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Morning Classes

As chance would have it, Kiki, Oleg and Hana were all in the same homeroom. Unfortunately for Kiki, it was math class, her least favourite subject. Slumping in her seat in boredom, class having not even started proper, Kiki stared at Mrs. Sue Ping, her hair a little bit greyer. Mrs. Ping was someone Kiki was very much familiar with. She was the materfamilias of the famous Lee Ping, whom Kiki had never met, and a former client of Kiki's papa Quentin Hagen, since he was the one who had sold the Ping family their home. Kiki and Mrs. Ping had met more than once, mainly when accompanying one of her fathers on grocery shopping or some such thing, but she had found the math teacher to be nice, if a tad on the rude side.

Class started with a welcoming from A. Nigma's very own news anchor. Tina Kwee and Chaz Moneranian having graduated, in their places was Carlota MacLeod, allegedly for all intents and purposes the half-Hispanic, female version of the latter, albeit actually bearable, legitimately popular in her own right and not half as much of an egotist, while having the fashion sense of the former rather than basically wearing the female equivalent of Chaz's attire.

"Welcome back, A. Nigma High students to the first day of the new school year!" exclaimed Carlota. "I'm Carlota MacLeod, your school news anchor. After a few years of no new vice principal and the really weird year where we had two principals instead of one, among other weird things, we are finally getting a new principal, so we'll be having an assembly in the gym at lunch… Gee, why does that sound so familiar? Well, unless there is a repeat of the Prank of 2012, I don't think anything that terrible is going to happen. So, let's see here… What else? Oh, yes! Cheerleader tryouts have been moved to… Hold that thought, it seems we were misinformed. It just says, one of these days."

Perking up, Kiki thought about trying out for the cheer squad. It sounded like so much fun being a cheerleader! Quietly, she muttered under her breath: "No, you've got to know! Please! Tell me!"

But, alas, the news report went on and when it was done math class began with Mrs. Ping introducing herself, a bunch of other words were said and when it was all over, Kiki was bored out of her mind for the next seventy-five minutes.

Seventy-five minutes… Kiki shook her head and wondered why on earth high school class had to be so long, especially math of all things. Why math? She hated it. Hated it! Hated it! Hated it! Why did math have to be mandatory?

Once those seventy-five agonizing minutes were over, Kiki stepped forth from the classroom and let out a sigh of relief. It was over, it was finally over! She then looked at her schedule and smiled when she saw it was drama. Something fun!

Looking at Oleg with a smile, asking if he was in her next class, the Russian boy could do naught but shake his head as he held up his own schedule. The smile faltering, Kiki then looked at Hana. Holding up her own schedule, Hana said: Sorry, girl."

Kiki slumped a bit and said: "I'll see you guys at lunch then."

Walking off to drama class, Kiki thought about what her next class held for her. No doubt she'd be getting to know her classmates just as she did in math class, but math was such a boring subject while drama was so exciting. Maybe she'd join the drama club! That would be exciting too!

Any thoughts of joining the drama club vanished from her mind as once more Kiki thought about becoming a cheerleader. She could do it! She knew she could!

Cheerleader, bridesmaid, there was so much she would be this year and hopefully more! Others would have thought her odd, but Kiki was hopeful for some great adventures like the ones Lee Ping had starting with his first day! It might not have been his first day at A. Nigma, but it had been a first day nonetheless.

Her mind only on her thoughts and her eyes on the room numbers as she reached drama class, Kiki collided with a fellow student. Pulled out of her thoughts, she immediately apologized and upon looking at who she had bumped into a smile came to her face.

Had she ever met this boy before? No, she would have remembered. There was nothing particularly good-looking about him, he was common looking with a big nose and eyes with close-fitting lids that caused them to look small and triangular and a bit on the thin side, but in her eyes, he was… Alright. She didn't need an Adonis, she didn't need cute, she didn't need handsome, alright was enough for her. He was… Kiki was not sure about the background, he was something, that was all she knew. He was wearing a red shirt, a black pair of pants, some red running shoes, he really looked like someone who could vanish into a crowd and yet Kiki would remember him and that had to with his expression. It was warm, relaxed, kind, a perfectly unexpected expression for someone who had just been bumped into. She would have expected a bit more surprise.

"No, no, my fault!" said the boy. "My fault entirely, I was just trying to find the class and wasn't paying attention if there was someone coming the other way."

"So was I." Kiki replied, holding the tip of her skirt with her free hand. What was she about to do? A curtsy? How old fashioned could one get. Letting go of her skirt, she said: "I'm Kiki Hu-Hagen. What is your name?"

"Hone Sayegh." The boy answered, then becoming nervous he added: "If my name sounds weird, my dad's Arabic, my mom's Maori and so, uh… Where do I go with this?"

"You don't need to go anywhere." Kiki assured him. "I find that interesting."

"Y-you do?" Hone asked.

Kiki nodded as she and Hone walked together into class. Keeping her eyes on him, Kiki wondered what to say. As much as Toronto was a melting pot, she had never met an Arabic person before, never met a Maori person before, what was she supposed to say to someone who was half-Arabic and half-Maori? Not something stupid, that was for sure.

"So, what was your first class of the day, Hone?" Kiki asked.

"Science." Hone answered. "What about yours, Kiki?"

Groaning, she answered: "Math. I hate math!"

"I don't think anyone does. Makes me wonder if math teachers are crazy."

Laughing as she took a seat on the wooden floor of the classroom, Kiki nodded. "Sounds like it." She then looked over at the mirror and the dance… bar… thing… What was it called again? Kiki couldn't remember and she had even taken dance classes. Clearly dance club must have made use of the drama room after school requiring such things.

Her eyes lighting up, Kiki thought of maybe she should join the dance club instead of the cheerleaders. That would have been fun too!

"You like drama, Kiki?" Hone inquired.

"Of course, I do!" Kiki excitedly answered. "It is so much fun! Drama, history, gym, those are the fun subjects along with English and… Well, I'm sure I'll discover more! I enjoyed those before high school, so I'm sure I'll still enjoy them."

"Yeah, I enjoy it too. My parents having been going to the Stratford Festival for years and they take me along too. I've seen some good plays there." Smiling, Hone thought about some of the plays he had seen, such as "Peter Pan", "Camelot" and "Macbeth".

Some more students soon entered and upon seeing one of them, Kiki glared daggers. Everyone had friends and yet at the same time everyone had a nemesis. This one was June Aguirre, Kiki's rival since the two had entered the eighth grade. Before that she had simply been a blonde girl that Kiki had little to no interaction with. She was just as slender as Kiki, her hair just as long, but her eyes were a tad on the unnatural side. Every now and then there is an individual with eyes more fitting for a beast than for a person and that was indeed the kind of eyes that June had, seeming more fit for a lioness than a human being. As for her hair, it was so light a blonde it bordered on white. She even wore white: white blouse, white skirt, white shoes, there was something almost ghostly about her, at least in Kiki's opinion, it was just a good thing she wasn't actually a ghost, but with the way she snuck up on people so quickly and quietly, she might as well have been able to walk through walls.

Her green eyes falling upon Kiki and Hone, June smiled a smile that Kiki had only seen on the villains in Disney movies. One of the good ones and Kiki couldn't say she had enjoyed many of them.

"Oh, looks like you have a new friend, Kiki." June commented, crueller than kind. "How nice. What is he with that big nose of his? A blaspheming J—"

"Oh, shut up, June!" Kiki exclaimed, standing up with her fists clenched. "Didn't anyone ever tell you that an attitude like yours went out of fashion in 1945?"

"Yeah, well, things come back into fashion." Stated June with a wave of her hand. "Maybe my attitude towards Christ killers will too."

As June went to a different part of the room to sit down, Kiki returned to sitting upon her knees while Hone stared in alarm at June. Slowly, he asked: "H-Has she always been like…"

Bluntly, Kiki answered: "Yes."

"Has she ever gotten in trouble for expressing such views?"

"Unfortunately, no. Sometimes people are just that lucky, but at the same time I believe karma will get her in the end."

At least, Kiki could hope. Karma was fickle. There was no way of knowing if it would punish someone or if that individual had just merely escaped karma's punishment.

Drama class began and with everyone seated in a circle, the teacher introduced herself as Ms. Bardot, a woman who looked at least nineteen, but Kiki had a gut feeling she was closer to thirty. Appearances were strange. Someone could look younger than they actually were and it could be a complete surprise to everyone.

After that, they went clockwise around the circle with every student introducing themselves, June putting on such a sweet and innocent act that if Kiki didn't know her well, she too would have fallen for it. When it came time for Hone to introduce himself, he swallowed nervously before saying: "My name is Hone Sayegh… Uh, I like to read, I like theatre and… That's it."

Kiki was surprised. She had expected Hone to be a tad bit more talkative, but then again, he might have still been in shock from what June had said to him.

After Hone had had his turn, it was Kiki's turn to introduce herself. With her hands upon her lap, she said: "Hello, I'm Kiki Hu-Hagen. I am a bit excitable with an ear for mystery, adventure and fun and am looking forward to being a student here at A. Nigma High."

Though her eyes were on Ms. Bardot, Kiki's attention were on Hone and June. From the corner of her eye, she could see Hone smile while a brief scowl of attempt appeared upon the countenance of June. June wouldn't get worse as she got older, would she? Alas, Kiki knew not. What she did know was that she had found a friend in Hone.

A friend whose name ended in "ne" and a rival whose name ended in "ne". That was something that Kiki found interesting. What were the odds?

Class went on with the students doing various exercises and when all was over, Kiki found she had enjoyed herself immensely. This was turning out to be a good first day, boring start with math and sharing a class with June aside.

As she and Hone made their way out into the hallway, Kiki inquired if he had any friends to eat lunch with. Immediately, he replied: "Not really. I was always a bit of a loner in elementary school, but new educational period, new me, so I guess I could eat with you and your friends if you have any to eat with."

"I have friends to eat with." Said Kiki. "Oleg and Hana. You'll like them. They are my oldest and dearest friends."

"I wish I had old and dear friends." Hone commented.

"You've never had any friends, Hone?" Kiki asked as she and him began to make their way to the cafeteria.

"I've had brief friends." Hone answered. "So, I guess you could say in a way, I've had old friends, but never friends were both old and dear."

Still, Kiki thought, it was better than having never had friends at all.