Keiko started polishing her glasses with the hem of her shirt. she met
Otaru’s gaze steadily.
“Otaru, can I tell you something?”
“ sure Kie, I am your friend you know.” Otaru replied, looking at her
curiously.
“Kei, where’s my tennis shirt? I have practice in five minutes! Kei!”
Kieko quickly shoved her glasses back on her face as Anji dashed into the
room and looked frantically around, when Keiko didn’t answer he looked over
and saw Otaru. Anji automatically shut up. More out of being startled than
being polite. When Keiko still didn’t respond though, he started up again.
“Kei...Kei!. C’mon, have you seen my shirt, I’m gonna be late!”
“Anji I haven’t seen your stupid shirt!” Keiko was getting frustrated at
her brothers whining. “If I’d seen it, which I haven’t, I would have told
you the first time you asked!”
“Kei you’ve got to have seen it, it’s in the drawer we share”
“Anji! shut up! I’ve told you about five times now that I haven’t seen
your shirt!” Anji was currently on his hands and knees looking under every
piece of furniture in the room.
“Got it!” he cried triumphantly, pulling it out from under his bed.
After quickly changing, he dashed out the door.
“Gah, Anji seriously needs to start working on his people skills” Keiko
muttered.
“Sempai” Otaru said, waving his hand in front of her face “What were
you saying before Anji came in?”
“I think we should just forget it Otaru” Keiko said wearily. “ Let’s
talk for a bit shall we?” she suggested.
“Ano, Kei, are you sure you didn’t have to tell me anything?” Keiko
shook her head. “ok then, you go first, what did you do before you came
here?” Keiko shifted into a more comfortable position. (c’mon, did you
really think Kieko would ever get around to telling Otaru she’s a girl in a fa
nfic? That’s just not what I do)
“ Well, before I came to The Unicorn Academy, I studied abroad in Spain
for a few years. Then last summer I came back and found out that Anji was
coming here, so I enrolled and I got in. Well, I wasn’t sure if that was a
good thing or a bad thing, eventually I decided it was a good thing. But I
almost changed my mind when I was on the bus here. I got gum in my hair and
Anji got a little testy with the head editor of the
paper. Anyway, I almost had a friend but then Anji almost beat him up so he
and I could share a dorm room, I would’ve shared a room with the head editor.
The whole he hasn’t seen me for quite a while thing I guess made Anji a
little protective. Anji was annoying that day. And then I ran into you, or
more like got stepped on by you, in the showers. And you’ve seen the result
firsthand. ( yes I know, those of you who have read TUA probably don’t want
to hear Kieko’s history but that’s how I wrote it ^.~ ) And that’s it, in
edited form of course.” Keiko glanced at Otaru.”Your turn” she chirruped at
him.
“Well, you know the entire story about my girlfriend, how we decided to
end it quietly. And that was last summer. Now if you want to hear what
happened before that. Then just nod.” Kieko nodded and Otaru went on.
Kieko listened closely, getting every detail so she could remember what not
to say or do or whatever around him so she didn’t make him too mad. ( I
didn’t have any good ideas about Otaru, sorry.) He kept talking as he got up
to lean against the windowsill. After he had finished, Kieko got up and went
to stand next to him.
“Well Otaru, your past is finally revealed.” Kieko giggled “sounds like
a corny mystery doesn’t it?
“Yeah, it does Sempai. So, what do you say we go catch the last hour of
tennis practice?”
“sounds good, Aika was asking about you last time” Kieko laughed as Otaru
visibly flinched. “C’mon, my friends like you, that doesn’t happen often”
“ I just wish they wouldn’t pop up so suddenly, they aren’t so bad if
they aren’t acting like Anji crazy hyenas” Otaru grimaced, then he started
heading out the door, Kieko went after him, wondering if she was ever going
to get to tell Otaru she was a girl. Mentally cursing Anji, she sped up to
catch up to Otaru, who had gotten ahead of her.
****
“Anji, Anji, Anji, Anji! Yaaaaay Anji!” Aika was contributing to the
voices all around the court who were cheering for their schools tennis
champion. When she finally stopped for breath she caught a glance of Kieko
and that Otaru guy who always seemed to be with her. She waved them over and
Naoki, rolling her eyes at Aika’s enthusiasm, scooted over to make room.
Kieko bounced over and immediately started jabbering with Naoki about
everyone at The Phoenix School for girls. Aika latched onto Otaru who looked
like he wanted to slip under the bleachers. Kieko grinned and continued
talking to Naoki, who was currently jabbering about Staci and Anji going out
nearly every night. Otaru was currently trying to get out of Aika’s vice
like grip, pretty unsuccessfully at that. Kieko grinned and turned back to
Naoki.
“And then Staci looked like she was a love struck puppy... Kie-kun, are
you listening to me?” Naoki said sharply when she noticed Kieko wasn’t
listening.
“Huh? What Naoki? Go on...” Kie once again went into half-listening
mode again as she watched Anji return balls with a practiced ease. Kie had
always thought that she had been born into the wrong family, all the rest of
them were athletic and here she was nearly failing gym. Kieko sighed and
turned her full attention to Naoki. A little too late, Naoki was already
finished with whatever she had been talking about. Kieko excused herself and
went to rescue Otaru from Aika’s clutches. Otaru gave her a look of such
obvious relief that she almost laughed out loud. He came over to sit by
Kieko as soon as he could escape completely, Kieko moved over a little bit to
give him some room, he would need his space after being a little too close to
Aika for a little too long. Aika returned her attention to cheering Anji,
the only time Kieko saw her more enthusiastic was at actual tournaments,
otherwise she just screamed half as loud and half as much. It was surprising
how enthusiastic the rest of the school was at practice. Cheering and
yelling, along with waving banners, that was multiplied tenfold at the
tournaments. Kieko usually made it to Anji’s games, usually. Sometimes she
just couldn’t drag herself out of bed in time. Well, Kieko thought , at
least I try to get to them. Kie saw Anji miss a serve and could practically
hear the consecutive sigh that went around the court. You’d think that with
all the games and tournaments Anji had won for the school they would be a
little more tolerant. Kieko glared angrily at the people in the bleachers,
no one who caught it went without feeling guilty about it, what kind of
relationship did fujishege have with Amuro anyway? Kieko hadn’t understood
the weird looks people were giving her and had only seen a few. She didn’t
think about it for more than thirty seconds. Otaru waved a hand in front of
her face.
“Sempai, do you want to go off campus for a while this afternoon?”he asked
“Sure, why not, I want to see what new stuff that music place has.”
Kieko responded enthusiastically. Glad for a chance to get off campus and
see something other than classrooms and dorms. At 12:30 Otaru, Kieko, Anji,
and anybody else that went to TUA headed in to the lunchroom. After Kieko
got her lunch she managed to push her way past the yelling, shoving,
food-throwing guys and find a seat. Otaru and Anji came to join her after a
few minutes. Anji had decided to forgoe the jocks table for the time being
to sit with his sister and Otaru. That’s a new experience for this year,
sitting with my brother, Kieko had only tried to make Anji sit with her once
and that hadn’t been fun. It had been one of her first days at TUA and Anji
and his friends had already resumed their seating habits, Kieko had dragged
Anji over to her table and he had sulked all through the meal. Kieko didn’t
want to have that experience again, it had been kind of a hostile time. But
Kieko and Anji were on good terms today, and that made Anji much more
pleasant to sit with.
“Kie, would you want to join drama club?” Otaru asked her. “You’ve been
so serious for the past few minutes we could give you the judge’s part for
Twelve Angry Men (hey, it fit).
“Otaru, I’m not dramatic, if you want to call it that. I just can’t
force emotion.” Kieko said, all the while wishing she were slightly talented
so she wouldn’t be thought of as a do-nothing delinquent at The Unicorn
Academy. “Maybe I should though, what exactly do you do in drama club
Otaru?” Kieko said, watching Anji do a double take at her asking what a club
is doing instead of just saying she wouldn’t join. Otaru laughed at Anji and
told her.
“ Well, we’re doing a play called Twelve Angry Men right now, and that’s
a play in which Twelve jury members try to decide a verdict on a case of a
boy killing his father, which he didn’t. And all the evidence seems to point
to a guilty verdict, but as they get farther along reviewing the evidence
they see that the evidence isn’t all correct, but some of them just refuse to
change their minds. But eventually they decide that the boy isn’t guilty.
We’re doing this play because it just has men in it, there’s only one woman’s
part and that’s only for about five minutes. We could cast you as juror 5 or
6, those parts don’t have actors yet. Well, what do you say?”
“ Can I think about that for a bit? I’ll tell you later, no promises
though Otaru.” Kieko seriously considered it for a minute, and thought about
it all through lunch. I wouldn’t be thought of as a delinquent do-nothing, I
would make some friends, Anji would get off my back, I would have something
to do after school besides homework. I will, I’ll tell Otaru this afternoon.
Kieko finished her lunch, brought her tray up, and headed back to the dorm.
She crashed into Jiro on the way to her room.
“Hey Fujishege, watch where you’re going all right. “ Jiro grouched.
“why don’t you join a club or something?” he grumbled as he stalked down the
hallway.
“ Hey Jiro, I’m gonna join a club so wipe that scowl off your face”
Kieko knew she was risking her health taunting Jiro like that but it was just
too funny to see his face when she said I’m gonna join a club. Jiro stopped
scowling immediately and got a surprised look on his face.
“You, are joining a club? Which one?” Jiro blinked a couple times and
shook his head. “I’ll believe it when I see it”
“Then you’ll see it. But when you’ll see it is a surprise.” Kieko
retaliated and continued on her way, leaving Jiro standing in the hallway, a
utterly shocked look on his face. When she met up with Otaru she told him
she’d join drama club but they’d have to keep it really quiet until they did
the play’s first performance. Which they did. Seeing Keiko take a bow as
Juror number 5 gave Jiro that quality that makes you laugh out loud. the
perfect revenge. she thought to herself

End

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