Chapter 2
Making Acquaintances
Life sucks. It really does.
I don't know what my mother was thinking when she forced me to stay in the Li house for a month. Sometimes, I really wonder why mothers can be 30 percent sweet and the next minute they will start flapping their trap and make you deaf.
And what is she trying to insinuate when she kept dropping hints that Yelan's son was cute? Do I LOOK like I CARE? I wouldn't give a damn if the son looked like Orlando—what's his name again?—Blume or the guy selling corndogs in the park. Did my mother really thought that when I see this son of her friend I'll go down on my knees and grovel like the rest of the chicks that are surely doing it to him?
Bull. It ain't gonna happen.
I heard a noise and looked up. There were three teenagers gaping at me on the top of the stairs. I smirked. Same ol', same ol'. The chestnut-haired one must be the son. I have to admit that he's someone that my halfwitted cousins back at Jersey would call "hot". Yech. But I started feeling annoyed, remembering the times when a beautician dared to put me into a dress and shove pictures of Orlando Whatsits and Liz Hurley in my face. Then, I got even more annoyed when I saw that his two friends, a girl and boy, weren't blinding to look at either.
Not that I find the son cute or something. I'll eat my shoe if I did…which I don't.
Shit! My cap fell off! I have always hated my hair. Mother once grounded me when she caught me in the act of cutting my hair five inches shorter. I really can't see what's the point. I mean, WHY do I have to have long hair! It gets in my way everytime I play soccer or basketball! It's a pain in the butt, I tell you. What's it for again?
Oh yeah, for appeal. I scowled even more.
"When the time is right, Sakura," mother told me the other day, "you'll shed that façade of yours whether you like it or not."
I snorted. "And why the hell would I do that?"
"Because of love" she responded quietly. "One day, you will find a man that you will feel for, so much that you want him to see the real you. Don't fool yourself" she looked at me with sad eyes "your manliness is only a façade. What happened to you must be let go. If a friend cannot do it, if I cannot do it and if you cannot do it …then your heart will".
I walked away and into my room that day. Shaking the memory out of my head, I jammed the cap back in place. I thanked Yelan and proceeded up the stairs. I shot the boy and his friends a back-off-or-else look and, judging by their expressions, they got the message.
Satisfied, I walked towards my room at the end of the hallway and closed the door. Love is crap. Men are crap.
I can do it myself. I don't need anybody.
O
O Kitchen O
"Did you see that glare!" Eriol exclaimed, astounded. "That was so freaky!"
Tomoyo looked at him, amused. "But that was sooo cool, right? I need to master that glare!" she said. "I can use it to scare away the black cat that's been prowling around my house for the past week!"
"Yeah well, you probably look like a burglar or something—"
"What do you mean by that! If you ever saw the ca—!"
"Or maybe you look like the Wicked Witch of the West in the "Wizard of Oz or some—"
Tomoyo frowned at Eriol. "Oh? If I'm a hag, then what are you? A CHIPMUNK?"
Li sighed and massaged his temples. He thought his mother was joking. He really did. But, as he sat on a chair near the counter, he recalled the visitor. The way she dresses up… her swagger… her walk… the GLARE... it seems like his mother was not exaggerating. Because no matter how hard he tried… no matter how many times he tried…
He really can't label their lovely visitor as a girl.
Which pretty much pissed him. Because he's the schmuck who's suppose to banish her complete lack of refinement and femininity.
Or else he'll spend the rest of his life with a bimbo. Not good. Definitely not good. He needed a way to convince her to become feminine…
And his so-called partners-in-crime were not helping.
"Oh, so are you saying that I'm the Wicked Witch of the West and the cat is my pet?" Tomoyo was snapping.
Eriol snorted. "To put it nicely, yes, I am both as truth and retaliation for calling me a degrading word."
"Oh please, 'chipmunk' is the nicest word I can think of. I have way more comparisons that can crush you overblown ego—!"
"WHAT do YOU guys think about her?" he barged in loudly.
They blinked and turned away from each other, red in the face.
"Well?" he repeated impatiently.
"You mean the visitor?" Eriol asked, opening a bag of popcorn and forgetting about the bicker. "Well, I'm pretty sure she's not really like that. You know, the whole I'm-a-boy-so-back-off thing? Because for one thing, when her cap fell off, I saw her eyes. And I saw something that practically screams that she really is a girl inside and out, no matter how hard she acts so unlike one. And for another, she's too pretty to be a tomboy. I'll kiss Tomoyo's feet if she really is one of the guys."
Li looked at him incredulously. "You actually caught a glimpse of her face?"
Eriol laughed. "My dear descendant, just because you were too busy admiring and envying the Nike cap that she was wearing does not mean that we were doing the same thing."
Said descendant reddened. "Shut up."
Tomoyo smirked. "Seriously, you are hopeless. In any case, Eriol's right. The girl's pretty. And her eyes!" she exclaimed, her eyes suddenly getting starry, making the guys back away hastily. "OMG, her eyes are so gorgeous! And her hair is the most beautiful hair I have ever seen! Seriously, if I get—no—if WE get a chance to give her a total makeover, she will make the Resident Bitch of our School look like Cruella DeVil!" she cackled evilly.
"Make sure Ivanna doesn't hear you say that." Li smirked.
"And don't pretend that you didn't notice it, Li," Eriol wagged a finger at him. "I heard your Girl-Radar buzzing when she looked at us."
Li snorted, blushing. "Yeah, right. She… intrigues me, that's all."
And she really did. In fact, after seeing her, he wasn't so sure he wanted to do the punishment anymore, because, believe it or not, he would have liked her being her. It would be a relief to finally have a friend that is a lady but not like all the girls he had encountered before (Tomoyo excluded. Since she's the only one he considers a friend that's a girl).
But if he doesn't do it, he's screwed. And he could see from this girl's glare that she doesn't want to be friends… which intrigues him even more, because Li Xiao-Lang LOVED challenges. And this one is screaming 'big challenge' all over the place. It would be fun to try and befriend... maybe even irritate her a little.
He smirked. and he knows for a fact that manhaters are
a. spunky
b. feisty
c. rebellious
and since this one is clearly a manhater and a tomboy, all three of the attitudes a manhater possesses will be doubled. Tripled, even.
But there's the fact that if he doesn't do it, he'll marry a bimbo. Oh god… he has to play Obi Wan Kenobi… or else risk marrying a female Jabba the Hut. But maybe the fun can come first… the whole I'm-going-to-irritate-her-and-somehow-make-her-my-friend first before the refinement and feminity…
After all, she's here for a month and a half….
"Uhm… Li…" Eriol say slowly, "I don't like that look on your face…"
"Yeah…" Tomoyo shuddered. "It's freaky."
Li shrugged innocently. "What? Anyway, I'm going to test out my new CDs…" He stood up and made his way out of the kitchen. He looked back and saw his friends looking warily at him. He raised an eyebrow. "What?"
Tomoyo exchanged apprehensive glances with Eriol and said, "Li… your CDs are in the room at the end of the hallway…"
"Well… that's where our visitor will be sleeping for the remainder of her stay…" Eriol said lamely.
Li smirked. "So? All the more reason to go." He walked away.
Eriol turned to Tomoyo. "Did you see the evil expression on his face?"
She grinned. "Sure did."
O
Except for the sign saying SOD OFF—which made him chuckle—it looked safe. Taking a deep breath, he knocked on the door. No answer. He knocked again. No answer. He frowned and decided to come in. Yeah well, since when was Li know to be a gentleman?
A grin appeared on his face. The girl was trying with difficulty to reach a book placed on a high shelf. At six feet, it was a piece of cake for him. Her being about 5 feet and 4 inches doesn't do any good.
Walking casually towards her, he reached for the book and plucked it neatly off the shelf. The capped visitor stiffened and turned around, facing him with the glare he knew so well.
"Give me my book," she demanded.
Li looked at her amusedly. "Not even a thank you?" he asked and pretended to look hurt.
"Did I ask for your help?" she countered brusquely. "What the hell are you doing here, anyway?" she asked as she walked past him and plomped down a chair and started writing.
Li followed and placed the book on her table. He took a peak on what she was doing and smirked. So the girl plans on taking law? Interesting….
"I see you're up to taking law" he said easily. "Tell me, what are the respective concepts and legal implications of the crime mala in se?"
The girl seemed to freeze. He could almost feel the irritation radiating in waves from his victim. Ahhh, women….
"I see you don't know. Aw, crud," Li said in mock disappointment, "and I thought you were smart…"
It seems as if his dear visitor doesn't want to have her intelligence insulted. She finally whirled around, facing him with a scowl. "It's the crimes where the acts penalized are inherently bad that they are universally condemned!" she said through gritted teeth. She clearly wasn't the type who backs down…
He only looked at her with innocent eyes, as if saying "annnnnd?"
She heaved a frustrated sigh, "criminal liability is generally incurred when the crime is only attempted or frustrated. Lack of good faith or criminal intent is a defense. Now, tell my why the hell are you here!"
He ignored her and skimmed her work instead. "You know, on question 4, I suggest you answer that the accused should be convicted b/c his act of shooting a burglar when there is no unlawful aggression on his person is not justified. He should not have used the gun unless his life is already in danger. I mean, because of his stupidity, he killed his brother in law!"
She snorted. "Consider the given circumstances, Li. The neighborhood is a place of robbers, the time was midnight, the victim appeared to be a burglar. It was an honest mistake of fact! It absolves the accused of criminal liability! And the brother should've eaten dinner instead of sneaking down in the middle of the night to chomp on hamburgers."
He smirked. The girl did her homework. "You're thinking like a kid."
"Holy crap!" she yelled exasperatedly. "What do you want?"
Feisty. "You're name," he said simply.
He nearly keeled over in laughter when a muscle appeared on her jaw. "The name's Sakura Kinomoto," she said curtly.
"Ooohhh… what does that mean?" he asked innocently. I think he was accidentally-on-purpose forgetting that he was supposed to befriend her… not piss the hell out of her.
She sighed. "It means Cherry Blossoms, kay?" Suddenly, she stood up.
"I am," she picked up a basketball, "going to," she stomped past him, "shoot some hoops. Follow me, you die."
Li followed her out of the door. "Do you want a playmate?" he called out cheerfully as she made her way down the stairs.
"NO!"
"I'LL MISS YOU TOO!" he yelled happily.
"GO TO HELL!" she bellowed angrily.
He laughed and clapped his hands, leaning against the closed door of her room. Interesting…
O
O entertainment room O
"So… how'd it go?" Tomoyo asked curiously. "Was she nice?"
"Oh, she was nice. In fact, she's the nicest girl in the world. I think you'll like her. Smart one, too. Pretty." He smirked, twirling a rubber band around his finger.
Tomoyo looked at him curiously. There was no sarcasm in his voice. It was… well… normal and… light.
"So do you wanna back out of the whole friendship thing?" Eriol asked as he watched him. "I mean, I am pretty sure you and our dear visitor, Sakura, are not getting along."
Li quirked an eyebrow. "Are you kidding me? We got along just like that!" he snapped his fingers.
"Yeah, and I'm Mary Poppins," Eriol whispered lowly.
"And who says I'm backing out?" he asked, closing his eyes and lounged on the sofa with ease. "Sakura Kinomoto and Li Xiao-Lang're gonna be the best of friends for a whole… happy… MONTH!" he said, smirking.
He did not notice that dry looks his 2 best friends exchanged.
"Why do I get the feeling that Li just found a new victim to torture?" Tomoyo whispered
Eriol looked at her with surprise. "So you heard the 'go to hell' scream too?"
"Yeah."
"Oh, shit."
"Yep. Oh shit."