Wow... as I write, the story's only been posted for about two days and already I have lots of hits and even a few reviews! Thanks to all of you readers making this a success!
As a thank-you gift, I'm going to get this done even sooner than I planned! Here's the second chapter for all of you readers who've visited, and especially for the ones who've reviewed. Enjoy!
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The following morning went by without much excitement, save a few chalk-tosses from Yukari. So far, the girls had done a pretty good job of helping Kimiko adjust to the new school; they'd given her tips about what school food was edible, which girls were bad news, what not to do in Yukari's class (Tomo provided her with a few firsthand lessons on that subject), and what guys to avoid.
Thus far, there hadn't been any problems. But when time came for the girls to go to their Contemporary Literature class, Kaorin grew uneasy. Sensing her distress, Kimiko asked her what was wrong.
"Oh... it's just the teacher of our next class."
"Is he worse than Yukari?" Kimiko asked, terrified.
"Yes, and no. He's bad... but not in the way Yukari is."
"Well, he can't be all that bad, right? Right?" She looked around the circle, and every girl in the class averted their eyes. "He is? Ohh, no..."
"But, don't worry! It'll be fine. I mean, he wouldn't act the way he always does around a new student... would he?" She finished uncertainly, looking to the others for reassurance. They shrugged, and looked hopeful.
To Kaorin's relief, Kimura wasn't there when they reached the class.
"Maybe he's takin' anotha' day off?" Osaka suggested. Yomi shook her head.
"I don't think we'll be that lucky." She sighed. Sure enough, the classroom door slid open and Kimura walked in.
"He doesn't look too bad..." Kimiko thought to herself. "Glasses, short hair, shirt tucked in..."
"So, class." Kimura began. "Today we'll be learning about-" He froze in mid-sentence. "You!" He shouted, pointing to Kimiko. His jaw had fixed in its open position, and the class knew what would come next. In a flash, he had moved down the aisle and was soon standing next to her. "You must be the new student." He then looked up and looked around the class, confused. "Why didn't any of you tell me we had a cute new student transferring in! I'm the teacher! I should know these things!"
Hearing a teacher call her cute wasn't something Kimiko was used to; she stared up at him in shock, eyes wide and mouth agape.
"Well, then. You'll have to answer the New Student Survey I made, then." He pulled a paper seemingly out of nowhere and put it on her desk. "Let me know when you're finished with that, then." With that, he walked back to his desk and sat down, staring intently at her as she read the first question.
"Umm... what do tucked-in gym shirts have to do with anything?" She asked, bewildered.
"Kimura-sensei!" Kaorin called, putting her hand up. "I don't think I've taken that survey yet."
"Ohh? I was sure I've given it to you...well, then, I'll have to get you one!" He shouted, and dove into his desk for another. Tomo silently crept across the room and grabbed the paper off Kimiko's desk. She quietly tore it in half, tossing it into the trash can on her way back to her seat. "Found one!"
Kimura practically leapt to Kaorin's desk and handed her the paper, which she took with the cutest smile she could muster. Kimura floated back to his desk and watched her bubble in the answers, then took the paper when she finished. "So... what were we doing?" He asked.
"We were going to start class, sensei." Yomi called.
"Yes, right. Well. Today's story..." he droned, and a collective sigh of relief escaped the class. Kaorin turned to Kimiko and smiled, raising a weary thumbs-up. Kimiko laughed nervously, hoping that she wouldn't have to go through this experience again anytime in the future.
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Lunch soon arrived, and the group headed to the cafeteria.
"Hey, Kaorin, way to go. That was cool of you to take the bullet for Abe-san." Kagura grinned.
"Wha? Ohh... well, I'm used to Kimura. It's no big deal, really."
"I thought it was very kind of you." Sakaki said quietly. Kaorin nearly jumped out of her skin- she hadn't noticed Sakaki standing behind her at all.
"Ah! S-Sakaki-san..." Kaorin gasped. "Th-thank you..." She said softly, boring a hole through the lunchroom tile with her eyes. Sakaki nodded a "you're welcome" and walked past her, leaving Kaorin standing frozen in the middle of the group. Once she could feel her legs again, she started toward Chihiro's table.
"Oh, wait, Aida-san. Come sit with us." Kimiko said, smiling brightly at her. Kaorin gave her an urgent, pleading look, but Kimiko just smiled and coaxed her over to the table.
Kaorin hesitantly took the only open seat, directly across from Sakaki. As expected, she instantly took an immense interest in her food. Kimiko fought the smile creeping across her face, and cleared her throat.
"So, Aida-san, I showed you that picture of my cats yesterday, right?"
"Mm-hmm. It was cute." Kaorin mumbled.
"Didn't you say once that you had a cat?" Kimiko asked.
"Oh, yeah. She's going to have another litter soon, from the looks of it." Kaorin nodded. She was still poking her food with her chopsticks. Kimiko looked across the table, and noticed that Sakaki wasn't staring out into space; instead, she was watching Kaorin.
But her face wasn't showing the interest that Yomi had told Kimiko to watch for. She wore a sad, dejected look, and fidgeted a little in her seat.
"I'm... going to go get some fresh air." Sakaki said softly, adding her usual nod of acknowledgement onto the end. Then she stood and walked out of the lunchroom, off toward the little grove of trees outside. Kaorin slumped down in her seat and repeatedly thumped her head against the table.
Kimiko frowned as she watched Sakaki leave.
"What was that about?" She wondered. As usual, she looked for an explanation in the faces of her classmates; this time, though, they were every bit as baffled as she. "And what was with that look she was giving Aida-san? Is there something bothering her?" Kimiko sighed. "It's probably none of my business, but..." She picked up her lunchbox and bowed apologetically to the group. "I'll be right back." She assured them, and headed out the door Sakaki had taken.
"...but, this is a good chance for me to find out what Sakaki-san thinks of Aida-san."
She walked into the small grove of trees.
"Sakaki-san?" She began.
"Hmm?" Sakaki snapped out of her reverie and looked away from the cloud she'd been watching. "Yes?" She asked. Her eyes still held the same wistful sadness, and they were a little red.
Had she been... crying?
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Ah, poor Sakaki-san. What could be wrong?
Expect chapter 3 to come pretty soon, though probably not as fast as this (written in one night, over the course of four hours during IM conversations and web browsing as well).
A big thanks to all my reviewers once again, and an even bigger thanks to my fellow Wonderlanders, who gave me the inspiration to write a relatively cliche'-free OC fanfiction.
