Bloom Shiba

"Are you nervous?"

Am I nervous? Am I nervous?! Of course I'm nervous! What kind of a question is it?!

"Just a little..."

Jayden smiled at me, casually leaning on his bike while my feet were dancing and my fingers were fidgeting with the straps of my bag.

"You'll do fine." Says the guy who has been homeschooled his whole life!

"You do know your shouting your thoughts at me, right?" I cringed. Telepathy... This happens every time I loose control. Gosh, it is so embarrassing!!

"You're still doing it," he remarked slowly. "That's 'cuz I'm nervous," I blurted out. "Do you know what is worse than being the new kid in middle of the semester? Knowing absolutely nothing about the schooling of the country! I'm a freaking foreign exchange student who is not actually an exchange student!"

"Come on!" He swatted at the air. "Education is a united front wherever you go."

I could feel my eyes twitch, my entire concentration on his face now. "OK!" He chuckled nervously. "Your eyes are turning red. How about we get you to the office and you can take it from there?"

Rolling my eyes, I turned around with a dramatic hair flip and started walking fast. He jogged behind me, trying to catch up.

Soon he was by my side, swinging his hand around my shoulder and ruffling my hair. I whined as I desperately tried to fix my hair. 

Once the official orientation was done, I said my goodbye to him as I headed to my locker with my assigned peer. She really wasn't that much of a help. All she did was talk real fast and point at the directions, finally leaving me alone. She didn't even tell me her name!

The place was completely new to me, seeming as if I was walking through a maze. Finding my locker proved to be tough but the locker combination proved to be tougher. The locker beside mine was empty apparently and mine was at the end of the wall. Good privacy, I guess. 

With my schedule in hand, I headed straight to the homeroom, bumping into students every once in a while, sorry being my constant mantra. I was made to introduce myself in homeroom and I wanted to die right there. Giving a brief, non-detailed introduction, I took it my mission to stay hidden for the rest of the day. 

That mission was a big time failure. During the break between the classes, I had the horrific occurrence of having to meet the school bully. A new girl from a different country with a slightly different yet manageable accent at a public school... why would she be a target for the bullies, right?

The problem wasn't that I was faced with a bully, it was that I had to encounter his entire gang.

One guy caught my attention. His eyes sparkled with mischief, his hair black, well maintained to look messy, metal chain hanging from his neck. He was somewhere between a typical skater and a rockstar. The reason he caught my attention wasn't because of his looks though, but because he didn't look like a bully. Mischievous, yes; bully? No. I wonder what made him join this gang. My eyes trailed towards the other members. Their dressing sense wasn't like his but it screamed rock band. Maybe that's why...

"Hey looser!" The bully yelled, getting my attention. "I said give me your bag."

"What do you actually want?" I muttered.

"You're. Bag." He started laughing hysterically and the rest of the crew followed suit. I don't get the joke.

"And what are you going to do with my bag? Take my books and do my homework?" I commented sarcastically and tried to weave past them but was pulled back as the ginormous idiot held my bag from behind. 

Now... I may not have proper samurai training like my brother, but I do know how to defend myself. Stamping his feet and punching his face, I immediately took off running. They tried to follow me but thank goodness I'm a fast runner.

Lunch hour came sooner than I had expected. The rumors about my little incident with the bully gang had already spread. Finding a lone table, I placed my food and plopped down on the seat.

"Hey," I heard a voice beside me. Soon, the clattering of tray followed as a girl placed her tray beside me. "Do you mind if I sit here?

"N-no, not at all," I said and clumsily made sure I wasn't hogging up space. 

"I'm Lia," she said as she took her seat. "Bloom," I said with a smile. 

"Well Bloom," she smiled while her eyes and hand concentrated on the food in front. "I've never seen you before. Are you new?"

I sighed deeply as I replied, "yeah, just moved in."

"That's great," she said with a mouthful. "OK don't get me wrong when I say this but is it just me or is everyone staring at us?"

I looked around to find that she indeed was right, a small mistake though. "They are not staring at you," I said slowly. "They are staring at me."

"Why?" She asked, genuinely looking confused. 

"I guess you didn't get the whiff of the rumor," I breathed out.

"What rumor?" Her eyebrows knitted. She was clearly about to ask more before someone interrupted her from behind. 

"Why are you sitting with her?" I heard a voice with a harsh tone. Turning around, I found... the same guy from the gang. "Why, what's wrong?" She asked him now.

"Because Tyson has a beef with her, that's why," he said through gritted teeth. 

"Oh that's what's going on! Oh you poor girl! You were attacked by bullies on your first day?" she said with a sympathetic face. 

"Li—" the boy started but Lia intervened. "Come on Jax! Those guys are bullies and you know it!"

Suddenly the guy, Jax, looked self aware of his surroundings as his tone filled with caution. "Li—"

But Lia wasn't giving up. "And you also promised me that your team would not hinder any of my friendships. He finally sighed in defeat. "Alright, but I'm sorry that I can't sit with you when you are with her."

"Fine," Lia said with determination. "I'll just meet you later."

And then they both kissed... What? I did not see that coming!!

After he left, she turned towards me with a smile on her face and laughed at my gaping mouth. "That's my boyfriend, Jax," she said nonchalantly. I still couldn't find my words. "I'm sorry if you got caught in his team's bullying. I'm not really encouraging of it, but he promised he would walk right off the team once he gains the experience that he needs. I really can't say no to his dreams, you know," she shrugged, her head turning to see her boyfriend sitting with few of the members I recognize from this team.

"What team is it?" I asked curiously. "Boy band," she sighed. "The Tygers."

"You really can't form a separate band in this school. This team would smell it out and crush them. The only way to start your music career here is by joining the team and, let me tell you, the process is not easy."

I nodded thoughtfully. Dictatorship seemed like a good word for this.

The conversation soon turned directions and turned out to be amazing. Despite our roles at the opposing sides, I actually found a good friend in her. We exchanged numbers and promised to meet up often. She even volunteered to show me around town sometime, though I'm not sure how I'm going to stick with the plan.

Finally, the day ended on a happy note with me finding a new friend. And I might have also found myself a rival, but I guess I wouldn't dwell on it now.

During the ride back home, I talked Jayden's ear off with the day's incidents. That guy has the patience level of a tree!

Finally reaching Shiba house, my eyes landed on the training area. A sense of longing gnawed within me. "Jayden?" I called. He hummed in reply. "Can you train me?"

"Train you as in..." His eyebrow raised. "As in...," I dragged, "samurai training. Maybe teach me how to combat, how to use a sword, a bit of a symbol power, you know... the stuff."

"I don't know, Bloom," he said shaking his head. "Sounds like a bad idea."

"Please Jay," I pleaded. "I'm a Shiba! And Shibas are warriors! What good will I do to its name if I don't even know how to lift a sword?"

"You don't have to be worried about the legacy. It has been well taken care of," he said sternly. 

"Jay—"

"Why are you so eager to throw away your chance for a normal life?" He seemed angry now, though I don't think the anger is actually meant for me. 

I walked closer and placed my hand on his arms. He seemed to calm a little. "Jayden look, I'm sorry. I just didn't wanna feel left out. It's just training. I promise that it won't be anything more. Teach me for my self defense atleast."

Ji was listening to all this silently from the door. I could here his finger tap on his staff. Jayden finally sighed. "I'll ask Ji and let you know," he said. "He's right there," I confessed. "Why don't you ask him?"

Jayden's head immediately turned towards the door, catching the eyes of Ji who had now walked out. Both of us looked at him expectantly. 

"I think that is a great idea."

I smiled.