Chapter 3—Chaos resumes
"no…"
"Come on, Sakura…"
"no freakin' way…"
"But-!"
"No…NU-HUH… noooOooNONONONONONO! ARGHGHGHGHG!"
It was 3 days after Sakura's arrival at the Li Mansion. And 3 days after she arrived, the household was in chaos. Why, because 2 teenagers were currently running around the mansion chasing another teenager for the past 20 minutes. One of the chasers was currently holding a uniform and the other a bag and shoes. The chasee, on the other hand, was wearing nothing more than undergarments and a bathrobe.
"Sakura! You have to wear the uniform whether you like it or not! It's in the rules!" Tomoyo bellowed, running after the auburn-haired girl. They tore past a marble statue and rounded a corner.
"Why… oh freakin why… do I have to chase her at 4 in the morning with you?" Eriol panted as her ran with Tomoyo, the bag in his hand flailing in the air.
"Because the idiot is still asleep!"
They finally cornered her in the library. Sakura pointedly shook her head and growled, "I am NOT wearing a skirt!"
"But you have to! It's the assigned uniform for the girls in RSU!" Tomoyo argued, brandishing the short red checkered skirt and long-sleeved sailor top in front of the girl's face.
"If you don't, the school's going to kick you out even though you're new!" Eriol reasoned behind Tomoyo as Sakura edged closer to the side exit of the library.
"I am not wearing a skirt! Over my decapitating dead body!" she vigorously shook her head, running towards the door and wrenching it open. She let out a squeak of triumph and rushed out….
… only to collide with something hard.
Or more precisely, SOMEONE.
"What the crap are you three doing thundering around the house at 4 in the morning!" Li Xiao-Lang scowled irritably. To Sakura, who was grabbed tightly by the shoulders, he said "Woah… you actually wear undergarments!". He raised an eyebrow at Tomoyo and Eriol and asked, "what's with the evil looks?" ("whaddya mean by that!" the prey yelled)
"In case you haven't noticed, my dear descendant," Eriol huffed and gestured at the uniform in Tomoyo's hands, "Sakura refuses to wear RSU's uniform! We've been chasing her for 20 minutes around your house!".
Tomoyo added "and you're suppose to be the one who's helping us instead of sleeping!".
"Chill. I have it all down pat," Li grumbled. He rolled his eyes while said visitor was trying vainly to escape. "Look Kinomoto, please wear the damn skirt and give us a break, will you?.
Sakura only shook her head and snarled, "no freaking way".
Li smirked. "Suit yourself". With surprising speed and agility, he threw her over his shoulder while holding her tightly by the thighs. She shrieked and started banging her fists on his back, "put me down! PUT ME DOWN! YOU BIRDBRAIN! ARGHHH!"
Li whistled, "aw come on, I know you like it!". He suddenly yelled, "OW! DO NOT PINCH ME!"
Sakura scoffed after pinching him "I do not like looking at your butt! I am sure that you haven't washed it for three years! God, it stinks!"
"Say what you want, Kinomoto. I know you like it" Li said happily. "Coming, friends?" he asked the 2. The addressed just followed, too stunned to reply.
OoOoOoo
"YOU SEE? It looks great on you!" Tomoyo beamed at her handiwork. Sakura now wore the uniform with her hair in a messy bun. Because she refused to wear make-up or let hair down and lowered the skirt 4 inches lower, it had taken them an hour to finish. And despite the rumpled hair and shirt, she looked fresh and more girly than they saw her since she arrived.
Li snickered as Sakura stomped past him, "awww… never thought you actually have a bust… always thought a stick has more than you but… I guess I was wrong… OWWW!" he yelled indignantly when Sakura stomped and grinded his foot with her left heel… hard.
OOOOOOOOOO
Stares. All of them were staring at me. Maybe it was because my skirt was way lower than the girls or that my lack of complete of refinement and femininity were showing so clearly boys stared. But you know what? Frankly, I don't care. I have just been chased around that house with nothing to cover me except a freakin bathrobe and manhandled into wearing a skirt—which is something I have not done for a year— and do you think I care about a bunch of teenagers staring at me?
"Please take a seat, Ms Kinomoto" Ms. Russell, our adviser, said.
There were two seats and two things that influenced my decision right then and there. One is that the really pretty brunette occupying the seat beside one of the empty ones were looking at me with disdain. And let me tell you, I can tell that we are not going to be buddies. I have never gotten along with popular snobs and two, the last empty seat was beside the window where there is a view of the ocean. And yeah, although I have to sit next to the Son of Satan a.k.a. Li, the ocean will make it worthwhile.
I sat down and 5 seconds later a finger tapped me from behind. I spun around and faced—are you expecting a description of someone close to Orlando Bloom with black hair and gorgeous blue eyes? Sorry, not gonna happen- a big shouldered idiotic football player with an idiotic smile. And the first idiotic thing he told me is: "Hey babe".
I raised my eyebrow. "Are you addressing me? I'm really sorry, but I have a name which is definitely not Babe. If you want, I'll introduce you to a friend of a friend of a friend of a friend of a friend of my cousin, who is a friend of a friend of a friend of a-"
"Okay, okay" he interrupted, obviously irritated "I just wanna know if you're free on Friday so we ca-!"
"Why?" I asked pleasantly. I'm pretty sure everyone, including the teacher, is listening. I had a crappy day and I will not hesitate to vent out my irritation on the first egoistic person I see.
"So you and I can get to know each other and date so-!" he said. He was really getting pissed now.
"Tell me, oh great Romeo of my life, what is x in x 54 minus x is equal to 24?"
He looked confused. "How the hell should I know? 67?".
Mrs. Russell gasped. The whole class laughed.
Good Lord. He's stupider than I thought.
"EENNGGGKK! It's 78, you dolt"" I said sarcastically. "God, over my dead body will I going to go out with the likes of you".
"WHY?"
"I'm afraid you might stupidify me to death."
While the whole class burst into chatter on this remark and Porky Pig sulked off to his group of otherwise laughing guys, this girl on my right whispered, "God, what a freak".
Twitch twitch. They will NEVER learn. I addressed her, "Excuse me, why are you calling me a freak?"
She jumped a mile away and shook her head, her heavily powdered face reddening. "I w-wasn't calling y-you a freak! I was-uh- meaning Akira!".
Uh-huh. And I am Garfield. "Please, I had a very crappy morning, so will you please stop bitching 'bout ol' me a.k.a. babe? Cause if you don't, Babe here will turn you and Porky pig into hamburger patties. Kay, Spongebob?". The class burst into even more chatter after that.
Li winked at me and smirked. "Nice one, Kinomoto". I shrugged and another 5 seconds later the brunette raised her hand. "Teacher, can I please show Ms. Kinomoto around after 2nd period" she asked innocently. But I am not deaf not to hear the venom in her voice. Oh yeah, the two are obviously friends.
But another voice interrupted before Russell could respond. "Er.. miss? I'd like to be the one who'll show Kinomoto around, if you don't mind" a masculine voice said politely.
I looked disbelievingly at Li. The Son of.. er… Li actually helped me?
The whole class burst into even more talk, ignoring Ms. Russell's orders to shut up. Finally, she threw a chalk on her table saying that if we have so damned much to say, we can write it in a thousand-word essay of the biography of Marie Curie. After that, we were dismissed.
Yeah well, good thing I'm not in school to make friends.
OoOoOoOo
I looked at Li and demanded "what did you do that for?"
Li shrugged. "Ivanna and her friends will pound you if you agreed. You embarrassed her sister and best friend. And when I say pummel, I mean pummel. They are the Cindy Crawfords of the school… only bitchier.".
I snorted, "I am not afraid of some Ms. Popular. I've never gotten along with people like them. And I'm pretty sure she doesn't like me, so I have no intention to pretend I don't feel the same."
"Hey, we're on the same club. Ivanna and I once dated but she got too possessive and followed me everywhere! And she has this certain smell that I can't put a finger into…"
"Ohhhh… so you smelled the BO and hairspray and perfume rolled into one, too?" I raised an eyebrow in surprise "I actually thought you like her."
"That's bull. AND she is way too vain and clingy. And we tried to play basketball and five seconds later she was shrieking about breaking a nail or something…"
"Shoot. Geez, what is up with that?" I rolled my eyes and headed for the door with Li. " I will never understand why they take the time to put all that gunk. And basketball is very easy. I cannot believe she does not like it. Then again… maybe I do…"
"Uh-huh. YOU? PLAYING BASKETBALL?" Li pretended to look surprised. "You know how to play? Much less dribble? That is one hell of a joke, Kinomoto".
Recognizing challenge, I raised and eyebrow. "Wanna bet?"
"Fine. Meet you in the court. Loser will clean the bathroom of my house for a week."
"You're on".
And you know what, I guess, in a way, I DID gain a friend. Friends, actually, because we were later cheered on by Tomoyo and the others. I guess they ARE friends, no matter how irritating, annoying or a freakin' pain in the butt they may be. Especially this guy.
OOOOOOOOOOOOOO
I cannot believe what I am seeing. In fact, I cannot believe this is happening. I mean, I've always thought that Sakura's going to be a loner here but I guess I was wrong. Definitely wrong. Because, as shocking as it may seem, she was a hit. Especially with the boys. Not the I'm-crushing-on-you hit but the hey-join-our-group hit. They actually like her. And the ladies even asks her for advice about the masculine gender because she seems to be so 'finely in tune' with it.
Then, I got an even bigger surprise when a bunch of boys asked me if there was some way that they can ask her out for a date. That threw me off. Seriously. I asked them what the hell did they saw in her. They said she was pretty and athletic and down-to-earth and the only girl who could level with them in sports… plus sweet. Wait a minute… SWEET? Oh yeah, and pigs can fly…. I can still feel the throb of the stomp she gave me…
And yeah, she is very pretty but with her complete lack of poise and femininity, it's very hard to see it. I only saw it because I've been friends with Tomoyo for so long. I guess these guys are smarter than I gave them credit for… . In any case, I told them not to get their hopes up since Sakura would probably ram a fist down their throats if they try to do anything stupid.
AND when they found out that she was temporarily living in my house, a rumor started saying that we were engaged! CAN YOU BELIEVE IT? During gym class, two of my friends actually said things to me that made me loose my concentration and drop the baseball bat I was holding.
Brian: Sooooo level with us, how far have you gotten with Sakura?
Me: huh?
Lei: Don't play innocent. She's living with you, right?
Brian: Bet you've #!(, haven't you?
Me: (shocked) No!
Brian: don't play games with us, man. You've probably &4/-#, haven't you!
Then, they suddenly lunged themselves at me and targeted my poor neck…
Lei: (arms wrapped around my head) YOU'VE PROBABLY EVEN #$(!$
Brian: (strangling me) AND MAYBE EVEN HAD #4!
Me: (horrified and choking to death) ME? WITH A TOMBOY LIKE HER! YECHHH!
After I finally yelled at them to stop or I'll pummel them, we watched the girls—or rather, Sakura— play baseball. She was currently running towards second base in a completely unfeminine way. As in the proper way of running. Like athletic girls. Only more manly. And Lei went, "man, she's cute.."
Me: (blushing and heart thumping) no, she's not…
Inner voice: yes, she is…
Pfft. In any case, nobody can piss her off but me. Nobody can insult her but me and NOBODY dates her except m—whatever. You get the point.
OoooooooooOOOOOOO English Class OoooooooooOOOOOOO
"Class, as you all know, the Robert Stevenson Fair is coming up. This year, each level is assigned to do one form of entertainment." Ms Mizuki told the class, "and this year, our level is assigned to…" she got out a white chart form under the table and placed it on the blackboard.
"…a play".
The class immediately burst into excited conversations. The teacher beamed and went on that the play is about a prince and princess about to be married only two moons away. Unfortunately, a month before the wedding, the bride-to-be mysteriously disappeared. Worried that the people may start worrying that something bad was going to happen, the prince and his father enlisted the help of a lone traveler who looks almost EXACTLY like the princess.
"But there was one tiny problem," Ms Mizuki said, "the traveler, pretty she may be, completely lacked grace and poise. So with the help of a few experts they will attempt to turn this girl into a lady fit to be a temporary princess".
Chiharu grinned, "and let me guess, they fall in love?"
The teacher nodded. "Yes. But there's another flaw. What if the princess came back to claim what was rightfully hers? And will the people ever accept a mere traveler as a queen if they ever get the chance to be together?"
As she droned on and asked who would like to volunteer to write the script, Eriol swiveled around in his seat and raised an eyebrow at Tomoyo, saying in an amused voice, "why do I get the feeling this plot seems a little too familiar?"
Tomoyo nodded. "Yep. Ms. Mizuki practically told us a medieval form of what's happening with our dear friend." They looked at Li and Sakura, who were currently bickering two seats behind.
"Okay, each one of you will write his or her name on a blank on this chart. Each blank corresponds to a certain character of the play. Don't worry there's enough for everybody," Ms Mizuki said.
"So do you think they'll fall in love?"
"Hell yes."
After all of them finally wrote their names, the teacher peeled of the sticker hiding the characters of the story, excitedly saying, "okay, now let's see the luck student who will play the part of the prince." She traced the lines going down… down… down…
"Li Xiao-Lang! Stand up please!"
The whole class burst into hoots and cheers. Xiao-Lang gave a smirk and stood up, bowing to the class in a princely way and sat back down.
"Wow, wonder who's the unlucky girl that will get picked to play the princess.." Sakura snickered, watching as Li looked miffed.
"Are you kidding me? Most girls would die just to be with me. Even just a play." Li grinned.
"Yeah… and they'll probably die due to your inflated ego."
"Say that again and I'll set you up with Akira"
"I'll set you up with Ivanna".
"Haha" Li said sarcastically. "Who knows? YOU may be the one who'll play the princess."
"That," Sakura said, lounging on her seat and chewing a bubblegum "is not gonna happen, Li Xiao-Lang."
"And the part of the princess will be played by……" Ms Mizuki stared at the name with both amusement and surprise.
"Me!" A girl said out loud.
"It's me!" another one yelled.
"No, ME!" Ivanna yelled, making the gang snicker.
"The part will be played by none other than…" Ms Mizuki smiled, devilishly and winked.
"Sakura Kinomoto".
a/n: thank you for all who reviewed! R & R PLEASE!
Later and Lotsa Love,
CalCarrie