Snippet #2046378

As the black cab pulled up in front of the school, the driver swiftly parked it and moved to open the door - an understandable action, considering that it was only basic courtesy to clear the way for his passenger - but Yuki gave a wry smile and opened it herself, stepping out into the fresh morning air.

"That won't be necessary," the young heiress said, brushing back her flowing white hair as she took in her surroundings, her acute amber gaze sizing up the facility before her. It was, in all regards, thoroughly ordinary. It was not overly fancy, with very compact grounds that nonetheless served their purpose, and several buildings designed clearly with an eye toward utility rather than aesthetics. The people who bustled about, preparing for the first classes of the day, were similarly ordinary. There were no school staff assigned to serve them, or anything similarly pompous and preposterous. And, while this sort of normality was something entirely foreign to the young prodigy of the Mashiro family line... Yuki had to say, it was exactly what she had expected, and it would serve her purposes perfectly.

"I don't want to make my first impression one of a spoiled, lazy brat, so there's no need to act with VIP protocol in mind. What you have already done is perfectly satisfactory. Return to the manor and your ordinary duties. I'll take the train home," she directed, taking some slight amusement at the man's surprise at receiving such unorthodox directions.

"Y-yes miss," he said quickly, nodding and closing the door once again. "I'll have the staff notified, then."

"Good. Now go." Turning away as she spoke, Yuki didn't bother to watch the car turning back into the road and speeding away. She had much more important matters to deal with.

.....

Entering the school calmly after depositing her shoes at the front entrance, changing them out for the standard pair of snug black slippers, she glanced about. Most students had already gone to their classes, which meant she would be at ease to get her directions to the class. If she recalled correctly, she was supposed to meet her new teacher in the lobby, to be taken and introduced to the class. Well, that probably meant the man in the suit waving at her was her contact, now didn't it?

"Good morning!" He hailed as she strode briskly up to him, her face a calm, composed mask. "You must be Miss Mashiro." Yuki noted with some slight amusement tempered by irritation that he was addressing her in an awfully respectful manner for someone who was supposed to be under his care and guidance.

"I am indeed. Please, if it would suit you, dispense with the formalities and refer to me in whatever manner you are accustomed. I came here to be educated, not to be pampered, although I'm pleased to see that paid employees aren't the only ones in the practice of employing good manners. Thank you for that." She, too, did her best to utilize formal speech with only a touch of her usual wit and sarcasm - something that came rather naturally (Minus the no sarcasm part) to her, considering that it was the style in which she addressed other people almost constantly.

The man laughed, and extended his hand as a more cordial means of greeting, giving a slight, customary bow. "Very well then, Mashiro-san. I'm Takahashi Masao. I'll be your homeroom and mathematics teacher this year. It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance."

"Yours as well, Takahashi-sensei," Yuki said with a slight smile, shaking his outstretched hand and returning the gesture with a similar, ever-so-slight bow of her own.

"So, shall we go? Most of the class has already arrived, and homeroom begins in five minutes. I'll lead the way," the teacher offered, and giving a nod, Yuki accepted, following his lead as he began taking her up a flight of stairs. Most of the classrooms seemed to be on the second floor, from what she could tell, so this was no surprise.

Still, Yuki mused, it was going to get awkward if everyone tried to address her in such an unnecessarily respectful manner. It was obvious that they were simply putting on airs to impress her, and she didn't need an ego-stroking, nor did she even really care all that much. Already, she was finding it hard to maintain this composed, mild-mannered and polite persona, having to resist the urge to make a sarcastic remark almost every time she opened her mouth. This bad after five minutes? Yeah... she could tell that this probably wasn't going to end very well.

"Here we are," Masao said, stopping at one of the many classroom doors lining the halls and shattering her reverie like glass. The room in question had windows pointed out into the hallway made of somewhat distorted - especially on the inside - blocky glass, meaning she got a fairly good view of the classroom, although they probably could only see her in silhouette. She glanced over its occupants, as though expecting to recognize some of them, but really she was simply trying to size up their behavior as a possible omen of how she might be treated.

Many of them wore their uniforms very casually, seating themselves on top of their desks and chattering away amicably. Well, judging by the very casual atmosphere, perhaps things might not be so bad as she had initially feared? This gave her a little more faith in her ability to withstand the storm of inquiries that would doubtless assail her the moment she finished introducing herself, and so she smiled calmly, composing herself as the teacher opened the door and stepped in.

"Good morning, everyone," He greeted cheerily, in the same manner as he had hailed her in the lobby - that chipper attitude and upbeat greeting seemed to be his trademark, from what she could tell. He leisurely strolled into the room, but did not sit down at his desk, instead remaining standing by the blackboard, a signal that he had an important announcement.

"Good morning, sensei!" His greeting was returned in kind, and he smiled, waiting for things to die down as students quickly returned to their seats, their attitude shifting from carefree ease to one of discipline and attention fast enough to cause Yuki to second guess herself, although she did not let this break her confidence, even if it did unsettle it a great deal.

"I'm pleased to announce that today our class will be receiving a new transfer student. Please come in, Mashiro-san." With that, he gestured toward the door, giving a beckoning nod to her. Well, that was evidently her cue, so she walked briskly in, her face a calm mask bearing a slight smile, her bearing elegant, and her composure unperturbed. As she stopped, brushing several strands of silvery hair from her eyes, she turned, folding her hands and gazing kindly upon the class - an expression that, although she did not let it show, was rather foreign to her.

"...that white hair..."

"...did he say 'Mashiro?'"

"...could only be..."

"...no way! Quit joking around!"

In an instant, a storm of murmuring filled the classroom, enough to have drowned out the teacher had he not expected this reaction and ceased to speak. Giving a slight smile, he raised his hand, a motion for the class to remain silent for just a bit longer.

"Mashiro-san is transferring to our school from the Kita Advanced Academic Institute, starting today. Mashiro-san, would you like to introduce yourself, or shall I?"

"Thank you for your offer. Please allow me," She responded coolly. Masao nodded, stepping aside to give her center stage, so to speak. Taking a deep breath, she steeled herself against the dozens of curious eyes that gazed solely on her, and began.

"My name is Mashiro Yuki, Ma spelled with the kanji for pure - not as in 'broad-minded' - Shiro as in white, and Yuki using the kanji for snow." She picked up a piece of chalk and wrote out the characters for her name on the blackboard as she spoke, before turning and continuing. "My direct family consists of myself and my grandparents, although I live alone, aside from my house staff." She had made a slight slip-up here, mentioning her rather wealthy situation - and her rather prominent lack of parents - so abruptly, but she did not let this error deter her, even though the whispering voices had started up again, inspired by these strange revelations. "I am 17 years old, my hobbies include reading, studying, and sports, and my chief goal is to become a successful business executive of my father's corporation. It is a pleasure to meet you." She gave a respectful bow, and then turned back to the teacher to await further directions.

In this momentary pause, the voices roared up again, countless gossiping murmurs struggling to be heard over their own mutual cacaphony. Once again, Masao raised his hand, and the class grew silent.

"Very good. Does anyone have any questions they would like to ask?" While this was slightly nonstandard, it was much easier than waiting for her to get to her desk, only to be accosted by everyone all at once. Yuki appreciated this fact, and so kept cool rather than being irritated at not being asked if she was actually willing to answer questions first. Cutting off the urge to give a sarcastic sigh as she was ought, she instead turned back to face her eager fellows.

Might as well brace myself now, she thought. Things were about to get very bothersome.