Perfection

Chibi Tsuki

A/N: Thanks Reboo for your idea ^.^ Greatly appreciated! Too lazy to proofread, please don’t mind the mistakes.

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Chapter 2

New and Mysterious

Waking up from sleep, she read the digits on her clock. “What?” she mumbled to herself, “only five thirty?” She groaned and plonked her head back onto the comfort of her pillow. It was too early to get dressed and out of bed, not to mention the energy just to sit up. As she turned her head around and started falling back to sleep again, she had a strange feeling that something was going to go wrong… ‘Pang, pang, pang!’ The noise volume was very loud. Lucretzia leapt up in fright, her eyes averted to the direction of her room mate’s hand, a saucer lid in one hand and a bent metal spoon in the other.

“Wake up you lazy bum! Get your part of the room done up so it’s acceptable and you better get changed as well, I don’t want my parents coming and seeing how messy this room is filled with your junk!” the girl yelled, her voice was full-out aggressive. She seemed like a furious tiger, revved up about nothing. The raven haired girl merely yawned and slunk into the corner of her bed, a hand scratching her head under the layers of messed up hair. Exhausted, she slumped back into her original position and continued to sleep again, herself in such a deep sleep that she couldn’t hear the saucer lid beating anymore in the background.

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Stumbling down to the classroom messily with her hair slightly mussed, Lucretzia yawned, her strap bag hanging off the wrong shoulder. Fortunately for her, no one was around to see her in such a state. Everyone had already gone to class after leaving the breakfast hall and she was left to dwell behind and ‘try’ and find her classroom which apparently, she wasn’t succeeding at. Perhaps the school was much larger than she thought but when she had first arrived, it didn’t seem that big, considering that the receptionist had briefly shown her around the place. Maybe too briefly though.

As she glanced through the corner of her eye, she noticed a gold plate stuck to the door slightly above the window with the letter and number, A9 on it. “That classroom is A9 and so A5 should be near by,” she muttered to herself. “If I’m correct, four doors down.” Slowly she took a few steps towards the closest door on her right, reading the room name. “A10? Guess I was wrong. Well it didn’t hurt to guess.” She proceeded down the corridor in the correct direction and followed until she stopped at the door with the name, A5. There was no response even though she had knocked at the door several times, perhaps no one was inside. Surprisingly, she felt a strange, confident feeling inside her and boldly entered the room. To her dismay, there was a group inside, chatting politely in a corner. Lucretzia had wanted to be alone for a while and that noisy room mate of hers didn’t help much. Come to think of it, she didn’t remember asking her for her name. The girls had stopped their conversation and instead, greeted her with courtesy before continuing with their chatter. Placing her bag on a table in the opposite corner of the room to the students, she huffed and sat herself down, her mind wandering off into a serene space somewhere.

Just then, she heard a familiar voice. “Morning, Miss Lucretzia.” She looked up and noticed the boy from yesterday.

With a smile, she greeted with the same cheeriness, but inside she was fairly nerved. What was his name again? Lou… Lou… Louie Eran.

“It’s a pleasant surprise to see you in my class. You must be talented,” he commented, giving a subtle implication that he was bragging, but due to his friendliness, Lucretzia didn’t notice it a single bit.

“Not really.”

As he sat down a few seats away from her, their arithmetic teacher strode in, his hands piled with papers and textbooks of all sorts to do with maths.

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The lessons had gone past slowly and while Lucretzia appeared to be indulging in the notes and information but inside she was falling asleep. There was only, one more lesson until lunch. She was already dressed in her PE gear, a pleated white skirt with a red rim and a white collared T-shirt with the school’s emblem on the front. Approaching the gym, a cheery smile appeared on her face, bringing out her sweeter side. Other students had already started gathering the sport equipment needed and Lucretzia was just waffling along. “Hey you.” It was her bunk mate’s voice, her cocky voice. Her voice would actually sound pretty if only that arrogant attitude of hers had wasn’t there in the first place. “No one’s going to be your slave and get your racket for you.”

Looking up at her, the slightly short girl replied, “Excuse me for waiting.” To what it seemed, it was going to be a free lesson where anyone could do anything they wanted. All the female students had chosen to play tennis and from what it seemed, that was the only option. But… why were the guys playing basketball? She tapped the girl closest to her on the arm and muttered, “Why is everyone playing tennis?”

The girl smiled politely and replied, “You must be new here. The school doesn’t think it’s acceptable for girls to play that type of sport. They think it’s not lady like and so only the boys play basketball.” The girl excused herself and rejoined her friends as they approached the court.

That sucks… She grumbled and reluctantly took a tennis racket from the rack and strode towards a trio who was in need of an extra player. If…. If I play late, they won’t realise but then again, what’s the use? I need to play a proper game. For the rest of the lesson, she was thinking of a way to erase that problem but for quite a long time, it didn’t seem to work.

She glanced around for inspirations and sighed when she found none. “Miss! Watch out!” a girl screamed at her, her voice showing expressions of fear. Lucretzia turned and saw as the tennis ball came flying her way. Her eyes widened but her instincts swiftly took over, instructing her body to move over. It was too late to swing. Luckily her lightning reflexes came in handy, catching the ball just as it came flying at her.

With a sigh of relief, she breathed out before resuming play. That was close… Lifting a hand to straighten her visa, the idea formed in her mind. That’s it!

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Wolfing down her lunch, Lucretzia chewed on her roll hurriedly, swallowing large bits of bread at the same time. Surely she would’ve been scolded for such unruly manners. Young ladies and gentlemen were supposed to eat sitting down at a table instead of running around the school in a hurry. I’ll just sit and watch the basketball game instead since I don’t my gear. Games usually started five minutes after the beginning of lunch and the greatest players within the school usually used this time to practise with a round against the others. She entered the gym and walked towards the training players, busying themselves with a quick warm-up. There were a few guys watching as well as the two girls standing quietly next to each other. “Miss Lucretzia.” Turning her towards the sound of her name, she smiled at the approaching gentleman.

“Hello Louie and please do stop calling me with the title Miss. Just call me by my name,” she smiled, greeting the enthusiastic teenager. “I guess you better prepare for the game.”

“No it’s alright, I’m playing the second half. I’m swapping with someone afterwards,” he stated and straightened out his singlet. It was a different singlet to the one he’d worn the day before.

The girl nodded in acknowledgement and stood silently next to him as the games started. Following her eyes down the court, Lucretzia noticed the player with the ball cornered in the spot. Only several metres away to his right was his team member, free for the pass. As much she wanted to shout out and inform him, she kept her mouth shut tight. But in this school, girls weren’t particularly respected on the court or as trainers. That she had learnt at the beginning of the day. They would only cheer and applaud, nothing else.

Suddenly the ball flew into the air. There was a collision as the ball started descending to the ground but out from no where, a tall blonde gentleman from the opposing team caught the ball and immediately rushed to the other side of the court with rapid speed. He jumped and scored for a slam dunk, the basketball swooping through the net, landing on the floor.

Louie glanced at Lucretzia, noticing her gaze on the player, his long blonde hair tied into a ponytail while his bangs crowded his face. “The gentleman you’re looking at is Zechs Merquise,” he informed.

“Huh?”

“His name is Zechs Merquise.”

“Oh. How did you know I was looking at him?”

The boy grinned. “He’s one of the ‘hottest’ guys around. That’s what all the young ladies here say. Nearly every girl has asked him out on a date but none have succeeded.”

“That doesn’t mean I like him. I was amazed at his basketball skills.” Lucretzia grunted and broke her eye connection with Louie.

With a doubtful look, the teenager sighed and turned his attention back onto the game.

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Everyday there were different players wanting to play, even those who were less skilled and experienced just to try and show off to the girls. Usually there were the everyday players and the tall blonde was one of them as well as Louie. But there was a mysterious player in tracksuit pants and a white T-shirt, warming up on one side of the court. He wasn’t tall like the blonde nor was he that short. Wearing a cap help prevented others from seeing his features, the blue cap blending in with his dark coloured hair. He was most likely another teen trying his best to show off to the girls. When the whistle beeped for the jump ball Zechs Merquise was the one able to bat the ball to the side, letting it bounce into his fellow team mate’s hands. Just as the teen with the ball started running down the court, the player with the cap came rushing past and stole the ball in his swift speed. He dodged several defenders as he dribbled and neared the hoop for a goal. The basketball fell throw and landed on the ground.

Keeping his eye on the boy, Zechs narrowed his eyes. The ball was now in their possession and if they could control the ball and make it down the court it would be an easy goal, considering his was the second tallest person in the two teams. From his right, the ball was flying at him which he caught without any struggle. He paced himself as he dribbled down the second half of the court. Although he was nearly four metres away, it would be an easy shot. Jumping for the shot, he let the ball out of his hands and landed neatly on the ground. “Huh?” He turned his head just in time to see the capped boy intercept it and dart beside him. A grin appeared on his face. Not bad…

Zechs panted, his hands on his knees. He stood up and smiled in rejoice to another victory. Standing alone by himself was the boy, using a towel to wipe the sweat off his forehead under his cap. The tall gentleman walked over towards the loner and muttered, “Great game.” He brought his hand out for a handshake. The boy grunted and took his hand, his cap and bangs shadowing his eyes and nose. “May I ask for your name?”

Being slightly hesitant, the boy took some time to reply, “Name’s aren’t important but if you must, my friends called me Noin.”

“Noin? Is that the number for nine in German?”

“Yes. Excuse me Mr Merquise, I must leave now but perhaps we could have another game tomorrow.”

 “Most certainly,” the tall blonde responded as the figure in front of him lifted his head up slightly and turned, disappearing out of the gym.

Louie stepped up beside the gentleman and asked, “You know who he is?”

“Noin…”

“Noin?” Louie looked slightly startled but changed his expression quick enough to avoid Zechs from noticing. Could it be…?

Zechs sighed and left the gym for the showers. That was what he needed, a shower to wash off the sweaty feelings plastered all over his body. Perhaps he would meet up with the mysterious stranger. Nearing the male showers, he peeled off his slightly damp singlet and threw it on top of his sports bag, along with his shoes and socks. As he grabbed his towel, he strode into the shower cubicle and took off the rest of his clothing and left it on the hook on the door. The steaming hot water poured onto his skin as he felt the feeling of the water caressing his skin. I didn’t notice Noin come in here at all… Strange.

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Lucretzia Noin darted down the corridor stealthily with her cap still on her head. Hopefully no one would see her approaching the ladies’ showers in this disguise. She pushed open the door, her heart beating fast as she commenced to push open the next door to the main area of the showers. Her bag was placed nearly under the seats which she grabbed quickly as she darted into a shower cubicle just as some girls entered the room. A deep breath escaped her. Luckily the shower cubicle was large; at least large enough to fit a whole single bed so she would have space to put her bag on the small bench included without wetting it dreadfully. Louie was right. That Zechs Merquise was no amateur at basketball and she suspected that he was good at most other sports too. No wonder the girls fell head over heels for him.

The water was so welcoming that she didn’t want to leave but she had to, there were classes soon and she would also need to get changed. Reluctantly, she turned off the taps, wiped herself dry and pulled on her clothes. With her feet still wet, she decided to step out and put on her shoes on the benches. As she brushed her damp hair, she heard the girls gossiping with one another. So this is where the girls gossip. At first I thought that well-educated people weren’t gossipers.

“Zechs is so handsome, I would melt if he held me in his arms.”

“I would too. He’s so gorgeous, if only he pair some attention to us.”

Lucretzia rolled her eyes and continued to stroke her brush through her wavy short hair.

“You know that guy with the cap…?” Another girl muttered, seeming quiet hesitant to speak on. The raven-haired girl listened intently to their conversation. “He seems so cute. I think I like him.” Lucretzia nearly choked on the air entering her body. The girl liked her? Now that was way out of the picture. She burst out laughing, her laughing fit getting the better of her. Curiously, a girl poked her head around the corner and looked at her.

“Excuse me Miss but… are you alright?”

Lucretzia paused, causing some silence. “Sorry, I was just laughing to myself. I didn’t mean to interrupt your conversation.” Hurriedly, she grabbed her bag and left for the locker rooms, a rosy red tone on her cheeks. As she approached the empty locker room, she sighed and slung her bag over her shoulder, carrying it by the strap. Who would’ve thought that that Zechs Merquise was this good? He wasn’t especially big or anything but well built and tall. Placing her bag on top of her locker, she opened the locker and leaned her head against the door, the solid wood against her forehead. Suddenly, she heard footsteps and slowly lifted up her head. Walking towards her was Louie, his bag in one hand.

“Hey Lu,” he muttered, rather casually.

“Hey Lou… ie. How did your basketball game go?” she asked cheerfully.

“Another victory for us. Where were you at lunch? I thought that you were coming to watch.” Gently, he placed his bag above his locker, being opposite to Lucretzia’s. He collected his books from his locker and piled them onto his arm.

“Sorry about that, I went off to the library for a book and tomorrow I think I’m going to start the assignment so I don’t think I’d be able to watch your game tomorrow or Friday but I promise I’ll be there next Monday.”

“Sure thing.” Noticing the young gentleman picking up his books, Lucretzia followed suit and grabbed her Geography books. “What do you have now?”

“Geography, you?”

“Same, with Mr Lenker right?”

Lucretzia nodded and closed her locker door. “It seems as if we’re in many subjects together.” She gave him a gleeful smiled and walked to the exit. As she turned around, she noticed his startled face. “Come on Louie, we’re going to be late if you don’t make a move.”

Something about this girl reminded him of his little sister, the same cheerfulness and innocence. Surely she wasn’t the basketball player and even if she was, he would be on her side. “Coming,” he responded, snapping out of his trance.

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A/N: There, that’s another chapter done! I’m getting over the writer’s blockS yay! Hope you like this chapter, it’s nearly 3000 words long and Zechs is in it… ^^. (I’m pretty proud coz I can NEVER write long chapters, I know it’s irritating but I run out of things to type.) And of course, Louie doesn’t like Noin the way most would suspect. It’s ‘brotherly’ love ok? Hehehe, loving your reviews! *hint hint, nudge nudge*

Chibi Tsuki ^.^

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