Series; Second Chance [~Chapter 3] (G) UPDATE: NOV. 8

She stood there.

After what seemed like a decade of nervousness, she finally took a deep breath.

She had not been so agitated in a long time.

Perhaps it was the cold December chill currently taking over Taiwan. Or perhaps it was the lurid shine of snow-white cotton balls drifting down from the springing cotton trees. Or perhaps it was the hard granite bricks that surrounded the deadly campus.

Or maybe, perhaps it was simply because she feared of messing up her second chance.

She exhaled her long breath, yanked at her crimson scarf, then finally, took her first step into the world of — what most people would call — hell and torment, or also known as, high school.

As she paced along the corridors of her new school, she sighed heavily. You can do this. You can do this, Annie! She hoped something could bring up her spirits, or at least slow her heart down from unstoppably pounding at her chest.

Annie had flown from the crowded streets of New York, to the traditional eastern culture of Taiwan.

Black Fantasy Bilingual High School is a well known high school in Taiwan. Annie had begged her parents for weeks until they finally permitted her to live alone in Taiwan — in the student dorms.

Cautiously walking down the hallways, Annie chanted in her mind, First impression is important, first impression is important. She sighed. Please don’t make me mess this up again.

10-B. 10-B. She look down at her registration sheet, then back up. I’m not going into the wrong homeroom, am I? Annie stood tremulously in front of a wooden door that was supposedly her homeroom. She checked the sheet again. 10-B it is.

She inhaled and exhaled deep breaths over a dozen times, and finally, she took one last breath. You can do this, Annie!

Slowly, she placed her warm palm on the green, wooden door’s doorknob, which was cold and unwelcoming.

Which way do I turn the knob? Annie asked herself subconsciously. Oh right, haha, clockwise.

They’re probably having class right now. I don’t want to cause a big commotion…

She was deep in thought until she was distracted by an awkward atmosphere that had fallen upon her. You know? It’s those kind where you feel a gaze upon you, in other words, she felt another person's presence near her.

She turned around to find a guy with blue hair staring down at her. He looked pretty average in the same uniform that Annie was wearing. Annie assumed that he was at least half a head taller than she was. Noticing the backpack still hanging over his back, Annie could almost be sure that the stranger was late for class.

Annie kept her eye on him and his blue hair since he did not shift his gaze.

They stood there for quite a while. Then finally, he raised his eyebrows and made a big yawn. “Are you going to move or what?”

“What? Oh, I’m sorry! I didn’t know…” Annie gasped as she realized that the guy wanted her to move away from the door. Hesitantly, she backed off a little.

“Whatever.” He yawned again. She watched as he opened the door and sauntered into the classroom.

The door was wide open.

More than twenty of the students focused their gaze on her.

What she had feared most was about to repeat itself. Because of all those stares, she panicked that she was going to black out — like what had happened in America.

I knew this was going to happen! I knew it! I knew —

“Hi! Are you Annie? Everyone’s waiting for you!” A girl with a beautiful shade of violet, indigo hair bounced up and welcomed her. When she had realized that most of the class had put up a smile on their face, Annie couldn’t help but make a slight grin.

“We have dances a lot during the year! Oh, and don’t forget the school carnival and beach concerts and fundraising sales and…” Annie followed her into the classroom and smiled as the violet girl blabbed on.

Hey, maybe this wouldn’t be as bad as I thought.

Or would it?

Warmth returned when she set foot in her comfy, new homeroom － 10-B.

“We also have lots of different clubs, and night markets, and sleepovers, and you mustn’t forget…”

Annie listened to her new friend chatter as she followed her to an empty seat.

It was a tough morning for Annie.

Half an hour ago, she was still hesitantly pacing around Black Fantasy Bilingual High School’s front gate. She transferred from America to Taiwan because she had passed out on the first day of school in there, so she came to Taiwan to set things back up. To put in simpler words, this was her second chance to make things right.

Just as Annie thought things were going pretty well, she was caught by an obstacle. The blue haired boy she had just met outside the classroom was sitting on, supposedly, her new seat, chatting with a girl sitting in front of him.

“Yo! Matt! Go back to your own homeroom!” Annie’s new friend suddenly stopped talking and yelled at him.

Matt, if Annie was not mistaken, looked up at the two girls and snickered. He whispered something to the girl sitting in front, and left the classroom.

Annie gradually tiptoed to her new seat and sat down. Hm, it’s still warm. She mentally slapped herself. Why the hell did I just think that?! Eeew.

The first few classes went over pretty smoothly.

During one of the breaks, Annie’s new friend came up to her.

“Hey, I forgot to introduce myself!” She stuck out her right hand towards Annie. “Just call me Hirari!”

Annie took her new friend’s hand and shook it. “Hi, I’m Annie.” She felt warmth deep down inside her as she shook Hirari’s hand.

“I’ve been dying to meet you, Annie! We’re going to be roommates, did you know?” Hirari giggled happily as she knelt down beside Annie’s desk.

“Cool.” On the outside, Annie played cool. But really, she was thinking, OH MY GOD! I CAN’T BELIEVE I’M ROOMMATES WITH SUCH A NICE PERSON! I must be the luckiest person on Earth!

Annie examined her new friend. Gosh, she has the prettiest violet hair I’ve ever seen! Annie was amused. Hirari was actually really pretty. Her violet, glistening hair was tied to the left side of her head. Hirari had snow-white skin that looked smooth and delicate. Annie couldn’t help but admire Hirari’s beauty.

“The guy just then,” Hirari distracted Annie’s thoughts, and continued, “You know, the one with blue hair? He’s my brother, Matt. He’s a junior. But he loves coming to our class, for a reason…” Hirari lowered her voice as she turned around to look at the girl sitting in front of Annie.

Annie had recognized her as the girl that Matt had been chatting with. Wow! Whoa, whoa. Annie thought, Why hadn’t I noticed that she was so… hot? Annie couldn’t find a better word to express the girl’s appearance. The girl had dark, black curls that flowed smoothly and naturally － with a sweet scent － down her back. Totally Asian.

The girl was so attractive that Annie hadn’t noticed that Hirari was waving her hand in front of Annie.

Hirari sighed. “Her name’s Diana. She’s super sexy, right?” Annie nodded. Hirari got closer to Annie and whispered, “She my bro’s girlfriend.”

Annie wasn't sure if she should be shocked or amazed. She didn't know Matt well enough to judge what taste Matt has yet.

Annie whispered back, “So? What’s the big deal?”

“Ugh, you don’t get it?” Hirari rolled her eyes. “Only girls who’ve gone coo-coo would possibly fall in love with my bro.”

“I see…” Annie nodded slowly.

-Lunch Time-

“Hey, Annie! What do you have for lunch?” Hirari ran over to Annie.

Annie took out her lunch box and held out a peanut-butter sandwich.

“Wow, so American-ish.” Hirari said, then ran off to drag a chair next to her desk.

She put up her lunch box on Annie’s desk.

Annie was delighted when Hirari flipped open her lunch box; Hirari was having what looked like dumplings, and some Chinese noodles. Annie had never tasted such food before.

As the two happily ate their lunches, Matt, along with another person, strolled into the girls’ homeroom.

“Oh, god. No…” Hirari made a terrified expression.

“What’s wrong?” Annie asked, puzzled.

“Why is he here again?!” Hirari exclaimed. Annie followed Hirari’s gaze and found herself looking at the lanky guy standing next to Matt. He had dark, messy hair.

“Who’s he?” Annie whispered to Hirari.

Hirari ducked her head down. “He’s been coming to our homeroom ever since my bro introduced us…” She sighed. “Okay, so here’s the point: I heard my bro say that he, oh, by the way, his name is Alex, has a major crush on me.”

Annie’s eyes widened. “Isn’t that supposed to be good?”

“Yes, I know…” Hirari looked down at the ground. “But the thing is, I heard…” She moved a little closer to Annie, and continued, “I heard he’s not a virgin anymore…”



To Be Continued…

“Wait, what?!” Annie thought she had heard wrong.

“Ugh! I don’t know! I’m not sure myself!” Hirari held her head in her hands as she leaned onto Annie’s desk.

Suddenly, Alex gasped loudly as he found Hirari's hiding place. “Hi-ra-ri~!” He skipped over to Annie’s desk.

Hirari stood up, and looked at Annie. “I’m really not sure…” She sighed. “Maybe, just maybe… because my brother dislikes Alex, he lied to me”

Annie was confused. “What do you mean?”

“Matt was the one who told me that Alex’s not a virgin anymore. I can’t be sure of that though, since those two don’t really go well together. He might be lying.”

“Hirari~” Alex finally reached Annie’s desk and stood in front of Hirari.

“Hey, Alex. What brings you here?” Hirari stared at the ground as she talked.

Alex’s eyes glistened. “Hirari,” He knelt down and held on to Hirari’s hand, “Will you go to the dance with me?”

Somehow, the whole world was silent. All eyes were focused on the annoyed girl, waiting for her to answer. Even Matt, who was with his girlfriend now, turned around to see what was going on.

“I…” Hirari hesitated. Alex was brave, but it did not touch Hirari’s heart. Hirari was cold, she did not blush nor did she shiver. She just stood there.

Alex was still holding on to Hirari’s hand.

“I… I’m…” Hirari stumbled over her words. “I… not… can’t…”

Was she too nice to reject someone? The temperature seemed to have dropped to zero, because Hirari stood there, ice-solid.

Alex seemed to have noticed the atmosphere as well. He let go of Hirari’s hand. Hirari looked up, but only saw Alex shoving his hands in his pockets and walking out of the classroom.

It was only the first day of school for Annie, and she had already witnessed something she had never witnessed before -- being a bystander of a confession. But she figured, because she suddenly transferred to this high school, she had probably missed out on a lot of things.

The classroom slowly warmed again. Soon, it was as if nothing happened at all. Matt continued showing PDA (Public Display of Affection) with his girlfriend by hugging in public. Hirari nibbled on her lunch, and Annie, cooperatively, continued her lunch as well.

Although the atmosphere lifted, Annie was still extremely curious about Hirari and Alex; Was Alex really not a virgin anymore?

-After School-

Annie wandered around her assigned dorm building. Ugh, where am I? Just as Annie considered sleeping on the streets, she heard her dearest new friend call from behind,

“Annie!” Hirari ran along the corridors of the dorm, panting. Annie smiled. I haven’t felt like this before.

“W-Why the rush?” Annie’s friend lifted her head up and laughed, “Y-You don’t even know where your room is! Ha, ha…”

“You okay?” Annie couldn’t help laughing at her friend who was half giggling, half panting, oh, and half talking, too. Hirari’s a really good friend. I’m so lucky…

-That Night-

Brrrrrrnnggg! Brrrrrrnnggg!!

“Ugh…” Annie woke up from her nap, and rolled over to the vibrating table next to her bed.

What the hell? She stared at the cell phone ringing on the table. Where’s Hirari? Annie dragged herself off the bed and slapped herself, making sure she was fully awake, then reached for the cell phone.

Should I? Maybe not… But, what if it’s an important call? Annie shrugged. Whatever!

Annie picked up the phone.

“Hello?”

Annie kept quiet.

“Uhm… Hirari, I uh…”

Annie listened. She was pretty sure it was a guy talking. But who? Could it be Alex?!

“Hirari, I… I heard about the Alex incident today. And uhm…”

Nope, not Alex. But, what’s up with this guy?! Stop hesitating! Annie was annoyed.

“You… you know that I still… uhm…”

Yes? Annie asked him in her mind.

“I still love you.” She heard the stranger sigh. “I don’t know… Ugh! How should I put this… I love you, so…”

Annie slowly, without making any noise, sat down on her single bed.

“I know this may seem a tad later than Alex… but, uhm, I… Arg! Why is it so hard?! This is so frustrating!”

I’m the one who’s supposed to be saying that! Annie rolled her eyes.

“Hirari, will you go to the dance with me?”

Annie could feel herself blush. She knew the question wasn’t directed to her, but she could feel her heart speed up. Stop it, Heart! He’s not talking to me! Stop! Annie pressed her palm to her chest, hoping her heart would calm down.

“Yes…” Annie heard herself answer.

“What?! REALLY??! Oh my god!” There was a pause. Is he… kissing the phone??! Annie could hear pecking sounds coming from the other line.

Wait, no! Wait, wait! This is all wrong!!

“I LOVE YOU! I LOVE YOU! HIRARI, I LOVE YOU--” He hung up.

Oh my god…

What have I done?



To Be Continued…

“Uhm… Annie?”

Clang!

Annie gasped when she heard her name, and accidentally dropped the cell phone from her sweaty hands.

It seemed like Hirari just came out of the shower. Why hadn’t Annie noticed that Hirari was in the room?

“Are you okay, Annie? You’re a little pale. Wait, hey, is that my phone?” Hirari, holding a towel on her head with her left hand, walked over to her phone and picked it up.

“Uhm… uh… ah…” Annie was speechless.

Beep, beep, beep. Annie was nervous at every click Hirari made. Beep, beep, BEEEEP.

“URI?! HE JUST CALLED?” Hirari’s hand slipped and her purple, wet towel dropped to the ground.

Annie nodded slowly.

“WHAT DID HE SAY??” Hirari forcefully grabbed on to Annie’s hand, shaking her violently.

Why is Hirari so agitated? Annie thought and hesitated for a while. “He, uhm… asked you to the dance…”

Hirari let go of Annie’s hand and sat down on her own bed. For a while, she was silent. Then, she looked up at Annie and asked, “Is that all he said?”

Annie could only nod; she didn’t want to break her friendship when she just found it this morning.

That night, Hirari was quiet. Annie was still curious about Alex and now, she was also curious about this new character, Uri.

Hirari was sitting on her bed, punching buttons on her laptop.

Annie sat on her own bed, uneasy, and confused. She wasn’t sure if she should tell Hirari anything more.

“He used to be my boyfriend.”

Annie, with sudden shock, turned around to look at Hirari.

Hirari glanced at Annie, “I turned him down a year ago, back when he was a sophomore.”

Hmm… So Uri’s a junior now? I see… Somehow, when Annie thought of what Uri had said on the phone, it still made her heart pump fast.

Annie couldn’t help but become even more curious. “Why did you guys break up?” Annie crawled off her bed and leaned against Hirari’s bed post.

“You get curious easily, right?” Hirari grinned at Annie, then let her gaze drift back to her computer screen.

Annie waited.

A while later, Hirari finally turned off her laptop. She sighed and looked at Annie. “Well, Uri, he…” Hirari cleared her throat, “No, wait. I’ll put it this way: Uri is a well-known bass player in our campus. Well, sometimes… girls flirted with him and stuff. It bothered me so much; just seeing the sight hurt me, a lot.” She paused. “So, I confronted him for a break up.” Hirari let out a sorrowful sigh of relief. “But I’m glad. I’m glad that we broke up.”

“D-Does…” Annie looked down at the carpet flooring. “Does he still love you?”

“Well, uhm… he still calls me as if nothing had happened. I chat with him, but… I don’t know, Annie…” Hirari lay down on her bed, back facing Annie. She stopped talking.

Annie was about to reach her hand out to Hirari. “H-Hira--”

“Can you let me chill for tonight?” Hirari twitched.

Annie withdrew her hand. “Okay.” She stood up and walked towards the door. “I’ll go out for a walk.”

“Curfew’s nine.”

“Thanks.”

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Ugh! Why am I so curious about Hirari??! Annie kicked a stone on the ground as she paced along the road in front of the dorms.

Wait, oh my god. Does Hirari maybe still like Uri? No! She shook that thought out of her mind.

[i]Jesus… what do I do about the Uri thing anyway? My idiocy made me answer that stupid invitation when it was not even for me!! Annie kicked even harder when she met the next rock.

“Whoa, hey.”

Huh? What? Annie turned around to find herself facing the blue-haired dude. What was his name? Oh, right – Matt.

“Gentle on that rock there. I’m pretty sure it’s innocent.” Matt snickered.

Somehow, Matt can make everything seem okay.

Annie and Matt walked together silently until they met a railing. Annie leaned against it. “I don’t belong here, either, huh…”

“What do you mean?”

What? Had Annie say her thoughts out loud?

“Oh, uhm… I messed things up back in America. That’s why I came here for a second chance.”

Matt was silent.

“But I messed this chance up as well.”

“How so?” Matt said as he climbed onto the railings and sat still.

Annie shrugged. “Well… I know this is only my first day here… But, just then, Hirari, her cell phone rang, she wasn’t there, so I picked it up, and then--”

“Oh, fuck. Don’t tell me it was one of those Uri-lovey-dovey calls?” Matt laughed by himself. Annie was troubled, yet all he could do was laugh at his own joke.

“Fine, yes, it was one of those. Whatever.” Annie felt annoyed by Matt’s laughter. If he laughs ONE MORE TIME, I’m going to—

“So, what happened? Maybe I could help you.” Matt suddenly stopped laughing and looked directly into Annie’s eyes.

“I… uh…” Annie blushed. Ugh! What’s wrong with me?! I know I’m hopeless in love! But TWO IN ONE DAY is too much to handle!

Nevertheless, Annie still told Matt what had happened.

“I see.” Matt nodded with an evil smile on his face. “So you like Uri?” He snickered.

I hate those snickers.

“I don’t, okay? It’s just… I’ve never had these feelings in a long time, so I’m quite sensitive now.”

“Ha, ha. I see, I see.” Matt raised his head up and gazed at the star-filled sky. They looked extra shiny tonight.

Annie lifted her head as well.

For a long while, neither of them talked and did nothing but admire the beautiful, glistening sky.

Annie looks up at the night sky.

Annie was so absorbed in the sky, she hadn’t notice that Matt was looking at her.

“You have beautiful black hair. It’s just like the sky: dark, in a good way. Just like Diane…” He smiled at Annie.

Annie could, once again, in only less than an hour of patrolling, feel her cheeks burning. “D-Don’t compare me with her! She’s really pretty…”

“Yeah, she is.” Matt nodded, grinning.

Annie stuck her tongue out, “Meanie!”

“Ha, ha. You’re special.” He smiled. “I never make friends so fast, Annie.”

“You know my name?” Annie was touched.

“Psh, Hirari’s been blabbing about you during breaks. I’m not that deaf to not hear your name.” Matt let out his attractive smile once again.

“Thanks, Matt.” Annie smiled, helplessly blushing under the night sky.

“You’re eyes are pretty, too. Chestnut colored.” He looked at the ground.

OH MY FUCKING GOD. How does he know I have brown eyes?! Annie freaked out, but she didn’t bother asking why, or she might die of a heart attack.

“Diane’s prettier, though.” Matt laughed playfully at Annie.

Annie gave Matt a punch on the shoulder. “UGH! You didn’t have to!” She laughed along.

Hirari… I think I have gone coo-coo as well.

-Meanwhile-

“What the fuck is this?!” Hirari sat up on her bed, tremulously holding onto her cell phone.

“Why are so many people congratulating me??” Hirari scanned down the hundreds of text messages she had received.

“OMG! When did this happen?? Congratulations! –Emily.”
“Hope U guyz can b 2gether longer this time! –Jason.”
“Whoa, wat’s up?! Gratz –Mick.”
“Wat’s going on…? –Alex.”

“I heard U & Uri r goin’ out again?! Congratz! –Shayde.”

Hirari jumped off of bed. “ME AND URI??! WHAT THE FUCK!!”



To Be Continued…