Jean: yeah! I'm back!

Sora: Let's get on with the story.

Kairi's P.O.V

I was Penny, my new stepmother, dismay and the troublemaker, when I'm not.

8 years later……..

"Kairi!"

"Kairi!"

"KAIRI!"

"It's breakfast time! Now go and cook for us NOW! This INSTANT!" Penny screamed over the speaker system. I was sleeping on the table, with my finished homework scattered around the table. Wearing yesterday's clothes instead of my pajamas. That I usually wear at night. I changed to the shirt that says "Blink Blink 15" and a pair of jeans, the down most corner had a rhinestone covered flower on it, and turned to look at Namine and Lulu having their swimming lessons.

"Now, ladies. Quick, slow, slow! Like a graceful swan. Yes, that's right, quick, slow, slow!" said their swimming instructor, Cid. He was, kinda funny, and with his assistant sitting on the chair, Larxene crossing her feet with a cap and a pair of sunglasses on her face.

"Then, flap your elbows like you are a duck, keep flapping! Keep flapping!" Cid instructed.

"Now, swim in circles! Yeah, that's the way!" Cid continued, and Penny came into the scene.

"Are my girls wonderful?" Penny commented.

"Oh, yeah their marvelous. They are talented to swim and do all sorts of water ballet." Cid said.

"I had a word that describes them: Gifted." Said Larxene, who was smoking and talking at Penny at the same time. She let out the cigarette out, and then blow out the smoke.

"Kairi! Prepare me breakfast! NOW!" Penny screamed, and I went down the stairs immediately and prepared breakfast.

"Coming!" I shouted back, and went preparing breakfast. Penny and her 'minions' like to treat me like I was the slave serving the masters.

"1, 2, 3, 4….. Left, right, up, down!" Cid instructed. As I heard him counting, I served Penny pancakes, with honey poured all over, as usual.

"Why give me too much sugar! Prepare another one, and I'm on a diet! Go, go, And GO!" Penny screamed, when I was running to the kitchen again.

10 minutes later…..

"And push ladies! You're doing it! Just a little more…" Cid said when both of them are doing the Ladder stunt, when Lulu was down and Namine was trying to stand up, they heard a 'POOP' sound from the water vibrations.

"Gross! MUM! Namine farted!" Lulu complained.

"Remember we ate onion rings yesterday? It's not my fault, Kairi IS!" argued Namine, when going out of the pool.

"Who do you think you are? You want to start a fight?" asked Lulu angrily.

"Try me!" Namine argued.

"Grr! I'll teach you for messing with your elders!" Lulu screamed, and started hitting and beating Namine up. Namine do the same too.

"Ow! You meanie! I'll show you, I'll show you!" Lulu screamed, and pulled Namine's hair.

"Stop it! I perm it yesterday! Now you're going down!" Namine fought, and tore Lulu's suit. One part of it had a hole on her hips, and not entirely torn off.

"Stop! Stop hitting her! Stop it, right now!" Penny screamed, the two sisters stopped fighting.

"She bit me!" Namine pointed.

"She started first, by insulting me." Lulu pointed back. When I finished making the pancakes, I stopped walking and kept staring at them and let out a small giggle.

"What are you standing there for? Get back to work!" Penny ordered.

"I can't go to work today. There's a big math test in school and I have to study for-" I argued when Penny interrupted.

"Listen, Kairi. People go to school to be smarter, and then, they can get a job. And YOU have a job, and you can skip a step of education." Penny lectured. I looked at the grass. It looked brown and that means only one thing: Lawn it.

"Just spray water on it. And to you Kairi don't lawn it." Penny said.

"Penny, we're supposed to conserve water. Water is precious and we, mankind have been wasting it for years! We're in a middle of a drought…" I explained.

"Droughts are for poor people, who cares about people living in poverty?" Penny argued back.

"Okay. Does Mr. Brown (referring to Ansem/DiZ as the neighbor to them) have a lawn mower?" I asked Penny.

"People use more water as extra class. Understand?" Penny argued and water began coming out of the grass. I screamed while covering myself and saw Riku's car, and I got in.

"I'm up. And let's go." I said, while Riku was driving on his father's car, Prof. Zandels. He worked at Destiny General Hospital, and his family was sure rich. At the back of the car was Luna, Riku's friend, or should I say her boyfriend. She was a nice person, not bossy, not shy. Just her being average.

"Well, I overheard your witch stepmother of yours that you have to drop by the restaurant, and to Lionel's, here we come!" Riku said, and he droved to the restaurant.

"Hey, you call that the best grade-A beef? C'mon Squall, that cow must have cheated on a test." Said Tifa, jokingly. "And Cloud, enough with salmon. Wonder where you got that fish that big."

Then, Penny went in, as Kairi was mopping the ladies' toilet, and it was near the kitchen.

"You have already made salmon tacos, raw salmon, with wasabi and soy sauce, and your newest addition, salmon-flavor crackers. Everything is salmon, and I'm getting sick when anyone mentions salmon." Riona complained. Penny overheard the conversation, grabbed Cloud's arm and looking at him sinisterly.

"Help! Penny's gonna eat me up!" screamed Cloud. Yuffie ate one of the crackers, and gave out a weird look.

"It's nasty." Yuffie commented.

Cloud saw Riona coming up, and started whining.

"Riona! Bite me! Just do it, bite me! Save ME!" Cloud whizzed, waving at her.

"Oh, that's nasty too, as Yuffie said." Said Riona and walking away and let out a smirk, and went laughing away.

"That's evil of you." Said Axel, one of the waiters in the restaurant, to Riona.

Squall pressed the bell, calling Tifa.

"Hey, Tiff! Your order's up." Squall said.

Tifa took the two plates of steak and served it on one of the tables.

"Got that right, Squall." Said Tifa. I was mopping back at the toilets and not noticing it, I slipped on a keychain and hurt my butt.

"Are you okay?" asked a lady coming out of the toilet.

"Yeah, I'm okay, and I still have to work. Sorry disturbing you. I have to go now." She said, carried a bucket of water and her mop, and left for the store.

Later, the most popular girl in school, Paine with Yuna and Rikku on her side, and Sora, Tidus and Meg went into the restaurant together. Paine and Sora are the most popular teens in school. Paine was in the in-crowd, always boasting and looking down on others, but Sora was a considerate person, unlike Paine, he was helpful, responsible and everyday, about 70 to 80 girls went chasing after him like he was their idol. I admire him and was in Dreamland, imaging Sora marrying me but Penny pissed me off and went back to work.

"So, Sora, how you're doing?" Paine asked coolly.

"Super, and waiter, erm, I mean….." he looked at Saix's nametag. "Saix. I needed something."

"At your service." He said, but in a rough voice, even though he was trying to behave nicely. He was known at the Islands as an ex-convict in the roads, and he was sent to jail for killing someone innocent during a bank robbery 12 years ago. He began working at Lionel's 3 years ago, at first, I was scared at him, but later I saw his true colors that he's trying to change what he used to be 12 years ago.

"I want cheese omelet, fish and chips, potato whip….." Sora ordered.

5 minutes later……

"Sugar free ice-cream and soda. But make it diet soda. Thanks." Sora said politely and Saix left to the kitchen to make orders to Squall.

"I'm just trying to watch my weight. Sorry about that." Said Paine, and went looking at me. "And Kairi Foul tee! You are not IN!" she laughed at her own joke along with Yuna and Rikku.

Then my job changed to cleaning the windows. A boy threw a spoonful of mashed potato onto my head, but his mother called him to apologize to me. He apologized, and I went back to work, not worrying about my hair. If I went worrying Penny will cut my pay and makes sure I will not go to Balamb. Riona went up to me by herself, putting her hand on my shoulder.

"Kairi, why are you still here? You have school to go to. You can come here after school. Get going." Riona consulted.

"Wait, I'm almost done." I said, continue wiping the windows.

"You're going to be late for school." Riona argued.

"I'll get there; I called Riku to take me there. He should be here somewhere." I said. "And Penny will go ballistic if I don't finish."

"I don't care, and you can't be her dog for the rest of your life." Riona scolded me, and I understand her, it was for my own good.

"And the only thing I care is your education. You need to study, and get a proper job. You can't stay here forever mopping the floor and wiping the windows." Riona reprimanded me again, and this time, take the cloth out of my hand.

"She got you up at dawn, where everyone else in the neighborhood is sleeping, and I bet she wants to get rid of you so that she makes us work like we are robots. Your father wants to see you graduated high school and then to college, and lastly to university. I know you want to go to Balamb, I went there too, and it was like paradise. Don't forget that, you can find some other job easily." Riona continued.

"But….but…" I protested.

"No more 'buts!' Now, get to school and leave all those work to me and I'll help you handle Penny and her big fat butt." She said, took my bag and sees me off.

"Thanks Riona." I said, taking out the uniform.

"Now, get going. Just leave everything to me." She said, and I heard Riku honking the car and left to school.

"Hey, looking good man." I said, and closing the door,

"A car is the man's best friend." Riku quoted.

"You mean a dog." Luna joked.

"Yeah right." Riku said. He was wearing a pair of sport shoes, long pants (Like the one in KH2) and a jacket and inside it was a black T-shirt that says 'Man of the month'.

"I'll remember that." I said. Then my father's last words echoed into my head. "Any-anything is possible, if you just believe."

TBC………

Jean: well, I'm tired.

Hurky: Are we coming out?

Jean: Yeah, just give me more time. And the next chapter, what happened next. See you soon.