Chapter 2: Speculation
Walking down the rather stark hallways of the school she tried to beat her frustration back as she read the directions she had been given in the office. It was astronomically unfair that some of her credits from her 'previous school' hadn't 'transferred properly' and she now had to finish high school in this country in order to keep her work visa. She had more important things to do than finish high school and felt she had paid more than enough to that damn hacker to at least give her a valid high school diploma on top of a new name and records. The man was lucky she was now too far away to do anything about it and too desperate to stay to bother going back to her home country.
She was only slightly mollified that at least she only had to attend for six months, the altered records having let her skip two grades and then a semester of her senior year. It was also a small mercy that her work schedule started after school ended, or she had no idea what she would have done. Why the CEO wanted her there in the afternoon and evening rather than a normal nine to five that every other business person followed was beyond her, but she wasn't about to question her unusual good fortune. However, that very positive thought this morning had been wiped out when she had been handed the school uniform, which was frankly a pink and blue nightmare. Whoever designed it needed to seriously reconsider their line of work, or go into designing for strip clubs, because if this skirt was one inch shorter she would consider it obscene rather than downright scandalous.
Feeling truly ridiculous and embarrassed, as she was not one to show much skin in public, she exited the small office bathroom she had been allowed to use and taken the directions to her new classroom stoically. Having missed the morning rush of students headed to class, since she had been meeting with the school guidance counselor, she found herself in empty hallways, hearing only muffled conversations and lectures through the doors she passed. She had been placed in a class of seniors just starting their last semester of school and was meant to go to the very far end of the building where they resided. It seemed in this country the teachers changed classrooms rather than the students who stayed put, save for science lab and gym. It was completely backwards from what she was used to, but at least she would only need to know where one thing was her first day.
Glancing at the door numbers she reached her destination, the last classroom on the left, and gingerly slid the door open, trying not to cause much of a disruption. She was rather shy by nature and personal experience had taught her that staying away from people tended to keep her out of all sorts of trouble. She was at least partially successful with sneaking in. The class didn't seem as if it had started yet and was quite loud, hiding her appearance for a few moments. Students were talking and lounging around in different states of relaxation, some with homework or books out on their desks and some without. All the males were in blue pants and jackets, and all the females in the same ridiculous get up she was. The classroom looked like any other she had been in. There were a number of orderly desks, posters, a potted plant in the window sill, a chalkboard with math equations she recognized, and a few cabinets that in all likelihood held school supplies. Among the throng of two dozen or so students she spotted an older male teacher sitting at a desk. He was ignoring the noise as he scribble on someone's work and she approached him, skirting along the wall. Still, midway there people began to take notice.
Ignoring their interest, because all she wanted was to stay as far under the radar as possible as she got through this, she made it to the small desk. Keeping her attention on the older man as the students nudged one another she cleared her throat softly and held the paper she had been given to him. When he glanced over she bowed the way she was supposed to, with her one hand still outstretched toward him. "Good morning, sir. I'm Sarah Drake. The principal told me I should be in this classroom."
He took the paper and whispers started up behind her as she straightened, crossing her hands in front of herself politely. She was sure a new student was exciting for them, if not for her. She would bore them all to tears in a week and then she would be forgotten, ending up in the background where she wanted to be. "Very well." He pointed to the back corner where there were two empty desks. "Take the free desk next to the window."
"Thank you, sir." Turning, she ignored the stares, whispers, and half a dozen oddly shocked stares, no doubt brought on by her peculiar paleness, and wove her way between students to her new desk. Setting her bag down next to her seat she slid into it gracefully and pulled out a notebook and pencil. She thought that would be appropriate for whatever subject they were about to start, having not paid much attention to her class schedule when it was handed to her. She had to get through it regardless, so she hadn't worried about enough to care. When she put her supplies on her desk and looked up she found the same half a dozen people staring at her openly. She looked them over critically in return, figuring if they could stare so could she.
One boy was very short and had the weirdest hair she'd ever seen, and that was really saying something after interacting with the goth community at her last school. Three colors was a bit much for her taste, but it wasn't her hair. Next to him was a pretty girl with a short brown bob and blue eyes a shade or two lighter than her own. Behind them was a rough looking blonde and a tall brunette boy. Lounging in a chair beside them was another teen with midnight black hair and eyes as green as emeralds. Looking over his shoulder was a boy with hair nearly as light as her own, but still fell short of her absolute white. Although she supposed his handsome chocolate eyes were too dark for him to really be classified as an albino the way she generally was. When they continued to stare back at her she raised an eyebrow, feeling uncomfortable and awkward. She realized this uniform was ridiculous, but she wasn't the only one wearing it, and they had certainly look at her long enough to get their fill of her appearance by this point. "Can I do something for you?" She asked, unsure of what they wanted from her.
They all seemed to jolt out of whatever dreamland they were in. She was thinking they might have a drug problem. The girl came over, approaching her with a friendly and open smile. "Hello, I'm Tea Gardner."
She nodded politely. "It's nice to meet you. I'm Sarah Drake."
"Where-"
A sharp rap cut off her question. The teacher grumbled and everyone scattered to their seats. She was thankfully to be in the very back with an empty desk next to her. That was really going to make things easier. She kept that in mind as the next two periods dragged by. She was board inside fifteen minutes. This was the problem, she supposed, with being smart. School was dull as dirt. She took a quiz the math teacher handed out and finished within minutes. Then she sat staring out the window as the other students worked through the problems.
Then they went over more problems and she took notes with most of her attention inside her own head. She had been obsessively agonizing over her meeting this afternoon since she had accepted the job offer. Mr. Ueno had made it very clear that she needed to please the head of Kaiba Corp or she wasn't going to keep this job long, and she so desperately needed to keep this job. She wondered how she could make herself appealing to him, having no real knowledge about the man other than he 'expected perfection and nothing less' from his employees. The period ended as she ruminated anxiously over that, and the fear that he would dislike her for no reason other than he might, and the math teacher left to be replaced by a woman in her early thirties. She was given a history book and thumbed to the page they were discussing. She was going to have to read through this. She wasn't familiar with Japanese history at all, at least none of it that didn't overlap with American or Canadian history. She made a mental note to finish it by the weekend, unless something more important came up, and the door to the classroom opened. She didn't look up but she heard the blond mutter something under his breath to one of his companions. The girl, Tea, hissed at him and she continued to scan the chapter until she felt eyes on her.
An odd shiver ran down her spine and she glanced up to find a tall, handsome, teenager staring down at her as he stood by the empty desk beside her. The oddest sense of recognition washed over her and she found herself staring straight back up at him as she tried to process why he looked so terribly familiar. It also baffled her as to why his deep navy eyes were so wonderfully inviting to her. She didn't know how long they stayed that way before the history teacher cleared her throat. Her head snapped around and snickers erupted from the majority of the class. She felt blood rush to her cheeks and tried to hide it with some of her long hair. Beside her the tall boy sat down and sent a scathing glance around the room. It pretty much shut up the lot of them and she wondered why he caused such fear when all she had sensed from him was that odd welcome. Meanwhile, the strange six were now sending meaningful looks at her staring partner before they flicked a few glances at her and turned back to the front, as if disappointed by his utter disinterest in them.
Feeling like she'd walked into something that had been brewing for some time she shook her head and determined that she would have no part in whatever drama these people were participating in, or in the boy next to her who was clearly far too well put together for his own good. Deciding that the boy, and his far too handsome face, must remind her of someone else she ignored him. He seemed to adopt the same strategy and she was left alone, much to her relief.
When the last bell finally rang that afternoon she gathered her things and stood up quickly. She put her bag over her shoulder and was about to walk out the door when the short boy stepped in front of her. She had managed to avoid everyone at lunch, having been whisked away by a student from the welcoming committee that showed her around the school before anyone could try to talk to her again. It seemed these people were not going to let her get away with that a second time. She stopped and looked down at him, figuring bowling him over would be a bit of an overreaction. He sent her a genuinely friendly smile as the blond leaned into the doorframe behind him, helping his friend block her in. The rest of his posse was scattered about the room haphazardly as the classroom cleared, but she could feel them watching and listening. She felt pretty cornered. "Hello, I'm Yugi Moto."
She nodded at him shyly. "It's nice to meet you." She sidestepped him only to have him follow her. She paused and waited to see what was about to happen.
"We're going out to get something to eat." He indicated the others and she noticed the handsome boy that sat next to her huffed in disgust as he headed toward the other door. It was clear he didn't get along with the teenagers talking to her as they were ignoring him fairly obviously. "Would you like to come?"
"No, thank you." She headed toward the door the handsome boy left out of as it wasn't blocked. "But I appreciate the invitation."
"Are you sure?" That came from Tea. "It would be really great to have another girl to talk to."
Okay, these people were weirdly pushy. "I'm sorry. I have somewhere I need to be. Maybe next time?"
With that she fled. She stopped at her locker long enough to change her shoes before rushing out of the building. All she wanted to do was get back to her hole of an apartment, change, and get to her new job. There was no way she could allow herself to be late on her first day. She was turning around a corner as she glanced at her watch when she ran full force into someone. Tripping back she caught her balance and spoke in English in her surprise over the collision. "I'm sorry."
"You should watch where you're going." The handsome teen replied in perfect English.
She blinked and reverted back to Japanese immediately. "You're right. I apologize."
He looked her over, from head to toe, as he put his cell phone into his pocket. "You aren't from Japan." He decided English was more fun apparently. With a mental shrug she followed suite.
"No, I'm not."
"Where are you from?"
"Vancouver." She lied easily.
"Interesting considering you don't have a Canadian accent." Wow. She tilted her head with interest. Who was this guy and how could he recognize a Canadian accent? "Would you like to try again?"
"No." His eyes glittered with an emotion she couldn't identify. "Have a nice afternoon."
"We aren't done." He told her in an annoyingly commanding tone.
"It looks like we are." With that she stepped past him, completely unimpressed with the order. She was done if she said they were done.
He spoke as she took a step past him. "What's your name?"
She saw no reason to answer and was heading toward the closest bus stop. Behind her she heard small beeps and assumed the teen had gone back to his phone. As she turned the corner she heard a voice shout. "Hey, rich boy, did you see her?"
She rolled her eyes as she turned the corner. Great, just great. The teen answered dryly. "Go bark somewhere else, mutt."
Forty minutes later she was dressed smartly with her hair up in an elegant knot and was getting out of her car, which had been a frantic purchase she'd made the day before when she realized the bus didn't run to Kaiba Corp at the time she needed to be there. It had completely wiped out her finances as she pulled out the last of the money from her moving package she had received to put up a very minimal down payment. She would be paying this off for awhile, but she had to be able to get to work on time. The debt really only added to her frantic need to please her new employer and she smashed down her anxiety ruthlessly, very sure no employer in the world wanted an overly anxious employee. At least finding this place had been easy. Kaiba Corporation took up half of downtown and the main building, where she was working, was the tallest of the skyscrapers. She parked easily enough in the underground garage and headed toward the elevator as she scanned the instructions that had been emailed to her. She was supposed to report directly to Kaiba at three-thirty.
When the doors closed and the elevator moved up she took a steadying breath. She needed to be calm and tried to ignore she was in a confined space since she hated those more than anything. She was now a translator for the president of one of the most powerful companies in the country, if not the world. She was going to be paid very well for her skills, assuming she could keep the position. From what she gathered Kaiba was not giving and had little or no patience for incompetence. He expected excellence and she needed to deliver. She needed this job and the security it would give her if she was going to survive.
Glancing at herself in the mirror like walls of the small room she decided she at least looked the part. She was in a sleek grey suit and a high collared white shirt. Unsure of what type of dress was appropriate she went with severely conservative. Her black heels were stylish but didn't make any sort of statement. In her ears she wore plain silver hoop earrings and on her finger was a plain silver band. That was it. Her makeup was at a minimal.
The elevator dinged and she stepped out onto the fortieth floor. Glancing about she saw a reception desk and moved to it quietly. A woman in her forties looked up at her and she saw that she thought she was far too young to be here. Maybe she should have gone with more makeup. "Can I help you?" At least she was polite.
"Yes, miss, thank you. I'm Sarah Drake, the new translator. I was told to come here at three-thirty."
The woman's eyes narrowed. "May I see your ID?"
"Of course." Reaching into her small black purse she removed her ID as well as her work visa from her wallet and gave it to the woman. She looked over both seriously, as if she were looking for it to be a forgery, then handed it back.
"Wait over there." She pointed to a few chairs and continued. "I'll let Mr. Kaiba know you're here."
"Thank you."
The woman nodded and picked up the phone. Moving obediently to the chairs she sat down, intent on making a good impression with everyone she encountered here. The woman spoke to whoever was on the other line for less than twenty seconds before hanging up. Standing, she motioned for her and she got back up. "He wants to see you immediately."
She was almost relieved she didn't have to wait anymore. She followed the woman without a word and they went down a long hall with no doors but the one directly in front of them. The woman knocked briefly then opened the door, which was decorated impressively with the Kaiba Corporation Logo. The secretary waved her in and she stepped inside calmly, although she felt nervous burbles in her stomach. Really, she was terrified. "Sarah Drake, Mr. Kaiba."
The man thanked his secretary without taking his eyes off his computer and her heart sank. Behind her the door clicked closed and she found herself trapped with the tall teenager in her new class. The one she had an awkward stare down with and then lied to and rudely dismissed outside the school. For the love of any and all gods. Why was it she couldn't catch a break? How was it even possible that the head of Kaiba Corporation was in her school, let alone her class? She'd known he was young of course, but not so young that he was still in high school. Why was he even in high school? This was simply astronomically unfair. She braced herself for him to take note of who she was as he finished typing and looked up.
He stared at her as surprise raced over his face before he shoved everything away. She'd never seen anyone wipe their face clear of expression in such a manner. She had a feeling she must have shocked him pretty well to get any sort of reaction out of him at all. He waved magnanimously toward the chair in front of his desk as he leaned back and she cursed inwardly. She sat with as much poise as she could and then he simply stared at her with glittering, calculating blue eyes. Refusing to squirm or appear at all uncomfortable with him studying her like she was bacteria under a microscope she stared back, waiting for whatever whim hit him to decide her fate.