KH: Ficlet: Part 1 (a)

[size=1][justify]“He’s arrived at last,” the headmaster said as he gazed out the window. Below, students of the academy milled about as they chatted before class started. The corner of his mouth twitched in a smirk as he watched one particular student.

“You said that the last time,” commented the other occupant in the office. “What makes you think this one will be any different?”

“You have such little faith.” The headmaster shook his head in show of disappointment.

The other man walked over to stare out the window. “He doesn’t look like much. Taking him out would be easy.”

“You underestimate him. You haven’t even seen what he’s capable of yet.”

The man snorted. “You haven’t either. He’s still oblivious to everything.”

The headmaster smirked. “For now, all you have to do is wait. Soon, he’ll be just another pawn playing right into my plans.”

The man sneered distastefully.

[center]---[/center]

Sora gazed up at the academy from the entrance gate. A hint of fear entered his eyes. What was he doing at a place like this? The True Heart Academy was for the elite, geniuses, and those with superior natural gifts, child prodigies. And Sora was none of that. He knew he didn’t belong here. He wouldn’t fit in with the rest of the students. The academy’s grade point average was going to take a serious hit with him here. Sora wasn’t sure what he planned to do with his life, but he hardly expected the glowing invitation to attend the True Heart Academy. He was packed and shipped off before he could wrap his head around it. Even now, standing before the academy, he still couldn’t understand what he was doing here.

He took a deep breath and stepped through the gate. A cold shiver ran down his spine, and Sora shuddered. Something about the academy unsettled him, but he could place what it was.

Squeals from giddy girls tore Sora from his thoughts. He didn’t have time to react before a swarm of girls rushed by him. They pushed and shoved him, and Sora stumbled about until they passed him and he landed flat on his face. Sora pushed himself onto his knees and rubbed at his sore nose. [i]What a great day this is turning into[/i], he thought sarcastically. He started to climb to his feet when a hand reached down to him. Sora blinked then lifted his head. The petite, red haired girl smiled down at him. Sora accepted the hand and got to his feet.

“Sorry about that,” the girl said and glanced toward the mob of girls. “They go a bit crazy whenever they see him.” She turned back to him and looked him over. “You’re new here. I’m Kairi.” She held out her hand to him.

Sora reached back and scratched the back of his head in mild embarrassment. He stuck out like a sore thumb, like he knew he would. It didn’t help that he was dressed in an old pair of torn jeans and a loose shirt while everyone else wore their uniforms. “Sora.” He shook her hand. “Um,” he looked around, “and I’m a bit lost.”

Kairi hid a giggle behind her hand. “I can show you to your dorm.”

Sora grinned widely. Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad here after all, if he could make a friend in Kairi. He followed after her as she led the way to his dormitory after he told her to which one he was assigned. “So what exactly was that with those girls going all gaga?”

Kairi sighed, shaking her head. “They’re a fan club that likes to call themselves The Silvers because of their love for all the silver haired boys here.” She rolled her eyes in clear disgust of their fan club. “It’s really kind of ridiculous.”

Sora cringed and was glad that he didn’t have silver hair. “I think I’ll keep clear of them.”

Kairi laughed. “That’s usually for the best. Sadly, they don’t seem to care about the inconvenience they cause for the people they pretty much stalk.” She halted in front of a building. “And here we are.”

Sora stared up at the tall dormitory. He gulped. “Is this place really a school?” The dormitory looked more like a five star hotel. Not that he really knew what a five star hotel looked like since he came from a small island town. But this place was way beyond anything he could have imagined.

Kairi bit her lip, like she was trying not to laugh. “Yeah, they have a lot of rich families that donate to it.” She checked her watch. “Ack! I’m going to be late. I’ll see you around, Sora!” She waved then hurried off to her class.

Sora waved after her, still stunned into silence. He wondered how he would ever learn his way around this place. The campus was huge! He sighed and adjusted the strap of his bag on his shoulder. Then he got up the courage to enter the dormitory. His classes didn’t start until tomorrow, so he could take the day to settle in and unpack. He headed up to the right floor then searched for his room. He wasn’t sure whether to be relieved or disappointed that his roommate would be in class. As much as he wondered what his roommate would be like, he worried they wouldn’t get along. This place definitely put him out of his comfort zone.

“Whoa,” Sora breathed out after he opened the door to his room. It was larger than he expected. He thought it would be a single room with two beds. But this had a little communal area and two separate bedrooms. He glanced into one of the rooms, but it was obviously his roommate’s room. Everything was neatly in its place with a few personal items displayed on the walls and desk. Sora backed out of the room. “Great. I’m living with a neat freak,” he mumbled as he walked toward the other room. Sora was never a very neat person. His mother always yelled at him about cleaning his room. Maybe he could manage to keep his room clean if he got everything put away neatly from the start.

With that in mind, he set to work putting away his things. He didn’t really have all that much to unpack, only the two bags of clothing and some necessities that he brought with him. The books that he needed for class were provided for him and already placed neatly on a bookshelf above his desk. And a couple of uniforms hung on hangers in the closet. Everything that he needed was given to him by the academy, and he wondered if that was normal. After he finished unpacking, Sora decided to change out of his regular clothes. Since he had the rest of the day free, he thought he would explore the campus. But he didn’t want to stick out anymore than he knew he would. He dressed in one of the uniforms provided and looked himself over in the full length mirror on the back of the closet door.

“I’m never going to fit in here,” Sora groaned, tugging on his undone tie. He had never had to wear one before and had no idea how to tie it. His parents never taught him, and he was pretty sure his father didn’t even own one. The tie was pale blue and white plaid, matching the pants of his uniform. And he looked stupid in it. “Argh!” He scratched his hands through his hair in a moment of frustration. Then with a sigh, he dropped his arms. This whole thing made him feel tightly wound with worry and nervousness, and that just wasn’t the usual Sora. He put on a smile, feeling better after getting that little outburst out of his system. Then he left his room.[/justify][/size]