CHAPTER 15 (Rachel Hazukashi)

I groaned, sitting on my bed in the dorm.

Where is Maxine? She hasn't been here all day, I haven't seen her since the ball!

I frowned, remembering how Takuma had tensed up at the dance two nights before. He had quickly returned to his cheerful self, shrugging it off as he had pulled me onto the dance floor.

I wonder...if Takuma's change in mood could have anything to do with Maxine's absence?

I shook my head. I was being silly. Maxine was probably just...

The door creaked open slowly and Maxine poked her head in. I jumped up, hugging her.

"Maxine! Where have you been?!" I demanded.

"Erm, the Moon Dorms..." she trailed off guiltily.

I blushed as I thought I realized what she meant. "Oh... erm... how...was it?" I asked, rubbing my hand across the back of my neck awkwardly.

What am I supposed to say in this situation!

"I didn't think Kaname was that kind of...erm, nevermind. I'm glad you, uhm, had fun?" I looked down, embarrassed.

Maxine's eyes widened, finally understanding what I was talking about. "HOLY CRAP NO! No no no no no that is NOT what happened!" she frantically replied, waving her hands in front of her face.

Suddenly, I realized it. Maxine's presence...it felt...different. I frowned, concentrating and watching as she sheepishly shuffled over to her bed and began to place her belongings into her suitcase.

"Maxine," I asked suspiciously.

"Uhm...yeah?" she asked, refusing to meet my eyes.

"Why are you packing?" I cross my arms. Maxine paused, not saying anything.

"Because I'm moving out." she finally muttered.

We both sat in silence for several minutes.

"Maxine, you're a vampire now." I finally blurted, unable to hold the statement in any longer. There was no question in my voice, only a sad finality.

She zipped up her suitcase, having packed remarkably quickly. Her hair fell across her face, shielding her eyes from me. She made her way to the door, avoiding my eyes. I stepped in front of the door and reached out to Maxine, putting my hand on her shoulder.

"I'm sorry, Rachel." she said.

"Maxine, why didn't you tell me? You should know that you can come to me with anything...I'm happy for you! Did you think I wouldn't be?"

Maxine looked at me. "No, it wasn't that. I feel bad, leaving you all alone with the whole Guardian thing."

"I'll be fine, I always am." I smiled sadly, realizing she was right. A wave of sadness washed over me as I realized how close we had become, and how much less of each other we would see now that she was in the Night Class.

"But hey, at least we can still see each other, right? I mean, it's not like you won't be spending every spare second of your time in the Moon Dorms anyway." Maxine grinned and winked at me.

I forced a chuckle. "True..." I looked down at her two suitcases. "Here, I'll help you take your stuff over to the dorms."

Maxine and I chatted as we walked across the grounds back to the Moon Dorms, however for the first time the quiet conversation felt forced between us. Relief came when we reached the dorms, however.

"Oh!" I said, happy to find some way that I could be of use. "Why don't I introduce you to everyone? Officially, you know?" I smiled and put Maxine's suitcase on the ground beside me.

"Erm, about that..." Maxine began awkwardly. "Kaname kinda already introduced me to everyone..."

I tried to stay positive. "Oh. Well just as well! I know you'll have a great time here, Maxine."

Kaname looked over at us and quickly walked over. "I missed you, my dear." Kaname smiled at Maxine. Maxine smiled back at him and he took the suitcase from the floor beside me.

"Thank you for walking her back, Rachel." Kaname turned to me before he led Maxine up the stairs. Maxine was beaming up at him affectionately before she quickly turned around and waved to me over her shoulder.

I waved sadly from the door before the two of them disappeared into the hallway. I deflated, feeling more useless than I ever had before.

I turned around sadly, feeling hollow. Takuma walked up to me and touched my elbow reassuringly.

"Hey," he said softly. "What's wrong?" I forced a smile and shook my head.

"Nothing, I'm happy for her. I'll see you tomorrow, ok?"

Takuma's eyes narrowed slightly as he looked into my eyes, trying to determine whether or not I was really ok. I could tell that he didn't believe me, but I was thankful that he merely pecked me on the cheek and let me go, saying goodbye sweetly.

At least I still have Takuma.

I trudged back to the dorm, feeling the cold rain sting my skin. I rushed inside and up to my dorm, seeking warmth. When I reached the room I changed out of my wet clothes and surveyed the room, realizing how empty the room was without Maxine. I sighed before I collapsed on my bed, drifting into a dreamless sleep.

I woke up and looked at the clock, shocked by how late it was.

Crap! I've already missed first period! It was always Maxine who woke me up every morning...

I jumped out of bed, donning my uniform in a matter of minutes after a quick shower. I rushed outside, noticing with dismay that it was still pouring. I groaned and held my books over my head as I ran to the calssrooms. It was passing period, so I had enough time to make it to my next class without too much difficulty.

I groaned as I shook the water off of me and wrung out my hair, hoping to quell the dripping. The bell rang and the teacher began his lecture shakily. I frowned as I once again noticed Maxine's absence. We usually talked all of that period, seeing as the teacher never really taught us anything, and we were both smart enough to grasp the concepts without his lectures.

Instead, however, I sat alone, dripping from the rain. The girls in front of me murmured conspiritorially as they looked at the empty seat next to me. Finally, the large girl who had pushed me over that one day during the Switchover turned around.

"Where's your little friend now? Gone? To the Moon Dorms, right?" The girl sneered. "You know, first it was Zero, then the New Girl. I guess they both just couldn't stand to have to spend so much time with you, huh?"

I clenched my fists. "She has a name, you know."

"I'm sure." she looked disdainfully down at me. "Hey, Alyssa," she turned to her scrawny friend who's hair sat flat, dull, and lifeless against her face. "I just thought of something interesting. You know, Takuma and Maxine know each other, right? Well maybe, when New Girl shows up and doesn't know what to do, Takuma will just have to help her, being the gallant gentleman that we all know him to be. Perhaps it's love in the making? Besides," she turned her attention back to me. "It's not like he would leave you for someone prettier in a second. You're just his consolation prize, you know."

By now, I was clenching my fists so tightly that my fingernails had begun to dig into my skin. I stood quickly, shaking with anger. Before I knew what I was doing, I had shoved my chair backwards and my fist had already connected with the big girl's obnoxious face. I pulled my hand away, hardly noticing the pain that was pulsing through my hand.

"Hazukashi!" The teacher cried with horror as he rushed up to me and the girl. "Go to the Headmaster's Office, now." I silently grabbed my bag and walked out of the room, leaving the girl sobbing with her friends all gathered around her worriedly.

Several thoughts rolled around in my head during the long walk to the Headmaster's Office. I had never punched anyone before, no matter how badly I had ever wanted to. I had never been a delinquent, I had always been the girl that got good grades, that teachers loved, that could handle anything. It was a strange sensation, to be so out of my element, however I was too preoccupied by the throbbing in my hand to think too much about it.

I reached the Headmaster's Office, opening the door gingerly with my good hand. I avoided the Headmaster's disapproving gaze while I sank down into the chair across from his desk.

"I'm disappointed in you, Rachel. You are a Guardian. You should be setting an example for the other students, not causing trouble. I understand that sometimes it is difficult to control your emotions, but that is part of the responsibility that we all must bear. I thought you could handle that responsibility, but I'm not so sure anymore."

I let out an aggravated breath, angry again. How could Headmaster Cross be such a hypocrite? He walked around all day long shirking his responsibilities as headmaster and goofing off, and then he lectured me when I worked all day and all night trying to keep my grades up and do my Guardian duties? Which were now going to get a lot harder?

I clenched my fists again, however crossed my arms to hide them. I closed my eyes, taking a deep breath to control my anger. I knew I was just tired and hurt, and it wasn't fair to take it out on Headmaster Cross.

I opened my eyes, resigned and ready to take whatever punishment Headmaster Cross had in store for me. All of the sudden, I heard the door behind me swing open. I craned my neck to see who had accidentally intruded on our conference.

"You said you wanted to see me, Headmaster? Wait- what are you doing here, Rachel?" Takuma asked, bewildered when he saw me.

I turned to Headmaster Cross, angry once again. I leaned forward and asked in an accusatory voice, "You called my boyfriend on me?!"

Headmaster Cross adjusted his shawl and cleared his throat nervously before he relayed the events of what had happened in class to Takuma. When he was finished, Takuma looked over at me and muttered something to the Headmaster. I couldn't hear them, but I didn't particularly care at the moment.

Takuma finished speaking with him and walked over to me, helping me up out of the chair before walking me outside. We stood outside of the Headmaster's Office, watching the rain fall against the windows outside. Suddenly, I felt Takuma's hands gently caressing my hurt one. I grimaced in pain.

"Sorry," Takuma apologized before we walked down to the Infirmary. We slipped inside and found a bag of ice, which Takuma then held over my hand to stop the swelling. After a moment of silence, Takuma turned, wrapping me in a tight hug wordlessly. I hugged him back with my free arm and slowly, the floodgates opened and the tears flowed down my face.

Takuma pulled away, only slightly, so that he could reach up and gently wipe the tears from my eyes with his thumb. I let out a shaky laugh before telling him exactly what happened. How I had been feeling left out with Maxine, how stressed I was with having to take over all of the Guardian duties alone, and what the girl in class had said to me. After hearing this, Takuma was fuming as well.

"Rachel, you know that you're the only girl for me. Maxine is a lovely girl, but she's no you. She's perfect, but for someone else. You are, and always will be, the only one I can ever see. I absolutely adore you, and you know that, right?" he looked worriedly at me. I laughed.

"Of course I do, Takuma. I feel the same way, and honestly. I know you, probably better than I know myself, and I know when you're telling the truth or not. It was because I know that you love me that I was so angry. If I hadn't, I would have just been hurt. I wouldn't have had the guts to punch her like that if I was. I just felt like I had to... like I had to defend you, Maxine and everyone else she unknowingly insulted. She's ignorant and foolish and I just couldn't take it anymore. I'm sorry." I looked down, ashamed.

"Why are you apologizing to me? Personally, I think I would have liked to see you punch her. You're a lot stronger than you look, and I know I wouldn't want to be on the other end of that fist of yours." Takuma smiled affectionately at me and pulled me into another bear hug.

He pulled away, taking my hand and leading me towards the Moon Dorms.