CLASHING OF HEARTS

Hey, a beginner here. So excuse my writing mistakes.

hope you enjoy this story! :D

Chapter 1

The ticking of the clock's sweep hand seems to be louder as if a bomb going to explode any minute now.

"I'm gonna be late for my next part-time job." I told restlessly while walking from left to right.

The mother of the 2-year-old boy I am babysitting should have arrived half-an-hour ago but she still isn't here now.

If I am late for even a second, the boss would surely scold me to death. And that definitely not gonna happen. I've seen the angered boss before and I got a feeling I would be grilled alive. It gave me shivers just imagining it.

I kept looking at the clock and it's nearly 7 o'clock in evening. I got more uneasy then I heard the front door open.

"Ara, I'm sorry for being late Mikan-chan," said the woman wearing an office suit. She's quite an average middle aged woman I've been working with since 2 months ago. I babysit her child when she's gone to work after school.

"It's alright, ma'am. Hiro-kun is a good boy, ne?" I smiled towards the boy but behind this smile I have anxiousness. I couldn't wait to go.

The boy smiled back cutely with his rosy cheeks.

"It's fine for you to go now. Here. Thank you for your hard work." She thrust a £20 note to my hand. I took it but there's a slight feeling of shyness. Well, I need and earn it for my sake and the people who are important to me.

"Thank you, Ma'am. I'll be going then. Bye." I grinned sheepishly and walked slowly backwards then rushed after the door was closed.

"Oh crap" Time is 6:45 pm, in 15 minutes my shift will start in my next part-time job. I charged to my bicycle parked just in front of the door and rode it in a blink of an eye.

"Excuse me! Out of the way! Let me pass." I shouted desperately to everyone as I pedalled through the sidewalk. As I go through the crowd, pedalling hard and fast. I'm on a high speed of 220 mph, faster than most of the super cars!

I know the people looked dumbfounded as they don't know where that gust of wind came from and left them looking at what's left to be a bicycle's trail on fire.

"Aah, MOVE!" I shouted when suddenly a taxi stopped in front of my path. With this speed, I couldn't stop, but with my cycling expertness and elastic movement I avoided it by jumping at the roof of the taxi and landed safely.

"I'm sorry!" I yelled at the taxi driver and dashed again at high speed.

While I'm busy cycling my way to my work. I should introduce myself first. I'm Mikan Sakura, 16 years old and probably the busiest girl you could ever see.

There's only one reason why I'm working hard and rushing most of the things I do. I have five jobs every morning and night. Delivering newspaper, babysitting, gasoline girl, waiter and delivery girl, you call it and I'm all around. And that's for the sake of the orphanage which is going to be demolished soon if we don't pay the debt. Because Grandpa has been conned by the loan sharks and we are in a pinch now.

Yes, I am an orphan. I've been living in an orphanage since I was a baby, that's what Grandpa told me anyway.

At last, 1 minute to 7 and I arrived at the Seafood restaurant. The place where I work as a waitress and a delivery girl, it is just a normal restaurant where people enjoy eating fresh seafoods.

I was panting my heart out when I entered. I'm also relieved when the boss was busy at the kitchen and didn't realize that I'm nearly late.

"Sakura! Table 4, she's waiting. Take her orders." The man in his 40's shouted.

"Hai, coming!" I said and put on my normal smile and acted as if I'm not exhausted at all even though I really am.

I couldn't even take a break for a minute but I'm not complaining about it. It's good to be this way at least I'm getting paid.

"Good evening! May I take your order?" I asked to the customer. As soon as my hazel nut eyes shot into a pair purple eye, I froze. She's talking to me but my mind's buzzing and eyes sparkling in admiration.

"Uhm..excuse me?" said the girl. I startled when I was awakened in my trance by her impassive voice.

"Yes?" I responded quickly before she thinks I'm deaf.

'She's beautiful.' I murmured but quickly covered my mouth, scared that she heard. Well, it's true so I'm not gonna hide it and I stood normally.

Her beauty is entrancing, that's the fact. Even the other customers and staffs around were staring at the girl. Also people who was just walking pass were drawn by her.

Well, with a long dark hair and an elegant, classic and expensive looking dress. Who would have thought that there's this kind of girl in this kind of place at the countryside?

Whereas, I am actually wearing baggy pants and an overlarge t-shirt plus a dark sunglasses even it's already night. It's just that I feel awkward when my face is exposed too much so only half of my face was seen. I feel that every person stares at me whenever I don't wear my sunglasses and it's uncomfortable. My hair is also tucked inside a baseball cap. In short, I have that boyish look. You would have thought I'm a guy and I don't feel bad about that.

I'm sure everyone is thinking that this is not a five-star restaurant but why is she here.

"I want 2 large courses of crabs and a crab juice." She said softly.

"Huh? Oh, coming right up, miss." I quickly took the order to the chef.

"Ne, Mikan-chan? Do you think she's a celebrity?" The boss' wife came up to me and asked referring to the girl with an enchanting appearance.

"I don't know, oba-san. Maybe she is." I said. We don't normally know much about the celebrities because we are in the countryside so we don't know much about who is the popular in the media except that you are extremely famous.

But for me I am quite a TV fan but I never saw her on the television before and I haven't had the time to watch these days.

She looks like she's in the same age as me if I'm not mistaken.

"I'm curious where she's from." I said.

"Me too, why don't you go ask her?"

"I rather don't. Hehe" I doubt it if an upper class girl will have a friendly talk to a waitress like me.

But as I stare at her more, one thing I noticed is that she gives off a strange cold aura. I can't explain.

I served her order and I was amaze when she ordered another large course. There's a glint of happiness in her eyes.

Such a big appetite, I wonder where that stuff she eats goes with that small petite body. If it were me, eating 3 large courses alone would be too much.

"Alrighty, you sure know how to eat crabs." The boss/chef went over the girl and "Hm." gave her thumbs up. It is embarrassing but that's how the boss acts whenever he sees customers who enjoy his cooking.

"That's because of my cooking skills, the deliciousness, mama mia." He said by kissing the tips of his fingers. "Don't you think?" he gave her a wink.

But the girl just ignored him and busily digging every last bit of crab brains inside the crab shell. She's quite an expert at eating crabs and doesn't care if her hands were dirty or the shells were on the floor.

But meanwhile as I cleared one of the tables, a sudden disturbance caused the customers to be in silence and turned their attention at the scene.

A drunkard came dashing in. "Bring me some more beer." The drunkard shouted and alarmed all the people inside the Seafood Restaurant.

"Excuse me. This is not a bar." I said and stood in calmly. "If you would just leave, please." I can smell the reek of alcohol and I hate it.

"Huh? Are you *hic* bossing me around now? *hic*" The man bellowed, his voice the sound of an angry drunkard with hiccups causing me to step backward a little. "And what's *hic* that shades you're wearing *hic* in the middle of the night? *hic* Where's the sun? *hic*" He took the sunglasses from my face, twirling it around and he laughed so hard but its sounds like a pig oinking which is annoying.

I opened and closed my eyes as they adjusted for the bright light.

"Do you *hic* think I'm stupid *hic* to come here *hic* if it's not a bar?! *hic*" He pushed his index finger at my forehead.

I looked at him with an evil stare and my eyes seemed to become eyes of snake ready to attack. He stopped twirling my sunglasses and looked at me with a half-scared look on his face.

"Yes, you are!" I said letting out the exasperation raging out inside me. I pulled back my sunglasses away from the man's grasp.

"You TRAMP!" The drunkard grabbed my head and painfully pushed me down taking off the cap that made my hair to come loose. I didn't expect that at all and it just happened. I was planning to punch him myself but he made a move first before I did.

The customers all gasped at the sudden violent reaction that the man did.

I winced. I feel that my hairs are going to be ripped out.

"Let go!" I shouted. If only the man is not holding me down, I would probably have the chance to move away.

The boss tried to stop the man but he broke the bottle he's holding and threatened everyone with the bottle's sharp edge pointing at them.

What the hell is this old man? No way. I can't fight back. I'm too weak but I cannot show that to the people around me. Somebody, please, help.I'm hoping someone's gonna help me without me saying it. But my fears were circulating through my mind now and not focus on anything.

He pulled my hair up, but then weird noises were heard from an unknown source.

"BAKA! BAKA! BAKA! BAKA! BAKA! BAKA!" Pink punching gloves were thrown to the drunkard. He was instantly knocked out while everybody sweat dropped because of the stupid sound. "BAKA! BAKA!"

My and everyone's eyes were on the beautiful girl holding a yellow thingy which look like a gun. That's probably where the weird noises came from.

"Thank You." I said to the girl as I fixed and combed my hair with my fingers.

I stood up and all the customers gasped again. I'm wondering why they gasped but their eyes were on me now. Their eyes showed that they're shock followed by a twinkling admiration but I ignored the idea that they were staring at me and just thought maybe they were really looking at the beautiful girl beside me.

"No problem," responded the girl.

"What's that thing?" I asked.

"It's my Invention #005, it's called Baka Gun." The girl answered.

What a strange way to name such thing.

"Darling, is that really Mikan?" asked the boss' wife to the boss. The boss just swallowed unbelievably.

So I heard but of course it is me.

"Hey, I thought she was a boy. I didn't know that she is a girl and really that pretty," I heard whispers but don't quite understand them.

'Who's that chick?'

"Look at her, her face is like a doll. So beautiful," whispered another one.

"She is more beautiful than the girl with the dark hair when you dress her up"

I slowly turned to all the customers. But I can feel that they really were all staring at me and talking about me which makes me feel embarrass.

'Why are they all staring at me?' I thought consciously fixing back my cap and sunglasses. 'Aah, probably they came to their senses that I'm a girl.' Well, you can't blame them with my get-up like this.

To be continued...