This is the longest chapter I've ever written for anything (this is about 2200 words). Sorry to make you wait so long…
This is incredibly annoying: I did research on Japanese names, but I couldn't find anything on surnames! So I made hybrids….
Cherise is a tint of red. About the color of Tamao's hair.
Disclaimer: I don't own Shaman King. But I made up a few names/characters. Saint Henri's Academy is also fictional.
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The Cocky Rooster and the Sheepish Lamb
Chapter 4
The last piece of luggage was finally taken out the trunk by the taxi driver.
"Thank you." Tamao declined her head slightly, and then gave the driving trip payment to the perspiring man. Her black suitcases ate the dust blown by the taxi as it drove far into the distance. Tamao lugged her duffel bag on her shoulder, and rolled her suit cases by the handle. She crossed under the archway labeled, "Saint Henri's Academy". The girls' dorm she was standing in front of was a massive brick building, with outdoor arched passageways. Tamao stood in the middle of the small courtyard.
"Oh! Excuse me!" a voice cried out in the distance.
It wasn't hard to see where the voice was coming from since the area was quite desolate. A young girl ran up to Tamao. "Are you the new student?" the girl asked.
"Yes…" she responded slowly, looking at the uniform the other girl wore.
"Good, my name is Kaeda Kuragawa, call me K-chan. I'm the co-president of Student Council, and will be helping you settle into our school." K-chan stuck out her hand diplomatically.
"Thank you, um…K-chan." Tamao winced at the tightness of the president's grasp.
"No problem," K-chan shrugged, "Are those your suitcases?"
"Um, yeah." Tamao laughed nervously.
"But that's so little! There's only…two pieces of luggage! All the girls here bring so much more." K-chan lifted one of the pieces of luggage, "Oh well, come on, I'll show you your room. And after that, we'll go to the cafeteria since it's almost noon." K-chan led Tamao towards the stairwell.
"It's going to be a long way up." K-chan gave a weary smile. Together, they climbed four flights of stairs to the highest floor.
"Alright, it's down there, room 401, first room on the right." K-chan reached at her belt for the keys, and handed a copy to Tamao, "Key replacements cost 2000 yen per key."
"Just for keys?" Tamao snapped her head up.
"And security." K-chan unlocked the door, and dragged the luggage next to the newcomer's bed.
Inside there were two separate beds made of deflated mattresses and metal posts. Tamao's bed was closer to the window next to the opposite wall of the entry door. Her desk, and dresser were situated nearby.
"That door over there leads to the bathroom which under normal circumstances you would be sharing it with the roommates next door. But no one lives up here. Also, normally there is a teacher, or counselor on each hallway but since only you, and the other girl are here, your hallway counselor lives on the floor below. Any questions?" K-chan wringed her hands together.
"Just one, why is the room red, and white?"
"Oh, they're the school's colors, that's all." K-chan waved at the cream-colored paper walls.
Tamao nodded her head, and K-chan dismissed herself from the room.
"I'll come back for you when lunch starts."
"Okay," Tamao watched K-chan close the door behind her. Standing there, she could hear K-chan's footsteps creaking in the hallway. She went over to her bed, and sat down. Instinctively, her arms wrapped around her stomach. Nervous, that's just what she was by nature. All those moments stuttering when she spoke, being too shy, and hesitant. But the worst of all -- blushing, especially in front of Kazu. Or at least that was then, right? After all, this transfer was supposed to be the turning to a new side of an old leaf.
Tamao turned her head to face the window. Tree branches lurked nearby the glass, creeping around the window frame. Looking down below, she saw the enormous, old tree trunk. In the distance, fences marked off the school's boundary.
This is going to be her new home, her new life.
Firstly, she rearranged the pillow on the bed so that she would see the sunrise every times she woke up. Then she started to unpack. Though the necessity to bring any extra articles of clothing was questionable: wasn't she going to be wearing a uniform as long as she was on school grounds?
She opened the drawer.
"So that's where they put my uniform."
Tamao set aside her personal clothes, and took out a pile of red, and golden-colored clothing. The uniform was a white blouse with a cherise vest, and a burgundy knee-length skirt. A yellow "H" was embroidered on to the breast pocket of the vest. Tamao checked the rest of the drawers, they were all filled except for one, the one at the very bottom.
"I suppose this was meant to be for my socks." Her eyebrows furrowed.
After stuffing the remaining drawer with undergarments, socks, and a few cardigans, she threw some of her clothes onto her bed. Hanging a few jackets in the closet next to the hallway door, placing her shoes beneath them. After tossing the rest of her clothes back into the case, she placed the luggage next to the drawer.
Exhausted, she plopped herself down on her bed, spreading her arms out. A soft ticking sound came from across the room. She looked at the opposite wall, the clock showed 11:24 AM. She closed her eyes, and made an effort to breathe deeply. A new school means new friends, but she was never good at making friends. Her heart started racing. She bolted up straight, the school bells ringing in her ears. It was lunch time. Tamao donned her uniform, and went to look for a mirror, which she realized there will only be one: the bathroom mirror.
The bathroom wasn't anything special. Everything was white, the tiles, sink, toilets, shower stall, and curtains. Luckily, there was some built-in privacy around the toilets. Turning on the light, the sight would have been blinding if someone sanitized the place daily. Tamao looked at herself in the rectangular mirror. Her pink hair almost matched her vest. Almost.
A knocking sound came from the dorm. Tamao slipped out of the bathroom, and opened the door.
"Hello, Tamao, haven't forgotten about you." K-chan waved her hand wearily, "It's lunchtime, and here's your lunch card -- which is really your I.D. card. Sorry I forgot to give it to you earlier."
Tamao looked at the identification card, sans student photo.
"They probably won't make you take a photo now that we're already halfway through the school year," K-chan noticed Tamao staring at the card, "Which is a good thing since school photos usually turn out bad."
K-chan flashed her card in front of Tamao's face. She really didn't look too bad in the photo.
"Are you ready to go?"
"Yeah." Tamao walked out into the hallway, and closed the door behind her.
"I wish there was an elevator." K-chan sighed, and tumbled her way down the stairs, "You'll be sitting with me, and your roommate for lunch. Then the class ambassador will show you your classes."
"What's a class ambassador?"
"Oh," K-chan paused in step for a moment, "Well, I don't know much about his job--"
"He?"
"Yes, and his name is Hao Asakura. Now, I don't really know much about what a class ambassador does. The only thing I know is that you have to have a good record to get any position in a club, or student government. Record meaning academic, and extracurricular. I also know that the ambassador position isn't voted on by the class, an ambassador is chosen through an application to the Vice Principal, and an interview. There is one ambassador for each class."
Tamao's hands fidgeted slightly, "Who's my roommate?"
"Well, a girl, of course!" K-chan laughed at her own joke, "I'll be introducing you to her. Her name is Sakino Kurata. Let me think, she's uh…quiet, I guess, but she's really athletic."
But? She's quiet but athletic? That doesn't make any sense.
"Well, anyway, all I can say is good luck to you. Kurata is a really anti-social kind of person. The only time I ever really heard her talk was when I was passing by the soccer field, and she was yelling out instructions to the team. The boys' soccer team." K-chan shivered.
Tamao stared at the enormous building façade in front of her. High walls of glass emphasized the modernized architecture.
K-chan went up the steps, "This is a side door to the cafeteria. This is the usual path to the school we take from the dorm in the morning." She heaved open the door for Tamao.
Inside was a ruckus of noise, mostly chatter.
"Welcome to Saint Henri's Academy." K-chan walked into the cafeteria, out of breath, stepping into the vacant lunch line. She picked up a tray, and Tamao followed suit.
"'Ey, Kuragawa!"
"Sakino is the only person in this school who doesn't call me 'K-chan', except for the teachers." K-chan whispered.
"Kuragawa!" Tamao looked over her shoulder, and noticed the girl who was calling out to them. She had long, dark hair tied into a ponytail. Her jet black eyes aimed directly at K-chan. She was sitting by herself at a table for four.
"Be right there!" K-chan called out.
K-chan, and Tamao quickly filed out of the lunch line, and sat down.
"Sakino, this is your new roommate, Tamao Tamamura. Tamao, Sakino Kurata."
"So, Sakino, would you like to introduce yourself?" K-chan asked with an obvious tremble in her voice.
"You already did."
"Okay… Tamao?"
"I hope we become good friends."
The rest of lunch time was held in silence.
Tamao could see the relief in K-chan's face when the bell rang for lunch time to be over. Outwardly, she felt relieved, but inside, there was a curiosity needing to be satiated.
"The class ambassador will be waiting for you outside the classroom." K-chan dumped the remains of her lunch into the trash bin.
"What's his name again?"
"What?"
"What's his name?" Tamao tried harder to speak over the echoing voices in the cafeteria.
"Hao Asakura, need info on him like Sakino?" K-chan yelled. A comment which clearly Sakino heard, judging by the look on her face.
"Um, sure."
"Hallway." K-chan pointed the direction.
Tamao happily obliged to leave to a quieter place.
"Asakura…" K-chan eyes became distant, "I don't know much about him, unfortunately. He's pretty sociable, and apparently has a good enough record to pass as class ambassador."
K-chan stopped walking, "Sorry, Tamao. I'll have to leave you here, your class is the last room down this hallway. However, my class is on the other side of the school, and my teacher always gets mad when we're late." K-chan smiled sheepishly.
Tamao nodded absently, barely hearing what K-chan said right before she hopped away. A whole sea of red was everywhere. A tall guy with spiked green hair walked in her direction.
"Pardon," he murmured, walking past her in the crowded hallway. He wore the boys' uniform: red sweater over a collar-shirt, and black slacks.
"Wait!"
The green haired boy turned down to look at her.
"Do you know where Hao Asakura is?"
He stared at her for a moment with a dull look on his face, "Are you new here?"
Tamao dipped her head slightly.
"Huh. Knew your face was new. Follow me." He started walking back down the hall from where he came from. Each step he took forced Tamao to take two strides. The green haired boy's eyes focused straight ahead, "Hao isn't a hard person to miss. You'll see what I mean."
She saw.
"Asakura!"
"Jin, how are you today? And your mossy hair?" A boy stood by the classroom door, leaning against the wall. His long coffee-colored hair hung loosely on his shoulders.
"Shut up." Jin growled.
"Tisk, tisk, tisk." Hao shook his head, "Jin picking up girls from other classes?"
"NO!" Jin forced back a yell, recovering his short fuse, "She's the new girl looking for you, moron."
"Don't worry, he that's just the way he talks," Hao turned his head to the new girl. He gave an outstretched hand, "My name is Hao Asakura, class ambassador, and this is my comrade, Jin Hirigami."
"Comrade, my ass."
"He is truly a gentleman once you get to know him. After all, it takes one to know one." Hao smiled at her. He took Tamao's hand, and shook firmly. She could feel the heat rising at her neck.
"Thank you for escorting her, Jin. You may go to the bathroom now."
"I WASN'T GOING TO THE --!" Jin raised his fist to strike, "Ugh, never mind." He shoved his hands into his pockets, and sauntered down the hall.
"This room is our classroom. Once all of our classmates get settled into class, I'll give you the tour of the school. So for right now, just chill."
Chill?
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From what I know about Japanese schools: all classes/subjects take place in one room, the teachers switch classes.