Sailor Moon Fan Fiction ❯ A Normal Teenager ❯ Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I don't own Sailor Moon and its characters. Got it? Good.

Summary: She grew up a star, and now is Serenity Blair's chance to be a falling star. She'll hang out with normal people and live life in an upscale boarding school…at least for a month, and maybe fall in love. That is, if she can gain the right attention of the ever popular Darien. It's hard when she has to play the role of school nerd, Serena Claire, Darien's favorite person to torment.

A Normal Teenager (02/-)

By: Lillian

What had Luna been thinking?

It was teen suicide to start at a new school, and even more so to start at the middle of the year. Cliques were already formed and locked in their positions, no one bothering to offer their hand in friendship. Did Luna expect her to be a social outcast?

Well, she should have known better than that. Serenity Blair was a bubbly persona, making friends wherever she went. Yet, she no longer was Serenity Blair. Would it be more difficult now to make new friends than before? Surely students didn't concern themselves with how other people looked and their personal background… right? They would like to be her friend, despite her new looks… right?

Walking smoothly through the hallways towards her first class, she could hear the chattering of the other students. They were nice, she had to admit, but all of them acted like strangers. No one so far had made the stretch to be her friend. No one offered to lead her to her classes. And best yet, no one even hinted to the in's and out's of the school. How was she supposed to act like one of them if already she was deemed a social outcast?!

`Deep breath Serena Claire,' she said to herself. She closed her eyes, focusing on the task at hand. She was to be an intelligent young woman. Perhaps she would raise her hand to answer all the questions. Maybe she'll even ask more questions than answer. Would that prove to everyone that she was smart?

Smack. The books she cradled within her arms fell to the floor, and she, herself, careened backwards. Her eyes flew open and made contact with enthralling dark blue eyes, a look of surprise etched on the young man's face. Reflexively he reached out to grab her, and soon found herself in an awkward standing position. Blushing, she stood up straighter and eyed her savior curiously. Her heart did flip-flops. The guy could have been a super model! He made Brad Pitt look ordinary.

Yet his once concerned face immediately turned into that of cruel amusement. "Watch where you're going, clumsy girl. You could hurt yourself. Better yet, some one else."

She bit her lip, trying her hardest not to cry. So what if the first guy she ran into turned out to be a jerk, and a gorgeous jerk at that. That wouldn't let her down. She quickly picked up her books, wishing she had a bag to stuff them into. The young man was still there, eyeing her curiously.

"You're new," he blandly stated.

Serena took a deep breath, trying her hardest not to retort to his stupid comment. It was best just to ignore him. She sidestepped him and continued her way to her next class. If she remembered correctly, it was to be math in room 213. Now, if only she knew where room 213 was. Staring at the doors nearest her, their painted numbers read 257 and so on, only growing larger as she continued further. She groaned, knowing she had to turn around and pass the obnoxious man, no boy, once again.

He was looking at her amusedly when she turned around and looked at him. He held not a single book, his arms crossed instead and a cocky grin on his face. "Are you lost, new girl?"

"And if I am?" she replied softly. She had decided that Serena Claire was a soft-spoken, even-tempered student, who was kind to others. She refused to let the dark haired student get the best out of her.

The warning bell rang, making her feel anxious. She didn't want to be late for her first class.

"Think you could help me find room 213?" she asked politely, readjusting the books within her arms from falling.

"It's your lucky day," he said, smiling broadly. "I so happen to be going there myself. Just follow me." He started strolling down the hallway, but stopped in his tracks and faced her again. "Just stay ten feet away from me. I wouldn't want anyone getting the wrong idea."

Serena huffed. "And just what is that supposed to mean?" she asked, indignant.

He winked. He was such a flirt! "I have my own reputation to worry about. Not yours, new girl."

She shook her head. Keeping calm was harder than she thought. "I have a name you know."

"And if you don't hurry up, you'll soon be known as Late Girl too." He quickened his pace and turned down a corridor. She ran to catch up to him, braided pigtails trailing behind her.

"Care to tell me what's your name?" she asked casually once she reached his side. The both of them were practically running now. Just another minute till the bell rang.

"Darien Shields, but you can call me Gorgeous," he smirked.

"Drop dead," Serena grumbled to herself.

Darien laughed. "Drop dead gorgeous. Yes, I know." He gave her a wink again, this time causing a few giggles from the girls they passed by.

"They all love me," he stated, noticing Serena staring at the girls.

Serena rolled her eyes. "I'm sure they do Shields, sure they do." She couldn't help but agree with him, secretly of course.

* * *

"Class, we'll be having a new student join us today. Miss Claire?" the teacher called out from in front of the classroom.

Serena sank lower in her seat and mumbled a "here". Her fellow classmates laughed.

"Come now, Miss Claire. In the front dearest, and come introduce yourselves to your peers." The teacher nudged her glasses up more to her nose and raised her eyebrows. "Hurry now, dear. I'll be needing to start the class soon."

"Do I have to?" Serena asked weakly. Serenity Blaire wouldn't have mind on going in front of the classroom. After all, Serenity Blaire was always the star. But no, Serena Claire didn't like to be in the limelight, and she just had to remember that.

"Unless you really don't want to… I don't force my students to do anything they don't want," the teacher replied after awhile.

"I don't want to do my homework!" a guy in back of her yelled out.

The teacher frowned. "That's improper behavior Mr. Chase. This is a private institution, and we pride ourselves with our well mannered students."

"Does that mean I don't have to do it?" the boy now known as Mr. Chase called back.

"Do that and you'll receive a nasty letter from your parents," the teacher warned. That made the boy shut up fast. "Now, since Serena Claire doesn't wish to introduce herself, I'll tell you a bit about her. After all, we're a family here at Orcyrde Academy." The teacher picked up a folder, which probably contained facts about Serena.

"Serena Claire lives in California and used to attend," the teacher wrinkled her nose, "some lesser school than ours, that's for sure." She looked up at Serena and gave her a sympathetic look. `Public school?' she mouthed, shaking her head at the same time.

Serena's hands were formed into tight fists, hidden from view under her desk. The finest scholars around the world had taught her! Well, they taught Serenity Blaire at least.

"Gained a full scholarship to our beloved school," the teacher blared on.

Serena could hear the snickers from around the room. Great, she was in a room with a bunch of snobs, rich snobs at that.

"Highest ranking in her school," the teacher continued on.

"That's enough!" Serena stood up from her seat, cheeks turning a bright red. "I mean, please stop. I'm sure the students know enough about me as it is," she said with her meek voice.

The teacher stared at her in shock. The class's snickering grew louder. Darien Shields, who sat next to her, threw a rolled up piece of paper into her hair. Serena wanted to scream, but decided against it. She took to her seat and folded her hands on top of her desk, waiting for the teacher to begin.

The rest of the class quieted down and waited as well while the teacher gained her bearings back.

"Alright class, turn your books to page 63. We'll be learning-What is it Mr. Shields?" the teacher asked, exasperated.

"I forgot my book Professor Anthony," he said. He glanced over to Serena and winked.

Professor Anthony waved her hand. "Maybe one of your neighbors will be kind enough to share with you then. Please, Mr. Shields, remember to bring your book next time. I would hate for this to become a daily occurrence."

"Of course," Darien smiled sweetly, moving his desk next to Serena's. Serena wrinkled her nose in disgust as she moved her book in-between the crack of the two desks.

"Don't hog my book Shields," she hissed.

"Wouldn't dream of it, new girl," he replied. He focused on the board soon after, making Serena angry for some reason.

"I'm not sure if you know this Serena, but you're supposed to stare at the board, not at me," Darien whispered to her, still staring rapturously at the board as the teacher wrote notes. "Not that I mind, of course. I know I'm irresistible."

She blushed. Stupid Darien Shields. She picked up her pencil and instead of writing down the notes, began drawing stick figures of Darien and writing `stupid' among other things above it's head.

Darien so happened to take a peek at what she was writing and began to laugh. The teacher merely gave them a warning glance, and then went back to her lesson.

"Are you sure you're not supposed to be in level 3, new girl? This is an advanced math class, a very hard advanced math class might I add, and you're not even paying attention to the lesson."

Serena chanced a look at the board and gaped. On it were equations she never once saw before, almost like what the teacher was writing in a foreign language. She immediately closed her eyes and began to chant in her mind: Serena Claire is smart. Serena Claire is intelligent. Serena Claire knows what those funky equations are on the board. It just came upon her that she needed more than just acting to get through this. She needed knowledge, something she was sad to admit in having very little of. She cursed, wishing she had paid more attention to all her tutors, especially her math tutor.

"I studied this already in my old school," Serena replied confidently. "It's easy stuff."

Darien nodded as he donned a pair of silver rimmed glasses. "Yeah, I know what you mean. We did this back in our first year here. Professor Anthony just wants to review."

"So why are you writing everything down fervently?" Serena teased. Oh god! Was she flirting with him? No way, flirting with the spawn of Satan, she couldn't.

"For finals," he answered simply. "That and the weekly notebook checks. I'd remove those doodles and drawings and start writing the notes if I were you."

"Mr. Shields, perhaps you know the answer to problem 18?" Professor Anthony called out, disrupting their whispered conversation. "Or are you too busy talking with Ms. Claire to answer?"

Darien calmly stared at the problem, and then smirked. "That's pi over six."

The teacher nodded. "Miss Claire, number 20, if you please."

Serena gulped. What was written next to number 20 was sixty degrees. She looked at Darien's problem and saw thirty degrees. How did he get pi over six?

"Pi over three," a female voice whispered quietly to her. Serena turned towards the voice, seeing the quiet, blue haired girl for the first time. The girl had her head bowed down, staring into her textbook. She looked up at Serena, her eyes covered behind thick rimmed glasses, then immediately went back to stare at her book.

"The answer, Miss Claire? We don't have all day."

Serena faced the front of the room. "Pi over three?" she said unsurely.

The teacher nodded. "Miss Anderson…" the teacher continued to pick other students to answer the questions. The blue haired student, Miss Anderson, answered the question with ease.

"She's our year's valedictorian," Darien whispered to her. "Amy Anderson, one of the smartest students to grace our school's halls. Total bookworm. Usually she just keeps to herself."

"She sounds like me," Serena lied. "We'll be perfect friends, I'm sure."

"Amy Anderson with friends? I doubt you can get close enough to her anyways. That girl surrounds herself with books, not friends."

Serena rolled her eyes. "I'm sure Amy and I can be best friends within a week."

"It's a bet then, pigtails." Darien grinned cheekily. "If you become friends with Bookworm Anderson by the end of this week, I'll do your math homework for a month without complaints."

Serena's eyes widened. This was just the escape she needed from math class. "And you'll help me with math tests as well," she said steely. "That or no deal."

He shook his head but continued smiling. "Deal."

"And what happens to me if I lose?" Serena asked curiously.

"Everyone, including the teachers, calls you new girl," he replied.

Serena raised her eyebrows. That sounded so simple. Why would she care if people called her new girl? She was new, after all. "Deal."

"Have fun losing, new girl," Darien said. He got up from his seat and raised his hand.

The teacher sighed. "Yes, Mr. Shields. What is it now?" It seemed this was a frequent occurrence by the way the teacher responded.

"My Mother is meeting with me in a few minutes," was all he had to say for the teacher to nod her head wearily.

"Yes, of course Mr. Shields. I wouldn't want to have Mrs. Shields wait too long." By the sound of it, Darien's mom had power over the teacher, maybe even throughout the school. Interesting.

Darien faced her and wink, just before he put on a disgusted look on his face. "Bye new girl. Next time, don't talk to me. In fact, don't sit so close to me. I know you think I'm drop dead gorgeous and all, but I already got a girlfriend." He winked at a group of girls in the classroom before exiting. Everyone in class began to laugh, staring at poor Serena as she sank further into her chair.

"That idiot, cocky… ugh!" she grumbled, glaring at the now closed door. Why did he have to do that for, she wondered.

"Settle down class!" Professor Anthony ordered. She shook her head when the others continued to laugh. "Turn to pg 90. You'll find tonight's homework, due tomorrow. Start it now if you wish," she ordered. Serena did as she was told, staring at the problems as if they were written in an alien language. Oh, she couldn't wait till she beat Darien.

After class had ended, Serena jogged to catch up to Amy Anderson. She wasn't just becoming friends with Amy for the bet; that was just a bonus. No, she wanted to become friends with the brainy girl because it was whom Serena Claire associated with. Smart people hang out with other smart people. As Serena Claire, she had to show her peers that she was a nerd. She winced. The class probably thought her one with Darien making fun of her already.

"Hey! Wait up!" Serena called, latching onto the other girl's arm. Amy jumped and immediately turned around. Serena took a deep breath and smiled. "Hi, I'm Serena."

"You scared me," the other girl said, blue eyes staring at her accusingly.

Serena blushed. "Err… Sorry about that."

"I already know about that bet Serena. I overheard you two talking back in class. There's no point in trying to win," Amy said quietly, a hurt expression on her face.

Serena immediately felt terrible. She never wanted to hurt this girl's feelings. "I'm so sorry. It's just that I needed help with my math homework and that idiot kept bugging me… Please, I really do want to be friends with you. It's hard being the new girl and not knowing anyone."

"You seem to know Darien Shields pretty well. He kept on talking to you," Amy coldly pointed out.

Serena shook her head. "It seems he only likes to pick on me."

"I'm sorry Serena. You seem like a nice person, but I'm not sure if I can trust you," Amy silently admitted. Abruptly she turned away and hurried off to her next class.

Serena stared after her, completely floored. Surely she could have be more convincing than that? She was an actress for god's sakes! Why, Amy should be jumping for joy to be her friend, especially after she had apologized. She could just imagine Darien with devil eyes pointing and laughing at her.

"You just wait Amy Anderson, you'll be my best friend in no time." She pushed away the image of the taunting Darien from her mind. She didn't know where this sudden rivalry popped up, but she couldn't just lose a bet to Darien. He already made a fool out of her twice. A third time would be degrading. "And you just wait, Shields. You'll be doing my homework and tests for me… with pleasure." An evil grin sprang from her lips as she skipped off to her next class, humming the doom song under her breath.

Author's Notes: Thanks Krys for beta reading this. *hugs* As for everyone else, thank you so much for the feedback. I hoped you enjoy, and do review. ^_~