"One of the most fascinating subjects that never ceased to amaze me was that of reality; reality is most enchanting. I am sure that even though it is a subject of utmost interest, many fail to take interest in it, which somewhat discourages my confidence in the ability of the citizens of this harsh world to detect and observe."

Reia sighed and tossed the pen into her bag as she stretched lazily on the grass. She was a pretty girl of 14 and quite intellectual; her deep brown eyes and silky hair only enhanced her image. "Seta," she murmured unconsciously to herself, "how can I tell you about how I feel?"

"What you feel about what?" A familiar voice said.

Feeling her face flush with red, Reia spun around to face Seta. Seta scratched his head in confusion at the strange behavior from his friend. Reia quickly diverted his attention by dropping her notebook. "Oh!" Reia exclaimed falsely.

Seta picked up the book and returned it to Reia. Blushing again, Reia accepted her book and quickly walked away. Seta stood in the grass, still dumbfounded as he scratched his head once more.

A girl quietly observed from the tranquility of the vacant classroom. Navi was her name, and she viewed it all with a jealous eye. Her envying resentment for Reia was accumulating quietly without notice; she looked out the window once more and saw Seta as he walked with a puzzled expression on his face towards his bicycle. Navi was also a girl of 14, and she was the new transfer student to Memorial High School. Navi, upon her arrival at her new school, had almost instantaneously set her heart upon Seta, whom she claimed secretly to herself as her boyfriend.

Although she was friends with both Reia and Seta, she couldn't help but be envious of her friend. Her heart was terribly shattered when both Seta and Reia told her their secrets on the same day; Seta had told her that he couldn't take his mind off of Reia, and Reia, a couple of minutes later, came and told Navi that her heart was on Seta. Navi was devastated by the chain of events that she had experienced. She despised Reia and her good looks, but she failed to discover the features that she had herself. Navi had shy features and a cute, innocent face; but her heart as of recently was far from innocent as of recent developments.

Navi walked silently, deep in thought, down the hall as she ignored the wolf whistles that were issued to her; that she was used to, but what she wasn't used to was having her friend defeat her in the quest for a boyfriend without even realizing it. It wore away and disintegrated at her pride. Although Reia and Seta did not realize the emotions that the other has, it didn't seem it would be too long before they did. Navi's emotions were in turmoil as she ascended the main steps of the school building; she felt like crying, but her pride refused her that privilege; instead, she began to scheme. Her mind ignored her conscience as it cycled through numerous amounts of workable plans.

It had begun to sprinkle lightly in the sun, but instead of hurrying home, Navi ignored it. She enjoyed the rain and sudden changes of weather; it reflected her mood. She walked slowly despite the now pouring rain and the water flowing down her cheeks. Navi savored the cool touch of nature against her quavering heart.

Distracted, Navi failed to notice that she was being followed. As she turned into an alley, which was her shortcut home, she saw a teenage male about 16 years of age. She took no notice, however, and walked past him distractedly; as Navi reached to open the gate of the alley, she felt a strong arm pull her back and managed a scream before the stranger could cover her mouth. Her terrified eyes looked into the face of the teen that she had passed only seconds before; she couldn't help but notice the devious smile that hung from his lips. Before the stranger could escape, however, yells rang from the entrance to the alley, and before Navi realized what had happened, her assaulter had fled.

Navi stood up, dazed from this abrupt incident, and watched as her rescuers rushed frantically about trying to capture the neighborhood threat. When she finally entered her house and locked the door, she felt relieved; she kicked off her shoes and rushed upstairs to her bedroom. She wasn't affected much by the previous occurrence at all; she shrugged it off as an incident as one would ignore as to the losing of a pencil.

As she entered her room, Navi paused to observe herself in her full-length mirror. The wetness of her clothes had caused them to cling to her skin and her short skirt was weighted by the rain it had endured. Her hair was soaked and thin, trailing lines of water ran down her legs as she stood. Waves of pride and self-pity surged at once to her heart as she continued to gaze into her mirror. I'm not any less prettier than Reia, she thought as she fought back her bitter tears, I'm not! But why does Seta love Reia instead of me! Life is not fair! I do have a perfect body, so why doesn't he love me the way he does Reia? As Navi thought, she was taken back by her own shallow thoughts. She suddenly collapsed into a flood of uncontrollable tears as her legs faltered, sending her to the carpet beneath her. Tears flooded her vision as each drop formed needles that stung at her heart; each quiver of her petit frame added to her self-pity.

After some while, Navi awoke and found herself on her bed with blankets wrapped tightly around her frail shoulders. She sighed as she appreciated the warmth of the blankets over her damp skin; she felt much relieved after a session of passionate weeping. She mentally thanked her mother and clambered out of bed. Navi tossed her wet clothes in heap by the door and, while changing, she felt a draft breeze coolly onto her bared skin. She looked behind her to find her window open. Giving a quiet gasp of surprise, she reached to close it. Her eyes widened in surprise when she saw that her assaulter was walking slowly down the street. Navi reached for the phone but paused to reconsider.

Suddenly, she smiled.

The next morning was refreshing; the light layer of fog and gleams of sunlight made it appealing for outdoor activities. But much to Reia's disappointment, it was a school day, December the tenth to be exact; it was a Friday. She groaned as she clambered out of bed and glanced at her clock. "7:20!" Reia cried, "Not again!" She stormed about the room and quickly changed out of her pajamas, tripping over her dog in the process.

"Snoopy!" Reia pouted at the beagle, "Be careful." The dog cocked her head and scratched herself luxuriantly. "The life of a dog; it seems so simple to me." Reia sighed as she fumbled with her comb.

Seta glanced at his watch as Reia hurried into the classroom with the bell ringing behind her. "Ms. Reia Makimachi, I assume?" The substitute smiled.

Riddled with surprise, Reia managed to stammer, "Yes, sir."

"Your teacher told me all about you. She says that you have a habit of being late. Pray take a seat."

Reia quickly slipped into the seat next to Seta's; Seta smiled, "It seems as if our teacher is particularly fond of you. She even took the time to introduce you to the substitute." Reia giggled.

As the long hours of tormenting classes dragged on, all students felt relief when the final bell rang for dismissal. Mobs of students stampeded through the crowded halls, all anxious to begin their weekend activities. Reia and Seta met Navi as she came out of her classroom; Reia and Seta were in class 221b and Navi was in 346d. "Doing anything over the weekend?" Navi asked.

"Seta's and my parents are going together on a business trip of some sort. I'll be at Seta's." Reia answered and felt her heartbeat grow faster. "Navi, would you mind house sitting for me?"

Navi smiled deceptively, as she could only think of one word to herself, perfect; she quickly shook the thought away as Reia handed her a key. "Sure. But isn't it strange that your parents would send you to live with a boy?"

"Oh, no, not at all." Reia smiled, "Seta's a trust worthy person. Besides, our parents have known each other for the longest time. They trust us."

"Yes, I see." Navi turned away and walked home. Reia and Seta both failed to notice the sly glint in her eyes.

"Isn't the weather perfect?" Reia exclaimed, "We should go to the park in this weather. It is much better than being trapped in a boring house." She took Seta's hand and ran towards the park.

Navi turned to see the duo turning the street curb. She gritted her teeth and stared hard at Reia's shadow.

"Seta, what would you like for Christmas?" Reia asked breathlessly as she collapsed onto the soft carpet-like grass.

Seta wanted to say one thing. He wished to say that he wanted her love, but he knew, or just thought he knew much better than that. "Oh, nothing really, don't worry about me. Just worry about getting your breath back right now."

Reia took a deep breath and giggled; she enjoyed being with Seta. Reia knew that Seta was extremely intelligent despite his eternal confusion on social matters. Closing her eyes, she soon fell asleep under the comforting song of birds. Seta removed his jacket and wrapped it about Reia. He sighed as he whispered to her inert form. "Reia, I wish you could just know without me telling you." He paused to shoo away some mosquitoes buzzing about her neck, "I just wish that you could know." Seta sighed again and turned to face the road.

"Know what, Seta?" Reia opened her eyes.

Seta jumped as he realized her consciousness of his speech. "Oh! Nothing important." He replied hurriedly, almost scrambling. "Reia, let's go home." Reia, obviously not realizing his diversion, scrambled up and brushed grass off of her school uniform as she followed Seta humble home.

Humble was not quite the word to describe the house. It was a fair sized building at the end of the road. Reia has been here for dozens of times and when they entered the house, they found that their parents had already left, and that Snoopy the beagle was brought over along with her daily necessities and asleep under the window.

"Your room is upstairs. It's to the right, oh! Do you need help with the luggage?" Seta asked as Reia struggled with a large duffle.

"No, it's alright Seta. It's not quite that heavy. I'll be fine" Reia replied from behind the bag, blushing to herself.

However, the bag was much heavier than she had expected, and partly due to her distracted mentality, she failed to clear the stairs. Reia took a false step; to further her dismay, Seta was behind her when she tripped. Giving a quiet cry, she fell backwards into Seta, and they both collapsed along with their luggage onto the stairs. Reia groaned as she flushed red from embarrassment; her embarrassment was furthered when she found herself wrapped in Seta's arms. Blushing, Reia scrambled to get up, but fell once more when she stood on her swollen ankle.

Seta clambered awkwardly and helped Reia into her room. "I am, but you certainly are not." Upon removing of her right sock, he found a slight swell and sighed with relief. "Lucky you didn't break it. I'll go get you some ice. You'll be alright in a few."

Reia flushed with red as she lay back on her bed. The sounds of clinking ice sang like music to her ears. She glanced up at Seta as he came in, and watched intently him as he applied the ice patch to her injury, noticing his glances at her reactions before he acted. She couldn't help but feel sorry for herself for the embarrassment that she had caused, especially in his eyes. Seta comforted her and coaxed her to sleep as a parent would do to a baby. When Reia finally rested, Seta stood up to leave the room before a thought suddenly struck him; he wondered why she was acting, well, so feminine towards him. It was as if he was receiving special treatment from her; scratching his head doubtfully, with a trifle of dreamy hope, Seta trudged vacantly and retrieved the duffle, and upon setting it by Reia's bed, he retired to his own. Outside, storm clouds began to accumulate into thick masses as the rays of sunlight were swallowed up by darkness.

Navi looked about her surroundings. A well furnished house to say the least; dropping her bags, she quickly called the local key shop and confirmed an appointment. She smirked and slipped Reia's key into her pocket. Turning to look outside, Navi quickly adopted a face of treacherous joy; there was a boy, 15 of age, standing on the other side of the street, of whom Navi immediately recognized; it was Makoto. Makoto had confessed his affections towards Navi, but Navi, with her heart set on Seta, rejected him brutally; despite this ill treatment from Navi, however, Makoto remained faithful and yearned for a chance, worsening his already ill predicament.

Makoto lingered outside, hoping for a chance to converse his status with Navi, but to his anguish, she had instead closed the shutters and left. He sighed and trudged away, head drooping and shoulders slouched; he knows of Navi's emotions toward Seta, and resented Seta because of it, but he was still sane, and sometimes he was even hateful of himself for his own senseless jealousy.

However, to his surprise, there was Navi running after him; his heart yearned for a new chance; he quickly turned and asked. "What's up?" Navi stood breathlessly momentarily and whispered into Makoto's ears. "I'm sorry for treating you the way I have, I'm sorry! Please forgive me!" Navi trailed off and broke into a session of passionate crying; she soon fell into Makoto's arms and sobbed on his shoulder.

Makoto patted her back with gentle reassurance; "Please, don't worry. There is nothing to be sorry about." It was all he could muster from his nervous, parched lips, for he felt ecstatic; his perseverance had paid off. She felt like heaven to Makoto when she actually was the darkest poison; he felt her arms quivering against his neck and her face buried in his chest in her passion; he felt her body pushed against his own. He has never felt as content as now.

It had begun to rain again as the two stood, unprotected against the beatings of weather; the rain drenched their clothes as the wind howled about them. "Oh! I'm sorry for keeping you out in this weather," Navi said between sniffling, "Won't you come in?" Makoto accepted the offer with earnest gratitude.

Navi led Makoto to the kitchen and left him momentarily to begin her hunt for towels. Makoto sighed happily as he dashed water away from his eyes; he could hardly believe that this is reality; his day dreams were terminated when Navi tossed a towel to him. "Sorry that I don't have a change of clothes for you, but this is my friend's house and I'm house sitting."

Makoto didn't reply. He could hardly take his eyes off of Navi; the drenching of her clothes had caused her white school uniform to become semi- transparent; to him, it was a breathtaking sight, but he quickly regained his wits. Navi smiled knowingly. "Yes?"

Makoto quickly stammered. "Nothing."

"Well, it looks like the storm won't be ending for a while," Navi sighed, "Do you wish to spend the night?"

Makoto glanced at the clock. It was 8:30 all of a sudden; time seemed to have took off in flight. He began to wonder how long he's been outside. The storm has deprived him of his way of returning home, and his parents were away on vacation. Perhaps the most important reason might be embedded unconsciously in his mind; that this was his best chance, if he ever had one, to be with the girl he loved; the added bonus was being alone with her and spending the night. He nodded his head with suppressed eagerness.

"Make yourself comfortable, and if you don't mind, I'm headed for the shower." Navi closed the door behind her before Makoto could respond.

Makoto, once again, forced himself to believe that all of this is reality and that he was in the premium midst of it. He sighed and attempted to relax, but even he could see through his desperate air of nonchalant attitude; he couldn't contain his nervousness. As he sat on the kitchen stool, he fidgeted with his hands.

Inside the privacy of the shower, Navi quickly undressed and adjusted the valves. Steam hissed and water came in cascading sheets as she shook the biting coldness away. She couldn't contain it any longer; stifled laughter rang from beneath the concealing sound of water. She couldn't help but laugh about Makoto's foolishness. Her giggles were abruptly replaced by the silence of determination. Her features were distinguished by a sternness never before seen, and the sly smirk that hung from the edge of her lips came again.

Her plans were just beginning.