The Golden Pear [YA - Featured]

♫~Notes 73~♫

 "So heavy!" She panted under the weight of a backpack that had a tag still attached to it. Ueno's steps took her toward the hut.

She stopped, catching her breath. Then she looked around, but the tiger-like cat was nowhere to be seen. She bit her lip. 'Did it run away?'

Quiet meowing corrected her. Snapping her head, she found the cat behind the hut. "There you are." With a huff, the backpack thudded at the ground. The cat perked its ears. The curiosity was in her blood.

An amused smile spread across Ueno's face. There was no falseness, only honest curiosity. Unpacking the cover, she took out various treats and cat food with bowls, towels, covers, and toys.

Opening one can she pushed it closer to the cat. The animal got up, sniffling before taking a small bite and then hogging everything. Licking the inside clean, it meowed.

"Still hungry?" Ueno opened another cat and put granules into the bowl and water into another.

A clap of thunder sounded from above. "No way! It was so sunny!" Ueno got up, staring at the darkening sky. "What now?" Her eyes scanned the hut, finding it more disgusting by a second.

The cat meowed, and Ueno dashed away. Only when her legs turned into spaghetti, she stopped to catch a breath. 'It's just a stupid cat!' She clenched her fists and teeth as the old memory bugged her. 'I don't need to bother with it! With anybody!'

Shaking her head, she stood proud. She was the Queen here. She didn't bow in front of anybody. Heading toward the school building where the lunch break would start in a few minutes, she recovered her smug smile.

It lasted only for a few steps as she stopped, her shoulders slumping. The thunder growled above her as if threatening her to continue. It roared again and again until Ueno yelled, "Shut up!"

\\_(''>_<'')_//

The cat licked its paw as it finished drinking and trying to open the cans without success. Breaking branches and stomped grass caught its attention, so it peeked from the corner.

Ueno gasped of air, a broom, and a plastic bag full of tall cans in her hands. The cat watched her, not minding the unborn kittens threw wrestling tournament in her stomach.

"Screw this! I'm Aoi Ueno! And nobody orders me! I do what I want!" With this declaration, she leaped into a war with the dust, webs, and spiders; dozens of spiders.

Her screamers interrupted the stillness of the place as they landed on her body, tingled her legs, or she got them in her hair. The crazy cleaning process, she had no idea how, worked, and the hut turned from shabby to bearable. Mostly thanks to massive clouds of bug spray, and wide swipes of the broom.

Dirty, tired, but somehow happy, Ueno glanced the result. "Now, to turn it into five stars hotel, and we are all set."

Placing the cat bed in the corner, she started putting other things around. The cat food got a place on the table, that squeaked under its weight. The toys stayed in the other corner, and one ball turned into the cat's immediate favorite since she was pushing it back and forth between her paws.

Ueno recorded five minutes video, giggling as the cat showed various expressions from delighted to "just you wait" and gnawed on the soft ball.

The cat got tired, laying down in its new bed. Even the unborn kittens went sleeping.

"Did you belong to somebody?" Ueno asked. "You are pretty tame, and your fur doesn't seem to be overly dirty."

As if offended, the cat turned her head away, licking her paw. The girl made a simple roof over the cat's bed and filled it with a towel to make it warm.

A loud thunder sent shivers down their spines, and lighting followed a few seconds after it. The dark clouds swallowed the sun and sky, leaving nothing but threatening mass.

"I better go!" Stepping outside, she turned on her heel, putting more granules into the bowl and added clean water. "See you tomorrow!" Ueno waved her, realizing she had never before looked for anything.

Calling her driver, as the first raindrops hit the ground, she hid by the entrance completely drenched. The limousine arrived a few minutes later. She already had water in her shoes, so it made little difference if the mud colored her socks as well.

Inside the car, she shivered, the cold sinking its nails into her skin. The maid inside helped her to dry and change clothes. The young woman didn't ask anything. If she did, Ueno wouldn't answer her anyway. Her house went by old rules, where servants were useful as the owner deemed them, no matter what their actual skills were.

Ueno sneezed and coughed all the way till the enormous house. Its towering exterior ensured anybody that people living here came from a long family with tens of generations to back its name.

The surname Ueno meant a lot in the business world. Her mother handled their family corporation and this school as well. She frowned upon the entrance gate, and with the maid, they headed inside protected by a big umbrella.

She wasn't sure why her mother insisted on buying that school over twenty years ago, but she saved it from closing down.

'None less than for boosting her ego.' Not only one news article called her savior as she bought and re-established brands and places.

"Young lady." Another maid bowed as they stepped into the main hall, where steps reverberated and echoed.

Stares of dead people judged her form as if they deemed her unworthy of their presence.

"Madam wishes to speak with you." Her voice shivered.

"Alright. I'll be there."

The maid bowed, thankful Ueno took down the burden from her shoulders. Her mother hated to wait for anybody.