Erica looked out the window of the maglev train, her black
hair falling into her eyes, lost in her thoughts. Her school uniform
was crisp as always, the boy's design fitting the slim girl like a
glove. 'Wonder if I should wash the dye out?' she wondered. Catrine
knew who she was, who she was related to, and the dye might not
serve any use anymore.
She walked to the school gates, her bag over her shoulder
and felt just a bit relieved. There were no whispers, no odd looks
from the other students. 'I guess Catrine hasn't told anyone yet,'
Erica mused. She searched through the crowds, eventually spotting
the blue haired girl.
Catrine looked up and saw her, then she turned to her
friends to politely excuse herself. The pretty young woman made her
way in Erica's direction, the two falling into step as they headed
to their class. Erica looked over at the girl, trying to think of
something witty to say, and finally had to try a simple, "Good
morning."
"Good morning, Erica-sama," Catrine answered softly.
Erica blinked at the honorific, "You don't need to.."
"I know who you are now, Erica-sama," Catrine's eyes shone
as she looked up at the taller girl, "of course I do."
One of the early warning bells rang, and they picked up
their pace a bit. "Can I talk to you at lunch?" Erica asked with a
slight frown.
"Sure," Catrine blushed a bit.
'This is going to be interesting,' Erica thought, settling
into her seat. Classes dragged on through the morning, Erica giving
half her attention to the teacher and the rest considering Catrine's
behavior. The Senshi were held in a high regard by the people of the
city, having acquired an almost mythic status over the years. So
Catrine's reaction really wasn't so surprising, but it was going to
make things uncomfortable unless she could resolve this.
"Hi," Erica smiled a bit nervously as she and Catrine walked
to one of the trees scattered around the sprawling campus.
"Thank you for inviting me to lunch, Erica-sama," Catrine
said softly.
Erica waved Catrine to a seat beneath the tree, then sat
down beside her. She smiled at Catrine wryly, "Did you ever wonder
why I dye my hair black?"
"Heh?" Catrine looked surprised, "No, I didn't."
'Well, at least she didn't use the 'sama' again,' Erica
thought happily. "When I was younger, someone recognized me as
Uranus' daughter," she explained. A grim little smile was on her
face as she recalled, "I got mobbed, basically. People pulled my
hair out, tore my clothes, all because I was related to the sailor
Senshi."
"Oh," Catrine's face had paled slightly. "What happened?"
"My parents were ready to pull me out of school for good,
have me educated in the palace," Erica said softly, "but I talked
them out of it." She smiled, "So, a bit of hair dye, I changed my
last name to my other mother's and entered a new school."
Catrine nodded thoughtfully, "I see." She looked over at
Erica thoughtfully, "I guess I can understand you not telling anyone
about your parentage, then."
"I probably should have told you about it when you mentioned
your own connection to the Senshi," Erica admitted. She looked over
at Catrine and softly asked, "Can you forgive me for surprising you
like that?"
A delicate blush marked Catrine's face, "It's all right,
really."
"Good," Erica popped open her lunch box, taking a deep
breath of the rich scent.
"That smells marvelous," Catrine said enviously.
Erica cupped a bit on her chopsticks and offered it, "Here,
try some." Catrine was hesitant, but soon was making happy noises as
she munched. "I'm glad that Jupiter makes my lunches," Erica
admitted, "I can't cook worth beans."
"Lady Jupiter makes your lunches?!" Catrine squeaked.
"It's gonna take you some time to get used to all this,
huh?" Erica said wryly.
Catrine blinked, then began to laugh sheepishly. "I guess
so."
"You know," Erica mused, "I don't think I've ever had a
friend in this school before, I couldn't risk it." She gave Catrine
a smile, "Would you like to be my first?"
"I'd love to," Catrine smiled back.
They finished up their lunches together, then headed back to
their classes. As the day continued Catrine noticed something a
little odd going on, it seemed that most of the young women in the
classes were looking at her rather irritably.
'Oh, boy,' Catrine realized, looking over at Erica
thoughtfully.
Erica was one of the most handsome of the girls in class, or
really in the entire school, and many of the girls had a crush on
her. Part of her attraction was Erica's aloof attitude, the
deliberate distance the black haired girl maintained. She usually
came to school alone, ate her meal alone, then left with nothing
more than friendly greetings being exchanged.
'And I just sat down to eat lunch with her,' Catrine thought
wonderingly, 'something that some of those girl's would just die
for.' A bit of a blush marked her cheeks, and she had to admit that
she wasn't immune to Erica's charm, she just hadn't been thinking
about it.
Ruki waved her down in the hall later, the pretty redhead
grabbing her arm excitedly once she got near. "Is it true?" she
asked.
"Yes, I had lunch with Erica," Catrine said, "but don't make
too much of it.."
"EEE!" Ruki practically bounced up and down with happiness,
and Catrine sighed. "How did you manage to do that?!"
"I.." Catrine started, unsure how to explain without
revealing Erica's secret.
"Hey, Catrine," a voice called out. Both girls looked up and
froze as Erica made her way through the crowd. The striking black
hair was a bit messy after a long day of classes, and her brown eyes
shone with gently amusement.
"Hi, Erica," Catrine managed.
"Introduce me," Ruki whispered as she tugged on Catrine's
arm.
"So who's your friend?" Erica asked her, giving Catrine a
graceful opening to introduce her friend. She had to fight back a
broad smile, it almost looked like the energetic redhead was going
to wet herself with excitement.
"Ruki," Catrine smiled slightly, "I'd like you to meet Erika
Tenoh."
"Erica-sama," the fiercely blushing Ruki squeaked, executing
a perfect bow.
"Nice to meet you," Erika said with a slight smile. She
looked over at Catrine, "You live not too far from the maglev line,
right?" Catrine nodded, and Erika continued on, "I usually take the
line home, I was wondering if you wanted to walk together?"
"I'd like that,." Catrine said softly.
"Then I'll see you after class," Erika waved and headed off
to her next class, cutting through the crowd with a determined.
stride.
"Wow," Ruki murmured once she was far enough away. She
looked over at Catrine and beamed happily, "She must really like
you!"
"We're just friends," Catrine said to Ruki firmly.
Ruki gave her a look, "Maybe."
Waiting for classes to end took forever, the remaining hours
dragging onward. Catrine wasn't normally a clock watcher, but today
she waited for the seconds to tick by, so much so that one of her
teachers even looked a bit concerned.
The last bell rang, and Catrine moved through the halls
towards the entrance. She was surprised to see a group of girls
standing around there, talking softly. Listening she over heard the
comment, "Who is she waiting for?"
Catrine made her way past the girl's, her eyes widening as
she saw Erica Tenoh leaning up against the gates. As soon as she
stepped outside Erika looked up with a smile, "Hi."
"Hi," Catrine smiled back shyly as they fell into step
together.
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