Tuesday, June 10, 2008

Edited: Saturday, May 15, 2010

In the previous chapter: Hikari made the swim team with the fourth best time in the tryouts. At the same time, Hikari formally meets Yumi and puts to use some timely advice she received from Miyako to put Miyuki in her place.

Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon.

All-American Girl

By ebacusta

Chapter 3:

A Model Situation

Hikari suddenly felt she would have been better off dead than continuing to school. Her heart filled with fear. She almost glanced at Takeru to see if he thought she was done for too, but changed her mind in case Miyuki choose that moment to attack. Hikari wanted to think that Takeru would help her if Miyuki started clawing her eyes out—his eyes had told her as much the other day—but the boy who stood before her now seemed like a drone, barely capable of original thoughts, much less original action. He wouldn't lift a finger. Sigh. She was doomed.

But wait! Girls like Miyuki could smell fear. Hikari must have reeked of it. If looks could kill, Hikari would've been on her way to the morgue. Fortunately, they couldn't.

Taking a moment, Hikari dropped her gaze and collected her wits. She'd already given Miyuki the upper hand—the brunette thought Hikari feared her. Furthermore, she couldn't count on backup from Takeru. If worse came to worse, she could hold her own for a while and then flee. She had no doubt she that couldn't outrun Miyuki. When she raised her head, Miyuki looked taken aback. Hikari felt different. Confident. She didn't need Angela to show up a spoiled brat (though her presence would have been appreciated).

Hikari smiled, and watched giddily as Miyuki's expression changed. She'd assumed Hikari would beg for forgiveness like everyone else, but now she had a challenge. Hikari spoke, her voice quivering as if she could barely contain her laughter. "But you know who you might ask… I hear Chieko's been dying to get in. I'm sure she might accept your invitation." Miyuki's jaw went slack. Chieko worshiped the ground Miyuki walked on. She shamelessly threw herself at Miyuki trying to get the Gossip Queen's attention. And she did this every day, nonstop. It was an understatement to classify the girl as desperate, because Hikari was certain if she kissed Miyuki's butt anymore, her head might disappear up there forever. Hikari mentally shook her head to clear the disturbing picture from her mind. "See you around!" she added cheerfully. With that she spun around and headed straight for the door of the school building, her heart pounding a million times a second. She could feel Miyuki's eyes drilling into the back of her head and practically hear the horrible things she knew Miyuki was now whispering harshly in Takeru's ear.

She brushed through the door to the building and let out a sigh of relief as she headed to her shoe locker and slipped out of her penny loafers.

"Good morning, Hikari," Minabe Asuka, the class representative, greeted her, opening her own locker next to Hikari's.

"Good morning," Hikari replied.

"You all right? You look at little pale," Asuka remarked, leaning down and putting on her indoor shoes.

"Me? Oh no. I'm fine. Thanks." 'Just signed my death warrant is all.'

Hikari stared straight ahead, even though she felt several pairs of eyes boring into her skull, and beads of sweat trying to form. She forced herself to ignore the burning glares of unadulterated hatred from Miyuki's friends and pay attention to the lesson.

'Remember: they can smell fear.'

Miss Kinoki turned from the board, and placed her chalk on the desk beside her. "That ends the lesson," she said with a smile. Sighs of relief as notebooks slammed shut and kids began whispering amongst each other. Hikari added her own sigh to the mix. It was almost break. If she moved fast enough, she'd be able to escape the unvoiced threats she knew were being sent her way. She felt like she was roasting. Miss Kinoki adjusted her papers and shifted through them, evidently looking for something. Hikari glanced at the clock. 'Hmm, Math ended early today. I wonder who's in trouble.' Miss Kinoki's face lit up as she extracted a paper from the pile and ran her eyes down the page.

"All right, class," she began. "Attention please." Her voice was clear and sharp, like a military general's. Hikari felt certain had her teacher told the Earth to stop moving, it would have done so immediately. Though Miss Kinoki was not particularly spectacular in appearance—she was on the younger side of the spectrum with a petite and wispy body that looked as if it might blow away in the wind, short hair, nondescript brown eyes—her voice carried as if constantly magnified by a megaphone. No one double-crossed or back-talked to Miss Kinoki and got away with it. The class quieted and directed its full attention to the woman at the front of the classroom. "As I'm sure you're aware, the Sports Fest will occur in a little over a month. You may think it's too soon to start practicing, but it is important that we start as soon as possible. Our class has undergone some changes" (A couple of eyes glanced back at Hikari.) "over the summer and some bridges among us have been burned—or never built at all—" (Gazes shifted between Miyuki and Yumi, knowingly.) "along the way. For our class to be successful at this year's fest, we must have close ties like those of a family. We must feel as one. We must become a team. And we have a long way to go to get there. Thus, I thought we'd use announcement period and part of break to discuss sign up and practice strategy. I'll ask Minabe Asuka to come up and lead the discussion."

Asuka stood and strolled calmly to the front, her caramel-colored hair glistening as the light refracted off it. Everything about Asuka reminded Hikari of caramel, the girl's favorite sweet. It seemed as if she was always chewing on a square of the confection. As the class representative, Asuka held a commanding grace in front of her fellow students that nearly rivaled Miss Kinoki's. She was used to standing in that position at the front of the room. Miss Kinoki seated herself at her desk and looked at Asuka expectantly.

"Okay!" Asuka exclaimed after examining the paper Miss Kinoki left for her on the podium. She picked up the piece of chalk lying on the teacher's desk and began writing on the board. "There are twelve events this year: scavenger hunt, the cavalry battle, the three legged and wheelbarrow races, girls and boys 100 meter dash, girls and boys relay, girls and boys volleyball and basketball. Everyone has to participate in at least two events. Note that sign up is not set in stone until after school tomorrow. Our first practice will be Monday, September 8th. So, let's begin with volunteers for 100 meter dash…"

"Hey, Hikari. You want to go to Shibuya with me?" Miyako asked, popping out from behind a set of shoe lockers as Hikari rushed passed.

"I'm sorry, I can't. I have plans with my brother this afternoon. Thanks for the invite though," Hikari replied, hurriedly. Pulling off her indoor shoes, she put back on her loafers and fumbled with her things a minute. Clearly distracted, she hastened to the door with Miyako close behind, regarding her curiously.

"You all right, Hikari?" Miyako asked.

"I'm fine, thanks. I'm late getting home is all," she said. A lie. Well, sort of. She was late to meet Taichi, but mostly, she wanted to leave school before Miyuki found her. The brunette had been out to get Hikari all day, and if she fell down one more flight of stairs because of Miyuki's foot, she was going to rip the girl's designer-clad appendage off. Something she wasn't feeling vicious enough to do at the moment.

"Well listen. I'll go with you." Hikari barely heard her; she was too busy checking out the over her friend's shoulder. Miyako reached out and clamped her hand down on Hikari's shoulder, focusing Hikari's attention on their conversation again. Hikari looked up at the lilac-haired girl a moment and finally shrugged.

"Just hurry, all right?"

"I'm coming, I'm coming." Miyako grabbed her stuff and followed Hikari out the door and down the steps. As they turned out of the gate and onto the street at a good run, Miyako spoke, "So why are you running away from Miyuki? Does it have anything to do with what I heard about this morning?"

"What did you hear this morning? And I'm not running from Miyuki."

"Oh, just that you refused to join her group and thereby humiliated her." Miyako added with a smile, "And you are definitely running from Miyuki."

"Where did you hear that?" Hikari panted as she took the steps to the subway train two at a time. "And I am not!"

"It's all over school, Hikari. How did you not hear people talking about it? It's all that's been on anybody's lips today. And if you aren't running from her, why did you tear out of the school building like you were being chased by your adoring fan boys?"

"I already told you I'm late to meet my brother! Can we just drop this subject all ready?" Swiping her metro card, she pushed through the turnstile and rounded on Miyako as she pushed through behind her. "Why are you so interested in this?"

Miyako smirked as they walked to their platform and awaited the arrival of the train. "Look, Hikari. You have just picked a fight with biggest bully in school. You can't seriously expect to get through this without some major help."

"I didn't pick a fight with her," Hikari grumbled, crossing her arms and looking away.

"Did you do what she wanted you to do?" Miyako asked, crossing her arms as well. Hikari's silence was answer enough. "Then you picked a fight with her."

"This whole thing is your fault to begin with," Hikari suddenly said, uncrossing her arms and rounding on the older girl.

"Oh? What do you mean by that?" Their conversation was interrupted by the loud roar of wind that announced the arrival of the train. Shoving their way through the crowd, the girls boarded and fought their way to the back.

"I mean if she hadn't insulted you, I wouldn't have had to defend you," Hikari answered as they plopped onto the not-so-comfortable seats.

"She insulted me, did she?" Miyako asked, puffing out her chest indignantly. A frown etched across her features. "What did she say? I'll—"

"That doesn't matter!" Hikari interrupted. "The point is I sacrificed my peaceful school experience for you. Everything is going to go up in flames now."

Silence settled over the two like a thick cloud. Miyako watched her friend stare out the window, mulling her last words over in her mind. "Say, Hikari," she began.

"Hmm?" Miyako didn't say anything, so Hikari turned her head to face her. "I'm not mad at you, if that's what you're worrying about."

"No, but… this was going to happen sooner or later. You realize that, right? I don't want you to feel like your whole schooling experience has been ruined by this." Hikari didn't say anything. She just looked at the girl. "At some point, you were going to have to choose between Miyako and Yumi and make an enemy of one or even both of them, because neither of them likes anyone who steals their thunder, and baby, you are the rainstorm."

Hikari frowned in confusion and blinked several times. "The… the rainstorm?"

"Yeah, the rainstorm. As in, you are the thunder!"

"Huh…. Okay..." Hikari said slowly, regarding Miyako suspiciously. She reached out and put her hand to Miyako's forehead. "Are you feeling all right?"

"Yeah, I feel great," Miyako replied with a grin. "Why?"

"You're talking nonsense. You can't be sane," Hikari responded. Miyako just laughed. The train began to slow as it pulled up to a platform. "This is my stop," Hikari said, standing. When the subway train had come to a complete stop, the friends followed the wave of people flowing off the train upstairs into the sun. Hikari turned and smiled at Miyako, "Well, I guess I'll see you tomorrow an—"

"No! You can't just leave me," Miyako protested. "I followed you all the way out here. This was completely out of my way."

"Well it's not like I asked you to come! I told you I was in a hurry."

Miyako grabbed Hikari's arm and gave her a pleading look. "No way, Hikari. Come on. Look, I just texted my friend, she's coming this way. Will you just wait with me until then? I don't want to stand here by myself looking stupid." Hikari took a deep breath and flared her nostrils at the lilac-haired girl but acquiesced grudgingly.

"Fine."

"Thank you!" Miyako grabbed her in a hug and swung her roughly from side-to-side. Needless to say, the brunette was completely caught off guard. Jeez. If this was the way Miyako showed appreciation, Hikari would have to remember to do less things for her in the future. "Say," Miyako said, releasing Hikari from her iron grip. "I see an ice cream parlor down the street. You wanna get some ice cream?"

What Hikari wanted to do was stay miffed at her (already difficult after having been flung about like a rag doll—she'd felt ridiculous and people were still staring), but when Miyako mentioned ice cream, the brunette's stomach growled greedily and her resolve all but evaporated. She had a hard time staying mad with her stomach begging for attention. Five minutes later, Hikari and Miyako were seating themselves on a wall, each holding a cone.

"This stuff is good," Miyako said, her eyes wide with wonderment. Hikari merely nodded, unwilling to take her tongue away from the cold treat long enough to speak a reply. It was too tasty. They sat a while, waiting, smacking loudly on their ice cream.

Finally, Hikari spoke up, "When did your friend say she was coming again?"

"She should have been here by now. I'm sure she'll show any minute." At that exact moment, a jaunty tune exploded from Miyako's bag. Digging inside of it, she pulled out her cell phone and put it to her ear. "Hello?"

Hikari scoped the street. Miyako was probably talking to her right now.

"What do you mean you're not coming?" Miyako practically yelled. "No! I don't care if he's cute. You promised!"

Yep. Miyako was definitely talking to her.

"Ah. Okay. Well, I'm glad to know that some strange boy you just met means more to you than your best friend. Yeah, uh-huh, whatever." She ripped the phone away from her ear and slammed it shut without saying goodbye. Miyako's friend had still been talking when she hung up.

"Ditched you, huh?" Hikari asked, feeling the need to state the obvious.

"Yes. I can't believe her! I can't go to Shibuya by myself! Mom would freak if she knew," Miyako sighed. "There was a sale at HMV that I wanted to go to." Sullenly, she let her head sink into her hands. Hikari reached out and put her arm around the girl's shoulder.

"Can you not go tomorrow?" she asked. She felt sorry for Miyako. If she hadn't promised Taichi her time this afternoon, Hikari gladly would have accompanied her.

"No. The sale ends today. And we have swim practice tomorrow anyway. There wouldn't be enough time for me to make it there and back before dinner."

"Oh." Hikari searched her brain for something comforting to say, but she drew a blank. She knew the feeling of disappointment Miyako was experiencing. Hikari almost called Taichi to ask if they could reschedule, but he'd told her when he'd phoned her that morning that his ad project was due on Monday, and Yamato needed enough time to make the edits. "And there's no way you can go alone and just hurry?"

"No," Miyako sighed heavily. "My mom advocates the buddy system for just about everything. She's more iffy about it for things in town, but for a trip to Shibuya—definitely!" There was a moment of silence as Hikari awkwardly looked around the station plaza. She wished she could say something other than sorry.

"I can't believe she ditched me like that," Miyako spoke up. "I mean, there is a line to what you can expect your friends to forgive, and she just totally crossed it. She could have just given the guy her phone number. It's her fault that I can't get my CDs now." Miyako took a deep breath and let the air out as a growl, "UGGHH. I could just kill her. Smother her with a—"

"I'll go with you," a masculine voice interjected.

"Huh?" The two girls looked up and were surprised to see Akari staring down at them.

"Izanagi Akari," he said. "And I'll go with you to Shibuya." The two girls stared at him, mouths agape, unable to say anything. Though he was still in his school uniform, he'd somehow managed to turn the prim outfit into something that looked somewhat stylish. The collar of his green blazer was popped, and his tie was loosened just enough to allow him to unbutton the top two buttons of his untucked shirt, allowing anyone who cared to look a peak of his collarbone and upper chest. A silver ring glinted on his thumb. The girls, however, were unable to focus the details of his clothes for any length of time because his hair was simply too distracting. His side-swept bangs, which sliced across the right side of his face, obscuring one clear green eye, were the most normal part of the style. The rest of his hair was spiked up and out in various directions, reminding Hikari of a character from a video game she'd once seen Tai playing.

It was amazing to Hikari that he could walk around dressed as he was without feeling at least a little self-conscious or out of place. What's more, he made it work. How on earth had he managed to make it through the school day dressed so unusually?

"Uh…" Miyako replied, intelligently.

"How did you get here?" Hikari asked.

Akari frowned, slightly confused. "I… walked. How did you get here?"

"No, I mean, isn't Miyuki with you? Didn't you guys have plans this afternoon?"

"Ah, I think you're confusing me with her royal lap dog, Takeru," Akari replied, an unassuming smile crossing his lip, though Hikari thought she detected a bit of sarcasm in his voice. "I don't hang out with Miyuki when Takeru's not around."

"A wise choice," Miyako grumbled, looking away slightly. Akari's smile widened.

"Probably because you don't like being told what to do, right?" Hikari chuckled. Almost instantly she realized what she'd said, gasping as her hand flew to her mouth. She was about to backpedal like crazy. "Oh god. I'm sorry. It just slipped out. I didn't mean anything by it. I just heard… from other people, and I…"

Akari laughed. "I guess you could say she's a bit too controlling for my tastes. I never expected you'd be a gossip girl though. I heard what happened between you and Miyuki." 'Jeez, his grin just keeps getting wider,' Hikari thought as her heart jumped into her throat.

"You did?" she croaked out. Nervously, she tucked a chuck of hair behind her ear.

"Yeah. Congratulations. Not every girl can put Miyuki in her place like that and live to tell the tale," Akari replied, licking his lips.

Hikari turned away grumbling, "I don't think I'll keep that distinction much longer. I sense my life is quickly coming to an end." She raked a hand through her hair to return her tousled locks back into place.

He chuckled. "Anyway, I heard you say your Mom wouldn't be pleased if you went to Shibuya alone. If you're interested, I'll go with you. It's not out of my way or anything, and there are a couple CDs I'd like to get as well." Miyako pondered this information.

Hikari stood. "I think you should go with him, Miyako. He says it's not out of his way, and now you don't miss your sale."

"Well, I…" Miyako hesitated.

"Great." Hikari grinned and patted her on the shoulder. "Call me and tell me what you get! I've got to go. See ya later!" she added and took off down the street.

"Wait—Hikari. HIKARI!"

"I'm home!" Hikari yelled. "Sorry I'm late!" Kicking off her shoes and sliding on her slippers, she hurried into the living room. "Tai?" No answer. Frowning, she stepped further into the room and looked around. "Tai?"

"Oh!" a voice exclaimed from the hallway that led to her father's study and the family room. Hikari's head snapped around. It belonged to a girl with long light brown, almost blonde, hair and clear light brown eyes. She looked like she'd just walked out of the pages of a fashion magazine. Immaculately clean and put together, she was wearing a cotton strapless sundress that hugged her hips and then flared, stopping mid-thigh with brown sandals. Her arms were adorned with an assortment of bangles and a ring with a purple stone inset in the band. Hikari took all this in, slowly, allowing her eyes to study the outfit before meeting the girl's gaze. "Are you… Are you Hikari?" the girl asked.

"Yes. Who are you?"

A smile broke out across her face. "Mimi. Mimi Tachikawa. I haven't seen you since you were little. Girl! You've grown up so much. Come here." Before Hikari had a chance to fully process the situation, Mimi had pulled her into a tight hug and was rocking her back and forth. "You look gorgeous now. Oh! And here I thought I might actually have to do some work on you to make you look picture perfect. You're nearly there, and you aren't even wearing makeup. I am jealous."

Hikari could barely stammer out her gratitude at the compliments before Mimi was dragging her down the hall, through the family room, and out into the backyard where Taichi was running around the yard throwing a Frisbee with his friends. "Tai, you could have told me your sister was so pretty! I lugged my giant bag of cosmetics over here for nothing!" Mimi yelled, stomping towards him.

Taichi turned to face the girl addressing him, confusion evident on his face. When he saw Hikari, however, standing on the back porch looking lost, a large grin over took his features as everything clicked into place. "Kari!" he exclaimed, running towards her. "You should have known, Mimi," he continued, directing his attention to his upset friend. "She's related to me, after all. We Yagamis are an attractive lot."

He clamped his arms around her and lifted her off the ground, swinging her around. (It seemed to be the trend for the day.) "Tai," she repeated, grinning back. "I'm glad you finally bought time out of your busy schedule to come see me. Where's mom?"

"She stepped out for a bit. Afternoon tea with friends or something like that," he replied. "She won't be back for a while. We're on our own for dinner. My friends and I were discussing whether we should go out or order pizza."

"I think we should go out!" a girl with red hair exclaimed. "Tai owes me dinner anyway."

"I agree!" Mimi piped up. "And for the permanent damage caused by his withholding information about his sister, I think he should pick up the tab too."

"I can't afford to feed you two. You guys eat too much," Taichi shot back, though his light voice showed his jovial manner. Both girls replied with mock anger and shock.

"Are you calling me fat, Yagami Taichi?" the red-head flared.

"I would never!" Taichi replied, feigning shock and hurt at the suggestion.

"You should start running, Tai," a deep voice interjected. "Last time you called her fat, she got you good with her shoe. You had that bruise above your eye for weeks." Hikari could tell from the sound of his voice that the boy talking was extremely handsome. She loved a good deep voice. Even more comforting, the voice sounded vaguely familiar. Someone she'd known before she moved? Her thoughts were interrupted by Mimi's reply.

"Then make Yamato help you foot the bill."

"Oi, leave me out of this," the deep voice said again, his tone lightened by laughter. Oh yeah! Hikari'd been so busy watching the animated expressions of the two girls earlier that she'd totally forgotten to check out the owner of the voice. Now was her chance. She turned her heart beating eagerly in anticipation. She was not disappointed. In fact, it took all her willpower not to let her mouth flap open like an idiot. The boy had a tall, lithe figure, and was dressed to the nines in slim black pants, a deep blue sleeveless turtleneck, and a deep gray, short sleeved pulled over. The dark outfit made his long, floppy blond hair and his deep ocean blue eyes even more striking. Heat rushed to her cheeks.

"Yeah, yeah," Taichi replied, waving it off. "Guys, this is my little sister, Hikari. Let's see, Hikari, you've already met Mimi; the other girl is Sora, and the blond loser over there is Yamato, and the guy beside him is Hideki, the photographer." Her eyes landed on the light-haired boy she hadn't noticed before. He appeared fairly average—the epitome of forgettable with light brown hair, green eyes, and a typical college boy outfit: light wash jeans and an olive green t-shirt. Plus, he clearly had a quiet and laid-back demeanor that made it easy for people to overlook him, especially when surrounded by such strong personalities such as Taichi and Mimi. He was the proverbial wallflower. Nothing about him was unorthodox. Still, Hikari could tell he had a certain charm to him. She smiled, and he gave a little wave.

"Loser? Please, if I was any cooler, I'd be an ice cube," Yamato scoffed.

"If your comebacks were any cheesier, we'd be able to eat them with crackers. Now hush."

Hideki shook his head and added, "He's right, man." Taichi, meanwhile, turned his attention back to Hikari, his eyes shining. "What do you want to do?"

Hikari considered this a moment and then replied, "Let's go out. The least you could do after taking so long to come see me is buy me dinner."

Mimi hooted with laughter. "She set you straight, Tai!" she whooped.

Hikari flashed an angelic smile. "Now let's get started, shall we?" Yamato, Mimi, and Sora all jogged toward the siblings, talking amongst each other and laughing. Yamato dropped into a chair, while Mimi went and began sifting through a giant bag sitting on the table. Sora disappeared into the house and returned a moment later holding up a set of clothes on a hanger: a newsboy cap hanging on the hook, a lightweight, coral scarf wrapped around the neck, a white tank top, and a pair of jeans draped over the lower bar.

"I thought this ring might make a nice accessory too," Sora replied, slipping the hook of the hanger through the ring.

"Come. Sit," Mimi ordered. Without looking away from her bag, she used one hand to pat the tall bar stool beside her. Hikari did as she was told, waiting patiently while Mimi finished rubbing through her stuff. "Hmm… Sora's outfit is super relaxed, so something that looks pretty natural is the best choice. Your skin's pretty good, so this shouldn't take too long. All right." Mimi turned around and got to work.

ShoeBunny91: I'm doomed, Angie. I crossed one of the most popular girls in school today.

SurferBabeXOXO: Who?

ShoeBunny91: Miyuki. Takeru's girlfriend. She's like Alexandria

SurferBabeXOXO: Takeru…?

ShoeBunny91: Takeru. The guy I bumped into after school yesterday. I told you about him, didn't I?

SurferBabeXOXO: Oh, yeah. On your way to swim practice. Goodness. All these Japanese names sound the same. I can't keep up.

SurferBabeXOXO: But, okay. Tell me what happened.

ShoeBunny91: She insulted Miyako and then asked to be friends. I totally palmed her.

SurferBabeXOXO: You told her to talk to your hand?

ShoeBunny91: Not out loud, but basically. She wants to kill me~

SurferBabeXOXO: Well, it was nice knowing you, K. I'll miss you. :)

ShoeBunny91: Angela.

SurferBabeXOXO: I'm kidding. Don't worry about her, K. Your new friends will support you. Girls like her need to be put in their place. They don't own the school. Other kids no doubt feel the same way. It'll work out.

ShoeBunny91: I guess.

ShoeBunny91: We had Sports Fest sign up today.

ShoeBunny91: The Sports Fest is like Field Day at St. Claire's.

SurferBabeXOXO: Ah. Cool! What'd you sign up for?

ShoeBunny91: 100 meter dash and the girls relay.

SurferBabeXOXO: You will dominate both of those events, of course.

ShoeBunny91: I suppose. How's school?

SurferBabeXOXO: Well, speaking of spoiled, drama-queens, A was strutting around the cafeteria today acting like she owned the place, as usual. She stopped by our lunch table (you remember it right?) to say a couple snide remarks about you, so Miranda dumped her grape soda down A's new Chanel blouse in your honor.

ShoeBunny91: Hahaha! Grape soda. Good to know Miranda hasn't forgotten me.

SurferBabeXOXO: Miranda? Never. You know she's not one for computers. Can't figure out how to use them for the life of her. She's all over her phone though. She got a new one. I wonder if she knows she's got messenger on her phone…

ShoeBunny91: Yeah, probably not. Haha. I miss her. How is Miranda doing anyway?

SurferBabeXOXO: Well, she misses you too. She's pining like crazy. After Alex left, she spent the whole lunch period moaning about you. She sounds like a seahorse that's lost its spouse.

ShoeBunny91: Haha. Poor M.

ShoeBunny91: Say, shouldn't you be going to school?

SurferBabeXOXO: Yeah, but Miranda and I are cutting first period to go get a manicure, like we all used to do together. She says it'll make her feel better. I doubt it. She hasn't been sent to Headmaster Thomas at all since school started. Quite a feat for her.

ShoeBunny91: Wow, that doesn't sound like her at all. Well tell her I said hi. I guess I'll go. I've got some homework and mental preparation to do for tomorrow.

SurferBabeXOXO: Hey.

ShoeBunny91: ?

SurferBabeXOXO: If what's-her-face kills you, can I have your shoes?

ShoeBunny91: …

ShoeBunny91: Your concern for my well-being is simply astounding, Angela.

SurferBabeXOXO: :)

SurferBabeXOXO: See you around.

ShoeBunny91: Bye.

o-o-o-o-o

Thanks to Shire Folk, LiLTakariGirl aka Yami Aro, Storyteller of dimensions, Pebbles, Final Genesis, Takerus Lost Angel, and pandabear24.

Pebbles: Haha. Well, yes. My brain is in a million different places at once right now though. As soon as I get some of this stuff off my mind, hopefully I can start looking at TTTA again. I look forward to that longer review! -waggles eyebrows-

LiLTakariGirl aka Yami Aro: You're typing nonsense? I just typed several paragraphs worth of nonsense (my author's notes). Yes, you see correctly, though, I may throw a couple others in, just for good measure. As far Hikari's screenname goes, I choose "ShoeBunny91" because I could not think of anything better, and, for some reason, Hikari strikes me as the type of girl whose favorite article of clothing would be shoes—shoes because you can pick shocking colors without being seen as totally outrageous or crazy. It's a nice outlet for, what I perceive to be, a shy personality. The 91 is just from her year of birth, I guess? Random numbers, really.

Shire Folk: Yes, I'm going to try. Lots on my mind. And I did get your messages about it. I never really forgot about it. It was mostly finding the time and inspiration to continue.

Preview of chapter 4: Takeru looks forward to a normal weekend—his first in ages!—sleeping, hanging out with his friends, and more sleeping. However, catching a glimpse of Hikari at swimming practice leaves him in a weird mood that takes his weekend in the opposite direction, and eventually leads him straight to an unexpected doorstep: his brother's.

It's coming soon!