Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha or any of the songs
So, yeah, this is a REALLY long chapter so… it's going to take a while reading it. BUT it's to make up for how long it took me to update. That and I really had a lot to talk about in this chapter so it just dragged on and on and on. But I hope you guys like it. I just finished my exams so I am FREE to do whatever I want w/o worrying about cramming for a test or pop quiz. It's a huge relief. Who has two thumbs and can now update more frequently? THIS GIRL! Don't count on it though. Please enjoy this chapter and REVIEW when you're done! Thank you! BTW, the song under the title is frickin' hilarious to me if you actually read all the lyrics.
Confessions of a Band Camp Geek
And I almost had you
But I guess that doesn't cut it
Almost had you
And I didn't even know it
You kept me guessing and now I'm destined
to spend my time missing you
I almost wish you would've loved me too
-Bowling for Soup "Almost"
Confession #5: I Eavesdrop on Others' Conversations
The first thing I saw when I entered the cabin was Sango and Aimi sitting on Sango's bed. Aimi was hyperventilating into a paper bag and her eyes were the size of saucers.
"Oh my god," I gasped as I rushed over to them. "What happened?"
"Realization hit," Sango answered, rubbing Aimi's back for comfort. "It's safe to say that she's not taking it well."
"Obviously." I sat down on the other side of Aimi. "Was it dance practice with Raiden?"
"She didn't even go," Sango answered for Aimi again, who was way too busy freaking out. "She told him the fish at dinner was bad and that she came down with a bad case of food poisoning. Apparently Kazumi is really good with stage make-up," Sango said, motioning to the only photographer in our cabin with the shoulder length blond hair. "She looked like a zombie."
"So the problem is…"
"The problem is I have to take that class with the evil witch!" Aimi exploded, removing the bag from her mouth. "Why the fuck did you guy's let me sign up for the class?"
"I told you not to take it," I offered, shrinking away as Aimi's glare intensified.
"But you didn't rip the pencil out of my hand and slap some sense into me!" Aimi buried her face in her hands. "I'm so screwed. Kiyoko is going to try and kill me."
"Well… look at this way," I spoke up again. "You only have to take the class for a week. And you don't even know for sure if you got into Kiyoko's class."
"Wrong," Sango corrected me. "We got our class assignments already. They stopped by while we were at band practice."
"Really?" I piped up. "What did I get?"
"Oh, be selfish why don't you," Aimi hissed as she glared at me and I shuddered. "Starting tomorrow I'm going to be put through hell and all you can think about are your classes? God! Can I get a little sympathy?"
"Here," Sango said, rolling her eyes at Aimi's melodramatics as she handed me a card. "It only has our 'artsy' activities, obviously, and we're supposed to get our outdoors activities tomorrow at breakfast."
I looked down at my sheet. I had Songwriting right after breakfast and then about two hours after that class ended I'd go to the portrait class I signed up for. Not bad. Now as long as I don't get some extremely strenuous outdoor activity, everything will be perfect.
"What did you get?" I asked Sango as she went back to consoling Aimi.
"I decided I'd take the piano class-so I could end up with Rei and I have Songwriting. We have the same class. I already checked."
"This feels like comparing schedules," I mumbled as I stood up and climbed up the ladder to my higher bunk. "I wonder if Bank landed the same class. I should call him."
"I don't want Raiden to get the same class as me," Aimi mumbled miserably from below. "He'll find out just how absolutely suckish I am at dancing."
"You can always pray really hard that you guys don't get the same class," I suggested, fishing around in my pillow case for my candy bag. I know; genius.
"I can't," Aimi mumbled and I peeked over the edge of the bed to see her smothering her face in Sango's shoulder. "I already prayed really hard for us to get in the same class. Taking it back seems greedy."
"Oh…"
We were silent.
"Pray to be suddenly graced with amazing dance skills?"
"I don't think I should waste my prayers on the impossible." Aimi got off Sango's bed and hopped up onto her own bunk. Her eyes zeroed in on my bag of candy and for a second I thought Aimi was going to rat me out because she was in a bad mood. But she didn't. Instead, she held her hand out and wiggled her fingers. "Chocolate me," she demanded. "I hear it's supposed to be a good stress reliever."
"It is," I assured her, pulling out a fun sized Snickers bar. I usually don't hand out Snickers because they're my favorite, but Aimi is going to have to deal with Kiyoko for the next seven days, I decided I could make the sacrifice. "Gift from the heavens."
Aimi took the bar and ripped it open, shoving it in her mouth and crunching it in a way that made me grimace.
"So what art class are you taking?" I asked, since I already knew she had unfortunately gotten Kiyoko's hip hop class.
"Abstract," Aimi answered easily. "And next week, I'm taking Abstract and Surrealism. I knew there was a good reason why I didn't branch out of the art section last summer. I knew it."
"Well this sucks," I mumbled, lying back on my bed. "Now I have a class where I won't know anybody unless Hojo pops up in that class." My eyes widened in horror and I looked at Aimi with urgency. "Hojo doesn't portraits, right?"
"He does." Aimi confirmed my fears. "Good luck with that."
"Great."
"Hey guys," Rei greeted us as she entered the cabin. "What's up?"
I was at a crossroad here, because at this moment, I don't like Rei. Given, she did absolutely nothing wrong to insult me or any of my friends, but she is completely messing with Bank's heart. Well, not really, but she's so clingy when it comes to Ichiro, it looks like they're together which makes Bank really uncertain and that's just not the way Bank is.
But when I looked at her, I kind of felt guilty for my hate. Her eyes were puffy and rimmed with red. She was crying no more than three minutes ago.
"I'm going to be put through hell in—" Aimi cut herself off once she got a good look at her bunkmate. "What the hell happened to you?"
"Oh, uh…" Rei trailed off, trying to find a good excuse as she sat down on her bed. "Allergies, I have really bad seasonal allergies."
"Yeah, and I shoot chocolate chips from my nose," Aimi said, rolling her eyes, hanging her head over her bed to look at Rei. "What's up?"
"Nothing, it's nothing," Rei insisted, shaking her head, tears starting form again and she tried wiping them away. The guilt feeling punched me in the stomach again and I felt sick.
"Hey," Sango switched beds so she was sitting beside Rei and draped an arm around her shoulders. "It's alright. Don't beat yourself up trying to tell us."
Rei was nodding her head, but even then she was starting to confess. "My ex-boyfriend just called, like, no more than ten minutes ago." She bit her lip. "He keeps talking about getting back together."
"Did he break up with you?" I asked, dropping down to Sango's bunk so I sat across from her.
"No."
"So you're crying because…"
"I'm crying because…" She trailed off, wiping at her eyes again before taking a big breath to continue. "Because there's a chance I might take him back, but the…conditions of our relationship were…" she grimaced, "bad. Yeah, just put it that way."
"So you still love him but you know it's bad to," I clarified, not liking all the meanings bad had in my mind.
"Exactly."
"But you said no, right?" Sango pressed. "If a relationship is bad for you, you shouldn't go back to it."
"I said no," Rei confirmed, but she was still crying. "But I still…" she trailed off again, shaking her head. "It was a recent break-up. Like, maybe a week and a half before I came to Talent."
"Good lord," Aimi breathed out, still hanging over the edge of the bunk. "You seemed absolutely fine earlier."
"Of course," Rei cracked a smile. "I mean, you guys aren't terrible company and Ichiro knows all about it and helps me through it, and then as long as I keep reminding myself what a bastard that guy—whose name is unmentionable—was, I'm perfectly fine. But when he called…" She shook her head. "I just need some more time to get used to it, that's all."
"We'll all help you," I volunteered and then added, "and Bank will too."
Rei really smiled after I said Bank's name. "That'll be nice."
"Well," Aimi started, pulling herself up so she was sitting upright on her bed again, "we are nice people."
"You want a piece of candy?" I asked, reaching my hand up and grabbing the bag off my bed. I purposely dug out a Snickers bar. Another sacrifice could be made for this. "It's what all the heart doctors are prescribing these days."
"Thanks," Rei smiled, taking the bar from my hand.
"So," Sango spoke up, "what classes did you get?"
Rei fished the tiny card out of her back pocket. "Songwriting is after breakfast then after that is my piano class." She shrugged. "I figured I'd get them both."
"Congratulations!" Sango cheered, engulfing Rei in a tight hug, lifting the once tense atmosphere completely. "You get to spend the entire first half of your day with me!"
"I can't wait," Rei laughed, rolling her eyes. "What did the rest of y'all get?"
Aimi's face immediately fell and I started cracking up.
"Don't remind me," she growled out, flipping over onto her side so her back was to me and she would be staring at the wall. "I hate my life."
"She got Kiyoko's class?"
"Yep."
"Did she get the same class as Raiden?"
"We don't know yet." I dug my phone out of my pocket; ready to dial Bank's number. "But I don't see why we should wait," I said, dialing number 2 on my speed dial.
After three rings Bank finally picked up.
"Have I told you lately how awesome you are?" He asked into the phone, sounding grateful.
"You could mention it more often. Most of the time you're lecturing me about how I do some really stupid stuff." I flopped back on my bed, staring up at the ceiling. "What did I save you from this time?"
"Mom called and she was bugging me again," Bank sulked.
"About…" Sango sucked her teeth, and motioned for me to hurry it up.
"Just… stuff."
"Oh… was it embarrassing stuff?"
"Kagome."
"What was it about? Was she—"
"Kagome!" This time it was Sango who cut me off, demanding me to hurry. "Remember why you called."
I nodded my head, shooing her away with my hand. It's so rude when people try to dictate your phone conversations.
"So what classes do you have?"
"The songwriting class right after breakfast and then my drumming class right after that. I still don't see the point of having to go to a drumming class when I'm already—"
"Yes! We have the same songwriting class," I cut Bank off, not really wanting to be stuck listening to him brag about his amazing skills then have him rant on and on about how you can't be taught to improve your drumming skills once you already know how. The rest is just a 'gut feeling'.
"Great."
"So it'll be you, me, Sango, Rei, Sho, and Jakotsu all in the same class then," I continued on, leading up to the real reason I was calling.
"No. Jak decided he was more suited for the drama field and took some Shakespeare class. He's off bonding with some of the drama geeks in our cabin now."
"Jakotsu has always been a drama queen." I thought it over for a sec. "Theater could definitely be his second calling, especially after he took that playwriting class last year. Did you read some of his—"
"Just ask him the damn question already!" Aimi demanded, looking crazed. "Just ask the question before I hurt you."
"So what classes did Raiden get?" I asked, inching away from Aimi, even though she was relaxing. "Is he sharing any of our classes?"
"No. He got that class with Kiyoko and some other dance class."
"What time is his class with Kiyoko?" I asked, Rei, Sango, and Aimi all looking at me with anticipation.
"Uh…" Bank was off the phone for a second before coming back, "He's got the ten o'clock class."
"The ten o'clock class?" I repeated, looking at Aimi as she fished out her schedule, Aimi and Rei reading over her shoulder.
"That's what I just said."
"Fuck!" Aimi cried out, falling back on her bad and turning to face the wall again. "Fuck, fuck, fuck-fuckity fuck."
That doesn't sound good.
"Such a dirty mouth," Sango mumbled and Rei stifled a laugh.
"Really?" I faked enthusiasm as I kept speaking to Bank. "Well, tell him to be ready to walk Aimi to class!"
"Shut the hell up, Kagome!" Aimi yelled to the wall. "I'd appreciate it if you'd stop rubbing this whole thing in my face."
"Well, I must get going," I told Bank, holding back my laughter. I know, what a bad person I am to be laughing at another's misery. "I'll see you—"
"Wait!" Bank cut me off. "Are we still going to meet tomorrow to go over songs for your cover?"
"Yeah," I agreed, after giving it a second thought. "Just give me the time and place."
"Uh… It has to be before the alarm goes off so how about… eight by the lake?"
"I don't know…eight is pretty early…" I hate getting up early. "How about after dinner? Or during Songwriting since, you know, I'm supposed to be able to slack in that class."
"After dinner."
"Alright, I'll see you tomorrow," I spoke into the phone before hanging up and turning to Aimi's depressed figure to deal with the situation at hand.
"This doesn't happen to me," she moaned, rocking herself. "This happens in books and movies where the writers just put a girl through the misery of humiliation because they're mean, evil, and sadistic people who like to make the puppets of their show suffer because they need to vent about their own humiliating experiences. God Damnit, this doesn't happen to real life people!" She screamed at the wall again. "Cliché's don't happen in real life."
"Actually they do," Sango pointed out. "Why do you think they're called clichés?"
"Oh, just shut up," Aimi whined. "I want to sulk without being corrected."
"Look at the bright side," I offered, trying to cheer Aimi up. "You still get to walk with him to the class."
"Before he finds out the truth," Aimi mumbled. "I don't want him to think I'm one of those girls who do something they're horrible at just to get a guy's attention."
"But…" Rei trailed off, looking at Sango and I. "You kind of are."
"You guys are no help at all." Aimi said, whipping her head around to scowl at all of us.
"Absolutely useless."
"I told you not to take that class."
"That's it," Aimi hopped off her bed. "I'm going for a walk to get away from all this… whatever the hell this crappy comfort session is!" She marched her way to the door. "I'll be back by curfew!" She slammed the rusty screen behind her.
~0~
"Oh Bank! Wait, wait, wait!" I shouted as I sprinted up the steep hill to the mess hall, seeing Bank about to enter after Sho. Hearing me, he stopped and waited.
"Glad I caught you," I said as I came to a stop beside Bank and he opened the door for me. "I have more dirt on—well info on the whole Rei situation." It can't be 'dirt' if it's really nothing bad. "I think it just might help you out a bit."
"Really?"
"Yeah." We made our way to the back of the mile long breakfast line. "So, it turns out Rei was in a relationship that ended a week before camp started." I looked him in the eyes. "A bad relationship."
"Bad?"
"Yeah, like… well, she didn't elaborate, but remember yesterday when we saw her crying? Yeah, it was because the guy had called her, begging her to take him back, and she was upset because she really loves the guy but she knows the relationship is just going to hurt her. So, yeah, she was having an emotional breakdown when we came across her."
"So… because she's still in love with a guy who is bad for her, it's good for me?"
Well, when he puts it that way…
"No! I didn't finish." Bank lifted a brow, not believing I was going to deliver anything useful. "When we were all volunteered to help her get through it, I told her you would be there too and she smiled!" Bank looked confused. "Don't you get it!"
"No…"
"She smiled specifically at the mention of your name." I looked at him expectantly. "Do you get that?"
"Kind of…" He still looked confused. "Could you explain it?"
"It means she likes you!" I shouted. "She smiles at just the mention of your name. What more of a sign do you need?"
"She likes me?"
"Yes." Finally, we were on the same page. I saw the door open and in stepped Aimi, Sango and Rei. "Okay, Rei is here, so go interact with her without stuttering, blushing, or mumbling…we clear?"
"Jeez… no pressure."
"That's right Bank, no pressure," I nodded, smiling up at him. "And I must say you look very nice today. You look much better than yesterday."
"Kagome…"
"What?" Really, I did nothing to deserve that 'you're-frustrating-me tone'. "I'm being honest."
"I just—"
"Greetings fellow earthlings," Aimi greeted as she unashamedly cut off a good amount of people to stand by us. "How are you this morning?"
"Fine." Bank mumbled and I gently elbowed him in the ribs. He gave me a look which I responded to by mouthing out 'No mumbling' and he grumbled something before turning his back to me. How rude!
"Hey Bank," Rei chirped as she came to stand beside me. Bank turned back around, blushing, but not like a tomato.
"Hey Rei." Good, no stuttering and he so far he seemed relaxed; very good. "What's up?"
"Nothing really," Rei shrugged. "So what classes do you have?"
"Songwriting after breakfast and then some drumming class later on today." Bank moved forward and we were now close enough for each of us to grab a tray. Bank handed Rei a tray. Perfect! And who said chivalry was dead? "What about you."
"Well, we have the same Songwriting class but right after that I have piano class. I really don't see the point though; I've been playing the piano since I was five. Once you get the basics, it's all—"
"—what you feel." Bank finished for her, smiling at the connection they made. "I mean, they can't force you to play a piece because it's meaningless without any true passion behind it."
"Exactly!"
My work here is done.
"Well look at this," Sango said when I stopped eavesdropping on Bank and Rei's conversation. "You're not that bad of a matchmaker after all."
"Glad you finally noticed." I looked back at Bank and Rei as he handed her an apple. "They're bonding!"
"Yes, yes," Aimi waved off, standing on her toes to try to see something. "Where the hell is Raiden?"
"You mean you're not going to try to avoid him?"
"Well, after my walk yesterday, I figured that if I'm going to be stuck in that evil woman's class, I might as well make the best of it." We moved forward a bit and Aimi grabbed a salad bowl, filling it with cantaloupe and honeydew melon. "That means I am going to walk to class with Raiden, be his partner for any partner dancing, and walk from class with him."
"I don't think Kiyoko is going to pair Raiden up with an inexperienced dancer," Sango mumbled and I nodded in agreement, but caught Aimi's death glare and stopped. "But you can always ask him for help," Sango hurried on to say to cushion the blow.
The murderous look left Aimi's face and it was replaced with a pathetic one. "I feel so embarrassed for myself," she whimpered. "I'm such an idiot."
"Aw… don't worry about it," I assured Aimi as I threw my arm over her shoulders and patted her arm. "Maybe if you tell Raiden that you only took the class to be with him he'll be flattered and actually go to one of the movies with you."
"Yeah," Aimi scoffed. "Fat chance."
We went through the line, slowly. Picking up our breakfast, Sango and I continually reminded Aimi that she shouldn't escape her problems by eating a mountain load of food. Yesterday I filled my plate with just about everything, today I was good and only got waffles. Chocolate chip waffles with whipped cream and a lot of syrup. But, I did get some fruit so… there's something healthy in there.
"…sit with y'all today?"
I tuned back into Bank and Rei's conversation just in time to hear Rei asking if she could sit with us as if she was a stranger. Bank seemed to freeze and, I swear to god, I was about to slap him. What's wrong with him! He was doing so well and then he just… freezes up! What an idiot.
"I… uh, s-sure." Bank stuttered out, his left eye twitching just a bit.
"If you don't want me to I can always—"
"No!" Bank shouted a bit too fast and a lot too loud. "I mean, it's fine. You can sit with us."
"If you're sure you're okay with it…"
"Me?" Bank pointed to himself and pretended to be shocked, regaining his composure. "I'm fine with it. Why would I not want you to sit with us? You're great!"
Great cover up Bank! Way to work your charismatic magic!
"Oh. Well th-thanks, y-you were just…" Now Rei was the one blushing and stuttering. She paused and took a deep breath to compose herself. "I'm just going to go to the table already."
"See you there," Bank replied, flashing his brilliant smile. Yes! Way to seal the deal! Magnificent! "You can bond with Jak while you're there. He loves talking to girls."
Rei smiled at Bank before lifting her tray and headed for the table and Sango and Aimi followed in suit while I went up to congratulate Bank.
"That was great!" I enthused as I gave him a quick hug. "You weren't stuttering or blushing out of control, and you were relaxed and charismatic. Oh, and that cover up for freezing up back there? Brilliant! You told her she was great and then—"
"Kagome?" Bank cut me off, looking kind of pale. That's weird…Bank is always really tan.
"What?"
"I'm going to throw up."
"What? Why? How?" I looked him up and down as if there would be a sign taped to his clothing. "Wait," I took a step back, "do you mean now?"
"I can't go over there and talk to Rei for an entire hour! What… what am I going to say?"
I stared at Bank in disbelief? "What do you mean, 'what am I going to say?'! You were just talking to her this entire time and now you're going to freak out?"
"We were talking about music; I can't just talk to her about music for the next hour!" Bank looked panicked. "You're the matchmaker, do something!"
"What do you want me to do, make up a list of conversation topics?"
"Perfect."
I just looked at him blankly for a minute. God, he's hopeless.
"Bank." I put my hands on his shoulders. "You are a great guy and you don't need a list of topics to talk to a girl. Remember when we met in detention and you just jumped into a conversation? You are a naturally gifted speaker; you don't need a list of topics."
"But I want a list of topics."
"Get it together, man!" I shouted, shaking him a bit. "You can't wimp out now! You are going to go over there and speak to Rei like a normal person and sweep her off her feet. Got it?"
"I—"
"Good."
"Kagome…"
"Just remember: Eye of the tiger." I pointed to my eyes and then made tiger claws at the correct time. "Eye of the tiger."
"Eye of the tiger," Bank nodded, finally getting his act together. "Eye of the tiger."
"Alright, now go talk to Rei without making a fool of yourself." I ordered, patting Bank's shoulder for support. Bank nodded and headed to the table, taking a seat across from Rei and starting a conversation. Please don't screw up…
"I thought you said your boyfriend wasn't here?"
"Shit!" I screamed whirling around to see who decided to whisper in my ear and nearly give me a heart attack. "Oh. It's just you, Hojo." Great.
"Surprise!" He joked, but I wasn't laughing. "So, I thought you said your boyfriend wasn't coming to camp, but he was just there."
"Bank is just my friend," I deadpanned, trying to get out of this conversation as quickly as possible. "But he's really good friends with my boyfriend."
"Ah… I see."
"Well, I better—"
"So rumor has it we're in the same portrait class," Hojo cut me off, stepping closer though he was already way too close.
"Really…?" I tried to back up a bit, but he only stepped forward some more. Damn. "And where'd you hear that?" If Aimi or Sango dropped him any hints I was going to murder them.
"Oh, I stopped by the cabin this morning to speak to the teacher and I got a look at the different classes." He smiled. "We're together."
Well, that's not creepy at all.
"Oh, that's, that's just…great." Great equaling the equivalent of how you feel after you've fallen off a mountain in a hiking accident.
"That's exactly how I felt!" Hojo smiled, thinking we made a connection. "So we get to spend the summer in the same class. Well, if you don't switch out that is."
First thing to do at the end of this week: take a different style of art.
"Well… I'll see you in class." I forced myself to smile and Hojo smiled back, extremely bright. "Bye Hojo," I mumbled, shuffling around him and hurrying over to the table where everyone was already seated.
"It's already starting," Aimi whispered to me as I took the only seat that was open, between her and Bank. He seemed to be holding his own just fine.
"Excuse me?"
"The stalker thing…" I raised my brows. "Hojo."
"Oh, wait, you saw that?"
"Yep," Aimi nodded. "But now it's only going to get worse. Next thing you know he'll be in the same shower stall as you."
Oh that's just nasty. "That's a really bad mental image."
"That's life."
"Great." Again great is the equivalent to falling off a mountain.
"…try to make your elbows touch," Bank was telling Rei as I tuned into their conversation, wanting to make sure he wasn't failing miserably. He was actually doing pretty well. Rei tried to connect her elbows in front of her chest and failed. "See," Bank laughed, "You can't do it! That means you're liable to work at Hooters!"
A hush fell over our table as we all just processed what just came out of Bank's mouth. I gave a wide eyed look to both Aimi and Sango to see if they heard it too and they both looked as shocked as I did. Well, Sango looked shocked and Aimi was trying not to burst out laughing. I looked over at Rei and she looked embarrassed and confused. And a little bit of angry.
I should have given him a list.
"Yeah… I'm going to get some more orange juice," Bank mumbled as he stood up from his seat and left. The conversation slowly picked up again.
"Excuse me," I said, already getting out of my seat and chasing after Bank. When I saw him, he was leaning against the drink machine.
"What happened out there?" I hissed once I was in hearing range. "You were doing so well. You almost had her!"
"We were running out of music related things to talk about and then I remembered this joke Miroku was telling me once and—"
"Miroku!" I was honestly shocked. Of all the people he could have borrowed a joke from he chose Miroku. "Do you have any idea how many times he gets slapped in one day? Did you forget the fact that, even though he as a girlfriend, he is still labeled as the school pervert?"
"I know, but I panicked and—"
"And you chose to use a joke you got from the school pervert." I shook my head. "Now Rei is going to think you were just staring at her chest the entire time and girls don't like that."
"I know, I just…" Bank ran a hand through his hair. "I clam up sometimes when I get around Rei. I don't want to say anything too stupid and I don't want to be the kind of guy who takes everything seriously, but in the middle of not trying to be both I just blurt out the first thing that comes to mind and… sometimes it's not the right thing."
"Obviously."
"Kagome."
"I'm sorry," I apologized, offering him a small smile. "On the bright side, the damage wasn't too bad and we still have five weeks and four days until we go back home. That's plenty of time to win Rei's heart."
"Hating camp that much, huh?"
"It has it downsides. But," I looked into Bank's eyes, making sure he was paying attention, "the real question here is what you're going to do about Rei?"
Bank shrugged. "Avoid her until I get over the humiliation."
"You can't do that!"
"Just watch me."
~0~
And so he did.
When he sat back down he talked solely to Raiden, Sho, and Jakotsu, which, by the look on her face, really pissed Rei off. He didn't even comment on how they both got beach volleyball for their outdoor activity (I landed myself in swimming with Sho, Sango, and Aimi). And then when we all went to the Songwriting class (minus Raiden and Aimi, who were almost crying from the dread. And Jakotsu who really hit it off with some of the drama kids), Bank didn't even look at Rei, which really pissed her off and she went to go sit with Ichiro who also had that class. You can only imagine how much I wanted to hit Bank for practically giving Rei to the competition.
I don't have to get frustrated over Bank's millions of issues now because I am entering the Portraits cabin where Bank isn't there to frustrate me with his inability to show his emotions when it really matters. No, now I have to worry about a creepy stalker guy who, according to Aimi, has claimed me as his 'prey'. Oh the joy.
I recognized the back of Hojo's head the second I opened the door and ducked behind a nearby table to make sure he wouldn't see me when he turned around. The last thing I wanted to do was end up being his partner for the rest of the week. Spending the entire time staring at Hojo and forming a picture, well aware of the fact that he's creeping on me? No. That's just not going to work.
Most of the seats were filled with the exception of a few empty pairs of easels, but I don't want to sit by myself because if no one takes the seat across from me I'll feel embarrassed for being left out. There's an empty seat across from a girl with long black hair braided into pigtails and I decided that she'll be my partner for the week.
"Hey," I introduced myself as I stepped up to her easel. She looked up at me and offered a brief smile. "So, I see the seat across from you is empty and camp is all about meeting new people, so…" I trailed off hoping she'd get the point but she just looked at me blankly. "Is this seat taken?"
"Actually, it is." She forced a smiled. "My friend is supposed to be getting here soon and I promised to save her a seat."
I pursed my lips and glared slightly at her, agitated. If she knew the whole time that she was saving the seat, what was the point of making me recite that lame speech?
"How noble of you," I spat, rolling my eyes as I marched away. She saves a seat for her friend so I can be stuck with the creepy guy. Great!
As if on cue, Hojo spotted me and I forgot to hide behind a person, an easel, a chair… anything really. "Kagome!" He waved his hands above his head as if I didn't already see him. "Over here! I saved you a seat!" Of course he did.
Not wanting to look like a complete bitch, I trudged over to the pair of easels at the far end of the cabin by the dusty window. I took the seat across from Hojo and forced myself not to grimace at the sickening smile he was giving me. It wasn't even sickeningly sweet or anything, just… sickening.
"I'm glad we're partners," Hojo smiled and I just nodded, pretending to be very interested in the pieces of charcoal that rested in my easel. "You're not that bad to look at." He gave me what he thought was an alluring smile but it was just creepy. Everything about Hojo was just creepy.
"I have a boyfriend," I mumbled, making sure he understood that. "I have a boyfriend that I'm in love with."
"People fall in and out of love all the time," Hojo shrugged. It was as if the fact that I have a boyfriend was the equivalent of me just having a cat. He didn't care. "That's how heartbreak came about. The real question is whether you're the heartbreaker or the heartbreakee." He looked me in the eyes. "Which are you Kagome?"
That's it; I can't be partners with him. I stood up to go to one of the empty pairs of easels I saw earlier, deciding that being a lonely outsider was better than being with this guy. But as my luck would have it the door flung open before I could make my escape and the sight of my Portrait instructor scared the crap out of me so…I froze.
It was Ms. Saki.
Actually, it was Ms. Saki with a bad haircut and dye job, not wearing a business suit, and a little more on the heavy side, but, besides all that, the lady standing in the threshold was my worst nightmare: Ms. Saki's twin. But maybe if I'm lucky she's the nice twin and Ms. Saki is the evil twin and this lady is really actually nice and congratulates your good work with candy.
"Sit!" She barked and it took me a while to realize that she was actually glaring at me because I was still standing up. I quickly plopped my butt back down on the stool…in front of Hojo.
There goes the nice twin theory.
I feel like my stomach has just been carved out because I know I'm sick to my stomach with how awful my luck has been playing out today. Still, I don't feel the gut clenching feeling that should be there. Hojo giving me creepy looks and Ms. Saki's twin sending me evil looks? At the same time? I should be about ready to throw up with that realization, but my stomach has disappeared so I can't throw up. That's just even more bad luck. Throwing up was my one way ticket out of this hell hole.
"My name is Ms. Fujimoto and I'll be your Portrait instructor for the summer unless you decide to chicken out and drop this class." Put me in that batch of kids why don't you. "If you haven't already noticed, we will be partnering up and you'll be working a lot with your partners, perfecting your ability to draw them." Great.
Ms. Fujimoto strolled to the front of the room and sat on a stool that was conveniently positioned there. "I don't want to just focus on the physical appearance in this class. Not just the slope of the nose or the mole above the left eyebrow; I want you each to really be able to capture the essence of your partner and be able to display that in your drawing. In the eyes, posture, setting. I want to seethe person and not just a face." She looked around. "Do you get what I'm saying?"
I take it back. I like the stuff this lady is saying. She's kind of strict, but I can understand that; don't want the campers to walk all over her…very understandable. Ms. Saki was a straight up bitch though.
When she was met with silence, Ms. Fujimoto clapped her hands together and hopped off her stool. "Alright then! To get started I want you and your partner to play 'Three Questions' and, based off those questions, try to draw your partner with some sort of… essence. Now, does everyone have a partner? Good. Let's get started!"
"Okay." I turned to Hojo, not having an option but to actually converse with him. "Question one: What is your favorite color?" That was a bad question. How do I capture his essence knowing his favorite color?
"Green," Hojo answered easily. "Your favorite movie?"
"Lion King." I didn't even think about how embarrassing that fact is before just blurting it out.
"Child like…" Hojo mumbled mostly to himself as he jotted something down in the corner of his sheet. He looked up at me expectantly. "Your turn."
"Oh yeah, right." Hojo is a lot easier to stand when he's not acting creepy, which apparently is when he's working on artwork. "Favorite movie Genre?"
"Horror."
"Because you're horrific," I mumbled under my breath, jotting the answer down in the far right corner of my paper.
"What?"
"Hope this picture doesn't turn out horrific," I covered easily with a smile to make it more believable.
"Your picture will turn out perfect," Hojo waved off. "Just like you." And the creeper returns.
"It's your turn to ask the question."
"Alright… favorite sport?"
"Swimming." That was way too easy. "Your favorite holiday?"
"Valentines."
Well, I've got a pretty good hold on his essence. He is the creepy flirt who pretends to be an innocent boy. I can see the picture now. Hojo with wide innocent eyes but a miniscule smirk, offering a rose with an outstretched hand. Perfect.
"Favorite kind of candy?"
"Gummy worms," I answered immediately. "Sour."
"Alrighty then, I… got it," Hojo said as he finished jotting down some notes in the corner of his sheet. "Shall we get started?"
"We shall," I mumbled, already concentrating on the outline of Hojo's face.
An hour and forty-five minutes later I was just getting to work on the lower half of Hojo's body—which was hard considering he wasn't modeling the squatted position I was drawing and I wasn't about to ask him to model for me—when Ms. Fujimoto clapped her hands together, demanding our attention.
"Class is almost over and I've looked around noticing some of you aren't done, so you won't have to turn these in by the end of class today. I'll give you the first thirty minutes of class tomorrow to finish, but if you don't think you can finish in that time limit, I highly suggest that you and your partner meet up later today and work that out."
A loud buzzing sounded through the air, signaling that this class was over, the beginning of lunch and the beginning of more Bank drama.
I shot out of my seat, ripping the page I was working on off the pad and hurried to place it on the counter in the back of the room as directed. If I hurried I might be able to catch up to Rei and convince her to have lunch with us and not go to the dark side and sit with Ichiro. Just because Bank was being a total asshead this morning doesn't mean he'll stay that way.
I was about to make a mad dash out of the cabin when a hand wrapped around my arm, stopping my escape. I turned around to face…Hojo.
"Hey," he smiled sheepishly. "I didn't exactly get far enough on my picture so I was hoping we could meet up later and…" I huffed out a breath of air. I was afraid of this. "Can you do later on tonight?"
"Sorry, but I have plans with my friend. He's supposed to be helping me on a song." Thank god for Bank!
"Oh. Can you do this afternoon then?"
"Um… I actually have band practiced," I shrugged apologetically. It's not a complete lie; the band would probably be together this afternoon and we'll probably end up talking about band stuff, so… yeah. It's a legit excuse.
"Well we need to get together sometime. I—"
"Give me your phone number," I demanded, fishing my phone out of my pocket and flipping to my contacts, ready to add a new one. I named it 'Creeper'.
"I—uh…" Hojo looked confused but he recited his number. "988-6541"
"Alright." I punched the numbers then saved the contact. "I'll send you a picture of myself later so you can get the basic features and everything down; we good?"
"I—"
"Great." I turned my back to him and began heading towards the door. "See you tomorrow!"
I then hauled my ass out of the cabin, having a sick feeling that Hojo was staring at my backside as I ran away.
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Alright, so I'm not going to write anymore b/c I've already reached 7,000 words and I don't want to make this EXTEREMLY long. Yeah, I had to add in the drama with Rei b/c for what I envisioned for the end, Rei having this boyfriend is essential. Well, I hope I didn't drive you all crazy with the length of the chapter, but please, please, please REVIEW! I frickin' love reviews so… send lots!
I've started a new story, Walking Tightropes, and if you want to you can read and review that. It'll make me smile!
Oh, and let's everybody thank hanmajoerin for editing these chapters for me. Yay!
xKimiko888x