Chapter 5: School Teens and Gypsy Scenes

Talia stared with glassy eyes at the teacher as he droned on about the varying trends of the stock market. Talia had already done this in Singapore, so she wasn't really paying attention to her Economics teacher. Instead, she was wondering why Tori and Julian hadn't even come up to say hi. In fact, the whole class seemed to be ignoring her altogether.

'I guess I wasn't ahead in my mission at all. Tori and Julian only took me around because they were asked by the teacher. But, shouldn't they at least say hello? What jerks. Even Julian isn't as kind as he seems.'

She watched Julian discreetly from the corner of her eyes. It was convenient that he was a few seats ahead of her, and he wouldn't notice her looking.

She didn't know what stung more. The fact that Julian was friendly one moment and then ignoring her next, or Tori, who had helped her yesterday, hadn't said a word at all. Talia preferred it when people were frank with their dislike; it made it much easier to handle people. But when people hid behind facades, and unconvincing ones too, it made her frustrated. How was she supposed to read it? Was the unconvincing behaviour intentional? Did they want to make it clear that she wasn't accepted without wanting to come across as bad people?

She snapped out of her thoughts when she heard the bell for lunch. She packed her books into her bag and stomped out of the room. For a moment, she stood, confused, unable to decide which way to go. In the end, she decided to simplify things and headed out to the open grounds where her classroom was visible. She slumped down next to a cherry-blossom tree and watched the other students coming out. She spotted Julian and Tori heading towards the fence and she craned her neck to see them better. As much as she hated to admit it, those two had a magnetic air that drew eyes immediately.

She stood up, forgetting about her lunch. She walked closer to the duo and hid behind a tree. Her feelings warred within her as she pondered on what to do.

'I shouldn't eavesdrop on their conversation... I might get caught...

But they didn't even greet me today.' An ugly feeling rose within Talia.

'Why shouldn't I spy on them?'

Decided, she watched them for a while. When it became obvious that they were just having small talk and that it was in vain, she turned away in a huff back to her tree.

She was surprised when she saw a short-haired girl sitting on the opposite side of the tree she was sitting in. Talia faintly recognised the girl as one among her classmates, and the badge in her uniform informed her that she was a prefect.

Remembering the isolation her class was putting her through; she didn't make an attempt at conversation and sat at the opposite side of the tree the girl was sitting in. The girl, noticing the new arrival, got up to sit beside Talia.

"Hi. I'm Yoko Yamaguchi, the president of the drama club; it's nice to meet you." Talia quickly scanned the reddish brown hair and the smile on her face. The girl was cute and her brown eyes glowed with warmth.

Her friendly behaviour was confusing, especially since she had been one among the classmates ignoring her. She considered returning the favour but the emptiness inside her decided otherwise.

The mechanical smile slipped onto Talia's face as she accepted the greeting with, "It's nice to meet you too. I'm Talia."

Talia watched guardedly as Yoko sat down beside her and started taking out her bento. Her mind raced. Was Yoko playing a trick on her? Why wasn't she sitting with her friends?

Apparently Yoko must have thought Talia was suspicious about the sudden friendliness because she said, "You know... they're not isolating you because they don't like you."

"Who's isolating me?" Talia asked and her mechanical smile slipped off her face. It was best to play innocent.

"Uh..." Yoko looked like she wished she hadn't talked at all, "I mean... uh... our classmates... weren't that interactive with you... because uh... there are these girls that are jealous that you were taken around by Tori and Julian." The last bit was rushed and for a minute Talia looked at her in shock. 'What?'

"Isn't that a bit ridiculous? What's so great about them anyway?" Talia asked incredulously.

"Yes, its ridiculous, isn't it? Anyway, these particular girls told everyone to isolate you. Well, not the boys but just the girls." Yoko fidgeted again, but her movements became less agitated as she continued explaining.

"So why aren't the boys talking to me?" Talia asked, perplexed. And what made Yoko different?' She silently asked herself.

"Uh... well... you know when a part of the class is isolating a person; the rest of the class just goes along with it because they don't want to stand out. Plus, these three girls have a lot of sway in school and people are kind of... you know... hesitant to go against them." Yoko took out her lunchbox and started drumming to keep her hands busy.

"But you came and sat with me." Talia stated curiously.

"Let's just say I empathise." Yoko said with a slight smile.

'Empathise, huh?' Talia thought as she returned the smile.

"But... well... you still have Julian and Tori as friends, don't you? They're really nice." Yoko continued after a pause.

Talia snorted before she could stop herself and because she gave herself away she said, "I don't think they're nice. They haven't talked to me at all even though they showed me around. They haven't even said hello."

"Really? Oh... um..." Yoko fidgeted again but she continued, "They're actually really nice. Even though they look intimidating from afar, they are actually kind, especially Tori."

Talia didn't stop the second snort that came out of her. Yeah, ok Tori did help her yesterday, but he was ignoring her today, wasn't he? He was following everyone else in isolating her.

Yoko apparently heard her snort because she broke in vehemently, without any stutter, "He is nice. I used to have a crush on him and when I confessed, he was really nice about it."

'Yeah, like rejecting someone is so nice.' Talia frowned at that unexpected thought.

Catching the scorn in Talia's demeanour, Yoko exclaimed, "He even saved my life that day!"

This piqued Talia's interest and before Yoko could continue hailing more praises on her continuing crush, Talia interrupted, "Saved your life? What happened?"

Talia saw Yoko pause at the interruption and try to formulate an answer. The fidgeting was back. Talia even saw a blush crawl up her neck.

"He...um...he saved me from falling down the stage balcony. We were doing a play on Cinderella... uh... it's... a long story."' Yoko stammered, blushing brightly.

'Oh. I remember that. The Mist Card.'

"So, is there anything I should watch out for?" Talia asked, changing the subject to make her feel more comfortable. Talia was a little surprised that she even recalled the dream. She had a disconcerting feeling that she was going to need those strange dreams and she'd have to note them down before she forgot them. Talia snapped out of her anxious musing when she heard Yoko beginning to answer,

"Well, not really. No one actually bullies you or anything. They just start rumours and all. And they alienate you for awhile. They stop when you get back into the Fan Club's good books."

'Isn't that bullying? What do these people consider bullying?'

"Oh." Talia sighed. 'So much for being liked.'

"I know they can be pretty harsh. I experienced the brunt of their jealousy as well." Yoko said sympathetically. "You know, if you want help with anything at all, come ask me. Not all of us are like those girls. But some of us tend to believe the rumour mill, so be warned."

"Thanks." Talia smiled graciously.

"So... how was it like hanging out with Tori and Julian? You have to tell me every single detail." Yoko gushed excitedly. As if sensing that she was being too bold, her face flushed as she looked down. "Please."

Talia gave a slight laugh as she launched into her edited tale.

Talia trudged slowly to the entrance of the archery club. She had taken the extra effort to find out which clubs Julian and Tori were involved in and sign into them, and to her horror had found out that they were in every club. Every single club!

How tiring was watching over them going to be?

Today, a Tuesday, also her second day of school was going to be spent in an enclosed room staring for hours at a target before actually hitting it. She was exhausted, bored and just wanted to go back hom-... to her house. Instead, she would have to endure the relentless waiting for a bow to be available, stare at the target for minutes together to look like she was having trouble with the target before finally firing it.

Yoko was only taking part in the drama and the home science club, which took place every Mondays and Thursdays and she was happy to find out that she had an excuse to spend time with Yoko since both Tori and Julian enrolled in the clubs as well.

Yoko was... nice. She reminded Talia rather strongly of Samirah and the resulting delicate avoidance of Yoko by Talia endangered her only social interaction. Yoko had been really skittish from the beginning and she had discovered the reason when they had gone back to class after lunch. Yoko had given an apologetic glance before treating her like everyone else.

After all, Yoko didn't want to be singled out by the Fan Club. But it was perfectly fine if Talia was.

Talia looked up and saw that a bow was now available. Picking it up, she headed toward the post and readied herself. She drew the string and waited.

Suddenly, a thought struck her.

'Why don't you hold the test here? These fools deserve to deal with the aftermath for alienating you.

Whoa! Did I just think that?'

Talia chuckled sardonically at her thoughts. When had she gotten petty enough to want to purposely hurt someone –or in this case a lot of people- for not liking her? She probably didn't deserve the isolation, but she wasn't that desperate... was she?

Shaking her head at her thoughts, she shot the arrow dead centre.

Satisfied, she turned around and found the coach looming in front of her. Startled, she jumped back.

"That was an excellent shot! Have you practised archery before?" The coach asked eagerly. Plastering a tired smile onto her face she lied well... modestly, "Yes. I started two years ago. I get lucky sometimes and manage a decent shot."

"Is that so?" He laughed amiably. "You're the new student right? I'm Yogi Akiyama, coach of the archery club and art teacher. Now, why don't you try another shot and see if you get lucky again?"

Delighted by the attention, she felt some of her bad mood drift away. She aimed her bow again and did a rather impressive act of trying to concentrate before shooting right into the centre. She looked up and saw the coach give her a pleased grin before moving on.

Feeling rather happy after the fawning, Talia grudgingly admitted to herself that she was a bit of a show-off.

'Geez, but who can blame me after such an awful day?'

Talia was distracted out of her thoughts when someone came running through the club's doors. Turning around, she saw Julian panting for air, and desperately searching around the room. His eyes passed over her and landed on the coach. He jogged up to him, giving him a sheepish grin before conversing quietly with him.

'Look who's late. It's his fault for overworking himself by being in every single club, theidiot. Wonder what the coach will do to him?'

To Talia's surprise, the coach didn't rebuke him. Instead he nodded understandingly and gestured to the archery clothes for him to change into. A few minutes later she found out why. Julian was an amazing archer. He made the whole thing look effortless.

'Whoa! So that's why the coach didn't say anything. But...I shouldn't have been so surprised. He is the Guardian of the Moon isn't he?'

As expected, even the Guardian's skills at subtlety are pathetic. I should, in the distant future, tell them to be more secretive about their powers.

And that was when it hit her that she was but 10 feet away from him, and he still hadn't acknowledged her.

And that was when she made her decision. She would go through with her plan.

Talia was walking slowly out of the school, thinking miserably about her day, when she noticed the poster on the walls.

'SPRING FESTIVAL THIS SATURDAY! DON'T MISS IT! THE NEW IMPROVED DUMP-IN STALL WILL BE...'

She noticed a group of girls giggling excitedly together and felt her stomach clench. She wouldn't be going. She had no one to go with. Feeling suddenly heavy, she walked quickly to the gates, wishing nothing more than to get away.

At the gates, she stopped suddenly; taken aback that Alfred had come to pick her up. Feeling grateful that he'd been so thoughtful, yet slightly disappointed that she wouldn't get some time to think by herself, she approached the car with a small forced smile.

As she got in the car, she heard a pair of high-pitched excited girls say, "Hey, did you hear? Tori and Julian will be coming to the festival this Saturday!"

"Yeah!" The second girl twittered excitedly. And then she grumbled, "What's the point anyway? They are going to come with Tori's sister, Sakura I think, and her friends."

"Oh, don't worry. We can probably drag them away after awhile. I mean, they won't possibly spend all of it together."

Talia watched them discreetly as they passed, her depression disappearing as she constructed a plan.

'I have more things to worry about. This spring festival is a great opportunity to take a test.'

Talia frowned at the cloth in her hand before dipping it in the soapy water and washing the walls. Living in a big house didn't mean that she had the money to maintain it. She had asked Mr. Migoto for extra money from her trust fund, but he had refused. The butler was provided because he was supposed to take care of the house and her.

She felt anger swell at Migoto for suggesting that she take advantage of an old man to clean the dusty walls, wash the floors and clean the ornaments. She knew Alfred wouldn't allow her to do any of the chores, so she had picked up the rag as soon as Alfred had gone to buy groceries. She couldn't even use her magic to speed up the mundane chore. She was sure that Sakura's group would pick up on the magic if she used it too consistently. She felt like banging her head against the wall she was cleaning. How did she keep ending up in such ridiculous situations? Why was she doing this in the first place? It wasn't her job, and she still had so much left to do. She wouldn't have done this at all really, if it wasn't the fact that she knew what it felt like to have an enormous duty placed upon one's shoulders. A duty that might be out of one's capabilities. A duty, where a little help would be much appreciated. So she'd taken it upon herself to help him, at least a little.

Finished with the wall, she looked around. She'd already cleaned three rooms. That was a little help, right? Alfred's already done nine rooms, including the diner hall, kitchen and main rooms. So that leaves about five rooms. Probably I should let him do the rest.

With that thought, she went off to the shower to remove the day's grime.

When Talia came out of the shower, she saw the butler waiting patiently in her room. Surprised at the invasion of privacy, she felt panic rise in her chest.

"You came in without my permission." Talia said coldly, hiding her fear behind anger.

"Well Miss, I wanted to thank you for helping me out." Alfred said with a small smile.

"Talia.""Sorry Miss?" He said, confused.

"I told you to call me Talia. And next time please remember not to enter my room without my permission. I could have been undressed." Talia reiterated coolly, her request sounding more like an order.

Alfred looked a bit taken aback by the tone of her voice but recovered quickly. "Of course, M-Talia. How rude of me. I'll knock next time." He gave a genuine smile and continued, "Thank you for your help today Talia. Lunch will be ready in twenty minutes, so please be on time." With that he left the room, closing the door behind him quietly.

Talia breathed a sigh of relief. She couldn't allow Alfred free access of her room. If he found anything questionable while she was out, then it would go straight to Migoto, and then she'd be under constant surveillance.

Saturday came and with it the Spring Festival. Talia wasn't sure if she wanted to be present while they were being tested, or just stay out of the whole thing. She'd spent a whole day wondering on this alone, her test being thought upon in a few minutes. The test itself was very easy, at least to her. She was confident that it would be difficult for Sakura, who depended on Cerberus and Yue for guidance most of the time. She truly didn't want to be there, having not been invited by anyone and unwilling to be someone's tagalong. Yet duty required her to be present in case Sakura was unable to pass the test.

The good thing about going is that if Sakura can't pass the test, I'll be present to fix everything up. I'll get an opportunity to get closer to Sakura and her group. I'll be able to witness her true capability. I see my first Spring Festival in ten years.

But I'll be unwanted. I'll be a tagalong and feel lonely. I don't want to go. They might suspect and find out that I use magic, resultantly failing in my dumb mission.

Good things:4 Bad things:3

Ugh! My mind is my own enemy.

Talia slumped in disappointment as she got ready for the festival.

Talia stepped out of the car and joined the crowd entering the shrine. She was wearing an elaborate dark red yukata with flowers, mainly roses, decorating it. The obi, in the same design as the yukata, was tied in an elaborate knot. Alfred, despite his foreign origin, was well-versed in the traditions and practises of Japanese culture. Talia didn't know whether to be grateful or strangle him for tying the obi so 'fashionably' tight.

I have never been so restricted while walking before. Maybe I shouldn't go to this festival, I could set the test in motion and watch from afar...but it would be harder to protect her from afar.

Just do this! You can do this Talia! It's not that hard. So what if you have to go alone. Suck it up already!

With that unconvincing pep talk, she gathered her shaky resolve and searched for a familiar face. She looked around and noticed a rather interesting stall in the corner that claimed to read fortunes. Her interest peaked; she made her way towards the stall and noticed the long line of customers.

A rather old suspicious looking crone stood behind the stall making dramatic proclamations. Talia did not really have an opinion on fortune-telling, but even she could tell that this one was a poser. She drew close and decided to hear her out. She might as well have some fun.

"200 yen to have your fortune told." The crone chimed.

She handed her the money and listened.

"A great peril approaches." The crone shouted dramatically, waving her hands about. "You will be stranded and alone. But it will get better. Another 200 yen to use the crystal ball and tell you the whereabouts and details of this event."

Talia felt a disbelieving laugh rising within her.

This is just ridiculous. She's a freaking fake. 200 yen for some outrageous prediction? I'll teach her a lesson, swindling money for such vague predictions.

She handed another 200 yen and smirked as the old woman brought out a cheap crystal ball. She pored over it zealously appearing, for all purposes, possessed.

"It'll happen in this town. You will have to make a choice. Someone will betray you." The woman chanted, appearing in a trance. For an instant, unease crawled up her spine at the detail, but she dismissed it. The woman was making her money 'count'. Feeling some devil rise within her, she tapped into her magic and made mist appear in the crystal ball.

"Aaaaack." The old woman's shriek echoed throughout the street as she stared in horror at the swirling mist in the crystal ball. "How can this be? This is not good, not good. A bad sign! An omen!" Her horrified mutters raised the unsettling feeling in Talia's stomach and she stepped back confused.

Maybe she isn't a fake? No, she's trying to save face! That's it. She can't be right. I was the one who did it in the first place.

"You!" the crone pointed at her in fear. "Be wary. This isn't a good sign."

Talia stared at her cautiously, her heart and mind warring inside her. Her instincts believed the old woman advising caution while her mind was calling it a bluff. Talia looked around and noticed that they had created a scene. Her skin crawling at being the centre of such attention, she bowed politely. "Thank you lady."

With that she nearly fled the scene, her memory of the debacle in Singapore still fresh in her mind.