Chapter 13: October 9th

"Miss, you told me to wake you up earlier today because you wanted to do something before school," Hinata said, "May I come in?"

"NO!" I shouted at her harshly, then catching myself, "I mean, no, thank you for waking me up. You can go now."

"Oh, alright then," she said, sounding confused and worried. I listened to her footsteps carefully to make sure she had left.

'Crying won't do you any good,' I told myself, grabbing a tissue and blowing my nose. 'I must be strong! It's my little sisters' birthday, and I will not spend it crying!' Now that I was determined, I went to the bathroom and washed my face before changing into a T-shirt and pair of baggy sweats. I pulled my hair back into a pony-tail then headed downstairs to the kitchen.

Georgina was there making my breakfast.

"Mornin' young lass," she greeted me; I didn't reply. Georgina looked me over strangely. "Are ya takin' over my kitchen again?"

"Yes, sorry," I apologized as I tied my apron around my waist.

"What you making for your fella this time?" she joked.

"I don't have a fella!" I exclaimed thoughtlessly; Georgina looked at me, confused at my outburst. I bit my lip and looked away. "I'm making cookies for my friends who were involved in... what happened last week, as an apology," I said, getting out the ingredients.

"Would you like some help?" she asked cautiously.

"No, thank you, I want to make these by myself," I said, keeping my eyes on what I was doing as I turned on the oven.

"Then, I'll just finish your breakfast," she started.

"You don't have to, I won't be eating it," I said as I measured out the sugar.

"Oh, well, then I'll just put this away and leave you to your baking," she said, seeming worried. She walked around the kitchen, putting away the food items she had gotten out for my breakfast.

"I'll be leaving now, miss," she said, walking out of the room.

I began tossing the ingredients into the mixing bowl and started mixing everything together. I rolled out the dough and cut it, not thinking about anything but baking.

I placed the cookies out on a cookie-sheet and waited for the oven to catch up with me.

I sighed and looked around the kitchen, my eyes landing on a bowl of fruit salad. Next to it sat a note.

Skipping breakfast isn't good for your health. I noticed how you love eating fruit, so I tossed together this quick fruit salad. Hope you like it, Georgina H.

I sighed, but the salad did look good, so I grabbed a fork and started eating it.

'I guess I have a problem with taking out my feelings out on others; I need to work on that.'

Hinata's point of view:

'Hmm, she seemed upset,' I thought, walking down the hallway to the kitchen.

"Good morning!" the cook greeted me.

"Morning Georgina," I replied, still concerned about the Miss.

"What is it?" Georgina asked.

"It's the Miss," I replied, "She seems upset about something."

"What do you mean?"

"She yelled at me this morning when I woke her up," I said, and Georgina laughed.

"I'm sure she's just irritated that you woke her up from a good dream," Georgina said with a grin.

"No, she sounded," I said, trying to find the right word, "Angry, but not at me. Just very upset over something." Georgina raised one eyebrow.

"Hmm," she said to herself. "Well, I'll talk to her and see what I think." I nodded, and just then, I heard the Miss walking down the stairs.

"I'll wait for you in the hall," I said and left the room through the secondary door.

"Okay," Georgina said as she returned to making the Miss's breakfast.

I stood in the hall and listened carefully, watching through a crack in the door as the Miss entered the kitchen.

"Mornin' young lass," Georgina greeted her. The Miss didn't reply; she did look as if she was upset, her eyes were red, and her expression seemed bothered. Georgina looked at the Miss. "Are ya takin' over my kitchen again?" Georgina asked.

"Yes, sorry," she apologized as she tied on an apron.

"What you making for your fella this time?" Georgina said jokingly.

"I don't have a fella!" she shouted, then she bit her lip and looked down at what she was doing. "I'm making cookies for my friends who were involved in... what happened last week, as an apology," she said, getting out ingredients.

"Would you like some help?" Georgina asked, concerned.

"No, thank you, I want to make these by myself," she said, sounding bothered as she turned on the oven.

"Then, I'll just finish your breakfast," Georgina started, but the Miss interrupted her.

"You don't have to; I won't be eating it."

"Oh, well, then I'll just put this away and leave you to your baking," Georgina said, and she started putting away what she had gotten out for the Miss's breakfast.

"I'll be leaving now, miss," Georgina said, walking towards the door where I was. She came out of the kitchen and pulled the door shut behind her.

"You see what I mean," I said, and she nodded.

"You're right. The Miss does seem strange today," she said, turning to me. "It's like, she's very mad about something. Do you think she's upset about going back to school?" I asked, and Georgina shook her head.

"No, that can't be it," She said, peeking back through the same crack in the door, as did I.

The Miss was roughly mixing the ingredients together, and we watched her as she rolled out and cut the cookies. Her expression was troubled but at the same time, sad looking. After she placed the cookies on a baking sheet, she sat back and sighed as she waited for the oven to get hot enough. Then she glanced over at the bowl of fruit salad on the counter. She walked over to it, sighed, then started eating.

Georgina and I backed away from the door, Georgina, with a grin, but it was short-lived.

"Glad she's eating something, but still, we have a big dilemma on our hands if our Miss isn't happy," Georgina said, thinking some to herself. I nodded in agreement.

"But what can we do? She doesn't like talking to others about her problems," I said, and we both stood there to think about it.

"I know who to call," Georgina finally said, and I looked up at her curiously.

"Who?"

Ayami's point of view:

After the cookies were in the oven, I changed into my school uniform then rushed back downstairs to take the cookies out of the oven.

The cookies were perfectly cooked, and I tried one, not too sweet, not too salty. I then placed some on a plate and left them on the counter with a note.

Sorry for yelling at you, Ayami

Then I made myself a quick box lunch, put the rest of cookies into two little gift boxes, and took them with me out to the car.

Chris was waiting for me as usual, and drove me to school in silence, same as usual. I arrived at school, and what I expected to happen did not happen. I was expecting stares, whispers, pointing, and people walking around me out of fear, but that did not occur. Some of the girls would look my way, but nobody acted as if they knew why I hadn't been in school for a week.

When I arrived at my class, I saw Shiori Maeda stand up at my arrival.

"Sohma-san," she said, sounding relieved.

"Hi?" I said, confused.

"I was so worried about you," she said as I sat at my desk. I glanced over at the desk next to me, but Misawa wasn't there, this bothered me a little but not enough to say anything.

"Oh, well, what-" I started, but just then, the teacher called the class to order, and everyone took their seat, but Misawa's desk was still empty.

Then Maeda put something on my desk. I looked at it; it was a notebook. I opened it and on the front page was a small note to me.

I took notes of all our classes while you were out, Shiori M.

I looked up at Maeda, and she winked at me; I gave her a slight grin.

Classes went by slowly, dull-ly, and I stayed in a zombified state until lunchtime.

When the bell rang, I sat forward in my seat and whispered to Maeda, "Let's find someplace to talk alone." She nodded and followed me out of the classroom. We walked through the school halls until we reached a hall near the gardens.

"So, what all happened?" I finally asked.

"Well, from what they're saying, Misawa transferred to another school." she said, "But I'm not so sure that's what happened because the teacher lied and said that you were out with the flu. I think they did the same with Kasanoda."

"Hmm," I said to myself, thinking it over.

'My dad probably threatened to have her suspended or something, and since it would go on her school record, her parents decided to pull her out of school and have her transferred instead.' I felt a shiver run down my spine, 'My dad is so creepy!'

"Sohma-san," she said, pulling me from my thoughts.

"Yes?" I asked curiously.

"Um about what happened," she said, fiddling with her skirt. "Well, you said something, and I just wanted to know... if it was true."

"What?" I asked, confused.

"Well, after you hit Misawa," she said, blushing, "you called me your friend." She stopped fiddling and stared me straight in the face, determined. "Did you mean that? Are we really friends?" I blinked and blushed slightly.

"Well, yeah," I said uncertainly.

"REALLY!?" She shouted happily.

"Sure, why not," I said, and she screamed and jumped up and down.

"Yay! I have a friend!" she said, hugging me, "We can have sleepovers and talk about boys, and we could eat lunch together and study together after school!" she began listing off excitedly; I looked around uneasily. "Oh!" she said, "and we can call each other by our first names! This is going to be so much fun!" She was still giggling and jumping around.

"Uh, okay," I said, "Just call me Aya then."

"You can call me Shiori," she said, and I smiled and nodded.

"Oh, before I forget," I said, reaching in my bag. "Here," I said, giving her the cookies, "I'm giving you these as an apology for getting you mixed up in my issues." She took the box of cookies and opened it.

"No!" she said looking up at me, for she was pretty short, "I'm glad I was involved in what happened, if it had not been me, then we would not have become friends." She smiled at me and took out two cookies handing one to me. "Let these be a sign of the start of our newly founded friendship!" she said; I smiled, and we shared the cookies together.

"Now I've got to go find Kasanoda," I said, pulling out the second box of cookies.

"Yeah, you should definitely apologize to him. He got a week's suspension, same as you." She said as she munched on the cookies; I sighed.

We started our search by asking around the school if anyone had seen him.

"Oh, I saw him, he was headed towards the gardens," one girl said.

"Thanks," I told her, and we made our way through the halls towards the garden.

"So," Shiori said as we were walking, "As your friend, I feel obligated to ask, is there something wrong?"

"Why do you ask that?" I asked.

"Because you're usually in a better mood, you seem... off today," she said, watching my expressions.

"Not really," I lied with a fake smile; she still looked concerned. "What about you?" I said, "You're acting a little strange today." She blushed.

"Am I? Sorry," she said with a sweatdrop, "I've just never really had any friends before."

"What? No way," I said, disbelieving, "Surely you've had friends before today."

"Not really," she admitted, "I had at home tutors all through elementary school. When I entered middle school, my parents entered me into an all-girls private school. The other girls thought I was strange because of my orange hair and green eyes; they would tease me about my freckles too. Ever since, I guess I've never really had the guts to ask someone to be friends with me. That's why I was delighted when you called me your friend!" She smiled widely at me, and I blushed slightly.

We walked into the gardens, and sure enough, sitting under "my tree" was Kasanoda.

"Uh, Sohma-san," he said, standing when we approached.

"Here," I said, shoving the cookies into his hands. "I made these as a way to apologize for getting you in trouble." He looked at them and blushed.

"Uh, no, it's fine," he said embarrassed. I was also blushing slightly, but I ignored this awkward moment and took a seat on the grass.

"We'll eat lunch here, Shiori-san," I said; her face lit up, and she sat down beside me, smiling.

"Yes, we will, Aya," she said with a giggle. Then she looked up at Kasanoda. "Will you be joining us for lunch?" she asked him, and he blushed slightly.

"En," he said, taking a seat next to us.

Thus our awkward little group was born; the socially awkward and overly excited one, the scary-faced softie, and the girl who acts like a dude.

Haruhi's point of view:

I was walking towards the garden, where I was sure Aya would be having lunch.

Sure enough, she was there with Casanova and the girl from the fight.

"Aya," I said, walking towards their little lunch group.

"Oh, Fujioka-san!" Casanova said; Aya looked up at me, and I noted the bags under her eyes.

"Oh hi, Haruhi," she greeted, but her smile seemed lifeless.

"How are you doing?" I asked, worried. "Maeda already told us about all that happened."

"Did she? Well, I'm doing fine," she said; it was totally a lie, she looked exhausted and tired, depressed even.

"May I sit with you?" I asked.

"Sure," she replied indifferently.

"Wow, Aya," Maeda said, "Your lunch looks amazing. Did you make it yourself?"

"Yeah," she said.

"That's amazing, you're such a great cook," Maeda said happily.

"Aya," I said, and Aya looked at me; her eyes looked dead. "Are you alright?" I asked doubtingly.

"I already said I was fine," she said, looking irritated, "Why are you asking me that again?"

"Because you don't seem fine," I said flatly.

"I'm just sleepy, I've been staying up late studying for the past few nights is all," she stated; I scrutinized her expressions. This time she seemed like she was telling the truth but not the whole truth.

When lunch was over, I pulled on Aya's sleeve.

"Could we talk for a bit?" I asked.

"Sure," she said. We walked over to a quiet spot.

"So what's up, why are you so down?" I said accusingly.

"I already said-"

"I know what you said, and I know it's a lie," I interrupted. "Something else is bothering you, what is it?" She looked away.

"You should already know what it is!" She shouted, sounding hurt, then she turned on her heel. "We're going to be late for class," she said, and she began walking away, leaving me there clueless.

I began the walk back to my class, trying to figure out what she meant by, "You should already know what it is!"

'I wonder what she meant,' I thought, putting a book in my locker. Then I caught a glimpse of my calendar and saw today's date.

October 9th

"Today is the triplets' birthday!" I exclaimed in realization.

Ayami's point of view:

Haruhi joined our lunch crew, and when the bell rang, she pulled me aside to talk with me.

"So what's up, why are you so down?" she asked.

"I already said-"

"I know what you said, and I know it's a lie," she interrupted, "Something else is bothering you, what is it?" I looked away. 'She doesn't know? How could she forget, she was there!'

"You should already know what it is!" I shouted, then I turned on my heel. "We're going to be late for class," I said, then I walked away.

The rest of my classes blurred by, and I fell back into my zombified state.

"Well," Shiori said when after the last bell rang, "Do you want to walk to our lockers together?"

"Sure," I agreed she smiled, but just then a teacher arrived at the door.

"Miss Sohma," she said, and I turned to look at her. She motioned for me to come talk to her.

"I'll see what she wants," I said, and I walked over to her. Shiori looked worried. "Yes?" I questioned the teacher.

"You have a phone call in the front office," she answered.

"Oh, okay, just a second," I motioned for Shiori to come over. She walked over, still concerned looking.

"I have a phone call, that's all, it's probably nothing really, but it looks like we won't be able to walk to the lockers together," I said.

"Oh, okay, then I guess I'll see you tomorrow, Aya," Shiori said, sounding a bit disappointed.

"En, see ya later," I said, grinning to her; she smiled and left the classroom.

I followed the teacher to the front offices.

"Here," she said, putting me in a small private office. Only one phone on a small table with two chairs. "Line one," she said, closing the door behind me.

I took a seat and answered the phone, "Moshi-moshi? (Hello?)"

"Ayami," I heard my mother's voice say.

"Mom!" I said, shocked, "Why are you calling me?"

"I'm not," she said, sounding irritated, "I just... well, your father is annoying." She sighed. 'What? Why? What did he do?' I wondered.

"What do you mean?" I asked curiously.

"Well, the bas*ard threatened me now he's forcing me to do this!" she said.

"Do what?" I asked. She grunted on the other end.

"This," she said again. "You're on speakerphone now." I was confused until I heard what she said next. "Girls, it's Ayami on the phone," she said. My eyes widened, and I threw my hand over my mouth.

"Really," I heard them all say in unison.

"Me first!" Meme said, probably grabbing the phone because I heard some thumping.

"Not fair!" Mimi shouted.

"Sissy?" I heard Meme roar.

"Hi girls," I said, feeling the tears surfacing, "Happy Birthday, my three four-year-olds!"

"Sissy!" they all shouted together.

"Why aren't you here?" Momo asked.

"Yeah, where are you?" Meme asked.

"I'm sorry, I broke my promise, I couldn't be there for your birthday," I said wiping away a stray tear.

"We got your gifts," Mimi said. I had sent them a week ago by mail, not knowing if my mother would let them have them or not.

"Yeah, thanks for the new soccer ball," Meme said.

"And for my new drawing book," Mimi said.

"And the new matching outfits you got for me and Pan-chan," Momo said. Pan-chan was her stuffed panda; she loved that thing to death; my first gift to her after I had come back from America.

"I'm glad you like them," I said, "So how you guys been? Did you get anything else?"

The three all started chattering on about what they got for their birthday gifts. Then they told me about their times at daycare and about Kotomi and Hero.

"Are they there?" I asked.

"We're here, Sissy," Kotomi said, "Hero too."

"Ow!" I heard him say; she must have hit him; I giggled.

"Hi," he said plainly.

"How are you guys?" I asked.

"I'm doing fine," Kotomi said.

"How's your saxophone lessons going?" I inquired.

"My teacher says I'm improving at an impressive rate," she said proudly.

"That's great! How about you, Hero?" I asked, "How's soccer going?"

"Fine," he said, trying to sound indifferent.

"Tell her!" Kotomi ordered.

"Ow! Fine! I got the open position on the school team as Goalkeeper," he said.

"Way to go, buddy! I knew you could do it! I'm so proud of you," I congratulated him.

"Whatever," he mumbled shyly, probably blushing.

"Okay, guys, it's time to say your good-byes," I heard my mother say.

"Aww!" The girls groaned together.

"But we just got started talking," Kotomi added, my mother must have given her a look because the next thing she said was, "Yes, Ma'am."

"Say good-bye," she ordered, probably to me.

"It's okay guys, I'll talk to you guys later," I said.

"See ya," I heard Hero say.

"Bye Sis," Kotomi said sadly.

"Bye-bye, Sissy," the triplets said together.

"Pan-chan and I miss you," Momo added.

"I miss you all too; love you all," I said, then my mother must have taken the phone.

"Okay, don't think this means you can call them whenever you want to," she said into the phone quietly.

"I understand," I said. "Thank you, mom."

"Yeah, whatever, bye," she said.

"Good-bye, love you," I added because even though she may hate my guts, the fact remains that she's still my mother, and the only one I have, so I love her.

She didn't say anything for a bit before she hung up the phone.

I put the phone back on its hook and bit my lip, trying to contain my joy. I walked out of the room and checked the clock, it was after club hours, and I was so going to tell Haruhi about this. I rushed through the halls towards the clubroom, my pace quickening into a run.

"Haruhi, you'll never guess what just happened!" I said, bursting through the doors to music room three. The club members all looked up at me in surprise.

"What is it, Aya-chan?" Honey asked.

"Aya, what happened?" Haruhi asked, confused. I giggled and grabbed her hands, spinning us around.

"I just got a call from the triplets!" I said, letting my feelings bubble out.

"Really," she asked.

"Mm-hmm," I said, nodding, "They got the gifts I bought for them, and they all like them a lot."

"That's great," she said, looking happy.

"I also got to talk to Kotomi and Hero and guess what," I said excitedly.

"What?" she asked.

"Hero got the Goalie position on the school soccer team," I said proudly.

"Oh! That's wonderful," she said, smiling.

"I know!" I said, still bouncy.

"No wonder you're so happy," she said; I looked at her then at the hosts standing behind us and blushed red.

"I'm allowed to be happy," I said embarrassed, and Haruhi giggled a bit.

"Yes, you are," she said. Just then, I received a text message on my phone; it was from Chris reminding me of a lesson I was late for.

"Crap!" I shouted. "I've got a lesson! I've got to hurry; see you later, Haruhi!" I called, running out the doors.

"Later," Haruhi said after I was already through the doors.

'This day didn't turn out as sad as I was expecting it to,' I thought as I ran a skip in my step and a grin on my lips.

~Thank you for reading~

~MiraCarpathia