Learning All Over Again

[Rinji]

From a far, an unfamiliar figure stood out in an instant. His hair, sandy yellow with streaks of raven black fell to his face. Medium built, he supported a laid back look with a pair of cargo pants, a vibrant red shirt and a black and white chucks that made audible squeaky noises against the gleaming floor. Evidence of recent waxing.

Ear plugs were in his ear, connecting to his ipod. A small contraption capable of storing music. Playing in his ears was a familiar 'Green Day' song entitled 'Jesus of Suburbia. A western band that was old and popular, one of his favorite. It had a strong beat and very catchy.

What were they thinking...?

Rinji lived all his life in Los Angeles... Maybe half of his life. But now he was going to face the alien land, which is actually the place he was born at. He knew nothing of the place and thinking he knew a lot of places. It made him out of place but still there was something in him that wanted to be here. It was a weird feeling of being cozy and at home at an area that he didn't know.

At the center of the Earth
In the parking lot
Of the 7-11 were I was taught
The motto was just a lie
It says home is where your heart is
But what a shame
Cause everyone's heart
Doesn't beat the same
It's beating out of time

City of the dead
At the end of another lost highway
Signs misleading to nowhere
City of the d**ned
Lost children with dirty faces today
No one really seems to care

The loud voice of the singer sang the lines of beautifully created lyrics that young people mostly relate to. Their band was a way of letting the people know what the others feel. The misunderstood and is in the wrong path. But he was not one of these people... Maybe in some way he was.

His luggages were sent to his dorm days before, leaving him with his small back pack that clung to his back. Rinji was half Japanese and half American, making him enhance his facial features. His pale hands were shoved into his pockets.

So this is it...

Some students glanced at him once or twice. He seemed to be like an alien, a good looking alien. Modesty aside he was quite good looking. Rinji stood at a corner with his back resting firmly on the painted wall.

[Yasuo]

Yasuo stared at the male from afar. They were both in the same position; back against the wall. Yasuo had his arms crossed but the man opposite of him had his hands stuffed into his pockets. Yasuo chuckled as he studied the guy.

"Seems...familiar," Yasuo muttered. Indeed, something about this male did seem familiar to Yasuo..but what? The look on his face, the way he leaned against the wall...it almost reminded Yasuo of himself. Yasuo couldn't help but chortle with laughter.

"Let's not jump to conclusions Yasuo. Remember what happened last time you did that." A smirk appeared on Yasuo's face as he reflected upon past incidents. Pushing himself off the wall, Yasuo began his trek to the male with blond hair and streaks of black.

"Interesting hair colors," Yasuo muttered, his eyes looking up to his own brown-colored hair. He sighed and leaned against the wall next to the male. His gaze swept up his side and noticed earplugs that were currently booming away loud lyrics.

Yasuo snorted. He had more of a 'softer' taste of music. Something with the flute and pianos and acoustic guitars. Maybe a few drums here and there. But electric guitars was enough to drive Yasuo insane: those things were much too loud for him.

"What're listening to?" Yasuo finally asked the male, unsure if he could hear Yasuo over the music. Yasuo chuckled.

[Kayoko]

Kayoko saw Yasou and a person, probably a new student, and she walked over.
It looked like the new male student was listening to a....
What was he listening to??
She knew the band, it was one of her favorites, Green Day, an alternative rock band.
But she didn't know what he was listening to the music with.
In her old strict boarding school, almost no technology was allowed, so Kayoko
didn't really know the 'latest' and 'greatest' stuff around.
Kayoko noticed almost all the students were glancing at him like he was an alien, which she
thought was kind of rude.
Kayoko walked silently over to Yasou and the new student.
"Hello, Yasou-san. Hello, new student-san!" She said a little louder due to the fact the music was loud.

[Mika Yukio]

Mika ran into the Main Foyer, ink smudged on her cheeks and her hands full of papers and pens. She grinned when she saw Kayoko and Yasuo. Good, at least she wouldn't have to carry all that up to her bedroom. It was a long way if you were holding all she held. Her brows furrowed for a moment and she observed they were talking with a new comer. She smiled and remembered the day she had entered the school. She had the feeling the new one felt like an alien, but she had felt pretty good. New school meant new identity and a new start. So with the thought of cheering him up, she walked up to them.
"Hello, Kayoko, hey Yasuo! And hello to you too, I'm Mika," she greeted, trying to get at least one of her hands free and shake his. She failed miserably, so she just gave up and limited to smiling.

[Kayoko]

"Oh my gosh! Here!" Kayoko said taking all the papers and ink from her.
"Sho waz yor dom room?" Kayoko said with difficulty.

[Mika Yukio]

Mika laughed and took more than half of the papers from Kayoko. She grinned at her, ink still smudged on her cheeks.
"You don't have to carry them all!"
She continued smiling and poked her tongue out playfully. She looked truly unlike herself with dirty cheeks and messed hair. She usually was the cleanest person around, but today's little incident had gotten her world upside down.

[Kayoko]

Kayoko grinned, now she had a couple smudges on her too!
"So, what's with all the papers??"

[Mika Yukio]

Mika shook her head lightly. She had been expecting it.
"Well... I sort of... wanted to make a study of a tree I saw outside," she began, in a narrative plan. "But I didn't want the usual boring sketch. I wanted to try something original, something new... And I thought ink pens could achieve an interesting result. So I took all this," she nodded at the papers, "outside. They were slightly more ordered, thought...," her last statement had a note of sadness in it. "But anyway, I got there and, uhm... Everything got very upside down when a ladybird crawled on a pen I was going to use," she finished, blushing. She was terrified of bugs. From a mosquito to a spider, anything of the sort could make her not only jump up and scream, but also run away as fast as possible. It was quite embarrassing, actually.
Suddenly, she became acutely aware that she was standing in the main foyer with Kayoko and two other boys she didn't know that well, with ink on her face and a messy hair. Her face passed from light pink to deep crimson in a matter of seconds. Way to make a fool of herself, she mused.

[Kayoko]

Kayoko smiled.
"It's alright, your mess I mean. You're among friends, or new friends!"
Kayoko grinned. "You don't like ladybugs? I think they're cute!"
Kayoko stopped grinning for a second.
"But..I don't like mosquitos or bees either.."
Kayoko went back to grinning.
"But that's okay, we just have to ignore the bad bugs!"

[Yasuo]

Yasuo chuckled in his usual deep rumble as he listened to the words of the two females. Scared of bugs? How strange...the only thing Yasuo was scared of was--

Yasuo shook his head. He didn't feel like being reminded at the moment. It usually sent him into a state of depression and anger. Sighing, he held out his empty hands to Mika and Kayoko.

"...I can take those," he stated in a low grumble. Yasuo had always tried to be a nice person, but given his attitude, his attempts at being kind always seemed a little bit...curt. But, he *tried* to smile at them both, showing that his offer was sincere.

"I've got two empty hands and would be glad to help," he breathed. He snickered again as he listened to his own voice: he could barely hear it over the new guy's music.