Natalie

Chapter Four

Chapter Four

Rin was rambling on about some girl that badmouthed the gang that needed to be put in her place and another girl that had stolen Chika’s chocolate from the vending machine. The whole meeting was stupid. Rin went on ranting and raving about a look that some prep had given her or a lost glove, pumping everyone up for a fight. All of the meetings were just gossip groups that made us hate the preps even more or made us feel sorry for ourselves.

I don’t believe in all that crap. To me, the world has always been every man for himself and if people had to bitch and complain about life being so damn hard because of a lost accessory, or because they couldn’t take someone out on their own or something stupid like that, then more power to them. Let them be chicken shit bitches who wallowed in their own pain, but that wouldn’t ever be me. There were better things to think about, so I did, tuning everyone else out. I couldn’t for long before Chika and Akane ratted me out, though, saying that I’d gotten into a fight earlier before lunch and asking what had happened. I sighed and told the story leaving out the part where Kano kissed me, getting applauded, cheered for, and congratulated when I’d finished.

There were shouts of “That’s our wakagashira!” “Fuck yeah! You showed that pretty boy!” and “Nobody fucks with the Kokoro-en!” It was all enough to give me a headache. When the meeting was over, I stayed behind with Rin, like always, and it was silent between us for a long time. I knew what she was gonna talk to me about and there wasn’t anything I could do to prevent it.

“So you’re leaving us for some new girl?” Rin asked with her arms folded across her chest as she leaned against the tree beside me, her voice dripping with rage.

“It’s not like that, and you know it. I helped build the Kokoro-en so there’s no way in hell I’d give it all up for some bitch I don’t even know…” I scoffed.

“I don’t know it’s not like that. You claim to have so much pride in the gang but you don’t even sit with us anymore and you tune everyone out like you don’t give a fuck about what anyone says. I wanna know what’s goin’ on in that head of yours,” she snapped.

“It’s only been a fucking day, Rin. Chill the fuck out,” I sighed. “I told you, there’s nothin’ to get your panties in a bunch about. I’m doin’ myself a favor hangin’ around the new girl. Her damn fan club is too fuckin’ loud and the only way to get some peace and quiet so I can sleep at lunch again is to scare them off. Would you rather listen to those screaming skanks all day, every day?”

“Fine…” she spat after a pause, her jaw clenched tightly. “But like I said before, Ruka, don’t get too close to that chick. The gang needs you to stay focused so you can take my place when I graduate, got it?”

“Yeah, sure, whatever… See ya ‘round, boss,” I said and waved halfheartedly as I walked off in a random direction away from the circle of buildings that the school consisted of.

I wandered around campus, enjoying the alone time. I walked along the river that wove through the dense forest that surrounded the school for miles. The birds were starting to settle down in their nests for the night, so I walked back up to the girls’ dorm building to get ready for bed and the peaceful buzz of the evening as everyone else prepared to do the same, passing behind the guys’ dorm hall. I was stopped on the way by Kano. He’d been out having a smoke when he saw me walking.

“What do you want, Kano?” I snapped.

“What’s goin’ on with you and that new chick?” he asked after blowing out the puff he’d just taken.

“What’s it matter to you?”

“I don’t like it, whatever it is.”

“Too damn bad. It’s none of your business.”