..•.¸¸•´¯`•.¸¸..ஐ Chapter Four: Maybe Japan isn’t bad after all ஐ..•.¸¸•´¯`•.¸¸.
Nanami’s body was at Sakurano High School in Japan, though her mind was somewhere else. Her mind wandered back into her childhood. Into her “happy days” as she calls it. She remembered her mother, her father, her sister and her in a picnic. They looked happy. They were happy, laughing and telling jokes to each other, occasionally telling everyone about their lives.
“Nanami?” Nanami’s head shot up at the sound of that voice. She was back to the present again.
Aoki narrowed her eyes. “I’ve been calling you four times! Qu'est-ce qu'il y a?”
Nanami smiled, happy that her friend was worried about her. She shook her head, noting mentally to never space out again. Aoki was very sensitive. They ate up their lunch and talked for a while until Nanami said she needed to leave.
“I’m part of the music club,” Nanami explained proudly, “And we have a meeting to ay. Sorry. A-chan!”
Aoki patted her shoulder. “It’s okay. I wanted to explore the school anyway.”
Nanami beamed at her, before saying goodbye and rushing off to the music room. Aoki sighed, trying to process all that’s happened in her mind. She thought Japanese schools would be normal, boring schools where she would meet boring Japanese people. But it wasn’t. And her new discovery made her want to learn more. And so, she headed to the library.
The big library was colored blue, like the blue sky. That was probably really the intention, but it looked more like a sea. It was too dark for the sky, but no one seemed to mind. She walked around the shelves, scanning for the subject she was looking for. She wasn’t a girl of history, but she was curious about Japan. It seemed fascinating for her to learn about another country, since she considers France her home. She saw students of different years, reading and talking softly towards each other. And occasionally the librarian would hush someone to silence.
Aoki found out that every shelf was a different color. Perhaps it was to avoid confusion and make it easier to search for the book you’re looking for. The green one, fiction, seemed to contain the largest number of books. In fact, there were two back-to-back eight feet high, ten feet long shelves of the color green. If she had time, Aoki would definitely read those. She had always adored mystery novels. Back in France, she had a wide collection of books. She proclaimed one day that if there was a mystery, she’d probably be the first one to solve it in her family. Of course, that was considering the fact that her parents were always away.
Aoki finally found the History shelf and she found herself gaping at it. It was different. Perhaps it wasn’t as close to the fiction, but she estimated at least two hundred books in it. The books, all arranged in perfect order, looked ready to fall if you take one. They were so closely placed to each other, the big books squeezing the small ones. Aoki stopped herself from scrutinizing the books and got to work. She looked at the titles and considered the largeness of it before reading. After fifteen minutes, she had picked out five normal sized books. Not to small, not too big and did not smell bad.
‘Don’t they ever dust these?’ Aoki questioned in her mind. She snapped out of her thoughts and continued reading. She learned fascinating things. The heroes, the natural disasters and the traditions of Japan were practically written in her mind. She had always remembered what she read. That was one of her advantages. She was excellent in remembering things. Except her childhood.
Aoki heard some chattering nearby and was surprised they weren’t led out by the librarian. She looked for the source of the sound and saw Fumiko Aya directing a smoldering gaze toward her, her friends right beside her. They were glaring too. Aoki raised an eyebrow at them as if daring them to talk to her and showing that glares did not affect her. Never show weakness to your enemy someone once said to her.
Aya flipped her red hair and walked briskly toward an anticipating Aoki. Aoki was wondering what they’d do. They couldn’t possibly hurt her…right?
“Why are you so close to Daiki-kun?” Aya asked frankly.
Aoki flashed a smile, pretending to be friendly. “I believe I should be the one to ask that question.”
Aya scowled at her. “The nerve of you. What gives you the right to talk to him so freely?”
Aoki, once again, raised her brow and asked, “Why? Is this not a free country? Last time I looked, it was.”
Aya narrowed her eyes, positively furious now. How could this foreigner insult her? She comes into the school, befriends Daiki and now she insults her?
“Do you know who I am?” She instinctively asked.
“Yes,” Aoki was waiting for this moment. “You are Fumiko Aya. Fifteen years old. Goes to Sakurano High. Father is a lawyer, mother is a doctor. My turn: Do you know who I am?”
Aya taken aback by this newcomer’s confidence, but she would never show it. Her reputation was at stake. And there was nothing more special to her than her reputation, except maybe Daiki, her lifelong loved one.
“You’re just a show-off foreigner,” Aya said, unfazed.
Aoki smirked, standing up. She was taller than Aya and she wanted the latter to know it. She took advantage of her height, mentally threatening her. Aya, although wanting to run away, looked unfazed and simply looked up at her.
“The Fujie family was always known in France,” Aoki informed her, proudly. “My parents own a big chain of hotels and, of course, have individual jobs. We have more than five houses in Strasbourg, France alone. My family is very well-known and of course, better than yours.”
Aya proclaimed, wanting to embarrass her foe. “I asked about you; not your family.”
“I know,” Aoki smirked, “I just wanted to give you a little background.”
“Get to your point,” Aya pressed, impatiently looking at her watch.
Aoki continued, “I am Fujie Aoki. I have lived in France most of my life and my parents own a chain of hotels internationally. I am sixteen years old and tall for my age. Only Japanese blood flows through my veins, yet I have proven to be very fluent in fourteen different languages. I have a ton of admirers back in France and I saw some would-be admirers here too. I am said to be very attractive and graceful.”
Aya muttered sarcastically, “And also modest.”
“Yes,” Aoki said, catching what Aya mumbled, “And that isn’t even the start yet.”
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