Chapter 2- New Places Scare Me

A few days after I came to Whammy's, I was instantly a sort of outcast. It wasn't bad, but it brought up memories. Memories of me being an outsider on everything. Even before when I ACTUALLY had friends, I was an outsider. I was always different. I never really understood it. It was just…there. It was just a natural characteristic to me. Like being a pale porcelain doll. So fragile in appearance and body, but no one ever knows how you feel in spirit. The spirit is more fragile than porcelain: it's like old, thin glass. So pretty, but so easily broken by the slightest hint of violence and malice. Broken by inhumane circumstances…

Teenaged girls and boys gathered from afar as a black, sleek car pulled up to the junior high. A tall, long- legged figure hid their face from all onlookers as they stepped out. They were clad in a black leather trench coat and a hood that covered their face and any facial features. The figure was accompanied by a handsome man who looked not a day past twenty-seven. He had very dark, short hair in waves with a few small bangs dropping into his face, light yellow-brown eyes and slightly pale skin. The girls all secretly hoped this was a new teacher, but what of the tall, darkly clothed individual?

"Hello?" the man who got out of the car said to a woman at the front office. " I am Ophelos Tyslin, here to drop off my niece. I've enrolled her a few days ago…"

"Ah, yes!" the secretary said handing him a paper. "Gailen Yayate, right? Here's her schedule."

"Thank you."

Ophelos handed the figure the schedule. The secretary looked a little surprised.

"Um, excuse me Mr. Tyslin that is your niece, right?"

"Yes? Is there a problem?"

"Oh, not with her, but her clothing in general…"

"Oh, that? I'm sorry. Gaile, can you go change into your school uniform?"

"There's a bathroom right around the corner," the secretary said.

The darkly clothed figure nodded and went to the bathroom. She locked herself in a stall and took off her black fake leather coat with faux fur around the hood, baggy black jeans and a black turtle neck sweater along with black low heel leather boots. She put on the uniform which consisted of a white shirt sleeved button up girl's dress shirt with a grey ribbon/tie, a grey plaid skirt, mid thigh-high black stockings (any color or length, really but white preferred) and brown loafers. She folded the clothes she took off and then put them into a grocery sized paper bag. She returned to the office a few minutes later and handed the paper bag to her uncle.

"Leave these in my room, please, oji-san," Gaile said.

Ophelos toke the bag from his niece. He handed her a white drawstring backpack embroidered with black swans and feathers. She put it on her backpack and bowed to her uncle before leaving for class…

~*~

"Hey Sayu-chan, did you see that new girl?"

Sayu Yagami and her friend Keiko Uzimiya were eating lunch in homeroom at desks near the door. Sayu was gazing over to where the newest girl in their class sat, eating by herself.

"Yeah. She's always alone. That's pretty sad because she's so cool."

The new girl had long black-blue hair that almost went to her waist and was in the hime (princess) style that consisted of straight as a ruler ends and long bangs that almost covered her eyes that were also straight cut and rectangle-like. Her skin was pale as the designer white-gray backpack slung over the back of her chair. She didn't even look like a middle school student with her long graceful legs, arms and neck. The girl looked more like a woman model.

"Cool?"

"Yeah, she's all mysterious and beautiful… She's like that new girl on the soap opera with Ryuuga Hideki."

Or an actress.

"Which girl? I didn't watch last week's."

"The new one who's by herself. The one with the long, dark hair who just showed up out of no where out of the rain. She's all pretty, but so cold and far away (in emotion) all the time."

"Oh, I think they'll give her name next week. She is really cool though."

"Yeah… Keiko-chan?"

"Hm?" Keiko took a bite from her onigiri with filling pickled plum.

"I'm going to go talk to her." Sayu got up and started to walk to the new girl's desk.

"Huh?" Keiko gasped in shock choking a little on her rice. "S-sayu?"

"Hi, I'm Yagami Sayu," she said giving the new girl a smile and a small bow.

~*~

Gailen was eating her lunch by the window in silence. She took big bites of her still steaming hot onigiri stuffed with soft crab meat and mozzarella cheese. The other students still didn't talk to her. They all had their dumb little cliques and classifications already done up. She was new to their juvenile world, an outsider. It had always been like this. Even in the beginning, when she went to school the first day it started, they ignored her. She was different. Even when things weren't like they are now. How they were so messed up now… Gailen took a gulp of her Sprite she took from the teacher's lounge on the way to gym class. Yup, that's how it was now and—

"Hi, I'm Yagami Sayu," a short girl with chestnut brown med-back length hair and big chocolate brown eyes said coming up to Gailen. She gave Gailen a smile and a small bow.

Man, the Japanese are polite.

"I want to welcome you to Kin Akira Middle School. I--"

"I'm Yayate Gailen. Thank you for the welcome. Alert your superior who put you up to this I feel 'welcome' by your school." With that Gailen continued to consume her lunch.

"My s-superiors…?" A stunned Sayu muttered. "I, but, I have no superiors! I just want to…" Gailen turned to the window and only gave Sayu a portion of her attention. "…I just want to be YOUR FRIEND!"

This made Gailen gasp when she should have swallowed her Sprite. She coughed as she partially drowned on the sweet liquid. What was wrong with this girl? She wanted to be her friend? No one actually wanted that, especially a ditzy middle school girl that knew nothing about her. Now, Gailen was gasping for air. The Sprite was in her lungs. That's it. She would drown on soda on the first day of her new school.

Thanks God, I get to die in humiliation, Gailen thought bitterly.

Before she knew it, Sayu was thumping on her back to help her breathe. The more Sayu thumped, the less drowning claimed her life.

What a sick joke. Being saved from Sprite by an airhead who just met me. Nice.

Soon, Gailen could breathe again and was slumped over her desk a little. Sayu stopped thumping, but was leaning down by a recovering Gailen.

"…Damn," Gailen managed to say between small gasps. "I…hope you didn't…dislodge one of my…" she coughed "…lungs."

Boy, she's sarcastic. Well, at least she's breathing, Sayu thought. I hope she doesn't yell at me…

"Yagami-san," Gailen said. "I—"

"No, no," Sayu interrupted before Gailen could say anything else. "I know. You don't want me as a friend and I'm just—"

"It's not that." She clamped her hand over Sayu's mouth. "I was going to say before I was so rudely interrupted that I accept, as a trial."

Sayu broke from Gailen's hand giggling.

"Really?! Thanks so much Yayate-san! Oops, I mean Yayate-kun since we're friends now! Or would you rather be Yayate-chan?"

"It's all sort of formal, using my last name. You can just call me Gailen without the honorifics."

"But, it's disrespectful to me, Gailen-kun—"

"Hey! I know you were raised like that, but I don't need the honor of honorifics. Just grant me that if we're going to be friends, m'kay?"

I'm right about this, Gailen thought. I have no desire to be honored or have the right to be. Even if it's just Japanese honorifics between friends.

"A-alright then." Sayu smiled weakly. "I'll try Gailen-k…I mean Gailen."

"See? It's not so hard. In return I'll call you Sayu, yeah?" Gailen smiled a little. "Or should it be Yagami-kun, Sayu-san, Yagami-san, Yagami-chan, or Sayu-kun? I'm not calling you Sayu-chan since your little friend over there already does."

Sayu saw Gailen pointing in Keiko's direction. Keiko saw them looking over to her and smiled. She waved. Gailen and Sayu waved back.

"Ah, Gailen?"

"Yes'n?"

"I think I'll be alright with you calling me Sayu. Just Sayu."

"Alright, Sayu. Now I think it's time to introduce me to your friend over there. She looks like she's going to die from excitement."

Sayu started to walk to where she had been sitting before. When she noticed Gailen wasn't following her, she stopped. Sayu turned and said,

"Well, come on then. Come sit with us."

"Huh?" Gailen was certainly surprised at this.

So, she's not joking. She's very serious about this "friendship" with me…

Gailen came with Sayu and sat down with her and Keiko. They started to eat and talk.

…I wonder if I'm dreaming, if she has a mental disorder or a mix of both.