My reasoning behind the mix of cultures that is Serena's name comes from the students where I teach (Sydney Institute of Business Technology). One of the things I've noticed about the majority of international students, in particular the Asian ones, is that they often take on a 'normal' (English) name at their new schools. For example, my dear friend Thanh prefers Mary, and Hong became Amanda. So, anyway, Usagi goes by Serena in this story most of the time, because that was what I called her when I first wrote the beginnings of this story. The other names are a mix of dub and real names, oh and Molly and Naru are separate people.
Fly Me To The Moon
Chapter One
I'm Usagi Serena Tsukino, I am sixteen years old, and I am in my second year of high school. I'm a bit rash, and a crybaby sometimes, but to tell the truth I'm really -
"Serena, you're going to be late!" Her mother called out enthusiastically, and Serena, somewhat reluctantly, looked up from her new diary at the clock. Her eyes widened as she realised just how much time she had spent staring at the blank page. She picked up her pen and scrawled a few last words in messy handwriting.
- running really late for what will be one of the most exciting days of my life!
Shoving both diary and pen in her bag, Serena ran from her room, stopping at the front door of their apartment to pull on her shoes. She had opened the door and was about to call the elevator when she heard her mother's voice calling her back.
She half-turned, and dashed back into the apartment when she saw what her mother was holding: her bento box full of yummy food for lunch. Serena heard the sound of the elevator's arrival and ran out of the apartment, shouting out her thanks as she went.
Once down on the street, she ran to the subway station, using her student travel pass to get through the gates as she did every day, jumping on the first train to appear. There were no seats free, so she stood, one hand reaching into her bag to check the directions that she had so carefully written out the day before. She would get off the subway after two stops, much sooner than she usually did for school.
For the first time, Serena allowed herself to be a little nervous about what was going to happen. After all, she really had no idea what to expect. One hand reached up, cautiously checking that her long blonde hair was still neat, tied up in her customary style: twin pigtails, reaching down to below her knees, each topped by a round bun. Ever since she was a child Serena had worn her hair like that, she never knew what had possessed her to start tying it like that. And although people were used to girls with unusual hairstyles in Japan where she had grown up, here in America most of the girls at school thought she was a little odd for wearing her hair like that. Then again, in Japan they had all worn uniforms to school, so the only chance to be creative was in how she tied her hair. Oh well, it was her own style, and Serena had never really cared about what people in general thought of her. Only her friends mattered, and her family.
Serena and her family had moved to Metropolis from Tokyo a year previously, when her father was transferred to work for one of the magazines in this city. She had not objected at the time, looking forward to the experience. But while her English had been reasonably good in school, it was entirely different to have to speak it all the time for real, and to learn to think in another language was tricky. But Serena had gotten the hang of it, most of the time, and now she was even reporting for the school paper, something she had thought not possible.
And it was her love of writing, both in her native tongue and English, that had led to her getting this wonderful opportunity. Serena had not even known the Chiara Award existed, let alone how one got nominated for it, but it turned out that every year her school submitted one issue or article from their archive to some particular board or another, and it had been decided by them that her story about how the history of her high school was being destroyed with the demolition of one of the old buildings was the best thing written by a high-school-aged student that year. The prize, one day visiting, doing 'work experience' they called it, at the Daily Planet, the one newspaper that everyone in Metropolis read, or at least it seemed that way.
The train stopped, and Serena jumped off somewhat enthusiastically, realising that she still had plenty of time to get to the Planet building. The letter had said to arrive at nine-am, but she had left at the same time as she would for school, which started at quarter to. Serena smiled and left the subway station with a bounce in her step and her bag in hand.
Feeling excited and just a little light-headed with anticipation of whatever would happen when she got to spend a day at a real newspaper, like she'd always wanted to, Serena wasn't paying a whole lot of attention to where she was going, and so she found herself crashing into someone walking in the opposite direction, so that both of them feel to the ground in a tangle of limbs.
She got back to her feet quickly, knowing how clumsy she was had made it important for her to develop good reflexes about such things. She offered a hand at the man she had knocked down, and he took it, getting to his feet. She took a good look at him then, eying silently the nice cut of his clothes, although the green colour of his eyes was a little icky. He had gorgeous black hair and had a nice face, although his sunglasses hid his eyes from view.
He sneered at her for a second. "You really should watch where you're going, odango atama", he said, walking past her. It took a moment before she realised that he had insulted her in Japanese rather than the English in which he had spoken the rest of the sentence, as if he had not expected her to understand. Well, Serena stomped a foot, turning to scream at his retreating back, showing he was not the only bi-lingual one around there.
"I am not a dumpling-head, baka!"
Serena turned again, continuing on her way without looking back, so she did not see the quizzical look directed at her by him as he lifted his glasses to stare with eyes so dark a blue that they were almost black at the retreating form of the beautiful girl who had just called him an idiot.
A strange yowling noise caused Serena to stop and look past a gate into a car park. She stepped forward, seeing a group of young boys huddled around something, giggling over the source of the screams. "Hey, stop that!" Serena cried, not caring what they were doing. She ran towards them and they saw her, getting to their feet and scattering. "Honestly", she sighed as she looked after them.
Serena looked down at what had been the object of the boy's attention. It was a small black cat, who looked very put out by what had happened. "Oh, poor thing, there there…" Gently, not fearing the cat's claws, Serena picked her up to have a closer look. A bandage cross marked the centre of her forehead, and the cat seemed almost to be burning with fever. "Hey, band-aids on your head?" Serena mused, as the cat seemed to try and scratch them off. "I'll take them off for you, ok! Ok!" Serena put the cat down on her lap so that she could better hold her and remove the bandages. "The X-mark does look cute on you, though", she said with a smile. The black cat closed her eyes as Serena pulled the sticky pieces of plastic from her forehead. Her brown eyes opened wide with shock, and Serena felt her own blue eyes widen as she looked down on the crescent-shaped mark beneath the band-aids. "Hey! A crescent moon bald spot?" she found herself asking of no one.
The cat suddenly jumped off Serena's lap, spring-boarded off her head and landed on a nearby car. She stood there, staring unnervingly at Serena, who stood up holding her bag in front of her. The cat took a few steps forward, and, correspondingly, Serena stepped backwards. Suddenly, the sound of a clock chiming a few blocks away made her look at her watch in alarm. "Oh no", Serena cried, "I don't have time for this!"
Quickly she turned and started running.
The Daily Planet building had to be one of Serena's favourites in the whole of Metropolis. There was something majestic about the great metal globe above the doors, something that always made her smile. This was the first time she had ever actually been inside the building before. A middle-aged woman sat behind a desk at the back of the large foyer, a sign near her reading 'enquiries'. Serena stepped forward and asked for Perry White, the name on her letter. With a frown, the office assistant gave Serena directions to the newsroom.
A short while later, Serena stepped out of the elevator to be confronted with chaos and noise in large doses. People seemed to be moving all over the place, and everyone was talking to someone else. And despite the instructions she had been given, Serena really had no idea where she was meant to be. She stood still, watching for a few minutes, content to observe the activity around her, marvelling that these people around her were busy writing a newspaper, for it certainly didn't seem that organised. Reaching into her bag again, Serena drew forth the letter she had been given, reading over it again and looking around for someone to grab and ask for directions.
A young man with a nice smile and a happy demeanour came over and looked intently at Serena. He was dressed almost casually, but still professionally, and Serena guessed that he was probably about the right age to be a college student. "May I help you, miss?" he asked in a gentle tenor voice.
"I'm a little bit lost", she said, offering him her letter, "I was supposed to present myself to Mr White, but I have no idea where to look."
His smile became much more genuine then and his eyes sparkled, but he didn't take the proffered piece of paper. "You want the chief then", he said, starting down the steps towards the chaos below. "Follow me." Serena nodded her head and did so, stepping carefully to avoid tripping. "I'm Jimmy Olsen", the young man said, "I'm a gofer around here."
"A gofer?" Serena realised with some dismay that her accent was showing itself again as she tried to understand what the word meant in this context, "You don't look like a gofer."
Jimmy smiled over his shoulder. "It means my primary function here is to fetch stuff for people. You know, I 'go for' it."
"Oh", Serena blushed, "I understand now. My name is Serena."
Jimmy had stopped outside a windowed door, knocking politely on it before sticking his head inside. "Chief, there's a cute girl here to see you", he said a little too loud for Serena's comfort.
He was answered by a deep southern accent. "Send her in."
Jimmy stepped back and held the door open for Serena. She stepped inside the office and took a quick look around, not really taking in anything other than the strange clock on the wall. Behind a large desk sat a somewhat intimidating looking man, whose eyes seemed kindly though his manner was a little gruff.
"May I help you?"
"Please sir", Serena began, floundering, "that is, are you Mr White? Because I have a letter…" She trailed off uncomfortably, stepping forward and placing the piece of paper on his desk, before bowing self-consciously in a respectful manner, well aware that his eyes were taking in every aspect of her behaviour.
Feeling a little uncomfortable under his stare, Serena concentrated on not shifting her weight or looking nervous. Her face resolved itself into the perfect picture of confidence, something she had practiced so much before they had moved. Mr White took up the letter then, and glanced over it quickly.
"Great shades of Elvis", he muttered to himself softly, before looking up, "I'd forgotten that you were coming today, girl." He got to his feet and offered a hand to her, which Serena took and shook gratefully. "Normally, I'd show you around the Planet myself for an hour or so, letting you see how it all works, but Lois Lane, you've heard of her", he didn't wait for Serena's nod of confirmation, "just brought in the scoop of the month and I'm a little busy trying to get it put in the afternoon edition. Jimmy!" Mr White called in a booming voice.
"I understand sir. You have a paper to print and no time to waste on silly kids."
"And normally I would waste the time. All of my staff were kids once, and you have to train them up right if they are to work in a proper newspaper."
"Chief?" Jimmy poked his head around the door.
"Serena here is to be your assistant today. Make sure she sees what it's really like around here as we try to get a paper out."
"Sure, Chief", he grinned winningly at Serena who smiled shyly back.
"Serena", Mr White said, "how long since you moved from Japan?"
Her eyes widened and she wondered how he had figured that out. "Just over a year now, sir."
"You write well considering how long you've been speaking English. I voted for you to win the prize." Serena blushed under the praise. "And for heaven's sake, girl, call me Chief, not sir."
"Yes, sir-Chief", she corrected herself, and he nodded to her to say the interview was over. She and Jimmy walked back outside of the office, and Serena followed Jimmy across the floor to a little corner that she presumed was his.
He sat down at the table, it couldn't be called a desk, and smiled up at her. "So, what are you in for?" Jimmy asked, with another of his smiles. Serena couldn't help it; she smiled back.
"I am here for work experience. I won the Chiara Award and the prize was a day off school to be spent here."
"That sounds like a lot of fun. Well", he opened a drawer in the cupboard he was squished in next too, "chuck your bag in here so no one will find it, and let's get to work, shall we?" Serena did as he suggested, then followed Jimmy as he went about his job.
Jimmy's job seemed to be to do whatever people told him to do. Admittedly, he had taken the photos of Superman that he spent an hour developing down in the dark room, but Lois Lane was the one who needed them for her latest story about the superhero, who apparently had saved an apartment building full of people from a fire the previous night. Jimmy lived in the area and so had run over and taken a number of photos, but it had been Lois Lane that the superhero had been talking to. But that wasn't her big scoop. Apparently it had been an exciting night, for Lois Lane and her partner Clark Kent had been investigating, and between them they had gotten the story.
Serena had been introduced to the woman whose writing she so much admired when they took the photos back to the newsroom, but the reporter had been too busy to even spare her a glance, waving half-heartedly. Serena was unable to contain her disappointment at the curt dismissal by the smartly dressed woman, even though she understood its source. No doubt Miss Lane was a much nicer person when she wasn't obsessing over her work.
No doubt seeing the emotions on Serena's face, the tall dark man sitting beside Miss Lane had stood, offering his hand and a warm smile at her. "Hi, I'm Clark Kent", he introduced himself to her.
"My name is Serena Tsukino", she had replied, feeling a little better as the warmth of his smile washed over her, "It is nice to meet you, Mr Kent."
He laughed. "Just call me Clark", he said happily. "Your name means 'calm of the moon', doesn't it?" He asked and she nodded, thankful that he didn't know her real name which meant 'rabbit', "that's really pretty, though I don't know you well enough to say if it suits or not."
Feeling a little insulted, Serena stomped a foot. "That is very rude", she said, and on an impish whim, poked her tongue out at him.
He surprised her by mimicking the gesture. "Serena, you had better get back to Jimmy. I think he needs your help searching through the records." She nodded as she realised that Clark's gaze had drifted to Miss Lane, who looked irritated at the banter and she bowed slightly before remembering that the movement would probably be misinterpreted by the Americans.
As she and Jimmy sorted through the masses of financial records that someone had set them to checking in one of the conference rooms, Serena wondered at the relationship between Miss Lane and Clark. He was quite obviously in love with her, judging by the way he often glanced up just to look at her, and the way he tried to anticipate her every wish. But Miss Lane barely seemed to notice that her partner was even there. Clark didn't seem to mind at all, he did his utmost to hide his feelings from her to keep Miss Lane in a state of calm.
And there was something else about Clark Kent, something she couldn't put her finger on. Despite having only met him today, she couldn't help but feel that she'd seen him before. There was something familiar about his face, but it was possible that he just had common features. Maybe she had known him in a past life.
At some point, Jimmy went outside to the deli to fetch them some lunch "at the expense of the Planet", he assured her as she reached for her purse later. The manual sorting through of information was very boring, and Jimmy agreed with her about that, but it had to be done and the reporter wanting the particular record did not have time to do it. At one point, a snooty-nosed woman with a nice figure that seemed a little too perfect and perfectly arranged hair had stepped around the door, obviously looking for someone who wasn't Jimmy or Serena. She had sighed theatrically before leaving again.
"Who was that?" Serena found herself whispering to Jimmy.
"That's Cat", he sighed a little before continuing. "She writes the gossip column, Cat's Corner."
It made sense once Serena thought about it. "Oh", she said politely, "She seems very pretty." Jimmy made a noise as if he was agreeing, while Serena thought that she thought it a little unlikely that someone like Cat had a lot of personality. But it wasn't her place to judge people, so she just got on with her work. Serena was only going to be at the Daily Planet for one day, she might as well make the most of it, ignoring those people who seemed a little too superficial to be working in such a place.
At one point around the middle of the afternoon, as Jimmy was discussing with Miss Lane the nature of the information she wanted him to find online, Serena found herself wondering what her friends would be doing at that time. School would be out, so Molly and the others had probably headed to the mall, where they would hang around gossiping and drinking chocolate milkshakes until it was time to head home and get on with homework. Serena sighed, wishing she could join them. It was just that working here at the Planet with Jimmy was so boring, not at all what she expected working in a newspaper to be like. Somehow she had envisioned it to be a little more exciting, and that she would get to see a little more of investigative journalism than just sorting through financial records and tracking down exactly who sat beside who at that dinner Lex Luthor had held on the weekend.
A loud bang followed immediately by a scream caused Serena's head to shoot up in alarm. All noise in the newsroom suddenly ceased as everyone turned in shock to see the five men holding guns standing at the top of the stairs. They were all of Arabic descent, grizzled and angry, with dark flashing eyes. The leader of the group, or so Serena assumed, led the way down into the centre of the newsroom, and he looked around as if trying to find a particular person. The others followed him calmly; their weapons trained on the people they walked past, one always watching the back.
The leader turned to Miss Lane, and pointed his weapon at her. "You, Lois Lane, you will write for us. You will tell the world all our suffering. If you do not, all will die!" He spoke in such a thick accent that Serena could barely understand it.
Slowly, carefully, Miss Lane nodded her head, and moved towards her computer. "I will write for you", she said softly, glancing out the window. She turned the computer on and sat down, waiting for it to boot. One of the men moved closer to her, looking over her shoulder. Serena guessed that it was his job to ensure that Miss Lane actually did type up the story they wanted.
All were silent in the newsroom, save for the leader of the group of terrorists, who kept telling Lois his demands. She nodded faithfully and typed as he spoke. A small movement behind Serena caught her eye and she turned her head, to see Clark edging towards the door to a storage room. She wondered what on earth he could be doing, but then she remembered the window in the storage room.
Clark must be going to call Superman, Serena thought in a flash of insight, but they are sure to notice as he sneaks off.
But if someone distracted them, Serena realised, no one would see him go, and then Superman would arrive to save us.
Serena stepped towards the nearest terrorist, her hands up and real tears forming in her eyes. "Please", she said in Japanese, hoping they would not understand, "Please let me go. I'm just a kid, I have to go home to my mummy and do my homework and play video games." The terrorist she was speaking to was probably the youngest of the group, and he glanced at the others to see if any of they could explain what this girl was crying over. He was answered by shrugs, and Serena realised that maybe she could achieve what Clark was trying to do and call for help herself.
"Pretty please with sugar on top", she said, still in her natural tongue, tears falling down her cheeks. "I'm too young and beautiful to die. Someone has to come and save us, please come-" The terrorist stepped forward, holding his gun in one hand, and hit Serena across the face, so that she fell to the floor with a scream. Mr White was there, he helped her into a sitting position and pulled Serena into a hug, but she kept on sobbing as if hysterical the name, "Sugoihito", as though she was still begging for her life. Many of the actual employees of the Daily Planet were looking at Serena as if she had gone mad, but Mr White seemed to see something on Serena's face that made him not hush her, and Miss Lane gave her a quick quizzical look before going on with her typing.
Suddenly there was a rush of wind through the newsroom, and Serena could have sworn she saw a flash of blue passing in front of her vision. Then quite suddenly the terrorists were looking at their hands in shock, the guns were not there, and then she could see as Superman tied them together using some electrical cord.
"Judas Priest", Mr White murmured from his seat on the floor next to Serena, who got to her feet quite normally, feeling returning to her face in a haze of pain. Miss Lane had also stood up, and she was looking at Superman with obvious adoration shining on her face. Serena felt a little the same, having finally seen Superman up close and in action was not someone one could easily shrug off, but the pain she was feeling blurred the experience.
"Is everyone alright?" Superman asked in an authoritarian tone of voice, and everyone seemed to nod their heads in unison, save for Serena who merely stood still, one hand clutched to her cheek and tears falling. "The police will be here in a minute or two to pick up this lot", he said, gesturing to the terrorists, and Mr White nodded.
Then Superman turned to her, and Serena felt a blush creeping up on her face as he stepped towards her to cup a hand along her jaw. "You took a foolish risk distracting them like that. Clark would have been able to contact me without your help, and I think a few people would be upset if you got yourself killed needlessly, no matter how brave you were." Serena looked down at her feet, embarrassed beyond belief as he pointed out just how close she had been to her own death. But at the time, she had not cared, she just had to be sure that Clark would be able to sneak away.
Superman placed a finger under her chin and pushed her head up until she met his eyes. They were a deep brown, and she couldn't help but notice how beautiful they were. In fact, everything about him spoke of perfection, every well-emphasised line of his body was placed just as it should, and when he smiled at Serena, she couldn't help but smile back despite her tears which wouldn't stop falling. "What is your name?" Superman asked gently, in Japanese.
"Tsukino Usagi", she answered without thinking, before remembering, "but everyone calls me Serena here."
"Well Usagi-Serena, if you want you can continue to call me Sugoihito, but everyone else calls me Superman." He chuckled and Serena giggled at the look on his face. "Thank you for what you did today." Superman looked around the room then, and Serena saw quite clearly the relief on his face as he saw Miss Lane, and there was some other indefinable emotion there that Serena could not place. He nodded to the reporter who grabbed a pen and paper from a desk and smiled hopefully. "Alright Lois, but just a few questions about today, okay?" He asked the question lightly, armed folded across his chest.
Lois' answering grin could have lit up the room, and she guided the superhero to one of the conference rooms.
The police came in through the door to the stairs at that point, rushing in to gather up the terrorists and start taking statements. Serena turned around at Mr White's polite coughing. "You couldn't help an old man up off the floor, could you girl?" he asked gruffly and she offered him a hand, pulling with all her strength to get him up, not that he actually seemed to need the help. "Once we are done talking to the police about this, I want to speak with you in my office, you hear me girl?" Serena could only nod, a sinking feeling taking hold in her stomach.
"Yes Chief", she murmured dutifully, as he marched off to speak with one of the police officers. Another came up to talk to Serena as he knees started shaking and she found that she had to sit down before she could fall.
Sometime later the police had left, save for a few officers who were mounting a guard of sorts just near the door. They were going to remain until the last of the main staff had gone home for the night, just in case another threat arose. Many of the staff members had very quickly finished their work for the day, disappearing as soon as they had spoken to the police officers taking statements about what had happened. Others, like Lois and Clark, seemed to have plans to stay late and write up what had happened, and Lois had been heard arguing with Mr White about whether or not it was front-page news.
Serena had not done anything else all afternoon, she had told a police officer what she knew about what had happened, including her role, and afterwards Jimmy had gotten her a cup of tea and let her sit in silence. Serena suspected that she was probably in shock, just a little, as she sat holding her cooling cup of tea staring out of the window closest to her. She couldn't help but feel a little panicked about what had happened, and that she had dared to approach someone holding a gun, who could have killed her without any warning. And as she suddenly thought about it, Serena couldn't help but be a little glad that she would never have to return to the Daily Planet. Perhaps being a reporter was not a good career choice for her, it seemed a little too dangerous, if this is what a desk-job got her. Being out in the field, actually investigating, would be more than Serena could bear.
No, she realised as she got to her feet to walk over to Mr White's office, she did not actually mind what she had been doing at the time. Facing danger had not upset Serena; it was dealing with it afterwards that had upset her. If she became braver, and chose her risks a little more carefully, she could be a reporter, Serena knew she could. She smiled as she realised that, and suddenly she felt a lot better. She had done some good when she called for Superman, she had made sure that the people of the Daily Planet were safe, because she was not sure that anyone else could or would be able to do the same. She did what she had to, and Serena suddenly realised that she would not do anything differently if she had to live out the situation again.
Serena reached up a delicate hand and knocked on Mr White's door softly. He grunted and she opened the door carefully. "Chief?" she asked in a soft voice, peaking her head around the door.
He was the only person in the room and he gestured her in. Serena closed the door behind her, approaching the desk apprehensively. "What the Sam Hill did you think you were doing out there earlier?" His eyes narrowed, and Serena felt herself blushing under his angry gaze.
"I", she began, nervous now, "that is", she really couldn't think of how to phrase what she wanted to say, "well, I've never been in danger like that before. My first instinct was to call for Superman, but since I didn't want them to know what I was doing, it had to be in Japanese."
"You realise that you endangered yourself more than anyone else by doing that?"
"Of course", Serena said, looking a little confused and feeling even more so, "But I couldn't let anyone else take that sort of risk for me. I fight my own battles." She believed that; she would have been horrified if anyone else did what she had done. When it had to be done, she had not hesitated; she would always put herself before her friends. It didn't stop her from being terrified though.
Mr White looked at her quizzically, before glancing down at the piece of paper before him. He then looked up at her, blue eyes smiling. "And I suppose Superman has already told you off for what you did?"
"He was slightly more subtle about it, but yeah, he was so angry at me. Still, I wouldn't take it back. I did what I thought I had to."
Mr White sighed theatrically. "The King save me from pushy women who always know how to do what's right", he murmured to the ceiling. Serena lost the last of her apprehension at the strange expression she did not understand in the least and grinned as Mr White shrugged and looked back up at her. "So girl, do you think you have time in your busy school schedule for a part-time job?"
Serena had no idea how to react, and so looked much like a deer caught in the headlights of an oncoming freight train. "Me, sir?"
"No, the blonde girl with pigtails behind you. Yes, you. I am always on the lookout for a budding reporter, and from your behaviour today I think you may have what it takes. So, what say you to working Tuesdays and Thursdays after school, and all day Saturday and Sunday for the weekend edition? You will only be working as a gofer like Jimmy, doing research and helping out the others, but I want to see every copy of your school's paper, and I want you practicing writing every chance you get. Minium wage, but you get experience that will stand you in good stead at any point in your career. You will have to keep up your current grades, and if you have a lot of schoolwork to do at any point you are to call and tell me that you cannot make it into work. Your education comes first at all times, and you know that." Finally, he seemed to realise that Serena had not said anything during his long spiel. He looked at her quizzically and Serena found herself sitting down opposite his desk, unable to stand up.
"Now I know this has all just been a dream", she murmured, "I knew it was too good to be true."
"It is real, and it is true", Mr White said to her with a gentle smile. "So, do you want to work for the Planet, Serena?"
"Yes", Serena breathed.
"Good. Then it's all settled. I will see you, not tomorrow, since I know you will have to catch up on the work you missed today, but Thursday, as soon as you can get here after school. Now, get out of my office." He said the last with a genuine smile and a shooing motion.
"Yes, sir", Serena said dumbly, getting to her feet like an automaton and walking sedately back to Jimmy's desk to pick up her bag. Jimmy came running up to her then, a big smile on his face.
"Well done, Serena, you really impressed the Chief." He said with a grin, and she found herself smiling back.
"Thanks Jimmy, I don't know what I did, but I'm glad you're happy."
"So, when will I see you again?"
Serena suddenly realised that she was looking forward to seeing him when she next came into the planet. "Thursday afternoon. I'll see you then."
As she walked out of the Planet, Serena noticed Clark's eyes on her. He was looking at her curiously, but quickly changed his expression when he realised that she had seen him staring. He smiled and mouthed the word "Congratulations" as she walked to the elevator.
Serena came home to find a letter sitting calmly on her bed. It was decorated with stickers and stamps and had travelled all the way from Japan. The return address was that of her best friend Naru-chan, whom Serena had known since a child and who had she had been friends with since she was a child. Now they were only penpals, though they did write to each other frequently. Serena tore the letter open immediately, noting that it was dated two weeks ago as she started to read.
Dear Usagi,
We're all missing you here. I in particular miss the excitement that always seemed to follow you everywhere you went, but something happened yesterday that was pretty exciting.
Guess what? Umino and I are dating now! He finally asked me to date him, isn't that wonderful? Tomorrow we might kiss for the first time; I can hardly wait.
Last night some strange monster attacked my mother's jewellery store. That sort of thing happens all the time in Tokyo, you know that, but when the monster attacked my mother, it started draining her energy and I thought she was going to die. But then, this girl, Sailor-V, appeared and she destroyed the monster with this magic compact of light or something. I don't really understand how it worked or anything, but Sailor-V was dressed in this cool outfit and she wore a pretty red mask.
I read in the newspaper today that Sailor-V has been appearing all over Tokyo solving crimes and destroying monsters, and Motoki said that there's a Sailor-V video game coming out soon. Everyone thinks she's fantastic, better than any idol, she's even getting her own anime next week. I hope I get to meet her again, I want to ask for her autograph.
Anyway, I have to go do my homework now. High School is so much harder than junior high.
Miss you,
Naru
. Serena sat for some time, organising the events of the day in her mind so that she would be better able to tell Naru what had happened. As she lay down belly-flat on her bed, waiting for her mother to announce that dinner was ready, Serena reached for a piece of paper and started writing a reply.
Dear Naru,
You are not going to believe what happened to me today. I met Superman! He was absolutely amazing, more exciting than any idol. I mean, the man can fly! It's taken a year of living in Metropolis, but I have a feeling I will be seeing more of him from now on…