Simple & Sweet - 1

"You will be attending Ouran High tomorrow."

Those were the news that hit Kathetina hard. She didn't want to go to a high school filled with rich brats that show off all their money. Although she was just as rich as them, she didn't find showing fancy jewelries and designer bags off fun. What does she get for doing that besides getting compliments. Nothing. She didn't want to deal with snobby kids.

The teen pouted, "But Father, the students who attend there are intolerable." She stared at the thirty-four year old man across her.

"I understand," he sighed. "But you need to learn more about business, Katherina. Not just the basics."

She nodded. "I'll go," trailing off. "But have you seen their hideous uniform? I feel like a fat duck just watching girls walk around!"

"I can do nothing about that, sweetie."

Katherina slammed her hand on his desk, "Let me wear the boy's uniform. I can take the blazer and just find a skirt."

Her father slowly nodded, "We will see if they can tailor the uniform to your size."

"I'm not that small!" Katherina gasped. "I'm 4'10. I grew centimeter."

He mumbled, "Sure you aren't."

"Hey!" Katherina shouted, quite offended.

"Wear something nice that is temporary for a few hours. I'm sure they'll get your size as soon as you arrive," he told her.

He checked the time and cleared his throat. "It's late. You need a good night's rest for tomorrow."

"Alright. You need some rest too, Father."

§ • § • §

Katherina watched her maid in amusement, who stood there crossing her arms and shaking her head. 'I guess she didn't like my outfit for today. I think it's nice.' she mused.

"Miss Stavros," she let out a sigh. "Care to explain your outfit?"

Grinning, the teen said, "Well Father didn't tell me the kind of outfit I should wear. He just said a nice one. And it's pretty nice."

"You look like a commoner, Miss Stavros."

"Wealthy people wear sweats too, Maria," Katherina told her. "I'll be changing in my uniform as soon as I arrive there."

Maria pinched the bridge of her nose and let out a stressed sigh. "Please. Go back to your room and change."

She glanced at the clock and smiled. "Oh! Will you look at that! It's time for me to leave!"

"Katherina Nesoi Stavros! Come back here!"

"Don't worry, Maria! It's not like my outfit will ruin my image!"

§ • § • §

'Look at her!'

'Oh my gosh, is she a commoner?'

'But everything she's wearing is worth thousands!'

Katherina walked around the school with her eyes squinted. The school was unbelievably pink and it hurt her eyes. She probably looked intimidating the way she narrowed her eyes and stared at the students that looked at her.

'Wow. She's as short as Honey-senpai!'

'How cute.'

She quickly headed inside the headmaster's office. "Good morning!" she chimed.

The headmaster stood up from his desk and greeted her. "Miss Stavros!" he shouted happily. "I am honored to have such a lovely and influential young lady attend Ouran High!

"Thank you, Mr. Suoh," she smiled at him.

"Come sit. We will talk about your schedule and uniforms!" he said, gesturing to the seats in front of his desk.

"I see that your father has ordered a customized uniform. Do you not like our dress?" he started.

Katherina gave him a polite smile, "To put it bluntly, no. I do not, unfortunately. It's not my style. My apologies if I insulted you."

"It's fine. Your uniform just arrived an hour ago," Mr. Suoh said, placing the nearly folded clothes in front of her.

"Wow. So fast."

The headmaster chuckled, "Fortunately, another student had an extra blazer for you. It was customized as well and also the same size. Don't worry, it wasn't used."

"So you just had to order a skirt?"

"Yes, along with socks and heels of your size," he said. "Now, with your schedule. Your class, 3-A will be on the third floor. I'm sure some of the students will give you a tour."

Katherina nodded and gathered her things. "Thank you, Mr. Suoh. I'm sure I'll enjoy this school if I don't bump into intolerable people."

"Make sure you change before going to class. I'll excuse you if you become tardy. It is your first day after all." He chuckled.

The new transfer student bowed her head before leaving the office and went to the nearest bathroom to change her clothes. When she finished, she looked at her reflection.

"Way better than the dress," Katherina murmured to herself with a smile on her face.

Katherina walked around the campus for a quick little tour and some fresh air. Her long, black hair flowed through the wind and her grey eyes reflected the bright sun. It was a beautiful day. She loved the weather, but didn't really like her surrounding. In Greece, a weather like this would be a perfect day to swim in the blue ocean.

She let out a sigh, finding herself missing her home.

§ • § • §

Honey tapped his pencil impatiently. He was too excited to leave class and eat cake. The lecture the teacher was giving was something that he already learned awhile back, so he just stared off into space.

'Hey! Look at her uniform.'

'Why is she wearing the boys' blazer?'

Whispers from the students near the window intrigued him and caused him to look out the window. A girl stood underneath the cherry blossoms and stared at them in awe.

"Woah~!" The small boy gasped. "Isn't she cute, Takashi?" His cousin just took a quick glance and grunted in agreement.

Honey looked closer and just like what the other students said, she was indeed wearing the boy's uniform, but with a skirt.

"She's so short~!" He cooed.

A few minutes after watching her, he had decided to invite her to the Music Room. Now that she already disappeared, Honey had nothing to do but doodle bunnies in his notebook.

A knock was heard and the door immediately opened, showing the same girl from outside. People gasped as they saw how she looked like up close.

"Ah! You must be Miss Stavros!" The teacher beamed. She nodded as she walked up to the front.

"Care to give the students an introduction?" He asked her.

She smiled and said, "Will do!" She waved at the class. "Geiá sou! My name is Katherina Nesoi Stavros. You can call me Rina-san/chan. I'm seventeen and I love to eat steak. Questions?" Many questions were thrown at her at the same time.

'Are you foreign?'

'Single?'

'How tall are you?'

Katherina laughed sheepishly and scratched the back of her neck. "I'm Japanese and Greek. And yes, I am single. To my dislike, I am 4'10 and I dream of being at least 5'4."

"Don't you think that dream is quite impossible?" a girl asked, giggling.

"Why, yes! I still think it will come true! I don't think I've hit my growth spurt yet. A girl's gotta dream, right?"

A boy threw another question. "Are you from Japan?"

"No. I was born and raised in Greece. I just came to Japan a few months ago."

The teacher laughed, "Alright. Miss Stavros, thank you for that interesting introduction." He gestured to an empty seat next to a little boy.

"Please sit next to Mr. Haninozuka."

Katherina nodded and walked over to her desk, smiling at her new classmates. When she sat down, Honey flashed a smile at her, flowers suddenly appearing in the background.

"Hi!" He whispered. "I'm Haninozuka Mitsukuni! You can call me Honey!"

The girl smiled. "Honey, huh?" She muttered, her Japanese accent replace by her American accent.

"You seem like you're fluent in English!" Honey gasped.

"I am," Katherina giggled, trying not to sound like she's showing off. "How about you, Honey?"

He pouted, "No."

"I should teach you then!" she gasped. "You're my new friend from now on!"

The two's eyes sparkled and giggled together.

"Yeah! Friends!" Honey cheered quietly. "I should introduce you to the others, Rina-chan! You'll love them!"

Honey pointed at his cousin and whispered to Katherina. "This is Morinozuka Takashi, my cousin. You can call him Mori though!"

"My, we have such long names!" Katherina smiled. "Hello Mori-san!" He gave her a slight nod as a greeting.

"Have you already gotten tour around the school?" Honey asked.

Katherina shook her head and answered, "No. I just looked around the garden. It's very pretty."

"It is, isn't it?" Honey agreed.

That was the end of their conversation before going back to work. Sometimes, they challenge each other with a doodling contest, but it turned into a real drawing contest when she drew the whole class from her point of view, impressing the little boy with her art skills.

Before long, the bell rang and the students quickly flooded out into the hallways. Katherina took her time packing her things inside her bag. She left the class and didn't expect to see Honey and Mori waiting for her in the hallway.

"You should come and meet my friends afterschool," Honey said. "You're invited! It'll be fun, right Takashi!"

"Yes."

Katherina bit her lip in thought and nodded her head. "Sure!"