Chapter 7:

Within the next month, Toph Bei Fong had become best friends with Katara, Keiko, and Kimiko. The four of them would walk to school together, eat lunch together, and meet between most classes.

Since all four of them would gossip to each other now, Kimiko had someone new to complain about Raimundo to. Toph was physically blind, but her imagination was still perceptive. She did not know what Raimundo and Kimiko's appearances were, but she said that she "sees" that Raimundo and Kimiko belong together.

Unfortunately, things between Raimundo and Kimiko did not improve. Chameleon Bot had dressed up as Raimundo, so Kimiko tried making fun of him. It didn't offend him, or cause him to be embarrassed at all. This was because people were used to Chameleon Bot dressing up like them, which was really disappointing. Sometimes, Kimiko wondered how Chameleon Bot was able to copy his target's exact outfit and looks by the following day. The thought was kind of creepy and perverted at the same time.

Kimiko walked down the hall from her geography class, thinking of a pleasant insult to shoot back at Raimundo. She fiddled with the bear magnet in her pocket, trying to use it as a good luck charm.

'At least I will have a whole hour without him to think.' She thought as her dark ponytail bobbed to the side. Kimiko stopped dying her hair since Raimundo made fun of her one day. From that day on, he would make an insult for each color she dyed her hair in.

When she dyed her hair red, he called it 'repulsive red'. When she dyed it purple he would call it 'purple puke'. When she dyed it yellow, he would call it 'yucky yellow', or he would tell her she has pee all over her hair. She would tell him he has crap all over his since his was brown, but she would says it with very little enthusiasm, so it did not bother him. Kimiko actually liked his hair, but she was afraid to admit it.

She did not even know why she was concerned about Raimundo's overrated opinions. Furthermore, she did not know why she couldn't find a better comeback. His looks distracted her so much, she couldn't completely loathe him, but his attitude did the talking. Ignoring his appearance, Kimiko tried to shove the most negative thoughts about him in her head. She had on an angry face as she stormed down the hall. She did not looks where she was going due to her distraction.

She had banged into someone and receded a few steps back.

"Watch it you lowlife!" Kimiko yelled, thinking it was Raimundo, but then covered her mouth with both her hands when she got a good look at who it was. "Ohmigosh! I am so sorry. I was just blind. Don't mind me." Kimiko said stupidly, acting straight forward.

"No problem." Replied Chase Young, giving her his best smile. "I guess you're just having a bad morning, huh?"

"Yeah, you read my mind." Kimiko said, still embarrassed by her actions. She did not know what to say next.

Chase broke the short-term silence. "Would you like to come watch the wrestling tournament after school?" He asked.

Kimiko's mouth dropped. "Seriously?! No, I mean, I'm the one who gave you problems, so shouldn't I be giving you something instead?"

"No, I think it will be fine. I just want to give you a more pleasant day." He told her. Kimiko blushed. Why couldn't more guys be like this?

"Yeah, I would love to come." Kimiko said.

"Great. I'll see you then."

"Awesome." Kimiko watched as he waved at her. His long black, shimmering hair glistened, which removed her mind from Raimundo's looks. Kimiko could not stop staring at him. This is the first time he actually noticed her, and he asked her out on a date! Well, at least a knockoff date.

As she continued to stare as the figure disappearing down the hall, she heard a loud and annoying voice behind her. Apparently, it was the idiotic red-head, Jack Spicer. He wore the same blue sweater vest he wore everyday. It still had the stain on it from last month. Kimiko wanted to barf.

"We meet again, Kimiko. Its fate that's brings us together like this, don't ya think?" He asked her, attempting to put an arm behind her. Kimiko quickly ducked to the other side.

"For your information, I'm taken." She lied, trying she imagined Chase as her future boyfriend.

"No way! You're actually going out with that Mexican?" Jack asked Kimiko in a surprised matter.

Kimiko hated people and their prosaic minds? Why did it always have to be Raimundo? However, making a rancorous insult for Jack would be easier than Raimundo. "And you are going out of the house with that crap on your shirt?" she shot back.

"Yes sir!" Jack replied with delight. He gave her a wide grin. Kimiko still snickered anyways since he was too stupid to know anything.

"Well good for you, because you can buy new nose hair at the dollar store today."

"Really?" asked Jack.

"Yeah, there on sale. You better get there after school." Kimiko said.

"Thanks!" Jack said with a flashy smile, and he marched away. Kimiko now had nothing to distract her from seeing Chase after school. She joyfully marched to her next class. On the way, she saw some posters advertising homecoming. She had forgotten it was next week.

'Maybe Chase and I will go together this year.' Kimiko thought to herself, and left the ostentatious poster staring after her.

-

"No way! Are you serious, Kimiko?" asked Keiko as they were sitting down at their usual tables in the cafeteria.

"Yes!" Kimiko answered, sounding as serious as she can.

"Great, I'm coming with you since Jet is going to be there too." Katara announced.

"What about Raimundo?" Toph added.

Kimiko's mood changed from dreamy to angry, "and why did you have to remind me about him? I went on for a whole hour and a half without thinking about him! I almost broke my record!"

"Wow, you even think about him at home?" asked Keiko with curiosity. The other girls smirked at Kimiko with suspicious glares.

"No…" Kimiko answered looking down. The others girls snickered. Kimiko was glad when Clay came and sat down, followed by Sokka, Suki, and unexpectedly, Omi. It caused the subject to change.

"Howdy, ya'll." Clay greeted with his usual western accent. The girls all said hi to him.

"My pardner Omi is sitting with us today."

"Oh cool." Katara responded. "What's up?" She asked him.

"What's up? Like what's up there? I think the light and the ceiling is up there." Omi responded. The girls all exchanged glances.

"Don't forget he's a little bit on the slow side." Sokka whispered to them. The girls gave him plausible nods.

"So Omi? What do you do for fun?" Katara asked.

"Do you play any sports?" Keiko asked him.

"I, Omi, am doing wresting, and become the greatest warrior in this hi junior school!" declared the cue ball.

"Wow, you are actually in the wrestling team?" said Keiko, suprised.

"Yeah, when you're so small?" Kimiko added, thinking the he no contest for Chase.

"And you'll get beaten to-"

"Silence!" Omi yelled. "Master Fung says, 'one's strength is not determined by one's size, but by the size of one's strength.'"

The girls just blinked. All they heard was Suki's silent giggle. Obviously, half the stuff the Master Fung said was confusing.

The lunch bell rang

"Well, I wish you good luck." Katara told him.

"Me too." said Kimiko.

"That's a given." Keiko added.

Now, Kimiko was even more excited to see what happened after school.

-

"Hurry Up! Or we will leave without you!" cried Keiko.

"Come on, Keiko. Leaving me once is enough already." Kimiko argued.

"Yeah, but that is at home!"

Kimiko was actually in a hurry because she knew Chase was going to be there. It didn't matter if she was early or tardy anyway, since Chase would be expecting her. Kimiko smiled to herself. It erased the obdurateness from thoughts about Raimundo.

Kimiko caught up to Keiko, Katara, and Toph. Together, they entered the gym, seeing crowds of girls screaming. Obviously, there were not many guys in the audience; they would be watching the girls swim team.

Kimiko inhaled. When she is given the chance to talk to Chase, she was going to ask him out to homecoming, or hint him to ask her out. It was vital for her at the moment. However, she knew she was going to cry if she got rejected.

"And where are we supposed to sit?" asked Toph in a moody tone.

"Not over there." replied Katara, pointing in Zuno's direction.

"You should, so you can find your date for homecoming." joked Kimiko.

"And you should find Raimundo." said Katara in an annoyed tone. Ouch. Kimiko wished she kept her mouth shut.

She simply pretended she didn't hear Katara's comment. She just let it drown out through the echoes and screams of the fan girls. "Maybe, we can just stay here, at least we can see."

"Yeah, but we won't get to see Jet's hot abs." Katara whined.

"or Chases" Keiko reminded Kimiko. Toph just blinked.

"Then how about we just push our way through so we can watch some hot guys kick the crap out of each other?" Kimiko asked, annoyed.

"How about no? Those girls are brick walls. They will not let us through when it comes to boys."

"Or how about we just sit somewhere where we can at least see the fight? You guys argue so much about boys." scoffed Toph, folding her arms across her chest.

"Okay fine then, just remind Kim not to be late next time." Keiko replied. Kimiko rolled her eyes in annoyance.

As soon as the girls sat down close to the rear on the crowded bleachers, Coach Guan stepped out. The screams of many girls filled the gym even more. Others pounded their feet on the bleachers to make more noise for his entrance. For a coach, Guan was pretty young and muscular. Who knew there can be so many hotties in one school?

When the scream faded, Guan started his announcement. "Welcome to the first New York Junior High tournament. Over the last few weeks, we have trained all of these weaklings from arms, to legs, and other places we won't discuss. Now, let's watch all of these guys kick the crap out of each other!"

Every girl including Katara, Keiko, and Kimiko screeched. Toph just stared.

"Wow, I can't believe everyone comes here to watch guys. Isn't watching fighting fun enough?" Toph asked in a complaining tone.

"Oh mi gosh Toph, seriously? That is the only reason why anyone comes." Keiko stated.

"Everyone here seems boy crazy. At least picked some decent guys, right Kimiko?"

"Shut up." Kimiko replied, knowing she was talking about Raimundo. The other three laughed.

-

"Oh mi gosh, Omi is so cute now!" squealed Keiko as she and her friends were waiting for their rides. "I thought he was cute at first, but he's even cuter now."

"Yeah, he made Chase look so wimpy." said Katara. "I would never believe Omi and Chase could be evenly matched. Good thing the matches were timed or this would have went on forever."

"Yeah, at least he's better than Jet." Kimiko said, attempting to defend Chase. Kimiko also was disappointed since she didn't get one chance to speak to him.

"I can conclude why Omi's so good." Toph stated. "Are you guys aware how he always calls Mr. Fung 'master'"?

"Actually, yeah." Katara said. The other girls nodded with her.

"Oh mi gosh, didn't Master Fung say he used to be a martial arts trainer?" Keiko asked.

"Right, so he must have also trained Omi." Toph said. "You see, he trained me once before."

"Really?" the other three asked in shock.

"Yes, he helped enlighten my world, and helped me see my way through life."

"But you can't see." Kimiko pointed out. Katara elbowed her.

"It was only a little bit, but he helped me a lot." Toph said.

"Lucky you." Keiko said. "I would never be able to do anything like that." Toph smiled.

Katara saw her grandmother's car pull over on the curb along with others who also came to pick up their children. "There's our ride, Toph."

The girl said their "byes" and "see you tomorrows."

After Katara and Toph left, Kimiko and Keiko were able to take a breath. The moment of relaxation ended when Raimundo jumped up to Kimiko out of nowhere. Kimiko was angered since she did not get a chance to talk to Chase first.

"And what are you doing here?" Kimiko asked in annoyance.

"Checking you out." Raimundo answered. Keiko giggled.

"And I think I'll be checking out of here." Kimiko shot back.

"So I'll be coming with you." Raimundo replied.

"How about not?" she gave Raimundo a glare. She wished she can say Chase would come and beat Rai up if he badgered her, but she and Chase were not a couple yet. Kimiko scanned the area for Chase anyways. All she saw were crowds of other people talking and waiting for their parents.

"Too bad. Who are you going to homecoming with anyways?" He asked her. Kimiko opened her mouth in shock. He didn't actually ask her yet, but her answer was obvious.

"What do you care?" She said boldly. With that, she grabbed Keiko's wrist and pulled her away. Raimundo just snickered as she walked away.

-

"What did you do?!" Keiko asked when the girls were far enough and Kimiko stopped pulling her. "He was about to ask you out to homecoming!"

Kimiko gave her a glare. "Seriously, he is such a pain in the behind. Do you really think I would want to go out with him?! Were nothing like each other!"

"Geez Kim, I figured you could match if you tried. Besides, opposites attract!" Keiko said with glee.

"Just cut it out!" Kimiko yelled, storming away. She was fed up with Raimundo jokes. Even her best friend wasn't profound about her feelings. She just started walking in an erratic direction and wound up back in the school.

-

"You were great Chase." Kimiko praised. She was delighted that she finally got the chance to meet up with him. Raimundo making her mad ironically ended up pleasing.

"Thanks, but to be honest, this is one of my worst fights. It's either win or lose, but draw is not acceptable." He said with aggression. Kimiko could tell when Chase was fighting, his personality was different from the one he had in daily life.

"I still think you're the best." Kimiko said, attempting to lighten the mood.

"Nobody's perfect, but someone will become victorious." Chase said, triumph. Kimiko liked how Chase could speak with reason. He was never depressed about a fault. Moreover, he can get over situations easily.

The next few moments were silent. After that, there were still crickets chirping. 'This is a good time to ask him about homecoming.' Kimiko told herself, even though she was not very confident. She decided to make an attempt anyway. Before she could ask, Chase spoke first.

"I think I better leave now."

Kimiko's eyes were about to jump out of her head. "I have something to ask first though." She gulped.

"I think you would have to make it fast though."

"Okay, um, Chase? You know how homecoming is almost here?" Kimiko asked, twirling a piece of hair on her index finger. She could also feel the blood running up to her cheeks. At the moment, she hated herself for having pale skin.

"Yeah, what about it?" He asked.

"Are you planning to go?" She asked.

"Sorry, I don't dance. The whole thing sounds lame anyway." Chase answered as he walked away. Even though Kimiko did not ask him out directly, she felt rejected anyways.

updated! i worked on this a lot last week.

btw, my previous chapters didnt have line breaks, so it might be confusing. for this chap, i made sure they were inserted. they look like a - and r postiioned in da middle

also, i would like to hear how i am doing. if this story is getting better or worse or wat can i do 2 make it better.