‘I’m going to have you wrapped around my little finger, Samantha. And before you even realize it... You’ll be gone...’

Act II - Everything Changes

Samantha sighed.

“Well, here I go.” she muttered, and stepped through the front doors into her school. Samantha started making her way to her locker, down that long hallway that today of all days, seemed to take twice the eternity to get to the other end of. She was wondering if the gossip would either increase or die down today, and wasn’t sure about which one it’d be.

Fortunately, it had somewhat come to pass. Samantha gave a sigh of relief when she reached her locker. No one was staring at her any more, or talking about her behind her back. She smiled, and began packing her backpack. ‘Finally! Back to normal...’

“Hey, did you hear? We’re getting a new student today.”

“Yeah, I did. It’s a girl.”

“I hope she’s a cutie!”

Samantha slung her bag over her back. “New student, huh? Hmm... Kurimu must’ve really granted my wish after all! Yay, I’m so happy I can’t wait!” she said to herself, and skipped off to her homeroom. (Of course, this time careful to make sure she wouldn’t trip again...)

-

“Class, as some of you have probably, a new student will be joining our class.”

Everyone always got excited about new students. So many things to wonder. Are they cute? Are they nice? Are they smart? The teacher was preparing a neat stack of papers and books for the arriving classmate. The door opened, and an escort walked in with her. Once the escort left, everyone could see her face. Samantha’s eyes bulged. The teacher smiled. “Everyone, I’d like you to welcome-”

“KURIMU?!”

Everyone stared at Samantha awkwardly. She had rocketed up out of her seat, and was pointing a finger at the girl as if she were a demon. Now, this girl didn’t look exactly like Kurimu, but her face was the same.

She had changed her hair color to a slightly sort of, tanish-orange color, and her eyes were now deep ocean blue. It was tied into a high ponytail in the back of her head with a long, thin red ribbon. Kurimu normally had long wavy hair she wore into two ponytails, but now it was shoulder-length and straight, yet kind of messy.

“Oh! You know Kurimu-san, Naruhara-san?”

“Um...”

“Of course she does!” Kurimu cried, running up to Samantha and hugging her tightly. “I’m Samantha’s... friend!” she said very carefully, so that Samantha would pick up the hint.

Samantha scowled. “You... This is what you meant?” she whispered. Kurimu broke off her embrace. “Well of course, Sa-man-tha!” she cooed, winking. “What the hell?!” Samantha yelled, grabbing her around the throat. Kurimu giggled nervously as Samantha tried to choke the life out of her, shaking her back and forth. “Girls! Girls, please!” begged the teacher, and Samantha let Kurimu go. “I’m sorry sensei.” she apologized.

“Okay. Since you two know one another, I’ll leave it to Samantha to show you around and help you become accustomed to our school, Kurimu-san.”

“Yes, sensei!”

“Oh yes, and what is your last name?”

Kurimu blinked. Her eyes quickly shifted around as she tried to think something up. “Err, ah! It’s... Noyou. I’m Kurimu Noyou!” she quipped. Samantha scowled and put her hand over her face. “I can’t believe this...”

(Samantha said that because this is a pun on words. Please check my note at the end.)

-

“What the fuck is this about?!”

“You said you needed a friend here with you, right?”

Samantha folded her arms. It was their lunch break, and they were heading towards the cafeteria. Kurimu hugged Samantha’s arm and giggled. “I decided to be with you here at school too. Not only do you have someone to talk to now, but I can grant you wishes around the clock, ya know!” pointed out Kurimu. Samantha looked away from Kurimu for a minute. “Thank... you.”

“Hmm?” Kurimu said. “Thank you... For doing this. I guess you’re not so bad... after all.” Samantha told her, smirking. Kurimu smiled. “Neither are you, Nushi-sama.”

“Don’t call me that here!” cried Samantha. “No one’s around!” insisted Kurimu, giggling.

The two of them entered the cafeteria, stood in line, and waited. Kurimu turned to Samantha. “Now, how about telling me of what happened yesterday?” she asked. Samantha sighed. “I guess you ought to know...” she decided. Samantha began to explain the situation to Kurimu, detail by detail.

At another table from afar, three boys were sitting together eating lunch. One of them was Shinrei, averagely built with mostly arm and leg muscle. On his left was a somewhat large fellow, whose dark hair was messy and short. He was on the school’s football team, as was Shinrei. The boy on Shinrei’s right was also average, but he wasn’t in great shape like Shinrei was. His hair was golden blonde and clean cut, and his eyes were bright crystal blue.

These were Shinrei’s ‘friends’ supposedly. The large one was known as Junpai, and the younger looking one was Takeya. But in reality, Junpai only served as protection and threat. And Takeya did Shinrei’s academic work.

He was a fraud.

Takeya looked up from his lunch at Samantha and her new friend. He smiled. “Hey, Shinrei! Naruhara’s friend is ka-wai-i!” cried Takeya, interested. Shinrei rolled his eyes. “Just eat your tempura, dorkwad.” he told him, scowling. “I told you, I’m only using Samantha in my plan.”

Takeya frowned. ‘He’s horrible... Playing with a girl’s emotions like that. But... If I don’t stay with him, I won’t be popular. Sheesh, choices...’ he thought. “Just... what are you exactly trying to use Samantha for?” he wanted to know. “You’ll see, you’ll see.” Shinrei insisted, chuckling. “I don’t like the sound of that...” mumbled Takeya. Junpai just sat there and ate his lunch, minding his own business.

Kurimu and Samantha walked over to the lone table that Samantha always ate at. Some people watched them go by. They were surprised that Samantha was actually being friendly to someone for once. Samantha stopped in her tracks before she approached the table. Reirei was sitting there.

“Hiya, Sam-chan!” she cried, smiling. She was just sitting there eating a cup of ramen as if she had been sitting there every day of her life. Samantha arched an eyebrow. “Reirei-san? Why are you here?” she wanted to know. “Well, I just thought that you seemed kinda lonely so I thoug-”

Reirei’s expression went from being full of glee to being full of shock.

She was staring dead at Kurimu. Samantha noticed this, and looked from Kurimu to Reirei and back again. Kurimu smiled at Reirei. “Hello there! I am Kurimu! I’m a new student.” she squealed. Reirei nodded slowly. “Um, uh... Yeah. Hey.”

Samantha sat down, followed by Kurimu. Samantha smiled and happily ate her bento.

“Why so happy, Samantha?” Kurimu asked. “I’ve... never had anyone sit with me at this table before. And now... you two are here. Thank you... I’m happy!” chirped Samantha, her eyes sparkling. Kurimu watched Samantha eat, smiling to herself it seemed.

“Your heart is slowly starting to warm up, Samantha... That’s wonderful... Just... so delicious...” muttered Kurimu, snickering.

“Hmm? What’d you say, Kurimu?”

“Oh, nande mo nai... It’s nothing at all...”

“Um, excuse me.” came an unknown voice. The three of them looked up. It was Takeya. “Oh, it’s Oogami-kun! Konnichiha!” greeted Reirei. Takeya nodded. “You’re the new student, correct?” he asked Kurimu. Kurimu nodded and winked. “Noyou Kurimu, the new girl!”

“Well, my name’s Oogami Takeya! I’m close to Shinrei, one of the more popular guys in school, of course. I just wanted to tell you that if you need any help at all, then feel free to consult me! I’m an expert at getting the new people familiar with this school, the teachers, and the social cliques.”

Reirei folded her arms and scowled. “Ignore him, he’s just trying to flirt with you! Ugh, you disgust me. Scram, Takeya!” she said. Takeya growled at Reirei. “Hey! We were on good terms earlier! What happened? Oh... Heh, are you jealous? So, you DO like me! A-HA! Well, darling, I’m all yours! Looks like you’ve finally chosen the ri-”

“URUSAI, YOU BAKA! I don’t like you!” Reirei yelled, and pushed Takeya. Takeya fell onto the floor, sliding all the way back to his table. Some people laughed. Takeya sighed and sat up. “It’s hard being this hot... Shinrei, I hope you’re taking notes, man.”

Shinrei laughed. “You’re such a dumbass, Oogami.” he said, ruffling his hair. He then looked up at Samantha. She was laughing at Reirei’s jokes about Takeya’s lame pickup lines that he had used on her when they first met. He smiled smugly. “I’m sorry, Samantha... But this is the only way to get rid of that annoying Aiyuko...” he murmured, narrowing his eyes.

-

“Samantha?”

“Yeah, what?”

“About the story you told me.” Kurimu began, scratching her head. They were back in Samantha’s room, and Samantha was doing her homework. “There’s something about I find confusing.” she said. Samantha erased a wrong answer that she had just written for an equation. “Well tell me!” she insisted. “Don’t you think it’s weird that Shinrei just came from out of nowhere, telling you that he likes you? I mean, guys don’t usually do that. And especially not in a situation like that.” questioned Kurimu.

Sighing, Samantha put the end of her pencil to her chin. “I guess... you’re right. I didn’t think about it before, since I was so caught up in worrying about gossip and the fact that he thought I was cute.” she admitted. Kurimu, who was back in her regular clothes and hairstyle, conjured up a cup of hot tea out of thin air. She daintily took a sip, and set it back on the plate. It floated in midair next to her.

“Well, I don’t know but it just sounds fishy. Aiyuko was going to go on a date with him as well. Why would he tell you something like that, knowing that he’s pretty popular, at a time and place like that? All while he’s due for a personal event with another girl, who’s also very popular. It’s ludicrous, really.” said Kurimu, twirling hair around her finger. Samantha continued doing her work. “Do you like Shinrei-kun?”

“Yeah...” Samantha said, blushing. “He’s really cute, and nice. Plus he gets good grades, and is the school’s best football player! I heard he does soccer, kendo, and baseball too!”

Kurimu blinked. “Wow, you know a lot.” she commented. “I stay up-to-date with these things, hee.” admitted Samantha. “Why was Reirei so freaked out when she saw you?”

Kurimu shrugged, taking another sip of her tea. “That girl... is not like other people in your school.” she said. Samantha blinked. “Huh? What do you mean?” she asked. Kurimu sat upright. “I sensed something strange about her... It’s not that important. For now, anyways.” explained Kurimu, shrugging. Samantha went back to her work, and Kurimu continued sipping her tea.

‘This Reirei... Could she be...?’

Author's Note: Thank you for reviewing again, ainedamdz. Yeah, I knew that the way I made that whole situation seemed sort of weird, but now you know why! Who ever you are corzova, thank you for reviewing also. As you all can see, the story's beginning to darken. Hmm, what will happen next? Muahahahaha! (Just kidding.) As always, thanks for reading, and please stay tuned as there will be more to come!

Kurimu Noyou - 'Kuriimu' is the common Japanese word for 'cream'. I didn't spell her name this way in the story because it looks cuter wihtout the second 'i'. (Heh...) The fake name she creates is a pun because the phrase 'kuriimu no you'in Japanese would mean 'creamy'. So literally, her name is kind of like that or 'Cream Me', when you think about it. It's both a silly and dirty kind of pun I just thought I'd throw in there, to make you chuckle.

Sensei - Teacher

Nushi-sama - 'Nushi' means 'master' or 'owner' in Japanese. So, combining this word with the suffix '-sama', Kurimu's sort of calling Samantha 'master owner'.

Kawaii - Cute or Pretty

Tempura - Type of deep fried fish, chicken, or pork.

Bento - A boxed lunch.

Nande mo nai - Nothing

Konnichiha - Hello, Greetings,or Good Afternoon. This is spelled konnichiha, but is pronounced konnichiwa.Not a lot of people know this, but in certain circumstances, 'h' in Japanese romaji is replaced with 'w'.

Urusai - Shut Up or (Too) Noisy

Baka - Fool, Idiot, etc.