Once in the Moonlight: Chapter II: The Chance of A LifeTime, Or So To Speak...

"So, looking forward to your day with Brad?" Aspen winked in a knowing way. My face flushed angrily.

"Aspen chan! You know as well as I do that I have no interest in Brad!" My uncombed hair and wrinkled uniform already made me look like a wreck; Aspen provoking my anger didn't help.

But Aspen was the bold type, and didn't back down. "Oh, I'm sure that deep down, you have a burning passion for the man!"

I glared my best glare, but it came out pathetically cute. "I thought you weren't into the whole romance thing!"

"I'm not," she shrugged. "Its just funny-how you say you don't like Brad, but you always get hooked up with him. Its fate~!" (she said in a Neji Hyuuga voice) "DESTINY!!!!"

My head filled with images of a bird in a cage. "NooOOOo!" I cried. ("I SHALL DEFY DESTINY LIKE NEJI!!!!" o.O People stared at me oddly, wondering "Who the heck's Neji???")

Topleaka lagged behind, a bit dejected. Her usual bright eyes-dancing like a canary were now dulled with disinterest. “So-“ she began, a light smile over her face. “How is it-are you excited about your day with Brad?”

“No…” I moaned.

Of course…Topleaka thought to herself with a tinge of bitterness. “What?!” she said, eyes swelling up.

“He’s always looking at me oddly, as though he likes me or something!” I stuck my tongue out in disgust. “I just see him as a nice friend-but,” I tilted my head down. “I wonder if he thinks something else…” This was so confusing. I had never felt such confusing emotions pull at me.

“OOH!” Topleaka’s attention was taken away by a colorful poster. “It’s a poster!” she said, poking the paper.

“You’ve got to be kidding,” Aspen stood stunned. She then whispered, “Why is your friend ADD?”

I frowned. I had promised I would be Topleaka’s friend no matter what; even if she got annoying at times, I was going to stick by her to the end! That was my way. “That’s not nice!” I glared with my childish innocence.

“Bowling!” Topleaka chirped sweetly.

“How-can you be-so stupid?” Aspen playfully hit Topleaka over the ehad.

“But…” Topleaka began to pat the large bump that arose from her head. “Maybe-Brad will come!” I cringed at the name. That’s all that one could hear at this school-Brad Brad Brad!

“Don’t even start, Topleaka,” Aspen shot a painful glare from her onyx eyes. “We’re not like that girl Britteni Manson-we don’t need guys,”

“Britteni?” Topleaka now had a kitten like face.

“Oh right, you’re new here,” I said to remind Aspen. Aspen had an utter contempt for the prep Britteni Manson.

“Promise me that you’ll never become like her, ever,” Aspen gave a serious scowl at Topleaka, who nodded still confused. “Britteni is…a harlot. Sorry to say it so bluntly, but she is. She lives for guys, and you get the idea. Her heart is arrogance and pride-she thinks she owns the school!” Aspen snickered. “Everything she does…I hate her,”

I frowned. “She’s bad, but that doesn’t mean you should hate her!”

“Well, too bad!” Aspen stuck her tongue out.

“Oh yah,” Topleaka recalled our encounter with her in the trashcans… “She told me I was a loser freshman!” she smiled naively.

“Yep. That’s her,” I replied monotone. I felt a soft tap on my shoulder, making me turn around by instinct. I found none other than Brad, only a few inches from my face.

“OH-hi, Haruka,” he seemed surprised by this sudden-closeness, taking a step back. His vaguely tanned face turned to a shade of red. “I just wanted to ask-if you were going to that Bowling…thing,” he said, unable to bring himself to say “bash”.

“Um…well,” I stumbled, not sure myself. Did I really want to go somewhere with Brad? He seemed to be-everywhere, and it was beginning to get vaguely annoying. I could hear Aspen’s snicker and Topleaka’s giggle behind us. I sighed. Couldn’t those two either bug someone else or get their own lives? “I guess?” I found myself replying against my will.

“Great,” Brad smiled. “See ya then,” and with that, he walked away. I sighed at my own timidity.

Topleaka beamed. “See?” her eyes danced as she smiled at Aspen. “He is coming!”

She glared at her crazy friend. “Woot.” She replied sarcastically.

~

Topleaka had been nagging us about the “Bowling Bash” coming up, so reluctantly we all went. No one actually went to bowl, or more bluntly, no one liked to bowl, but I guess that really didn’t matter. Once we got there, Aspen began to aimlessly throw 50 pound balls down the lane. Topleaka ran for cover behind a vending machine. So-let the games begin…

In the crowd of Rockledge people, I noticed two people I had dreaded seeing-Kaedo Brad and Manson Britteni. “GAH! It’s people! And Britteni!” I said timidly. I had never liked being in groups of people; call me clostophobic or a misanthrope. “Oh no, and there’s Brad,” I sighed. “What do I do?” Aspen calmly got her bowling shoes.

“You’ll get some bowling shoes and get a life,” she replied forcefully, grabbing Topleaka’s ear. I could hear Topleaka whine “Mimi ga itaiiiiiii!!!!!” for several minutes without end.

From the corner of my eye, I noticed that there was only one other team that was with our school-and they stood on the other end of the alley. All the other lanes were full. While tying my shoes, I noticed an…unusual scene.

“Come on, Rina chan!” A guy I knew as Jack flirtatiously said to some mysterious girl. She had long emerald hair that swooshed with every step, and crimson eyes that flashed open with surprise.

“But Jack-“ she rebutted. “I’ve never-“

“It’s easy!” he said lightly, gently pushing her to the lane. Well, this wouldn’t really be unusual except that this was Jack. His slick black hair covered his onyx eyes ominously, the eyes that always shimmered with some unholy inspiration. His smirk never left his lips, almost seeming to taste evil. Jack was an EROBAKA!!! O___o well, yes-to put it bluntly. He had to have the lowest grades in our school, and the one to most frequently get threats of expellation. But along with that, he was known for flirting with nearly every girl in the school-especially the new girls. Well, they knew nothing of his reputation. That’s what filled me with anger, every time I saw his latest victim. This emerald haired girl had no idea, surely…

Timidly, she grabbed for a bowling ball, carefully aiming towards the pins. Throwing her arm back, she tried to let the ball go, but it was stuck on her fingers. The ball, however, didn’t notice, and continued to thrust itself forward, sending this girl with it. Before she knew it, she lost her balance on her toes, flying down the lane with her onyx bowling ball.

Everyone stared in surprise-how was that ball able to carry her weight?! Soundlessly, the ball hit the pins, knocking them down with a big explosion. WHAT KIND OF BOWLING ALLEY WAS THIS?!!?!?! My jaw dropped, making me lose any interest in bowling whatsoever.

But, our school being one filled with violence obsessed people; half the people on that team laughed, and walked away to buy three dollar pretzels. My eyes opened wide in concern of the random girl with shiney green hair.

So I ran across the bowling alley, towards the lane of the fatal incident, running through the slick lane flooring. “Are you alright?” I asked, worried.

She smiled lightly, apparently very embarrassed for what just happened. “Oh-thank you so much!” she said in a British accent. It was funny to hear that, since there were few pure Europeans here, let alone British. But her accent rolled off her tongue smoothly, similar to Japanese. She reluctantly grabbed for my hand, pulling herself up. “It’s my first time, I guess you could say-and well, that certainly didn’t go as well as I hoped!” she laughed weakly. I smiled back.

“Oh!” I snapped to reality. “Gomen! I’m Tsumizaki Haruka! It’s nice to meet you!” I held my hand out in the European way, since I could tell that she wasn’t from around here.

She grabbed it in a friendly shake. “It’s nice to meet you, Haruka! My name’s Sabrina Vesston. I’m kind of…new around here,” she added, a bit shy.

“Well, then I’ll have to show you around Rockledge!” I said nicely. Well, I was trying to step out of my comfort zone, and here was a place to start!

Sabrina seemed a bit weak and stressed, though she did her best to hide it. Of course, I didn’t know her yet, but something in her eyes seemed weighted down. I could especially tell that something bothered her when her eyes diverted to Jack, who was now walking with some other girl. Though she said nothing, I could tell that that hurt and shocked her.

“Would you like to get a coffee? My treat!” I wondered what one was supposed to ask a new friend. That had never been my responsibility before.

“Oh-sure! Thank you!” she said, cheering up, as we walked over to the small Starbucks attached to the bowling alley.

Well, since I hated the taste of coffee beans, I got a fruit smoothie, which ran down my parched throat. Sabrina sighed as she inhaled the coffee aroma. But, returning to reality, she handed me a five.

“Please—“ she begged, stuffing the bill in my hand.

“No!” I cried like a child trying to help. “I payed! You can’t pay! I wanna be your friend, Sabrina san, and as such, I won’t let you pay!” I said with a determined spirit. She seemed startled by my outburst, then smiled.

“Well, thank you then,” she said, somewhat defeated, as we sat at a small table outside the stand.

“So—“ I began. Well, what did you talk about with new friends?

“So Haruka-you go to Rockledge also?” she asked me.

“Oh-yah!” I smiled. “It’s a good school, once you get past homicidal preps and the emo kids, and the megolomaniatic nerds-“ I thought of all the unusual groups people split themselves into at our school. She chuckled.

“So, what group would you put yourself in then?” she asked.

I put a finger to my mouth. “Hmm…” I had never liked the concept of groups, but I guess I still put people in them anyway. “I’m not really in any group. I hang out with Aspen and Topleaka, but besides them…” I came to the conclusion, defeated, “I don’t have any friends…”

Sabrina chuckled again. “I understand! That’s how I’ve felt for a while too! You see, I’ve really only had one friend my whole life, and he still lives in England-“

“In—In England?” I asked, surprised. England seemed so….far away…”You lived-in England?”

She nodded as she took another sip of coffee. “I really miss it. I had a friend named Ashton, since I was only a couple years old!” she smiled weakly. “He was the only one I ever really got used to talking to, and we used to do all sorts of stuff together…” Sabrina mused.

Meanwhile, Aspen had been defeated by Topleaka, having to go up and ask Brad if they could join his group.

“Ugh…Brad, can we join your group? There are no more open lanes,” Aspen said as though she were about to die.

“Um…sure,” Brad said reluctantly, wondering who the heck this random girl was. Well, at least she didn’t look ready to glomp him for no apparent reason. He sighed in relief. That was always good.

They began by punching in their names, Topleaka entertained with all the heart and star icons. Everyone sighed as she took ten minutes to figure out what her screen name should be. Well, that’s half the point of bowling-isn’t it?

First came Topleaka. She timidly walked up to grab the lightest ball. “Go Topleaka or die!” Aspen screamed. Well, that didn’t exactly help. Her yellow jade eyes wandered to Brad, who looked at the screen, disinterested. Why am I here again? He asked himself.

Well, here it goes.. Topleaka thought, her seafoam curls bobbing nervously. She dropped the ball, letting it crawl across the slick floor. In a sudden and unpredictable movement, it dodged every pin and fell to the side. Her head drooped in defeat.

“That was horrible, Topleaka baka!” Aspen growled, shaking Topleaka by the shoulders.

Kaio and Brad watched, bored. “If I didn’t know them, I think this would look rather…wrong,” Kaio noted. Brad nodded in agreement, though when he thought about it, he had no idea who the heck these two girls were, ignoring that they were always with Haruka.

Aspen stopped after a few moments, letting Topleaka breathe. The seafoam haired girl fell against a wall, drained of all energy. Aspen mused for a moment, then realized that her friend Haruka was still gone. “Where is Haruka?” she asked, making Topleaka the victim of her anger. Aspen strangled an unsuspecting Topleaka. A ball rolled smoothly down the lane as Brad got…one knocked over. He fell backwards in disappointment. Kaio applauded sarcastically.

“I don’t know! Don’t kill me!” Topleaka cried.

“Well,” An angry Aspen began hotly, “You’d better go find her or you shall be the victim of my invoked wrath,” Topleaka cringed, knowing that Aspen wasn’t joking, at that if she didn’t do something soon, she would be figuratively dead soon. She gulped, then ran off across the alley, in search of none other than…me. I should have felt all needed and loved, but quite the contrary; I was a bit disturbed.

Back to Sabrina and I. Sabrina began to pour out to me all sorts of things about her old friend Ashton and her home of England. I sighed. It sounded really nice there…I could see why she missed it so much.

“…so when I left, he gave me this ring,” she smiled as she showed me a nice simple ring, “to remind me that no matter what, we would never be fully separated!” Sabrina sighed after her long explanation. “Hey…thanks for listening to me. I think you’re the only person I’ve been able to talk to..since Ashton.” Her eyes darted to the floor. “A lot of times..I wish I hadn’t had to move…”

I frowned. “Well, I’m sure that you two will get together again!” she looked up surprised. “God can do anything! If he wants you two to be together, he’ll make it happen-even if you’re on the other side of the world!” Her face brightened up a little bit. “And-until you see him again, I’ll be your friend!” I smiled.

“You…you really mean that Haruka?” she beamed. I nodded. “Thank you,” she smiled. Well-I hoped that I had done something right. Seeing my new friend Sabrina so happy made me feel pretty confident that I had.

Suddenly, I felt a glomp from behind. I turned around to see none other than…Topleaka! I twitched and spun around. “Topleaka? Where’d you come from?!”

Topleaka pouted her signature pout, her aqua curls bobbing, “Where have you been, Haruka chan? Aspen’s not happy, which means that someone’s figurative death is approaching, and its all thanks to you!” she stuck her tongue out at me angrily. Sabrina looked terribly confused and disturbed, and I couldn’t blame her.

“Apsen’s my friend!” I explained quickly.

“In Japan, your friends…” she began slowly, “figuratively kill each other?” I instantly got the image of a role play of Aspen and Topleaka with big anime swords, swinging at each others heads insanely. I shivered and nodded.

Sabrina giggled nervously. In an instant’s time, I felt Topleaka grab my arm in a strong pull, dragging me to Aspen’s lane. Colours flashed before my eyes.

“Leaving me with the guys…” Aspen muttered hoarsely under her breath. “They will pay…they will all pay!” her voice reached a screech as she violently threw the ball down the court. Kaio and Brad watched in utter horror.

Topleaka came up behind Aspen timidly, prodding her gently on the shoulder. “A-aspen chan,” she began hesitantly. “Ha-haruka’s back-“

Shadows fell over Aspen’s eyes. “WHERE THE CRAP HAVE YOU TWO BEEN?!?!?!” she shouted in Topleaka’s ear. Sabrina and I shrunk back. “I’ve had to play for both of you, and with two guys!” Kaio and Brad seemed offended by this, especially considering that they had been nice enough to let her in their lane…

“Gomen, Aspen!” Topleaka whimpered. That’s when I took advantage of the moment.

“Aspen chan, this is my new friend Sabrina chan!” Sabrina waved awkwardly, probably thinking ‘she figuratively kills people! GAH!’. Before she could react, Topleaka gave her a giant hug.

“Yea new friend!” she smiled sweetly. I sighed, considering that this was probably not the best way for Sabrina to meet everyone.

Meanwhile, some random mysterious guy with long black bangs whose name is not revealed at this moment in time walked into the bowling alley, surprised to see it practically…empty. Apparently, all the other people from Rockledge’s ADD kicked in, and they went out somewhere else. Poor random guy…

“You guys practically missed the whole game,” Aspen glared, especially at Topleaka. I was considered the sweet one, I guess, which is why I was often spared from her wrath.

“Gomen, Aspen chan!” I said sympathetically. “Its…a long story.” Aspen restrained herself.

Kaio rolled a ball forcefully down the lane, getting a strike. “I hate bowling…” he muttered to himself. Once he walked back, the final score was tallied…and to everyone’s surprise, Kaio won. Brad fell back. Topleaka and I were indifferent, considering our final scores were…0. I could see that Sabrina noticed Jack and that mysterious girl in the corner of her eye.

“Sabrina!” I called. “Wanna join us in another game?” Aspen fell back, thinking she had already suffered enough bowling for a lifetime. Topleaka on the other hand seemed rather excited with the idea.

“Yea! Bowling!” she cried, running across the slick floor. She fell flat on her face. Sabrina and I shared some calorie infested CalorieCrap nachos. I had to convince her to eat them, since she guaranteed that there was Yellow Die #40 in it. I had no idea what that was, but convinced her that the desire for melted cheese could overcome the power of calories. She seemed convinced enough.

After watching Topleaka roll her ball into the side lanes, accidently whacking some random person in the head a few lanes down, and simply missing the pins altogether, I went. Me, being the wonderfully talented klutz that I was, fell over Aspen, dropped three balls in a row, and never hit more than four pins a turn. Sabrina laughed, dropping calorie infested hot cheese sauce on the floor.

Well, all in all, I was rather happy with the day. I had stretched myself a bit, met someone new, and had fun. Well, I did have fun until Aspen beat us all by 200+ points. Then I just felt utterly stupid.

But back to the some random mysterious guy with long black bangs whose name is not revealed at this moment in time! Seeing as there was no one else from the school of Rockledge left in the abandoned bowling alley, he walked over to no other lane but ours! Where else would he go, really?

Sabrina looked up after feeling a shadow fall across her pale face. Her eyes grew wide and her cheeks flushed. She had more emotion in her face than I had seen all day. “A-ashton?” she asked barely above a whisper. She nearly dropped the coffee she had in hand. I turned my head in surprise.

“Sabrina?” he asked with wide eyes. A kind smile pulled at his lips. “Its been a while, hasn’t it?”

~

Well, so began another week of school. The weeks were beginning to roll by quickly, really. I blamed the quickly approaching fourth quarter.

“Haruka….chan!” Sabrina smiled as she ran up to me in her new uniform. She had been at our school a few weeks now, but it hadn’t been long since I had met her for the first time.

“You’ve almost got it!” I gave her a yosh! thumbs up. She grinned embarrassed.

“They don’t have endings for names in England…” she covered up.

“It’s fine! In Mihama, we have people from-everywhere! You don’t have to try so hard to keep up with the Japanese traditions,” I grinned.

“But-I want to!” Sabrina said determined. If there was one thing I knew about Sabrina already, it was that she was a determined and faithful person. If she started something, she would be determined to finish it, no matter what. Plus, she was really nice and thoughtful, not letting sudden emotions control her. She was a person who thought before she acted.

“Your day with Brad’s comin’ up, girl!” I could hear Aspen’s voice taunt me. I turned around to face the blueberry haired girl. “I still can’t believe it!”

“Well, believe it,” I squinted my eyes, somewhat annoyed. Aspen loved to remind me of the Brad predigament. She liked to make this all sound like some date, when I really saw it as something I had to go through. “Will you stop reminding me, Aspen? I don’t even like the guy!” I frowned.

She pouted angrily. “Most girls would kill for this, Haruka! Why is it that the one who gets it couldn’t care less?”

“It’s not my fault that I don’t like Brad!” I replied hastily. Sabrina looked at me surprised.

“Ooh, Haruka, You didn’t tell me about this…” she smiled.

“It’s nothing, Sabrina chan!” I shrugged embarrassed. “Nothing really-“

“Haruka won the contest to hang out with Brad Kaedo for a day!” Aspen butted in.

“B-brad Kaedo?” Sabrina asked confused.

“He’s an actor,” Aspen said plainly. “Most of the girls here think he’s really hot-“

“Oh mi gawsh! Isn’t the all handsome and gorgeous Kaedo Brad like SOOO HAWWTT?!” fan girls interrupted. Their silky hair flipped back and forth. Sabrina twitched and fell against a nearby wall. Squeals erupted.

“See what I mean?” Aspen asked wearily. Sabrina nodded quickly as she ran for the cover of her class.

~

Being of a small school, we couldn't afford janitors. Thus, the students were forced to clean the school...for free.

"It builds character!" is what the teachers would say. I had trouble believing that, but I decided to give in and clean. It wasn't really that bad.

Aspen and I had the duty of "DOOR KNOB CLEANERS!" She had the spray bottle and I the paper towels; we were on a quest to make every door knob shiny. Hikari was the one who would evaluate our work.” For truth and justice...and shininess~!" was our slogan.

The lunch bell rang, calling us to our door knob tending duties.

Sabrina decided to sign up for book keeping, which truly was just maintaining the hallway wall we called our library. Perhaps....50 books? Oh well; Sabrina loved books, so she was content.

Roxetta and Topleaka were supposed to take out the trash. Once they got outside, Topleaka would usually scream "FRESH AIR!!!! LIGHT!!!! ITS SO----BEAUTIFUL!" Waterfall tears, a wave and sunset-the whole shebang. Roxetta would usually pull her by the ear back into our stuffed cafeteria.

Anyway-back to Aspen and I. Today, we were aimlessly wandering the halls, Aspen having a little bit too much fun with the 409(r) spray.

"Aspen-you might blind someone! Stop!~" I pleaded.

Aspen looked at me, surprised. "Really?"

I nodded fiercely. Hikari looked at us blankly, her auburn hair glowing. "Blinding faculty at our school would be BAD!"

"Who said it had to be faculty?" she asked, muttering FUFUFU. That couldn’t' be good.

I shook off my previous words. "Blinding ANYONE with 409 (r) would be bad! VERY BAD! Especially in a small, under populated school like ours!"

Aspen began rubbing her chin thoughtfully. Hikari thought for a moment too. Perhaps I was the only one who didn’t see this moment as particularly special.

“I say that we attack everyone with silly string!” Hikari put forth, and I had to goggle for a moment.

“What---where did that come from?!” I asked, since I was the sane one who wanted to see a natural order to conversation. I think I had too high of expectations.

I turned my head to see Aspen continuing to attack the innocent silver doorknobs with her spray. Her dust brown eyes stared disinterestedly at the work before her. Well, I thought to myself That was a sudden change, but hey-was anything normal here?

“Hey everyone!” Topleaka raced up to us, Roxetta walking away as quickly as she could. “You all know Roxetta?” the raven haired girl froze.

“Teh, yah,” Apsen snickered. “You’re that girl that follows Britteni, right?”

Roxetta flashed a look of contempt and snickered back. “I overruled her a while back,” her violet eyes danced.

“She’s so---cool!” Topleaka squealed. Roxetta pulled her ear again, as she had grown rather fond of doing. Topleaka whimpered, rubbing a scarlet ear.

“Has no attention span for fashion!” Hikari smiled lazily, spinning around in circles.

“Hi! I’m Tsumizaki Haruka!” I threw my hand out welcomingly. “Its nice to meet you!”

Roxetta looked at me curiously, surprised that there were still some nerds like me left on the face of the earth. “Hey,” she said coolly, quickly shaking my hand and letting go.

Aspen decided she was bored with this conversation, and turned back to her doorknob cleaning duties.

“So, Roxetta. Have you truly stooped so low as to talk to this…scum?” the voice I knew as Britteni’s came up from behind us.

Roxetta smirked. “Who I speak to is my business only.”

“They’re freshmen,” Britteni spat out in disgust. Isabelle nodded timidly. “We’re…above that,”

“I said it was my business,” Roxetta repeated, an agitated glare in her violet eyes.

Britteni looked back as though watching a disobedient puppy, startled. “Fiesty,”

“Y-you’ll loose your pop-ularity if y-you talk to p-people like them,” Isabelle softly added, pointing to us.

“What’s that mean, blondie?” Aspen shot a glare at the timid Isabelle, who cowered behind Britteni.

“Talk to the hand,” Britteni recited as she walked away, Isabelle faithfully tagging behind.

Roxetta snickered. “You may be freshmen, but Britteni takes it too far,” she grinned softly. “Besides, who died and made her queen ?”

I watched her without a word. Aspen grunted, turning around. “Well…thanks, I guess. We don’t need your help-“

“Oh yes, you do,” Roxetta laughed. “You’re hopeless,”

“IF WE’RE SO INFERIOR, WHY ARE YOU TALKING TO US?!” Aspen bursted out. She was only met by another laugh from Roxetta.

“I like you guys-you’re better than the stuck up upperclassmen, and not as immature as the other freshmen,” she gave a narrowed look and a cracked smile.

“You obviously do not know Hikari and Topleaka then-“ Aspen pointed to Hikari and Topleaka, who were having a heated debate on whether sweet potatoes and whipped cream or magical pixie dust and plastic straws were the most effective way to hold off alien intruders that come through your cracked bedroom window at 2:34 am precisely O.o

“Well, take it however you may,” Roxetta lazily drifted off down the hallway, leaving us more confused than before. And that’s saying a lot.

~

Shortly after Sabrina joined Mihama, Topleaka became intrigued with the concept of England. “So…” she asked Sabrina excitedly as we walked bome from school. “This place they call Britain…”

“It is a lace, Topleaka,” Sabrina laughed, rolling her eyes.

“Where?” Topleaka’s eyes widened like a child who discovere thtat there were moe brands of candy than just Hershey chocolate bars.

There, Sabrina stopped. At first, she considered Topleaka’s comment sarcastic. She was never good at dealing with sarcasm. “Are…you being serious?” the Brit’s eyebrow rose to face Topleaka.

“Well…” she said slowly and thoughtfully. “I know theres’ a place called Europe, and that its on the other side of the world. Isn’t that where this so called England is?”

Sabrina slammed a lotioned palm against her forehead. “Yes, England is in Europe. Do they not teach you geography here?”

I shrugged lamely, jumping in. “We learn about Asian and American history and geography, just because we’re right between the two,” I explained hesitantly. “Besides that, we’re an island in the middle of no where…”

Sabirna chuckled. “Well, England is an island as well…”

“Really?” Topleaka took it all in excitedly. “Tell me more!”

The emerald head’s eyebrow rose In surprise. “Well-“ Sabrina began, which meant she probably wouldn’t be stopping anytime soon. Topleaka took in every word. And so began Topelaka’s fascination with Britain.

~

“Topleaka, I’m sick of all your Brad talk!” I said one morning, rather annoyed. Aspen’s eyebrow raised at me actually showing annoyance towards someone. “You’re like-“ I began to imitate. “OH EM WWWWWW (word)! It’s BRAD KUN!!! Kawaii! KAWAII!!! Amae! AMAE! AMAE!!!” I began to spin in circles sarcastically, flapping my arms. Hikari was entertained by the new dance, joining me. Sabrina however, was utterly lost by the insanity and sparatic Japanese.

Kaio, who was standing off in the distance, happened to notice my…whatever it was. His eyes widened, especially as he happened to hear the “Brad’s so HAWT!” part. Topleaka noticed his eyes practically pop out of his head, looking back at me, then shaking her arms and head furiously, mouthing “ITS NOT WHAT YOU THINK!” I felt her tap my shoulder softly. “H-haruka chan---“

But it was too late. Kaio was already poking Brad, saying, “Haruka has the hots for you-“

Brad spat out the water he was drinking from the water fountain. “NAN-“ Kaio grabbed his shoulders and turned him around to face Hikari and I dancing around in circles, Topleaka urgently poking my shoulder in rapid fire, as Sabrina awkwardly stood, watching. “I have no life!!! BRAD KUN”s MY LIFE!!!~~~~” I continued to imitate Topleaka, but of course, Kaio and Brad never heard the “This is you” part.

“….” They both stood blankly, watching, until I finally stopped, and noticed Kaio and Brad’s eyes locked on me. Well, talk about awkward.

“Um----“ A sweatdrop fell on the back of my head. “Gomen!” I bowed several times in a row, Hikari still dancing for no particular reason. Aspen walked up, then walked away, not wanting to associate with our….insanity problems.

I looked to Topleaka, who now had a pitchfork in her hands.

“…so why the heck do you have a pitchfork?” Brad asked blankly, staring at the pitchfork in Topleaka’s hands.

“Hehe-“ the insane one named Topleaka covered up awkwardly. She had to admit-carrying around a pitchfork was…suspicious to say the least. “Its…a good conversation…starter!”

Brad looked at her emotionlessly. Well, Brad was one of those rather reserved and quiet guys, always marked with a stoic grave expression. It wasn’t a creepy look, just a serious mature look. He wasn’t one of the guys who would randomly shout “YOUR MOM!” “I will never understand girls..” he muttered as he walked away coolly.

The bell once again rang in my ears, to my utter joy. An excuse to run away-exactly what I wanted! But as soon as I turned to leave, I felt Brad’s hand on my shoulder, pulling me back.

“So-we’re still on for Friday?” he asked plainly. My mind reeled back to the premier..

“So-what exactly is the prize for winning?” I asked Haru once the journalists and jealous fans filed out.

“You get one expense paid day with Brad,” he replied. “Well-I guess that’s not really special for you-being his girlfriend and all-“

“I’m not his girlfriend!” I cried, terribly confused by everything.

“Well, you do spend a lot of time with Brad-“ he joked with a wink.

“It’s not my fault!” I withered. He just laughed.

“But the main prize really is the photo shoot with Brad,”

“?!” I looked at him, confused.

“Yah-the editor’s bored of all the ‘just Brad’ shots, so we needed someone else to be in his pictures with him. Congratulations,” Haru smiled.

“Eto----Ano-----“ my eyes grew wide, unsure of what to say.

I nodded softly, eyes still glued to his. I must have looked like some mindless idiot. “Good!” he smiled and walked off. There I was, up against the wall-as though I could not perform any bodily functions, standing blankly, staring at the other wall ahead. What have I gotten myself into? I asked myself sadly, walking blankly into class.

~

Sabrina and I, though we weren’t so much into clothes, were entertained by going to the mall and trying stuff on. Topleaka lagged behind, rather bored herself.

“Why doesn’t anyone else appreciate my love of fashion?” she sighed, beginning to ramble in a monologue. “I wish there was someone-anyone-who too would love to spend countless hours, picking through the clearance racks-“ In her distracted state, she accidently bumped into someone carrying lots of bags. “AHH!” Topleaka screamed, falling backwards.

“Uh…are you ok?” the person who actually got run into asked slowly.

“Oh—“ Topleaka turned around and faced the person. It was none other than Roxetta! “Roxetta sama!”

“That’s my name, don’t wear it out,” the former prep replied stoically.

Topleaka looked at the shopping bags that now were on the floor. “You like Neopolitan girl too?” she gasped. “Haruka’ll never let me drag her into there! Finally! Another believer!” Topleaka subconsciously hugged the stoic girl.

“What the-Get off me baka!” she growled, pushing off the clingly aqua blonde.

From the distance, Sabrina and I noticed Roxy hitting Topleaka with a ten-ton hammer.

“What is-“ Sabrina asked.

“Roxetta?” I asked startled.

Topleaka finally fell off, bouncing to the ground. “Woah-“ her eyes glued on a mannequin. “What’s up with the girl! She’s staring at me!” she screamed. The mannequin’s eyes stayed glued on her.

“Topleaka-that’s a model,” Sabrina said calmly, blinking.

“I didn’t know you liked Neopolitan Girl!” I smiled blankly.

“…Tell anyone and you die.” She replied simply. I shuttered.

~

Friday came before I had a chance to check my calendar and see if it was true. School dragged on longer than I thought was physically possible, but I wasn’t glad when it came to an end. Now, I had a backpack full of homework for the weekend and a heart full of anxiety for this evening—

As soon as I walked out of class, I saw Brad waiting for me. I sighed. “Ready?” he asked me. When I nodded, he took my hand and led me outside. I looked down at my hand with disbelief. Is he---holding my hand? My face turned crimson. Apparently, many fan girls noticed, since I heard angry voices behind me say “Brad stealer!” Brad did a good job ignoring them, but I felt guilty-as though I was doing something wrong…

Outside the doors, I was surprised to see—a limousine?! “B-brad kun?” I looked at the shimmering black vehicle in front of me with wide eyes.

“Is it ok?” he asked me.

I nodded furiously. “It’s awesome!” I smiled brightly. A smile tugged on his lips as he opened the door for me to get in. Well, a day with Brad isn’t really my dream come true, but I might as well enjoy this all the same! I thought to myself as the limo drove off.

“So-Brad-what are we going to do?” I asked him shyly.

He relaxed in his seat. “I have---no idea,”

I sighed deeply.

“I know there’s a photo shoot involved, but besides that-“ he sighed also. Why doesn’t Hyru tell me these things? “Well, what do you want to do?” he asked stoically.

I looked at him surprised. “I—get to pick?”

He laughed slightly. “Well, this is supposed to be for you, Haruka chan!” A soft giggle escaped my lips. But I realized that his light green eyes were looking into mine, which made me once again think of Topleaka.

“It doesn’t matter to me, really,” I had never been good at choosing anything.

“As long as its some place that no one can stalk us with cameras, I’m ok,” Brad smiled.

I felt a sudden jerk from underneath the limo, as the sleek car came to a stop. Stepping outside, there was a vast white cement building, crammed between countless smaller buildings. The sign read “Yumesei Productions”.

“This is the studio, where most of the filming and recording in Mihama is done,” he explained. I nodded, enthralled. Maybe one day…my mind began to muse.

Ever since I was little, I had always dreamed of being a famous singer. Whenever the notes would escape my lips, I felt free. It was the only time I felt bold-like I could fly wherever I wished. It was too bad that the only place I could soar was in my shower. But I still held onto the dream, and wondered if there was ever a chance I could sing for the world-

“Ready?” he asked me, noticing my dark green eyes zone out into the horizon. I shook my umber hair and followed him.

Inside the building was even more impressive. There was one large room, which broke off into countless smaller chambers. There were several long hallways, stretched out in the distance. Out of place in the middle of the room, there was a large clerk desk.

“Oh, Brad!” the worker at the counter waved her hand delicately. “You’re here for the photoshoot, right?” He nodded emotionlessly. Her eyes fell to me. “Oh! Is this the girl who won?” she smiled insincerely.

“This is Tsumizaki Haruka,” he introduced with a wave of his hand. I waved back to her timidly. She scrutinized me with her light onxy eyes, making me rather tense. “She’ll do, but she needs a lot of work…” she mused to herself, playing with my hair and my cheeks. “Do you even know what make up is, girl?” she asked me bluntly.

“I don’t like looking artificial…” I muttered timidly.

The woman stood at least a head above me (perhaps because of her tall heels), glaring down on me annoyed. “Admit that you are utterly ignorant,”

“I-“ My eyes grew wide, vaguely scared.

“What’s wrong with her?” Brad asked with a look of disinterest.

“Why-“ the woman stopped, quite put out. “Everything! Her outfit is so plain, and her hair is oily! She has no make up, so her features look bland and flat! Along with that-“

“She looks fine to me,” Brad interrupted, making me blush. “The Ambercrombie and Fitch look gets old quick—“ he muttered, making me laugh.

“Well I-“ she glared, then stalked off down a hallway, her heels echoing on the marble floor. “Follow me,” she barked at us, making Brad and I quickly turn to follow.

When she stopped, we found ourselves in front of a dressing room. “You need something or other, no matter what you say, Kaedo san,” she glared at the star behind her. “You go down to the white room (what the heck was the white room? They were all white, as far as I could tell…), and we’ll come in a few minutes,” When Brad didn’t move (which I couldn’t blame him-), she gave his honeydew eyes a mellow glare. He quickly stalked off down another hallway.

“Now first, your hair,” she flipped a slick auburn strand. “Your outfit will have to do, but you also need some make up...” she grabbed a hot iron and plugged it in. I gulped. How this would end, I didn’t want to know…

I felt my hair fall into curls, and my skin get dabbed with layers of makeup. After 15 minutes or so, she spun me around to face a wall mirror. “You look…adequate,” she muttered. “That’s the best I can do with you,” I touched my face with disbelief. Where was Tsumizaki Haruka? The one I saw in the mirror was some cover girl.

“That’s—not me, is it?” I asked innocently.

“See what a little make up can do?” the girl asked me coldly. “You would look-almost of your gender,” her eyes fell on me condescendingly.

“Well—th-thank you!” I said in surprise. My fingers still laced over my cheek.

“You have to get back to Brad for the photo shoot now,” she walked over to open the door. Down the hall, three rights and two lefts, and there we were-in the “white room”.

“We’re here,” the woman said plainly as we walked in. Brad turned his head, his eyes opening wide once he noticed me. “What did I tell you?” she asked the young man.

“H-haruka?” he asked in disbelief. Hearing Brad stutter was a phenomenon of sorts. His cheeks turned crimson.

“H-hi, Brad,” I blushed, waving softly. The woman rolled her eyes and snickered.

“Let’s just get on with it,” she directed towards a photographer. Brad continued to stare at me, which made me feel rather awkward. I wasn’t used to guys randomly staring at me.

The photographer began to gesture to us how we were supposed to stand, and where. He was an utter perfectionist. The lighting had to be right, and we had to freeze in place until he felt completely satisfied. The minutes rolled by slowly, especially on the last shot…

“Now, I want you two as close as you can get-“ ?! My claustrophobic inner self cried out. “Brad, get your arms around her waist-“ My eyes flew open wide, my heart racing deep within my chest. (Doki Doki!)

“…?!” Brad looked at the photographer as though he were jesting.

“Just one shot-“

“Don’t you realize that fangirls will hunt her down?” Brad gave the photographer a grave glare.

“They can’t get that heated up over one cover shot…” Brad gave a look that read “Oh yes they can!”, but wrapped his arms around my waist from behind. My hair stuck up on end. I felt like time froze. My eyes turned around to face his, but a sudden blinding flash stung them. “Perfect!” the photographer grinned. “That’s it!”

It felt like we were in another dimention. I couldn’t think at all, and I wondered where the heck I was and what the heck I was doing. But Brad’s voice brought me back to reality.

“Ready?” he asked, walking towards the door.

“Hai!” I replied hastily, catching up.

Well, I won’t go into detail of how the rest of our day went…we basically talked and hung out. I know that sounds so bland, dull, and normal. It’s Kaedo Brad! Isn’t there anything better you can say? Well, to me, Kaedo Brad was just some other guy. I didn’t see that much different about him, except that he was kind of nice to talk to. When we went to get lunch, I realized that I wasn’t that nervous around him, as compared to how I was before. Though he usually had a closed, quiet nature, he could be rather friendly. Though “A Day With Brad” wasn’t my dream come true, it was a nice day that I would remember. X3

~

‘So-how was it?” Eurika Goodman asked me. Her smile showed off her passion and admiration for Brad. “Tell me everything!”

“Well…there’s not really much to tell!” I shrugged shyly. “We had a photo shoot, and then we went out for lunch and just…hung out,”

“Wow! That’s so---cool!” she replied airily. “Did he try to kiss you or anything?”

“What?!” I asked shocked. “Of course not! Why would he?”

Eurika opened her mouth to reply, when she was interrupted by a loud shout.

“Get off, freshman!” Britteni belted out at Topleaka for no apparent reason in my mind.

Topleaka fell back a bit and frowned. “Sorry to be looking at your poster!”

Britteni gave a death glare. “Inferior-“ she raised a finger and flicked Topleaka on the forehead.

Topleaka bit her lip. “You’re so mean, Britteni!” she said in her childish way.

The raven haired girl we had grown to refer to as Roxy-sama (because she liked to hold a place of authority) came up from behind Britteni, and to our surprise, denied Britteni's "ubiquitous power".

"Britteni, what's your problem" Roxy asked, her eye brow raised. "Yah, they're freshmen, but still-this is a bit far, don't ya think?" she smirked. "I like the blood and iron fist as much as anyone else, but -“

“How dare you question my actions!” Britteni shouted with a pointed finger. “I am the supreme authority here! And besides, when you came here, you agreed with our theme statement to insult anyone in any way possible!”

“I never said I would take away people’s dignity!” Roxy glared, then stopped. “Ok, maybe I did…But I changed my mind!!!!”

“Uh…did we just start a fight?” Topleaka whispered in my ear.

“I---don’t know…” I replied back slowly.

“You’re either with us or against us,” Britteni spat out. A few of her followers timidly looked on, as though ready to watch Britteni and Roxetta fight fist to fist.

“Then maybe I’m your worst enemy,” Roxy whispered, turning and walking down a hallway with a rather dramatic effect. A few Britteni followers oohed and aahed, but did nothing. Britteni looked off in disbelief.

“Who does she think she is?” the megalomaniactic prep asked Isabelle. The periwinkle haired girl shrugged passively.

“Th-thank you, Roxy,” Topleaka smiled as the raven girl walked by.

“You’d better be happy. I just gave up my popularity for you,” she muttered with a smirk as she walked on to class.

~