One little drop.

The rain poured heavily. A girl stood at the bus stop shelter, waiting for the bus. Her hands were shoved deep into her pockets and her face slightly covered by her hood. Underneath it, her eyes were closed as she listened intently to the sound of the water dropping from the roof.

It calmed her and she smiled as she sighed contentedly. Finally the school bus arrived and she got on.There were two empty seats in front but she walked past them, instead going to stand by the window, leaning against the side of the bus.

Soon she was nodding off, her head bobbing in all directions. A few of the students snickered but she ignored them as she snuggled closer, holding unto the back of the seats for balance. "Fool", she heard a deep chuckle from behind her and her eyes slowly opened. Pouting, she slowly turned her head and noticed a tall boy standing behind her. She frowned as his smile widened. "Here". He tapped his shoulder, implying that she rest on him. "Ooooo", the students around them cat called and hollered. She shook her head at him and turned back, snuggling into her raincoat.She drifted in and out of sleep as the kids behind her kept startling her awake for fun.Realizing they wouldn't let her sleep in peace she looked out the window, ignoring them as she watched the raindrops roll down the glass. After a while, they got bored and moved on to their next target."Hey Will!!!!!! ", one of the troublesome kids called out. Mai eyes darted towards an average looking boy standing s few feet away from her. He stood tall and straight, one hand holding on to the seat beside him and his other hand in his pocket. He didn't turn around. "W-w-w-will?? ",troublesome boy's voice rang out again. "L-l-look at m-m-me, W-Will." His stupid friends burst into laughter, and joined him, mocking Will's stutter. Uninterested, Mai soon dozed off again, their noisy laughter becoming a distant echo. Soon, she felt a tap on her shoulder.

"No...."She held on tighter. 'Why won't they just leave me alone'. She still felt very sleepy. "We're here". "Here..."she murmured drowsily. 'Here? .... Oh!!! ' Her eyes flew open and she hurried off the bus. "Wait for me!!!! ". Upon hearing those words, she ran even faster. But soon, he was beside her. 'Goodness, he never gives up'."Good morning, Mai". "Good morning, Diva". Smirking as she noticed him glaring at her, she felt satisfied. "It's Deva".

She ignored him as she made her way through the crowd.She reached her class just before the first bell rang and slumped into her seat. Deva tapped her table as he walked past, taking his seat behind her. Soon, she was sprawled on her desk, fast asleep.

The day seemed to pass in a blur. She ended up sleeping through all of her classes. At first, she was surprised that none of her teachers scolded her for it but she quickly realized why they weren't doing anything.She wasn't sure how it made her feel, knowing that they pitied her that much. It made her feel slightly uncomfortable. And so she struggled throughout the last class to stay awake. 'Just a little longer', she encouraged herself. For some stupid reason, their history class had been shifted from the 3rd to last class of the day. It was hard enough trying to listen to the teacher, who had a very soft voice and spoke very slowly. That, coupled with the cool breeze that drifted in through the open window, and the oddly quiet class was enough to break Mai, who soon starting nodding off again.

Bang!!!!!

The silence was broken with a loud noise. "Oh my goodness, Mai!!! Are you alright? "The teacher rushed over to her. She had hit her head on the table, hard. Holding her head in her hands, she nodded. "I'm alright, Miss Mani." She heard a low giggle from behind, but she didn't turn around. She knew who it was. "Let me see".She dropped her hands. The woman gasped. "Oh dear. Come on, you have to go to the nurse". Swiftly turning on her heels, she rushed to her desk to write a pass for her. Mai got up and followed her, dragging her feet. "Do you need someone to go with you? ". She raised her head, and seeing the kindness in the woman's eyes, she couldn't help but feel bad. "I'm sorry, Miss Mani".

Her thin eyebrows came together to form a puzzled expression. "What are you sorry for? "

"For falling asleep in class.... And disrupting the class". Behind them, the others had taken advantage of their distraction. Someone giggled and called out, "I don't think the school nurse can help her. Her condition seems quite serious. Who knows, maybe she's.... ". "That's enough!! ". Miss Mani rarely raised her voice. But when she did, everyone listened to her.Yes, she was soft spoken, but she was a disciplinarian and no one wanted to be punished by her. "Mai, go now.And Lilian, "she paused, turning to face the students. Mai turned as well. She saw the girl's eyes widen in shock. "See me after the class".

With that one sentence, the entire class fell silent again. Mai hurried to the nurse's office.

"You fell asleep and hit your head on the table? ". Mai squirmed a little and nodded. The woman didn't laugh but there was a twinkle in her eyes as she attended to her."You're alright. Just apply some ointment before you go to bed to reduce the swelling. "She handed her some painkillers as well. "Thank you".

The bell rang, signaling the end of the school day. Mai sighed in relief as she picked up her bag and started towards the door.

"How is your brother, dear? ". She paused. Forcing a smile, she replied, "He's alright. "

"Oh that's great to hear!! ". The woman flashed her a smile and continued with her work.

She quickly rushed out of the school and to the bus. It wasn't full yet so she chose a seat by the window and settled in, closing her eyes. A few minutes later, someone slipped into the seat beside her. Peeking through her lashes, she quickly closed her eyes when she saw who it was. But throughout the ride, he didn't bother her or even try to talk to her. 'Maybe he's still angry about the name thing' she mused as she peeked at him again. He sat quietly, reading a book.Their 'relationship ' confused her a lot. They were both childhood friends.Well... not really. Classmates was more like it. They never liked each other and fought a lot. Still they were always together.After school, they'd walk all the way to her house, sometimes arguing, other times ignoring each other.Despite the fact that they lived in the same neighbourhood, they rarely met except for a few times at the playground.As she grew older, she became suspicious of him. As they walked home one day, she decided to confront him. He was walking ahead of her and she quickly ran forward and stopped in front of him.

He didn't even look up as he walked past her. She had been observing him for some days now. The way he always walked with his head hanging. The fact that he rarely speaked to anyone else except her at school. And when he did, it was to tease her or pick a fight. Plus she'd never seen him at any of the other kids' birthday parties and she could count on one finger the amount of times she'd bumped into him at the park. Although she was young, she felt there was something wrong and was a little worried about him. "Where do you live? ",jogging to keep up with him, she turned to see him give her a look, as though she was crazy. "I know we live in the same neighborhood, but I've never been to your house".

"And why would you want that? We're not even friends".

"I know that.... ", "Then stop being nosy".

He stopped walking and she stopped as well.

They looked at each other for a few minutes until she felt awkward. "Go in", he cocked his head and gestured with one hand. She turned and realized that they were in front of her house. She turned back to speak to him, but he was already walking away. 'Fine then, I'll just try again tomorrow'.

But she never saw him again.Not until a few months ago, when he showed up at her high school, all grown up. She had recognized him instantly. He was taller and skinnier now, but his face and mannerisms hadn't changed much.He was as quiet as ever and latched onto her on his first day, just like when they were younger. He was a bit nicer though, but she was still wary of him. She wasn't sure why she was so guarded around him. Truthfully, it was not just with him. Ever since the death of her parents, she had grown distant from all of her friends. At first, they had been sympathetic, but slowly they got fed up of her attitude. She didn't blame them neither did she try to reconcile. Only one person remained by her side. She turned her head slowly, wanting to peek at him again but he was already watching her. She wondered why he was staring at her and refused to break eye contact.She watched as he switched to a comfortable position, resting his head against the seat so he could stare at her. 'So weird', she thought, scowling but refused to look away. They sat quietly, staring at each other until the bus got to her stop. She got up and walked down the aisle,ignoring the ugly sneer and snide remarks from Lilian as she passed by.

She didn't go home, but to the hospital to see her brother. He had survived the accident that had claimed her parents, but he had been in a coma for the past two months. It was drizzling again so she walked quickly, to avoid getting wet.

"Hello". The receptionist smiled at her and got up. "Mai, you're here". She took her hand and squeezed it. "Please wait here". She offered her a seat and walked off briskly.She sat and looked around at the now familiar room.The walls were all white, the chairs black. About ten minutes passed,before the receptionist returned with the doctor. She stood up immediately and greeted him. "How are you, dear? ". He shook her hand and patted it gently. "I'm ok, sir". "And how is school? "

"'I'm coping". He nodded and put his hands in his pocket. "Please come with me to my office, we need to talk". Looking into his great eyes,her heart dropped. She had heard these words before. She wanted to ask what was wrong but she was scared, so she simply nodded and followed him down the corridor.

As they walked in silence, she felt more and more worried. Her palms started to sweat and her eyes stung a little.She looked at the man in front of her.She still remembered the last time she had been in his office.She was not ready to go there again.Her heart pounding, she stopped. She took one step back and then another. "Where is Kai? ".

As she walked out of the hospital, she felt weird. It felt strange to be the only one left in an entire family.She felt angry at them for leaving her all alone. She could feel her eyes burning and she blinked repeatedly, trying to hold them back. It started to rain again and she stood there, letting the rain pour down on her. She felt so much pain. It felt her heart had been ripped out of her chest. She squeezed her eyes shut as her hands covered her chest.

As the rain fell increasingly, one teardrop rolled down her cheek, mingling with the rain.

She didn't know how long she stood there, but it was dark when she started walking again.

Deep in her grief, she didn't notice a tall boy equally drenched in the rain, watching her.