Harvest Moon: High School Parade

Chapter 7: Much Needed Sleep

SLAM!

Ow.

My head hit the desk harder than I had wanted. Even though my forehead hurt from the impact, I didn't move. I racked my brain with the Wizard's riddle. It didn't make any sense. I felt as though my mind was about to explode from confusion and frustration.

"Are you okay?" A new voice called out to me.

I groaned in response, forgetting where I was.

"The first day of school not going well for you, huh? I understand." I felt a hand gently touch my shoulder; it snapped me back to reality. I looked up and saw the smiling face of a gentle-looking soul. His face was deeply concerned for me. He was neatly dressed, and had short ice-blue hair, but what really stood out was his comforting, smiling eyes. His whole demeanor seemed to make my worries vanish, and I felt…happy. I hesitantly said, "Yeah…I guess you could say that. I'm just not sure I fit in yet."

He sat down next to me, "That's okay. You have time. I like this school, and the people here seem to be nice." He placed his hand out in greeting, "I'm Toby by the way. If you need anyone to talk to, I could be here for you."

I was very impressed by his thoughtfulness and positive attitude about life. My cheeks grew hot from realizing that I was acting silly and pessimistic. I felt gravitated towards him.

"Hi, I'm Hikari." I looked around, and remembered that Literature class hadn't started yet.

"Hey Toby!" A girl called out from the doorway. Toby gave a slight wave, and she sat down next to us. She looked familiar to me somehow.

He smiled at her, "Hey Renee. It's nice to see you again."

"It's nice to see you too Toby." Blushing, she smiled back, her brown eyes sparkling. Her hair was in a cute crop-cut that matched the shade of her eyes. She had a sweet temperament, very similar to Toby's.

She looked over at me, "Hey, I remember you. I sat down at Kathy's table at lunch while you were leaving. I feel bad not saying hi to you, but you looked busy. Kathy tells me that you're new?"

So that's where I remembered her from. I nodded.

"Well, it's always good to have new students. It is very very rare for the academy to accept transfer students. It's a pretty exclusive boarding school. So it's very special to have you here."

"Thank you. I'm very happy to-"

"Alright class! Let's get started!" our teacher called out. She wrote her name on the board, signaling the start of class. Mrs. Hanna seemed like a jovial teacher, but went on tangents quite often. She somehow made an analogy between different types of literature and farm animals, but it was a far stretch. I wasn't sure how much I'd be learning in this class.

I then remembered Collin's words about trying to boost the literature and history programs, and realized that it was probably going to be tough. I wonder what I could do.

Before I knew it, class was over, and we shuffled along to our next class.

"Yes! My last class of the day!" I was looking forward to going back to my room, and taking a well-needed nap.

I found Candace as I walked into the room. I waved, and sat next to her, chatting about my day, leaving out the whole school's-closing-quest-to-improve bit. She seemed genuinely interested in what I had to say, and I was happy to vent some things.

We were interrupted by a soothing, lyrical voice, "My, I really like your necklace. And your hair cut and color really brings out your eyes. You're rather…cute."

This comment caught me off guard, and I uncontrollably blushed.

I was taken aback at the beauty of the guy before me. He was a pretty-looking sort, almost…feminine. Even though he wore a uniform, he made it look stylish. His hair was long and lavender with streaks of gold and red. His hands were adorned with rings and bracelets. He smiled flirtatiously and flipped his hair, making the air glitter around him. "I'm Julius. I don't think I've seen you before."

Candace quietly said, "Ju-julius, th-this is Hikari. She's a new transfer student here."

He didn't take his eyes from me. "Well, what a pleasure it is to meet you." He took my hand, and gently kissed the top of it, "It's always a pleasure to meet a friend of Candace and a fine lady of your style." With that he winked at me. I was completely frozen. Had he just kissed my hand?

Before I could make a fool of myself, there was a sudden high-pitched squeal, and a new face popped in front of mine. "You're the new girl!" She screamed. "I am so happy I get to meet you!" She looked up at me with child-like blue eyes. Her hair, which was the color of marigolds, had two cute bows on the sides of her head. Her voice was bouncy and energetic. "I'm Maya! Here, as a welcome gift to you, I will give you a pie that I made."

She reached around in her bag and pulled out a box. She held it up to me, offering me the slice of apple pie. I wasn't particularly hungry, but she looked at me with proud, hopeful eyes that I couldn't ignore.

I was about to say 'of course,' when someone stepped in front of me, blocking me from Maya. All I saw was his back.

He flatly said to her, "She doesn't want to try that sad excuse you call a 'pie'. One bite of it, and she'd pass out from disgust. Leave her alone, you're scaring her with your impositions."

She began to pout, "You're such a meanie Chase!" She gave a small sob, and went to sit down in her chair.

He shook his head, crossed his arms, and sighed.

I tapped him on the shoulder, "You know, that was mean what you just did to her. You didn't have to go that far. She was just being polite, and plus I wouldn't have minded trying a piece." He turned to face me; his deep violet eyes meeting mine.

He stood there for a moment, trying to read me.

He brushed his hand through his wavy, peach-colored hair, and placed his hands on his hips.

With a slight frown on his face he said, "I don't think you'll enjoy the atrocities she makes. She's better at eating than cooking. Trust me. You'll thank me later."

I still was a bit angry at his comment to Maya, but my interest in him kept me from making another response.

He turned and left toward his seat. He had a sad and tense aura around him that made me curious to know more. He then rolled up his sleeves and put on his apron, ready for art class.

The voice of the teacher brought my mind off of Chase, and back onto the class.

"Hello class. I am Ms. Mira, and I will be your Visual and Performing arts teacher. We will be covering all kinds of varieties of the arts: music, theater, drawing and painting, crafts, and the like." She then covered the rules of the class, and materials. She walked us around the room, showing us the different equipment we would be using and instructing us how to use them. "Alright class, now that we've seen what is in here, let us now go to Harmonica Hall and see the stage. Make sure to bring all of your belongings to the hall because I will dismiss you there."

As we were walking, I wanted to catch up with Chase to find out more about him, but lost sight of him. I decided to stick with Candace and Julius.

Julius began to talk about theater, "I wonder if they're going to do a spring play this year. We haven't had one since I've been here. I think nobody wants to be invested in it." Candace nodded her head, and politely listened to Julius as he continued to talk.

Maya walked up to me, pulled me aside and whispered, "Sorry about earlier. Chase may seem a bit harsh and blunt at times, but he's right." She looked down in shame, and fiddled with her fingers, "I'm a terrible cook. Chase used to be the lead student of the cooking program as a 1st year student! But it was shut down because no one wanted to join. I think it really hurt him. I admired his ability, and since I love yummy good food, I wanted to learn. I tried teaching myself, but I think I just don't have the talent."

I placed my hand on her shoulder, "You wanna know what I think? I think with your knowledge and love of food, you'll be a great cook someday. You just got to find a good teacher."

She looked up at me with joy in her eyes, "O I would love to be taught! I wanted Chase to teach me, but he has lost his ambition to cook. I think he still holds some wounded feelings about the cooking program, and refuses to talk about it." She sighed, walking along as she did.

I looked ahead of me and caught sight of Chase in the distance. I began think about what he had to be feeling, and I felt…sad.

My heart twisted with sympathy. I have to do something for him. There's got to be a way to get him to start cooking again.

Before I could think of a plan, we arrived at the stage. It was a large and well-built theater, but it seemed a bit dusty and unused. I placed my bag down, and the class walked through the corridors learning about the different pullies and levers. Ms. Mira had mentioned how a few years ago, the students used to put on the spring play for the school community. The actors did so well that they moved the audience to tears at every showing. She sighed, and moved on to showing us the stage area. I began to wonder if there would be a play this year.

After the demonstration, class was officially over. I took a deep breath in, and was happy to go back and rest. I walked out with Candace and Julius.

"Are you going to the welcome party Hikari? You should. It'll be in the boys' dorm tomorrow night. If good looking girls like you two showed up, the boys would be flocking to the party." At Julius' compliment, Candace placed her hands on her face, a move she did quite often to keep her blush hidden.

"Hmm…maybe," I responded, "I really don't know what I'm-wait! My bag! I left my bag!" I clutch the side where my bag would be, but found nothing. Realization hit, and I ran back to Harmonic Hall, leaving behind the confused faces of my friends.

The hall was empty and I frantically looked around, hoping my stuff was not taken. Relief washed over me as I saw it lying in the same spot I left it.

I placed my bag over my shoulder, and was about to head out until I heard a strange noise. It sounded like rhythmic sighing or growling.

I froze, regretting that I was alone in the large, dark, hall. What is that noise? A ghost?

I listened carefully and realized it was…snoring?

Where is it coming from?

The sound seemed to be stronger near the stage. I climbed onto the stage, and followed the sound. There, in the side wing, I saw a man in his business suit, sleeping soundly. I crept closer and cautiously poked him to wake him up. "Um…hello? Sir?"

His snoring abruptly stopped and he lazily opened one eye to look at me. "Hmm….? What…is…it?" He closed his eye again.

"Um…you fell asleep on the stage. Aren't you uncomfortable?"

He slowly sat up, stretched really big, and gave out a glorious yawn.

Smacking his lips he said, "Yeah…I guess it was getting a little bit uncomfortable. But the stage relaxes me for some reason." He opened his tired eyes, fluffed his hair, and fixed his green tie. "Thank you for waking me up. I would have been there all night if you didn't. But boy do I love sleeping." He looked over at me, "What did you say your name was?"

"Oh, sorry, yes. I'm Hikari. I go to school here."

He raised his eyebrows, "Ah. I've heard of you. I'm Daren. I'm a member of the school board."

I enthusiastically turned to him, "Then you can help! Please keep this school open. I am-"

He yawned, "Too…ener..getic. ….Must….go…to…sleep." He laid down on the stage again, and his snoring resumed.

"Argh. Excuse me. Mr. Daren, sir. About the school?"

He looked up and was reluctant to say anything. After realizing I wasn't going to let him sleep, he said, "I'm a laid back person. I like my down time. Thus, a good school should have outstanding programs to encourage students to take a break from the hard work and tedious homework. So…show me a good arts program, and I will tell the Superintendent to keep Castanet Academy. Now…*yawn*…I'm going back to sleep."

I shrugged. I'd rather not bother him anymore. I did receive the information I needed, so I trotted off.

On my way back, my mind ran through the events of the day.

"I met so many new people, and have seen new things. I think I am beginning to like this school. But I have a lot of work to start on, and it's only my first day of school."

END Chapter 7

Sorry for the delay. I've been quite busy with life these days. I will try to get the next chapter up as soon as I can. Thank you again for reading! ^_^