Hey everyone...
So, I edited some stuff with this story especially with the pairing. I just realized that I sucked royally in the grammar and I didn't know then that the tense is supposed to be past tense.
I didn't edit everything, mind you. I'm a loyal slacker so I guess you could see that in the story. I think I started in chapter 2 with the major editing...
Anyway, I've written two new chapters after a very long hiatus (sorry i didn't warn any of the guys waiting for almost a year-major problems came up in my family and school). Second year high school was hectic in Phil-Sci. At least in my third year this year, it won't be so hectic.
I'm done with promising you guys for a certain time for my update. I'm done with breaking my promises. I can't even tell you guys how sorry I am.
Since those who had been waiting for this story to update probably got sick of waiting, I'm just going to say sorry and i hope you'll forgive me. To those who had been reading my stories and making Story Alerts and some even gave a few reviews, thanks a lot. I really appreciate it.
P.S. : This note is just going to repeat from the first chap until the 22nd chapter of my story.
Chapter 9 – Almost caught, man!
Warmth reached my skin making me stir in my sleep. I opened my eyes groggily and saw a piece of pure white fur-ball at my stomach, purring softly in her sleep. I reached out to Snowbelle and gently placed her at my lap when I sat up and looked at the clock at my bedside table.
6:05 am
Ugh, no wonder I woke up early, it's already time for my morning jog. But before I got out of my bed, I rubbed my eyes as I tried to remember what happened the night before…
Flashback, last night
"No. Way," Permy gasped. "Snowbelle's Ruka Nogi's cat?"
"She isn't just any Snowbelle," I said, and confirmed what I thought. "She has the mark of the eighth note at her right thigh. It's light brown… ring any bells?"
"You mean, ring any Snowbelles?" Nonoko corrected.
"You mean she's the Snowbelle we found when we were in 2nd grade?" Hotaru asked as her brows furrowed.
"I thought she died when we didn't see her anymore," Anna admitted. "But that was also the time when Ruka said that he found her and that she's safe."
"He must've meant that she's at his place when he said 'she's safe'," Nonoko said.
Yuu's face relaxed as he scratched Snowbelle's ears. "Well, we do know that she knows us and she wouldn't betray our secret, right kitty?" Snowbelle just replied with a meow.
"Com, do we have an extra basket for cats?" Permy asked.
"Yes, Sumire, we have one in the storage room. Shall I go get it?" Com asked.
"No, wait," I said. "Where would you like to sleep, kitty?"
She jumped out of my arms and scampered towards my bed. She said a soft "meow" and sat on my bed with obvious grace.
"No need, Com," Hotaru said. "I think the li'l furball wants to sleep with Idiot."
Yuu chuckled. "Snowbelle did have an instant liking for Mikan before she wanted to go to us."
"You're right," Permy agreed as she stretched her arms. "Hey, how about we watch the movie first? I'm sure we have enough popcorn to spare for Mikan." She grinned.
"Yeah, sure," I replied as the others agreed.
The Twins were at the loveseat, Hotaru, Sumire, and I were on the couch consecutively from left to right, and Yuu was on the cushion-chair which we would gladly call his spot. Snowbelle just made herself comfortable on Anna and Nonoko's lap (much to Anna's delight. She was proud that Snowbelle went to her). They were currently watching 17 Again. Ugh, they describe high school very accurately these days. I mean, who would 'accidentally' kiss a guy at the bleachers and try to rape him in his own room during a party? And that guy was the girl's father! Man, if I ever do that, I'd beg for Hotaru to kill me and be glorious about it.
"Who'd know his daughter was a slut?" Yuu muttered as he popped a handful of popcorn in his mouth. By the way, the lights in the living room are off so it made it look like from a cinema.
"His fault for being a pussy-dork," Hotaru replied as she munched aggressively on her popcorn.
"Now, where do we fit in?" I murmured softly.
All of them became quiet. "Nowhere," I answered the obvious.
End of flashback
"Nowhere," I repeated what I said last night and tried very hard not to sigh. Snowbelle was still purring in her sleep. I took her and cradled her gently with one hand as I got out of bed. I put her down on my bed but when I did, her eyes opened to show those sapphire orbs.
"Meow?" she asked.
"I'm just gonna go jogging, Belles," I said as I changed into my green t-shirt, black sweatpants, and a black Adidas hoodie. I slipped in my white running shoes, put my iPod in my hoodie pocket, and tied my hair in a high ponytail. She jumped off my bed and rubbed her face at my cheek.
"Okay, okay, you can come," I said as I chuckled a bit. She trotted after me as I went through my door and checked if the others are awake. The lights are off.
"Morning, Com," I said and the lights turned on.
"Good morning, Mikan," Com replied instantly. "May I ask where you are to go this morning?"
"Jogging," I said as I went in the living room. "Tell the others that when they wake up and I haven't arrived yet."
The big, metal door opened and the basement-like staircase appeared. I went out and the place illuminated with white light. I pushed the red button on my right and the trapdoor leading to the surface opened. As quickly as possible, I checked the outside if there are other people lurking in the shadows (be it early birds, or sleepwalkers). None. I slipped into the cool, early morning with Snowbelle trotting after me and plugged in an earphone.
"Try to keep up with me, alright?" I said to Snowbelle and started my jog.
Indeed the academy was big, but the bigger the better. I started jogging around the perimeter of the school and was surprised when I saw Snowbelle jogging with me with ease. Huh, guess Ruka did a good job training her. When I was done with the perimeter, I was sweating a bit but not breathless. If I was, then that meant I'm still weak. I checked Snowbelle and she was huffing and puffing behind me. We paused for a bit to let her catch her breath since—I'm sure—she wasn't used to long-termed jogging. When she's rested, I started to jog in the areas of the academy and at the same time, touring it again.
I passed through the Academic Building which included the homerooms, science labs, and math building, the Music and Arts building, the Sports Section that consisted of the gym, the track and field with soccer field, football field, swimming pools with diving boards, baseball field, and a golf course. All of them have bleachers except for the golf course (have you seen one?). I passed through the large cafeteria and the parking lot. I noticed that there's a fancy-looking black car in it and since my Mercedes was in the secret garage of the gym, I know that there's a new kid in the dorms. I just shrugged off the thought and looked back to see Snowbelle panting tiredly 10 feet behind me. I skidded to a stop and walked towards her.
"You're tired," I said as I scooped her up. "I think it's time to return."
I jogged towards the dorms with Snowbelle in my arms. I was about ten feet away from my destination when a crunch of dried leaves and twigs sounded towards my right coming here. I almost gasped loudly but I jumped towards a branch of a sakura tree. I climbed it quickly until I arrived in a branch that I was sure I was safe. Snowbelle was squirming in my arms because of surprise but calmed down when she noticed how tensed my body was. Then, she looked towards the direction my gaze was at then started squirming quietly again.
Hyuuga was walking casually in his black cargo pants, red, sleeveless shirt, and white tennis shoes. His hair was in its usual messy do and his face was impassive. He must be the owner of the black Audi! Darn, how are we gonna get to our concert when he's walking around like a snoop?
Snowbelle meowed and he stopped directly over our tree. I quickly hid behind the trunk as I covered Snowbelle's mouth. I could see in my peripheral vision that his face contorted into confusion as he looked towards where we were before. I prayed silently to God that he'd go away and didn't register in the dorms.
Snowbelle meowed again but her voice was muffled by my hand and I winced again. He was directly looking at the trunk I was hiding!
"If you say another meow, you're gonna get us both killed!" I whispered frantically but quietly enough for him not to hear. Snowbelle stopped squirming and meowing and became still.
I could still see him looking directly at the trunk then—thank God, you answered my prayer—shrugged and walked away. But I won't let him know our secret if this happens again.
I pushed a button beneath my iPod and a very small, black bug came out from the top. I took it and expertly threw it – oh my dear sweet Lord – on his butt! I had a hard time not laughing since one, I have to keep hidden if I wanna live, and two: we could get killed by him. But he only made it worse… when the bug crawled up his pants… he scratched his butt! I covered my mouth with my fist to prevent myself from laughing so hard. He disappeared into a corner and I pushed the button on top of my iPod. The screen showed a video camera on top of his head. He was going towards the parking lot. I'm saved!
I quickly jumped down the tree and pulled the branch of another tree downward. The square opening appeared when the rose bush slid towards the right. With Snowbelle in my arms, I ran down the staircase while the place illuminated. I placed my hand quickly on the blue touchpad near the door and the device scanned my hand. The touchpad was then replaced by the eye scanner. I placed my head over the metal chin-holder that made my eye in line with the scanner. The scanner scanned my eye and opened the big, metal door.
I was relieved to arrive in the Room and let go of Snowbelle. I flopped on the couch with my head on a cushion and my legs dangling.
Why the heck was he here? Why him only? Was he suspecting that we had a secret identity or something? Or did he register in the dorms already? Was it used for reconnoitering reasons? Or for "private" reasons like, oh, I don't know, screwing the cheerleading squad?
I preferred the latter better even though it's a bit exaggerated (hey, things happen in my imagination) but still! I must have showed him some of my "past character" that made him suspicious. I covered my face with a cushion nearby and groaned loudly. Snowbelle, after going in the kitchen to drink water, ran up towards the couch and pounced on my stomach, telling me to calm down. I lifted the cushion and looked at her guilty sapphire eyes and instantly knew what's wrong.
"Hey, it ain't your fault," I said. "It's natural for ya to miss the jerk since you both are close. Don't be sad about him almost finding us out."
She walked towards my face and rubbed her face against my cheek and purred softly. I just scratched her head and sat up, only then noticing the sweet aroma of breakfast. Oh, Anna, I so love ya!
I quickly went to the bathrooms near our rooms while Snowbelle ran towards somewhere. The bathrooms have two sections, men and women. The men's section has all the manly needs and the women's section also has all the womanly needs. Its facilities are much alike with the showers in the Recreation Section but it has a Jacuzzi in it making it a paradise bathroom.
"Com, could you get my white shirt, black sleeveless hoodie, army pants, and travelling sandals?" I asked in a commanding voice.
"Of course, Mikan," Com said. "I shall put it on the sink."
"Thanks, Com," I said and got in the women's section. I slipped my clothes out and undid my hair, letting it down.
I turned the shower on and got a refreshing bath. After my bath, I got a towel and dried my hair. My clothes were indeed on the sink (again with my undergarments) and slipped in it. When I was sure I left nothing out (like misplaced underwear, meaning I wore it upside down, unclosed zipper and so many others), I covered my hair with another towel and tied it upwards so that it was secure. I jogged outside and smelled the tasty aroma of fried eggs, bacon, ham, rice, and fresh bread.
I arrived at the doorway of the kitchen/dining room and the scanner scanned me quickly.
"Clean enough," Com said and let me enter the kitchen.
I saw Anna, Nonoko, and Yuu eating breakfast. The table was filled with fried eggs, bacon, ham, rice, fresh bread, boiled eggs, and a mug each of some sort of chocolaty substance. I sat on my chair quickly and said a quick "itadakimasu" and filled my plate with eggs, ham, rice, and bread.
"We're fine thank you, Mikan," Nonoko said in a tone that implied me forgetting something.
"Oh, sorry guys," I said. "I'm fine, thanks. I just went for a jog. How's your sleep?"
"We're cool," Yuu said and took a bite of his ham. "Snowbelle loved Anna's cat food. She hogged it up the moment it touched the bowl." He chuckled.
"Where is she anyways?" I asked.
"Oh, I think she's at the living room taking a nap," Anna replied. "Say, she does look a bit tired."
"I took her with me in my jog," I said and ate my eggs. Oh, they're so delicious!
"Hey, Anna," I said between bites. "What's in this mug?"
"That's what Filipino kids usually drink during mornings. It's Milo, a chocolate drink whose purpose is to energize people for their upcoming sport competitions," Nonoko answered for her. "At least, that's what I saw in their commercials."
"Hold up," I said as my face scrunched up. "You're still going Filipino with food." Okay, I didn't say it like a question but a statement.
"Yup," Anna answered. "We planned to—"
"—make lunch and breakfast have the same theme with dinner," Nonoko finished for her.
"I see," I muttered and quietly ate my ham in peace since my eggs are already done. I noticed that Anna dipped her bread in the mug and got chocolaty on her bread. She ate it and smiled in appreciation.
"Clean much?" I asked sarcastically.
"In my research there in their cultures," Yuu started. "Most people dip their bread in their coffee or Milo and eat it."
"Wow, didn't know Filipinos were that clean," Nonoko muttered.
"Oh, they don't do it on cleanliness," Anna disagreed. "I asked the chefs about that and they say that in a way, they made the bread tasty." She then dipped her bread again and ate the chocolate-d part of her bread.
"Huh," was the only thing I could say.
"Then, what would they do to their… drink if there's no more bread," a voice from the door said. We looked around and saw Hotaru leaning casually on the door jamb. Her hair was a bit wet and she wore a violet shirt with loose sleeves underneath, a pair of baggy pants, and flip flops. She walked towards us with a bored expression and sat next to me.
"Well…" Yuu hesitated. "They drink it."
"But—" I tried to protest but Nonoko cut me off.
"It makes sense, Mikan," she explained. "They drink it because it was made to be drunk. And it would be a waste to throw it away. Remember, they don't use it to clean breads. It's food, too."
"Here, here," Hotaru muttered and took some ham, eggs, rice, bacon, and bread.
"Try it, Mikan," Anna encouraged. "When you try it, maybe you'll know what makes sense."
I hesitated at first. I wasn't really the most daring one to try on food. But then, I sighed and took my bread. I tore a piece of it but I didn't dip it. I first drank the liquid and loved its taste. I decided to trust them more and dipped the piece of bread. I retrieved it and popped it in my mouth.
Instead of tasting the plain taste of bread, I tasted the Milo and bread. I chewed more before swallowing it.
"It tastes…" I murmured and they leaned in. "Awesome!"
I dug in until there was no more bread (Hotaru did, too). I looked at the Milo and chose between the two choices I have: either I don't drink it and throw it in the sink or I drink it.
I chose the latter because… it feels so wrong to throw it away. I drank it and didn't get grossed out. It was still the same taste but with a touch of bread. In short, it was delicious!
"See, I told ya so," Anna teased and giggled.
"Hmm… I like it," Hotaru commented as she drank her own until there was nothing left.
"It kinda gives me more energy," I added and a thought came up. "Yo, Nonoko, Anna, what's the recipe for this drink?"
"Well, you just need lukewarm water, a bit of cold water, but add them when you finished putting 3 tablespoons of Milo, 2 teaspoons of sugar, and if you like, some milk," Nonoko said.
"It depends on you how much lukewarm water you put in or how much cold water you put in," Anna chimed in.
"Oh, and Mikan," Yuu said. "You could use it before your morning jogs."
"You read my mind," I mock accused him.
"You're just predictable," he fired back with a grin.
I just grinned back and put my dish and mug in the sink to wash. When I watched the mechanical hands washing the plate, I remembered something.
"By the way," I started. "Where's Permy?"
They shrugged and Yuu spoke for them. "Probably still asleep doing her beauty mask."
I sighed and went out of the kitchen. I walked towards Permy's room and hesitated to ready myself with the worst thing she could do. I opened the door quietly and saw her back facing me.
If you don't wanna get fat, you'd better not sleep in, I thought when I walked towards her sleeping form. I shook her while saying "wake up, girl, ya need to get some energy". Ok, maybe not like that but still. She tossed over to face me but still asleep. Did you know what I did?
I jumped back a good 5 meters away from her and yelled, "WHAT THE HECK?" but that wasn't enough to wake her up.
Her face was covered with some sort of greenish thingy and her eyes were covered with something round and a bit green – which, at closer inspection, are cucumbers.
This girl is gonna give me a heart ache someday… I thought warily. Better make my will soon, I added slyly.
"Yo, Permster! Wake the heck up!" I yelled as I shook her furiously. It's still futile. Then, I got an idea.
Since I brought my iPod with me, I chose Teenagers by My Chemical Romance and stopped before the chorus. I transferred both earphones in her ear and twisted the pad to max volume.
3…
2…
1…
…play
She jumped wildly on her bed before falling off it. Her—I soon figured out—seaweed face mask spilled on her pj's and the cucumbers fell onto the floor. She took off the earphones immediately and scratched the inside as if she's trying to fix something in it.
"Are you trying to kill me, Mikan?" she screeched as she stood up. Did I forget to mention that when the bar of the volume of my iPod reaches one, it sounds as if it's just near you but in a soft way? Plus, it has 30 bars. Good luck, Permy.
"I do believe that I tried to wake you up for 20 times already and we have a concert and breakfast waiting for you," I replied nonchalantly while she glared at me. I just tilted my head to the right, crossed my arms, and raised my brow—a picture of unwanted denial.
"Fine," she spat. "You win."
"Glad that I did," I said as I smiled and went out of her room.
Oh boy, they're gonna love this.
o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o
"I'm so proud of you!" Nonoko said. "You managed to wake up Pillow Hogger!"
I just chuckled at the story and saw Hotaru raising her eyebrows and smirking in amusement.
"It's bad to talk about someone," Permy muttered as she took a bite of her Milo-soaked bread. "Especially if that someone is here." She narrowed her eyes at me but I saw no anger—just playfulness and sarcasm.
"Real sorry, Perms, but you gotta admit," I said. "You sleep like a rock."
"Agreed," Hotaru said quietly.
She just shrugged. "Genes."
"No wonder," Yuu whispered under his breath as he leaned on his chair.
After Permy finished her breakfast, it was already 8 am. Time to tell them.
"Follow me," I said and went directly to the living room with them hot on my heels.
I saw Snowbelle purring in her sleep, curled up like a cushion. I woke her up and she immediately opened her eyes and jumped in my arms, still guilty from before and scared of what might happen, I think.
"Take a seat," I kinda ordered and they did. They looked at me with confused looks.
I sighed first and then opened my mouth. "I need to let you guys see something… Com, the CCTV's please."
The whole wall where the plasma tv was rotated to show all the hidden cameras around the school.
"Show only cameras #67, #30, #10, and #84," I said and the screen showed only the four cameras hidden around the dorm. "Rewind it approximately an hour and 10 minutes."
"What's going on, Mikan?" Hotaru demanded dangerously.
"You'll see," I mumbled and just stood there with Snowbelle hiding her face in my arms.
It rewound to the time when I arrived near the trapdoor and Natsume arriving and almost seeing us (all of them tensed as they saw him pause to look at the tree I was hiding behind) and the rest blah blah blah.
I hit pause with a remote and the footage stopped. I looked at them guiltily.
"Sorry guys," I whispered and bowed my head. "It won't be long… until they find out."
A moment of silence engulfed us. Anna was the first one to speak.
"Well, they did already find out," she stated. "Futon already knows."
"Yeah, but I meant all of them knowing," I said. "The dang world knowing…? How do you like the sound of that?" I didn't mean to be harsh at her but I couldn't help it. It would mean a new life for us. "We wouldn't get to be normal kids," I added softly.
"Well," Hotaru said as she stood up and started pacing. "We'll just have to figure things out first."
I just looked at her blankly and she looked back while rolling her eyes.
"We don't have time to waste judging other people," she explained in an exasperated way. "We need to sort out a new strategy."
"You're not mad?" I asked and added quickly, "With me and Snowbelle?"
"You." She pointed at me. "I ain't mad. But that." She pointed harshly at Snowbelle, who cringed. "I don't think so."
She started pacing again and I sighed in relief. She wasn't mad and so were the others. We'll figure things out… just like when we were still kids.