Chapter 6
Okay, so I'm sitting here before class, trying to get as much written as I can before the teacher shows up. Jeez, I love my laptop! I would be doing this on paper if I didn't have it, and it would take twice as long!
As much as I said I didn't want to go back, I'm looking forward to this class: Comp II! Yay!
Disclaimer: I still no own DN Angel.
No matter who the audience was, Risa Harada loved to be the center of attention. Whether it was recounting one of her many -often exaggerated - stories about Dark to her sister, to reading aloud in class, Risa enjoyed everyone's focus to be solely on her. So when Saehara suggested that she and Hiwatari were dating, she discovered the perfect opportunity to get attention.
"Oh, don't worry, we're not going out." Risa informed Hiwatari's fangirls at a picnic in a lush green park. She laughed at the idea, and the four girls sighed with relief.
"Well then you're just plain lucky to get to spend this much time with him. It must be amazing!" One girl sighed dreamily. Risa rolled her eyes.
"Not really. I mean, I would've thought so, if Hiwatari-kun weren't . . . well . . . you know."
"Know what?" One of the girls asked, taking the bait. Risa smiled. Ah yes . . . gossip hunger had set in.
"Why . . ." She paused dramatically. "Hiwatari-kun is gay."
"What?! No way!" Every girl gasped in horror.
"Yeah, he told me himself."
"You're lying. There's no way. That would be such a waste!"
"Isn't it though?" Risa shrugged. "But I guess it can't be helped. I mean, haven't you seen the way he looks at Daisuke Niwa? It's love. He's totally jealous of Riku."
"Ooooh!" The girls crooned in unison at this scandalous bit of information.
"Mmmhmm." Risa put her hands on her hips, proud of herself for producing such a juicy piece of gossip. "So now you know why he sent all those love notes back, and why he said -"
"I don't have time for girls!" A dark haired girl said. They began to murmur amongst themselves.
"Now, he's a little self conscious about it, so don't let him know that you know. After all, the guy that he's in love with is dating someone else - a girl for that matter."
"Oh, poor Hiwatari-kun!" One girl cried. Risa smiled as they began to gossip together about all the sure signs they had missed.
"Well, catch you guys later. I have to go find my sister now."
"Okay, bye Harada-san. Thanks for clearing everything up for us!"
Risa turned around and gave them a thumbs up, not feeling the least bit guilty about outing Hiwatari. Why should she? He always acted strangely - it was bound to get out anyway! Nope, not guilty a all.
She smiled and waved at her sister and Daisuke. They were stretched out on a picnic blank provided by one of the parents who had volunteered to come on the trip. Hiwatari was lying on a nearby blanket, reading of course. Risa frowned slightly, but then smiled as she was offered a blanket to sit on. "Thank you." She murmured to the parent volunteer and joined them, picking up a bagged lunch on the way.
"Hey guys!" She spread out the blanket and sat down. "Well don't you two look all nice and cozy?"
Riku and Diasuke both blushed and looked at each other sheepishly. Risa grinned, always glad to cause them a little embarrassment. "What are you reading Hiwatari-kun?" She asked. He held the book up briefly, then returned to his reading. "Still? Even after I told you what happened?"
"I told you it's for a school project." he said in his usual monotonous voice. "I have to know the details."
"Oh." Risa said, then caught her sister giving her an evil look. "What?!"
"You told him what happens?" Her tone was exasperated. Risa sweat-dropped, smiling.
"Well, you know me!" She said with a laugh. Riku rolled her eyes. "Hey, how much longer do we have anyway? I'm ready to hit the beach!"
"Um . . ." Daisuke pulled out his itinerary again and looked. "Let's see . . . after the picnic we're supposed to . . . go to the mall." He groaned as a spark lit up Risa's eye. He glanced at Riku. "Is this going to be bad?"
"Oh yeah. Risa loves to shop. We'll be dragged all over."
"Eheheh . . ." This time, Daisuke sweat-dropped as Risa began naming off all the people she needed to buy souvenirs for.
"Let's see . . . Mom, Dad, Aimi, Masuyo, Hiro K, Hiro T, Rei, Mr. and Mrs. Niwa -"
"Hey! Why are you buying my parents something?"
"Because they didn't get to come silly! I couldn't just leave them out . . . let's see, where was I? Oh yes, Grandpa Niwa, Wiz, Miki, Ryo . . . um . . . oh yeah! Hideki, Mami, Rin . . ."
Daisuke looked at Riku, his mouth open.
"Don't think she's being generous." Riku muttered. "She just loves to shop.
"Taiki, Yuuko, Airi, . . . and Hina . . . I think I might be forgetting someone." She looked up. "Oh . . . I lost count. Riku, how many was that?"
"What? How should I know?! I wasn't listening!"
"Hmm . . . well . . . " Risa turned away from her sister and laid down on her back, deciding to ignore her annoyance with her. "Ah! It's so beautiful here! The sun . . . the sand . . . the . . ." She blinked and looked up in horror as a drop of water landed on her forehead. "R-rain? But it was fine just a minute ago!"
"Wow, where did those clouds come from?" Diasuke asked, then was hit in the face boy a raindrop.
"Oh! Did I forget to mention? It rains every day in Waikiki, at exactly the same time!" The bus driver shouted as people ran around, trying to get the mess cleaned up before the downpour started.
"The blankets! Don't forget about the blankets!" Their teacher shouted, carrying a pile of trash to the trashcan. Risa grabbed her blanket and lunch and made a mad dash for the bus, the raindrops hitting her at an ever increasing frequency. She was one of the few students who made it to the safety of the bus in time - she laughed at Riku and Daisuke as they passed her, completely drenched by the rainstorm.
Hiwatari followed them in, shaking off his wet book. His damp hair clung to his forehead, making Risa giggle. "Hiwatari-kun! You're wet" He gave her a look that said "I was quite aware of that" and sighed. "Here." She offered him her towel.
"No thank you, Harada-san." He murmured. She rolled her eyes.
"Hiwatari-kun, it's not charity. You're my seating partner - I don't want you to get me wet, that's all."
"I'm not that wet."
"I don't care! Just take the towel. Please."
He didn't say anything, but accepted the towel, only to lay it across his lap and lean back with his eyes closed. Risa sighed and rolled her eyes dramatically, though of course he couldn't see it. Why was she offering to help him anyway? Oh yeah . . . because he would get her wet. That was all. And she didn't feel bad about starting a rumor about him! A sharp crack made her sit up a little straighter. Saehara was standing in the aisle, and had just snapped another boy with his wet shirt.
"Saehara! Put your shirt back on!" Riku yelled
"Yeah! No one wants to see that!" Another person, a guy this time, called.. Risa quickly shut her eyes, the image of Saehara shirtless burned into her mind. Gross . . . gross . . . gross . . . gross gross gross . . . grossgrossgrossgrossgrossgrossgross!
"Aw, come on! It's Hawaii! You're going to see it on the beach anyway!"
Everyone groaned, but the teacher, who was completely drenched from head to foot, stepped onto the bus at this time and gave Saehara a stern reprimanding. Chastised, Saehara sat back down and the bus began moving. Risa laid her head against the window and stared out at the pelting rain.
"Oh, Risa cheer up." Riku leaned over the seat and smiled at her. "Don't worry, we'll be able to go to the beach after the rain clears up. The bus driver says it usually only lasts about thirty minutes."
"It's not that." She grumbled, closing her eyes. "I just don't like being on the street in the rain."
"Oh, yeah." She said, then smiled gently. "Don't worry, Risa. The rain doesn't cause accidents. Careless drivers do."
"I know . . . but the rain can be a major contribution to it." She said. Riku sighed in defeat and leaned back next to Daisuke.
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Ten minutes later, they arrived at the hotel. Students began grumbling and asking what was going on, but their teacher quieted them down before explaining.
"It's only our first day here, and it's already . . ." he looked at his watch. "Four-thirty. I want you to have time in the afternoons to do whatever you want to do . . . well . . . maybe not whatever you want to do . . ." He gave Saehara a stern look. "But I want you to be able to enjoy Hawaii on your own time. So . . . I thought that instead of going to the mall today, we could all go on Friday before the luau. Now, you can still go today as you wish, but some of you might want to visit other places, such as the beach, or some of the ABC stores. How many are there again?" He asked, turning to the driver.
"Well, in Waikiki there are 36. There's one on every corner of every block. That's where we got the name: ABC . . . All Blocks Covered."
"Ah, yes. 36. Well, they shouldn't be hard to find. And, if you want, you can still go to the mall. You might just want to wait until the rain clears up . . . is that alright with everyone?"
There was an enthusiastic cheer as everyone filed off of the bus in disorder. Some people chose to go to the mall, others decided to check out the ABC stores. Risa, of course, picked the beach, but only after the rain stopped. She and her sister went into her room.
"Do you need in the bathroom anytime soon, Riku?" She asked.
"Uh . . . no."
"Okay, I'm going to take a shower then."
"Wait . . . you're going to take a shower . . . before you go to the beach?"
"Yes." She said with a hint of irritation in her voice. "Is there something wrong with that? I feel all grimy from the salt water."
"Well, you're just going to get back in it."
"I don't care." She huffed, getting annoyed at her sister. If she wanted to take a shower, she would take a shower!
"Risa, sometimes you make no sense at all."
"Don't be mean, Riku!" She said, closing the bathroom door. Riku rolled her eyes at her sister's tantrum.
"Well fine! If that's how you're going to act, you can go to the beach by yourself! I'm going to go find Daisuke."
"Fine by me!" Risa shouted, turning on the water. She didn't need her sister anyway. She could take care of herself!
She stepped into the hot shower, knowing she was being irrationally angry with Riku, but she didn't really care. She was really beginning to get on her nerves . . . already. Risa sighed.
She intended to make this shower last , hoping that by the time she was finished the rain would be done and she could go ahead and leave. She washed her hair twice before using conditioner and used her sweetest smelling soap. Yes, she brought more than one type of soap. Was that so weird? Riku thought so, especially after their fight to get through customs with all those bottles. Sheesh . . . like a fourteen-year-old was going to try to sneak nitroglycerin on an airplane . . .
When she finally stepped from the shower, she felt absolutely and positively squeaky clean. Showers always made her feel better. She sighed with contentment and tried to think of someone who would want to go to the beach with her. She had never really intended to go by herse-
She gasped in horror at the bright red stain on the hotel's towel. No. No way. Not now, not while she was in Hawaii! She could not have started her period already! It was two weeks early! Two weeks! Had she miscounted? No, because she had checked, double checked, and triple checked, and even though she was bad at math she would nevermiscalculate on something as important as this!
"Oh . . . no!" She cried. She hadn't brought anything! Wait! Maybe Riku! Putting on her dirty clothes - she couldn't put on her bikini yet - and a wad of toilet paper so as not to soil her underclothes, she ran into the main bedroom and flung open her sister's suitcase. Riku usually started a week after her, but she was the responsible twin.
Risa rummaged through her suitcase, flinging Riku's clothes aside with abandon. Oh please . . . please please please! She dug deeper, pulling out the few toiletries Riku had brought. Jeez . . . there was hardly any makeup . . .
She gasped and pulled a pad from the bottom of the suitcase. There was a God after all! True, it wasn't a tampon, which was what she really needed, but at least now she could go to the store and buy a box.
"I should probably thank Riku later . . ." She said to herself, but her raging girl hormones wouldn't let her even consider it. After she had changed into another outfit, she grabbed a few dollars and shoved them in her pocket. Time to explore Hawaii . . . alone . . . by herself . . .
Oh boy.
Wow! This was a much longer chapter than usual . . . I think . . . But you'll be glad to know that the story actually begins to progress from here . . . as in . . . we're actually moving along with the plot! Yay! Hope you enjoy it, and I'll have seven up as soon as possible. Remember, please review. I'll be sad if you don't. Also, sorry if some of the words that are italicized run together with words that aren't. It keeps doing that for some reason. I've tried to correct it in this document, but if I missed something, sorry. Bad Galinda01.
Random note: My classes are AMAZING!