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I'M SORRY!

I KNOW I SHOULDN'T WRITE ANYMORE STORIES, BUT I COULDN'T HELP IT

Readers: BOOOO

Me: SORRY NOT SORRY

Nami stepped warily into the school, her shoes barely making a sound against the linoleum flooring. Almost every head turned her way, but looked away almost immediately. The other girls turned their noses up, as if she was some disgusting thing that had just barged into their life.

Nami didn't seem as if she cared, but on the inside she was devastated. She thought that she could fit in easily, like she always did, but it seemed she was already deemed too different from everyone else. Her jeans and Fairy Tail T-shirt seemed like a good idea at the time, but once she looked around at all the neon shirts and short shorts, she realized that she stuck out almost as much as a person wearing neon in the middle of a bunch of gray. She sighed when she remembered that different states have different styles. Especially when you moved halfway across the world.

Her parents had recently divorced, so she was stuck with her over-protective mother and big sister. Her dad went off and sold their old house, causing Nami's mother to have to find a new house. Luckily, one of her brothers offered a house over here in Japan. Nami and her sister, Nojiko, lived with their mother, Bellemere. They lived in a medium-sized apartment, near to the school so Nami could walk there. Nojiko was already out of high school, and she was busy trying to get a job to help support the family of three.

Nami wanted to help, but her mother forbade her from getting a job until she was out of high school. It was an argument Nami could never win, no matter how much she protested. Bellemere was rock-hard in her decision, and when she was like that, nobody could budge her. Not even her daughters.

Now, as Nami walked down the halls, she realized that maybe she should've gone with her sister's idea, wearing all those bright colors and whatnot. Nojiko always seemed to know what to wear, every single day. But Nami thought she could handle it herself, because she wasn't a little kid that needed their mother to dress them every day. But now she was thinking maybe she should've let Nojiko have her way.

"Hey, new girl! What's your name?" someone asked, stepping up to block her way. He was wearing a bright yellow shirt that almost hurt to look at, with biege knee-length shorts and neon yellow Nike sneakers. His brown hair stuck up at the back, making it seem as if he gelled it that way. He had dark blue eyes that seemed to mock her, and he had a few freckles flecked across his nose.

"Nami," Nami muttered, trying to step around him. But the kid intercepted her again.

"Well, Nami, I just wanted to tell you that your shoe is untied," the kid said seriously, looking her straight in the eye. Nami caught herself glancing down at her battered converse, almost thinking she had forgotten to tie them. But the second her eyes left the boy's face, he laughed loudly.

"Made you look!" he howled, stepping out of her way. Some of the other kids laughed along with him, making Nami's face burn with embarrassment. She hurriedly walked away, wanting to get away from the taunting laughs. Her short, tangerine-colored hair almost came untucked from behind her ears, but Nami slowed down enough to where the danger of hair in her face passed. She looked at the floor to avoid the curious gazes, and so she wouldn't hurt her eyes with all the neon. She glanced at the schedule she had gripped tight in her hand, tight enough to crumple it. She smoothed it out the best she could, glancing at the first class she had.

"English, huh?" she murmured to herself. "Classroom B-15... Where's that?" She looked at the classroom nearest to her, and it had A-06 on the door. She looked ahead of her to see a large sign further down the hallway, with B Hall printed in bold, white letters and a large arrow pointing to the left. She assumed she'd find B-15 in the B Hall, unless the school had made lettered halls just to mess with the kids' heads. She found the right door quickly enough, and stepped inside with only a little hesitation.

But maybe she should've payed attention, because next thing she knew is that she's falling to the floor at an alarming speed. She squeaked loudly, ready for a face-plant, but before her face could meet the carpet, a strong arm wrapped around her waist and pulled her back up. Nami blinked rapidly for a second, trying to process what just happened, before she saw the boy that had tripped and caught her walking away from her. Suprisingly enough, he was wearing a non-neon, open red vest with sleeves that went a little past his elbows, and blue denim shorts that were knee-length and frayed at the bottom. He had a straw hat on his head, a red ribbon wrapping around it, with black hair peeking out from under the straw. An odd change from all the bright, obnoxious pinks and greens demanding attention.

"H-hey! Wait!" she called after him, almost tripping over her own feet to catch up with him. He paused and looked over his shoulder.

"Hey what?" he asked, as if he hadn't just saved her from face-planting.

"Um, thanks for catching me..." she murmured. The boy grinned, his dark eyes shining.

"No problem!" he said happily. He turned back around and continued to head to the back of the room. Nami watched him until he sat down, then looked around for a desk of her own. There was seven rows of desks, each row raised higher than the one before it. There was ten chairs to a row, as there were a lot of students in this class. There weren't any chairs open that she could see.

"Hey, you can sit back here with us!" the boy that she had just met called. She looked over to see him smiling and waving at her. She almost giggled, but stopped herself and casually walked over to him. There was an empty desk beside him, and she gratefully sank into it.

"Are you new here? I haven't seen you before," a girl with dark hair, piercing blue eyes, and a kind smile asked. She had sunglasses perched on her head, keeping her hair from covering her eyes. She had a mostly unzipped blue top, showing off a little more than Nami would've liked. A skirt covered her bottom half, but it was slit at the side.

"I just registered here. This is my first day. I'm Nami," Nami explained. The girl smiled.

"I'm Nico Robin, but you can call me Robin," she said, holding out a hand. Nami shook it, happy she made friends with someone that seemed normal.

"I'm Monkey D. Luffy!" the boy beside her suddenly said, smiling when she jumped at his sudden voice. She turned to meet his gaze, and he smiled even wider. Nami didn't notice before, but he had a small scar on his cheek and a large, X-shaped scar on his chest. A yellow cloth was tied around his waist, as if imitating a belt. "These are my friends," he said flippantly, waving a hand behind him. Nami looked at where he had indicated, and saw a bunch of strange people.

"Roronoa Zoro. Call me Zoro," the one behind Luffy grunted, leaning back in his chair. One of his black eyes was scarred shut, and he had emerald hair cut close to his head. His clothes were slightly curious; a completely leaf-green outfit, a darker green belly band, and he had a red cloth tied around his waist, styled like Luffy's was. Three swords-Nami didn't know why they were allowed in this school- were propped up against the desk, gleaming in the sunlight.

"I'm the great Usopp!" the fuzzy-haired boy behind her claimed, hand on his chest. His hair was black, like Luffy's, and he was wearing orange overalls with a fuzzy-looking belt. A tiny beard was on the bottom of his chin, looking like a small piece of lint. A pair of goggles hung around his neck, and he had a curious-looking bag slung over the back of his seat.

"I'm Brook! Yohoho~!" a bony guy, sitting behind Robin, sang. He had a black puffball for hair, and he was practically a skeleton. He had on a crown-shaped hat, and a pair of heart-shaped sunglasses rested over his eyes. He wore a suit, just like a famous star. He could really be famous, for all Nami knew.

"I'm Sanji," another boy, behind Zoro, said, checking her out. He was wearing a fancy suit, but not like Brook's. He had a small beard, and stubble on his face. A cigarette-Nami was certain this was a smoke-free school- was hanging from his teeth as he grinned at her. His eyebrows were insanely curly, as if trying to make all that looked at him dizzy. His blond hair was slightly long, covering one of his dark eyes.

"Cutty Flam, but call me Franky!" the robot-looking one, beside Robin, said. His light blue hair was shaven off, and he looked more like a punk-style cyborg than anything. His outfit consisted of an open Hawaiian looking shirt, with... was that a speedo? He was pretty bulky, as he seemed to be made of mostly metal. He was almost too big to fit in the small desks.

"Tony Tony Chopper," the smallest boy, sitting behind Usopp, said shyly. In fact, he wasn't even a boy. He was a tiny, brown-furred reindeer with a big blue hat with a white X covering his head. A small pair of horns and tiny brown ears peeked out of the hat. He was wearing a yellow and white vertically striped shirt, and orange shorts. A tiny blue nose peeked out under the hat, with large, dark eyes above it. He had a backpack slung on his own chair, and he was fidgeting awkwardly under Nami's gaze.

"I'm Nami. Nice to meet you all!" Nami said, smiling wide. Luffy grinned.

"Nice to meet you, too!" he greeted, ignoring the fact that the bell rang in the middle of his sentence. Everyone immediately quieted down.

"Okay, class, it's time to start english," the teacher said, coming in the door and standing in front of her desk. A white snake with red splatters followed behind, wrapping around her body. Nami heard Sanji make a weird sound behind her, probably gaping over the teacher. She wasn't wearing a standard teacher's outfit; she had on an elaborate violet dress, decorated with skulls, and a pair of golden snakes dangled from her ears. In fact, everything about this woman seemed snake-like.

"Oh, it seems we have a new student today!" Ms. Hancock spotted Nami sitting beside Luffy. Everyone turned to stare at her. Nami ducked her head, trying to be less noticeable. But Luffy just grinned at the stares.

"Smile, they're watching," Zoro mumbled, head pillowed in his arms, resting on the desk. Luffy laughed, causing everyone to look away in disgust. But Ms. Hancock just smiled warmly at Luffy.

"Okay, time to begin the lesson!" Ms. Hancock said cheerily. Everyone groaned loudly, except for Nami's new friends. They all just smirked knowingly, confusing Nami as to why they would be happy that class was starting.

"Why are you guys smiling?" she whispered. Zoro chuckled slightly.

"Hancock never gives us homework," he said back.

"Why not?"

"I don't know. Ask Luffy." Zoro gestured to the black-haired boy in front of him, who was currently folding a paper airplane. Nami was distracted from her conversation when she saw how smoothly he made the folds. She was almost mesmerized by his quick fingers that seemed to barely even touch the paper when he made a fold. Within a minute of starting, he had an intricately folded airplane in the palm of his hand. Nami gaped at the small plane; it's papery wings crackled slightly when Luffy turned it this way and that to check it out.

"I don't know if it'll reach..." Luffy muttered to himself, straightening the wing tips.

"Are you kidding me? That looks like it could fly anywhere!" Nami awed. Luffy glanced at her shining face, then laughed softly.

"You think?" he mocked her playfully, then tossed the airplane with a quick flick of his wrist. It soared close to the ceiling, then took a dive down towards Ms. Hancock. Without even glancing up, Ms. Hancock grabbed it out of midair.

"Who threw this...?" she asked dangerously. Everyone immediately pointed to the perpetrator, who was wearing a face-stretching grin.

"Sorry, Hammock!" he apologized, not sounding sorry in the least. Nami winced at his disrespectful tone, worrying about his safety. But Ms. Hancock surprised her. The teacher sighed quietly, before giggling.

"Please don't throw paper airplanes at me, Luffy-kun!" she said gently, tossing the plane back to him. It flew right to his open hand, not even making a sound. Luffy grinned at her.

"Sure, Hammock!" he said agreeably, tossing the paper in a high arc to someone in the front of the room. Oddly enough, it was a boy with a fuzzy, leopard-spotted hat. Dark hair barely showed under the brim. He was wearing a long, black coat, even though it was still technically summer. And, just like Zoro, he had a sword resting against his seat. When the plane landed on his head, he shot a death glare at the boy that threw it. Luffy just motioned for him to throw it back.

"Come on, Traffy! Throw it already!" Luffy whined. Traffy, as Luffy called him, took the plane off of his head. Nami watched him, curious to see how he would react. And she was met with a very rude gesture, and a crumpled paper plane flying right at Luffy. It bounced harmlessly off of his forehead, but Luffy pouted anyways.

"Traffy! That was mean!" He picked up the crumpled plane, examining it with a frown. "What a waste of a perfectly good plane..." he muttered, throwing the paper into the trash. Even though the trash was at the front of the room, and he was in the back.

"Okay, Luffy-kun! Can you please let me continue class?" Ms. Hancock asked sweetly, giving Luffy a smile. Luffy shrugged, as if he couldn't care less.

"If you want to," he answered, putting his hands behind his head and leaning back until his head rested on Zoro's desk. Zoro grunted in annoyance, but allowed it. For now.

This Luffy guy is so weird. It's like everyone just immediately loves him. Except for the so-called popular kids, that is, Nami thought, spotting the neon kids glaring at the straw-hat-wearing boy. He was completely oblivious to the hate, choosing instead to fake-snore loudly enough that Usopp chuckled.

"Class! Pay attention to me, not Luffy-kun!" Ms. Hancock demanded, rapping her desk with her pencil. Every eye was immediately on her. Except Luffy, who was still fake-snoring away.

"Homework for tonight is to write something you remember from when you were little. No exuses for not remembering! If you can't remember anything, ask your parents or guardians to tell you a story," Ms. Hancock said, just barely finishing before the bell. The students slid gratefully out of the hard seats and practically ran out of class.

"Luffy-kun! I hope you write one for me!" the teacher said, winking at the boy. He just smiled and shrugged, as if he was saying "Maybe, maybe not".

"Hey, Nami! You coming?" Luffy called to the orangette. She looked up to see his wide smile, his eyes warm and inviting. Nami allowed a tiny smile and followed the group of eight out into the hall.

"So, what do you have next, Nami-swan?" Sanji cooed. Nami checked her schedule.

"I have... history," she answered. Sanji visibly deflated.

"My class isn't the same as Nami-swan's..." he said dejectedly, suddenly finding the ground the most interesting thing in the world as he headed to his class. The others murmured good-byes before going their own ways. Except Luffy, Usopp, and Nami.

"I have history, too!" Usopp cheered.

"Then us three can go together!" Luffy said happily.

"Three..?" Nami asked.

"I have history, too. With Mr. Buggy, right?" Luffy looked at her schedule upside-down. "Yup. Just follow me and Usopp, we know the way." He turned away from her, adjusting the hat on his head to fit more comfortably.

"Okay," Nami whispered, quickly chasing after him in case the Neons-as she had nicknamed them- saw her. Surprisingly, when they saw Luffy, everyone stayed at a distance. Nami looked at Luffy, expecting him to look hurt or at least confused, but he just grinned wider and walked past them without sparing a glance. Nami was surprised by his calm manner, but continued to follow for bully protection. Oh, and because he was her friend. That, too.

"Buggy! I'm here!" Luffy called, bursting into the room noisily. Every kid looked over before turning away hurriedly, as if the door just blew open by some passing wind instead of the loud, obnoxious boy.

"Ah, Straw Hat! Nice of you to flashily show up on time!" the teacher, presumably Mr. Buggy, snarled. But there was a smile on his painted-on face, even if it was a little forced. To Nami, he looked like an escaped clown from a passing circus. He had a big, red nose stuck to his face, and his hair and stubble was green and blue. He had on white gloves that looked like Mickey Mouse's gloves, and he had on a giant, pirate-like hat.

"Well, I had to bring Nami here. And I'm pretty sure she doesn't want to be late," Luffy said, walking right past the clown-like man. Mr. Buggy immediately looked at Nami.

"Oh, a new student? Please flashily introduce yourself!" Mr. Buggy grinned, going to his desk and sitting down. Usopp laid a hand on Nami's shoulder, as if to reassure her, then followed Luffy to the back. The bell rang, and every student in the room went quiet.

"Hello, I'm Nami," Nami said shortly, not wanting to take longer than she had to in front of everyone. She quickly stepped to the back, noticing that every seat around Luffy, except for the one Usopp was taking up on Luffy's left side, was completely devoid of any kind of life. Well, there was a spider on one of them, but that didn't count. Nami sat down in the desk on Luffy's other side.

"I'm bored!" Luffy whined loudly, banging his head on his desk. Mr. Buggy shot him a harsh glare, standing up from his office chair.

"You better keep quiet, Straw Hat! You don't want a detention, do you?" he hissed. But his eyes held the real venom, malice clear in his black pupils.

"No, I don't. I mean, yeah, I don't. Wait..." Luffy lifted his head up from the desk, his brow furrowing. "How do I answer that?"

"YOU DON'T ANSWER IT!" Mr. Buggy screeched angrily, stepping closer to the student. Luffy blinked.

"But aren't you supposed to answer every question the teacher asks you?" he asked innocently. Mr. Buggy was visibly annoyed, his brow twitching heavily.

"Not if they're rhetorical," he snapped, turning away to end the conversation.

"Okay, big nose guy!" Luffy chirped. Mr. Buggy visibly twitched, but pretended that Luffy was just the wind that couldn't do anything to him. Just a loud, annoying, straw-hat-wearing wind that liked to make fun of his nose...

"WHAT DID YOU SAAAYYY?!" Mr. Buggy screamed. Nami just about leaped out of her chair in fear.

"Nothing," Luffy lied, looking away nervously. Mr. Buggy was still fuming, but he stomped to the front of the room.

"Let's flashily begin the lesson!" he growled. As he wrote on the whiteboard, Nami started taking notes.

"Psst!"

She pretended not to hear as she scribbled down another word.

"Psst! Nami!"

Sge pressed the pencil down harder than she should've, dulling the tip much quicker.

"PSST! NAMI!" Luffy whisper-shouted right next to her ear.

"What?" she snapped, giving Luffy a death glare.

"What does rhetorical mean?"