"Hey, hey, Yuki."
"What do you want?"
"Are you going to attend the party later?"
Roxanne keeps pestering me after our general Science class has adjourned, and it is now the time to take our leave. Every student is getting their bags and heading outside, also bracing themselves for the upcoming gathering.
"Yes, I am going," I reply, while confirming the time for the remaining hours for me to get changed.
"Great! Because I prepared something for myself too! ~" She announces while tapping her enormous purple bag stuffed with who knows what is inside of that thing.
But if I have to guess what it contains, it must be her dress and everything that a girl should wear.
I look at my side and recognise Nickson still sitting on his chair, staring at the board. Upon inspecting his lips, I notice he is mumbling some phrases that only he can hear.
"I have nothing to do with him anymore," I mutter, while fixing my things and tugging Roxanne out of the room.
What I saw just now must have been my hallucination when he tried grabbing my shirt, wanting to ask something before going near the doors.
"Don't you want to talk with him?" Roxanne tilts her head closer to me as we pass by the crowd of students already on their way towards the exit. It is as if she knows what I am thinking.
"We do not owe him with anything," I concur to my sentence while temptingly glancing back to the room.
"Besides, he probably hates us for what we did," I continue while pushing the sliding door and eventually bumping my head on the gate.
I groan in agony and abruptly palpate my skull for any bumps or wounds that I may feel. Thankfully, I find no sanguine liquid dripping over my hair. I feel dizzy, but it does not mean that I damaged my skull or my brain during the process. Something had shielded me before I plummeted to the ground. I know and remember that sensation, since I can still feel a hand on top of my head.
"Are you alright, Yuki?" Roxanne falls to her knees and gently touches the site of my injury. Her nonchalant demeanour disappears from her face and replaces it with a pensive mood.
The students who appear in the area stop by and look at the scene. Some of them sneer at me, while others have their faces carved with genuine concerns about my well-being. Many of them are girls around my age that find me disgusting and pitiful lying on the ground. The males were hesitant to help because of the tiger-like eyes watching everywhere from the scene.
"I can pick myself up." I squeak while pushing my weak hands on the ground and attempt to carry my body up. After trying several times, I notice an open palm in front of me, offering to elevate me.
"I know you can," Roxanne flashes me a smile while heaving my way back in an upright position.
After noticing that I am better now, all the people leave the scene concomitantly.
"There is nothing to see here! Go on your way. Shoo," I wave my hands, gesturing them to carry on with their life after the incident.
The laughter surrounding me has also died out in a trice. I swear it was there a while ago, but now, like the cloud driven by the wind, the girls vanish.
We swiftly dash towards my home and change to our dress.
My mother and I have chosen something deadly yet charming for everyone's eyes and can allure anyone catches staring my way. It is an A-line dress pigmented with crimson red. It has a tailored thin, see-through silk on the top of the breast shaded with a pint of grey. The greyish section also has clustered jet black polka-dots that complete that upper part of the clothes.
The skirt is above knee-length, paired with obsidian stockings that cover below my knees, leaving a tiny space uncovered to show off my thighs. My sleeves for the arms reach near the wrists, attaining such a unique style for such grand clothing. The footwear that I chose is a barely there beating red sandal that compliments my crimson dress to complete my style.
Roxanne wears a bouffant dress dyed with a pinkish hue. With her opera gloves concealing her bare arms, the dress becomes less revealing to the people. Her skirt reaches around her knees, accompanied by reddish sandals with a height of two centimetres to complement her fashion.
Once we are all set and ready to go, my father drives us towards a hotel, right beside the Japanese International School. The school also owns the place without giving us any further notice.
My father drops us off at the luxurious gates and promises to return us home once he receives a text. If we could not respond even before midnight, he would wait for us in this exact spot and call us.
Call it overprotective, but it is to safeguard our security, since we will arrive home in the middle of the night. Japan is a safe place, but we still need and safely arrive inside our homes. Besides, the party might end earlier than we could even expect since Japanese people pay close attention to the time.
"I will see you later, Yuki." My father gives the two of us two flying kisses before driving along the busy road.
"Shall we go in?" Roxanne pulls me inside and leads the way.
The chandelier dangling above welcomes our orbs, with two of the enormous bifurcated stairs at each side. There are various historical paintings hung on the wall with bright electrical lanterns to illuminate the foyer. Upon walking closer inside, we discern a magnificent fountain with three water lilies floating above the water.
We head over to the dining hall and look for our seat. Once we enter inside, the students are chit-chatting on the decorated tables and chairs. They must have been waiting for the food to arrive.
"Do we have a named seat, or should we find a vacant one?" I ponder out loud as we continue to walk to the side, glancing from here and there, trying to find a teacher that can help us.
Luckily, a butler approaches us and asks for our names. He takes out a note and scribbles what he has heard before guiding us to a table.
"Oh, for the love of-,"
My eyes meet with the man wearing the same suit and tie. But this time, he has an azure necktie with a matching hanky.
"Yuki?"
"Nickson?"
"Roxanne!"
The two of us blurt out while pointing at each other. Roxanne, err-, she is just there and shouts her name.
"Do you know each other?" The butler leans back and hides his pocketbook in his pockets.
"No!" We have done it again and give him an answer in unison, rejecting his question.
The two of us lock our eyes once more, this time with electric circuits travelling at the adjacent orbs. We do not hate or like each other.
Nickson and I just do not share the same chemistry as one would think we would be.
Beside him is an adult man wearing the identical classic yet cheap black suit and tie. I mentioned his outfit being inexpensive because of his price tag still uncut from his collar. I can still see the price written on the tiny paper with the numbers 1,129.46 Japanese Yen, which is equivalent to 10 USD in my hometown.
"What are you looking at?" The man gazes at me, as if observing every bit of my movements with disgust and horror.
"Nothing."
"Che. What a waste of time," The bloke mumbles to himself while averting gaze towards the students and staff still conversing at the other side.
If I remember it correctly, he is our general Science teacher, the last class of our schedule. He is not a terrible person in the class, but quite rude when speaking to a student.
"Yuki, over here! The food is out, and it has gotten cold!" Roxanne calls for my attention .
I turn my head towards the sound and find her filling up her plate with all the delicacies prepared on the table.
"A buffet," I utter, while helping myself with the rest of the appealing food waiting to get eaten inside my mouth.
We arrive at the table with a mountain of viands and rice showered with soy sauce. Despite living the name of being an international school, they still preserve the Japanese culture. They just mix other cuisines for every international student attending the party.
I am glad that they all planned everything like this. Everyone looks happy and content as we bury ourselves with the meals that we took from the table.
Time passes by quickly when you are having fun; that is happening to the two of us. We scurry around the hotel, trying to find something entertaining to do.
We head over to the pool and play it like professionals! There is a game that the two of us occasionally play that helped us know the ropes of these 8-Ball billiards. Right next to the pool are table tennis, shogi, renju, mahjong, and jangi. Jangi is like the xiangqi of China, but without the "river" dividing the board.
Finally, we arrive at the garden and its miniature lake that also catches our eyes. We stroll down the memory lane and watch the school of fishes swim at an intense speed. There are also various plants surrounding us, making it perfect for dates and other social activities.
"I need to message my father now." I glance over at my watch and notice the time. It was already running late, and we needed to go home eventually in a few minutes.
Roxanne weakly nods her head while kissing the plants goodbye for the last time. She does not love plants, but she finds them calming to her inner peace.
"It is a good thing that the party is about to end." We both discern the things happening inside the room as the janitors and other hotel staff tidy things up, non-verbally telling us to leave.
"Before we go, I have an announcement to make!" An unfamiliar voice from the speakers catches our attention.
A man wearing eyeglasses and a woman with purple hair both descend the steps. The pair wears the uniform of our school instead of fancier clothes appropriate for the party.
As the two of them reach the platform, fireworks launch behind the building and shoot for the skies. It is to celebrate something that we are not aware of.