Title: From Across The Room
Part 1: Valentine's Day
Rating: G
Author: Alse
E-mail: alsepang@hotmail.com
Disclaimer: I don't own Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon, 
I never said I did, this is not written for profit,
and there was no such idea in mind. HOWEVER, this is MY 
storyline. Originally crafted by yours truly and painstakingly 
written, revised and polished within an inch of its life by 
yours truly.  


The first six chapters of this story are dedicated to 
Sake-chan, as a bribe of sorts, because I still have not
finished with the final chapter of Cliché, 
Conclusion II. Thanks, Sake-chan, for your support and, 
uh, reminders...I hope you'll enjoy this! 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

       I saw him from across the room.

       It was Valentine's Day, the fourteenth 
day of February, and everybody in the room was 
in the process of exchanging gifts. All the 
teachers at every grade had turned it into a 
'friendship day' and called on everyone to give
each other gifts. Through the haze of muffled 
laughter, soft chatter, gaily-wrapped gifts, 
chocolates, sweets and even the odd bunch of 
flowers, I caught sight of a boy. He was staring
blankly at the empty desk before him and his 
raven-black hair fell messily into his eyes. 
I wondered why there was something so wrong with 
the picture of him just sitting silently there.
And then it struck me all of a sudden.
Nobody had given him anything! His
desk was clean and there was nothing on 
it-not even a chocolate. My small chin
trembled with indignation-- why, I
didn't know, but I knew, just knew that
he must be feeling terrible. I would have 
too, if nobody in my class had loved me 
enough to give me anything on this 
special, special day. I was sure then that 
he was sad and I had to do something 
about it, but what?

       To this day, I really don't know what 
possessed me to do what I did next. I 
was only six and in first grade, and here 
I was, contemplating barging into a 
classroom filled with kids at least two 
years older than me! Barge in I did, 
though. Funnily enough, I don't 
remember anyone noticing me or 
exclaiming over the appearance of a tiny 
blonde girl who barely came up to the 
height of a desk, toddling her way in a 
rather inept if determined fashion across 
the room. I supposed that amidst the fuss 
of exchanging gifts, hugs and even a few 
stray pecks on cheeks, plus the fact that I 
was very small, made me almost 
invisible. On the other hand, our 
guardian angels-- of both the little boy 
and myself-- might just have been 
watching.

      As I say, I toddled my way through the 
back door and across, and after what 
seemed like an interminably long while
of running into endless skirts, waists and 
goodness knows what else, I finally
reached his desk. He hadn't moved an
inch and his hair hid his eyes from my 
frank curiosity. I paused for a moment, 
irresolute. Suddenly, what I had planned 
on the spur of the moment didn't seem 
such a good idea after all. Then I saw it.

      A very small, hardly noticeable tear slid 
down his cheek, leaving a trail of 
wetness that dried up almost at once. I 
gasped and my own eyes widened and 
began to fill up. Then he lifted his head 
sharply-- he had probably heard my 
gasp-- and I caught sight of very dark 
blue eyes, which gazed at me blankly. 
Something about those eyes gave me a 
whole new set of feelings I didn't 
understand, but I had no time to dwell 
on that for the moment. I had to fulfil 
my-- ahem-- mission. (AN: Cue 'Mission Impossible' 
theme song in background).  

       I glanced down at what I was clutching 
in one chubby little fist, then reached up 
and placed it on the desk in front of the 
boy. It was a crimson rose in full bloom, 
one of my favourite flowers, and I had 
brought it to school for my teacher, clad 
in pretty silvery paper with a pattern of 
tiny pink bunnies. I hoped that my 
teacher wouldn't be too angry if I just 
gave her my homemade card and some 
chocolate cupcakes. Wait a minute! A 
bright idea popped into my mind. Surely 
Miss Simmons wouldn't mind if she had 
three cupcakes instead of four...I 
reached into the paper bag of valentines I 
was carrying and pulled out a toothsome 
chocolate cupcake, then put it on the 
desk next to the rose.

     "For you," I said clearly and gave him 
the brightest smile I had. Then I trotted 
away, out of the classroom, my mission 
accomplished. There had been no 
mistaking the glow of surprise and joy in 
his face. As I trotted off jauntily, I 
couldn't help patting my back mentally 
and feeling very happy at the look I had 
seen on the boy's face. 



(c)2001 Copyright original storyline by Alsepang

Did you know?

The South Korean Navy has a word 'gui', or 'turtle'
written on one of its flags. That's because way, way, back,
about four hundred or more years ago, when the Japanese
attacked Korea, the Korean admiral defeated 'em with
the help of a turtle-shaped boat. Or so I've heard...