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Description
Taunting Words

"Actually, we'd been meaning to ask about that." Hikaru set his fork down.

"You looked a little weird this morning, and it's cause your cheek's swollen," Kaoru added casually.

"So what happened? How'd you get it?" they asked.

Now that the twins had said something, all the boys were looking at my face; they would pay for this. I hoped I wasn't getting pink.

I thought quickly. If I started laughing, I was sure they wouldn't believe my explanation.

Making up my mind, I shrugged. "I was playing soccer with some of the kids in my neighborhood. They kicked it to me, I wasn't looking, and bam." I bit into my apple and shrugged again. "Not like it's new to me after all these years."

Thankfully that seemed to satisfy them. They went back to eating, some chatter springing up and I felt a wave of relief. I didn't pay too much attention to them, focusing on eating and what the rest of my day would look like. Creative writing with the twins, then two hours to myself before practice.

Well, I have to go in and get the diet plan from the athletics director, I remembered. I figure I'd do that then go to the gym to work out my arms and stretch until practice. Sounds good.

I turned my attention back to the table. Kyoya said something about not spending too much money. Tamaki whined and the twins rebuffed him together. This made him complain louder, and everyone laughed.

I got the feeling that people were looking at me and I tried to take a look around without being too obvious. There were some guys looking over at our table, mostly at me. I felt the heat of self-consciousness but brushed it off easily. What was shocking was how many girls were looking over. Most of them looked like they were giggling uncontrollably or close to fainting, but some locked their eyes on me in a death glare. I felt a little cool, but ignored them.

Why does it seem like everyone but these guys hate me?, I wondered. This is gonna be a great school year if this keeps up.

"Oh yeah, we almost forgot to ask," the twins said as they turned their attention to me. I felt a sinking sensation in my stomach, sure that this wasn't good.

"Did you end up getting to work on time?" Kaoru asked in a friendly voice.

"And where is that you even work at?" Hikaru added, a little more bluntly than Kaoru.

Uhm, shit. There was no way that I was going to tell them my biggest secret. I knew that I couldn't keep the question at bay for long, and I couldn't make stuff up along the way because I'd forget parts. Best to make it as close to the truth as possible.

"I'm a waitress," I settled on, my words coming a little fast. I took a short breath and told myself to calm down. Play it cool and you're in the clear, I told myself. "It's this small place near my house. Not too many people go there, so it's nice."

Before I let them start to ask me anymore questions, an idea came to my head. I wouldn't want them asking anymore questions, and maybe even trying to come by; I felt like they might do that.

"But, as of yesterday, I don't work there anymore. Since soccer practice is gonna take so long, I'm not going to have enough time or energy to work afterwards as well," I gave as an answer to their questioning faces.

"Yay, that means you'll be able to hang out with us!" the twins said happily.

I jumped, and gave them a look. "No, didn't you hear what I said? Practice goes for like three or four hours; I'm not gonna have the energy to do anything other than eat and sleep when I'm done."

They gave me mirrored downtrodden looks. "Fun killer," they mumbled to each other.

"Yeah, but you two don't have to work like I do to be at this school."

That shut them up. I turned to Tamaki.

"So, what're your classes? When do you get done around here?" I asked, trying to make conversation. I noticed some girls at a different table make violent gestures and saw the twins give me a betrayed glare, but I ignored them.

Tamaki was overjoyed and started babbling. "Oh how nice of you to ask me!" he cried. "Well for your information, my princess, I start with music class second period, then history, and I end fourth period with an English class." He looked at me with what seemed like an attempt at smoldering eyes. "After that, I start up club activities."

Although the smoldering eyes was a fail, the 'my princess' comment gave me a dumbstruck feeling. Did they not realize how beautiful they all were? And why was he wasting those words on me? I shook myself a little to get out of the daze. I was wondering about what the club activities were, but I figured I didn't really want to know.

"Huh, well then, you end about the same time as me and these two," I replied, gesturing to the Hitachiins. "Maybe I can say hi to you guys before I get my stuff done?" I offered.

The twins scoffed at the idea, but Tamaki grabbed my hands and looked at my face with wide blue eyes and a huge smile. "That would be lovely! I can't express how honored I would be to be in your presence," he said, rather dramatically.

This time I caught on. I didn't feel any heat in my face, and I fixed him with a chilled look. Now I knew what they were doing. They were flaunting the fact that they were beautiful and rich in front of me, taunting and poking fun at me. I felt stupid for not realizing it before. Why else would they be around me unless they wanted to make fun of me, especially since I was new?

I tore my hands out of his grip. He looked genuinely shocked, like he'd done something wrong, and saw the twins perk up with cautious looks on their faces. Everyone else at the table looked over with questions on their faces.

I started putting my lunch back in my backpack, keeping my head low so my hair made a curtain between me and the boys. I couldn't believe I'd let myself trust that they wouldn't do something to make me uncomfortable. Ugh, I'm so stupid!

Slinging my backpack over my shoulders and standing up, I turned to leave. "I get it guys. Thanks for the warm welcome," I spat bitterly. "See ya around."

"Wait!" Tamaki said as he reached towards me the same time the twins stood up and yelled, "Shay!"

"I get it, I'm not a princess, I'm not rich, and I'm not beautiful," I said, turning to them with poison in my eyes. "I'm just sorry that it took me this long to learn that you were waiting till I realized I wasn't good enough to be in your little group. And I honestly thought you were all nice and wanted to try to make me feel welcome here. . ."

I shook my head, turning tail and walking out of the lunch hall. I could feel people's eyes following me, even some girls laughing at me but I didn't care. I was hurt that I'd trusted them, and this is what it all was; I was just the butt of a joke to them, not good enough.

As I walked through the doors I heard a small commotion and knew that they were trying to come after me. I picked up my pace and started to head to my next class. However, instead of going into the classroom to pout, I went to the closest courtyard and sat on the edge of the fountain. No one was out here, even with the warm sun and fluffy white clouds with a warm summer breeze, my hair lifting from my face and shoulders for a few moments.

I was happy no one else was here. I figured I'd just get laughed at again, not that I could feel any worse right now. I watched the smooth sheet of water running down the fountain for a while. Reaching down, I pulled off my shoes and socks, hiding them behind my backpack. The grass was cool and comforting on my bare feet.

Placing a foot on the edge of the fountain, I immersed my other foot into the water pooling at the bottom. The cool water felt amazing. I pulled my other foot in, feeling the smooth cool marble the fountain was made of. The water only went up to my ankles, but I walked around in a circle and splashed anyway, trying to get my mind off what had just dawned on me.

I felt stupid for not realizing it earlier, but I just sighed. Nothing I can do now, I reminded myself. Not to mention I have the twins in my next class. Great.

I hopped out of the fountain, thoroughly cooled down. I set my lunch out on the grass to finish the last few bites left. After that I laid down on the grass with my eyes closed to the sky. I felt my skin soaking in the sun, reveling in the warmth and taking in deep breaths of grass and trees and wind.

"You know, Tamaki wasn't trying to put you down. He was trying to be nice, but sometimes he comes off a little strong," said a happy voice softly. It was close by.

I didn't open my eyes. "I'm just a joke to you guys. A 'commoner', mixed in with all you beautiful rich people. You're just trying to tell me I don't have a place here, I get it," I said resigned.

"But that's not true," Honey replied. "Tamaki really was trying to make you feel more comfortable. He had all of us looking for you yesterday because he didn't want a newcomer to get lost here. Besides, we wouldn't be hanging around you if we didn't want to be your friends." I could hear the smile in his voice, and despite my better judgment, I was starting to feel a little better too.

"And what you said back in the cafeteria, that's not true at all. You might not be rich, but that doesn't mean you don't deserve to be treated like a princess now and then. You're very beautiful too, so you shouldn't say that you aren't."

This time I felt the heat rise into my face. I rolled over onto my stomach to hide it, and felt something bump my side. Taking care with my cheek, I peeked out and saw Mori sitting right next to me with Honey and Usa in his lap. Mori had on a soft smile and Honey smiled brightly at me.

"You should go apologize to them, especially Tamaki. He'll tear himself down if he thinks he offended someone," Honey laughed.

"Shay," Mori said in a hushed voice. I got the feeling that he didn't speak much, and that what he did say meant a great deal. "You got into this school on your own talent. That's a huge accomplishment, so never let anyone put you down here."

What he said was perfectly true, and when I thought about it I didn't think half the kids would be able to get in here if they hadn't been rich.

I felt even stupider than before for pushing away the only people that were making an effort to welcome me, maybe even become my friends.

I pushed myself on my side and smiled up at both of them. "Thanks guys, really. That's really nice for you both to say. And I'm sorry for that back there."

Honey smiled. "Don't worry about it! But you really should say something to Tamaki and the twins. Kyoya doesn't really mind but it couldn't hurt either."

"Yeah, I probably should," I muttered, letting my gaze drop down to the grass. "I guess I'll try and find them after fourth period then."

Honey looked like he was about to say something, but then changed his mind and smiled again, hugging his bunny. He's cute, I decided. "Ask the twins where to meet up in your next class. Which is about to begin, so don't be late!" Turning to his friend, he said, "Let's go Takashi!"

I watched them go before deciding to put my socks and shoes back on. The sun had helped dry my feet and they were left warm. I headed to class, a little anticipation building up but I beat it down.

Turning the corner, I saw the twins waiting on either side of the door, looking practically bored but I knew they were waiting for me to come by. I strode up to them, a little hunched over.

"Hey guys, uhm, I'm sorry about what I said. I don't mean it. I-," I started off in a small voice, but they cut me off by patting my head and smirking at me.

"It's fine, don't worry," Kaoru said genuinely.

"Let's just forget about it, okay?" Hikaru said, closing the discussion.

It took me a second, but I looked at both of them and couldn't control the huge smile that came to my face. "Thanks guys, really."

"No problem!" they both said quickly. I thought I saw a little red come into their cheeks, but they pulled me into the classroom too quickly for me to really get a look.

I settled into my seat with Kaoru on my right and Hikaru on my left. Class started, but there were only short drafts to write, and we had the rest of the class to ourselves. The twins and I ended up huddling in our little corner talking and joking. While Hikaru would be quick to jab fun at people, Kaoru was a little softer and more caring. I smiled all the way through class.

When the bell rang, we all walked out of the classroom then stood there, a little lost. None of us had any classes left.

"Well, unless you want us to hang out with you for a little bit, we have to go to the club for Tamaki," they said.

"Oh, that's right! Honey told me to ask you about the club," I remembered. "I have to do a few things, but I'll stop by before practice if you guys want. I won't be able to stay for long but I can still say hi for a while."

I wasn't even halfway through my sentence and they were smiling happily. "Yes, please come visit us!"

A little taken aback by their eagerness, I stumbled over my words. "Uhm, s-sure, just, ah, what room are you gonna be in?"

Of course, they giggled together before saying, "Music room 3. It's in the upper levels of the school."

"Yeah, sounds good. I'll stop by if I can find it," I called to them as I moved down the hall.

"Wait, where're you going right now?!" they called back.

"I have to go to the athletics director! I'll tell you guys later!" Pushing my way through the crowd, I took my time to find the office.

Once I got there I knocked and was welcomed in by a well-groomed man with muscles straining under his suit. It looked a little scary but I tried not to show it. We talked for a few minutes and he told me that in order to stay in tip-top shape, I wouldn't be able to cut corners. This meant no over exercising or straying away from my daily diet plan. I could get lunch at school, my scholarship paying for it, but I would have to stick with only what was on the diet plan.

I asked him about doing activities on my own time, like soccer with my neighbors or working out on my own time. He said I shouldn't do it very much, but gave me a page which showed how many more calories I could eat for each hour of 'extra exercise'. It seemed a little extreme to me, but I had to keep the scholarship. There was no way I could sway from the plan.

Before I left he handed me the full stack of papers stapled together, which included meals I could make at home (for commoners especially!), breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snacks I could have and when to eat. As I was looking over it, I got a little stressed out. I wasn't sure I could stick to such a strict plan, even if it meant my scholarship. Dancing at the club was sure to drain my energy, and I didn't know how many calories that burned.

Ugh, I'll just eat a snack listed on here when I'm done dancing, I decided then put it all behind me. I headed to the school's gym. I popped into the changing room for a few seconds to slip on a sports bra over my normal bra before putting my tank top back on.

Since soccer would work mostly my legs and a little of my abs, I decided to get to work on the butterfly machine to get my arms into shape. I hopped around on the different machines, trying to figure out how some of them worked before giving up and moving on to one I knew how to use. The gym was pretty big and full of equipment yet there was no one in it at all. I hoped it stayed like this.

After working off the most of my stress, I decided to look over the plan again but this time a little calmer. I was supposed to stay away from the fatty foods, surprise surprise, but I wasn't sure if the food I was allowed to eat would even give me enough energy to get through a practice. I decided to go with it for a week, and then change it as I saw fit. I lifted weights for a few more minutes, enjoying the painful strain in my muscles as I coaxed them into lifting my arm just one more time.

I replaced the weights and checked the time, deciding to head out to music room three now. I left my hair in its spiky ponytail and just tried to wipe all the sweat off of my face and arms. Spraying a little scented spray on me I decided that would have to cut it.

It's no use taking a shower now if I'm just gonna be at practice in a little over an hour. Besides, if they want to be my friends, they have to get used to me being all sweaty since practice is just about every day, I grumbled in my head. I really hoped they wouldn't say anything.

Wiping the back of my neck with a cool paper towel one more time, I pulled on my backpack and headed off to find music room 3. I found a map and scanned it quickly. In a few minutes I was coming to the top of the stairs, looking around the room to find the music room.

Spotting it at the end of the hall, I headed down. Strangely, I started to feel a little nervous about seeing the boys again. I stood in front of the double doors with golden handles, taking in a calming breath and shaking myself a little. If they hadn't wanted me to come, they wouldn't have told me about this place. They wouldn't have even spoken to me in class. Those thoughts seemed to calm my nerves. Grabbing the handle, I opened the door.

What I saw when I opened the door froze me to the spot.

The six boys who had welcomed me into the school so kindly were inside and they were all dressed like ancient Japanese warriors; long robes, sandals, hair extensions tied on to give them small ponytails, even swords tied on their waists with rope.

Even more shocking was how many girls filled the room, a group clustered around each boy.

I was just standing there with my hand still resting on the handle, trying to take it all in and gather the energy to shut the door to look for the real third music room. This can't be right, I thought, dumbfounded.

My opening of the door had caused a few girls to turn towards me. Some seemed to recognize me and glare smugly. When I stayed frozen next to the door, some of the boys turned to look. And I recognized them.

Oh god, this is their club?! What the hell are they doing?!

Description
Taunting Words

"Actually, we'd been meaning to ask about that." Hikaru set his fork down.

"You looked a little weird this morning, and it's cause your cheek's swollen," Kaoru added casually.

"So what happened? How'd you get it?" they asked.

Now that the twins had said something, all the boys were looking at my face; they would pay for this. I hoped I wasn't getting pink.

I thought quickly. If I started laughing, I was sure they wouldn't believe my explanation.

Making up my mind, I shrugged. "I was playing soccer with some of the kids in my neighborhood. They kicked it to me, I wasn't looking, and bam." I bit into my apple and shrugged again. "Not like it's new to me after all these years."

Thankfully that seemed to satisfy them. They went back to eating, some chatter springing up and I felt a wave of relief. I didn't pay too much attention to them, focusing on eating and what the rest of my day would look like. Creative writing with the twins, then two hours to myself before practice.

Well, I have to go in and get the diet plan from the athletics director, I remembered. I figure I'd do that then go to the gym to work out my arms and stretch until practice. Sounds good.

I turned my attention back to the table. Kyoya said something about not spending too much money. Tamaki whined and the twins rebuffed him together. This made him complain louder, and everyone laughed.

I got the feeling that people were looking at me and I tried to take a look around without being too obvious. There were some guys looking over at our table, mostly at me. I felt the heat of self-consciousness but brushed it off easily. What was shocking was how many girls were looking over. Most of them looked like they were giggling uncontrollably or close to fainting, but some locked their eyes on me in a death glare. I felt a little cool, but ignored them.

Why does it seem like everyone but these guys hate me?, I wondered. This is gonna be a great school year if this keeps up.

"Oh yeah, we almost forgot to ask," the twins said as they turned their attention to me. I felt a sinking sensation in my stomach, sure that this wasn't good.

"Did you end up getting to work on time?" Kaoru asked in a friendly voice.

"And where is that you even work at?" Hikaru added, a little more bluntly than Kaoru.

Uhm, shit. There was no way that I was going to tell them my biggest secret. I knew that I couldn't keep the question at bay for long, and I couldn't make stuff up along the way because I'd forget parts. Best to make it as close to the truth as possible.

"I'm a waitress," I settled on, my words coming a little fast. I took a short breath and told myself to calm down. Play it cool and you're in the clear, I told myself. "It's this small place near my house. Not too many people go there, so it's nice."

Before I let them start to ask me anymore questions, an idea came to my head. I wouldn't want them asking anymore questions, and maybe even trying to come by; I felt like they might do that.

"But, as of yesterday, I don't work there anymore. Since soccer practice is gonna take so long, I'm not going to have enough time or energy to work afterwards as well," I gave as an answer to their questioning faces.

"Yay, that means you'll be able to hang out with us!" the twins said happily.

I jumped, and gave them a look. "No, didn't you hear what I said? Practice goes for like three or four hours; I'm not gonna have the energy to do anything other than eat and sleep when I'm done."

They gave me mirrored downtrodden looks. "Fun killer," they mumbled to each other.

"Yeah, but you two don't have to work like I do to be at this school."

That shut them up. I turned to Tamaki.

"So, what're your classes? When do you get done around here?" I asked, trying to make conversation. I noticed some girls at a different table make violent gestures and saw the twins give me a betrayed glare, but I ignored them.

Tamaki was overjoyed and started babbling. "Oh how nice of you to ask me!" he cried. "Well for your information, my princess, I start with music class second period, then history, and I end fourth period with an English class." He looked at me with what seemed like an attempt at smoldering eyes. "After that, I start up club activities."

Although the smoldering eyes was a fail, the 'my princess' comment gave me a dumbstruck feeling. Did they not realize how beautiful they all were? And why was he wasting those words on me? I shook myself a little to get out of the daze. I was wondering about what the club activities were, but I figured I didn't really want to know.

"Huh, well then, you end about the same time as me and these two," I replied, gesturing to the Hitachiins. "Maybe I can say hi to you guys before I get my stuff done?" I offered.

The twins scoffed at the idea, but Tamaki grabbed my hands and looked at my face with wide blue eyes and a huge smile. "That would be lovely! I can't express how honored I would be to be in your presence," he said, rather dramatically.

This time I caught on. I didn't feel any heat in my face, and I fixed him with a chilled look. Now I knew what they were doing. They were flaunting the fact that they were beautiful and rich in front of me, taunting and poking fun at me. I felt stupid for not realizing it before. Why else would they be around me unless they wanted to make fun of me, especially since I was new?

I tore my hands out of his grip. He looked genuinely shocked, like he'd done something wrong, and saw the twins perk up with cautious looks on their faces. Everyone else at the table looked over with questions on their faces.

I started putting my lunch back in my backpack, keeping my head low so my hair made a curtain between me and the boys. I couldn't believe I'd let myself trust that they wouldn't do something to make me uncomfortable. Ugh, I'm so stupid!

Slinging my backpack over my shoulders and standing up, I turned to leave. "I get it guys. Thanks for the warm welcome," I spat bitterly. "See ya around."

"Wait!" Tamaki said as he reached towards me the same time the twins stood up and yelled, "Shay!"

"I get it, I'm not a princess, I'm not rich, and I'm not beautiful," I said, turning to them with poison in my eyes. "I'm just sorry that it took me this long to learn that you were waiting till I realized I wasn't good enough to be in your little group. And I honestly thought you were all nice and wanted to try to make me feel welcome here. . ."

I shook my head, turning tail and walking out of the lunch hall. I could feel people's eyes following me, even some girls laughing at me but I didn't care. I was hurt that I'd trusted them, and this is what it all was; I was just the butt of a joke to them, not good enough.

As I walked through the doors I heard a small commotion and knew that they were trying to come after me. I picked up my pace and started to head to my next class. However, instead of going into the classroom to pout, I went to the closest courtyard and sat on the edge of the fountain. No one was out here, even with the warm sun and fluffy white clouds with a warm summer breeze, my hair lifting from my face and shoulders for a few moments.

I was happy no one else was here. I figured I'd just get laughed at again, not that I could feel any worse right now. I watched the smooth sheet of water running down the fountain for a while. Reaching down, I pulled off my shoes and socks, hiding them behind my backpack. The grass was cool and comforting on my bare feet.

Placing a foot on the edge of the fountain, I immersed my other foot into the water pooling at the bottom. The cool water felt amazing. I pulled my other foot in, feeling the smooth cool marble the fountain was made of. The water only went up to my ankles, but I walked around in a circle and splashed anyway, trying to get my mind off what had just dawned on me.

I felt stupid for not realizing it earlier, but I just sighed. Nothing I can do now, I reminded myself. Not to mention I have the twins in my next class. Great.

I hopped out of the fountain, thoroughly cooled down. I set my lunch out on the grass to finish the last few bites left. After that I laid down on the grass with my eyes closed to the sky. I felt my skin soaking in the sun, reveling in the warmth and taking in deep breaths of grass and trees and wind.

"You know, Tamaki wasn't trying to put you down. He was trying to be nice, but sometimes he comes off a little strong," said a happy voice softly. It was close by.

I didn't open my eyes. "I'm just a joke to you guys. A 'commoner', mixed in with all you beautiful rich people. You're just trying to tell me I don't have a place here, I get it," I said resigned.

"But that's not true," Honey replied. "Tamaki really was trying to make you feel more comfortable. He had all of us looking for you yesterday because he didn't want a newcomer to get lost here. Besides, we wouldn't be hanging around you if we didn't want to be your friends." I could hear the smile in his voice, and despite my better judgment, I was starting to feel a little better too.

"And what you said back in the cafeteria, that's not true at all. You might not be rich, but that doesn't mean you don't deserve to be treated like a princess now and then. You're very beautiful too, so you shouldn't say that you aren't."

This time I felt the heat rise into my face. I rolled over onto my stomach to hide it, and felt something bump my side. Taking care with my cheek, I peeked out and saw Mori sitting right next to me with Honey and Usa in his lap. Mori had on a soft smile and Honey smiled brightly at me.

"You should go apologize to them, especially Tamaki. He'll tear himself down if he thinks he offended someone," Honey laughed.

"Shay," Mori said in a hushed voice. I got the feeling that he didn't speak much, and that what he did say meant a great deal. "You got into this school on your own talent. That's a huge accomplishment, so never let anyone put you down here."

What he said was perfectly true, and when I thought about it I didn't think half the kids would be able to get in here if they hadn't been rich.

I felt even stupider than before for pushing away the only people that were making an effort to welcome me, maybe even become my friends.

I pushed myself on my side and smiled up at both of them. "Thanks guys, really. That's really nice for you both to say. And I'm sorry for that back there."

Honey smiled. "Don't worry about it! But you really should say something to Tamaki and the twins. Kyoya doesn't really mind but it couldn't hurt either."

"Yeah, I probably should," I muttered, letting my gaze drop down to the grass. "I guess I'll try and find them after fourth period then."

Honey looked like he was about to say something, but then changed his mind and smiled again, hugging his bunny. He's cute, I decided. "Ask the twins where to meet up in your next class. Which is about to begin, so don't be late!" Turning to his friend, he said, "Let's go Takashi!"

I watched them go before deciding to put my socks and shoes back on. The sun had helped dry my feet and they were left warm. I headed to class, a little anticipation building up but I beat it down.

Turning the corner, I saw the twins waiting on either side of the door, looking practically bored but I knew they were waiting for me to come by. I strode up to them, a little hunched over.

"Hey guys, uhm, I'm sorry about what I said. I don't mean it. I-," I started off in a small voice, but they cut me off by patting my head and smirking at me.

"It's fine, don't worry," Kaoru said genuinely.

"Let's just forget about it, okay?" Hikaru said, closing the discussion.

It took me a second, but I looked at both of them and couldn't control the huge smile that came to my face. "Thanks guys, really."

"No problem!" they both said quickly. I thought I saw a little red come into their cheeks, but they pulled me into the classroom too quickly for me to really get a look.

I settled into my seat with Kaoru on my right and Hikaru on my left. Class started, but there were only short drafts to write, and we had the rest of the class to ourselves. The twins and I ended up huddling in our little corner talking and joking. While Hikaru would be quick to jab fun at people, Kaoru was a little softer and more caring. I smiled all the way through class.

When the bell rang, we all walked out of the classroom then stood there, a little lost. None of us had any classes left.

"Well, unless you want us to hang out with you for a little bit, we have to go to the club for Tamaki," they said.

"Oh, that's right! Honey told me to ask you about the club," I remembered. "I have to do a few things, but I'll stop by before practice if you guys want. I won't be able to stay for long but I can still say hi for a while."

I wasn't even halfway through my sentence and they were smiling happily. "Yes, please come visit us!"

A little taken aback by their eagerness, I stumbled over my words. "Uhm, s-sure, just, ah, what room are you gonna be in?"

Of course, they giggled together before saying, "Music room 3. It's in the upper levels of the school."

"Yeah, sounds good. I'll stop by if I can find it," I called to them as I moved down the hall.

"Wait, where're you going right now?!" they called back.

"I have to go to the athletics director! I'll tell you guys later!" Pushing my way through the crowd, I took my time to find the office.

Once I got there I knocked and was welcomed in by a well-groomed man with muscles straining under his suit. It looked a little scary but I tried not to show it. We talked for a few minutes and he told me that in order to stay in tip-top shape, I wouldn't be able to cut corners. This meant no over exercising or straying away from my daily diet plan. I could get lunch at school, my scholarship paying for it, but I would have to stick with only what was on the diet plan.

I asked him about doing activities on my own time, like soccer with my neighbors or working out on my own time. He said I shouldn't do it very much, but gave me a page which showed how many more calories I could eat for each hour of 'extra exercise'. It seemed a little extreme to me, but I had to keep the scholarship. There was no way I could sway from the plan.

Before I left he handed me the full stack of papers stapled together, which included meals I could make at home (for commoners especially!), breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snacks I could have and when to eat. As I was looking over it, I got a little stressed out. I wasn't sure I could stick to such a strict plan, even if it meant my scholarship. Dancing at the club was sure to drain my energy, and I didn't know how many calories that burned.

Ugh, I'll just eat a snack listed on here when I'm done dancing, I decided then put it all behind me. I headed to the school's gym. I popped into the changing room for a few seconds to slip on a sports bra over my normal bra before putting my tank top back on.

Since soccer would work mostly my legs and a little of my abs, I decided to get to work on the butterfly machine to get my arms into shape. I hopped around on the different machines, trying to figure out how some of them worked before giving up and moving on to one I knew how to use. The gym was pretty big and full of equipment yet there was no one in it at all. I hoped it stayed like this.

After working off the most of my stress, I decided to look over the plan again but this time a little calmer. I was supposed to stay away from the fatty foods, surprise surprise, but I wasn't sure if the food I was allowed to eat would even give me enough energy to get through a practice. I decided to go with it for a week, and then change it as I saw fit. I lifted weights for a few more minutes, enjoying the painful strain in my muscles as I coaxed them into lifting my arm just one more time.

I replaced the weights and checked the time, deciding to head out to music room three now. I left my hair in its spiky ponytail and just tried to wipe all the sweat off of my face and arms. Spraying a little scented spray on me I decided that would have to cut it.

It's no use taking a shower now if I'm just gonna be at practice in a little over an hour. Besides, if they want to be my friends, they have to get used to me being all sweaty since practice is just about every day, I grumbled in my head. I really hoped they wouldn't say anything.

Wiping the back of my neck with a cool paper towel one more time, I pulled on my backpack and headed off to find music room 3. I found a map and scanned it quickly. In a few minutes I was coming to the top of the stairs, looking around the room to find the music room.

Spotting it at the end of the hall, I headed down. Strangely, I started to feel a little nervous about seeing the boys again. I stood in front of the double doors with golden handles, taking in a calming breath and shaking myself a little. If they hadn't wanted me to come, they wouldn't have told me about this place. They wouldn't have even spoken to me in class. Those thoughts seemed to calm my nerves. Grabbing the handle, I opened the door.

What I saw when I opened the door froze me to the spot.

The six boys who had welcomed me into the school so kindly were inside and they were all dressed like ancient Japanese warriors; long robes, sandals, hair extensions tied on to give them small ponytails, even swords tied on their waists with rope.

Even more shocking was how many girls filled the room, a group clustered around each boy.

I was just standing there with my hand still resting on the handle, trying to take it all in and gather the energy to shut the door to look for the real third music room. This can't be right, I thought, dumbfounded.

My opening of the door had caused a few girls to turn towards me. Some seemed to recognize me and glare smugly. When I stayed frozen next to the door, some of the boys turned to look. And I recognized them.

Oh god, this is their club?! What the hell are they doing?!