Behind It All
Summary: It was no big deal, moving schools. She'd cope with it just as she'd coped with everything else life had thrown at her. And if the guy next to her in class was cute, then it was no business of hers; she was there to prove her mother wrong, nothing else.
Disclaimer: this is a story of my own invention. It is for entertainment purposes only and is not purported or believed to be part of CLAMP's official story line. All recognisable characters herein are created and owned by CLAMP; I do not claim any ownership over them or the world of Cardcaptor Sakura.
Chapter 1
Tokyo High was not so different from Seijuu. Sure, the structure was more impressive, and the student population far larger, but really, as she said, it wasn't so different. It was still the same routine; the same subjects and the same few cliques that dominated the school, which, as Sakura had recently discovered, seemed to be a running trend among high schools. Even from where she was now, she could spot the stereotypical 'nerds' by the tables, the cheerleaders and jocks by the benches; and the 'Goths' by the toilets just at the edge of the courtyard, partially hidden by the shadows of the adjacent wall.
She shook her head and continued towards Block C where her homeroom supposedly was. She couldn't understand it. Even after years of school attendance, Sakura didn't see what the fuss about being part of the 'right' social clique was. Kasumi had warned her of course, explained how important it was to form the 'right' connections with the 'right' people so she could enjoy the "maximum benefits of high school life", but Sakura had assumed that it was just her sister being irrational yet again. She'd assumed the obsession with cliques was something that was particularly emphasised at Seijuu High, and had never really considered that her old school had just been part of the norm.
She'd just entered the building and was now counting down the room numbers to where the timetable indicated she was supposed to be. Around her, she could hear the high pitched shrieks of students greeting each other for the first day of term and the excited exchange of holiday stories and getaways as they hurried to change into their school slippers.
There! Sakura finally spotted the room and slipped in after the previous person before they slid the door shut.
It was everything, yet nothing at all as she'd expected. The room and atmosphere was almost identical to that of Seijuu, sans the familiar faces, and yet Sakura was disappointed. There had been a part of her, however small, that had hoped this would prove to be a new experience; something exciting and challenging, though she supposed it was probably better this way. Normal meant boring; and boring meant no distractions, and extra time to focus on what she'd come here for.
With this in mind, she straightened her shoulders and held her head higher as she moved past the groups of students towards the back of the classroom where she could spot an empty seat by the window. She had only just settled down when a figure stopped before her and cleared their throat loudly.
"Excuse you, new girl, you can't sit there; that seat belongs to Syaoran."
Sakura looked up to see the owner of the haughty voice and saw a girl her age scowling down at her. She had to admit, with her thick black ringlets and evenly tanned skin tone, the girl would have been rather pretty, were it not for the too heavy makeup. Oh, and her dire need of a personality check.
Behind her, she could see two other girls a few steps away, leaning on the desks and giggling to themselves as they glanced in her direction.
Ugh.
Why couldn't there ever be a school where everyone just played nice?
She glanced back at the girl who was not so pretty after all, and saw her tapping her foot impatiently, waiting for the 'new girl' to answer her.
Sakura sighed. Whatever. She would give in just this one time so she could at least have the clear conscience of mind that she'd tried to be the bigger person, and had attempted to avoid trouble on her first day. She packed her things and moved to sit at the next table over, when the girl cleared her throat yet again.
"Sorry new girl, you can't sit there either; I sit next to Syaoran."
At this, the un-pretty girl smiled smugly to herself then moved to point towards the front of the class, "Maybe you can sit there instead, I'm sure the teachers will love you."
Sakura stared at the un-pretty girl, flicked her gaze to the front where she was pointing - the front row middle seats which everyone seemed to be avoiding - then back again and raised an eyebrow.
"The perceptions of the teachers are no concern of mine. Since you seem to hold their approval in such high regard however, I'm sure those seats are perfect for you." And with that, she placed her books with slow deliberation on the table; pulled out the seat, taking great care to scrape the feet of the chair against the floor as loudly as possible, and sat down.
She stifled a laugh when she saw Unpretty begin to turn a most unbecoming shade of pink and stamp her foot on the floor, her heels clacking against the tiles.
"How dare you, you new bi-"
"Move."
The single, softly uttered word was enough to halt Unpretty mid sentence and Sakura tilted her head slightly to gain a view of who it was that could shut the chit up so effectively.
It was a boy, fairly tall from the looks of it, with thick, brown hair adorning his head. If there was one striking feature about him though, Sakura would definitely say it was the eyes. While they were now glaring at Unpretty, willing her to move out of his way, they were an intense shade of brown, unlike any Sakura had seen before. In fact, she would go as far as to call it amber rather than brown. No, definitely amber.
"Li! It's so good to see you! How was your break? I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to block your way it's just that this new girl over here took your seat and I told her to move out of the way because it was yours, and so she moved to the seat next to yours, but then I told her that.."
Her voice was shrill and Sakura quickly tuned her out. Li? So Unpretty didn't dare call the guy by his first name to his face did she? Sakura curbed another urge to cackle madly and ducked her head to hide her smirk. This was too good.
The man in question looked down at the new girl Aiko was talking about, and saw the girl duck her head to hide what seemed to be a smirk. Syaoran shook his head, and took his seat, ignoring the angry female before him. Perhaps the new girl would think before she did anything next time. From the look on Aiko's face, the girl had found herself a new enemy.
Sakura's shoulders shook as she fought to contain her amusement at Unpretty's face. Perhaps she should point out the fact that 'Syaoran' was no longer paying attention to her and was now looking out the window; and perhaps she should tell her that the class had quietened as the teacher had just entered and was now making his way to the still fuming girl. And perhaps she should warn her that the man did not look too pleased and was now tapping his foot, with his arms crossed, while the rest of the class looked on, whispering and laughing to themselves.
Should she? Nah. Sakura might have tried to be the bigger person, but one dose was enough maturity to last the day. Unpretty had brought this upon herself, and who was Sakura to deny the girl her just reward?
Kinomoto Sakura letting some chit of a girl get the best of her? Hell would freeze over first.
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So, let me know what you guys think!Of course, any constructive criticism is always more than welcome and very much appreciated.
CM
