Dilemma of a Replica

Chapter II

Is there such as thing as fate? Or the equal term destiny?

Does that mean that when you meet a person and both of your path clashes together in a totally unexpected, if not totally cliché, situation, somehow it's written already in the stars? That it meant something and one thing will happen after the other and inevitably leads to something big?

Do you see how ridiculous that just sounded?

So no, it wasn't fate that made my new neighbors' mailbox has a LI imprinted on its side. So no, it wasn't destiny that my mother's high school best friend was supposedly the woman I met the other day. And there is no way in hell that the reason why I bumped into that weirdo was because we have the same path written for us by the stars.

You see? Because it's simply not logically possible.

-x-x-

"Mom!" I heard my younger brother, Cerberus—call him Kero and he'll hate you forever—yelled looking through the blinds. "I think the house right next to us—you know the one that's abandoned because Mr. London learned that his wife cheated on him and forced her to move out? And because he was so depressed, he fled out of there too to avoid the painful memories?—remember that?"

My brother likes to gossip, as you can tell.

My mother was silent for a moment before she answered, uncertainty filling her tone, "Uhm. Yes?"

"Well, someone is definitely moving in."

I blocked it all after that. I really could not have cared any lesser.

I resumed back to my video game, pressing the buttons of the controller hard. I need to defeat this aquatic so-called monster so I can go to the next level. But my true intention is to demolish my older brother's high score to dust.

There was a knock at the door, followed by my mother's voice yelling, "Sakura! Can you get that for me?"

"Can't!" I yelled back, not leaving my gaze away from the screen. "I'm dealing with intergalactic aliens from a planet filled with water, sorry!"

Sometimes I feel like my mother worries about my "addiction" towards video games, but I beg to differ. Knowing there's no way I'm turning my game off now, she ordered Kero to do it.

Kero groaned, but followed.

"Mom! There's a woman out here looking for you!"

I zoned out again, 35 points and I can win! Just need to find this creature's weakness and I can finally prove to my brother that I'm better than him—both in gaming and in looks.

It was all going by smoothly, but I cursed the day I inherited my mother's ability to jump easily from being surprise. One moment I was in the head of my game, unbeatable; the next, I heard a scream and I watched in horror when my fingers slipped and the controller fell from my grasp.

Game Over.

"Sakura! Come here, quick!" My mother screeched excitedly and I have to leave my anguish feelings and go back downstairs—to plain old reality.

When I reached the bottom, there were two things that took me by surprise: 1. I was graced, yet again, by the same woman I met days ago. 2. My brother was picking his nose so openly all the while we have a guest.

My mom hooked arms with the woman and said, "Sakura! This is the woman I like to tell you about! Remember? Yelan Li?"

I shrugged.

However, Yelan Li remembered me all right. She should have—I can't help but think grimly—made an effort to carefully word out the next few lines though in a way where I would not get in trouble. "Oh I know her!" she exclaimed. "She came in the principal's office the day me and my husband visited my son's new school!"

Mom's neck craned slowly to my direction, her lips smiling, but her eyes spelling out l-e-t-h-a-l. So I might have forgotten to tell her the news of my latest trip to the big-man's office, but it's not like I intended to do that. I only wanted to keep it a secret until she finds out.

After the usual-always-awkward meetings I somehow always endure, my mom and Karen left my brother and I so they could make up for the "short" time they missed without each other.

Kero nudged me when we were left alone. "Mom is going to kill you later." he informed the obvious. "This is what? The 4th time to the office?"

"That's not my fault, Kero-chan." He threw me a glare at the name. "I slept late that night because you kept opening the window in search for the latest "news" from the other neighbors and I can't sleep."

He scoffed. "I try to be updated." He sneered at me. He doesn't really like me that much. "Unlike you who has a life under a rock."

I wanted to point out that was what I wanted for a lifestyle, but I knew he wouldn't really understand so I kept my lips shut. I nodded with a bored eye roll and left him.

-x-x-

The next day, I woke up early.

Kero and Touya were the caused of that.

Sadism wasn't usually a hereditable trait, especially not with our family, but if I was going to take a guess: my two brothers had made a new line of sadistic genes because they both successfully have it. I just hope they don't plan on bringing that upon the rest of the next Kinomoto's—or to me.

Definitely wish not to me.

It wasn't even five o'clock when I woke up with a start and I fell down my bed in a loud thud. I groaned at the noise of the two asses who's laughing their butt off mixed with the alarm clock's ringing—the very same clock that they used to blare directly at my ears to wake me up.

Finding their amusement sickening, I reached under my beds until I found what I was looking for—ear muffs. Without saying anything to the two asses-of-brothers, I placed the muffs on my ears and grinned satisfactory when I heard no more noise.

I didn't even make an attempt to go back to the bed; I only pulled down my covers and pillow and used it.

They left, grumbling to themselves as I slept with a smug smile on my face for spoiling, yet again, their plans to acquire some furious reaction from me.

I was too sleepy that even becoming angry seems too troublesome to do.

But thirty minutes later, I lie awake on the floor, ear muffs on. This sort of things made me hate Mondays even more. Deciding it was rather best to just deal with it, I stood up and head to the bathroom for a quick shower.

When I went downstairs, the house was still dim and quite; proving my brothers went back to their beds and everyone was still sleeping. I grabbed a bread and started munching on it. Picking up a pen from the counter, I scribbled down a note on a post-it and stick that on the refrigerator.

'Hey mom, just to let you know, I left early for school. That's all.'

I grabbed my bag and left.

It was a new feeling, to be early. Not many people are here yet and I was walking aimlessly around the campus just to kill time. It's decided—I'm never going to school this early ever again.

I yawned and rubbed my eyes before something hit me from behind, making me loose my balance and toppled down onto the grass. I wasn't generally this weak to fall from a silly push, but let us remind ourselves that it was so freaking early that my brain and other body parts seem to still be asleep. Groaning as I sat up, I looked up to see wide, painfully familiar brown eyes.

Oh great—it's the freak.

I expected some sort of apology from him, but given that he wasn't really under the category "normal," I'm pretty sure in the back of my head I expected him to do something far from that. And he did.

Within the next moments, he just stared down out me with a very shock expression; all wide-eyes and jaw dropped and whatnot.

"What?" I drawled.

He continued to gawk.

I rolled my eyes soon after and stood up, dusting my skirt.

I stare at him again when our eyes levelled, saw him still gaping at me, I clucked my tongue annoyed and left.

"So freakishly abnormal", I muttered to myself.

I didn't particularly care if he heard it or not.

But I did hear him say,

"Holy geeminy."

-0-

((not really edited))

enjoy! :)