The All-Americans
By
Joshua Trujillo

Part 16 - A Diet of Normalcy

Ukyou looked out over the hood of her car. It was a nice car. It was 
a car that her father really hadn't wanted her to buy. He thought it 
would give her the wrong kind of attraction. Ukyou shook her 
head. Once again, he had been right. But then, it was her choice to 
dress and act like a guy, wasn't it? It had been her choice to go on 
dates. She could have said no.

But she hadn't.

'Time counts and keeps counting...Through all the troubles we'll 
see-'...Damn, Ukyou wished she could remember the rest of that.

She supposed that it was kind of indicative of what was going on 
in her life and how it'd gone so wrong. First with Toma and now 
with Sayuri. She hadn't wanted to come to Earnest, but her father 
got a great job. The pay was good and there were so many things 
that were just perfect about moving. Except the weather. Ukyou 
hated the cold. She never minded the cold, so long as there was 
snow. Because, by her logic, if there was snow on the ground, then 
there was a REASON for it to be cold. But she much preferred the 
place from which she moved, San Diego. It was always so nice and 
warm. Not always sunny, but at least warm.

Quiet snatches of music drifted through Ukyou's mind. A long car 
ride in the dark, ending with what could get kinda nasty. Ukyou 
sighed to herself. It wouldn't even be bad except for the fact that 
this wasn't the first time that she'd gone through this. SHE wasn't 
really anything like Sayuri. Come to think of it, she wasn't much 
like anyone she'd met in Earnest.

She was quiet, above all. Mousy. Bookish. Ukyou thought that it 
was what might have attracted them. Ukyou wasn't one to back out 
of a fight, but she knew when that fight would get ugly and so was 
perceived as extra intelligent because of it. She was smart in her 
own regards, but not as much of a student as everyone thought. She 
just wanted...To have fun.

Ukyou snorted and turned the radio station. Damned Eighties 
tune...

Ukyou had been in the theater back in her old school and everyone 
knew about her little gender difference, but no one said anything. 
The new kids that came to her school never got in on the secret that 
everyone seemed to have about that odd, bookish ma-uh, woman? 
Person. Her friends liked to tease her about it, but never went far 
enough to cause real harm.

No, the bookish girl came to Ukyou's school that summer. They 
were in Driver's Ed together. She couldn't drive at all; too timid 
behind the wheel, while Ukyou frequently got reminded about the 
brake the teacher had on his side. They ended up becoming friends 
and the question of gender never really came up in a conversation. 
It was as if the girl just simply knew and didn't care. For Ukyou, it 
was refreshing to forget who you were when talking to a person. 
She'd never in her life met someone so engrossingly intelligent. 
Darkish eyes, black hair that had a blue tinge in fluorescent lights, 
and a book either constantly at her side or in her hands.

And her name was Ami Mizuno.

***

They were at it again. The guys on the football team made their 
annual play to try and get Ukyou on the team. She could 
understand it from the Freshmen, who didn't know any better, but 
the Seniors were just pigs.

"But, Ukyou," Todd Mason, the Senior Tight End began, "You can 
toss the ball almost a full eighty yards and you can hit the target 
seven out of ten times! Come on! With you playing-we can't lose!"

"My short passing yards suck," Ukyou retaliated with her usual 
litany, "The team doesn't have even an adequate pass protect...And 
then there's that OTHER little problem. You know, the one that 
doesn't go away with time?"

"But-" he sputtered, "But-"

"And then there's 'butterfingers' Johnson, over there-" she 
continued.

"Hey," Johnson swung his legs off the table, "If you didn't throw 
the damned ball so hard, it wouldn't be so hard to catch!"

He put his big hands flat on the table. Ukyou looked at him and 
raised an eyebrow. She stood up and got in his face.

"Well, maybe if you'd get OPEN every once in a while," she 
yelled, "I wouldn't HAVE to throw into triple coverage!"

Ukyou sat back down and folded her arms, trying to ignore some 
of the looks the librarian was giving the group. Ukyou let out a 
puff as they hauled Johnson away. It was the same thing every 
year. They did it in the last year of Junior High and these first two 
years in High School and it sucked. Ukyou was frankly getting sick 
of it.

"Excuse me," a voice said from Ukyou left.

Ukyou looked up into the face of her newest friend.

"Hey Ami," Ukyou said, pointing to a now vacant seat, "You in 
here for Study Hall?"

"We share almost sixty-five percent of the same schedule, 
remember?"

Ukyou grinned.

"Yeah," she said, pulling her bag onto the table, "I guess I forget 
sometimes. What classes don't-"

"Gym and Math," Ami muttered, already deep in one of her books.

Thank God for THAT, Ukyou thought.

"Here," Ami said, putting a CD on the table.

Ukyou picked it up and turned it over in her hands. It was a 
writeable disc. Ukyou always wanted a burner, but it was still a 
little out of her price range.

"What is it?"

Ami put her book down and stared down her glasses at Ukyou.

"It's a compact disc," she explained, putting the book down, 
"Sometimes, people write music on it. That particular disc has 
homework on it for your math class this year."

"All my-"

"Ah, correction," she said, smiling at Ukyou's reaction, "It covers 
every problem in your book and gives you hints enough for you to 
solve them. I figured it's little enough that I could do to repay you 
for teaching me about cars this past summer."

Ukyou sat back in her seat, stunned.

"ALL the problems in the book?"

Ami nodded, her look saying that, oh, she had some spare time 
during the summer, so she thought she'd just rip some problems off 
to help...Ukyou was shocked. She began to laugh lightly and just 
shook her head. Ami always surprised her, that was for sure. Ami 
smiled and put her glasses back in her little case.

"You know," she said, "There ARE ways of throwing softly."

"Oh, I know," Ukyou said, smiling back, "It's just that those jerk 
have been trying to get me on the team every year and it's just not 
for me. I'll tell you what though, I wouldn't mind going out for Dr. 
Geyer's plays."

Ukyou saw a flash of something in Ami's eyes, but they dimmed 
just as quickly. She decided to push the question.

"Why don't you try out?" Ukyou added, "I'm sure you'd get one of 
the leads. We're kinda short staffed on people, but you're one of the 
prettiest girls in the school. Besides, if you don't get the lead, I'll 
have to deal with that bitch Tammi Weisnewsell, and I'm sorry, but 
I can't stand her."

Ami chuckled softly.

"Why don't you like her?" she asked, taking some gum out of her 
bag.

Ukyou accepted a proffered piece of Juicy Fruit.

"Well," Ukyou thought for a moment, "It's not really anything she 
MEANS to do, I think. It's just her attitude that she's the best and 
we'd be all damned well served to realize it. I think it's her parent's 
fault, really."

"In Psychology, it is called Transference," Ami quickly said, "I 
don't know..."

Ukyou turned in her seat and stared directly at the black haired 
girl.

"Your grades will NOT suffer."

There was a small silence between them, then Ukyou began to 
laugh and Ami joined in, both earning a shush from the Librarian, 
who'd had quite enough of all this laughing business.

***

The night crept on in front of Ukyou's car. Lots of corn out here, 
good for hiding stuff. She'd have to remember to get killed in the 
city then. She snorted to herself again. Sayuri wouldn't kill her. 
Maim her, maybe, but not kill.

The play was a pretty good success. Dr. Geyer was quite happy 
with Ami in her role and, as usual, kept a special place for Ukyou. 
The final curtain had fallen a couple months later and would stay 
down at least until the Spring play and everyone had gathered at a 
little parlor called Marco's for pizza afterwards. The cast party was 
out in the country at one guy's place, but Ukyou didn't know if she 
trusted her fellow thespians THAT far. Ami agreed, but pizza was 
okay.

And then things began to fall apart...

***

Ukyou took another slice of pepperoni. She loved this kind of 
pizza; they cut it into square pieces and dusted the bottom with 
cornmeal. Very crunchy. Very good. Ukyou had squeezed into the 
corner. Jack Setterman and Katie Rich were across from her, 
making out as much as eating. Ami was beside her in the booth. 
When the conversation waned, Jack and Katie's lips seemed to find 
each other, so Ami and Ukyou tried to keep as much 
conversational distance between the two as possible.

"Ami, you said that you might have..." Katie had a nasty habit of 
trailing her sentences.

Odd thing was, everyone knew what she meant. Ukyou shook her 
head.

"Yeah," Ami said, dabbing at her mouth, "He's SO cute and smart. 
I mean, I only moved here this summer and now I have all these 
new friends and maybe even a boyfriend."

"Wow," Jack toned in, chewing through another slice, "Do we 
know who he is?"

"Uh...Yeah."

"Well, who is..." Katie trailed.

Ami looked pointedly at Ukyou. Katie got it. Jack got it. Ukyou 
didn't get it. Not initially, anyway.

"Uh, have you asked-HIM...Whether or not he can date?" Jack 
asked.

Ukyou looked up from her slice when Katie kicked her in the 
shins. Katie flipped her hair towards Ami. Even her body language 
trailed. Ukyou got it. She knew it even before she turned her head. 
She swallowed hard and looked. Ami had such an expectant look 
in her eyes...Almost...Hungry. A shiver ran up Ukyou's spine, 
because in spite of herself, Ami looked-well...

Cute.

***

Ukyou smiled at the thought. She actually dated Ami for a couple 
months before the news got out. Then the rumors began, but then 
that's what High School is like. All rumors and half-truths that 
need squelched. Ukyou did most of the squelching personally, with 
quite vicious results. She and Ami would do things together and 
there was always studying, which seemed to be a constant with 
Ami, but she always found ways to make it fun and interesting. 
Even Math. It never occurred to Ukyou that Ami never wondered 
that Ukyou wasn't a guy. It really wasn't as though Ukyou hid the 
difference from anyone; it was just that it never got mentioned.

And she liked being around Ami, that was the unusual thing. 
Perhaps it was just a miscommunication on both of their parts. 
Perhaps it was just because neither of them wanted to find out. 
After two months, Ukyou found out...Ami knew all the time.

***

"You knew?!"

Ukyou was stunned. It hit her across the face like a cold, hurricane 
blow. She stepped back unconsciously. Ami hadn't looked up. She 
simply stared at the table. There was a stack of magazines that 
were to be used in the scene tonight during practice.

"How..." Ukyou sputtered, "I mean, if you knew-why-"

Ami spun and a real slap whipped across Ukyou's face, bringing 
her to her knees.

"Why didn't I say anything?" Ami said, quietly, "Why didn't YOU 
say anything? Did you enjoy playing with my emotions? Did you 
get off on it or something?"

Ukyou just looked back up at the smaller girl, a hurt tear tearing a 
jagged scar down her cheek. Ukyou quickly got to her feet and 
tried to blurt out an explanation, but nothing came to her lips. It 
was as if there was something in her brain keeping her from saying 
anything. What came out was only a sputtering. She wanted to say 
something, anything. Ami backed away, turned and ran. As the 
door flew open, Ukyou could hear her crying into the hallways.

***

Ukyou reached up and wiped a tear from her face. She thought that 
she didn't have any more tears for Ami. For the next couple weeks 
after that, Ukyou stayed away from her as she didn't want to hurt 
her anymore than she already had. She wanted to apologize in the 
worst way, but she knew that if they began to talk, then it could 
only lead to more pain. After a of couple weeks though, Ami 
brought the questions to Ukyou.

***

"Why?" she asked as she stared out the window, "That's really all I 
want to know."

Ukyou stuffed her hands in her pockets and leaned against the sill. 
She closed her eyes and tried to gather thoughts that seemed so 
superficial.

"The truth?"

"The truth," Ami answered.

"Okay," Ukyou began, "It began a long time ago and I guess the 
best reason is to say that I was scared."

Ami turned and pushed her glasses gently up the bridge of her 
nose. She then folded her arms across her chest.

"Go on."

"My father originally wanted a boy. Mom died shortly after my 
birth and I think those two things kind of conspired against me. 
But, I was the only child and he loved me and raised me the best 
way he knew how," Ukyou sighed, "And that way was as a boy. I 
grew up thinking that I WAS a boy, for the longest time. I played 
with the other boys in the neighborhood, made friends with the 
boys and even teased the girls with the other boys."

"That was until the summer," Ukyou closed her eyes, "Then my 
dad had to explain why I couldn't go swimming with the other 
boys. It devastated me on the inside, but on the outside, I made like 
it was no big deal and kept the secret hidden. Well, then I met a 
boy named Ranma."

Ami had taken her glasses off and looked like she was getting into 
the story. Hopefully, she'd understand because Ukyou wasn't sure 
if she did entirely.

"Ranma had been molested by some people not a month before. I 
don't know why he confided in me, all I could tell was that he was 
in real pain and couldn't tell his parents. Or, parent rather. His 
father Genma. I wanted to kill him. I still do," Ukyou stuffed the 
hatred and anger back down deep before she continued, "All I 
could do was try and help him. I made friends with Ranma and 
actually confided in him MY secret. I guess it made him feel better 
about his secret and we helped each other. I was friends with him 
for almost the next six years."

"Is he here now?" Ami asked, her anger gone.

Ukyou shook her head and opened her eyes. Ami stood in front of 
Ukyou, the pain still written on her face, but tinged with something 
else. Ukyou's heart thumped loudly. Why was she feeling this 
way...Unless...

Unless...

"No," Ukyou said, trying to get back on track, "Father and I moved 
here when I was about twelve."

Ami stepped closer.

"Who did you confide in after you left?"

Ukyou shook her head.

"No one."

Ami stepped into Ukyou's arms and kissed her lightly on her lips.

"I'm sorry," Ami said, "I do love you, Ukyou, but I can't go on this 
way. I also want to continue to be friends. But I can't until you 
accept who you are because until then, you won't accept me for 
who I am either."

They both had tears streaming down their faces by then.

"Ami," Ukyou began, "I never meant to hurt you."

Ami nodded.

"I know," she said, "Goodbye."

***

Ukyou slammed on the brakes and the car skidded to a halt on the 
lonely stretch of the black road. The night flowed softly around her 
as she sat there and cried. She opened up her glove box and 
rummaged around, finally finding a spare napkin. She cried for 
several seconds before calming herself. The car had jerked to a 
stop as she had lifted her foot from the clutch as she sobbed. 
Ukyou snuffled a couple more times and wondered how she 
always got herself into these kinds of things, it didn't seem normal.

But, dammit, what was normal, anyway?

Another thought came to her. A decision, really. The decision that 
she wasn't going to lose Sayuri as a friend. She might not be able 
to like Sayuri back that way, but she'd be the best friend she could 
possibly be. That no matter what came about between them, it 
would never interfere with Sayuri being her friend. Ukyou wiped 
her eyes dry and took several deep breaths. She steeled her nerves 
and turned the ignition. The car purred to life and she put it in gear.

***