Originally Written: July 2004
Originally Posted: 7-29-04
Final Review Number (Previous): 435 (15 Chapters)
(Please keep in mind that the new review number will be added to the one above.)
HI. YEP, THIS IS LUVINANIME, AND I'M BACK! NO ONE CAN KEEP ME AWAY! YES, MY ACCOUNT WAS CLOSED DOWN FOR SOME UNKNOWN REASON, SO I'VE HAD TO REPOST ALL OF THESE STORIES. KEEP IN MIND THE POINTS ABOVE! THANK YOU. ENJOY THE UNCHANGED STORY(IES)!
NOTE: Hey y'all! Whew! ANOTHER new story? Geez! My fourth one! The ideas just keep coming and coming! I had wanted to wait for this one to go out until the end of DWTD, but my brain wouldn't wait. Also, don't expect this to be VERY long. Right now, I'm really aiming for AT LEAST 10 chapters. There will probably be more, however, the ideas aren't many right now…. Also, the size is due to the prospect of the story spanning over about…four days I think? NOT FOUR CHAPTERS! Four DAYS. Okay? But many chapters per day, that's for sure! At least two chapters will be dedicated to the first day, I know that much! Well, I hope you enjoy it as much as you've enjoyed my other ones…or enjoy it like any story, if you haven't read any of my other ones. Also, I'm not too sure how much everyone will like this story. It's sort of just a random idea. I'll have to work greatly with it to I've it a better way to sound. I dunno. I just hope you enjoy it. Also…there could be a couple mistakes in there…due to that the computer I wrote this on has a keyboard that sort of…sticks. So, without further adieu: Locked In…Love!
Disclaimer: A new story: a new batch of disclaimers. Crap, I'm getting sick of these stupid…retarded things….
Locked In…Love?
Chapter 1: Friday the 13th"Crap, crap, crap almighty…CRAP; I'm GONNA BE SOOOO LATE!" Tea Gardner shrieked, running through the house.
"Tea Anzu Mazaki Gardner, cease and desist this running and yelling!" Tea's Uncle Kaz called from the living room.
"But I've gotta run! I'll be late!" Tea replied, grabbing some toast off her lonely plate at the table.
Her Aunt Rika came out from the living room, "Dear, slow down. Everything will be fine if you're tardy only once. It's not like you've ever been tardy or absent." Tea heard a "humph" come from the living room, which was simultaneous with Tea's thought of: No, it wouldn't be, with a look to the living room ant the back of her uncle's head.
"Why didn't you wake me up with Rae and Kari?" tea inquired to her aunt, referring to her two cousins: the daughters of Kaz and Rika. Her aunt had her stopped, and kissed her forehead gently.
"You needed the sleep dear; after working so hard on that godforsaken software project of Kaz's and yours.
"Oh yeah!" Tea jumped and ran to her uncle. She handed him a CD, "Here it is! All touched up and ready for testing!"
"Thank you, Tea," he smiled warmly at her. Tea couldn't help but wish that he showed that smile all the time. She kissed him on the cheek and quickly ran out the door.
"See y'all after school!"
Instead of a goodbye, she heard her uncle reply, "How do we speak Tea?" She groaned. Why hadn't she caught herself? She should have been expecting that response.
She sighed, "I'll see you two after school!"
"Thank you!" he uncle called back. Honestly, Tea thought, why does he have to be so obsessed with knowledge, and our well knowing? Ignorant fools he calls them…. Tea could almost here his voice, calling her an "Ignorant Fool" as her family had been called at times of improper grammar, or imitating Rap. However, she herself had become useful with the term. It had begun rolling off her tongue every now and then.
Really, almost every time Joey said something, those two words would ring in her head, incessantly: ignorant fool; ignorant fool; ignorant fool….
On and on and on and on…. But Tea truly knew that Joey couldn't help living with his father…inheriting accents…or any of the sort. So, she lived with it.
Tea ran down the blocks to school. Of course, it was really her lucky day, seeing as it was raining heavily and storming harshly everywhere today. It was supposed to the whole weekend. She sighed, trying to sidestep puddles. However, she was always sure to land in one, and get her shoes and socks wet. Not to mention the rest of her clothes getting drowned out by the rain.
Why did the software deadline have to be today, she asked herself. It had been the start of this morning's problems. Fate's against me….
She was a block away from school…however; she was approaching the busiest intersection in the district. When she reached the section, she had the signal to walk across. Nevertheless, "fate being against her," not three steps across, a black car came speeding out of no where, down the street, coming directly towards her. She looked in time, only to jump out of the way, and skid on her knees and hands across the pavement.
The pain immediately coursed up her hands and knees, stunning her brain. The stinging sensations…. She winced. Great, more pain. The car had skidded to a halt right beside her.
She stood up and yelled, "HEY! WATCH WHERE YOU'RE DRIVING, MORON! YOU'RE AN ACCIDENT WAITING TO HAPPEN! GET A LICENSE WHILE YOU'RE GOING AND GETTING A BRAIN!" and paying no other attention to the car, she turned on her heel and ran off to the school.
Had she paid attention, she would have noticed that the car, in fact, was a limousine…and it wasn't just anyone's limousine…it was Seto Kaiba's.
Seto felt the limousine lurch forward, suddenly, and called, "Aunri'! Why have we stopped?"
"Sir, we almost ran over zis girl," Aunri' replied, with a French accent. Seto heard a bit of yelling, and rolled down the window a couple inches. He peered through the tint, and smirked. He should have known. Tea Gardner. Sure enough, it was she whom was yelling her head of at Aunri'. He chuckled when he heard her yell off about getting a brain. Seto desperately had wanted to call back, saying that his chauffeur had one…but wasn't sure if she did.
He sat back as the limo began moving again. Of course…he could always crack that one back on her at school…. However, when she was turning to go, his eyes noticed her blood red knees, and hands….
Tea ran as fast as possible to Domino High School. Just as she reached it, a black limo pulled up to the front of the school. Tea paid no mind to it, only sighing inwardly, knowing that Seto Kaiba: The Annoyer of All Arrogant Annoyers was here. Great, more good luck, Tea thought, sarcastically.
She felt something cold, and ticklish running down her knees. And her hands felt sticky…probably due to sweat and water, or so she thought. However, she wasn't going to pay any attention to the matter until she was safe inside her class.
Seto stepped out of the limousine, and opened an umbrella, watching as she passed, "Gardner."
Tea turned around, greatly irritated, "What? Can't you see school's about to start?"
He walked over to her, and held the umbrella over her, "First off, remember to bring an umbrella next time. You're a complete mess."
Tea scowled. Who was he to direct her?
"And, yes, I am fully aware that school will begin momentarily. However, as a word of caution for future scrapes…I'd watch where you were running, next time." Tea looked confused, while looking back and forth between him and the limousine. Her eyes suddenly darkened.
"That…that was YOU? How dare you! You retarded, idiotic, moronic-"
"Tch, tch, Gardner: school's starting, remember?" Seto said, walking to the front doors, smirking the whole way. Tea only walked beside him, as to keep under the umbrella.
"You're not getting off that easily! I'll find you again…and you're only giving me more time to think about what I'm going to say and do to you, and-"
"Before you give me another lecture, if I were you, I'd look at my knees right about now. Don't want to go in school looking like that, do we?" Seto replied, holding the door open for her. She looked down. And there, she saw her knees: bloody messes, with blood running all down her legs. She then looked at her hands, and noticed that they were completely red, too. She flushed and walked inside. Great. Now she was bloody and wet! What could be worse? Seto followed her.
"I'll tell Mr. Haruki where you are," he replied, sincerely, and walked off to Mr. Haruki's English Class.
Tea hoped he'd keep his word, as she had to get this mess attended to, at the clinic.
"Miss Gardner! How in the world did you get yourself scraped up so bad? And didn't you have an umbrella or something?" Nurse Shpire inquired, running around the clinic for a roll of bandages, water and Neosporin ®.
"I…had an accident…and forgot the umbrella…I was a bit preoccupied," Tea blundered.
"No kidding," the nurse replied, "What kind of accident?"
"I fell…in the street," Tea said. She hoped the nurse wouldn't press on any further. How could she, though? She had fallen, that was that! Of course, being that this wasn't exactly Tea's lucky day:
"How'd you fall?"
Tea mentally slapped herself. For some reason, she didn't want to tell on Kaiba. Part of her wouldn't let her voice say: Seto Kaiba almost ran me over. However, if she did tell, it could get Kaiba in major trouble! That was always worth seeing. Still though…somehow, she just couldn't bring herself to do so. For once, she was glad Joey hadn't been at the accident, or in the nurse's office. He would have leapt to his feet squealing on Kaiba.
"I tripped…on my own feet. Whoops, clumsy me…" Tea faded off, uncertainly. That had to be the lamest lie in the history of lies. She herself didn't even buy it!
"Yes…clumsy you…" Nurse Sphire replied, doubtfully, "however, I would expect more from the Mazaki/Gardner family," she replied, applying the water and disinfectant. Lastly, she began the task of wrapping the bandages around Tea's legs and hands.
"Yes, well, no one's perfect."
"True," Ms. Sphire stood up, "well, dear, you're done. And you've only missed ten minutes of class." Tea sighed. It wouldn't have mattered if she had been late anyway! She'd still be ten minutes late, even if she hadn't almost been run-over. However, with either circumstance, her uncle would have a cow.
"Thank you," Tea replied, standing. Or at least…trying to stand. The white wraps had been tied around both knees completely, and about an inch and a half down her lower leg. Her palms had also been completely wrapped. No band-aid would have done the trick. Seeing as how here knees were locked in by the bandages, Tea retorted, "Um…Nurse Sphire, I can't get up."
"Oh, yes. I would get used to that for a few days. If you bend the bandages too much, they'll slip right off. Until the wounds dry, you won't be standing without some sort of help," Ms. Sphire offered her hands to help her up. Tea stood, with great difficulty, then exited the office.
She walked stiffly to the classroom, her knees and hands still stinging painfully. English Class just had to be on the second floor. And being that there weren't any elevators in the school, she had to climb the stairs. It took her a good three minutes to get up that one flight, due to not being able to bend her knees, as normal people usually need to do when going up the stairs.
On her way up, while still concentrating on walking, Tea pondered what the students' reactions would be to an "ancient mummy" walking into the classroom. That's how tea described herself, due to the many wrappings.
She came to the door, and took in a deep breath, before opening the door. Immediately all eyes turned to see whom had come in…all eyes except Seto Kaiba's, whose were stuck in a book.
Some of the pairs of eyes widened. The friends of Tea's that happened to be in this class looked at her, concerned. Seto took a brief glance at her, and smirked.
If tea hadn't been in a classroom full of watching students, and a teacher; and she hadn't been partially disabled, she would have marched over and slapped the smirk off the rich boy's face.
"Thank you for joining us, Miss Gardner. I was informed where you were. You may take your seat now," Haruki stated. If possible, Tea thought. She strode stiffly over to her seat, and set down her things. Grabbing the chair, and the edge of the desk, she slowly wedged herself onto the chair. She plopped into the seat, and sighed quietly, thankful for getting off her feet. Feet gave pressure to the knees, and Tea's knees hurt.
Behind her sat Joey Wheeler; to her left was happened to be Yugi Muto, and most distastefully, to her right, was none other than Seto Kaiba. Tea couldn't think of a more evil day. Every force possible in nature had to be against her.
As the teacher's back was turned, writing notes on the board, Joey scribbled something almost illegible on a scrap of paper. He flipped it over Tea's shoulder, and it landed on her desk. She opened it and read the scribble:
Lord, Tea, what happened to ya?
She turned it over and began writing something down:
Tell you later. All I can say is that KAIBA IS A DEAD MAN!
She wrote the last part with great force; anger boiling up inside of her. She was practically ripping through the scrap of paper. She tossed it back to Joey. Soon, another note landed on her desk. She opened this, and read it, expecting Joey to be pleading for an explanation:
I'm a dead man, am I?
Tea's face contorted into an ugly one, as she turned and glared daggers at Seto. His nose was stuck in his book. However, he spared her one look: turning his head, he had the look of innocence, and question on his face. Tea turned back to her desk, and ripped the paper quietly, but fiercely, to shreds. Firs burned in her eyes. That guy was going to pay SOOOO bad….
"Miss Gardner, I hope those aren't your notes that you're tearing apart," Mr. Haruki had turned around. Snickers could be heard throughout the classroom. Seto smirked evilly behind the pages of his book. Tea just flushed in embarrassment and replied:
"No sir, their not mynotes." Technically, it wasn't. It was Seto Kaiba's note.
Still red though, from being so embarrassed, she put her head down on her desk, and closed her eyes, trying to sort out the day's few, but terrible events. To sum it up: this was SO not her day….
Class ended about twenty minutes later. Due to today being a half-day, school would end at 12:00. Today, classes would only be half an hour, so as to fit in every subject. The reason for the half-day, and the three-day weekend was due to a Teacher-in-Service in Tokyo. Every teacher was to attend it. (Normally, the Japanese have a half-day of school on Saturday, but due to the In-Service, they won't even have school that day!)
Tea went through the next three classes, before she had Study Hall. Joey, Yugi, Mai and Tristan had Study Hall with her. This was the time to tell her friends what had happened.
"So, Tea, what the heck happened to ya?" Joey inquired, impatiently. He had been waiting all morning.
"Well, turns out-"
"Hey, Gardner. I bit of advice next time: look before crossing the street," Seto Kaiba walked by their table.
Tea stood up, immediately, without any help from everyone: her actions fueled by her anger, "You! Wait just a minute here!"
"I don't have time to waste on listening to whatever you've put together-"
"No! You're going to listen! You ought to learn, before you almost run over another person!"
"Just for your information, it wasn't me driving!"
"Chauffeur, you, what's the difference? The point is-"
"Why don't you follow your own advice that you gave to my driver, and get a brain!" Seto spat back.
"I'm not sure if you have one, but I sure do!" Tea retorted, loudly. By now, the whole front hall was watching, and listening. Seto's eyes turned to ice, and pierced through her very bones. No one had ever talked to him like that…and he was going to make sure no one would ever again.
"You know, it's okay for you to be late for once! You don't have to go speeding all over town!" tea retorted. She stopped. She had just repeated what her aunt had said…and what she had threw away.
"I HAVE to be here on time, Gardner, do you understand that?" Seto glared back, dangerously.
"AT LEAST YOU'RE NOT OBLIGATED TO!" Tea yelled back at him. She stopped, her eyes widening. The whole room was staring at Tea. Even Seto had a slightly confused look on his face.
"What do you mean you're obligated-"
"Mr. Kaiba! Miss Gardner! What is all this racket? This is a school! We could hear you on the other side of the building for Pete's sake! What is wrong!" the vice principal, Mr. Kamiah came out of the hallway, suddenly.
"She started-"
"He almost-"
"THAT'S ENOUGH! You two have detention, today, after school! My Literature classroom and 12:05 sharp! Maker sure you call your par-er…family and tell them you will be late. Now, quiet down, and good day!" Mr. Kamiah turned on his heel and marched away. He had been about to say "parents;" however, given the certain circumstances, that would have been quite the mistake on his part.
Mr. Kamiah was a young man…the assistant principal, and one of the Literature teachers. He had short, chestnut hair, and glasses. Overall, he was a nice-looking guy.
Tea stuttered, "D-Detention?"
Seto rounded on her, "Now look what you've done! You gotten me landed in detention! And I have a very important meeting-"
"Screw your meeting! I'm not the one that landed you in detention! You got there yourself!-" Tea felt herself being pulled backwards.
"Come on, Tea," Joey said surprisingly, "Before you get yourself in even more trouble." For once, it was he doing the dragging people away from Kaiba. Seto huffed, then went to the opposite side of the front room and sat down, in a very foul mood. That girl was going to pay miserably…. He was going to make sure the rest of her day was made into heck….
"Tea, what the heck was all that about?" Tristan inquired, once she had sat back down.
"Yeah, girl. You just rattled everything off at Kaiba, and he threw them right back at ya," Mai replied.
"Okay, guys. The whole reason behind that and the reason I'm a bloody mess, is because on the way to school, today, Kaiba's limo…almost ran me over. I kind of jumped out of the way before it could hit," Tea explained.
"SAY WHAT'?" Joey cried out. "I'M A GONNA KILL ME SOME KAIBA!" Joey stood up to begin his rampage. Yugi yanked him back down.
"Joey, calm down, or you'll get in trouble too!" Yugi scolded his friend.
"Well, I don't care! That rich punk deserves what's comin' to him!" Joey replied, rolling his fist into a ball, and rolling up his sleeves.
"After school, dude. We'll knock him, together," Tristan joined in. Mai sighed, and rested her head in her hand.
"You two can be such nimrods. Haven't you learned plenty of times that Kaiba will whip you?" Mai retorted.
"Gee, thanks for da support, Mai!" Joey threw back.
"Guys, PLEASE! I've got enough of a headache as it is! I can't even remember what day it is…" Tea sighed.
"It's Friday, the 13th of October," Joey lifted a finger and announced proudly.
"Oohh, you actually used your brain today!" Tristan replied.
"Hey!" Joey replied, ready to clobber him.
Tea's head shot up, "Friday…the 13th? Of October?"
"Yeah," Yugi answered.
"No wonder I'm having the worst day of my life!" Tea slumped down onto the table.
"Oh come off it, Tea. You don't really believe in all that superstitious stuff about bad luck, do you?" Mai scoffed. Tea glared at her. "Then again, you do have plenty of proof…" Mai ended uncertainly, not wanting to be on the receiving end of a Tea glare. They were just about as bad as a Kaiba glare.
"What all happened to you, today, Tea?" Yugi asked, concerned.
So Tea told them: waking up late, due to working on the software program late into the night; running through the heavy rain and storms; almost getting run over; being late to class; getting detention WITH SETO KAIBA, no less.
At the end of her list, her friends had all concluded, that this was defiantly not Tea's day…as if that was needed to be said.
It was 11:55, five minutes until school was let out for three days: the weekend, and an extra day on Monday. Tea was at her locker, when approached by two girls. She turned around to greet them.
"Oh, hey, Rae! Kari!" Tea greeted her cousins.
"Did you like sleeping in this morning?" the said, a bit coldly.
"No! I was pretty much tardy! Of course…it was overlooked…" Tea replied, looking down at her knees.
"So we see," Kari replied.
"Of course, that's what you get for not finishing your yearly software project on time," Rae said, looking at her fingernails.
"We finished ours two days ago," Kari added.
"Yeah, but let me guess: yours were a ton easier than mine! Not to mention all the senior work I have cut out for me! You guys are only sophomores! You have it easier than I do," Tea explained her reasoning.
"Sure," both of them looked at each other, and replied, sarcastically.
"We heard you landed yourself in detention," Rae replied.
"Daddy's not going to be too happy," Kari added.
"But you landed in with Seto Kaiba!" Kari sighed.
"You must be so lucky!" Rae replied, brightening up. Tea looked at her cousins as if extra eyes had sprouted out on them. Her? Lucky? That's far from what she had been today! And Kaiba had only made it worse!
He'd slammed doors and lockers in her face (her nose was officially numb), he'd tripped her, making her land painfully on her knees and hands (not a good combination) and much more. Small pranks as they may seem, but they annoyed Tea to heck…just what Kaiba said he was going to do. His mission: accomplished. No doubt, though, he had more planned for her in detention.
"I'm not lucky," Tea murmured, "Especially getting detention with Mr. Happy himself," Tea retorted icily.
"Oh, lighten up!" Kari laughed.
"How can you think of him in such a way?" Rae inquired.
"I just can. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a death sentence to attend to," Tea replied, walking off.
"We'll tell Mom and Dad where you are!" the girls replied.
"Uncle Kaz is going to a meeting, isn't he, though? And, I'd rather break it to him. Tell Aunt Rika, though, so she doesn't worry," Tea replied.
"Okay, suit yourself," Rae answered.
"She's strange sometimes," Kari told her sibling.
"That's why, at times, I'm glad we're not TOTALLY related to her," Rae said.
"I know," Kari answered; the two walking out the doors to the school.
Well? How'd you like the beginning? Was it an okay chapter? Should I continue? Do you like the sound of it? The next chapter gets really interesting, including revelations, and the detention! Plus…other juicy things…. PLEASE REVIEW!