Emmanuelle: A Shoujo Parallels Headcanon Short

Gamma Belt
Mortal Realm
2008

“Try to make some new friends.”

Sacha Adrienne del Riano didn’t quite grasp the concept of ‘friends’. She huffed as she uneasily tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. If she didn’t transfer, then she might have been resting comfortably in her seat while the new students stuttered their way through introductions. 

In this case, she was the new student. 

Her sharp grey eyes scanned the room of students as the teacher explained her situation. But she knew they weren’t listening at all. All they cared about was the fact that a del Riano had transferred to their school – and was assigned to their class.

5-1.

“Which school did you come from, Adrienne?”

“Adri,” she threw in quickly. “And I moved from St. Augustine.” she fidgeted slightly and the teacher nodded, gesturing an empty seat beside another girl by the window. Picking up her bag, she moved to the said seat and sat down, trying to keep looking forward as the others stared. She just looked straight ahead, listening to whatever their teacher-in-charge was saying. 

Ten minutes passed. They were writing down their respective information – father’s name, mother’s name, house number – on a sheet of pink paper to be passed. Just as she had closed the cap of her pen, a light prod in the side made her blink.

“Hey,” the voice to her left whispered. “Hey.”

Adri looked at the girl, whose hair was neatly cut short. A pencil was tucked on her ear, and though she wasn’t looking at Adri, the latter somehow felt that she did look – a lot – moments back. Right before her attention was called.

“Don’t you hate it?” the girl continued. “How they stare.”

“You might have been staring at me moments back,” Adri muttered back, and regretted it immediately. There went her chance of having a decent friend – all ruined because of her snark. She braced herself for an ice-cold glare, but was surprised to hear a laugh – a genuine kind of laugh. Looking up at the other girl, she saw an amused smirk pass by the other’s lips.

“I couldn’t help it.” 

“Right.”

“Sorry. Forgot my manners.” The girl finally looked at Adri, and Adri saw her eyes – lighter than copper, something she couldn’t describe. “Emmanuelle Astra. Emman is very preferred.” 

Emmanuelle, Adri repeated the name in her mind. Emmanuelle Astra. “Call me Emmanuelle and I’ll stab you with my pencil,” the dark-haired girl joked, but even Adri could find the threat laced under it. “I hate ‘Emmanuelle’ as much as you hate ‘Adrienne’.”

“Deal,” she agreed quickly. “Emman.”

“Mhm.” Emman looked forward and Adri did so too. Once the papers were passed and the bell rang for recess, Emman quickly rose from her seat and so did Adri. “How does it feel to be stared at by nearly everyone?” 

“Horrible,” she admitted. “I feel like a display in the shop. They never did that at St. Augustine.”

“It’s because they aren’t used to your kind.”

Adri stopped walking. They were both in the middle of the hallway, the other classes having yet to be dismissed. Emman noticed that she had stopped walking and turned to look at her, a brow raised. 

“My kind?”

“White. Wealthy. Hair done into a fancy French braid,” the girl replied dully. Feeling conscious all of a sudden, Adri tucked a few strands of hair behind her ear. 

“It’s not my fault I’m different,” Adri grumbled.

“I never said it was your fault.”

“What makes me so – so well-received, anyway?” she asked with a tinge of bitterness. “Del Riano. It’s just a surname.” 

“One of the biggest ruling families,” Emman offered, but Adri rolled her eyes. Emman thought for a moment and shook her head, walking once more. Adri followed. 

“It’s just a name. Just a status.”

“Then show them it’s just a status.” Adri fell silent as Emman stepped inside the small bahay kubo, Adri following a little uneasily. “Yeah. You’re a del Riano. And to be honest, I really don’t care,” Emman spoke bluntly. “And I’m an Astra. Just like what you said: they’re just names. So keep it as a name.”

“You talk like you’ve been through this all your life.” Adri spoke. Emman merely shrugged. 

“Perks of being one of the more intellectually-stimulating students. Which I hope you are,” she threw Adri a pointed look. “We had a new student last year who did her best to aim high. But she reached too far and crashed. Don’t be like her. We have enough of those,” Emman ended calmly, taking a cookie out of a plastic container she had taken from her bag earlier.  

“And what if I’m not?” 

Adri wasn’t sure if testing the waters really was a good idea – but she had already done it once.

At that, Emman snickered.

“Then congratulations. You’re already in my good books.”

With that, Adri finally smiled and took a bite from her own snack, the twosome hanging out inside the kubo until the bell rang once more.