I pulled myself out of bed, wishing for just a few more minutes under the
warm covers. I wished I could have slept straight from five o'clock to
five o'clock, but Mokuba woke me up to help him with his science homework
around nine. After we were done, I put him to bed and returned to where I
most wanted to be: asleep.
"Good morning," Seth said in a mock cheerful tone. I jumped. This was going to take some definite getting used to.
"Good morning yourself," I muttered. Good, maybe. Interesting, definitely. I'd never had the privilege to share my lessons with a four- thousand-year-old spirit before. Oh joy.
"Yugi manages all the time. Don't want him to beat you," Seth sneered. Despite my hatred for Yugi and my wish to ignore his existence, I had to admit that the thought of beating him at his own game sounded quite pleasing.
I reached in to my closet and pulled out a set of matching black shirt and pants. Flicking on the closet light, I tried to decide on a trenchcoat. Finally, I just pulled out my usual white with the buckles on the arms. What the heck.
"You spend almost as much time trying to decide what to wear as a girl," Seth mused.
"Who asked your opinion?" I replied. Snide comments this early in the morning really annoyed me.
"Trying to impress somebody?" he said in the same smooth tone. I did my best to shake the comment off, but ended up blushing none the less.
"A girl? Seto, I never would have guessed!" he said, acting so surprised, when I knew he wasn't really. He'd probably been reading all the details straight out of my mind from the moment the link was established.
"Seth, will you just shut up? Is it time already to ruin my day?" I said, sighing.
"Touchy," he muttered. This was his clever way to get under my skin. Get my defensive attitude all fired up. The only way to stay calm was to ignore it.
"Ready for school?" I asked, picking up my briefcase and headed for the stairs.
"This will be interesting," he said. You're telling me. As we reached the bottom of the stairs, Mokuba came into view. He waited for me every morning. I didn't have the heart to make him ride the bus to school; I always drove him. I guess it's just my own horrible bus memories. I couldn't help but be sympathetic.
"Ready?" I smiled. He nodded. He had a bookbag slung over his shoulder. Picking it up, I threw it on my back. Dang, it was heavy! And he's in sixth grade?
"Are you sure you'll be able to carry this to class?" I asked. I wasn't sure whether there was anything I could do about it, it just seemed like a good thing to ask.
"Yeah. Believe it or not, it's one of the lightest now that it's ever been." I made a face, and we both laughed. We loaded up the car and began the ride to school.
"So, how is it to have a Yami?" he asked nonchalantly. He was handling this a lot better than I was. I shrugged.
"Kind of annoying, but I can learn to live with it," I said. All of that was very true, except for the 'kind of'. Talk about the understatement of the century.
"It just seems like it would be fun to have someone to talk to all the time, to tell secrets to," he said, almost wistfully. This comment appalled me.
"Yeah, I guess. If you could ever manage to get along," I said. "Think about having to share a dormitory or bedroom with someone times one hundred." We both laughed.
"Here we are," I said, pulling out his abnormally heavy bookbag and handing it to him. "See you after school." He smiled and accepted it.
"See you, big brother."
I drove off, getting a few sighs and waves from the more daring middle school girls. Honestly. Seth laughed.
"You seem quite popular." I shrugged. I suppose. Finally, the high school came into view.
Domino High School was a large building with white pillars holding up the brick awning over the entranceway. I drove into the student parking lot and pulled up beside a beige Volvo. Getting out of the car, I got my briefcase and walked towards the building.
After much more walking that it was worth, I reached my locker. I inhaled sharply as I looked up. I had timed it just right. She was at her locker too. Just as I was about to try to make casual conversation, Seth spoke up.
"So that's her, Seto? Very nice." I really had to make more of an effort to keep my thoughts to myself.
"Say a word, Seth, and I swear you won't live to see another day," I muttered through gritted teeth.
"Seto, do you really think I'd make an effort to make you unhappy?" he said in an overly sweet voice. I rolled my eyes.
"Hello, Seto," she smiled. My stomach turned. I was so afraid I was going to blush.
"Hello Serenity," I said, trying so hard not to stutter. Seth just had to cut in as I was defining the moment into my lifelong memory.
"Seto, would you mind so much if I cut in?" he asked.
"Yes, as a matter of fact I would!" I said tersely.
"Oh well," he shrugged. Before I really had an idea of what was going on, I was standing dumbfounded in my soul room. Running for the door, I found that it was locked.
"Seth, you son of a @#$%& you! Let me the %$#& out of here!" I shouted. Nothing happened. I tried again, but my shouting was still to no avail. So there I was. Imprisoned in my soul room by the power of my own item. It was humiliating.
Of lack of anything better to do, I just kept on with shouting curses and throwing anything heavy I could get a hold of.
Suddenly, mid-temper tantrum, I was rocketed back to my own world. Serenity was still standing there. She smiled, and spoke to me.
"I'll see you then, Seto. I'm looking forward to it." Seth! What had he done?!
"See you then," I repeated, still feeling very lost. What was going on? I guess I'll have to consult the source of the problem.
"What have you done?!" I shouted to him. He smiled.
"Oh, nothing really. Just asked her out on a date this Friday, is all. Actually, she even accepted."
"Good morning," Seth said in a mock cheerful tone. I jumped. This was going to take some definite getting used to.
"Good morning yourself," I muttered. Good, maybe. Interesting, definitely. I'd never had the privilege to share my lessons with a four- thousand-year-old spirit before. Oh joy.
"Yugi manages all the time. Don't want him to beat you," Seth sneered. Despite my hatred for Yugi and my wish to ignore his existence, I had to admit that the thought of beating him at his own game sounded quite pleasing.
I reached in to my closet and pulled out a set of matching black shirt and pants. Flicking on the closet light, I tried to decide on a trenchcoat. Finally, I just pulled out my usual white with the buckles on the arms. What the heck.
"You spend almost as much time trying to decide what to wear as a girl," Seth mused.
"Who asked your opinion?" I replied. Snide comments this early in the morning really annoyed me.
"Trying to impress somebody?" he said in the same smooth tone. I did my best to shake the comment off, but ended up blushing none the less.
"A girl? Seto, I never would have guessed!" he said, acting so surprised, when I knew he wasn't really. He'd probably been reading all the details straight out of my mind from the moment the link was established.
"Seth, will you just shut up? Is it time already to ruin my day?" I said, sighing.
"Touchy," he muttered. This was his clever way to get under my skin. Get my defensive attitude all fired up. The only way to stay calm was to ignore it.
"Ready for school?" I asked, picking up my briefcase and headed for the stairs.
"This will be interesting," he said. You're telling me. As we reached the bottom of the stairs, Mokuba came into view. He waited for me every morning. I didn't have the heart to make him ride the bus to school; I always drove him. I guess it's just my own horrible bus memories. I couldn't help but be sympathetic.
"Ready?" I smiled. He nodded. He had a bookbag slung over his shoulder. Picking it up, I threw it on my back. Dang, it was heavy! And he's in sixth grade?
"Are you sure you'll be able to carry this to class?" I asked. I wasn't sure whether there was anything I could do about it, it just seemed like a good thing to ask.
"Yeah. Believe it or not, it's one of the lightest now that it's ever been." I made a face, and we both laughed. We loaded up the car and began the ride to school.
"So, how is it to have a Yami?" he asked nonchalantly. He was handling this a lot better than I was. I shrugged.
"Kind of annoying, but I can learn to live with it," I said. All of that was very true, except for the 'kind of'. Talk about the understatement of the century.
"It just seems like it would be fun to have someone to talk to all the time, to tell secrets to," he said, almost wistfully. This comment appalled me.
"Yeah, I guess. If you could ever manage to get along," I said. "Think about having to share a dormitory or bedroom with someone times one hundred." We both laughed.
"Here we are," I said, pulling out his abnormally heavy bookbag and handing it to him. "See you after school." He smiled and accepted it.
"See you, big brother."
I drove off, getting a few sighs and waves from the more daring middle school girls. Honestly. Seth laughed.
"You seem quite popular." I shrugged. I suppose. Finally, the high school came into view.
Domino High School was a large building with white pillars holding up the brick awning over the entranceway. I drove into the student parking lot and pulled up beside a beige Volvo. Getting out of the car, I got my briefcase and walked towards the building.
After much more walking that it was worth, I reached my locker. I inhaled sharply as I looked up. I had timed it just right. She was at her locker too. Just as I was about to try to make casual conversation, Seth spoke up.
"So that's her, Seto? Very nice." I really had to make more of an effort to keep my thoughts to myself.
"Say a word, Seth, and I swear you won't live to see another day," I muttered through gritted teeth.
"Seto, do you really think I'd make an effort to make you unhappy?" he said in an overly sweet voice. I rolled my eyes.
"Hello, Seto," she smiled. My stomach turned. I was so afraid I was going to blush.
"Hello Serenity," I said, trying so hard not to stutter. Seth just had to cut in as I was defining the moment into my lifelong memory.
"Seto, would you mind so much if I cut in?" he asked.
"Yes, as a matter of fact I would!" I said tersely.
"Oh well," he shrugged. Before I really had an idea of what was going on, I was standing dumbfounded in my soul room. Running for the door, I found that it was locked.
"Seth, you son of a @#$%& you! Let me the %$#& out of here!" I shouted. Nothing happened. I tried again, but my shouting was still to no avail. So there I was. Imprisoned in my soul room by the power of my own item. It was humiliating.
Of lack of anything better to do, I just kept on with shouting curses and throwing anything heavy I could get a hold of.
Suddenly, mid-temper tantrum, I was rocketed back to my own world. Serenity was still standing there. She smiled, and spoke to me.
"I'll see you then, Seto. I'm looking forward to it." Seth! What had he done?!
"See you then," I repeated, still feeling very lost. What was going on? I guess I'll have to consult the source of the problem.
"What have you done?!" I shouted to him. He smiled.
"Oh, nothing really. Just asked her out on a date this Friday, is all. Actually, she even accepted."