don't care so nyeh." He grinned and winked at Kai, leaning in and lowering his voice to a whisper, "Don't mind them, they're jerks."

"Hey! We heard that, Granger!"

Tyson ignored them and shrugged, offering a hand to help Kai out of his chair, "Come on, Kai, time's running out. We only have an hour of free time, and though that may seem long, in this school, it's not." He grinned.

Kai looked at the hand in front of him hesitantly, but he took it anyway and stood up, grabbing his notebooks in the process. "I-"

"Yep, I know. We have to stop by our lockers first. Kiresu-sensei doesn't like late comers, but you're an exception, Kai, cause you're just new here. Yah know, I'm kinda jealous. When you're late, you won't have Kiresu-sensei screaming at your ear at the top of her lungs and waving a rather thick ruler in front of your face. Me, unfortunately, is always late so I always get rulers thrown at me every time I pass through the door. Poor me, huh?"

Kai looked at him with an eyebrow raised and shrugged, "You have a really big mouth."

"Pfft."

"Geez, you're not really the talkative type are you? Not very social, too, but don't worry, I have my share of anti-social friends." Tyson grinned as he took a bite out of his rice balls, "Like that Tala guy, you know, the red head in our class, who sits beside Bryan. Both very stoic and stuff, but those two have been best friends ever since kindergarten. Surprising, huh? I can say that we're friends, when we're not insulting each other. Oh, and another one of my friends, Rei Kon, yeah, Chinese dude. He's out right now, in China for a week vacation. I can say that we're pretty close, but even though I added him to my list of anti-social people, he talks a lot when the conversation is nice. He's just too calm for his own good. But Maxie... Hmm, don't even get me started on that guy. He's definitely not anti-social, too hyper. Maybe that's why we get along. He's in America with his mom, for a week also. Man, I just hope that those two make it in time for the camping trip. And Kenny, he's the one who has extra computer class everyday, so you won't see him in lunch break. Man, I tell yah, when it comes to technology, that guy is on the top of the hill. Oh, and speaking of camping trip, are you gonna go? I know you're new and all, but are yah?"

Kai blinked and shook his head, feeling his brain rattling left and right with all the words that was sent to his brain. "I... well..." He trailed off, I would, but that bastard of a grandfather doesn't like having his personal punching bag away from him for a whole month. He snorted inwardly.

"Come on, Kai! It'll be fun! I heard that our batch would be going to Hokkaido or something1, snow and stuff. Good thing, though, cause this heat is driving me crazy! We have our own hotel and our own hot springs, 'cause Kiresu-sensei has good friends. Lucky woman. But the payment's a bit higher than usual since this would be a month, other than the usual two weeks. I already have the money in my house from practically begging my gramps, and I don't think you'd have a problem with it. You look like you have the money, right?"

"Hn." Kai trailed off, I can buy my own plane if I wanted. The problem is, I won't be able to use it anyway. The bulldog would throw a fit.

"Hey, Kai, why aren't you eating?" Tyson took a sip out of his cola and looked at Kai questioningly,

Kai shrugged, "Forgot my lunch. I hate cafeteria food."

"Hm, good to know that someone agrees with me about the food here. Really icky. Green monsters from the kitchen really doesn't suit me and my stomach, you know what I mean?" Tyson grinned, before reaching down to his bag and pulling out another rice ball, "Here."

Kai looked a bit surprised and he stared at Tyson as if he just grew second head, "W-what?"

"Take it." Tyson shrugged, "Gramps makes a lot of these for me everyday. It's too much for me, so eat up. It's the only thing gramps knows how to cook right." He grinned again,

Reluctantly, Kai raised his hand and took it, mumbling a small token of gratitude. Hiding a small blush, he took a bite out of the food and chewed, "Tastes good." All his life, no one outside the mansion really gave him anything at all. He preferred hiding from society back in his old schools.

"See?" Tyson smiled widely, "Gramps' a bad cook when it comes to other food, but rice balls is his specialty. It's the only thing he knows how to make without setting the kitchen on fire. So unfortunately for me, I get stuck with the cooking, but other than that, Gramps is in charge of take outs though. Pizza's are on the top of the list."

"You live with your..." Kai cringed inwardly, "grandfather?" Unconsciously, his hand reached up to his right cheek, feeling the dry feeling of powder on his hands. Make-up. He vaguely wondered why Tyson still hadn't questioned him about the white plaster on his left cheek, though, but he wasn't complaining.

"Yep!" Tyson nodded cheerfully, completely oblivious to his classmate's inward rage, "My father's out on an archeological thingy, and my older brothers with him. Gramps and I live together under a small dojo. The old man teaches kendo and hates it when I slack off." The boy grinned, his overrated brain coming up with plots to escape the dreaded trainings, "What about your home life, then, Kai?"

"O-oh..." Kai trailed off, "Only child, and living with my grandfather, too."

"Where's your parents then?" Tyson regarded him with a thoughtful look as he took another rice ball out of his bag, throwing Kai one as well.

Kai shrugged and leaned back against the trunk of the Sakura tree2 behind him, pointing to the sky with his finger.

Tyson's eyes widened and he immediately began a series of apologies, "Sorry, Kai, I didn't know! I mean, well-"

"Hey." Kai cut him off before his apology got any longer, "I don't care."

Tyson smiled sheepishly, "You know, my mother-"

RRRRRIIIIIINNNNGGG!

"What!" Tyson let out a pout as he glared at the school building behind him, completely forgetting what he was supposed to say, "Already time? Aw, man." Sighing, he turned to Kai with chuckle, "Told yah that breaks here are short. Let's get going. We wouldn't want a ruler stuck to our face, now, would we?"

Kai shrugged, but stood up as well. Tyson sighed and crossed his arms behind his head, "I get into trouble a lot in this school, but the principal and I are in good terms. She's a nice person and all, but she loves and sucks at gambling. I can even win over her. I mean, no surprise there, since I'm really an amazing person." The boy huffed, laughing hysterically as he rambled on about greatness and absolutely amazing skills.

Kai simply kept on shrugging and nodding and shaking his head, but he wondered if it was possible for a person to talk so much in just one day.

Kai sighed, rubbing his temples as he fought to keep his headache at bay. His grandfather had come home already hours ago, and it was one of these days that Kai got lucky that the old man simply passed by his room. And now, the boy was wondering why the hell is he gonna ruin the man's good mood by barging in his office? A month without him, Kai. A month.

Twitching a bit, he knocked on the door.

"Well, anyway, Kenny's gotta work at his family's restaurant, so he got off early today. Lucky guy. Oh, where's your house? Mine's this way." He pointed at his right. Kai shrugged and pointed to his left. "Gah. Looks like this is where we go our own ways, huh?" The day had came and flew and the two were now walking from the school building to the gates.

"But what happened to you, though?" Tyson sent him a worried look,

When Kai had come in the classroom early in the morning, his classmates had gawked at him and asked questions, all through which Kai had only answered one excuse, "I fell." Down the stairs, Kai had added. He still had the white plaster on his left cheek and two band-aids on his right. He cringes inwardly whenever he thinks about how much make-up and powder his face was already carrying. He was pale enough as it is. His left arm was bandaged tightly from the elbow to the fingertips and two more band-aids rested on his right arm. Kai was thankful that Voltaire decided to spare his right arm. How was he supposed to write?

"That must have been one heck of a fall." Tyson wondered out loud, "I mean, Kai, look at you! If I were you, I would've just stayed in bed today. You must be hurting all over, man."

"I'm fine."

"You sure?"

"Yes."

Sighing, Tyson crossed his arms behind his head, "Man, I never saw you as the clumsy type. I really don't believe at that falling excuse, but I won't pressure you, buddy." He threw a small smile at Kai's direction, before running off with a wave and a wide grin, leaving Kai dumbfounded in front of their school, "See you later, Kai! Let's be friends, alright?"

Friends...? Kai felt the edge of his lips twitch up, "Yeah... sure."

1 Is it just me or does this make it look that I'm obsessed with going to Hokkaido or something for those who have read my other stories? o.O Uhm... don't answer that. XD

2 A little dramatization won't hurt. :3