Sayuri made it home that evening still giggling to herself she still found that guy funny. She pushed the thought out of her mind as she took of her shoes and neatly place them at the door before stepping up onto the floor and heading into the kitchen to see what she should snack on. Her mother stood in the kitchen in front of the island a chopping board lying out in front of her as she chopped vegetables. Sayuri knew she was making some kind of western dish. They always almost had western dishes at her house as those where what her mom grew up cooking and eating back in America. Her mom had learned how to make Japanese cuisine but preferred her countries recipes. Sayuri's house had a western ideas and novelties her mother and firmly placed. Her mother was in an apron her long curly blonde hair in a side ponytail. She turned to greet her. "Welcome home." She spoke with a very light American accent that slowly disappeared over the years. Her parents meet when her dad, as a young up and coming business man, came on a trip to America. He meet her mom and sparks flew instantly, she was a quiet sweet woman with little to no strong will. Her father was a serious loud man, with enough strong will for the both of them. They were married two months later and her mother moved to Japan. That was now seventeen years ago. They now were the happy couple with two children Sayuri, age sixteen, and Akira age twelve, and three year old Marty their Collie. Sayuri replied to her mother. "I'm home." She sat in the kitchen with her mother still in Too academies uniform chatting away loudly about her school day. "I saw this guy in the guy in the hallway today. He's on the school basketball team. I heard he was awesome or something. He's one of those bad boys everyone's in love with idea of now a days." Sayuri was slouching and eating a cup a pudding she found after raiding the fridge. She made dramatic hand movement as she spoke. She'd dropped the formal speech she used at school and spoke freely and casually with her mother. Marty had run inside to greet her and Sayuri sat at the island on a tall stool with Marty's head in her lap as she begged for a share of dinner. Poor Marty was thoroughly ignored as Sayuri continued chatting on. "He walked around like he didn't care about anything. You know one of those too cool for cool kind of guys." She said with a mouth full of pudding looking like a child eating up her pudding with chocolate on the corner of her mouth. "Isn't it to 'cool for school'?" her mother replied. Sayuri shrugged not really caring about the details. "Have you made any friends yet?" Her mother asked. Sayuri pouted again this time really looking kid, a kid with chocolate on her mouth. "Maybe." She vaguely replied with a pout. "I'll take that as a no." Her mother said. "It's not my fault, there's no one at school I can be friends with, they all sit around on their cell phones setting up mixers and talking up makeup. How am I supposed to get along with the modern teenager?" Sayuri pouted in annoyance as she loudly proclaimed her reasoning. "I'm happy for you." Her mother simply stated with a heartwarming smile. Her mother could never be joking with that smile on her face. "Are you making fun of me?" Sayuri grumbled like a child. "No of course not, I meant, I proud you chose to be yourself instead of trying to fit in with the status quo high school girl." Sayuri's childish expression all but disappeared as she wiped the chocolate of her face with the back of her pale hand. "Of course, would those girls really be my friends if I forced myself to fit in. It wouldn't be fair to them or me to lie and pretend to care for such futile things. Those things are nothing more than teenagers playing at being grownups with cell phones and boyfriends. I got bored at playing house a long time ago." Sayuri finished her lecture with a satisfied expression. She leaned onto the counter holding her head up with her hand her elbow on the counter. "Really, I thought you wanted a boyfriend with all those romance novels you read." Her mother teased knowing what reason Sayuri would give out to combat those accusations. "I'm just a romantic! Don't make fun of me. Besides I don't trust myself with boys yet. I won't date till I'm responsible to control myself. Girls love the idea of love. I won't get involved with that. I'm still a girl I might get caught." Sayuri swayed in her seat. She dramatically pointed in the air to her mother as she spoke as if challenging her to a duel. "If you act more like this you could make friends." Her mother said. "I can't do that! Talking to people is embarrassing. You guys are easy but I get all nervous I don't know what to say." She lowered her voice shyly for a moment. "Besides I don't care whether they like me or not." Sayuri replied clearing her throat. "I'll right, go get in the shower before your father gets home I'll have dinner ready for you when you get out." her mother replied. With that, Sayuri gave her mother a kiss on the cheek before leaving.
Sayuri woke up the next morning standing in front of the mirror pulling her school skirt down to her knees. She didn't know how girls wore them so short nowadays, isn't it embarrassing. She looked in the mirror at herself. She had her dark purple slightly curled hair down with the hair beside her face pulled back and tied together behind her head. She ate some eggs and toast with two pieces of bacon and orange juice another western breakfast prepared by her mother. She dashed to school with a skip in her step. She felt extra lively today. Her skips quickly came to a stop as she turned onto a street with other students headed to school. She shyly slowed her pace. She looked up at the trees hanging above them swaying in the wind. So boring, she thought to herself. Her life was boring. She almost wished she lived in a manga, the shoujo manga with the average girl who befriends and steals the heart of the bad boy, the same bad boy who almost always has some kind of family trauma. So predictable. Who knows maybe she'll get her own shoujo manga life and even have a rival that gets in the way to pro long the series. Cause no one can come up with any other ways to create content for the story. Something always happens like that. Maybe one of their parents will not approve. They'll turn out to be step siblings. 'Everybody loves forbidden love' or maybe even someone gets in a terrible accident. Shoujo manga always find predicable alternative to put a pause in a relationship. Seriously why does she even read those. If those describe 'real' love, it was over rated. She wanted love like her parents. She sighed as she passed the school gate. She dashed into class hoping to get some time reading in before lass.
The lunch bell rang and Sayuri was feeling rather miserable after algebra, which happens to be her worst subject, the lunch bell had to have been invented by angels. Conscious of the eyes on her she gracefully stood up and pulled her lunch box out of the desk. She could never relax with all these eyes on her and just slouch in her seat or put her head down on the table. With another exhausted sigh she collected her lunch box as she sat back up she heard a classmate call out to her. "Ms. Sayuri, come have lunch with us." Sayuri was rather shocked at the use of her first name at least they had put an honorific there. Not knowing how to refuse she was dragged to the roof for lunch with three other girls that would occasionally feel bad for her and invite her. She ate with them once a week now but never felt comfortable enough to open up. She put up with them in return for their consideration of her. She turned to examine the three girls. Nao Tachibana, the girl who was absent from school yesterday, she seemed to be the ring leader and started all the conversations. She apparently had a senior boyfriend, and is thinking about dumping him for a junior of hers that confessed to her. Nao had a really short dark auburn hair and a colorful arrangement of bracelets on her arm. Rina Hayashi a girl who was recently dumped by her boyfriend, but she swears she going to dump him anyway for another boy; is currently single. Rina has shoulder length dark brown hair kept up in a high ponytail; she had a beauty mark under her left eye. Makina Akiyama, the most agreeable of the three friendly and single, follows anything Nao says. Dyed blonde hair kept down with brown eyes. Listening to them was entertaining in its own way. The drama that befell these girls daily, they'd think the world revolved around them. Sayuri drank out of a plastic bottle filled with orange juice she'd gotten from home. After giggling about their daily dose of drama they began talking about makeup and Sayuri got bored again. Rina soon had to visit the ladies room and left. Sayuri who had been dreamily watching the cloud and trying to pretend to be paying attention, was shocked to hear their new conversation topic. "Rina can be so rude some times, she always does things without asking and flirts with everyone, and I really wish she didn't eat with us." Nao started insulting Rina behind her back, Makina agreeing fervently. Listening to this angered Sayuri. She didn't say anything at first until Nao started talking about how her boyfriend dumped her because of it. Sayuri then decided she couldn't let this slide as scared as she was to speak she couldn't let this continue it wasn't right. "If you don't like her tell it to her face, no need to just put on a friendly mask and then bag on her later." Sayuri reasoned and sighed rubbing her temple clearly annoyed. Nao seemed amused at first and continued. "It would be rude to say we don't like her and just kick her out." Sayuri continued. "Isn't it ruder to pretend to be her friend, and then spread rumors and talk bad behind her back? If you really don't like her stop being her friend this is only going to cause problems for everyone. Hey, let's say you still want to be her friend, but don't like her behavior. Just confront her tell her to fix her behavior and move on." Sayuri spoke like it was easy to understand. Her suggestion left both girls silent. Nao suddenly glared for a second before grabbing her lunch box and charging out Makina on her heals. Sayuri didn't move she let them go. She felt an aching pain in her heart. Maybe she shouldn't have said anything. She felt tears in her eyes. "No." She suddenly slapped her cheeks lightly to gain confidence. "I did the right thing, nothing to get upset about. I never wanted to be friends with them in the first place." She convinced herself. "Hey, Big boobs!" Sayuri startled stood up instantly she looked to see Aomine Daiki the infamous Basketball player.