14Chapter 3: SAME STUFF DIFFERENT DAY, SORTA
## No jolts, no surprises ##
Seto slumped down in his chair which was situated at the back of the room during Science. It was another boring class with Mr. Crawford ((He he. He was my Evil teacher last year. Bwhahahahahaha!)), who seemed to enjoy lecturing the entire class on their lack of morals. Usually, Seto just ignored the teacher and thought of ways to improve his inventions.
However, today was different. Nothing could get Seto's mind off of Lyra, that GIRL who had somehow become the focus of his interest. *I could have supermodel girlfriends. I could have a different actress or celebrity for every day of the week. And I fall for...HER? How absurd! Another brilliant move, Kaiba, you genius.*
Mr. Crawford was in the middle of one of his 'Don't Put Things Off Until The Last Minute' lectures. *The chihauhau's asleep.* Seto noted with relish. Joey was easily provoked and this always made Seto's days more interesting.
Mr. Crawford raised a gray and black eyebrow. "MR. WHEELER!" He yelled sharply.
Joey fell out of his desk, landing on the floor with an audible thud. "W- what's goin' on?" Joey asked as the class laughed.
Seto snorted, his eyes traveling to the clock. Ten minutes until he could get out of class and head for his house.
"It seems that you find my class BORING." Mr. Crawford said, as Joey scrambled into his seat. "Tell me, what are you intending to do for your project this year?"
Joey blinked. "Um... I was thinkin' of... um... well, it's a secret." The blonde boy straightened up. "Yeah, it's a secret. Dat's right. Can't tell ya."
Mr. Crawford gave Joey a condescending look. "Oh really? I'm SURE that you can't tell me, Mr. Wheeler." His eyes wandered to the chalk board. "Did it occur to you that you have... three days before you must UNVEIL your little SECRET?"
Joey nearly fell out of his seat again. "Three days? But dat's hardly ANY time!"
"Does anyone remember when this was assigned?" Mr. Crawford asked, walking back up to the front of the class.
Tea raised her hand, "Two weeks ago."
Mr. Crawford nodded. "And I think two weeks and three days is plenty of time to complete your project. I'm looking forward to your SECRET, Mr. Wheeler. I expect it to be one of the best projects this year."
Seto smirked slightly, knowing full well that Joey submitted the same thing every year. A Self-Opening Pizza Box. Every year his project blew up. Every year Joey got a 'D'.
The buzzer rang, the piercing sound cutting through the classroom, timed perfectly with the scraping of chairs and a class of students leaving as quickly as possible.
Seto got up lazily and walked to the door, glancing at Joey, who was still sitting at his desk, looking positively petrified. "Better hope your project is better than your dueling skills, Chihuahua, otherwise your grade will drop to an 'F'." And with that, the CEO of Kaiba Corp. walked out of the classroom.
- -
Throughout the day, Lyra's eyes held a secret sparkle, and her lips were curved in a dreamy smile. Her friends quickly noticed, and they pestered her to TELL. Especially when they watched her sketching 'Bright Castle', surrounded by many hearts and flowers, during their lunch period. But Lyra just shook her head at each plea, every guess, all their jokes, a couple of tempting bribes, and even one taunting dare. She wouldn't risk jinxing her visit to HIS home later by telling them about it now. *Even if I am in and out in five minutes, I want it to be perfect.*
After her last class, Lyra headed for the practice rooms, and sat before one of the pianos. She flexed and stretched her hands and fingers for a few minutes. Her head was bent, eyes closed, as she searched for a piece to play. She finally selected a song that was as light and airy as she felt. As her fingers rested over the final notes of the song, a voice hailed her.
"Hi, Lyra. What song is that? I like the sound of it." Tea was standing in the doorway.
"Hi, Tea. It's called 'Music Box Dancer.' Having any luck with your Science project?"
Tea giggled, then shrugged. "I'm making another volcano, same as every year. I'll have a hard time keeping Joey away from all the gravy that'll ooze out of it. When he comes to the Science Fair, he acts like it's just an all-you-can-eat buffet. What about you?"
"I heard that!" Joey said as he stopped beside Tea. "Oh, hi, Lyra. How are ya?"
Yugi and Tristan moved in front of the doorway and greeted Lyra, too. "Hi, guys. Well, Tea, I've already scrapped one failed project, so I'm on to the next one. Maybe I'll have better luck this time." Lyra glanced at her watch. "Oh, I better get going. I have a lot to do at home." Lyra closed the lid over the piano keys, grabbed her backpack, and moved between her friends and into the hall. "See you tomorrow." Lyra waved, then turned and walked away.
Lyra went through her closet, then carefully selected a soft, two-piece outfit in forest green, and she braided her long auburn hair in one thick rope that swung over her left shoulder. She stuffed her notebook, a CD of the program she had started, and other items in her backpack. She looked at the clock...6:35. Lyra went down the stairs, told her mother that she was leaving, and headed out the door.