The sun reached its fingers into the open window. In the bed was a sleeping girl, her brown hair falling in cascades over the blankets. She opened her eyes and blinked, staring at the light that had spread across her bed. 15 years in an orphanage and she was free... free to provide her own funds for her high school education and house. After attending the local middle school with permission from the orphanage supervisors, she had grown a lot more confident. She also couldn't believe it was the first day of school. She felt a pressure on her legs and saw her brown kitten, sleeping by her feet and purring softly. She laughed and managed to leap out of bed, her long white nightgown trailing behind her. She stood in front of the mirror, surveying her tired eyes, and sighed. After changing into her new school uniform, she braided her waist-length waterfall of chocolate-colored hair. Taking one glance at her mirror, she stroked her sleeping cat a few times and then headed downstairs. She began to brew some decaf coffee, noticing how early it was. 6:00 AM, two hours before school began, and she felt sleepy yet awake at the same time. It was the first time she felt alone, away from the children at the orphanage. She had been the only orphan to attend a normal middle school, and some had thought she thought she was better than them. She watched as the coffee dripped into her black mug, yawning. The sun was rising higher in the sky, as if being pulled by a slow-moving hand. 6:05; had 5 minutes really gone by? She pulled the hot mug from the brewer and blew on the hot liquid, feeling the warmth of the steam touching her face. She stood there; leaning against the wall, holding the heated mug in her hands, watching as the world slowly awoke. the girl thought to herself happily, taking a sip of her coffee. Her garden was in more bloom than it ever had been. Provided with trust funds from her lost-long parents, Rose Opal was comfortable and happy. Now, as she looked out on the garden, she felt blessed. She took another long sip of her coffee. Rose set the mug down on the table and walked over the cabinet. She opened it and took out a loaf of bread. Setting it on the counter, she walked over to the refrigerator and took out the cube of butter on a plate. Sliding a piece of bread into the toaster, Rose heard a soft "meow." Laughing quietly, Rose bent down and scooped the little brown cat that had rubbed against her leg. "Comet, you rascal you," Rose murmured, stroking the cat's soft fur. "Can't you sleep longer than 10 minutes so I can get away?" Comet, showing his pink tongue and teeth, yawned; Rose giggled and patted his head. She set Comet back down on the floor and heard the "Ding" of the toaster. Gingerly taking out the hot bread, she heard Comet leap up onto the table and sniff at her coffee. She placed the bread down and snatched the cup before Comet could take an inquisitive lick. "Oh no you don't," she whispered to him. He meowed in protest as she took the mug away from him. "No, coffee just isn't your beverage." She started to spread butter on the toast, watching it melt like a golden pool. Taking a bite, she sat down with her coffee and petted Comet, who was looking unhappy about the coffee being Rose's instead of his. The next hour and 15 minutes was spent finishing breakfast, rinsing the plate and glass, packing up her school supplies, and working in the garden (the garden part took most of the time). Rose slid her book bag over her shoulder and closed the door behind her, hearing another meow of protest from her cat. She waved to his figure in the window and headed down the sidewalk. 7:45, and the world had slowly but surely awakened. Rose hurried, worrying that 15 minutes might not be enough time to make it to the high school. The sound of talking filled Rose's ears as the school building towered above her. She shivered a little, seeing groups of girls and boys file into the doors. She quickly slipped in, avoiding the eyes of people. She had been at the middle school, so a few calls met her ears. "Hey, Rose! Did they let you out of the orphanage?" "Rose Opal? Hi! You're at our school!" "Are you in Honor English first period, Rose?" Rose simply waved as the 5-minute bell rang. She took out her card and checked the door in front of her. Room 405 was indeed her Honor English first period class. She opened the door cautiously and stepped in. Almost all the students were seated; Rose's eyes only sought out a few empty desks. She slid into an empty desk next to a tall, red haired girl who she recognized but did not remember her name. The redhead smiled shyly at her, seeming to try to give Rose a hint about her identity. The teacher, a stiff woman with short silver hair, stepped to the front behind her desk and stood there like a stick as the bell rang. The students, seeming to be used to this kind of thing, listened to the announcements, then turned to the front to face their teacher. "Greetings, class. I am Mrs. Wyatt, your English Teacher. To begin with, why don't we go around the classroom and introduce ourselves? Your first and last name, and what you hope to learn in this class, please." Mrs. Wyatt's eyes fixed on a small girl with long dark hair. She stood up quickly and announced, "I'm Leena McCain and I want to learn more about writing poetry." There were a few murmurs as the girl, dusting off her uniform, sat back down. A tall, brown haired boy stood up as Leena turned to look at him. "I'm Greg Alvertex and I need to work on essay skills." A girl named Kyra Liki and a boy named Daniel Yukat followed, and then Rose saw the tall redhead stand up. Jocelyn caught a glimpse of the yellow bows holding the girls' hair and then smiled encouragingly at her. "I'm Phoebe Martin, and I'm ready for anything this year." Rose remembered the girl almost immediately. Phoebe Martin had been teased because of her height, with Rose being one of the only ones to stand up for her. Rose hadn't seen Phoebe often because the girl, feeling shy, stayed inside a lot, not coming on the lunch grounds at all. Rose also recalled Phoebe being star of the volleyball team. Phoebe grinned at Rose as she sat down. A few more students introduced themselves and Rose felt the gray eyes of Mrs. Wyatt stare at her. She rose to her feet. "I'm Rose Opal and I am, like Phoebe, also ready for anything this year." More whispers came and Rose caught the words of a few. "I heard a lot of people liked her, but they weren't really friends."

"Think I can be her friend? I might find out why she is so good at writing!"

Rose plopped down in her seat, suddenly feeling weary. She hated the whispers and the fake friendship of others just to find out how she played flute and sang well. Phoebe caught her sad look and winked, making Rose manage a small smile. The class finished the roll call and Mrs. Wyatt began a study of verbs. Rose, yawning, leaned back, her braid nearly hitting the person behind her. What she really wanted to do in English was write fiction. She loved the assignments where you wrote satire, plays... "Rose, what is this verb?" "Huh? Oh yes..." Rose looked at the chalkboard and studied the verb she was pointing at. "That's a helping verb." "Very good. Now Tina..." Rose heaved a sigh of relief and placed her elbows on the desk. She placed her chin on her fists, knowing if she drifted off into daydreams it could get her a bad participation grade. She raised her eyes to Mrs. Wyatt's pointing finger. Oh how she wished the bell would ring. The bell eventually did ring; a half an hour later Rose was ready to leave her desk and head to her next class. Just as she headed out the door a finger tapped her on the shoulder. She turned. It was Phoebe. "Do you have Room 506 Math next?" Phoebe asked quietly. Rose studied her card, and then lifted her eyes back to the face of the tall girl. "Yeah, I do. Hey, we can walk together! You're Phoebe Martin, right?" The two girls, side by side, talked cheerfully together. Rose discovered Phoebe's favorite subject, which was History, and her favorite gemstone, topaz. They slid into seats next to each other just as the bell sounded. At the time... Her fingers drummed on the marble pillar as she turned the corner of the empty palace. The stone was smooth and cold; she'd have to thank Diamond for letting her have such a magnificent palace...and Prince Diamond was ever so handsome too. Her white-blond hair brushed her neck as she turned. She wished her hair was longer...it was so boyish. But hair didn't really matter; as long as she destroyed the Sailor Senshi Prince Diamond would be happy. Her footsteps echoed throughout the deserted hallways as she opened the door. It groaned as she slammed it shut and turned on the light. Two girls were standing there, waiting for her. "Rage and Vengeance...I didn't expect you here," she murmured. "Pearl, the Senshi are very close at hand," the black-haired one, Rage, replied. "Just reach and they're right there..." "Oh shut up, Rage," the blonde, Vengeance, growled. "What she means, Mistress Pearl, is that we have spotted them in that city on Earth." Pearl smiled and stepped into the light. The two others, dressed in gray robes, turned to look at her. Pearl ran her fingers over the globe that had tracked down Sailor Moon and the Sailor Scouts. A malevolent smile spread over her face as she stepped back. A whirling white wind emerged from the globe. "Are you going, Pearl?" Rage asked. "That's a question with an obvious answer, Rage," Pearl answered coldly. "Take care." She stepped into the storm of power and vanished. "School is out," Rose cried, feeling happy. "I thought you would like to stay," Phoebe teased. "I always hate the first weeks...all review. Then we get to the interesting stuff." The two new friends walked down the hall, dodging the chatting students that barricaded their way out. Both talked happily about the mean P.E teacher and the easy math review. All their classes were together except for their elective; Phoebe had woodshop, which she hated, and Rose played flute in band. "What surprises me is that not a single boy has asked me out," Rose marveled, stopping at her locker and doing her combination. "Normally they tease me that way since some of them think I'm pretty." "You are," Phoebe complimented, eyeing Rose's long smooth braid and shining eyes. "Oh don't flatter me, Phoebe. I hate it when people tell me that...I start acting all vain. You're prettier than I am, and that's a fact." Phoebe blushed. "I'm glad you think I'm nice-looking, but you are too." Rose flung open the locker door and shoved her flute music in. Taking her math book out, she caught laughter down the hall. "What are they laughing about?" she murmured to Phoebe without turning her head. "Looks like that boy's telling a joke or something," Phoebe whispered back. Rose thrust the math book into her book bag and zipped the bag up. She raised her eyes up to a crowd of boys. A boy with gold-blonde hair was standing in the middle, talking quickly and waving his arms. Occasionally the boys would burst into laughter. Rose lifted her eyebrows at Phoebe, as if saying, "Boys are so immature." She swung the book bag carelessly and led Phoebe down the hall, trying to inch past the knot of guys. Suddenly the boy in the middle stopped talking and stared at Rose. His blue eyes studied her, his expression one of awe and curiosity. Feeling uncomfortable under the boys' glance, Rose turned her head and walked away, Phoebe at her heels. Immediately talking sprung up behind them. "Ooh...love at first sight, huh Sonny?" "Want to know her name, Sonny? That's Rose Opal. Ha, she's never going to look your way!" "You need her? Aw, poor you!" Rose rolled her eyes as the sounds of boys' chatter vanished like dew in the afternoon. Phoebe, however, was looking back at the boys, her eyes bright. "Rose, that's Sonny Gregorson from the private middle school! He's nice, I heard. Isn't he cute? I think he likes you!" Phoebe said this all in one breath. "Phoebe, he's probably one of those gossiping guys! Besides, he probably doesn't like me, and if he does, I don't need a lovey-dovey man on my arse," Rose snapped, walking ahead. "Really, Rose, he's quite the gentleman." "How do you know? He wasn't at our middle school!" "Yeah...but I heard girls talking about him." "Girls smirls. They probably love him. Oh, the martial arts center. That's my stop." Rose whirled around to face Phoebe and grinned. "See you tomorrow?" Phoebe smiled back. "Sure thing! Bye, Rose!" Phoebe crossed the crosswalk, leaving Rose to enter the building. She hadn't told anyone at school or at the orphanage, but she had been practicing karate etc at this place. Now she was a regular. She set her book bag down and snatched a white karate robe from up high. "Miss Opal! How nice to see you again." "Hello, Master Shin," Rose replied without looking behind her. "Go into the changing room and get ready. The other students will be arriving shortly," answered the rough voice of the karate master. Rose nodded and tucked the robe under her arm. She entered the changing room, changed, and went back out. To her great surprise there was Sonny Gregorson, taking a robe from the boys' side. "Whoa, he's fast," she thought, sitting down at the bench and watching him enter the men's changing room. Master Shin was busy directing the new students where to head. Rose was quite anxious, wanting to practice her new skills. In classes she would normally do a match with another student, using karate chops and kicks and other martial art moves. Since she was one of the intermediate pupils, she probably wouldn't have to face Sonny; she had never seen him in any of the classes before. But she did think Sonny was kind of cute... She shifted herself back and forth, growing impatient and wanting to practice a few kicks. She punched the air, then, bored, tugged on her braid. She watched as students emerged from the rooms, their robes on. She fingered her brown belt symbolizing she was intermediate; everyone knew blue was beginning, brown was intermediate, and black was advanced. Sonny, dressed in his robe, was the last to emerge from the boys' dressing room. Rose sought out the color of his belt and scowled. It was brown. she thought angrily. Master Shin stood in the middle of the room and clapped his hands three times. The swarm of people ran to the center, Rose following close behind. They all sat in a circle around Master Shin, who cleared his throat loudly and looked around. "I'm glad I have the opportunity to have you all here...welcome back," he began, looking around the room. "We will begin today with matches of the Intermediate Individuals. Boy against girl...and boys, girls are certainly not feminine in this class." The girls giggled. "Everyone clear to the sides." Rose sat down next against the wall watching everyone obey. "The first two will be Rose Opal and Sonny Gregorson." Rose glared as Sonny stood up. She rose to her feet, cracked her knuckles, and stepped to the center of the room. Sonny stood there, his head lifted high, and Rose blushed, seeing how handsome he really was. She plucked off the rubber band holding her braid and unraveled her hair, letting fall to her waist in the brown waves. He stared, and then clenched his fists. "Begin!" Master Shin cried. Like a furious tornado Rose rushed at Sonny and hit a karate kick at his thigh, knocking him down. She pounced on him, wrestling him. He punched out and she rolled to dodge the fist. Flipping up to his feet, he aimed a blow at her. She ducked her head and cast a low kick at his ankle. Soon both were on the ground, wrestling. She skidded away from his strike and he swung away from her punch. "Remember, concentrate on the weak point!" Master Shin encouraged Rose. "Ooh, I don't even want to think about your weak point," Rose growled at Sonny, slugging him in the arm. He grabbed her wrists with grips like iron and attempted to throw her down. Struggling, she kicked; her feet like a rabbit's hind legs, and nailed him in the waist. She was soon on top of him, tussling with him on the floor. For 10 seconds she had him pinned, and Master Shin clapped his hands four times. Rose, with beads of sweat on her forehead, stood up, her hair mussed and hanging over her face like a thick veil. She brushed it aside, breathing heavily, as Sonny rose to his feet. "Shake hands," Master Shin commanded. Sonny grasped her hand and shook it tenderly. "He was right about saying girls weren't feminine," he laughed. Letting go of her hand, he sat back down with the other girls. Rose plopped down next to the boys, feeling as if she was perspiring all over. "Good job, Rose," someone murmured in her ear. She nodded, not looking to see who it was. She ached all over; it seemed that even her hair hurt. "Next are Kayla Uban and Thomas Lotto..." Rose wasn't paying attention. Her eyes were fixed onto Sonny, whose chest was heaving up and down for breath. He was like a prince in a fairy tale; Rose didn't like it, but she knew the truth. She was in love with him. Shaking her head like she was coming out of a trance, she sighed. Why did she have to like him when one, she didn't know him and two, she didn't want to love anyone? And why did it feel like Sonny was looking at her? She daydreamed for the next hour; not knowing time was flying like a flock of eagles. The bell Master Shin used was ringing, and she quickly scrambled to her feet, planning to head for the changing room. She felt a hand on her shoulder and she turned to look into the face of (you guessed it) Sonny. "I wanted to say congratulations," he informed. Rose bobbed her head. "Thank you. It took a lot of hard work." The two stood in silence for a while. "You play flute, right?" Sonny asked awkwardly, breaking the silence. "Yeah... why?" Rose replied inquisitively. "I know a piano player, she's really good, but a lot of people mistake her for a boy. Anyways, if you ever needed an accompanist...here's her number." Sonny pulled out a piece of paper from his uniform pants, which he wore underneath his robe. He handed it to Rose, who smiled. "Thanks, Sonny. Say, would you like to join me at my house for some coffee?" "Sure. By the way, I wanted to also give you this,but it's closed really tight..." Sonny pretended to pull the rose from Rose's ear. She laughed softly, and then took it. To her surprise, the bud was closed, the petals stiff little blankets. She examined it and looked up at Sonny. "Why isn't it open?" "Well," Sonny began, thinking. "I got it just for fun, then I met you, matches your name doesn't it? But it was open. For some reason, while I was walking, it closed." "I don't know, " Rose touched the top of the bud softly. There was a flash of white light. When it stopped, the petals slowly unfurled, opening to create a beautiful blossom. The red petals swayed silently and suddenly froze. The sweet scent filled the air; Sonny and Rose stared at the newly opened bud in deep surprise. Rose, feeling a bit spooked yet pleased, twisted her hair back into a braid and slipped the rose into her hair. "Let me change, then we'll head for my house, ok?" she asked the stunned Sonny. "Sure..." he managed to gasp out. Rose disappeared into the changing room, got her robe off, and revealed her school uniform. She grasped the piece of paper with the phone number, grabbed her book bag, and headed back where Sonny was waiting. He smiled happily at her. "Shall we go, my lady?" he asked in a snobbish voice, holding his arm. "Yes, Lord Sonny, and we shall dine on coffee," Rose laughed, taking it. The two exited the martial arts center, chatting happily. But one question plagued Rose to no end...why had the rose opened when she touched it?