| Rei's Retaliation |
| By: Rei Hino |
| It was a boring rainy day at Juuban High. Rei Hino, 14, recited the day's homework to herself and jotted it down on her thick, graffiti-filled notebook. "Let's see. I have four problems to do in math, nothing in english, an exam to study for in art, and I guess that's it!" Class was almost over and it consisted of a free Friday full of relaxation and fun. Numerous eyes stared cautiously at the coral-blue clock that hung freely on the concrete wall. A golden silence lingered upon the entire classroom as the clock slowly ticked. Rei, an academically gifted individual and a very talented musician, was everything but ordinary. Destined to have supernatural powers, she vowed that her powers should only be used for good, and not for violence. She had the ability to disperse flame and fire from her fingers, but to do this required her to transform herself. She carried a little power stick with the symbol of Mars engraved on top of it to help her transform into a superhero - whenever it was time to right wrongs. However, this was Rei's secret and it was to be kept confidential. "Ouch!" Rei squealed. "What was that?" Something had hit her on the head. She quickly ran her fingers through her long, silky, black hair and retrieved a small, wadded piece of paper. She angrily whirled around in her seat and glared at everyone in the classroom trying to see who the culprit was. "Who did that?" she asked. A burst of laughter responded. Rei began to swell in the face. "Well, who did it?!" she demanded. "Do you have a problem with it, wimp?" an obese girl with brown, stringy hair chuckled. "Because if you have something to say, SAY IT!" Rei realized that the bully was sitting right behind her. "Oh, no," Rei said to herself, "she's sitting behind me!" Rei began to panic and perspire. Her cheeks ignited into a red color, and her entire body began to tremble. "Come on bell, RING!" Thump. Rei felt another object smack her on the head. She didn't dare to turn around. Snickering flooded the entire room. She began to cry, and a tear trickled down her cheek. Ding! Ding! Ding! The bell rung at exactly three O'clock and the class was dismissed. Rei waited until everyone left the room before leaving. However, another paperwad was launched and plopped on her head. She knew that Miss Miko, her teacher, noticed the incident and failed to take action. Slowly, but cautiously, as if the halls were highways, Rei left the room giving one last look of disappointment to her teacher. Rei dreaded entering the hallway and the event later that evening. "Oh, no, I almost forgot," she whispered to herself. "I have to play my piano piece tonight at the ball game." Rei was scheduled to play a keyboard piece titled, "Eien no Melody," at the school's annual basketball game. Everyone was going to be there, including herself. "If only I could use my powers on them," she thought. "They would know not to mess with me." As she walked through the crowded hallway, people began to stare. "Hey, look! There she is! It's the nerd!" someone cried. Everyone began laughing. Rei began to walk faster. Thump! Rei tripped. She was face to face with the dirty asphault. As she pulled herself up, she noticed a long leg attached with a foot. Someone had deilberately made her fall. The laughter exploded. "Figures," she thought. Rei proceeded to the bus, her mind clouded with humiliation and embarrassment. She sat down. Once home, she prepared for the game. Rei arrived at Juuban Hight at six in the evening. The game was about to begin. She got out of her car and entered the school. Dressed in casual jeans and a yellow button-up shirt, Rei shuffled into the auditorium with her music in one hand, and her keyboard in the other. It was packed; ants of people located in every quadrant of the auditorium. Television cameras and their crew were also there. Rei began to panic, hoping that no one would notice her. She began to shake savagely as she walked in solitude across the floor. The auditorium was so loud, pumped up for the game, that she could barely concentrate. "Come on, don't fall," she commanded to herself. "Don't be a clutz." Suddenly a person screamed, "There she is! Get her! Don't let her come up here!" Rei hurried to the steps to get seated, her keyboard slipping out of her grasp. Push! Thump! Rei was shoved down the steep steps. She plunged down the steps, rolling over onto the waxed hardwood floor. Her body began pulsing with immense pain. An array of laughter flooded the auditorium. She could barely think, see, or stand. For about a minute she lay motionless. Everything was becoming a blur. This was surely a living nightmare. The humiliation took full capacity of Rei. She couldn't take it anymore. "That's it! That's IT!" Rei screamed. She slowly rose to her feet. "I am a person! I know that people see me as an outcast, but I don't care! You have no right to treat me this way! And now, so be it, you'll pay for my pain!" The crowd grew silent. The crickets' singing and the frogs' chirps outside couldn't be heard that spring night. Wondering and curiousity plagued the audience. Rei pulled out her power stick and raised it sternly in the air. The television cameras were still rolling. "Mars star power, make-up!" she shouted. She immediately started to transform. Threads of energy surrounded her as she spun in the air. Once finished, Rei was gleaming with orbs of energy. The audience gawked. "Now, who wants to go first?!" People began scurrying out of the auditorium, clumsily falling over one another. "Mars flame sniper!" she cried, and released an arrow composed of pure fire from her gloved hands. People began screaming as if it were the end of the world. However, some people were actually managing to escape. To stop this action Rei called, "Akuryo taisan!" This was a technique used to stun everyone. Ancient writing inscribed on papyrus strips clinged to everyone in the crowd, freezing them in the position they were in. No one was able to run away. The flames grew larger as time passed. "That's what you get," she calmy said and began to stroll out of the building. "Wait," she thought. "This isn't right. I shouldn't have used my powers like this!" She shuffled back into the auditorium and cried, "Mars fire inverse!" The flames died down and eventually disappeared. Everyone began to move again. They all stared at Rei and knew that they shouldn't have underestimated her. There was a silence, a very long and cold silence that danced in the auditorium. Only the clicking of Rei's shoes were heard as she left the building, the past, and dissolved into the night. |