Welcome to 3-C. (Nanako~)

[Suzuki Keiko]

ooc: KEIKO'S FIRST POST WOO.


The first thing Keiko noticed upon waking up was drool, sticky and wet on her cheek. She lifted a hand, rubbing her cheek, when another sense went off. She opened her eyes, removing her now wet hand from her face, finding her nephew giggling over her, drool dripping down in his chin. She reached for a tissue, only to find the tissue box empty. She groaned, sitting up and wiping her hand on her shirt. Riku stay rooted to the spot, looking up at his aunt with wide eyes.

Keiko glanced around the small room, her two sisters lay passed out on their futons. Judging by the way her older sister looked, she was sure Aya had just gotten home. Patting Riku on the head, she got to her feet, almost immediately feeling his tiny fingers clutching her track pants.

She felt a smile tugging at her lips, as she reached down, picking up Riku, balancing him on her hip. Keiko made her way around Yui's futon, her younger sister sprawled with one leg out, her shirt hitched up, exposing her stomach. It was something they tried to fix, Junpei was never comfortable when he woke up and found too much flesh in the morning, but now that he was gone, the girls stopped.

Riku pulled at her hair, tugging at stray strands. She winced, moving them away, but his little fingers were insistent, finally giving up only to start chewing on his fingers, drool appearing once more. Keiko sighed, as she started down the stairs, quickly ascending into the kitchen area, her mother quick at work making breakfast. Keiko paused for a second, watching as her mother flipped over some eggs before turning towards the rice maker. It was handed down from Junpei's family, a little yellow around the sides, but it still cooked decent rice.

At the sound of a giggle, Sayuri turned away from the rice maker, "Oh, Keiko, you're up."

She nodded, "Riku needs to be changed."

Sayuri had already turned back to the stove, the eggs ready to flip again, "Could you do it? And wake up Yui? Your father's already left for work.” She wiped her hands on her apron, “Aya just got home from work, so try and keep it down, alright?”

“Sure, mom.” Keiko bit the inside of her mouth, trekking back up the stairs, laying Riku on his futon. The small clock by her school books told her she still had a half hour before she had to worry about being late for school. She began to make a list of everything she needed to do in her head, keeping her distracted as she started to change her nephew’s diaper. She wrinkled her nose, hurrying up as she heard a groan next to her.

“Ugh, can’t you do that somewhere else…”

She frowned, quickly setting another diaper down and putting it on Riku. She thought, for only a moment, to just leave the dirty diaper next to Yui, the brat needed to wake up anyway, but instead shook her head. She got to her feet, leaving Riku next to Yui as he started to drool on his favorite aunt. As Keiko bounded down the stairs, she couldn’t hide her grin as Yui’s voice rang out from their room.

“Ugh! Gross! Keiko!”

Keiko exited the house, putting the diaper in the garbage, returning to the kitchen and began to wash her hands, “Riku’s changed. Is breakfast ready yet?”

“Almost.”

She nodded, returning to her room, an innocent look plastered on her face as she entered. Yui glared from her futon, a brush in her hand as she ran it through her hair. Keiko ignored her, picking up her school uniform and getting changed. When she was done, she picked up her own brush, running it through her hair, resolving to put it in a simple side ponytail.

Once more bracing the stairs, she entered the bathroom, splashing her face with cold water, instantly waking her up. She exited the bathroom, her mother placing plates around the table. Yui was already seated at the table, Riku in his high chair, eating his baby food. Keiko took a seat, picking up her chopsticks, saying a quick thanks and dug in.

There was one thing Keiko could probably never tire of, and that was her mom’s fried eggs. According to their family, nothing was better.

She could feel Yui’s glare still on her, but continued to ignore, Keiko had stayed up late the previous night studying for a test first thing in the morning. She was pretty sure she could handle it, math wasn’t exactly her strong suit, but she was sure she figured out all the material. Her chopsticks paused over her food, then again, it wouldn’t be a bad thing if she studied a little more before class started… She set her chopsticks down, downing her glass of water, before waving to her mom, “Thanks for breakfast, mom.”

“Have a good day at school!”

--

The walk to school wasn’t a long one, living in such a small town had its good points, and Keiko could see that she was one of the few students that actually bothered to show up early. She turned the corner, the school gates not that far away, when a group of students huddled in a corner caught her attention. Dyed hair and chains attached to their belts alerted her delinquent detector, she looked towards the ground, making sure they didn’t notice her.

The small town had its good points, sure, but there was still the other half of the spectrum. The bad points. Yankees, delinquents. Her brows furrowed. The first year at Karasumori still haunted her, even though she was sure she had gotten over it. The group had been suspended, they wouldn’t bother to hang around a school to pick on one girl… Would they?

She sped up her pace, passing the school gates before she finally lifted her head. Keiko found her classroom, zooming over to her seat near the window. She placed her bag on its hook, taking out her math book as she willed her heart to stop beating so quickly. Those delinquents were gone, never to bother her again. She was safe.

Her eyes scanned the math problems, not really reading them, what chapter were they even on again? Keiko closed her eyes, taking a deep breath. This was silly, she was over what happened, she just wanted to get in some extra study time. With a shake of her head, she flipped to the correct chapter of her math book.

Keiko was busy going over a formula, it was giving her a bit of trouble the previous night when someone sat down next to her. She glanced out of the corner of her eye. For as long as she could remember, the seat next to her was always vacant, something she preferred. It wasn't like she wanted to talk to anyone, not so early in the morning anyway.

So who was sitting down next to her...?

[Watanabe Nanako]

Nanako sighed heavily as she sat cross-legged on the front porch of her grandmother’s house, exhaling the smoke from her cigarette slowly. She was still dressed in the tank top and small shorts that she wore to bed, but it was too early for anyone really to be about on the streets, so she wasn’t worried about being seen. She was pretty sure though that she was going to hear her grandmother calling for her to get ready any moment now. That fact was only a reminder of what exactly was meant to be happening today…

First day of a new school…, she thought to herself, flicking the ash off the cigarette. Sighing again, she leant back on her hands, stretching her long legs out in front of her, turning her gaze to the sky. It was a little cloudy, but besides that the weather was fine. Lifting her right hand to her lips, she inhaled from the cancer stick again. She wasn’t looking forward to going to this Karasumori High.

School was something she didn’t particularly hate, but she wouldn’t mind not going either. Her grades were normal, and not low like most Yankees she knew, but still… After being kicked out of her previous school - and kicked out of her home - Nanako had thought that perhaps her grandmother wouldn’t even bother sending her to school with only one more year left. Clearly, however, she had thought wrong. Her grandmother seemed set on Nanako making a fresh start, and finishing her studies, meeting new people, making friends…

Her hopes are too high…

“Nana-chan! Come and get ready before you end up late!” came her grandmother’s voice through the half-open doorway. “I’ve laid out your uniform for you on your bed.” Groaning, Nanako go to her feet, taking the last drag of her cigarette, before stubbing it out in the ashtray she had brought outside with her. She didn’t care if she was late or not, but her grandmother had always tried to be a punctual person. And as much as Nanako thought her grandmother’s hopes for her were too high, she could at least make an attempt to be on time…but only for her first day. The rest of the year…there were no guarantees.

Setting the ashtray down in the living room where it belonged on the table, Nanako made her way upstairs and to her room. She pulled a look of disgust as her eyes landed on the uniform on her bed. Was that…a ribbon? Oh hell no… Lifting the ribbon gingerly with two fingers, holding as little of it as possible as though it was diseased, she tossed it over into the corner of her room. There was no way she was wearing that…

Looking back at the rest of the uniform, she twisted her lips. The skirt was fine, she was okay with plaid, but the blazer…too proper. Even so, she put the blazer on a coat-hanger and shoved it in her wardrobe. Looking at the shirt and skirt now left on the bed, she rolled her eyes and started getting dressed. After pulling on the skirt and shirt, she looked at herself in the long, thin mirror on her wardrobe door. She left the top couple of buttons of her shirt undone, and grabbed her thin black hoodie, pulling it on and zipping it up.

Considering the fact that the weather might get colder, considering they were on the coast and all, she pulled on three-quarter length black leggings under her skirt that ended just below her knee. With that, she pulled on a pair of black boots, brushed her hair and quickly applied some eyeliner. Instead of using the standard schoolbag, she used one of her own black messenger bags instead. Shoving her pencilcase inside as well as anything else she ‘thought’ she needed (not that she was necessarily going to do the work assigned, either).

With all that done, she slung the bag over her shoulder and went down to the kitchen. She had a quick bowl of cereal, with her grandmother hurrying her to finish and go before she was late. After being practically ushered out the front door, she started on her way to the school. Her grandmother had shown her where it was a few days ago. Her fingers were itching and she felt like she could have done with another cigarette, but she only had a couple left in the pack. She’d have to get some more later.

She was on time for school, for the first time in years, and it surprised her a little. She was far from alone, however. There were quite a few students around. Making her way to the administration’s office like she’d been told to, she gave one, sharp reluctant knock on the open doorway to attract attention her way. After a few moments, they had found what class she had been placed in and contacted her homeroom teacher, who was in a meeting for the moment and couldn’t make it to take her to the class.

Following the directions the staff had given her, she found the classroom easily enough. Not a moment later, and the homeroom teacher approached with another member of staff in tow. He told her to go in and he’d be there in a moment, also saying which seat was free. Sliding the door open, she stepped in and noticed about just over half of the class was present, considering it was almost time for school to start. The talking in the class quieted a little as she walked in, and people looked at her, and immediately started whispering amongst themselves. Nanako just threw them looks and went and sat down in the seat the teacher had said was free.

Throwing her bag on the desk, she pulled out the chair and sat down just as the bell went. She was still getting looks. Her gaze went to the girl beside her who seemed to be working on some sort of math problem, and who was looking at her out of the corner of her eye. “What?” she asked the girl beside her, her tone rough but not her most threatening. Rolling her eyes, she lazily crossed her arms over her chest and leant back in her seat, tempted to put her feet up on the desk.

The homeroom teacher entered the classroom, and by this point the whole class was present. His gaze was on Nanako, and she was hoping that he wasn’t about to say that she would have to -- “We have a new student, as some of you seem to have noticed…” he said, looking at the few students that kept glancing at Nanako. “Why don’t you introduce yourself?” he asked her.

Exactly what I thought he was going to say… Nanako just looked at him with a raised eyebrow, her arms still crossed over her chest. “C-come on now…stand up and tell everyone your n-name, and something about yourself,” the teacher continued, seeming a little unsure about the yankee girl himself.


((ooc - …I hate this post =/ sorry it took a while, too. I would have rambled on longer, but…Nanako can just introduce herself in her next post. If you don’t have enough to reply to, and want me to just add her introduction to this then let me know~))

[Suzuki Keiko]

It was a girl. She was definitely a new student. Keiko didn’t think she was being obvious with her staring, so she jumped, just a bit, at the rough, low voice that came out of the new student’s mouth. ”What?”

She quickly shook her head, burying her face into her math book before she heard the homeroom teacher make his appearance. She put her math book down, noticing for the first time that everyone else in the class had already shown up and taken their seats. She felt her cheeks start to burn, closing her math book and setting aside on her desk, her notebook following.

The teacher’s attention was all on the new girl to her right. “We have a new student, as some of you seem to have noticed…” he said, looking at the few students that kept glancing at Nanako. “Why don’t you introduce yourself?” he asked her.

A new Yankee student, Keiko thought, daring to sneak another peek at the girl beside her. She was wearing a black hoodie over the school’s uniform shirt, black stockings on her legs, and instead of using the school’s mandatory bag, she had her own black messenger bag.

Black, black, black. Even her eyeliner was black.

Keiko felt herself shiver, ultimately blaming the open window to her left as a breeze filtered in. The Yankee crossed her arms, a brow raised at the teacher, who faltered, just a bit, at the reaction. “C-come on now…stand up and tell everyone your n-name, and something about yourself,”

For a second, only a second, Keiko felt sorry for the teacher. It wasn’t his fault he was in charge of this class; it wasn’t like he knew the new student was a delinquent and might even cause trouble. Trouble, he probably didn’t know how to deal with. She knew that some fights had broken out in Atsushi’s class and the teacher could barely do anything to stop them. Then again, Azuma Wataru was in that class, and usually just him telling everyone to stop ended the fight right then and there.

Keiko shivered again. She never wanted to meet Azuma.

The class went dead silent, waiting for the new girl to respond, to do… anything. In the other corner of the classroom, someone sneezed, the sound echoing. The teacher bit his lip, suddenly looking nervous.

Keiko frowned, turning her gaze back to her desk. Even if the Yankee had something to say, she wasn’t interested. She didn’t get to study all that much and now the classroom was too scared to do anything. With a small huff, she picked up her pencil, beginning to tap it against her notebook.



ooc: Yeah XD So um... I guess this post kinda fails. I didn't know how much further I could have gone without Nanako introducing herself.

[Watanabe Nanako]

Nanako watched as the girl beside her for a second as she hurriedly put her math book away. Her gaze went back to the rest of the class, as some of them glanced at her and some looked away when they realised she was looking at them. The quiet that settled over the classroom wasn’t something she was planning on breaking, but the longer it dragged out, the more irritated she got. The teacher looked nervous, as did some of the students. Eventually, Nanako sighed, rubbing a hand over her forehead.

“Ugh...” she said exasperatedly, shoving her chair back and standing up, crossing her arms across her chest. “Watanabe Nanako. I got expelled from my last school, and now I attend this dump.” She paused and looked at the teacher. “Is that what you wanted to hear?” The irritation was evident in her voice. Without waiting on any sort of response, however, she sat down again as soon as she finished speaking. There was a pause before the teacher chuckled a little nervously, unsure on what exactly to say.

Of course, there was more to that ‘and now I attend this dump’ comment, but she wasn’t about to willingly tell the class about her private life. About how her mother had kicked her out without a single care as to whether she would find somewhere to live or not, and her grandmother had taken her in... That was to say, not her grandmother on her mother’s side, but on her father’s side, much to her annoyance. But her grams wasn’t that bad, really. Besides, she was the only family that Nanako really had left besides her little sister – well, they were the only two people she considered family, at least.

The small huffing sound from her left as well as the tapping of a pencil on a book caught her attention, and she looked at the smaller girl beside her again, eyes slightly narrowed. Thankfully, the teacher was beginning to take the attendance, calling everyone’s names one after the other, so there was some distraction. She was tempted to ask exactly what the girl’s problem was, but before she could, the teacher called the girl’s name, so Nanako just kept her words to herself for the time-being as the girl answered.

Once the teacher had finished taking attendance, he turned to address the class again, telling them to take out their maths notebooks so that they could begin their first lesson of the day. A few of the students groaned and complained, not wanting to have to focus on maths that early in the morning, but they got out their books anyway. Nanako, however, had no books to take out, seeing as she was new. And it seemed unlikely that she would be let off with that for now, either.

It took a moment before the teacher seemed to realise this, and he walked up between the rows of desks until he stood beside hers. “We don’t have any spare books at the moment, I don’t think...” he started, before his gaze went to the girl beside Nanako. “Suzuki, would you mind sharing yours with Watanabe for now?” he asked, and after suggesting that they push their desks together to make the sharing easier, he walked back to the front of the class to start the lesson.

Scrunching up her nose in annoyance, Nanako sighed and got up again, shoving her desk over beside Suzuki’s with her foot, the metal legs making a fairly loud scraping sound on the floor. She pulled her chair over and sat down heavily. She was most likely going to tune out most of the lesson anyway...



((ooc – fail post is fail D: I couldn’t think of anything else for her to say. And OMG, sorry for taking FOREVER with this >< we need to give the teacher a name! Any suggestions? XD))

[Suzuki Keiko]

ooc: I feel as though all my posts tonight are SUPER SHORT D: I didn't know where I was taking this. Hope you don't mind...?



Keiko stopped tapping her pencil against her desk as the teacher called out her name. Attendance was never her favorite part of the day; it involved her speaking out loud…

The teacher finished attendance quickly, though, one small pleasure, but as Keiko situated her books and notebooks, she realized the teacher called her name again.

“We don’t have any spare books at the moment, I don’t think...” he started, before his gaze went to the girl beside Nanako. “Suzuki, would you mind sharing yours with Watanabe for now?”

No! Her mind shouted, but Keiko only nodded, dread filling her every being as Watanabe shoved her desk over, plopping down again and started to obviously block out the lesson.

Keiko bit her lip, gripping her pencil in her hand. This arrangement… was only for today. The next day the Yankee girl would have her books for class and she would be left to her own devices and Keiko wouldn’t have to worry about any trouble following her again…

What was with her and Yankees? They seemed to just pop up around her. During her second year, she was fine. She had blended into the wall, no one knew she existed… and now in her third year, the year she was supposed to just focus on studying before going off to college and they found her. After all this time…

The next hour dragged on, the teacher, Yagami, kept his attention up front, obviously trying to avoid getting on Watanabe’s bad side.

A lot of good it’s doing, Keiko silently mused, keeping a her free hand over her mouth and nose. Watanabe smelled of cigarette smoke and it was nauseating. Why did Yankees have to smoke? Was it to promote the whole bad image and to look cool?

Her father smoked for as long as she could she could remember. The only thing it did for him was ruin his health. He never looked cool puffing on a cancer stick late into the night on their front porch, after a hard day of labor. He only looked old. Really old and tired.

Keiko felt a frown on her face. She wasn’t paying attention to the lesson, or to the fact that they were switching to the next subject.

Japanese literature, her favorite.

Trading one book for another, she readied her other notebook, her little notes speckled all over the inside of the cover, but she bypassed them on, opening it to the last page she wrote on. Beside her, Keiko dared to glance over at Watanabe. The female Yankee still looked as if she was lost in her own world, and Keiko was fine with that.

If that meant she could get through the next hour in peace, then all was fine.