Chapter Three : Unexpected Visitor

Mia-Sara ends up in the nurse's office. Her friend visits ... and then someone else ...

"Auntie! Auntie!"

-----A young, 5 year-old, ruby-eyed brunette, with two, short pigtails trailing behind her, ran across the cramped living room of a small, two bedroom apartment ... watching as two, shadowy figures began to walk out the door. The sun was just about to set, so, with it's light diminishing behind two, large windows that were on either side of the entryway, the young girl found it hard to see who the figures seemed to be. They just cast their long shadows upon her, and her teary-eyed, silver-haired aunt, who sat on the couch with her back turned on them. One of the shadows were tall, while the other was short. The two seemed to be overlapping with one another. They seemed to be just normal shadows leaving the young girl's life. 

"Auntie! Auntie!"

-----At the sound of the young girl's voice, the silver-ette jerked her head upward, and the two shadowy figures stopped in their tracks. They didn't look back. They just stopped. The sun seemed to continue setting with each passing, silent second.

"Mia ... what are you doing? Have you finished all your homework?"

-----The aunt stood up from her position after putting on a smiling front, brushing off the imaginary dust occupying her skirts before walking over and kneeling down to tend to the sudden interruption: her beloved niece. The mother figure put both hands on the brunette's shoulders just before one found itself on the young girl's cheek, caressing the placid countenance. The naive child seemed to know nothing. All she did was finish her homework. Mia nodded in reply to the question before peeking over her aunt Sophie's shoulder to gaze upon the darkening, still, shadows standing by the door. Many thoughts ran through the child's mind. Who were they? What were they doing here? What did they want? Such unstated inquiries seemed to reflect on large, innocent ruby jewels that glimmered with the light of the sunset. Aunt Sophie saw this, and looked back to face the figures as well, waiting for the ...

"Auntie, who are those people?"

-----Ah. There it was.

-----As if Mia had caught two robbers, who were about to leave with precious gold, the two shadows flinched at the little girl's sound. Soon, the shorter body began to tremble. The taller figure's arm reached to wrap itself around the shorter one's shoulder. They were all shadows, yet their movements were so clear. Mia didn't move. For some reason, she knew not to interrupt the solemn silence that enveloped the people in her auntie's apartment ... even at age five. 

"Auntie ... who are---"

"Just go. Melissa."

-----Her aunt had never sounded so strict, so demanding. Her voice was sharp, and it seemed to cut through the trembling, shorter shadow. The taller one tried its best to calm it's companion down. It hiccuped. Then, soon, little, womanly sobs began to make itself clear to Mia's ears. She was weeping, sobbing. They were sobs full of despair. Sobs full of regret. Sobs echoing the loss of something so dear. Right then,  Mia knew not to speak, even though she had been interrupted. The young brunette just stood, motionless, as the two shadows began to converge again, the shorter one slowly being supported by the taller shadow. The sun had set at this point. Only the light of the apartment served to make the shadows clear to Mia's young eyes. Her Aunt still set her strong gaze upon them. Mia could imagine the face her auntie put on. It was a face full of resentment. Anger trembled with every word that she spoke back there.

-----The shadows continued to walk slowly until they were enveloped by the dark of night. 

-----Her auntie looked on, without sympathy, her gaze full of fire as tears rolled down pale cheeks.

-----Mia still had held together a placid countenance ... but for some reason ... at that moment, tears welled up in big, ruby-colored eyes.

"Auntie ... was that ...

... Mom!"

-----An older brunette sat up suddenly from a soft blanket over a flat, uncomfortable bed. Wide ruby eyes, welled up with tears, glanced about, wondering where she was. 

"Ah. You're awake."

-----A woman, identified as the school nurse with the white lab coat on, had been sitting on a wooden chair with legs and arms crossed, by the bed Mia slept in. The woman sat behind a very neat, organized desk with a humming computer, harmonizing with the soft noise of the air conditioner. Light made its way through open windows by Mia's bed, as well as windows to the side of the nurse's desk; the wind also compelling the curtains in front of the glass to flutter. Shelves full of carefully organized bottles of medicine were lined by the wall opposite to the wide-eyed brunette. Posters related to the structure of the human anatomy neatly accented the bleak, gray walls of the room with colorful details on the heart's circulatory system, the skeletal system, and the digestive system. To conclude, Mia had awoken in the nurse's office. A hand moved up to feel the side of her head. There was a bandage put on well. What had---? 

"Ohhh ..."

-----It stung when Mia touched it. At the sound, the nurse sighed. 

"It wasn't a bad injury. But your condition was ... and is terrible. You were exhausted. Did you eat breakfast? You should know that your body can't keep with any rigorous schedule resulting in less than 3 hours of sleep every day."

-----The nurse stood up after shaking her head (probably wondering how students take care of themselves these days), before walking over to one of the cabinets, pulling out a glass cup and some bags of tea. Then, with heels clicking at each step, the woman walked over to her desk.A coffee maker had been heating some water. 

"This should help."

-----In a matter of seconds, a cup filled with some kind of Lipton Tea had been offered to Mia in a casual manner. The brunette murmured a silent thanks before receiving the hot beverage. Mia held the delicate, glass object carefully with both hands while drinking periodically, avoiding the burn of the tongue. Oh! What small hands! They were almost like a child's! They could barely touch one another as they held the cylinder object! At this (probably glad that Mia had, at least, found the strength to drink), the nurse only sat back down with her own cup, going back to work on the computer, not even sparing a glance, yet knowing that her exhausted patient was there at the same time. A silence passed between the two of them. Mia tried recollecting what had happened before. 

"Hey, how am I here?"

-----The nurse turned her head and faced Mia with a young, devious smile, as if the woman had been waiting for the young brunette to ask that question the whole time. This ... kind of scared the young brunette. This meant that something strange surely must have occurred in order for ...

"Well~ You see~"

-----The nurse giggled before there was a sudden knock at the door. The nurse knew who this person was, right after she had looked up at the clock beside Mia. It was the end of fifth period. Now it was the time between classes, when students were given seven minutes to walk to each building, or whatever. So, with a grunt and a disappointed sigh, the lady watched as the knob was turned, and the door was opened. Blonde hair peeked out from a small opening. Emerald eyes filled with worry blazed through. It was Rachel, with her tennis racket strapped behind her. She must have practice today.

"Miiiiiiaaaaa!"

-----It all happened quickly and dramatically. In one motion, Rachel closed the door, dropped her racket and backpack, then ran over to, as you can say, "glomp" her best friend on the uncomfortable, office bed. Rachel's blonde bangs tickled Mia's neck; the rest of her hair was tied back on a ponytail as usual. She knelt on the edge of the rough mattress, wrapping both arms around Mia's shoulders. You could hear silent sniffles. Ah. She was ...Well ... The brunette received the welcoming back from the dream world with open arms. Rachel was warm. The heat was comfortable after sleeping in such a cold room. Hm. The nurse had said that the injury wasn't too bad. Ha ha ha. Rachel was always the type to worry. She was like a mother.

"I'm so sorry! I'm so sorry! I should have--!"

"No, it's alright Rachel. It wasn't your fault. Maybe I should have paid attention to Ace's coolness after all."

"Don't tease right now!"

-----Rachel parted herself with both hands on Mia's shoulders. Emerald eyes were teary. Clearly, Rachel felt that the whole thing had been her fault; something so inevitable. What a worry wart. But, it was nice. At this, Mia gave her friend a small smile. The nurse only worked on her computer as they both spoke. Maybe some reassurance would help.

"I'm alright. Bruised a bit on the head. But alright." 

"Really? Seriously?"

"Really. Seriously."

"For sure?"

"For sure."

"Positive? You're not damaged or anything?"

"Positive. I'm not damaged or anything like that."

"No brain damage?"

"I just said I wasn't damaged."

"How many fingers am I holding up?"

-----Rachel held up two fingers.

"Four."

-----At the response, the blonde began to panic. Mia laughed.

"Two, Two."

"I said not to tease!"

-----Rachel turned a bright red, and pinched Mia's cheeks as punishment. It was right then though ... that the bell rang to show that there were three minutes left before class began. Rachel's next class had been all they way to the other side of the PE field, the other side of the school from where she was right now. Luckily, Rachel was a fast runner. At the sound of the ringing, emerald eyes widened at a sudden realization of something.

"Here. Before I forget."

-----Rachel let go of florid cheeks and ran over to her bag, quickly, before she had to go. With some rustling, the blonde knelt down and pulled out some notebooks, tossing them over to the bed so that they landed on Mia's lap. Rachel wasn't a bad throw. In fact, she was accurate. They didn't hit Mia's face at least, or the side of her head. The brunette, after receiving them,  picked up one of the notebooks with small hands, and flipped through the pages. Wait ... these were her notebooks. Rachel ...

"I'll take your notes for the last class."

-----Mia looked up with ruby jewels to see her friend hold up, with one hand, a matching, purple notebook of the set, identical to those that were scattered on the office bed. At the sight of this, Mia smiled and nodded to say thank you as Rachel began to slip through the door. But, quickly, the blonde ran back to flick Mia on the forehead. The brunette winced at the light pain.

"You should rest now. I can't go home with you today because of practice. But, I'm sure as hell not letting you go home alone. You saw four fingers, after all!"

-----Rachel smirked as Mia pouted.

"I was teasing."

"I know."

-----There it was again. Similar to the nurse, there flashed the devious smile. 

"Someone else is taking you home today. So. Sleep."

-----Rachel softly pushed Mia down on the bed and tucked her in, looking over at the nurse with a nod. It seemed as if the two were scheming together, coming up with some sort of plan ... that was slowly being acted on. Well ... At the sight, and the realization of this, Mia sighed, and watched as Rachel walked out the door with a childish wink. After the door had been closed, the brunette could her fast-paced steps ... quickly fading away with each second. Something warm still lingered in Mia's heart as she lay there, ruby eyes glued to the ceiling with notebooks scattered about. It was so warm ... that even in the midst of the cold, nurse's office with the uncomfortable bed ... even in the midst of the robotic, mechanical humming sounds ... and even with the fear of going back to the world of her memory ... she couldn't help but be enveloped in darkness once more.

 ...

"Hey ... Hey ... When is she going to wake up?"

Faint voices murmured in the darkness.

"School's over ... she may not want to stay here .. right?"

This voice ... it was familiar. She knew who it belonged to.

"Be quiet. She can stay here as long as she wants."

The nurse ... she seems ... a bit ... annoyed.

"Hey ... But still ...!!"

-----Eyes slowly fluttered open .... but then widened at what Mia suddenly saw. Instead of emeralds, she looked into a pair of matching, red eyes. They were like hers ... but ... only more brighter, and more vivacious. They were so full of energy ... full of life. Red Bangs were so close to brown locks. Foreheads almost seemed to touch. Mia lost her breath for only a moment, watching as a wide smile accented this .. person's cheeks ...

"Hey! She's awake!"

It was Ace ...!

Author's Note

Picture Found in Zerochan.
I Am Quite New at this . . so Please go Easy On me.
Comment or don't. I would like some reviews though.
If you want to see the characters, there is a Guide.

Reviews

[Ren Nightshade]

Wow this really is the definition of an anime based novel. It is so detailed and organized that I feel like I'm reading a manga even though I'm just reading a book haha.

I really look up to your work. Keep it up!

[Nariko]

The part where Mia had a dream that was a flashback of her memories was written well.I could picture it in my head really well.The way you describe her dialogue with her friend and her thoughts as always were really creative.This story has a lot of imagination in it and I like it a lot!I can always imagine the scenes in my head perfectly!

[Totoro-Sama]

Yaaay! I am so glad! Thank you for your praise! :D