Hey guys, what's going on?
So, I updated because I found my "musical inspiration" if you know what I mean. The Hannah Montana song in the earlier chapter was going to be forgotten because I'm trying my best to bring out the "new" songs.
I'm hopelessly outdated in some cases.
Anyway, I hope you enjoy this one because it's the longest chapter I've written so far.
Chapter 23 – Find the spark. Oh, and the price, too
Everything is normal.
That mantra kept repeating in Mikan's mind. Oh, it would stop—whenever she didn't think about the fact that she's supposed to be dead and all that. One minute, she'd feel that everything was perfectly and sanely normal. The next thing she knew, the mental chanting returned.
"You don't have to worry about it," Sumire had said, hoping that Mikan would be reassured. "Everyone thinks you're dead and they haven't seen your face ever since your parents announced your being an heiress."
And Mikan had retorted, "Yeah, but Dark Sky knows me. They could see the resemblance."
But Nonoko had countered, "Without your pigtails and your hazel stuff? I'll bet you my state-of-the-art beaker."
Sometimes—and Mikan had lost count how many times—she'd feel numb and couldn't think properly. That included not being able to move or feel anything. She made sure that no one saw her become like that. She remembered the faces of Hotaru and Yuu and Permy and Nonoko and Anna…. No, she won't get them worried over her. She would accept who she was (or what she was) and go on with her life without the usual drama some fanfics would put in (er, pardon the offence).
Yeah, it was easier that way. But easier said than done.
"TERA WANAME!" someone yelled with a croaking sound.
Someone nudged Mikan and she realized that she felt numb again while mulling over her problem. She was hoping that she looked like she was daydreaming until she realized who the teacher was and bit back a curse.
It's Jin-Jin! What a bad timing!
"Did you even bother to listen to what I asked you?" Jinno asked in a steely voice. Mikan could almost see the steam coming out of his ears like a train's caboose.
Mikan swallowed. "I-I was d-distracted." Not technically a lie. Not technically the entire truth, too. Keep it broad.
"Very well." Jinno pointed his baton-thingy at her. "Write on the board the solution. Right now." He was feeling confident about this. Their lecture was a new topic. There should be no problem humiliating those who defied listening to his class.
Mikan stifled a groan. Grudgingly, she got up and tried to walk clumsily (which was a bit hard considering she took etiquette lessons now that she remembered) towards the board with the two questions waiting for her to devour their prey (wonder where that line came from…).
When she really read the questions, she bit back a surprised and excited whoop. She picked up a white chalk and took a deep breath. The first challenge was:
"1/2rL, wherein L is the perimeter of the sector, is the area of the sector. Elaborate using the formula of L."
She sighed and wrote it down in her well-practiced clumsy scrawl. The next challenge was:
"A circle has a circumference of 30π. A sector of the said circle has an area of 515. Using the formula(s), find the radius of the circle and the angle of the sector."
It was harder than the first challenge but Mikan had to pinch her mouth from yawning. It wasn't because she could mentally calculate the answers; it was just because she had been using these stuff for making devices and, well, stuff.
She just wrote down the radius and the angle below it.
"I asked for the solution, Waname," Jinno said, still triumphant. Tera might have written down the answer automatically but the solution-writing was the most elaborate part. He kept the sly smile to himself.
Mikan managed not to roll her eyes. Trying not to show her irritation, she wrote down the simplified form of the solutions. After she finished, she faced Jinno who was beginning to look red in the face. She tried not to say, "There. Are you happy now, Kaeru-sensei?" It would have been hilarious but she remembered that she was a geek. And Jinno-sensei wasn't Ms. Kentucky Fried Chicken.
"Explain," Jinno said through clenched teeth. Making the student explain was the final trump card he could play.
Meanwhile, Hotaru was not surprised by Mikan's handiwork. That's because she had seen how Mikan could learn quickly if she went overdrive considering that Hotaru herself taught Mikan how to do well in academics. Before she did, Mikan was as dumb as a dodo.
Now that Jinno was making Mikan explain, Hotaru had all but to recite along with Mikan what she had to say.
"For the first, the perimeter's formula is pi times the angle times the radius all over one-eighty." Mikan encircled the formula. "Then, multiplying it to 1/2r, you get this: pi times angle times radius squared all over three-sixty." She encircled that one, too. "The two questions are related because you can't solve the second question without knowing the formula. So, to answer the angle, the formula for the area of the sector is equalized to the area given." She tapped the chalk on the place where she wrote it. "Write the necessary information given." She tapped the chalk on the given radius and squaring it. "Simplify the numbers." She tapped on the next equation she wrote. "Cross multiply." Another equation. "Cross multiply to equate the theta." Another equation. "And give the answer." She tapped on the boxed answer with the theta (the sign for an angle) equalized to 33/π units.
"And if the answer isn't simplified?" Jinno was beet-red now.
Mikan gave a shy smile in exchange for her smirk. "10.504 units, K-Jinno-sensei."
Hotaru rolled her eyes as Jinno gave a cough of thanks to Mikan. As Mikan sat down, she caught Hotaru's eye and winked. Hotaru gave another roll of her eyes while smirking. Yuu, who was snickering all the while, gave Mikan a subtle thumbs-up.
On another side of the story, Natsume was watching the geek who bumped into him the other day write the elaborate answers on the board. Before that, she immediately wrote down the answers. And when the Froggy teacher told her to elaborate, he thought he imagined her eyes flash a look of irritation and her sigh of exasperation. Well, that was interesting.
He understood her explanation (just don't make him read the scrawling on the board) and he heard others mutter and whisper, "Geeks. That's one of their uses." Another was, "Good thing that geek was called. We could just sleep for the rest of the class."
Natsume opened his manga and pretended to read throughout the rest of the class. Secretly, he was sneaking glances at the girl beside him (this partnering stuff sure did come in handy) and saw that she wasn't writing down the boring notes Jinno was making them as a geek should. Her notebook was filled with drawings of Naruto (he was really interested now), verses, quotes, and letterings.
"What are you staring at?"
Natsume's eyes looked up from the notebook to the geek-girl who was now looking at him with accusing eyes. He managed to glare just in time.
"Are you talking to me, Carrot Head?" he demanded in a low hiss.
The geek, who he remembered was named Tera Waname, shook her head and didn't answer. It was as if he was the first one to speak. Now that talent he could use.
But the geek was now looking at the board looking interested, not giving Natsume a chance to ask her about it (he remembered the fan girls who kept watching him). Natsume looked, too, but saw the same crap the Froggy Teacher put on the board.
For the rest of the period, Natsume kept wondering whether this Tera Waname was a geek or just acting and looking like one. The Carrot-top could answer questions like lightning but could slip up by almost rolling her eyes like one of the "cool" kids would.
Just who are you Tera?
If only the Black Cat knew…
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-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
"Hey, freak," one of the sluts in Mikan's class called. Mikan turned around expecting something like fishes flying toward her.
"Thanks for distracting the Frog," the slut purred. "Just keep wearing that god-awful jumpers, okay?" She turned to Hotaru who was, as usual, wearing her seducing-disguise. "Want to join us, Yui?" Her manicured hands ran over her clique.
Mikan swore she saw Hotaru's hand twitch towards her purse where the deadly Idiot Gun was hidden. But Hotaru plastered a smile on her face.
"No thanks," Hotaru said in a sweet voice. "I don't feel too good right now. I think I'll go to the nurse."
The slut-group probably thought it was a dangerous disease because they immediately fled. Mikan gave Hotaru an awed look.
"You are one smart slut," Mikan said. Before she knew it, her head was aching.
"OW! I was complimenting you!"
Hotaru smirked. "One, it's an insult to call me a slut. Two, I needed a valid reason to hit you."
Mikan was nursing her head when Yuu joined them for the cafeteria. It would seem like a weird combination: a gangster, an elite (Hotaru wouldn't allow the authoress to put slut), and a geek walking together for the cafeteria. However, they put a two-foot distance from each other and acted as if they didn't know they were walking along side each other.
Nonoko, Anna, and Sumire already had saved them some seats at the cafeteria. Mikan, Anna, and Nonoko sat at the bench with its back facing the whole cafeteria. That was what they agreed on so that Hotaru, Yuu, and Sumire could hide their faces.
Everything is normal, Mikan thought again. Sure, the others were more relaxed now that Mikan knew what they were hiding but Mikan could sometimes catch her friends shoot worried glances at her like she would explode sooner or later or she'd break down.
I did. Mikan sighed. Mentally and a bit physically.
She had excused herself that night and went to her room to bawl. Well, tears only ran down her cheeks like waterfalls and she didn't make a sound. Maybe that's what they called "in shock".
When someone came into her room (Nonoko, Anna—she didn't really know) to tell her to eat, she declined and went instead to the Recreational Section. There, her anger flared up and she turned every punching bag she could find to rags and sand.
Was it because of the trip to Memory Lane changed her attitude that she became like this? Was she developing a Multiple Personality Disorder? Hell, please no. She liked being the Mikan everybody knew now. But the memories were blocking her.
Fifteen minutes later, she came with the conclusion she made for herself: she would accept whatever God threw at her. She would accept being a dead heiress who only had two years of freedom. She'd accept that they were a band who would break-up in two years. It's the easiest solution. But like she said, it was easier said than done.
"Tera?" Yuu's voice brought her back from Daydream Island. "We were just talking about making a new song."
Mikan smiled apologetically. "Sorry. What for?"
"Well, our world tour starts in a few weeks and we have to at least sing five new songs," Nonoko explained patiently. "I think it sucks but at least it's a good suck."
"I've got one here." Mikan fished through her bag and took out her music book. Realizing what the song was at the last minute, she hugged it to her chest. "You know what? Forget it. It stinks, anyway."
As fast as lightning, Hotaru snatched the book from her and muttered, "I don't smell anything."
The others crowded to get a good view of the lyrics. Mikan saw a transition of expressions on their faces.
"It's amazing!" Permy said with a wide grin on her face.
Mikan bent her head. "Sorry. I knew I shouldn't be that demanding."
Anna rubbed her shoulder saying, "We understand, Mikan."
Mikan grinned at her. "Thanks." She took the book and took out a pen. "We could divide this so everyone could sing it—"
"No," Hotaru interrupted. "You sing it."
Mikan blinked and returned to writing. "Okay… I'll sing it."
Just then, a noise brought them back to reality. Near the line for food, a boy with acne-problems was being pushed around by the jocks of the football team.
"I just want to pass," the boy pleaded. He tried to move forward again but the jocks pushed him back.
"We want your lunch money," Kuzuki Gohan, the leader, demanded. The smirk of an idiot was on his face and Mikan wanted nothing more than to punch his face.
Wait, she already did. He was the idiot who said she was useless.
Now she wanted to come to the boy's rescue and flatten Kuzuki's nose even more.
"Hey!"
The whole cafeteria went quiet. Every head, including Hotaru's, turned to the owner of the voice. Futon Izumi, all alone, was behind the boy.
"Bullying again, Kuzuki?" Futon laughed sarcastically. "That's like since kindergarten. Are you still four or what?"
Kuzuki's neck was all red. "Watch it, Izumi. You don't want me breaking something."
"Yeah, that'll scare me." Futon snorted. "Just leave the kid alone, Kuzuki. He only needs to pass. Or is it because your family is already broke that you want his lunch money?"
"You prat!" Kuzuki spat. "That's a lie!"
Futon's eyebrow went up. "I heard you got beat up by a geek and you bribed the school editor to blame it on a drunk. You think I'd lie?"
Kuzuki lunged at Futon but the latter sidestepped and Kuzuki missed by a foot.
"Leave now," Futon commanded. "Find someone else to disturb. Like your sister or something."
"Just because your dad's the headmaster—"
"I don't care about my father," Futon interrupted tersely. Mikan could see his temper rise. "I fight my own fights. Do you?"
Kuzuki muttered something and walked away with his dumb posse. Futon made the boy follow him and Mikan realized they were going toward their table. They cleared everything including the music book and acted like they were eating.
Futon cleared his throat. "Is it okay for this kid to sit with you?"
Everyone on their table looked up at the boy. At a closer inspection, the boy had serious acne-problems and had braces. He had a tidy blond hair and his green eyes—which were obscured by overly huge glasses Mikan didn't know that existed—were nervously looking from Futon to them. He cowered when he saw Yuu staring at him intently. Yuu must've forgotten that he was looking like an evil gangster.
"Sure," Anna replied cheerfully. "Come and sit, uh…"
"Mo-mo." The boy cleared his throat. "Mochiage. Mochu for short." He turned to Futon. "Th-thank you, Izumi-san." He had a pleasing voice which really surprised Mikan. The voice didn't go along with the look and attire at all.
Futon waved dismissively. "Don't worry about it, kid. You're safe when you're with them." He winked at Mikan's group and left without another word.
Mochu squirmed uncomfortably in his seat. He found Yuu's eyes and shrank lower in his seat. Yuu gave off a laugh that was both amused and confused.
"What are you scared of, man?" Yuu chortled.
Mochu fixed his glasses nervously. "A-aren't you glaring at m-me?"
Yuu laughed again. "Do I look like I'm the type to glare?"
Mochu blinked. His mouth was open and Mikan had an urge to shut it childishly. Mikan smiled at Mochu instead.
"Tsui isn't a bad gangster," Anna explained.
Before Mochu and Futon arrived, they already had said that it's alright if their attitudes were slipped a little or show a bit of truth. But that was if they really trusted the person.
"He really just doesn't want people to come near him so much," she continued. "It's kind of a handful for him."
Yuu smirked (something he'd been working on futilely). "But I sometimes forget how fun it is when people act scared whenever I talk to them."
"But…" Mochu hesitated. "If you're like that, why are not with them?" He cast a look behind him where the "real" gangsters were huddled. They actually looked like gloomy mushrooms.
Yuu snorted dismissively. "Is it worth it? Best thing about being a free man is I can choose my table." He waved his hand over the girls. "A few geeks, a Goth, and—uh, an elite is not bad once you got over the fact that they're not really that bad. It's wicked, actually."
Mikan was impressed by Yuu. By now, he knew how to speak slang (sort of) and act like a hip-hop gangster (more or less).
"How good of you to call me an elite," Hotaru muttered with sarcasm obvious in her voice. She topped that up with a fake smile.
"Um…" Mochu looked consciously at Hotaru. "Why is a—"
"Zip it, Blondie," Hotaru snapped. "I'm here because I like it here."
"Okaaay…" Mochu still looked at Yuu like the latter might eat him whole while he was still deciding whether or not talk to the bunch here.
A few minutes of small talk, Mochu felt comfortable with them. With the help of Anna, Nonoko, and Mikan (a.k.a. Sami, Lumi, and Tera), he was formally introduced to Yuu, Sumire, and Hotaru (a.k.a. Tsui, Rin, and Yui).
Then, most of the time, Mikan noticed Mochu look behind him as if he wanted something back there. Three more times that happened, she couldn't hold it any more.
"What is it, Mochu?" she asked.
Mochu returned to their table. "Wha-what?" He probably thought of lying but thought better of it. "Well… I was wondering what it was like to be part of the elites. To be…accepted, you know? To have a normal high school without bullies following you. To be finally happy."
Anna shook her head. "You asked the wrong bunch. Yui isn't much help either since she never joined the elites formally."
"You don't have to be accepted to their standards," Nonoko said. "You just have to find your spark to be happy."
Mochu's eyebrows knitted together. "My spark?"
Yuu was the one who answered. "You know, the thing that keeps you going? Okay, rephrase. In situations like this, your spark is something that makes you who you are. Your confidence, you get me?" Yuu looked at Mochu intently that the latter nodded immediately. "The confidence to be who you are. To find that spark, you gotta accept who you are first. Then, find what your spark is. You got it?"
Mochu nodded. He was now listening to every word Yuu was saying.
"Now, what's your spark?"
A little smile crept to Mochu's face. "Music."
The girls and Yuu gave each other secret smiles. Music. How coincidental.
"What about music?" Anna asked curiously.
Now a blush crept on Mochu's face. But he took a deep breath and said in a puff, "Singing."
"Awesome!" Nonoko gave her twin a grin that Anna returned with the same likeness.
"Remember Mochu," Yuu said with such gravity that Mochu was forced to listen. "Whenever you feel like a plastic bag just floating in the wind, find that spark and turn it to a firework. Believe me, those guys who bully you are those who didn't become who they truly are because of peer pressure."
Where was Mikan, you ask? She was busy being frozen over thoughts that made her smile. Her mind was working overdrive again. But this time, it was musically overdrive.
Spark…confidence…plastic bag…drifting…FIREWORK!
"Thank you, Yuu!" Mikan blurted with a stupid grin. Everyone looked at her with alarm and she realized what she said. She quickly added, "Da man!" with a lame tone to it.
"Uh, welcome?" Yuu had a flabbergasted look on his face.
Mikan's grin returned again. "Please excuse me."
She almost ran towards the library where she could write the song that was brewing in her mind. The song was so perfect!
She remembered what her mom told her before she got into an accident:
"Music is another great way of communicating with others. You can relay your message with them listening intently."
She had asked, "Like a worm relay?"
And her mother laughed fondly at her saying, "Something like that, Sweetie."
Mikan giggled and proceeded to the sanctuary of books.
Little did she know that a certain raven-haired lad heard her voice. Her giggling musical voice.
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-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
"Where did you run off to?" Sumire demanded. "You missed the period after lunch and now you're late for second period."
Mikan flashed her breathless grin. "Musical inspiration, Rin. I found the spark that set off the firework."
They were in the bathroom during break when Sumire ambushed her. At first, Sumire looked at her like she was speaking in Mars language. Then, she was jumping up and down while squealing.
"Oh my God! That's two songs now!" Sumire grabbed her arm excitedly. "Can you show me? Oooh, I bet it's great!"
"It is!" Mikan said. "I'll show you later with the others."
Mikan excused herself to use the facility while Sumire leaned on the wall. A couple of girls with make-up too thick to be even possible entered. One of those girls was Luna.
"…I mean, we should've kissed by now," Luna was saying. She and her horde continued to a mirror where they were retouching their make-up. Luna made sure she gave Sumire a sneer when the former took inventory of Sumire's clothes. Sumire gave her best scary glare.
"Are you saying you haven't kissed him before?" one of the girls gasped.
Luna sighed. Sumire thought it sounded like an out-of-tune trumpet.
"I know Natsume wants to," she said like she knew. "He's just a modest person. He's only fighting the urge to do it first."
Okay, barf, Sumire thought and a shudder ran through her. Okay, so Natsume was hot. But that's the only good thing about him. At least, that's the only good thing that's in him now. Before…
Where was the Natsume we all love to fall for? Sumire asked herself while reminiscing the times when they were in kindergarten.
Sumire met Mikan there and immediately loathed her when she saw her getting close to Natsume. Permy remembered trying to make kindergarten life hard for Mikan but the latter managed to make everything bad happening to her like a game. It was when Mikan talked with Sumire that she finally realized how stupid her antics were. And from that time on, she was playing with Mikan (she would've said 24/7 but she remembered how Mikan's curfew was very strict).
A door opening slapped Permy back to earth. A second too late, Mikan went out of her cubicle with the silly grin on her face before realizing that Luna was just in front of her.
"Ew," Luna said and her clique laughed. "Who brought a geek in?"
Sumire tried to stay cool and continue leaning on the wall. Her fists clenched involuntarily and she saw Mikan do the same. But Permy saw the green tinge starting to taint Mikan's temple and she prayed to whatever god was out there that hopefully Mikan would barf on the Queen Bitch's face.
"Seriously geek," Luna continued, "how much is that sweatshirt? Unbranded and cheap? How can you stand the commoner clothes?" Her girly horde giggled.
"Ugh and look at her shoes!" Luna pointed a manicured finger at Mikan's shoes. "Black crocs? That's so unfashionable. Geeks shouldn't be allowed to live. They don't have the money to do anything right! Why are you even in here?"
All the while, Sumire was waiting for the chance to snap Luna Bitchy Koizumi's head off. But she was worried what Mikan might do.
However, Mikan had another thing planned. Instead of talking back, she said, "Is that an Azumi original?" She pointed at Luna's sweater.
Luna scoffed. "Of course it is, geek. I don't do fake."
"Perfect." Then, Mikan did next made Sumire sniggering while holding herself together.
Mikan held on Luna's shoulders and vomited the icky stuff directly on the sweater. The scream that followed was making Sumire laugh harder.
"YOU GEEK!" Luna shrieked. "YOU PUT GEEK BARF ON ME!"
Her girl horde then tried futilely to wipe off the barf on the sweater since the others were reluctant to even come near Luna. Then, in her personal justice, Permy thought of another way of making Luna miserable.
Besides her closest friends, no one knew Permy was pretty good with Physics. To prove that, Permy went to one of the sinks and turned the tap on full blast. Then, aiming precisely, she shot water at Luna's hair making the curls flatten instantly.
"AAAAAHHH!" Luna swiveled to look at Sumire with a disbelieving look. "You ruined my hair!"
Sumire gave her a smirk. "Didn't see that one coming, did I?"
She and Mikan left them in jeopardy. When they were sure they were out of earshot, they busted out laughing hysterically. Tears were streaming from Sumire's eyes as her stomach hurt from laughing so hard.
"That's got to be the best thing ever!" Mikan said. She was all but rolling on the floor with laughter.
"You think?" Sumire couldn't help laughing, too.
It was a full two minutes before the two of them could recover. Sumire was breathing hard and was wiping the tears that escaped her eyes.
"Do you think they'll send an army?" Mikan asked.
Sumire scoffed. "Maybe. Jeez, I really wonder how they sleep at night with only price tags to worry about."
"Yeah—" Mikan stopped short. Then, she broke into a grin that Sumire knew all too well.
"Please tell me you just didn't have another musical inspiration," Sumire pleaded.
Mikan winked. "Can't. See you at third period!" Then she ran off to the library. Again.
Sumire sighed. She couldn't believe that Mikan was making two songs in a day. That's a world record by her standards. But she didn't complain further. The more songs Mikan could make, the better.
She smiled to herself while walking down the corridors. Mikan had been writing songs ever since she could remember. But she had a feeling the songs Mikan would make this time were epic.
How was it? Bad? Or bad?
So it's kinda obvious what the songs Mikan made. There's going to be another song she'd make that, in my opinion, is the best song for those- nah, that's going to be a spoiler. Anyway, expect a lot of Bruno with Mars, a little fast Taylor, some crazy Lady's songs, and more in the following chapters.
But don't get used to me updating soon. You'll be sorry. Just saying...
Thanks to those who reviewed! I really appreciate it :)