Ice and Paint
By: Jane H.A.S. Doe

It was Wednesday.

Momo was just walking out of the changing room. As if on cue, Rukia and Inoue came up to her.

"Hi, Momo!" Inoue didn't hesitate to surround Momo in a big hug.

"H-hi, Inoue," Momo gasped. "I can't breathe!"

"Inoue, let her go." Rukia said calmly. "We've got to get to class?" The girls quickly gathered around their coach, Coach Ito, to get instructions.

"Hello, girls." Coach Ito smiled at all of her students. "Today we'll be playing one of my personal favorites: dodgeball." A groan rose through the crowd. "What? You guys don't like dodgeball?" Everybody shook there heads simultaneously.

Coach Sato, a much meaner coach, glared at the girls. "Too bad! Now get to stretchin'!" It was a rule at Karakura High that you had to stretch before every activity, even one as simple as dodge ball. The staff of Karakura High was known to be paranoid about safety. Once, in Momo's freshman year, instead of baseball everybody had to play wiffle ball.

"So, Momo," Rukia said. "I'm having a party Saturday. Wanna come?"

"A party? Byakuya-sama actually let you have a party?"

"Onii-sama? Of course he would never let me have a party!" Rukia looked at Momo as if it was the dumbest question in the world. "But he's away on business in Australia or somewhere. He won't be back until next Wednesday."

"He let you stay home alone?" Momo began to touch her toes. She didn't want to feel the wrath of Coach Sato if she was caught not stretching.

"Sure. Why wouldn't he?" Rukia asked. Momo just shrugged. She sat on the floor and began doing hurdle stretches.

"Who's all gonna be there?"

"Eh...just my closest friends." She said, dismissively. "Y'know...Ichigo, Inoue, Kira, Tatsuki, Uryuu, Chad, Keigo, Mizuiro...just people."

"Hmm...okay. I'll be there."

"Cool."

"Alright, girls! That's enough!" Coach Ito smiled. "I'm going to separate you into teams now, all right?"

Coach Ito went around the gym calling out people randomly and telling them what team to be on.

"Kuchiki-san: Team One. Hinamori-san: Team Two." Momo rushed to join the rest of the team.

Momo immediately knew she was going to lose. Team Two might have had a shot at winning the spelling bee or something, but they were helplessly done for in dodgeball. Momo looked over at Team One. Not only did they have Rukia and Tatsuki, but they also had members of the swim team and soccer team.

Coach Ito tossed Momo and a few other girls rubber balls.

Coach Sato blew her whistle. "GO!" All the girls quickly obliged.

As Momo predicted, Team Two was not at all good at dodgeball. Team One threw the dodgeballs hard, trying to get everyone out. It had only been five minutes and already half of Team Two was out. The remainder of the team ran around screaming their heads off.

Momo didn't bother to play the game. Instead she just stood there, watching the game progress and dodging balls when necessary.

That's when he came.

Who's that? Momo thought. He must be new.

He was a vision of perfection. He was gorgeous without being prettified. Muscular without being gross. His hair was such a perfect silver, you'd spend ages trying to replicate it in a salon. And his eyes! They were such a beautiful shade of turquoise.

He didn't walk, he strutted with confidence. Even when he was apparently lost.

Momo sighed. He looked so cute confused.

As he looked around, his eyes locked with hers. He smiled when he saw her staring at him. Momo blushed and quickly began looking at the clock behind him. The boy seemed not to have noticed her sudden interest in the time. Instead, he walked—I mean, strutted— over to the nearest coach, which happened to be Coach Ito.

Momo strained to here what they were saying. There was a lot of laughing involved. Besides the laughter, Momo heard zilch. After the conversation was over, the boy shook hands with Coach Ito and left.

Momo felt a bit disappointed when he left. Which is kind of weird seeing as she didn't even know him that well.

What's his name anyway? Momo wondered. Aargh! I don't even know that!

Momo groaned at her stupidity. Why'd she have to act like such an idiot? All he did was smile! She stomped her foot angrily.

"Hey, Hinamori!" Momo froze. She hadn't realized that the game was still going on. How much had she missed? She turned around, wondering who was calling her.

Atsuko, a member of both the soccer team and Team One, was holding a dodgeball in her hand. Before Momo could retaliate, Atsuko threw the ball and yelled her infamous war cry.

"Think fast!"

But Momo couldn't think fast. It's hard to think at all when a dodgeball comes in contact with your head.

"""""""

"Mom, I'm not well enough to do the dishes." Momo whined.

"Hmm?" Momo's mother seemed surprised to hear this. "Really? How so?"

Momo slapped her hands on the table, exasperated. "I was hit in the head, remember?"

"You were hit in the head with a dodgeball. Thrown by a classmate."

"The classmate in question is on steroids." Her mom gave her a look. "I swear! It's a miracle I wasn't hospitalized. Or worse, decapitated!" She sighed dramatically. "It was terribly gruesome."

Momo's mother sighed and began doing the dishes.

"Arigatou! Thanks so much, mom!" Momo gave her mom a hug and then rushed upstairs.

The second she got to her room, she jumped on her bed and dialed Rukia's number from memory.

"Yeah?" Rukia said when she answered the phone.

"Hey."

"Oh...hi, Momo. I was just about to call you. How's your head?"

"My head's fine, but my ego? Not so much."

"But it was pretty funny wasn't it?" Momo could hear Rukia trying not to laugh.

"No! I'm scarred for life! That's not what I wanna talk to you about anyway."

"Listening."

"Did you see that guy in the gym?"

"Huh? Oh, the white-haired kid. Yeah. Actually, I got Ichigo to ask him to eat lunch with us. If the new kid's nice I just might invite him to my party. Why?"

Momo's heart skipped a beat. Why? She couldn't tell Rukia why. She didn't even know why. Why was she so interested in the white-haired boy?

"Um...no reason. Talk to ya later!" Momo hung up the phone before Rukia could even say goodbye.

Dear Diary,

There's a new kid at our school. He's cute. He's got turquoise eyes. He's also got white hair. Rukia invited him to eat lunch with us tomorrow. I'm going to talk to him then. At least I'll find out his name.
Omigod...what if I spaz out? What if he thinks I'm an idiot? What if I get something stuck in my teeth? What if I trip? What if he hates me?
Maybe I shouldn't go to school tomorrow, Dear Diary.
MOMO

"""""""

I'll be back with the next chapter later.
Until then review, review, review!