Lazily turning and throwing one leg over the blanket that was partially on the floor, she murmured 'Do you have the necklace?'
'What necklace?'
Her eyes snapped open revealing her younger sister, Li Hua, who was less than an inch away. 'No, nothing.' She sat up rubbing at her heavy eyelids.
'Your alarm is disturbing.' Li Hua moved away. 'Imagine... I could hear it from my room.'
And that was when she heard it, the shrieking and vibration of her alarm on her nightstand. She reached over to switch it off.
'I really don't know why it has to be so loud.' Li Hua was still complaining. 'Not like it even wakes you... its always me that has to come here...'
She sighed and watched her younger sister disappear out her doorway. With copper red hair and wine-red eyes, Li Hua was a younger version of their mother, but the complaining was entirely her own.
Xing Xing glanced at her clock grudgingly. Seven thirteen. Her alarm clock had been shrieking for at least thirteen minutes. No wonder it managed to wake Li Hua.
Her head was aching and her body was screaming out in protest as she jumped out of bed. Xing Xing quickly cleaned up and put on her uniform.
'It's like someone was jumping on my body all night.' She placed a hand on her forehead and paused in front of the mirror.
'I stayed up the whole night,' she spoke to her reflection as she brushed her plain black hair into a pony. ''Till three... or was it four? But I still don't understand anything in Chemistry.'
At least her eyes weren't so swollen anymore. It didn't help her appearance though; she was still the pale girl with skin like that of a plastic doll. That's why she never bothered with make-up. It would probably just make her look like something from a scary Halloween movie.
In the kitchen Xing Xing fixed up a quick breakfast for her sister and had a glass of juice plus a block of cheese herself. No time for a proper meal for her. Not like there was ever time for one anyway, something she had come to accept.
'Li Hua, don't be late,' she softly spoke to her sleepy sister. 'It's already six to eight.'
'Mmmmh... stop disturbing me.' Li Hua turned away. 'Your alarm clock wouldn't let me sleep for a minute. And now you're also disturbing.'
'Okay, I'm gone. Just don't be late. And don't forget your lunchbox.'
'Mmmmh... just leave me alone.' Li Hua murmured covering her head with the comforter.
Xing Xing checked that her sister's alarm clock was set for eight forty and silently left the room. If there was something that Li Hua loved apart from food, it was sleeping.
Xing Xing was just in time to catch the bus. More than anything, being late was closest to being her super power. Perhaps if she could manage her time well, she wouldn't even have to use the bus.
Their school only had one school bus. Considering that the school was made up of all the rich and spoilt brats in town that had their own transports, the management didn't see the need to provide more free transport.
'Please everyone, take your seats.'
Xing Xing looked around her, remembering why she hated taking the bus. The bus was already fully packed and the driver didn't mind whether three or four people shared a seat. As long as everyone was seated.
'Take your seats, please.' Came the driver's voice again.
Murmurs and whispers were starting to rise in the bus and several heads indiscreetly started turning to look at her. She was the only one standing. Xing Xing felt a headache start. She clutched her notebook harder.
A boy tagged at the hem of her school shirt. He had dark cropped hair that fell over the whole of his forehead such that his eyes were out of sight. Hui Ying, the class president and the only well-behaved boy in her class.
Hui Ying patted the space that he had created next to him. 'You can sit here.'
Looking around quickly at the people that were now all staring at her, Xing Xing nodded at the boy and sat. The whispers continued long after the bus had stated moving. All the while she kept both her eyes and hands on her laps until they reached the school.
When the bus came to a halt, she stood up to leave but stopped and turned to the boy. Not meeting his eye, she said 'Thank you. For the seat.'
Hui Ying smiled at her and shook his head.
Xing Xing hurried off the bus. She was about to enter the school building when gasps followed by screams erupted behind her. Not surprising.
It was a perfectly normal day at school, and the girls were all screaming their lungs out for one or more of the Four Handsome Bachelors of Szalay Academy. They call them the HB4s. In fact, the ones that were further inside the building were already bumping past Xing Xing Xing for a closer look.
A sudden hush descended heavily upon her. That was something unusual.
After trying to ignore for a few steps, curiosity won the case and she decided to have a look. But there was nothing to see other than backs of excited school girls. She had taken several steps away when she heard commotion close behind. Instinctively, her head turned.
An opening had been created and emerging was the tallest guy she had ever seen. Or maybe not really, considering that several boys at Szalay Academy were his height.
He had long hair that made a show of fanning around his head as he glided passed stunned spectators like the lord of the air. His skin was pale, on an athletic body which was clearly a result of dedicated work in the gym.
Before she could take in his facial features, something hit her from the back. She landed on her knees.
And that was when the newcomer decided to slide past her, smoothly as though she was also part of the floor.