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The Seed (Part 4)
"Katherine, wait up!" Duo turned to the source of the voice and saw Laila and Doyce waving wildly at him, at the same time trying to catch up with his fast strides. Both these girls had been his enthusiastic welcomers during his first day of school -- showing him around the school, telling him which foods in the canteen were edible and advising him on which boys to avoid. When he first stepped into his class and did his self-introduction, every student in the class had been stunned to silence; making him panic with the assumption that his disguise had been ineffective. He soon discovered that it was not so. By the end of that day, practically all the boys in his class worshipped him while the girls reeked of jealousy and hostility. Doyce and Laila were the only girls willing to approach him and receive him cordially. From that day onwards, the three of them were seldom seen without each other; thus earning the nickname 'The Three Musketeers' -- a nickname which Duo later discovered to be derived from an ancient literary piece written by a 19th-century earth author. "So, are you busy after school today?" The person who asked the question was Doyce, a red-haired girl with a freckled face. Looks-wise she was not impressive, but she never felt intimidated hanging around Duo. "No. Why?" Duo had reached his locker and was rummaging through it in search of the diskettes required for his next lesson. "We are wondering whether you would like to join us at the swimming pool this afternoon. A swim on a hot day such as this will be refreshing." Duo froze for a second before rejecting the offer. "Uh.... I'm afraid I can't join you two. I...." His mind worked rapidly to form a plausible excuse. "... am not feeling well today. Sorry." Four boys who had been standing within hearing distance muttered. "A pity..." before walking off. Duo stared at them contemptuously. Laila read the look on Duo's face and proceeded to slap his back in a friendly fashion. "You're worried about the guys, aren't you? I have to admit, the hunger in their eyes can devour elephants. But you just have to pretend as if they don't exist." With glossy, raven-black hair framing a pretty heart-shaped face, Laila was speaking as one who had experienced such situations and knew how to handle them. "No, it is true. I'm really not feeling well....." Both Doyce and Laila were looking imploringly at him. The reputation of ‘The Three Musketeers’ must be maintained. "Oh... alright. I will sit beside the pool while you two enjoy yourselves. Is that okay with both of you?" Their answering grins were as bright as sunshine. * * * * * * Report
Week 2 : Nothing
out of the ordinary so far. KK-DM Duo clicked the 'Send' icon to deliver the message and waited patiently for the computer to finish its task. If the situation here remains uneventful after a week, I will have to leave this place. This mission is turning out to be a waste of time after all. After shutting down the computer, Duo left the computer laboratory. * * * * * * In contrast, Heero's arrival at the school generated little commotion. His cold, unfriendly eyes were enough to discourage any form of contact or communication with other students. Half of his classmates were terrified of him while the other half tried hard to ignore his existence -- which was just what Heero wanted. Making acquaintances during undercover missions only serves to complicate matters and bring about unnecessary trouble. During his free time, he would scout around the school alone, taking note of places with restricted access. His aim was to find the master terminal of the school and hack into it to retrieve data. He would have to spend several days studying the shifts in guard duty and finding the safest way to get to the master terminal without triggering the security systems. It was pure coincidence - or fate - that brought him to the swimming pool entrance. Not wanting to leave any corner of the school unchecked, Heero went in. * * * * * * "Look who's sitting beside the pool." Sheila, the former school beauty queen (before Katherine Kane appeared), looked behind her shoulder and saw the hated girl reading a book at a corner. What was the despicable girl doing in her territory? Ever since Katherine Kane entered her life, she had displaced her from the limelight to become the object of desire of nearly all the boys in the school. She gnashed her teeth. Understanding how Sheila felt, one of her female friends put forward a suggestion that would appease her. "Do you want me to chase her out for you? After all, what is a person without swimming attire doing in the swimming pool area?" Sheila narrowed her eyes, seemingly deep in thought. "No. I have a better idea." Her smile was vicious. * * * * * * "Could that be Katherine Kane?" chirped an excited member of the group. Four heads belonging to four male youths turned to the direction indicated by the speaker's pointing finger. "It is her! Oh gosh, how does my hair look?" "Hey, I thought she said at the locker area that she won't be swimming. Otherwise, I would have brought a camera." "Well, she didn't lie. She's not even in her swimsuit." "I bet her figure is a 36-24-40." "Lecher." "Well, at least I'm frank about it." The only member in the group of five who displayed little interest was Shang, the group leader and also the most popular male in school -- judging from the number of love letters he received in his locker everyday. Shang had a fair share of good looks, an owner of clean-cut and sensitive features. His hair was tawny fair, and there was lots of it, like a lion's mane, only rather more untidy. The distinctive feature about him was a single lock of white hair dropped over his left eye which many girls found irresistible. The enthusiastic conversation continued but Shang had stopped listening. Nowadays, girls only mildly amused him. Having one Sheila attached to him like a leech was bad enough. Having thought that, his eyes caught sight of Sheila approaching the Kane girl with slow, purposeful steps. Her intentions did not appear friendly. * * * * * * "Hello, Katherine." The words were uttered in a tone sweet enough to cause tooth cavities. Uh oh. Trouble. Duo lifted his head, a rigid smile splitting his face. Sheila was also wearing a smile but that smile did not mask the burning contempt in her eyes. Jeez. Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned. And he did not even do anything to directly offend her. "What a pleasant surprise to see you here, Sheila." Duo hoped his sarcasm did not leak into his voice. This girl has been stabbing me with murderous looks ever since I got here! What does she want now? "That seems to be an interesting book you've got there." Suspicion welled up inside Duo. Since when was she ever interested in reading? "May I borrow it for a second?" Duo quietly let out an exasperated sigh. He more or less guessed that Sheila was about to do something horrible to the book but he handed it to her anyway. This enmity had to end. If tearing up this book would make her feel better, why not give her that satisfaction? Without even looking at the cover of the book, Sheila flung it into the pool. The book landed on the water surface with a soft splash and began soaking up pool water like a sponge. "Oops, how careless of me." Duo wore a weary expression. "Why do you even bother to pretend?" Sheila cheeks coloured with anger. Instead of reduced, the enmity had increased. Duo stood up and walked to the edge of the pool. Fortunately, the book was close enough for him to retrieve without the need to get into the water. Just as he was about to squat down, hands broke out of the surface of the water to grab his ankles and pull him down. Losing his balance, Duo's head knocked hard against the cement edge before sinking into the depths. In a dazed condition, Duo felt chlorinated water filling up his mouth and nostrils. Darkness slowly enveloped him. * * * * * * The first person to reach Duo and pull him out of the pool was Shang. He expected something like this to happen the moment he saw Sheila walking towards the Kane girl like a predator pouncing on a prey. Although he held no special feelings for Sheila's victim, he decided to rescue her anyway. Trouble attracts attention and neither he nor Sheila could afford to be too conspicuous during this period of time. He gently placed the girl on the ground. Her face, with brown locks of hair clinging to its sides, had taken up a frightening pallor. A large crowd had gathered around him, majority of them comprising boys who were eager to perform mouth-to-mouth resuscitation. However, he wasted no time waiting for a chosen volunteer. By the time they fought it out, the girl would most likely be dead. "Stand back! All of you! Give her some air!" Doyce's frantic scream cracked the air like a whip and the crowd reluctantly backed down. Doyce and Laila rushed into the circle and knelt beside their nearly-drowned friend's body. * * * * * * A rush of air. A cough. A spurt of water. Duo was slowly able to register the noise buzzing around him. His eyelids fluttered, opened.... and saw a boy's face so close to his that they were virtually kissing. Kiss....!!! The revulsion caused Duo to spray the rest of the water and spittle in his mouth at the boy's face. He sat up quickly, choking and gagging as if he just swallowed an insect. His eyes bulged and he could feel goose bumps forming all over his body. The boy's wet but serene face was still inches from his. Without thinking, Duo delivered an uppercut that sent the boy sprawling on the ground five feet away. He then rushed to the edge of the pool to gargle his mouth with vigour. Everyone else froze in their original positions, aghast. * * * * * * One boy in the crowd surreptitiously hid a smile behind his hand. He had burned with jealousy when he saw Shang rescuing and reviving the girl. Jealousy -- an unnatural emotion which he had never felt before this. However, the girl's treatment of her rescuer upon regaining consciousness made him feel glad that he was not the one who reached her first. Her reaction did not surprise him as he had a similar experience with her before. Her... his dream. Turning away from the scene, Heero made his way to the exit, marking a trail of water puddles on the floor. The smile did not leave his face.
.: The story continues in "The Shoot" series :. |