Chapter Two: And so it began
Lizzy's disclaimer: I don't own Furuba, the Sohmas--this means Ayame--or Green Day. But I do have some miso soup! Yaay!
Kyo: What's so great about miso?
Whitney: Hey, you aren't supposed to be here yet!
Kyo: Yeah, well--neither are you!
Lizzy: Oy…
As the class was dismissed at the sounding of that renowned bell, Elizabeth took up her tattered grey bookbag and left the small room labeled "health." But as she did, the red-haired girl was met by another friend, tagging along close behind.
"Hey, Lizzy." Spoke a friend by the name of Pauline, tapping her firmly on the shoulder. "You know that blackish-silvery haired dude?"
"What? Oh, kinda."
Cocking her head, the raven haired teen asked, "How can you just kinda know somebody?"
"Um…" said Lizzy, racking her mind for a reasonable answer, "him and the orange-haired guy are in my English class."
"Hm, okay." Amazingly, this seemed to have been a good enough answer for her, which came as a relief to Elizabeth. But it was short lived.
"They're hot."
"Wha--?" Squeaked Lizzy, a little surprised at the seemingly random words emitting from her friend. "Where'd that come from?"
"I don't know. Hey, does he have a brother?"
"I just met the guy…I have no idea."
Knowing she'd tarried far long enough, Lizzy's acquaintance said, "See ya in art." and immediately wandered off to her next class.
Shaking her head, Lizzy wandered over to the lunch table where a few of her friends were already seated, contemplating why they had lunch so early. Breaking her train of thought, Kayla, who had been seated there moments before, said, "Hey Lizzy."
"Hey." She answered, surveying the way people were placed around their table. Directly in front of them sat Richard, blasting music from his cd player, as always. Scattered around the rest of the table were several of his friends, now joined by Whitney as she sat next to Kayla, assuring that this lunch period would not be a bore.
"Kayla, want a fry?"
"Sure."
Then ensued the normal, mindless drabbling, talking about nothing in particular. However, this did not go on too long before Kayla broke from the conversation, saying, "Hey, look at them." In turn, Whitney and Lizzy did, and noted the two Sohma boys, plus Tohru, seemed to be having less than the times of their lives.
"We should invite them over here." Said Kayla, and without another single word, got up and moved toward the three. This, of course, made Liz a little nervous, considering that they hardly knew these people—what if they had some strange custom that made it rude to ask someone you hadn't known even half a day to eat with you? But all her worrying was for naught, as soon Kayla was leading a smiling Tohru, accompanied by the emotionless boys, back to the table.
"Hi…" Elizabeth said weakly, unsure what to think at this point. Okay, now if I could just think of something to say…but what do you say to a Japanese person? They aren't weird or anything, but—meh, I don't even know what sushi looks like, so how could I possibly hold up a conversation with—
"Hello Lizzy!" Called out the brown haired Tohru, tugging Elizabeth back into reality rather than her random rabbit-trails of thought. "So you have this lunch period too?"
"Me? Yeah, I do."
As the other two Sohmas sat down dejectedly, Kyo taking a chair as far as he possibly could from Yuki, Lizzy's eyes crossed over to Whitney who hadn't said a word yet. And as Kayla began to converse with Tohru about how her last period had gone, Whitney became no more sociable, blasting her CD player loud enough for everyone at the table to hear. This fact did not pass Kyo, however, without a question that would have been better kept to himself being asked.
"Hey, what're you listening to?" The orangey-headed one said, glum as ever. When no reply was heard, he asked again, and again, each time getting no further than before. Anger could be clearly seen on Kyo's part, whom had been relatively polite up until now. Kayla looked to Lizzy, each passing nervous glances to the other. I hope he doesn't ask that again…
He did.
"HEY!" Cried Kyo, standing, fists clenched, "WHAT, ARE YOU DEAF OR SOMETHING?" This was a very, very bad decision on Kyo's part, for in such instances Whitney could become a bit…defensive.
"GREEN DAY! BUCK OFF!"
The entire table became quiet, a few people dropping their forks. "Ohhh, now he's done it." Mused Kayla, enjoying herself somehow. Whitney herself had exploded, that was clear, but if Kyo had been a little more observant he may have seen this coming. Sadly, foresight was not one of his better qualities—and fighting was. Which, not surprisingly, he had been looking for the last couple days. Looking from one to the other, both of which were now standing, eyes narrowed at the opposite, Lizzy thought something that easily could have been the slogan for the circle of friends for some time afterward. This isn't going to end well.
"WHAT'D YOU SAY TO ME WOMAN?"
"I SAID," Whitney called back, laying her headphones down upon the table, "BUCK …. OFF!" No, this most definitely would not end well.
Fuming, Kyo yelled, "OH YEAH?"
"YEAH!"
Trying to calm them, Tohru spoke up. "Er, Kyo, you really shouldn't yell in the cafeteria…" Sadder still, neither paid her attention, and the atmosphere worsened.
Shaking his head, Yuki turned to Kayla and Lizzy, who currently weren't listening to the insults being hurtled between the two battle-thirsty classmates. "We really shouldn't get involved, at least, not yet."
"What?" Asked Kayla, simply confused about what this boy was getting at.
"You know," he continued, "Kyo just won't be content until he's had this stupid fight."
Nodding, Lizzy spoke up. "Well, Whit wasn't exactly nice about it."
"YOU WANNA TAKE THIS OUTSIDE, WOMAN?" Kyo called out above the conversation. It seemed that this would take more than insults to end their shouting game.
"YOU BET, GIRLY-BOY!"
Needless to say, Tohru was quite shaken by this…encounter. Staring at them, she wondered how on earth the person who had been to nice could be causing this riot in the cafeteria now, accompanied by Kyo.
"Miss Honda, are you alright?"
Honda?
"I'm fine!" She said, forcing a smile. "But what about them? Can't we try to stop them?" Though neither Kayla or Lizzy could conceive of it, had there been a "fight," Kyo would have put himself and Yuki in a predictament far worse than just detention. Amazing as it was that no teacher had carted the both of them off to suspension hall, more amazing still was the fact that in what seemed no time at all, Yuki had put himself between the two teens, grabbed Kyo by the collar, and shoved him back into one of the seats back at the table. No matter how strange it might appear to the people around him, Yuki was not going to let a foolish fight make known their secret.
"GET OFF ME!" Yelled Kyo, "I'M GONNA FINISH THIS!"
"No, you're not." Retorted Yuki, calm as always. "And I'm not going to let you."
More angry than ever, Kyo continued his yelling spree. "I'M NOT LETTING SOME GIRL SAY THAT TO ME AND GET AWAY WITH IT!"
"You mean she's hurt your ego." Yuki sighed. "How predictable."
"Shut u—"
And thus ended lunch, as the ringing of the bell ensued, causing each at the table to rush to their next class. And again the Sohmas, accompanied by Tohru, followed Lizzy and her friends, for they knew where this Mr. Hasnas's room was.
- -
"Ah, where should I sit?" Asked Tohru, wide-eyed as she surveyed the room. It wasn't very large, but very, very strange to her. Tugging the brunette in the direction of an empty desk Kayla said, "You should sit here—it's near me, Lizzy, and Whitney."
"Well, not really that near Whitney." Elizabeth commented quite randomly, seating herself.
In return, Kayla asked, "Could you stop being so logical?"
"Why?"
"Because."
This could have gone on for quite some time further, had not Whitney stated out of the blue, "The body-guards aren't here."
"What?" Asked the dazed Tohru, taking a while to figure out what Whitney was speaking of. "Oh, they're in a different class."
"Uh-huh. Do you know which one?"
The girl thought for a moment, and, at last said, "I…uh…forgot." Smiling as always, she beamed innocence until in a few moments after her last words class began.
"Well," said Mr. Hasnas, their teacher, "let's get started now—James, sit down."
"Man, why do I gotta?"
"Because, I am your teacher and said to. Everyone, please get your books out for the open book quiz…" As James half-heartedly sat, knowing that a yellow referral was coming his way otherwise, all other students opened their textbooks. Doing as every other teenager in the room was, Tohru began to get a book from beneath her desk until interrupted by the teacher's voice.
"Who's Tohru Honda?"
"Ah! Me!" Cried out the girl, standing. The teacher nodded in her direction, saying, "Make sure you get your books so you can do the homework, okay?"
"Alright." She said happily, sitting again. Class had begun, and with amazingly few problems, which was strange for that period. Still, as the classmates impatiently listened to Mr. Hasnas trying to explain to them what the difference between clastic and non-clastic rocks was, the three girls wondered about these new students. Where did they live? It had to be near, considering they had come to this highschool. And if so, were they near any of the three? They would be an interesting bunch on neighbors, to be sure.
As they not-so-quietly began to work on yet another set of science outlines, Whitney turned to the girl called "Miss Honda," saying, "Hey, Tohru."
"Ah?"
"Me, Kayla, and Lizzy are going to the mall later. Do you wanna come?"
The girl thought for a minute, unsure how to answer. "Well…are you sure that's okay? I wouldn't want to cause any trouble."
"No, we'd want you along!" She stated as Lizzy and Kayla nodded in reply. "But you can bring those two body-guards if it'd make you feel better."
A smile crossing her face at the boy's new nickname, Tohru agreed. "Sure, I'd love to go! This will be a lot of fun!"
"Whitney?" Said Kayla, tapping her on the shoulder. "So, how are we going? I can walk to your house, but what about Lizzy and Tohru?"
This was something Whitney hadn't thought about just yet, but didn't let it show, answering absentmindedly. "Just get a bus pass and get on mine."
"Hello…" Said a voice beside them, one that the girls soon saw to be that of their teacher, Mr. Hasnas. "I'm sorry for interrupting your conversation, but could you please keep working?"
"Uh, sure…" Returned Lizzy, though she was assured that his question had been either rhetorical or not.
And so, the group began again to work, and did not speak again until the end of their class sometime later. This greatly pleased Mr. Hasnas, who was thinking of how great it was to have students who actually listened to you—until he had to hand out five referrals for a fight between students about which rapper was the best singer.
- -
As the bell once again sounded and like a pack of wildebeest, the students pushed and shoved their ways out of class and into the hall. Leaving as well, Whitney turned to Tohru and the rest of them, walking as she spoke. "See you after school…Tohru, you know what bus to get on?"
"No…"
Turning to her, Kayla said, "Don't worry, you know where the buses are, right?"
"Yes."
"One of us should be there, so just follow, okay?"
"Okay!" She said happily as ever, nearly skipping as she separated from the group and walked haphazardly down the hallway.
"Does she know where she's going?" Lizzy asked, eyes following the girls form.
"Probably not." Said Whitney, leaving Kayla and Lizzy.
Soon Lizzy had left as well, and made her way into art class, taught by none other than the infallible Mr. French. Once inside, the clamor caused by Liz, Whitney, and Kayla was by far enough to make Mr. French look up from his work. "Well, well." He said, head shaking. "The terrible trio returns."
"Hello, Mr. French! Are you getting any new students to—" But Lizzy was not able to finish her sentence. Rather, she was interrupted by a very loud person entering the door.
"Hey!" Kyo called between breaths. "I was following you three, why'd you rush off like that?"
Not one of them said a word, unsure of whether or not they would worsen the situation. They were, after all, involved in a one-sided yelling match right in front of the art teacher. And through it all, Kyo Sohma remained entirely clueless.
Crossing his arms, Mr. French asked, "So, you're the new student?"
"Yeah." Quite ineptly returned the cat.
"This is the class, right?" called a girl's voice from outside the class room. Tohru, as everyone soon found, for it was she and Yuki stepping through the door.
"And you are?" Asked Mr. French, arms still crossed. Stepping closer to him, Yuki replied, "We are the new student, sir."
Sir? Thought their teacher, He obviously isn't from around here. "There's three of you?"
Rubbing his chin, the man eventually continued. "Alright, I'll see if I can find some seats for you."
"Excuse me…" Chirped up Kayla, happy as ever that the Sohmas were in her class.
"Yes?"
"There's three chairs free at my table!"
Rolling his eyes, Mr. French shrugged. "Isn't that a convenient coincident. Fine, go."
Happily the two trios made their way to a long table near the desk of their teacher, soon erupting into conversation. "Hey! All of you sit at the same table?"
"Yep." Whitney answered. "Me, Liz, and Kayla."
As they sat, a black-cloaked form walked up to the table. None other was it than the infamous, and very perverted, Pauline.
"Hey, blackish-silvery haired dude!" She cried. Not having been called this often, if at all, Yuki took no note until Lizzy said, "She's talking to you."
"Me?"
"Yeah, you." Pauline finished for Liz. "Anyway, did Liz here ask you something?"
Still unsure if this person was entirely sane or not, Yuki gingerly replied, "I don't think so…"
"Well, you didn't ask me to ask him." Liz murmured, silently turning to Pauline.
"Anyway, do you have a brother?"
Yuki's eyes widened in shocked wonder, unable to find his voice in light of the question. Nor did he need to, for Mr. French spoke instead. "All right, everyone get seated—Pauline, that means you." Once most people had, he continued. "Now, let's finish up these pastel paintings."
"Pastel paintings?" Mumbled Kyo, but soon understood as he watched the people around him use the colorful chalk pastels on their pieces. What an error Mr. French had just made in letting this Sohma take hold of any such material with chance to become, shall we say, a small catastrophe, he did not yet know. But soon…
"Ahh…."
He did.
Coughs echoed throughout the room, though mostly around Kyo's table as the chalk dust flew round-about him. A great billowing cloud of red and green had rushed up from his paper, and needless to say Mr. French was less than happy about it.
"What on earth did you think--"
"Hey! I didn't mean to!"
Appalled by the outburst, the art teacher's eyes narrowed at the, I must say, foolish Kyo. "Young man, I will not have you speak to me in that way if you wish to remain in this class. If you do, I will have good reason to request you be brought to another."
With that, he turned, and began to speak to the class about the need to blend color correctly, forgetting the problem with Kyo. But it was not so easily forgotten by his acquaintances, a few of which let forth muffled giggles. Namely, Kayla, who couldn't contain herself. Still, after an irritated glance from Mr. French, she too became silent.
And so they worked, all the persons about the table devoutly, or at least semi-devoutly, following Mr. French's directions. In time, when the bell was about to ring, the entirety of the classroom had joined forces around the art class door, and now waited for the tolling of that bell.
"Okay…so, you guys are on what bus?" Asked Whitney, turning to them.
"Ah…" Answered Yuki, having to take out a bus pass, "I'm on…705..."
"Hey! That's my bus!" Cried Kayla, who was ready as ever with an answer. But so too was Whitney, as she said, "Yeah, but it's my bus too!"
"I know."
"And don't you forget it!"
Sighing, Samantha, who had been quite silent up to this point, said, "Remind me why I'm friends with you, Whitney."
"Because…I have blackmail!"
Laughter was loosed from all girls, save Samantha and Whitney, and then echoed by the bell's monotone call.
"See you tomorrow!" Called out Lizzy, leaving down the hallway. All her friends called back some form of goodbye as she left the Sohmas in their hands--which was not entirely a bad thing, as Samantha would be on the bus as well.
Still, she couldn't have even begun to guess what would be encountered in the following day.
Lizzy: Whitney! I'm done!
Whitney: Well, that took you long enough.
Lizzy: I know! I'm sorry…
Kayla: Ack! Don't you even get started with "sorry," we have enough Sohmas to deal with already!
Kyo: Huh?
Kayla: You don't even want to know.
Pauline: Hey, Yuki-dude.
Yuki: Hm?
Pauline: How 'bout telling me about your brother?
Yuki: . . .
Lizzy: Pauline! Too much foreshadowing!
Whitney: Lizzy, what are you planning?
Lizzy: Uh…something I'll tell you about later?
Whitney: I don't have a good feeling about this…