Hey everyone! Back with a new chapter!
I would like to thank these people for following my story:
Cochrane, Fox of Darkness, Frayner, KH-Hardcorefan4483, ObserverInTheShadows, phenobarb, rocky9999
Please R & R so that I can improve in my writing! Thank you and enjoy!
Chapter 4: Doppleganger
"Hilda-sama, even though you are the highest paying student in the school, I cannot build up so many exceptions for you. Since you have already been here for 3 months, and this is going to be your final year, why don't you join a club in the school? I have instructed for your class representative to orientate you on our co- curricular programs here for the day."
"So, do you want more money?"
Pause.
"Umm. Ummm… No! No, Hilda-san! If I were to increase your school fees any more, the government would come after me. Hahaha. Run along now! Oh and come to my office first thing next week to tell me your decision."
"TATSUMI! YOU'RE LATE FOR SCHOOL! And what are you doing on the floor when your father and I have worked so hard to buy you a comfortable bed?"
"Aaaa…" Oga replied half-conscious.
WAIT.
HILDA.
Oga jolted up and scanned his room for the blonde wide-eyed and let out a huge sigh of relief to see that she was gone. That bitch. He gave her a place to sleep and she did not even wake him up for school, not that he was much interested in going to school for studies anyway. He was just going to an 'institution which would help you(him) to be more matured and stop lazing around' as his parents have mentioned. He wiped off the dried saliva away from his right cheek and took his towel to wash up. Stopping by his bed to inspect it, he found that his bed was neatly made and even had a nice fragrant lingering on it. Damn bitch is making my room smell like fairies. He took a second whiff of the change in the smell of his bed.
"Tatsumi! Get going already! Stop dreaming in your room!" his mother shouted from downstairs.
Shampooing his jet black hair under the shower head, Oga wondered how Hilda got ready for school without being seen or heard by anyone in the house. Everyone in the house gets up early to go to school or work so they would be moving around the house a lot. A light sleeper, he wondered why he had not gotten up when she would be busy getting ready for school. He rinsed off the soap from his defined and lean body and got ready for school.
"Oi Oga! I've been waiting half an hour for you!" Furuichi shouted out excitedly despite the present situation.
The smile on Furuichi's face took on a frown when he saw only Oga exiting from the house.
"Where's Hilda-chan?"
"I don't know. Maybe she went to school first."
"What! Did your parents find out that she stayed over last night? What was Hilda-chan wearing for her night dress? Did you try to do anything with her? You better not! She's mineeeee—"
"Shut up and walk faster, Saotome wouldn't be happy if we are late." Oga said after smacking Furuichi on the back of his head.
The school bell rang signaling that Oga and Furuichi had made it just in time for class.
"You pieces of shit! You're lucky to be saved by the bell. I would have asked you to wash my car and clean the toilets if you were one second later. Now, sit down!" said the teacher as he slammed his palm on the table.
Oga and Furuichi went to their seats and found that Hilda was not in class. A few thoughts crossed Oga's mind but was interjected by the teacher's comment.
"Oi Oga. Stop looking around for your girlfriend. The principal was looking for her so she went to the office."
At the same moment, the familiar flash of blonde and black entered the class and sat down in front of Oga. She wore her usual braided bun with a fringe swept to the left covering her eye and her Lolita black dress. Oga sniggered thinking that she must have worn that dress from yesterday. And claiming how clean of a person she is, she must be feeling very uncomfortable right then. As if reading his thoughts, Hilda shot him a death stare and dared him to laugh further. Oga did not care and continued to laugh till he felt a sharp pain on his forehead.
"Oi Oga! Since you're enjoying yourself so much in your seat, why don't you solve this math question on the board? And bring back my chalk!"
Oga scowled and dragged his feet to the board at the front of the class. Why didn't that annoying bastard just ask Furuichi or Kunieda? They are the smartest in class!
It has been 10 minutes since Oga stood in front of the blackboard. His mouth had been opened wide too, in that span of time, wondering how he could answer the difficult question. Saotome was reclining on his chair and had placed his feet on the teachers' table. Hilda stared at the unqualified teacher. Damn Saotome, using Oga's unintelligence to take a nap. Snoring filled the classroom. Hilda could not stand it any longer and stood up and walked to the front of the class.
"Fool! Can't you even get this simple question right? It's no wonder that you are only good at fighting, brainless brute!" Hilda spat and took the chalk off Oga's grip and wrote down the solution herself.
Oga was about to open his mouth wider to protest, but he did not. Why had Hilda been so nice to him? The day before she had thanked him and today she had complimented him on his fighting. It must be the fatigue from last night since they went off from Furuichi's house only at 4am in the morning to make sure that the coast was clear. As if his mind had concluded a great mystery, Oga shrugged and walked back to his seat.
"Hilda-san, it's time for us to go! I have got my instructions from the principal to bring you around." Kunieda informed while putting on her best smile.
Hilda approached her table to pack her things up, looking disinterested in the schedule ahead.
"Hilda-chan! Where are you going?"
"None of your business, Creepichi. Why, do you want to come along?" Hilda commented, giving him a menacing stare, daring him to say yes.
"Sure! Since you have offered…." Furuichi replied, packing his bag happily.
"Oi Furuichi! Where do you think you are going?" the teacher's sudden question filled the classroom.
"Ermm… With Hilda-chan, Saotome-sensei?"
"You're not going anywhere, cheesecake! Now help me write the next few questions on the board for the other pansies."
Hilda smirked at the sparing of effort that she would have to use to shake the pervert off. She then got out of the class where Kunieda was already waiting for her.
While walking next to Kunieda, Hilda was slightly amazed at how Kunieda took control of the school. This dark-haired girl was greeted by everyone in the school as if she were a celebrity. Kunieda either nodded or greeted back enthusiastically, depending on whether it was a female or male greeting her. How could anyone be so nice and popular was beyond her comprehension. Having the physique of a younger girl, no one would guess that Kunieda was a year older than some of the people in the class, including Hilda, Furuichi and Oga.
"So, why are you graduating this year? Did you fail a year just to get into the same class as Oga Tatsumi?" Hilda asked bluntly.
Kunieda's cheeks heated up and she turned to face Hilda.
"Eh.. No, no, no! " Kunieda protested and waved her hands in front of her profusely.
Seeing that Hilda was unconvinced with her claim, Kunieda explained further, "I took a year off from school to help my grandfather out with his martial arts school since he was very ill. My grandfather took the chance to train me further so that I could become fitter and sharper in my movements. All of us cheerleaders have to learn martial arts as decreed by our first head cheerleader 3 years ago."
"Okay. But you do like Oga right? I see the way you look at him sometimes. It's weird to see someone liking that buffoon." Hilda reinstated her point.
"Ehhh… No, no, no! I didn't say I like him! No! L-l-let's just move on to the next club!" Kunieda said, trying to change the subject as she briskly walked ahead to prevent any further embarrassment.
"What do the cheerleaders here do?" Hilda called out after her.
"Eh Oga, we are lacking boys in the group and we thought that you should join us."
"Buzz off! I'm not interested in that kind of stuff. You can ask Furuichi over there."
"That is precisely why we are asking you. Most of the guys in our school are perverts and we don't want them to be feeling up our girls when they do lifts. You will just have to lift up or toss some of us during the competition."
Oga's ears pricked up at the sound of the word "toss".
"What's in it for me?"
"Okay… Ummm.. We will treat you to both lunches and dinners for every practice till the end of competition and you would only need to come for 5 practices which are the first, middle and 3 practices the week before competition."
"Okay. But, I'm wearing a black leotard, nothing fluffy or pink!" Oga said confidently.
Omori looked at Oga in disbelief and walked away, content enough that they had found their last male member to execute stunts.
"What did you say Hilda-san?"
"I asked you what the cheerleaders here do. From what you have just said one needs to know martial arts right."
"The craft teaches us discipline since we have to juggle school work, attend classes daily and practice regularly, especially during the Nationals held at the end of autumn every year. Also, the population of boys to girls in this school is two is to one. Believe me, Furuichi is not the only one trying to get into any girl's skirt, so all of us have to be careful. And as cheerleaders, we need to be able to execute choreographed gymnastics fused with dance routines."
"Sounds easy, so when can I start?"
"B-b-but you have to go for the try-outs first! Then a panel of judges would be judging you based on your agility, gymnastics and your facial expression, which I think for you, needs to be worked on."
"We'll see about that. When are the try-outs?"
"They will be on this coming Friday. I'll be judging too since I'm the head cheerleader for this year. Surprise me, okay!"
Hilda walked towards the multi-purpose hall wearing what she always wore. The other high school students watched her in disbelief seeing that what she was about to do was a physical activity with a dress. In the big empty space, she saw a panel of 6 cheerleaders wearing their uniform and seated facing the entrance. Hilda was called in by the member that was stationed outside, who had communicated via a walkie-talkie with the others to call upon the next participant who was auditioning.
As she walked nearer to the center of the hall, Kunieda was smiling at Hilda. Though it seems friendly on the surface, deep down Hilda knew that Kunieda would be as tough on her as she was with other participants who ran off crying and spouting suicide.
Wary of the situation though unintimidated, Hilda asked, "So what do you want me to do?"
"We can start with a simple cartwheel."
Hilda did three rounds at lightning speed.
"Next?"
Everyone at the panel was taking interest. Kunieda raised an eyebrow.
"Turn-off, back hand spring."
Hilda went further back from the panel and raced to the front, did a turn-off, followed by a back handspring. As expected, Hilda landed on both feet perfectly and effortlessly.
"Any other requests?"
"Front hand spring, turn-off, back tuck, backhand spring, backhand spring, toe touch."
"Nene-san, that is too difficult for an audition!"
"You can quit now if you can't do that. No hard feelings."
Hilda took a deep breath and cleared her mind. Even though she was not sure whether she would succeed or not, Hilda's countenance exuded ultimate confidence, deceiving even herself. Taking another breath, Hilda lunged into the stunts and ended with a big smirk on her face. The panel of judges was awed by the excellent display of gymnastics skills; however they kept their thoughts to themselves. So this must be why everyone went out crying. Well, they are not getting rid of me that easily.
"Not bad. So, what kind of background did you come from?"
"When will I know the results?"
"We'll put up the notice on our board by the end of next week. You can go now, Hilda-san."
Hilda walked out of the hall with a smirk, happy with her performance and the fact that the principal would be off her back once she makes it to the team.
Back at the panel of judges, some were not very happy with Hilda.
"She's the girl who is always hanging out with Oga right?"
"Yea, she's trying to steal Nee-san's boyfriend in front of our noses."
"Eh… Oga is not my boyfriend! Where did you hear that from?"
"Nee-san it's so obvious. We don't know how it could not occur to that blockhead that you like him. Everyone in the school knows it except him."
"Eh… I-I don't like him! Let's have a break!" Kunieda cried, face turning red, and ran off.
The results should be on the board today, it's been a week already, Hilda thought. She walked towards the most vibrant noticeboard which belonged to the cheerleading team. The most funding was given to the cheerleaders as it was the only club which brought glory to the school. Hilda scanned the list and found her name among a few others…OGA TATSUMI? Why in the world is his name on the list? Hmph, must be a ploy by Kunieda and her gang to get closer to him. Well, not my problem. Hmmm there is a short introductory session today at the multi-purpose hall in fifteen minutes.
"Congratulations Hilda-san! You were really good the other day!"
"So when are we going to start practicing? It has been fifteen minutes. I hate waiting."
Hilda was used to being praised; the people who praised her either wanted something from her or were just trying to be nice so that her parents would not wipe out their company. Praises were just words which bear no weight to her.
"We are waiting for everyone to reach since it is the first practice and everyone needs to know who is in the team."
Eh. Hilda is here too? Hmph, she must have been asked to toss some people too. Eh Tojou is here too!
"Oi Tojou what are you doing here?"
"Omori asked me to come and toss some people and she's giving me the same amount of money as my part–time job."
"Hahaha! She offered me lunch and dinner! Then I told her I will only wear black leotards!"
"Baka! They have only red leotards!" said none the wiser.
"WHAT!"
"I'm going to toss more people than you Oga! I will be the winner this time! Eh, Hilda-san! You're in the team too? I bet that they wanted you to toss some people too right. "
"No, Tojou-san, I just needed to join a club and this was the least boring one."
"Eh, Hilda. Weren't you just standing over there? (Looks at previous spot where Hilda had supposedly stood and back) WAHHHH TWO HILDAs!"
"Fool! How can there be two of me…."
Hilda looked at the direction that Oga was pointing to. She looks just like me! Look at the way she tries to charm everyone with that pretentious smile of hers. Urgh! Just then Hilda remembered the content of letter that was passed to her by Furuichi.
It was a family portrait. Her mother and father were carrying a baby each and putting on solemn countenances in the photo. At the back of the photo, her birthdate and the names of both the infants were written: Hildegarde, Yolanda Brandt.
With the photograph came a note that said, "Bet you didn't know, sister."
The sudden appearance of this similar-looking girl brought up many questions in her head. However, she did not want to assume that anyone who looks like her could be her long lost-twin sister. It could be one of her seven look-alikes in the world to say the least.