Good News: Story is picking up!

Bad News: There is going to be angst…

Good News: I just handed in the last piece of work that was due in this year!

Bad News: I still have to go in…

Good News: There should be longer chapters again!

Bad News: …um…

Good News: There's only ten days left until it's Christmas Day! :D

Bad News: …

You know those moments that you have…when you say something…and just dig yourself into a hole and then start shovelling the dirt on top of you?

Yeah…

Advent '08

December 15th - All together now! 10!

One of the downsides about thinking solely of Ren the entire weekend was that she hadn't thought about what school would be like when she arrived there that morning.

It had been a frosty reception at best.

The boys that she passed stared at her at first and then went out of their way to avoid her. The girls shot her dirty looks and whispered between their groups.

Kyoko looked around nervously at first, wondering what was going on. Finally it clicked and she sighed sadly to herself. It was just like primary and middle school.

Sho always managed to turn the entire student population against her with out even realising it.

She made her way to her seat and sat down forlornly.

The only good thing about this was that Kanae wouldn't be affected by this. Kanae wouldn't throw their friendship away over anything like this.

All she had to do was survive this weeks worth of lessons and then she could hang out with someone who she was actual friends with.

She repressed another sigh when she felt a ball of paper being thrown off her.

Today was going to be a long day.

---/---

By the time lunch rolled around Kyoko was feeling a little fed up with how she was being treated. She had thought that things would be different when she was older but it was clear to her now that people sometimes never grew out of their immaturity.

She had endured paper balls, paper planes, bits of rubber being flicked at her and other things besides that.

She was grateful that she didn't have P.E. or who knows what might have happened.

If it had been clear she would have gone outside to eat her lunch but the snow had started up again and no matter how much clod she was able to brave she wasn't going to purposefully go out and freeze herself.

This was why she found herself sitting alone at her desk eating her meal.

The biggest group of girls had gather right behind her and Kyoko didn't know if it was because they wanted to be in a better position to torment her or if it was just pure coincidence.

The leader of the group was Nanokura so Kyoko wasn't sure that it was coincidence.

She tried to ignore the laughing group of girls but the words 'winter' and 'awards' caught her attention and against her will she found herself straining to hear what they were saying.

"I can't wait!"

"I know! I'm going to watch it on the T.V."

"I'm going to tape it so that I can watch it again!"

"I wonder who's going to be there?"

"Well, obviously Sho-kun is going to be there. He's going to be the most handsomest and most popular man there."

Kyoko flinched. Sho was going to be there?

It was a good thing that she wasn't going any more then.

She kept listening as Nanokura kept talking.

"They can bring dates you know? And I think that Sho-kun will ask me because I'm the prettiest girl in the agency."

"Really? He's going to ask you?"

"Well of course! Who else would he ask? Mogami?"

They burst into cruel laughter and Kyoko felt her face heating up in shame and anger. Eventually the laughter died down and Kyoko felt herself being able to breathe again.

"You're so lucky Nanokura-chan!"

"I know I am."

"I wish I was going!"

"You'll just have to watch it on T.V. Just like Mogami will."

"Heh heh heh."

"That'll be the closest she'll ever get to anything like that."

"That's if she even owns a television."

They laughed again and Kyoko felt the overwhelming urge to do something. Hit them, shout, anything but leave and admit defeat.

She was so on edge that she was actually trembling.

"Ha ha! Yeah. She doesn't even wear make-up of course she wouldn't be able to go!"

Her body turned to face the group of it's own accord.

"As a matter of fact I am going. I was invited personally and haven't you heard? It's rude to talk about someone like they aren't there."

She stood up and picked up her bag before marching out of the classroom and down the corridor.

It wasn't until she was standing facing the mirror in the bathroom that what she had done finally hit her.

A strangled noise forced its way past her lips and she fell to her knees, one hand clutching the sink and the other at her heart.

She had stuck up for herself.

She had turned and spoken back to those girls.

She had called them rude…

The most popular girls in her year and she had called them rude!

Urgh. This was so bad. Her life was going to be hell!

She wallowed in self pity for a few minutes before something forced it's way past her despair.

Wait…

What exactly had she said?!

Did she just tell them that she was going to the Winter Awards?!

Oh no…

But she had made up her mind! She wasn't going! Why on earth did she tell them that she was?!

They were going to make her life even worse than the already promised hell when she did actually cancel.

She dropped her head into her hands and groaned.

Could she actually cancel now? Was she strong enough to survive their taunting for the rest of the year?

Yes?

No?

She was so confused.

---/---

The girls sat in stunned silence, completely shocked at by what had just happened.

Did that just happen?

Nanokura gritted her teeth at what Kyoko had just done. She snarled at the boys who were looking and grinning in her direction.

There was no way that Kyoko was going to the awards and there was no way that she was going to be upstaged by that upstart.

First she steals her part, then she steals her Sho's attention and now she steals her limelight?

Not on her watch.

Kyoko would know what it would feel like to take what was hers. She would make sure of that.

And the first thing that she would do would to be expose Kyoko for the horrible liar that she was and then shame her in front of the whole school.

Then everyone would realise who was the most popular girl and the biggest rising star this industry has ever seen.

Lol, well…that's one way to make up your mind.

This chapter is mostly to appease my editor WriterofShadow who is holding my tablet pen ransom.

-____-

DS