Chapter 4
I woke up early the next morning. Early, as in, 6:30 in the morning early. I tried to go back to sleep but couldn't. Instead, I got out of the bed, grabbed the uniform and walked down to the bathroom, careful not to wake anyone up.
There are no girl and boy bathrooms. There is one bathroom with the toilets and sinks. Then there are two seperate shower rooms, one for girls and one for boys. I guess they thought that sharing a place to shower was to risky, people could peek. But I've seen the shower rooms, and they are rooms. But, of course, sharing a toilet, that's fine, despite the fact that they're cubicles. God, figures.
There was no one in the bathroom when I walked in. Probably becuase it was six thirty in the morning. I let myself into a cubicle and got dressed quickly. The uniform was nothing fabulous, just a white shirt, pants and a black and navy stripy tie. I pulled my black hoodie over the shirt, loosened the tie, unbuttoned the top button of the shirt and walked out.
To my surprise, someone else was there. They were in front of the mirror, brushing their long, tangly pink hair. The person turned and azure eyes met with dark blue ones. It was Luka. She was dressed in her uniform: a white shirt, navy and black stripy tie and a skirt that cut just above her knees. She was wearing a black blazer over the shirt and some hideous black school loafers. I was just wearing some black sneakers.
Luka smiled slightly and turned back to face the mirror, but not fast enough for me to miss the look of panic that crossed her face. Why was she panicing?
I walked over and leant against the sink, watching her pull the hairbrush through her hair forcefully. There were loads of knots and the back was just a bunch of fluff really. Luka was having difficulty brushing the back, it was obvious. She was gritting her teeth, a look of determination on her face. I stood up and held my hand out. She looked at it, up at me and back at it, confusion on her face.
"Hand me the brush. I'll get the back," I mumbled, looking down at the ground. I was a little embarrased to be offering help. I looked up to see she was still looking at me with confusion. "Think of it as thanks. For last night," I added, referring to the earring incident.
Luka nodded and gave me the brush. I began brushing her hair. I knew to come down forcefully on the knots and then pick up that lock of hair and gently brush them out. I remember brushing Kaiko's hair when I was younger, tying it up in pigtails and putting clips in it. She very rarely had hair because of all the chemo so when she did, it was like a big celebration. I used to style it and she would put on fashion shows for Mom and Dad. I also remember never being given any credit for my hair styling.
I finished getting through the knots and pulled the brush through her long hair to smooth it out. Luka had more hair then Kaiko ever had. She never got past her shoulders before she went into a relapse and had to have chemo again, losing all of it.
I finally finished brushing Luka's hair, realising I did it all instead of just the back, which is what I said I would do. I gave her back the brush. Luka gave me a big smile, patted me on the shoulder and left. Nothing else, not even a thank you.
"Well, you're welcome!" I yelled after her, half sarcastic, half pissed off. I just cleared that girl's head of ten thousand knots, smoothed it out and brushed her whole head and she didn't even say a quick 'thank you'. Rude much?
I brushed my teeth quickly and walked back to my cubicle. People were starting to get up. I shoved the trousers and underpants I had worn to bed under the duvet and sat on the bed. Gakupo was still asleep. I smirked and picked up the pillow lying on my bed. I took aim and fired. It hit him square in the face.
"Wh-what?! I-I'm awake, I'm... Five more minutes..?"
I rolled my eyes and grabbed the pillow and whacked it off his head again. He jumped out of the bed and tripped, causing a big bang. He looked up at me with a glare. I shrugged it off and snickered at him.
"Everyone's getting up and I figured you'd need extra time to sort out that hair of yours," I said and walked out, swinging my school bag over my shoulder.
...
Afternoon class. Maths. It was so boring. I sat at my desk, listening to the teacher, Kiyoteru, ramble on about fractions. The dude looked as young, if not younger, than me. He insisted we call him Kiyoteru and he had a real baby face on him. And fractions?! Tell me, when am I going to have to know what an irregular fraction is in real life. Never!
"Now can someone tell me..."
I rested my head on my hand, drifting into a boredom coma. From the corner of my eye, I saw Meiko put her hand up to answer the question. Kiyoteru pointed at her and asked her to answer it. Meiko picked up a shred of paper on the desk and read it out.
"Sir, Luka says that it's equal to 7 and 5/8."
Oh ho ho. Luka says eh? Well then, why didn't Luka say it instead of getting Meiko to read it out? I leant back in the chair and waited for the teacher to tell Luka to speak up and say the answer herself. But he didn't.
"That's correct! Well done, Luka," he said and turned to write the answer on the board.
I was gobsmacked. My mouth was so wide that you could have parked a double-decker bus in it. I looked over at Luka to see her flush proudly. Meiko gave her a hug and then they continued to write down the notes on the board. Was I the only one with any sense?!
The bell rang for next class and everyone got up. I had Science but I knew Luka had English. I heard Meiko tell her so. I'm sure people wouldn't mind if I was, say, five minutes late?
I followed Luka down the hall and watched her split up from Meiko. I took that moment to strike. I reached out and grabbed her arm, forcing her into an empty classroom. When I was in there, I pinned her up against the wall, my arm pressed against her neck. Her eyes were wide and scared and her breathing was irregular.
"Why don't you speak, huh?!" I spat at her. Luka's eyebrows furrowed and she tried to wriggle away but I was too strong.
"You shy? Scared to? Well?! Tell me!" I yelled, pulling her forward and then pushing her back against the wall repeatedly. Tears were forming in her eyes, but I didn't care. Not until I heard her say something.
With tears flowing down her face, I saw her mouth try to form a word. But it took way too long. Her mouth quivered and started forming shapes that made no sense. She took a deep breath and tried again but everytime, her mouth would form irregular shapes and tremble. She stopped trying and hung her head. I lessened my grip on her and, at that moment, she pushed me hard and ran, a small trail of tears following her.
Can I have four more reviwes before the next chapter? Thank you to everyone who did review the last chapter including:
-Kegi Springfield
-Nerumi H
-SoraNoFuyu
-juju1994
-Jade
-karenanzora 90