Chapter Three
During my Luca Koizumi dating days, I was aware that there were girls who were jealous of me; and I really couldn't blame them for being so.
Luca was and still is quite a catch. He's like the modern prince charming with his blonde hair, warm blue eyes, and pleasant personality. It also doesn't hurt that he is a son of a billionaire.
When Luca broke up with me, the news spread like fire and suddenly, girls started flocking around him.
I remember getting jealous when I see girls trying to flirt with him after our break-up. But thinking about it now, I don't think Luca ever had a steady girlfriend after me. Anyway, his personal life doesn't concern me anymore. The only reason why I've thought about it is because the resident bitches of Alice Academy are breathing fire down on my neck again.
It appears that they've already heard about Luca and I working together for the school paper and they weren't very happy about it, to say the least. They all think that my underlying purpose of joining the newspaper club was to get close to Luca.
I could feel their deathly glares as I walked down the hallway that morning, and when I reached my locker, a very big 'SLUT! GO DIE!' has been written on my locker door with little doodles of penises around it. Apparently, glaring wasn't enough for them to show me how much they loathed me so they had decided to accentuate their hatred by vandalizing my locker. How very high school.
These girls, I'm definitely gonna miss them when we all leave for college. NOT.
"How classy." A female voice said.
I glanced at the girl standing next to me, her amethyst eyes idly staring at my locker. She has a pretty but impassive-looking face and short dark hair that reached just below her ears. She's also a senior and she occupies the locker next to mine. I think she's in two of my classes this year, but we've never really talked before. I'm not even sure what her name is.
"Totally. This is what I call art." I scoffed.
The corner of her lips curling, she then proceeded on pulling out her books from her locker and shoving them inside her bag.
"See ya." said the dark-haired girl before leaving.
I just shrugged and grabbed my own things, and then headed to my first period class.
The trouble of having the vice principal of your school as your father is that at the end of the day, he's still your father.
And almost all things that concern you at school, it won't certainly go unnoticed by him.
"I was passing by the hallway earlier," My dad began cautiously when we were eating lunch together in his office that afternoon. "And I saw that your locker was, uh, vandalized."
"Hm." I mumbled as I took a big bite on my chicken drumstick, silently hoping he would realize that I wasn't in the mood for a concerned-parent talk right now and would decidedly drop the subject.
"I've already asked the janitor to clean it up."
"Thanks." I knew I sounded rather unappreciative, but I was actually grateful. I was just trying to avoid this imminent conversation to happen.
"Mikan—"
"Dad? Can we please not talk about it?"
My dad put his spoon and fork down on his plate and watched me with a worried look on his face.
"Mikan, it's not just about the locker. I know school has been hard on you after Luna's death. I just think it's better if you have someone you can talk to about it, then move on and make new friends…"
"I've moved on."
"You'd like to believe that you have. Luna's death is not your fault. It was an accident—"
"I know, dad. Can we just please not talk about this anymore?"
Dad seemed to discern the desperation to drop the subject in my voice. He sighed and gave me a small, indulgent smile, "Okay,"
I could not help but feel a little guilty for shutting my dad off. It's not that I'm being ungrateful for having parents that care for me, it's just that I'm not totally comfortable talking about my troubles to them, or to anyone else for that matter. And besides, less than a year to go and I'll be out of high school soon. I think I can endure several more months of torture in the hands of the evil students of Alice Academy.
"Anyway, sweetheart, have you thought of your plans for college yet?" My dad asked after a while when we finished our meal.
"Oh, yeah." I replied with more enthusiasm this time, "Actually, I've been meaning to talk to you about it."
"Really? What about it?"
"I'm thinking of applying to Princeton University."
"Princeton? But that's in US." said dad, looking surprise. "I've nothing against you going abroad for college, if that's what you really want, but you know how your mom is, Mikan. I don't think she'll just let you go live in another continent all by yourself so easily."
"I know. That's why maybe you can talk to her? Try to open her up to the idea?"
"Are you really sure about this?"
"I'm sure."
"Ok, then." He finally said after a short moment of silence and consideration in his part, "I'll help you convince your mom."
"Thanks, dad!" I beamed and happily reached for his cheek with my hand and playfully pinched it. It's a habit I've grown accustomed to while growing up whenever I get happy with my dad.
Dad simply chuckled at the gesture. "I'm gonna miss all that pinching when you've gone off to college. Just make sure you don't let all the white guys chase after my little tangerine all day when you get into Princeton."
I laughed, "Don't worry, dad. I think I'd still choose a Japanese guy over a foreigner. And besides, it's not sure yet if I'll get accepted in Princeton and be granted a scholarship. Without scholarship, I definitely can't go. College is just so expensive in US; I don't think we can afford it."
"But promise me one thing though: apply in Tokyo University, too. Just in case."
I smiled and then nodded.
Tokyo University is actually my Plan B if in case I didn't qualify for Princeton. It's always necessary to have a back-up plan.
After having lunch with my dad, I was compelled to attend a meeting for all the members of the newspaper club.
Once I got inside the room where the meeting was being held, some of the members (mostly the females), were giving me an annoyed look. Obviously, my presence was the least wanted there. Luca, who was already inside when I arrived, gave me an acknowledging smile which did not go unnoticed by the girls in the room.
One girl, Sumire Shouda, even tried (and failed) to trip me when I made my way to an empty seat but unfortunately for her, I've quickly noticed when she dragged her foot out when I was about to pass by in front of her. I smirked and deliberately stepped on her stiletto-wearing foot. I felt immensely satisfied when I heard her shrieked in pain. If only I knew this would happen, I would've worn my Dr. Martens boots today and not my sneakers.
"You bitch!" Shouda yelled. She was about to yell at me some more but the teacher who moderates the club gave her a stern, warning look so she just contented herself by giving me a glare which I returned with a smile.
The meeting ended just a couple of minutes before the bell rang for the next period. I was about to leave the room and head for my next class when I remembered the photos I just finished developing last night.
"Luca," I called before Luca could leave the room. He stopped and turned around.
"Here are the photos I took yesterday," I said, handing him a brown envelope containing all the photographs. Luca opened the packet and took out the photos to look at them.
"Wow," said Luca while checking them out one by one, "Mikan, these are great shots!"
I could not stop a small smile from forming on my lips, feeling a bit flattered by the compliment and pleased by my work.
"Thanks. Well, I gotta go now. Just take any of those shots you wanna use for the feature."
"Yeah, ok then. Thanks for giving me these early." He said as he put the photos back in the envelope.
"No problem." I said and then left the room and went straight for my next class.
Oddly enough, I was feeling… buoyant for the rest of the day.
Or at least until my last period.
Because when I reached the parking lot, I saw the tires of my car all flat. It didn't take me long to guess who did it.
Sumire Shouda. What a bitch.
I only stepped on one of her feet and then she took revenge by giving me four flat tires? How cruel could she get? Besides, I'm sure what I did to her wasn't even that painful. She was just overreacting. That's what she does.
I let out a very exasperated sigh. There's really nothing I could do. Even though I know how to change a tire, I've only got one spare in my trunk.
I could wait for my father and get a ride home with him, but he mentioned earlier at lunch that there's a faculty meeting after school today and he'll be home late.
"Nice. I see you're on a roll today." said a voice behind me. I turned around and saw the amethyst-eyed girl from this morning eyeing my flat tires and looking slightly amused.
"Tell me about it," I muttered and then continued cursing Shouda in my head.
"Want me to give you a ride?"
My attention snapped back to the girl. She remained stoic as she waited for me to accept her offer. Honestly, she looked a bit weird, but who am I to judge?
"Sure. But my house might be out of your way though."
"Where do you live?"
I told her my address, then she smiled. "That's just a couple of streets away from my house. My name's Hotaru Imai."
"I'm—"
"Mikan Sakura. I know. You've got quite a reputation here." Hotaru said nonchalantly.
"Yeah, well, what can I say? The people love me."
The entire duration of the ride from school to my house was a quiet one, save for a few small talks. But the silence was neither uncomfortable nor awkward. It was an easy feeling, like neither of us was obligated to talk just to fill in the silence.
"Thanks for the ride, Hotaru." I said when Hotaru stopped the car in front of my house.
"No prob,"
I grabbed my bag and opened the door beside me but before I could step out of the vehicle, I turned around to Hotaru and the words seemed to have slipped out of my lips without really thinking about it,
"So hey, do you wanna have lunch together tomorrow?"
The corner of her lips tugging upwards, Hotaru replied, "Sure,"
I smiled and then let myself out of the car. Hotaru drove off while I was left there standing in our driveway, a little flabbergasted by the sudden turn of events.
Did I just make a new friend today?
My dad would be so proud.
::-::
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