A/N So in this chapter we meet Hana. It might feel a little slow, and Kyoya doesn't come in for a little while, but I need to set the scene and get Hana introduced to this story, so please, bear with me! Also, Hana is working for Misaki! Kaichou wa maid sama, anyone?
Disclaimer- I don't own Ouran High School Host Club. I'm not that awesome!
Chapter 1-
Hana smiled at the class. It was a forced one, one used for either greeting someone, or one used to see if the smile will somehow make the outfit the individual was wearing look better. The latter was more common, but Hana's reason was the former.
Her new teacher assigned her a seat; at the front, right next to an orange-haired, orange-eyed guy who had nearly half the entire female population swooning over him. The other half were swooning over his identical twin who sat at the back. Hana immediately knew that those two were the troublemakers of the class, and that the aging teacher had decided to place her right next to a person who attracted attention. Hana inwardly sighed. She hated attention.
Her new class was interesting. Sitting next to the twin who introduced himself as Kaoru, was Haruhi, a girl cross-dressing as a guy for no evident reason. Rich people. Sometimes they had more money than they knew what to do with. Well, Hana could think of a good way to use that money. Ever heard of charity? That, Hana reasoned, was a much more sensible way of using money than cross-dressing.
A few hours later the bell rang, signaling lunch. Hana silently picked up her books and put them in her locker, which, like everything else in this place, was extravagantly big. It was more of a small city than a school.
Hana was an honor student, here on a scholarship. She'd worked extremely hard to get the grades, and finally, finally, there had been an opening, due to someone leaving halfway through the year. Since it was the second half of the year, Hana had a lot of studies to catch up on. Not to mention that honor students weren't treated very... For lack of a better term, honorably. It was as though this was simply a way of rich people making arrangements and connections with other rich people, and not to get an education. To say the least, Hana was slightly disappointed. But she was here now, and she had to deal with it. Crying and complaining never got anyone anywhere. Hard work and determination did.
"Hi there! Hana, was it?" Haruhi smiled, "I'm Haruhi! I'm an honor student as well; just thought I'd introduce myself. Anyway, I'm in a bit of a hurry, so I'll see you later?"
"Sure" Hana replied, putting on a polite smile, "I'd love to"
Haruhi nodded and ran off, and Hana decided to skip eating lunch. Her mother had made it, and she knew that her classmates would mock her for it. Still... She'd always loved her mothers home-made bento's...
Hana shook her head, clearing her mind from such thoughts. If she didn't want any more attention than she already had, she had to fly under the radar.
The most interesting event of the day was when she was walking to one of the libraries. She was nearly run over by a stampede of girls from different classes and years, all running towards a music room screaming similar things to do with something called the Host Club. Hana lay on the ground, watching them go, utter shock and surprise on her face.
A girl with fiery red hair walked over and offered Hana her hand, "Come on; get up" she grinned, "It's just the fangirls"
Hana accepted it, then put on the picture perfect face of innocence; a puzzled frown, "Fangirls?" Hana questioned, "What do they have to fangirl over?"
"Didn't you hear them? The Host Club" she answered, and started walking, Hana matching her stride, "Oh, right, you're that honor student. Let me introduce myself. I'm Chris, Christina if you're feeling fancy. Class 2-A, and if you haven't already guessed I'm from America. I'm here on a one-year foreign exchange trip. I've been on so many I can't count how many countries and languages I've learned, so forgive me if I mess up my Japanese, sil vous plait?"
Hana laughed, "French. So you've been to France? And if you don't mind me asking, why have you moved around so much? It seems a little difficult"
"Yep, been to France. Specifically, Paris. Oh, and I don't mind. I move around because my father is constantly moving. He doesn't stay in one place for too long, and as part of my training for the day when I take over the company I move with him" She explained, "I don't care that much. I know a lot of girls in this school would disagree with me, but I believe the most important part of school is an education, not socialization. I know socialization is the point of this school, but I came here for a year to study. But then again, branding out my contacts with future heirs and heiresses isn't a bad idea" she laughed abruptly, "Sorry, I got carried away. I must be boring you"
"No, please continue" Hana requested, and the sincerity in her voice must have reached Chris, "Honestly, I've had to be polite to all the people in this school because I know they're rich enough to kill me and hide my body; but I think there's just not enough learning happening. Coming from a poor family, the only way I can support them is by doing my absolute best, you know?"
"I do" Chris agreed, "Take the Host Club, for example. It's the place, 'Where rich boys with too much time on their hands flirt with girls who have too much time in their hands'" she did the universal air quotes sign, "Their motto is something similar. Basically, they eat cake, drink tea, somehow not get diabetes, and break girls hearts. And to think their other motto is that they, 'Want to make girls happy!' The hypocrites!"
"How many mottos do they have?" Hana wondered, "I can't judge them without meeting them, but they sound terrible"
"You have no idea" Chris said eagerly, and she began to fill Hana in on all the schools gossip. Eventually, she realized that Hana had no lunch.
"Hey, where's your lunch?" She inquired, dragging Hana to what she supposed was the cafeteria, only it was a lot more refined than that, "If you want, I'll pay, it's fine"
"No, it's not that..." Hana trailed off, "I have a bento"
"Let's go get it then! Lunch is almost over!" Chris said, and Hana nodded, feeling slightly unsure. They walked over to Hana's locker, and Hana took out her bento. It looked cheap, but tasted amazing.
"Hey, can I try that?" Chris asked, interested, "If you don't mind"
"Sure" Hana said, then offered her some. Chris ate it, and then Hana grinned at Chris' shocked expression, "Good, huh?"
"We are so trading lunches from now on" Chris squealed, then calmed herself, "Hell, I miss America. Everyone is so serious in Japan"
"Serious?" Hana frowned, "I suppose compared to someone else we might seem like that... To me, we just seem cultural and slightly strict. Serious implies we have no humor"
"Hmm" Chris mused, then shook her head and laughed, "Anyway, we're getting way too racist way too fast"
"A minor amount of racism is good" Hana shrugged, "Too much is unnecessary, but a small amount of racism allows people to stay true to their roots. If England didn't judge anyone who came into their country they'd lose that stereotypical British accent. Sure, in theory no racism sounds great, but in the end we all have different personalities with different beliefs, and trying to merge as one is never going to work. People have tried to force their beliefs onto someone else and look where they turned out. Fights and arguments and god knows what else"
"I went to Britain once" Chris smiled fondly, "But that's not the point here. I have to say, I agree with you, but the thought of being racist to keep our identity? Being mean to keep your identity? It just seems really weird and really selfish to me. But hey, who am I to judge? For now, give me more of that bento" her eyes sparkled and Hana laughed, letting her have some more, deciding to drop the argument for now. It was nice to talk to someone, Hana thought, to let them know her opinions on things. True, maybe it wasn't the best friendship, or the most recommended, but it was something Hana was going to treasure.
The bell for the end of lunch rang, and both Hana and Chris wolfed down the food. They both moaned about their upset stomachs then laughed at the idiocy of what they'd just done. They both went to their different classes. Hana expected herself to feel a little weird out since Chris wasn't in her year, but she hadn't. After all, many people from many different years mingled in this school. Business, as usual.
The last two lessons of the day were... Mathematics, Hana's worst subject. Inwardly groaning, she trudged to class. She was faced with an interesting dilemma when she arrived; where to sit? Luckily, she was saved by the lovely cross-dresser by the name of Haruhi, whom Hana suspected, that the class didn't know her true gender. That puzzled Hana, but she wasn't one to point out the elephant in room, especially in a place like this. Because just as she'd said to Chris, these people were definitely rich enough to kill her and hide the evidence, so she'd best be on their good sides. And anyway, like Chris said, it wouldn't hurt to make contacts with a few people, but Hana wasn't too fussed about that. She just needed to focus on getting good grades and a good job. It's what she had focused on for the past years of her life, and most likely what she'd continue to focus on.
Unfortunately, her maths teacher did not know what he was doing. He knew the subject well enough, and he definitely knew the formulae, but what he lacked was the necessary skill of teaching. In a place as fancy as this, you'd think that at least their maths teachers would be semi-decent. Hana sighed. It was going to be a half-year of trying to solve the problems on her own, which was fine and all, but what she lacked was time. Between her part-time jobs and doing the house-hold chores, she didn't think she be getting any sleep at all.
You see, Hana struggled with studies, even more so than the average student. Ironically, her classmates could easily do what would take her hours to accomplish if they were motivated. Motivation, Hana had in large quantities, but talent? That was rare for her. But she needed talent, and since she didn't have it, motivation stepped in. At least motivation ensured that she'd be able to support her family, whereas talent would make her rich. And wealth, she reflected, glancing at her classmates, wasn't something she desired in enormous quantities. No, Hana just wanted a simple life where bills were not an issue.
But that isn't to say that Hana wasn't intelligent. She was; just not when it came to idiotic maths problems. Whilst Hana had to study to solve, 'What is x in this equation?' She could easily figure out, without having to confirm, how to heal a basic wound or do a particular self-defense maneuver. Street smart, she'd liked to think of herself, not book smart.
The school-day ended without much of a hitch, unless you count the abnormally large amount of maths homework for the first day back from the holidays.
Hana quickly packed her books away, left the school, and walked over to the cafe where she worked part time, barely making it.
"You're late" her boss, Misaki, scolded, "Care to tell me why?"
"I'm going to a new school, remember? Hana reminded her, "So do you think we can move my shift up a little?"
"Hmm. I'll think about it, but for now, customers are waiting" she replied, throwing Hana an apron. She caught it, put it on, and began to work.
Three hours later it was eight thirty, Hana's usual finishing time. She took out her contacts and slipped her glasses back on. They blocked her violet eyes, as usual, and then she tied her hair back. She preferred this look-it was more comfortable- but Misaki said she'd attract much more customers if she looked visually appealing.
As uncomfortable as it was, Hana had grown accustomed to it, and even she'd had to admit that she did look good when her hair was done and glasses were off. But she didn't want people flocking to her because of her beauty, so she always kept them on.
"Alright Misaki" Hana said, "I'm going home. Is there anything I need to do?"
"Nope. Here's your pay, thanks for all the hard work you out into today. As for your shift, I can only move it up a half hour. That okay?" Misaki said, handing Hana the money. Misaki paid her weekly.
"Perfect" Hana said, relieved, "Thanks Misaki. Anyway, I'll be going"
"Be safe on the walk home" Misaki replied, "The nights aren't as safe as they used to be"
"I will" Hana promised, then left the cafe. The journey home was rather uneventful as Hana stuck to the main paths. When she reached the cheap, three bedroom apartment she, her mother and her younger sister shared, she used the spare key her mother had entrusted her with and entered.
Her exhausted mother looked up from the main room when Hana walked in, "How are you Hana?" She asked, "How was your day?"
"Mother? You're home early" Hana frowned, "And as for my day, it was pretty interesting. Well, as interesting as first days at a private school as an honor student are"
Her mother chuckled weakly, "I can imagine"