Chapter 20 – Constant Thoughts

Tea took her seat and let out a long sigh as she let her eyes close and slowly open. She had tried working on her essay, tried reading a book, even tried watching television (which she rarely did these days)…all in vain. She couldn't get him out of her head. Last night replayed itself over and over again inside her skull until she felt like it would burst. The dance, the conversations…everything leading up to thoughts of Seto.

"No, I gotta focus today," she thought miserably, knowing what a challenge that was going to be. "I can't keep thinking about him during school or else I'll become one of those obsessed fan-girls. But why can't I get him out of my head?! This is ridiculous! All we did was hang out for one night at a stupid convention. So why do these thoughts of him keep appearing?!"

"Good morning class!" exclaimed Mrs. Asuka as she walked into the classroom, which had already filled. "I hope we all enjoyed our little weekend vacation."

"Oh yeah, definitely enjoyed it," Tea thought sarcastically. "Although it actually wasn't that bad. I mean, I danced with the CEO of KaibaCorp, I learned a whole lot about technology, and I learned more about Seto. It was a good idea to go along with him, even if the offer did sound kind of random. Plus I received an amazing dress that I'll probably never wear again. That's always fun." Growling slightly, she thought, "Stop thinking about him!"

"Did anybody work on their essays over the weekend?" Mrs. Asuka questioned as her eyes scanned the room. Surprisingly, nearly half the class raised their hand, and Mrs. Asuka's eyebrow perked up. "Wow, I'm glad to see most of you are starting to take some initiative. For those who haven't even looked at it yet, as I'm sure there are those of you out there, just remember you only have one week remaining to get it done. It's worth a reasonable amount for your grade, so I wouldn't put it off for too long if I were you."

"One week to get that stupid assignment done," Tea thought. "That's how Seto thought about it. He believed it was the dumbest assignment ever, but I think he was rather taken aback when I compared it to him. It does make sense, though. He doesn't seem to have a very positive outlook on life, so when somebody who does comes around, I'm sure it makes him uncomfortable. Mokuba doesn't have a bad outlook on life, though, and those two seem as close as can be. Maybe—"

"Miss Gardner, would you be so kind as to show me your assignment that was due today?" Mrs. Asuka asked, now standing next to her desk. Tea felt a blush rush up to her cheeks, completely forgetting the fact that Mrs. Asuka always checked homework first thing, as she quickly nodded her head and fished through her bag until she saw the paper and placed it on her desk. Mrs. Asuka nodded her head in approval before walking back the aisle.

"I've got to pay attention," Tea repeated to herself. "This daydreaming has to stop now. I won't get anything done if this keeps up." Looking up to see the front of the room, Tea let out a sigh and watched as Mrs. Asuka finished going down the last row and walked up to the front of the room. Setting her clipboard down on her desk, she smiled up at the entire class.

"Well, I have some good news for those of you those thought you were going to put that essay off until the last minute," she stated, clasping her hands together in front of her. "You're not exactly going to be able to procrastinate until the last minute, for today, Wednesday, and Friday, we'll be going to the library to work on the essay!" Several groans resonated throughout the room at this news. "I want to make sure you put the most into this essay, especially since the topic is so interesting and requires much detail and attention. I figured I would be a nice teacher this week and grant you all some time to work on it. So get your things together, and we'll head off."

Tea reached down and slung her brown backpack over her shoulder before following the mob of students out the doorway, catching a glance from none other than Seto, whose cold glare dared anybody to shove him out of the way during their journey to the library. "I wonder what he thinks of last night, if anything at all," she wondered as the class slowly made their way down the hallway. "I mean, my questions about this Sophie, whoever she was, seemed to really put him on edge. I didn't realize that one person could have such an impact on another. Every time I mentioned her name, he would literally freak out. What could have happened between those two to make him think like that? Before I mentioned her name, he was insistent that he knew what it meant to be in love. Yet when I mention his old girlfriend, he flips out! What's the deal with that?"

"I wonder if that step-father of his had anything to do with it," she thought as she walked in and took a nearby seat at one of the many tables set up in the center of the large library. "After all, his step-father seems to have taken everything fun out of his step-son. Maybe his step-father forced him out of the relationship or something? There's no point in asking him that; he'll just have a breakdown. It's so odd, though, seeing somebody that cold towards others freak out like that at somebody else's name. Would Jade know? Most likely, but she's just like Seto, keeping all those secrets…"

"Wait a damn second!" she suddenly thought, placing a blank piece of paper down in front of her with the hopes of starting her essay. "Why do I even care this much about his past? I mean, I don't want to share all my secrets with him, so why am I trying to pry his out? We're just friends, as he stated last night…friends…I'm a friend of the cold, ruthless bastard of KaibaCorp. Am I trying to be something else? Something…more?"

Tea's eyes widened at this, and she shook her head slightly. "No, I can't be! This is definitely not happening! We're total opposites! He can keep his secrets for all I care!" Sighing, Tea placed her pencil down on the desk and clasped the bridge of her nose. "That's not how I feel at all. Oh, what is going on?" Glancing down at her paper, she thought, "These thoughts will just have to wait. I've already been embarrassed once; I don't need another remark from the teacher about zoning out."

Grasping her pencil firmly in her hand, Tea decided it would be best to outline the essay first. "Okay, so I've already decided that I was going to do it on a person who was loved all their life and then suddenly faced rejection. That seems like an easy way to go about it…but then again, if I was rejected all my life and suddenly loved, there would be a lot more emotions involved, which may get me more credit for this essay. I wonder if that's the same way Seto feels…I mean, he did get really defensive about the whole concept. Grrr, that's enough thinking about him!"

"Miss Gardner, would you like a cup of tea?" Mrs. Asuka asked, smiling down at her with a tray of small tea cups in her hand. The library was famous for allowing students to drink tea while they were there; it was supposed to make the whole reading experience more relaxing. But the smile on her teacher's face disappeared when she noticed the blank piece of paper in front of her. "Tea, are you all right? You don't seem to be doing that well."

"I'm fine, Mrs. Asuka," Tea answered. "And yes, I would like a cup of tea." "Maybe it'll help clear these thoughts out of my head…"

"Are you sure? You generally aren't one to put things off, yet you haven't written a single thing on your paper. You and Mr. Kaiba are the two best students in the class, but he seems to be already finishing his essay up, and you haven't even started yours yet."

"What, so I'm suddenly being compared to a multi-billionaire who gained a corporation at age fifteen?" she thought bitterly as she grasped the cup of tea being handed over to her. "I'm sorry, I just have a lot on my mind right now."

"Oh… Is there anything I can help you with?"

"Not really, no."

"Okay then. But if you feel worried about anything, just come and let me know. I can let you go to the guidance counselor if you feel it's necessary."

"Yeah, talk to the guidance counselor about my love for Se…did I just think the word 'love'?!"

"Just try to get some work done," Mrs. Asuka stated, patting her shoulder slightly before leaving to pass out the rest of the tea. Tea groaned and placed her hand up to her forehead, taking a sip of the delicious, hot tea.

"I think I need to talk to somebody about this. If I keep thinking like this, eventually I'll have posters of that man in my room and be worshipping his every footstep. I can't keep this up. But who on Earth do I know that I can talk about men like that, especially when I don't even know how I feel about the guy? I mean, do I really love Seto, or is this just some spur of the moment type of thing? Think about it later, Tea…you have work to do!"

Picking her pencil up once again, Tea began writing down simple notes in an outline format. "Okay, so the person was loved all her life…Let's say she came from a wealthy family and was spoiled rotten… And then, suddenly, she meets this cute boy at a party. That would be an interesting setting. The two dance, have fun, and she decides to ask him out. He refuses, stating that the two don't know anything about each other and it would make him uncomfortable. How would she feel about that? Hurt, of course. Maybe a bit confused by the sudden change. After all, nobody ever said 'no' to her… Wow, this essay is surprisingly easy to write out. No wonder Seto's already done with it…"

"No, no, no! Get that name out of my head! Oh, and I was just getting into my essay too! I hate this! I need to talk to somebody about this! But who?!" Placing her head in her hands, Tea quickly browsed through the list of names inside her skull of people she could talk to. "None from Yugi's group, of course. The fact that I hang out with Seto would make them all cringe, except maybe Yugi himself. He might understand a friendship, but I don't think he would enjoy hearing my confused rambling on whether or not I love the guy. That Lucy girl? Would she even speak about it, or would she just be another Jade? I can't talk to any of the kids at the orphanage; they're too young to understand these kind of concepts. So who would I—"

A wide smile suddenly appeared on Tea's face. "Mai. She would know exactly what to do in this situation. She knows how to wrap men around her little fingers; she would know what's going on between the two of us. If any woman could read men, it's her. But I wonder if she's busy today? I'll give her a call during lunch to see if we can meet up before I go to the orphanage."

Satisfied with this decision, Tea drained the rest of her tea in one large gulp and began to write out the rest of her essay.