She stared intently at the small mirror she held in her hands…And there it was again.

 That horrid shade of red.

 Her face will forever be tinted red…No, scratch that…Make it vermilion.

 The brown-eyed girl watched as the deep blush spread once again across her face, from her neck up to the roots of her hair.

 ‘Oh, God! What had just happened to me???’ she thought miserably, burying her face in her hands…in shame. Well, she need not ask herself that question again for the 30^th time…

 Only a few days had passed since that big blunder in the cafeteria…And here she was again…If things like these would keep on happening to her, she’d be qualified to run for Ms. Popularity in the next few weeks. Or Ms. Campus-Klutz for that matter…

 Damn.

 ‘Ok, relax,’ she thought, trying to calm herself. Inhale…Exhale…Inhale…Exhale…Inhale…Exh-

 ‘Aaaaarrrrgggghhhh!!! Why does this have to happen to me? Again?’ she mentally berated herself in embarrassment. She couldn’t help it.

 In the past week, she’d not only managed to capture everyone’s attention through that highly entertaining live performance in the cafeteria, she’d also managed to anger half the school’s female population by landing a resounding slap on their beloved heartthrob’s poker face…

 This time, though, she didn’t know what will become of her tattered reputation after everyone hears about how she almost got herself drowned in the pool…And then only to be rescued by…him.

 Knowing Shohoku’s underlying mechanism for information dissemination…the news had probably spread throughout the school like wild fire by now…especially if the news involved…him.

 She bit her lip, a pathetic attempt to keep her teeth from gnashing together.

 Ok, so what happened that afternoon was something totally different…It wasn’t entirely her clumsiness that got her in the spotlight again, was it? ‘Of course not,’ she thought her eyebrows meeting in a frown. ‘It was that bitch Mizuki’s fault…’ 

 One of the bad parts was that she hadn’t remembered anything when she drowned. And it bothered her that she didn’t…It had felt like something really important happened back then. Like some missing piece of her soul had been put back into place…

 Missing piece my ass…

 She shrugged the thought off then sighed. Crap…What’s done is done. Why bother?

 But it wasn’t the drowning part that worried her the most. It was what happened after that…

 Against her resolve, she had cried like a baby in front of everybody… In front of him… Onto his shirt no less… Him…Her sworn enemy.

 She buried her face in her hands, muffling her loud groan.

 She didn’t know what to think of it – of him – anymore. Despite the anger she’d previously harbored, she can’t seem to picture him, no matter how hard she tried, as the scourge of humanity any longer…She could not. And she must not. He was the one who saved her after all…

 I owe him my life…I owe him everything…

 She shivered at the intensity of her thoughts. It was downright unbelievable…the rapid turn of events…

 She was about to launch into another one of her self-pitying contemplations when her door opened with a loud bang, its poor hinges groaning in protest.

 “What happened to you??? Are you alright???” Takenori Akagi’s voice boomed as he stood by the abused doorframe, panting. Behind him was his also breathless sister Haruko. Obviously they had been running from school…

 From where she tiredly sat on her bed, holding a mirror in her hand, Marina Akagi fidgeted. “Umm…Hello, oniichan.” she’d managed to squeak out. Hell, she’d better prepare her eardrums. This will be another long round of battering…

 Before saying anything, Shohoku’s incumbent basketball captain rushed over to his cousin’s bedside, pressing a soft kiss on her forehead. Marina cautiously looked up as he did, almost sighing out with relief at her older cousin’s calm countenance…that is, until…

 “What were you thinking drowning yourself in that pool?!!” he exploded like some volcano in mid-eruption, his hands flailing at his sides.

 Marina flinched but opened her mouth nonetheless to voice out some pathetic excuse. She definitely didn’t drown herself on purpose…

 "Correction, oniichan…” came Haruko’s calmer tone. “Someone pushed her in the pool,” the girl said, sitting beside her cousin and giving her a comforting hug.

 Marina gave Haruko a thankful smile.

 “Ok…so then I’ll rephrase that,” Takenori said, pausing for a while before roaring out loud. “What the hell  were you doing standing beside that pool?!!”

 All three of them sweatdropped. Now that sounded stupid…

 By now the girl with the long wavy hair had gathered her wits. She wasn’t just going to sit there and let herself be accused of some stupid crime like standing beside a pool. It wasn’t even a valid crime, for cryin’ out loud!

 “Well,” Marina said in a huff. “It was try-outs for the swimming team and I wanted to - .”

 Takenori’s eyes suddenly narrowed. “I see…swimming team, huh?”

 Marina’s stomach dropped. She absolutely disliked the way her older cousin was looking at her and that way he dubiously pronounced the word ‘swimming team’. It looked all too familiar…too creepy…

 “Then there’ll be no joining in the swimming team this year,” he said with definite finality. “For any of you,” he added, addressing his two female companions.

 She knew it…It was only a matter of time before the Overprotecting Bug bit him… But freedom sure felt good while it lasted…

 For Haruko, her brother’s decree had no particular effects, but when she looked over to her cousin’s direction…The word to describe the look on her face was yet to be invented. The girl simply looked like she was in a coma.

 Haruko squeezed her cousin’s hand in an attempt to soften the devastating blow.

 “B-But - !” Marina stammered when she recovered her voice.

 “No buts.”

 “Oniichan, you can’t - !” Marina protested vehemently.

 “Of course I can,” Takenori said in his authoritative voice. “…as long as we’re under one roof, as long as you’re under our care, as long as you’re a minor, as long as you’re within a couple of miles radius…” he paused, thinking of better words to describe the predicament. “…as long as you’re my cousin…”

 Marina flinched. That definitely sounded like forever.

 “I don’t believe this!” she cried out incredulously. “This whole overreacting over some club try-outs - !”

 “Yeah,” Takenori said, interrupting her. “ That club try-out that almost got you killed.”

 Marina clamped her mouth shut. She knew better than to oppose her cousin when he was being so stubborn like this. To the point of anger…But it wasn’t the club nor the pool’s fault that she got in trouble…Some bitch was to be blamed…

 She waited for a couple of minutes before letting loose a barrage of explanations. But she had yet to open her mouth when Takenori raised a hand. “I won’t have any of those intellectual, rational or logical reasoning from you, young lady.” He looked at her pointedly.

 Marina’s eyebrow twitched. Her reputation definitely preceded her.

 “You are not joining some club that indulges in any body of water…” he said then held his chin thoughtfully. “Besides, there’s always the basketball cl - .”

 RRRIIINNNGGG!!!

 Haruko sprang to her feet, afraid to be the next object of his brother’s wrath. “I’ll go get it!” she chirped, grabbing the nearby phone extension. “Hello?” she said politely before her face suddenly lit up. “Yes, she’s here.”

 Marina looked up from her depressed stupor and Takenori broke off the suppressing lecture as Haruko spoke with the person on the phone. “Yes, we’re all fine…we just got back from school…yup…oh, you want to talk to her…ok.”

 Haruko handed the phone to Marina. “Its grandma.”

 The girl tried to smile. “Thanks.” She yanked the handset to her ears before she spoke, “Hello?”

 “Hello, dear, how are you?” came the old woman’s calming voice.

 “Fine.” Marina mumbled with all the enthusiasm she could muster…And there really wasn’t much as of the moment…

 On the other line, old Mrs. Akagi’s eyebrows met in a frown. “And how was school?”

 “School was…” Marina paused thinking of the right words to describe how the hell-house called ‘school’ was like… horrible, embarrassing, depressing, not to mention dangerous… “Fine,” she said flatly. Hey where did that come from?

 The old lady chuckled. “Oh, I can really tell how much you love your new school…” she said teasingly.

 Marina moaned. “Ok, so school wasn’t doing that great. But…I somehow liked it.” What was this? Another slip of the tongue?

 “I’m glad honey…”

 Marina fell into a deeper depression. “And how’s mom and dad?”

 “Oh, don’t worry about them,” came the old lady. “Except for your mom’s hysterical fits and your dad’s nervous breakdown, they’re both doing fine as usual.”

 Marina chuckled. Her grandmother was joking so that meant there was nothing serious to worry about. “Just keep them guessing as long as they don’t get rid of that engagement thing, ok?”

 “Of course...” Mrs. Akagi said, her eyes twinkling.

 “And until they get themselves out of those divorce thingies they were talking about.”

 “Yes, dear.”

 The girl’s eyes suddenly lit up “And oh, I forgot to thank you for fixing everything here. With the school and the name…you know what I mean. I really appreciate it, grandma.”

 “It was my pleasure, honey. Anything to put your brilliant scheming into action.”

 Marina smiled sheepishly. “Well…it’s for a good cause,” she said sweetly. “And mom and dad were really going overboard this time.”

 “Well, you could really say that,” the old woman sighed. “But you know what?”

 “Hmmm? What?”

 “I saw that young man you were talking about…”the old woman said mischievously. “He was quite… handsome.”

 Marina rolled her eyes. “Puh-leez, grandma. Surely, you know better than that.”

 Mrs. Akagi chuckled in the background.

 “I mean…” Marina reasoned out. “They’re all the same regardless of how they actually look. Cool. Arrogant. Conceited…Believe me. I know,” she said as a matter-of-factly, remembering her mother and father’s failed match-making schemes in the past.

 “Well, if that’s how you put it, then I rest my case.”

 Marina nodded. “It’s good that you’ve finally come to your senses grandma.”

 “So are you settled in? Do you need anything? You could always use that bank account I gave you - .”

 “No, really, grandma,” she interrupted the old lady. “I don’t need the money from anyone. I can manage on my own.”

 “You sure?” came the hesitant voice in the other end of the line.

 “Very sure,” Marina said firmly.

 “Ok. Oh by the way, Ta-chan said you almost drowned a while ago,” she said incredulously, her voice rising. “Is this true???”

 Marina’s eyebrows rose as she turned to glare at her older cousin subtly listening in the background. “I can’t believe you told her!” she mouthed towards Takenori who was merely smirking down at her. ‘I’ll deal with you later…’ her murderous glare seemed to convey.

 She turned back towards the phone. “Well, I didn’t actually drown…else I wouldn’t be here talking to you,” she said with a forced chuckle, wringing the phone cord in her hand. “Just had a little cramp while I was in the water…Nothing really serious.” Man, what a lame excuse…

 The old woman sighed in relief. “Well just be careful, ok? I wouldn’t want you getting hurt or anything.”

 “Don’t worry, grandma. I won’t,” she consoled the old woman. “Besides, I have darling Haruko-chan and a gorilla of a cousin to look after me,” she said, sending Takenori a mischievous grin. The young man merely gritted his teeth, reminding himself not to be provoked.

 “Now, that you’ve reminded me…I feel much better. Send my regards to them, ok? And always keep an eye around. I think your mom and dad hired some private detectives to look for you.”

 “I will…I just hope those poor people have a hard time recognizing me,” the brown-eyed girl said, chuckling, her foul mood finally lifting. “I love you, grandma! You’re really the best!”

 In the other line, the old woman smiled. “I love you too, Ang-.”

 “Please…” she interrupted the old woman. “Stop calling me that, will you?”

 “Why?” Mrs. Akagi chuckled. “It sounds so cute and…heavenly.”

 “Urgh!…It sounds so pathetic and childish, if you ask me,” the young woman said with a shudder as she rubbed her temples in irritation. “Call me by my real first name instead.”

 “Well, if that’s what you want, Marina.”

 The brown-eyed girl beamed. “That’s more like it.”

 “I love you, honey. I’ll call you next week.”

 “Ok. Bye, grandma.”

 “Bye, sweetie.”

 And the line went dead.

 And she kept on smiling like an idiot.

 It was always nice to talk to her grandmother…She made everything seemed alright. But then, Takenori’s snorting in the background had to interrupt her from that momentary bliss.

 Her eyes narrowed as she turned towards the basketball captain. “Now…about what you told grandma…”

 She smirked as she set her mind on her list of must-do’s. Settling things with Mr. Blockhead was among them. But before that…

 She definitely had a lot of gorilla training ahead of her.

                                                                                              ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Thank you…Thank you…Thank you…

 The words seem to resonate over and over in his mind as Kaede sat in class, deep in thought, wondering how two words could carry so much meaning and emotion. Well, they certainly did when she uttered them before passing out…

 He gave out a long heartfelt sigh of relief…He couldn’t seem to get enough of those these days…especially when he thought back to the other day’s events.

 He’d never felt so frantic in his whole life. What had happened that afternoon had simply been the most adrenaline-pumping, urgent, pressing, critical, nerve-wracking… ‘Ok, ok, stop it already,’ he scolded himself mentally. He couldn’t believe it either…He…Kaede Rukawa, the walking block of ice… was actually ruffled by such an incident.

 Pathetic…

 Turning soft?

 Definitely not…

 He looked out the window into the afternoon sky, then frowned. She had been absent yesterday. Well, who wouldn’t, you nitwit, after that near-death experience… There was an important chemistry exam that afternoon, and knowing that Her Clumsiness was inclined towards the intellectual side – the type who classified major exams as life and death situations – he was hoping he might get a glimpse of-hey!

 His eyes narrowed. He was certainly not hoping to… see her!…Of all the stupid ideas-!

 “Rukawa!” came an angry irritatingly familiar voice. Kaede frowned. Next to getting interrupted during sleep, he hated getting interrupted while deep in thought…He set his sights on the unfortunate soul…

 The chemistry teacher’s eyes were blazing…Ok, so maybe today, I’ll make an exception…

 “Kaede Rukawa! If your not sleeping, you’re daydreaming!” the teacher roared. The older man tried to remain calm by taking deep breaths. When he regained his cool, he smirked as he handed down the test paper to the boy. “Let’s see how you fare in this exam,” he said sarcastically.

 ‘That I seriously don’t know…’ Kaede thought dumbly as he stared down at the thick booklet. Setting aside all thoughts, he got the answer sheet and read the first question…

 ‘What is the lightest chemical element?’ Kaede frowned. What a stupid question. Air, of course.

 ‘Robert Boyle was the first real blank.’ Kaede’s eyebrows met. Boil sounded like some disease…Of course! He was the first real…physician!

 ‘What do you get when you combine 2 hydrogen atoms and 1 atom of oxygen?’ Kaede bit his pencil. Ok, this was a bit tricky…Usually when you combine oxygen with things, the result is called an oxide…Thus, when combined with hydrogen, it becomes…Hydrogen Oxide!

 He smirked triumphantly as he held the test paper proudly before him…On second thought…

 He slumped against his seat.

 Oh, boy…This will be one long hell of an afternoon…

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Fifteen minutes after the exam started, she gingerly stepped into the room. A quiet exchange of words with the chemistry teacher and she was off to the last row of seats in the back of the room, test paper in hand.

 She purposely sat beside the raven-head who was so engrossed in the exam that he hardly noticed her arrival. She smiled, seeing his youthful face deep in thought for once. She got out the answer sheet then read through the questions.

 ‘What is the lightest chemical element. Robert Boyle was the first real blank. Two atoms of hydrogen plus an atom of oxygen…’

 She frowned. What was this??? A joke? An insult to her intellect?…She shook her head. She didn’t mean to brag but she’d seen exams far worse than this…In her previous school, they even had-

 ‘Just answer the damn thing and be off with it.’ she scolded herself. She then smiled, glad to be going home so early that afternoon.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

‘Hah! Finished!’ she thought triumphantly. ‘In mere 20 minutes…with a good one-and-a-half hour ahead of time!’ She beamed at her neat test paper proudly, but her moment of triumph had been interrupted when the blockhead beside her lifted his hand to scratch his head for what seemed like the fiftieth time.

 She looked over to him, a frown marring her face. She was wondering if the blockhead was alright…He looked so…troubled…And he had broken into a cold sweat a long time ago… Then she realized it…

 Leaning back to confirm her theory, she subtly glanced over at his paper. To her utter surprise, he was still struggling with the exam’s first part. And he still had longer and far more difficult set of questions to deal with from there… What?! If he didn’t pass this exam, he’d flunk chemistry!…And that meant serious trouble.

 Something inside her head snapped when a brilliant thought came into mind.

 What perfect stroke of genius!

 She subtly looked around the room, thankful that they were sitting at the back row… Teacher outside room, check…Classmates still answering exam, check…Blockhead unaware, check…She had to act fast. Now.

 Nearly breaking the speed of light, with no hints of hesitation whatsoever, she switched their test papers.

 Kaede didn’t even have the time to blink when his paper was snatched away from his desk and replaced by a neat, completely answered one. He need not go through the whole thing to tell that it was perfect, just…brilliant.

 He suddenly frowned. What was he thinking?

 It was cheating for heaven’s sake!

 It was wrong.

 It was unethical.

 It was downright dishonest.

 It was…

 He gulped.

 …the nicest thing anyone has done for him.

 He looked over disbelievingly at the brown-eyed girl beside him, mouth hanging open, as he watched her risk her reputation as an outstanding scholar to save his ass.

 Though he wished he hadn’t when he saw that cynical look on her face as she went through his pathetic answers. He could feel the slight heat as it slowly spread across his cheeks.

 Was it really worth it?…Going through all this trouble?…Just for him…?

 He gritted his teeth, his eyes flickering in irritation.

 The nerve of this girl…Was she out of her crazy freaky mind?!

 He glowered. What if they got caught, huh? What will happen to her scholarship then?

 ‘And how’d you know she had one?’ came a small voice at the back of his mind. He shook his head to clear the voice away. It doesn’t matter how he knew…

 And more importantly… couldn’t she just mind her own business?

 He was about to ask her what the hell she thought she was doing when she merely raised a hand, silencing him.

 Starting to correct the paper in front of her and not even bothering to look up, she said, “Squealer…We’d get into trouble if you do that.”

 Wait…Kaede’s eyebrows met. Wasn’t that supposed to be his line?

 Well, that certainly shut him up but that didn’t prevent him from staring at her in utter shock as she swiftly finished the whole exam – his exam – the one he’d been slaving over, in a freakin’ fifteen minute record time.

 Leaning back and admiring her second handiwork, the girl with the wavy brown hair grinned proudly. She quickly stood up to submit her paper. But before that, she looked back and gave him a polite smile. “Don’t forget to write your name on that paper, ok?” she said calmly with that peculiar sparkle in her warm brown eyes.

 With that, she left as if nothing had happened…as if she’d merely walked in the park.

 Kaede stared dumbly at her retreating back, utterly speechless.

To be continued…