So We Meet Again
Part II, Chapter One
Ami exchanged an excited glance with her friend from school, Mina. They were on their way to the private beach where her family rented a house each summer; it had been years since she had been there. She also had not seen either of the Coruni boys (much to her relief) since their first, doom-laden meeting.
During the next few summers, her mother had taken her and Rei back to Japan to spend some time with their relatives, the vast majority of which remained there. When Ami was ten years old, she and Rei began attending boarding school, as was considered fashionable by the rich families of upper-class society, to which the Mizuno-Andersons belonged. Ami herself wasn't overly fond of many of the people she had met, but she had made some friends, the closest of which was Mina. Although they had been planning to return to the beach during the year Ami was ten, the family had returned to Japan, because her and Rei's aunt, Kira Mizuno's older sister, had been diagnosed with cancer. When she was eleven, her grandmother passed away in the winter, her aunt in the spring. Once again, they returned to support the Mizunos in their time of grief.
Then, over the course of the next three years, Ami had never been able to find much time to return to the private beach, never for a very long stay. Her parents were encouraging her to become more social and friendly with the sons and daughters of the families they associated with, so she had spent a lot of her vacation spending a few weeks here and there and trying to be polite to people she didn't like. The only time Ami had fun was when she had Rei for company, and she was seeing increasingly less of Rei.
During their second year of boarding school, Rei had decided she couldn't stand the snobby, spoiled girls who stuck up their noses at her. The status Ami held was mostly from her father, Richard Anderson, who had been looked down upon for marrying a Japanese woman. Kira Mizuno was accepted because of his influence, but the girls found no problem in ignoring and snubbing Rei. While she didn't really care for their opinion, she found that the number of people she got along with were outnumbered by those she didn't, and after a particularly serious argument, she had firmly told her aunt and uncle that she wanted to attend public school.
She had tried another semester, for Ami's sake, but her attempt had failed. Rei had an explosive temper when she was riled, but for the most part, she had firm control over it. One of the things Ami admired most was that Rei, while still considered a moderately tolerant person, knew when she was in the right and wouldn't stand for certain things.
Another thing Rei wouldn't put up with were social calls. She saw no point in being polite to people who were unreasonably rude to her, and she hated pretending to be something she wasn't. Ami felt similarly uncomfortable, but her parents' expectations weighed heavily on her, so she continued on at boarding school and with the social circles.
At school, Ami received top marks in several of her subjects and worked hard, and she and Rei wrote each other weekly. Rei had also met Mina, who had transferred to the school in the middle of second year. They were also good friends, but the thing Rei just couldn't understand about Mina was her perpetually optimistic nature. She was friendly to everyone, and she was very popular–which made some of the girls jealous, and while they smiled and gossiped with her one minute, they would be spreading rumors and talking about her behind her back about her the next. When acquainted with this fact by Ami and Rei, Mina merely shrugged it off, said it was their choice to do whatever they wanted, and kept smiling. This was the main point of contention between the two: Rei thought it was unfair and demanded that Mina do something about it, but Mina disagreed and refused to discuss the subject any further.
Another problem was that Mina was the type of person everyone liked–unless they were jealous of her. She was always bright and cheerful, and she always made people laugh. When people talked to her, they felt their worries melt away, and for a few precious moments, they enjoyed themselves. Her presence was like a drug of sorts, and everyone liked being around her because of the way she made them feel. She was always nice, upbeat, happy, and she, for the most part, agreed with what they said or merely kept her mouth shut. It was impossible for anyone to have a serious conversation with her unless she chose to instigate one. Even Ami knew only a little bit about Mina, and they were best friends. But then again, most of the talk in school was superficial.
At least they would be seeing Rei soon, although they would be there before she arrived: their boarding school adjourned for summer recess earlier than Rei's public school did. Resolving to put aside her worries for once and enjoy her vacation, despite the fact that the beach was becoming an extremely popular resort for the young socialites, she settled back and closed her eyes, letting the sun's hot rays touch her face.
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Zachary Coruni strolled along the sandy beach, waving casually at any guys he recognized and smiling flirtatiously at any girls he knew. His brother Jaden was doing basically the same thing but to a more exuberant extent when he encountered female friends. Their close friend Kunthan was with them, but he merely nodded politely to the guys and refrained from saying anything to the girls.
Zach and Jade exchanged an exasperated look and shook their heads: boarding school had deranged Kun worse than they'd thought. He was being so stiff and formal; they would have to fix that. Suddenly, a pair of girls making their way to the water's edge caught his eye, and he nudged his brother. "What's your opinion of those two? Shall we go and introduce ourselves?" he asked mischievously, "acquaint them with our magnetic charms?"
Kunthan merely shook his head but smiled indulgently. He knew them all too well. He wasn't going to condone such nonsense, but if they were going to so willingly provide him with the amusement of seeing them being slapped, he'd let them.
Jaden, on the other hand, grinned his trademark grin after a brief examination of their physical attractiveness. "Sure, why not? The more, the merrier."
"Jade..." his friend said in a warning tone, "be nice."
"I'm being very nice," he said innocently.
"You're going to break their hearts."
"You're one to talk," Zachary cut in.
Looking puzzled, he asked, "What are you talking about?"
Smirking, the blue-eyed blond replied, "It seems that some of the girls prefer the ‘strong, silent type.' If only you were tall, dark, and handsome, too..." Kunthan shoved him lightly, but for Kunthan, a light shove was more along the lines of a very enthusiastic punch, and Jaden staggered slightly. "Not so hard, Kun."
"Sorry."
"No, you're not."
"Shut up, Zach. So anyway, Kun, you don't want us to practice our irresistible charm on anyone anymore...so we'll watch these girls from a safe distance, and if they just so happen to catch our glances and make their way over to us...well, we aren't responsible for the consequences. They can stay away if they want to. Deal?"
After mulling over Jaden's proposal for a few seconds, Kunthan rolled his eyes and nodded, considering himself beaten. "Fine, whatever you want. Just leave me out of whatever messes and slaps come your way this time."
In a mock-offended tone, Zach protested, "It's not our fault you couldn't even duck a hit from a girl that one time."
"You know, I was starting to wonder why they slapped you two so often. Now I don't."
"What's that supposed to mean?" Jade asked curiously.
"You two know nothing about not offending girls."
Rolling his eyes, Zach proclaimed, "I only flirt with the girls I don't like, remember. If I'm really into a girl, I leave her alone."
"I have yet to see that happen," Kunthan said dryly.
Looking skeptical, his brother inquired, "Are you sure that's the best way to go about it?"
He shrugged in reply.
"So...I guess you've never really fallen hard for a girl yet, huh?"
Puzzled, Zach asked, "Why do you say that?"
"Because there hasn't been a girl that you haven't flirted with yet!!" Kunthan exclaimed in an exasperated tone of voice.
He smiled serenely. "I guess Miss Right hasn't come along yet, then."
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"Oh, Ames, don't look now, but this really hot guy is staring at you!"
Sighing, Ami shifted position on her towel to make eye contact with her friend. "Mina," she said tiredly, "the last time few times you told me that, the first guy was looking for his sister, the second thought I looked like his ex-girlfriend, started mouthing off at me, and didn't even bother to apologize when he discovered I wasn't, and the third just wanted to ask us where the bathrooms were."
Looking insulted, Mina replied, "No, I'm positive this time! You look for yourself, then. To your right, and behind you a few feet. But do it discreetly."
Shaking her head, Ami did as she was told, but only to get Mina off her back. She met the intense stare of three blond-haired guys around her age, and she turned away instantly, flushing. "You didn't tell me there were three of them! I feel–I feel naked!"
She blinked. "What're you talking about? You have your bathing suit on! A very modest, one-piece bathing suit too, if I may say so."
"No, you can't. I mean, I don't like the way they're looking at me. They're–they're scrutinizing us."
Mina smiled cheerily. "I know. Don't you think they're very good-looking?"
"I don't know. I didn't look at them long enough to tell. Besides, I'm not interested." The last three words were pronounced firmly. Very firmly.
"Oh, come on," wheedled her friend, "you must have some perspective of their looks."
Sitting up self-consciously, Ami rubbed the back of her neck. "My question is what kind of looks you're talking about, and my opinion is I wish you hadn't told me, because now my neck feels ticklish. I don't like people watching me."
Suddenly, Mina sat up and waved wildly. "Hey, Nevan!!"
Ami also looked in the direction she was waving, and a brown-haired guy jogged towards them. "Mina, Ami. I didn't know you guys would be here," he greeted, looking surprised but pleased to see them. Nevan was one of their friends from boarding school. Mina had an abundance of male friends, but Ami had very few. The fact that she accepted Nevan and got along with him very well spoke well of him. He was not as upbeat as Mina, but he was easy to get along with and also very smart. He was also someone who didn't often get personal with people, and the only thing most people at the school could say about him was that he liked astronomy–that was the only thing he made clear about himself.
"Yeah, well...so, how's your summer been? Done anything interesting? Met any beautiful people?"
Ami shook her head, listening to Mina make small-talk. Nevan and Mina were forever flirting with each other, and they had fun doing it. Both of them knew very well that it was completely harmless, but Ami still didn't like it. If flirting was to be done at all, in her opinion, it had to be serious.
The brunet smiled and replied, "Things have been...hot. And no, I'm sorry to tell you, Mina, I couldn't find any girls more beautiful than you are." More of the same ensued until Nevan commented, "Ami, you're being very quiet. Quieter than normal. Is something wrong?"
She was flipping nervously through one of Mina's magazines, not really noticing what she was looking at. She would have brought a book, but Mina had hidden all of them and said she couldn't remember where she'd put them. Knowing Mina, that actually was possible, but Ami hoped it wasn't true. One of the three boys were still staring at her unrelentingly. "No, everything's fine–"
Mina cut her off by saying, "There were these three guys watching her, and she's scared of them. You're too modest, Ami."
"I don't think modest is the right word..."
Nevan squinted in the direction she had indicated carelessly. "Hey...I think I know them. Well, two of them."
"Great!" Mina chirped. "How about you introduce us, then?"
"No!! Mina!!" her friend hissed. "I want to stay here!"
Grinning wickedly, Nevan pulled his reluctant friend to her feet. "Don't be shy, Ami. They won't bite. I mean, they have been known to, on occasion, but I won't let them bite you."
"How comforting," she muttered darkly, staring at the ground as they converged upon the three boys.
"Hey, Zach! Long time no see! And you too, Jade."
"Nev? We haven't seen you in years!"
Things continued for a short while in the same vein, until Zach remembered his manners. Sort of. "So, Nev," he began, smiling devilishly, "who are these two lovely ladies with you? If I introduce Kun here to you, will you let us meet them?" Without waiting for an answer as a startled look came over Nevan's face, he pushed his friend forward and said, "This is Kunthan. But call him Kun. We prefer it."
Mina giggled. Ami was looking longingly at the water. To her, it was clear that the guy's opinion of himself and his charms was as big as Mount Everest. If his ego got any bigger, it'd knock the moon off course from its orbit.
"Nice to meet you, Kun. I'm sorry, I forgot...we were so caught up in seeing each other again. Mina, Ami, these are Jaden and Zachary Coruni."
Ami wondered why their names sounded familiar.
"Call me Jade." A charming grin.
"And I'm Zach." A wide smirk.
Ignoring them, Nevan continued, "Our parents are old friends. And these are my friends from school, Ami Mizuno-Anderson and–"
"Mizuno-Anderson?!"
Her head snapped up then, and her ocean-blue eyes met Zach's deep green eyes. "Oh no," she whispered. It had been a long, long time ago–nearly seven years ago–but she still remembered–vaguely–two boys who had made her summer miserable. An impression of fair hair came back to her now, and she also recalled their names. Her mother had mentioned them a few times, but Ami hadn't given them much thought. Dealing with the immediate problem, she frowned severely. She hated being called Mizuno-Anderson.
Jade was grinning now. "Hey, aren't you the one we sent home with that nice surprise–what was it, six years ago?"
"I hope you cry less now, Mizuno-Anderson," Zach added teasingly.
Mina, Nevan, and Kunthan were too shocked to say anything, but Ami found her voice and something else, too. "I guess your mind is as mature as it was when you were seven years old. Is growing up too much for your brain cells to handle? Because no one else here seems to think you're funny. My name is Ami. You should use it." Everyone's staring eyes had turned on her, and when she realized what she'd said, she covered her mouth with both hands, turned, and ran away...sprinting all the way up to the cluster of freshly-painted buildings.
When Zach spoke again, it wasn't what anyone expected (except Jaden). "Damn, Mizuno-Anderson has nice legs. And she can run, too."
No one was surprised when Mina smacked him.
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Mainpage: Love at Fifth Sight
