Having enjoyed her chit-chat with her BFFS from Japan, she went to bed with a smile on her face, not after looking at their picture together again posted on her wall next to her bed
Tiffany woke up the morning. Stretching her body, she let out a yawn
"Seeing Natsu and Hinata again in the flesh really made my day" she thought, looking out the window, seeing the bright morning sky.
Heading to the bathroom, she brushes her teeth and fixed her hair
She looks at her complexion at the mirror and discovers that she has eye bags
"No, I have eye bags" she's known to be very cautious of her appearance, especially when it comes to her face
She tried applying cream to her face, but it show little results
"Crap… oh well" she moaned in disappointment
Upon exiting the bathroom, she came across her mother already in office attire
"Tiffany, you're already awake…"
"I guess I am…" *chuckles*
"Well anyways, breakfast is ready"
"OK mom… Where's dad?"
"He already left for work early"
"Oh yeah, forgot that both of you have different schedules" she heads down stairs, straight to the dining table
Minutes later, her mother joined in
She noticed her daughter's dark eye bags "Honey…"
"What is it mom?" she took a spoonful in her mouth
"Looks like you didn't sleep well last night"
"What makes you say that?"
"You have dark eye bags…"
"I know… I slept late last night"
"What? Why?"
"You know why? I was chatting with my BFFs from Japan via webcam!"
It delighted her mother "Oh my! Is that so?"
"Yup, it was a very fun moment the three of us had"
"Well I'm happy for you. What are their names again?"
"Natsu Ayuhara and Hinata Wanabe"
"Oh yes. Natsu is the volleyball player, am I correct?"
"Yes that's her"
"And Hinata is the typical school girl, right?"
"Absolutely!" she finished eating, so does her mother
"I'm happy that you three still remember each other after a long time"
"Yeah, it sure is" her mother checked her watch and realized that she should be on her way to work
"Oh look at the time, Tiffany dear I'll be off to work now"
"Oh OK mom"
Mrs. Lords grabs her bag and is already by the door "Please watch over the house"
"I will mom"
"And don't let any strangers come in here"
"Mom, I'm already old enough to know that…"
*chuckles* "I know, sorry dear" she's about to leave "Bye Tiffany"
"Bye mom, take care!"
With all that said and done, all she can hear outside is the sound of the starting engine running from the family car. She immediately locks the door
With her mom off to work, she has the house all by herself.
"Finally, I'm all alone; I can do whatever I want now!"
"What to do first?" looking around, she first caught the sight of the two plates on the table she and her mother used awhile ago.
"Oh right, gotta wash the dishes first…" she placed both used plates on the sink and started rinsing and cleaning them.
Now clean, she puts them back in the cabinet.
Before she can indulge herself with fun time, she checks the whole house, inside and out in case there's something filthy or untidy to deal with and much to her relief, her entire house is tidy
"Good, nothing in disarray, both inside and outside"she muttered. Before going back in, she checks if everything is secured, from windows to doors, everything is secured. Having done so, she went back in
Now she can just have fun and relax… with free time on her side
She did some exercise workouts while watching T.V, showing a fitness instructor along with some students doing the same. Tiffany did this for 30 minutes
Still in an active mood, she changes the channel to another fitness program; this time it's yoga.
Due to her experience as a Pacific cheerleader and thanks to her curvy figure, she is able to stretch parts of her body to amazing lengths with ease; like the previous one, this workout lasted for another 30 minutes
Now exhausted, she just lies on the couch and surfs for a good show to watch. Channel after channel after channel, she sees nothing that can entertain her. "Nothing good on right now…"
Giving up, she just turned off the television and rested her head for a bit.
"What to do, what to do, what to do…" keeps playing in her mind "Oh right! Why didn't I do it minutes ago…?"
Getting up from the couch, she heads for her room
Going back downstairs, she brought along with her laptop and other stuff at the living room.
Organizing each one of them, her boredom faded away "This is the life…"
Checking the time, it's already 10:35am
"Hmm, how time flies…"
She decided to pass the time by reading a recent issue of an entertainment magazine.
Passing each page, she gets updated of the current scoops of her favorite celebrities and music artists, not to mention the fashion trends that they popularize.
Turning to the next page, it shows a brand of popular perfumes and other beauty products. She had her eyes gazed at them.
"I wanna get me some of those…" she looked at each of the perfume's price and scent
Next page shows an advertisement of a new set of lingerie being sponsored by her favorite celebrity
"Wow, I like these… and she's the perfect pick as the sponsor for it"
Now finish reading it, she sets it aside. Feeling thirsty, she grabbed a glass and a bottle of melon juice from the fridge and went back to what she's doing.
Searching through the stack of magazines she brought along, one of them stands out among the other ones. She picked it and browsed at it, it's a Japanese lifestyle magazine that Natsu and Hinata bought for her as a souvenir before she went back to the U.S. The magazine is all about Japanese life, pop culture and entertainment
Just looking and touching it made her feel a bit nostalgic for a bit…
-A DAY BEFORE HER FLIGHT BACK HOME-
-Inside her Pacific dorm-
"Yo Tiffany!" called out Natsu
"What is it?"
"Hinata and I have something for you"
"Really? You have something for me?"
"We sure do, Hinata, if you may do the honors?"
"Of course Natsu!" Hinata showed her something in her hands "Here you go Tiffany!"
"Oh it's a magazine…"
"Not just a magazine, it covers everything about the life, pop culture and entertainment here"
"Wow, you don't say!" she browsed it for a brief moment "Oh my, it's cool!"
"You really think so?"
"Yeah, I'm not lying! I don't see many magazines like this back home"
"We're glad you liked it!" Joined in Natsu" Take good care of it!"
"It's a remembrance gift when you get back home to America!" added Hinata "So whenever you read it, you'll immediately remember me and Natsu! Don't worry, we got the English version so that you can read it with ease"
"Aww, you two truly deserve to be called my BFFs!"
"BFFs?" both have no idea what it means "Sorry Tiffany but Hinata and I are not that familiar with American slangs"
"It's alright. BFF means Best Friends Forever!"
"Oh, now we know! Thanks Tiffany!" thanked Natsu. Then, they both received a surprise hug from her
"Natsu and Hinata…"
"Yeah?" they both said in unison
"I wanna say thank you for being my close friends! I'll miss both of you!"
Her words touched both of their hearts "Aww, we'll miss you too Tiffany!"
"I hope we see each other again in the future!" Hinata almost in tears
They had a group hug for a moment…
That tender memory made her smile and day dream for a brief moment. She began reading the remembrance gift they both got her. She hadn't read it for quite some time now except when she was on board the plane heading back home.
Looking at the magazine, the front cover shows a Japanese girl in a maid outfit with a camera on her right hand and her left hand doing the V-gesture
Opening it for the first time, she already feels nostalgic "Ha-ha, they're right, once I read this, I already think of them…"
Browsing them one by one, she enjoys every moment reading and looking at each page since it shows her the lifestyle of the Land of the rising sun.
After some time, she finished reading it. Before putting it aside along with the previous ones, she noticed something on the back cover of it.
Looking closely, it's a short memo written by them, it says:
"For our best friend, Tiffany Lords… We'll miss you!
Sincerely yours, Hinata and Natsu"
It ends with a pair of smileys
"It's just now I noticed this… Thanks you two!" She took a sip of melon juice from her glass.
Checking the time again, it's now 11:20am…
She feels sleepy all of a sudden *yawns* "Man, I'm sleepy, it's because I slept late…"
Feeling tired, she lied down on the couch and closed her eyes. Immediately, she fell into a slumber…
Now sound asleep, she begins to have a dream about the good times she had with Natsu & Hinata. The dream in particular when three of them are having fun singing karaoke
-INSIDE A KARAOKE ROOM-
"Wow, so this is the karaoke room?"
"Yup, is the very first time for you to be here?" answered Natsu
"Absolutely, back home, I don't see many places where there are karaoke machines in it"
"No kidding…" all three entered one karaoke booth and sat down
"So this is where you two mostly hang out at?" she looked around the area since its very new to her
"That's right, Tiffany. Hinata just loves to sing her heart out"
"You don't say"
"I do say, just look at her" both observed Hinata clearing her throat
"Eh Hinata"
"Yes Tiffany?"
"You always prepare yourself when about to sing karaoke?"
"Why of course I do; I love singing!"
"It's her passion by the way"
"How about you Tiffany? Do you sing?"
"Not much, but I do enjoy doing it though…"
"So who's up first?"
"Me of course!" she raised her hand in the air
"The stage's yours, Hinata!"
While she searches for a song to sing in the songbook…
"Hey Tiffany"
"Yeah Natsu?"
"Wanna be next in line after Hinata?"
"No!"
"Let's play Rock Paper Scissors and we'll see who'll be singing after Hinata!"
"You're on!" after 3 close calls, Tiffany earned the victory "Yes! I'm last!"
"That can't be!" Natsu couldn't believe it
"What's going on?"
"Natsu will be singing after you"
"Oh… alright then, and you'll be singing last?"
Tiffany just nodded with a grin on her face, much to Natsu's chagrin
After all are done singing, the scores are as follows:
Hinata – 100
Natsu – 98
Tiffany – 89
"Once again, Hinata is the victor!"
"Congratulations Hinata!"
"Thanks Natsu! Thanks Tiffany!" they had a group hug
That dream made her giggle a bit in her sleep. Turning to her right side, she adjusts her sleeping position. Her dreams now changed; it shifted from a karaoke night with Natsu & Hinata to everything about him, the boy she has fallen in love with, Roy Bromwell.
All she can dream of right now are moments that feature him in the scene.
The moments she's dreaming of are:
Back in their previous school before going overseas, at a football game, she's one of the cheerleaders cheering on for their team, with him being the star quarterback of the team
Paying a visit to various U.S. monuments like the Lincoln Memorial, Iwo Jima Memorial and among many others
The two of them along with Boman investigating about the school kidnappings during the events of Rival Schools
Along with the rest of the other Pacific High students, enjoying a trip to the beach with her among the many girls hanging out with him
Both of them returning to Japan to investigate once more in the events of Project Justice and to return back home after
Those moments made her scrunch her eyes a bit and turned back to the position she was in when she first slept
The next dream she's having now is like straight out of a romance movie…
Walking in an empty park at sundown, she saw him standing there, like he's been expecting her to arrive. "Roy?"
He heard her call out his name and turned around "Tiffany…" The distance between them is not that far
They looked at each other for a brief moment
In his case, just looking at her made him smile
While in her case, looking at him made her very emotional and without hesitating, she ran towards him and wrapped her arms around his head, surprising him
He remained silent, but the element of surprise is showing on his face. She looked back at him with puppy dog eyes "Roy, I love you!" saying those words, she kissed him (you know, similar to the game) and held on to it for a bit longer before letting go. The lip locking made him pull out a wide smile
She gave him the puppy eye look again "Roy Bromwell, I love you…" mentioning that phrase once more to him
Without a reply, he placed both his hands on her face, making her blush "Tiffany Lords…" is all he said, followed by another surprise kiss, her eyes widened as a result. Finishing it off, he told her "I love you too…" Hearing him say that is all that she wanted to hear for long, and she smiled. "Oh Roy…" The couple hugged each other as the clouds in the sky are shaped as hearts pierced with an arrow
That scene really got to her; it got to her so much that she woke up. Rubbing her eyes, she took another sip of melon juice from her glass.
"What the… it's already 12:30pm… I slept that long?"
She tries to go back to sleep, but it didn't work since that dream seemed to have kept her awake like she had a cup of high caffeinated coffee
"It's all a dream…" she muttered, when her stomach grumbled
"I haven't eaten lunch yet" she searched the fridge for anything that can quench her hunger
Taking out a piece of strawberry cake on a saucer plate, she brings it along with her at the couch.
She turned on her laptop; while waiting, she took another sip of melon juice
Her laptop now on, she logged into Facebook. The only things she noticed in her profile are 0 friend requests, 3 messages and 6 notifications. She first checked the messages. 1st message comes from one of her Pacific buddies; it says:
"Hey Tiffany!
Just saying hi! How's everything going on for you now? Miss ya!" She replied back immediately:
"Hi Maureen! Hi also to you! I'm fine as usual LOL I miss you too!"
2nd message came from a fan page she liked; having read it, she immediately deleted it
3rd and last message came from Natsu:
It's a picture of both her and Hinata dressed up as the Statue of Liberty and posing like it as well
On the bottom of the picture is a caption that reads:
"WE MISS YOU TIFFANY! SEE YOU AT THE REUNION!"
Flattered, she replies:
"You two look gorgeous in those costumes! So cool! Yeah, I'll be seeing you both at the reunion!"
She took a couple of bites out of the strawberry cake
Looking at the notifications, three of them are Hinata liking 3 of her profile pictures; one is Natsu had liked and commented on her status and the last one is Hinata sent her a request to join an event.
Checking out what event it is, it's none other than the reunion. The number of people attending is more than she thought, exceeding 80. The number of those who might attend is less than 40. Those who are not attending are above 20. Those who haven't replied yet are only 6. She checked those who will attend; aside from Natsu, Hinata and most of her Pacific buddies, specifically Boman, some of the names on the list are those whom she met or encountered during the Rival Schools era; but she's disappointed that Roy's name isn't on the list. "Oh no…" Worried, she checked the other 2 lists and searched carefully for his name, it isn't in any of the lists. "No, no, no…" she checked the list of those who haven't replied and to her relief his name is there along with 5 others. "So he and 5 others have yet to reply, I hope he replies yes…"
Returning to the home page, all she sees are just some random updates from her other friends like status updates, profile picture changing etc.
She passed the time by playing one of her favorite games. It's been a while since she leveled up the last time she played it.
Now 3 weeks before the reunion, she's nervous just thinking about it.
A sunny afternoon at the Lords' residence
Tiffany and her mother are just staying at the living room. Her mother doing business-related stuff and Tiffany is, just like yesterday, sitting at the couch reading a bunch of fashion magazines.
"Umm, Mom…"
"What is it honey?"
"I'm meaning to tell you something"
"Sure, go ahead"
"You know my friends Natsu and Hinata right?"
"Yes why?"
"They invited to me to a school reunion this April 28 in Japan and I was wondering if you can let me attend"
"You want to attend it?"
"Yeah I really want to"
"And my answer is "Yes"…"
"Thanks mom! FYI, it's no ordinary school reunion, it's an alumni homecoming!"
"5 schools?"
"Yeah. Taiyo, Gorin, Gedo, Seijyun and, of course my school, Pacific"
"Oh I see…"
"So is it a yes or a no?"
"My dear, my answer is "Yes"
"Thanks mom!"
"Anything for you dear; is everyone gonna be there?"
"I checked the guest list on Facebook and I see that many people will be there"
"I see… when is it again?"
"April 28"
"Oh… so when do you wanna depart for Japan?"
"1 week or earlier"
"What day?"
"Any day is good as long as it's not too late"
"OK, I'll check the flight schedule and purchase the ticket online"
"Alright, thanks again mom"
Now 2 weeks before the event; who knows what's going on in her bubbly mind right now
In her room, she's just watching random videos of puppies on YouTube
"Aww, I want to have a puppy like that!" she muttered on one video featuring a 3-month old St. Bernard playing.
Continuing to indulge herself with just watching the video, a knock came on her door
"Who is it?"
"It's your mother dear. I have something that you'll obviously like"
"I bet it's the ticket" she opened the door. "I already have your ticket. Your flight will depart on April 16, Saturday at 4:00pm"
Tiffany is overjoyed "Yay! Thanks mom!" she gave her a hug. "I'm a tell Natsu and Hinata about this!"
"I'm sure they'll be overjoyed by the news! Wait, I bet they're asleep right about now"
"I know, I'll send them a message now so I won't have to do it later"
"That does make sense… Anyways, I'll just prepare lunch. I'll let you know when it's ready"
"Alright mom" she went straight for her laptop, logging in to both her Yahoo! And Facebook account
-IN JAPAN-
In Natsu's house, Hinata's playing with her PSP while Natsu's checking her mail and Tiffany's message immediately caught her attention
"Hinata, I've received a message from Tiffany!"
"No kidding!" she stopped playing and joined her in reading the message which reads:
"Good news! I already received my ticket! I'll be departing on April 16, Saturday!
I'll be there in 2 weeks before the reunion! We can have fun roaming around!
OMG I'm so excited to see both of you again!
See you soon!
P.S. I'll see what the things I can give you for souvenirs are
LOL"
As mentioned by her mother, both are overjoyed.
"Tiffany's gonna be here on April 16! That's Saturday!"
Hinata couldn't be any happier "YAHOO! We get to see her again! And she'll give us souvenirs as well!" she jumped in joy
"You said it! I can't wait to see her face again!"
"We'll meet her at the airport, we shouldn't be late Hinata"
"Yes ma'am!" she playfully saluted
-April 16-
The day has come…
Now 11:00 AM, just 4 hours before her flight to Japan
Done having brunch with her mother, she went straight up stairs and took a shower
Inside the bathroom, her thoughts regarding her trip to Japan, meeting them both again for the first time and the reunion, not to mention whether Roy will be there or not come into play
She remembered what she saw on Facebook, his name and 5 others have not yet replied. It bothered her a bit.
"Oh Roy, please attend the reunion. If he doesn't attend, I don't know how I'll react to it"
Done showering, she exits the bathroom with a bathrobe on and a towel wrapped on her head and went to her room.
Changing into casual and attractive attire, she applied make up on her face and fixed her hair reminiscent to how she styled it during her time as a Pacific student.
"Tiffany, are you done taking a bath?" her mom knocked
"Yeah…" she went in "Hmm, that attire's good enough for Natsu and Hinata to see you in…"
"Thanks mom"
"Welcome dear, start packing your stuff right now because we'll be leaving soon"
"I'm on it… where is the airport?"
"Kinda far, almost an hour from here. I'll be taking a bath now"
"OK mom" she left and took a shower
Grabbing her luggage from the closet, she carefully picked out the clothes she'll bring along with her on the trip. Now finish selecting clothes for her to bring, she turned to the personal stuff she'll bring as well. Among those things is her make-up, accessories, personal gadgets, etc.
She didn't forget to bring with her two favorite photo albums and the remembrance gift they both gave her, the Japanese lifestyle magazine
Minutes passed, her luggage is all set. "I think that's good enough" She looked around her room for anything she might forget to include in her luggage, which she did. "Oh right, my laptop!" she muttered, putting it in its small bag and taking it with her
"I hope that's all of it"
Then her mom, now done showering, opened the door "Done packing?"
"Yeah, that was kind of a quick shower you had"
"Is it?" *chuckles* "Anyways, I'll just dress up. Wait downstairs"
"Yes mom" bringing both her luggage and laptop along, she turned off the lights and everything, about to leave her room.
Before locking the door, the picture of her and Roy caught her eyes, causing her to stop in her tracks. Without hesitating, she snatched it, putting it in her pocket and locked her door; she immediately went downstairs. Sitting on the couch, she waited for her mom to come down
Passing the time by just sitting on the couch, she wonders about how the sequence of events will occur. Will it meet her expectations or will it be more than that?
Moments later, her mom is now downstairs "Did I keep you waiting?"
"Not really mom"
"Alright, let's go"
Both mother and daughter are now in the car
"All buckled up dear?"
"Yup"
"That's a lot of stuff you stuffed in there. What's in it?"
"Everything I need…" *giggles*
"OK then" she started the car and backs up "Off we go"
On the busy road, they had a conversation regarding her trip and the reunion
"A 5-school reunion eh?"
"Yeah, sounds kinda new right?"
"I'll say. Aside from your school, what are the other 4?"
"Hinata's school Taiyo; Natsu's school Gorin, Gedo and Seijyun"
"I see. Don't you have any friends from the last 2 schools you mentioned?"
"Nope. I don't know anyone there"
"Alright; whatever happened to that elite school Justice?"
"It was burned down"
"Really? What happened?"
"It's a long story mom"
Since the airport is an hour away from their home, it was a long drive.
Tiffany fell into a snooze.
45 minutes passed and their still on the road, but their almost near the airport and she starts to wake up
"Did you sleep well?"
"I think so? Are we near the airport?"
"As a matter of fact, yes"
"Finally…" she muttered. Just a few miles before the car reaches the airport, traffic occurs
"Oh great traffic"
Tiffany just sulked in silence
"Anyways it's still 12:45pm; you're flight is still on 4pm"
"True. I just want to be there sooner"
"Well, we have no choice but to wait for the traffic to disperse; how about I turn on the radio to ease your stress?"
"Go ahead." Her mom tuned into a station playing some modern age hits "What song is this? I don't know who sang this but it sounds terrible"
"Allow me mom. Today's music sucks anyway" she tuned into a random station playing a Japanese pop song.
"Wow, is that in Japanese?"
"Yup" her stress eased as expected
"I'm quite surprised that you love listening to music like this. Do you even understand it?"
"Depends on the song" then a love song in English starts playing "Hey I know this song…"
"Oh I love this song!" her mom turned up the volume a bit. The song playing is "Because You Loved Me" by Celine Dion
The soft and relaxing melody made her and her mother relax as they wait for the traffic to end.
On the right side of their car is a navy blue van playing some intense rock music. Unknown to Tiffany, the occupants of the van are none other than Roy, who is behind the wheel and his 5 buddies, more known to them as "HTMLL" and the ones who have yet to reply on the reunion event on Facebook
"Man this sucks! Traffic at a time like this? I mean come on!" one of them complained
"I agree with you dude, but it'll all be over soon"
"Can't wait for what's in store for us guys!"
"Yes sir! The Rolling Stones Autograph signing at the Hard Rock Café!"
"I'm getting Goosebumps just thinking about it!"
"Meeting the Rolling Stones in person? Oh man it's like a dream come true!"
"I know right?"
After 10 grueling minutes, traffic has ended
"Thank goodness the traffic's over" her mom muttered, stepping on the engine
Tiffany remained silent, her eyes focused on the road ahead of her, without a single clue that the love of her life is just right next to her
"Oh finally the traffic's gone!" Roy muttered, stepping on the engine, accelerating the van
"Hard Rock Café here we come!" All 6 of them cheered, speeding down the road leaving some skid marks behind them
Having arrived at the airport, Tiffany is set to leave for her flight to Japan
"Take care on your trip Tiffany!"
"I will mom, don't worry about me"
"Have fun there!"
"You know I will mom!" both mother and daughter embraced each other
Now onboard the plane, she looked out the window of the plane, seeing her mom leaving the airport
With the plane finally taking off, she wonders how everything will go when she arrives there…
"Natsu, Hinata, the reunion…"
"Roy…" she said in a soft voice
