The Things Life Are Made Of
Preface
The air was cold and welcomed on her, although quite unusual for the month of May; thanks to global warming it was supposed to be scorching hot which is what helped her to decide to wear the soft pink summer dress. Her cheeks felt as though they were on fire and her eyes wouldn't stop overflowing with tears. It was pouring rain outside, drenching her straight auburn locks, turning them back into ringlets that she tried so hard to tame that morning.
He was gone.
She let out a strangled sob, using the back of her petite hand to cover her mouth as she continued running.
She could feel her heart beat hard in her chest and didn't care if everyone in the world could hear it. She just needed to be….
Where? She stumbled, realizing she hadn't thought that far ahead yet. But she knew that it only needed one prerequisite.
It had to be somewhere else. Somewhere she could escape this reality that she just could not accept.
Chapter 1: Of Bitchy Professors & Too Many Cosmopolitans
A woman with long curly auburn locks approached the lecture door timidly. She had slept in, again. Sighing, she opened her eyes, revealing deep, emerald orbs that were filled with worry. She just had to be late to Shiharu-sensei's class, again. And she knew exactly what would happen, again. She slowly opened the lecture hall door and tried to move as quickly as possible to an available seat, doing her best to be undetected. Of course, again.
"Ah, Kinomoto-san. I was wondering if you would attempt to walk into my class, once more, late," Shiharu-sensei, who was dubbed the bitchiest professor of all time told the tanned woman who stood at 5"5, placing extra venom on that last word.
"Ano… gomen ne Shiharu-sensei," Kinomoto Sakura murmured her apology, knowing what would be coming next.
"So since you don't have the decency to show up on time like the rest of the class, then you wouldn't mind taking your leave, hmm?" Shiharu-sensei asked in an arrogant tone.
Sighing, Sakura slowly made her way out of the lecture hall, slightly acknowledging the combination of worry and sheepishness that crossed her classmates faces. This was one of her smaller lectures after all, the class only accepted 50 students per semester.
Stepping outside of the building, Sakura pulled out her cell phone, dialing her roommate, deciding to take her up on that morning coffee after all.
--
"Sakura-chan!" A pale, almost violet eyed woman called to her from across the student center.
Sighing in resignation, Sakura walked over to where her roommate sat, took a place beside her and lay her head down on the table, groaning in despair.
"That bad, huh?" The woman with long wavy raven locks asked, worriedly.
"You have no idea, Tomoyo-chan. She has to be of the devil. There's no other way to describe her. I walked in and I got the usual 'get out of my class' spiel," Sakura moaned to her friend.
"Well look at it this way, at least this means we can celebrate that it's Friday," Tomoyo told her, doing her best to cheer her best friend up.
"I guess so. Religion was my only class today. What are you up to today?" Sakura asked taking the coffee her roommate had bought for her previously.
"Nothing much. Meiling-chan should be arriving here for her placement today, so we should definitely have a little celebration that we'll all be getting back together again," Tomoyo suggested thoughtfully, causing Sakura's face to light up at the mention of the other girl's name.
Kinomoto Sakura and Daidouji Tomoyo had known each other since they had just started school when they were five. They were never too close until they sat together once in the fourth grade and found out their mothers were old friends. They never knew until that moment since Sakura's mother died from a strange disease when Sakura was only three and the mothers had lost contact before Sakura's parents got married. From that time on, Tomoyo and Sakura were inseparable. Then, when they started middle school, they met their other best friend Li Meiling who had come all the way from Hong Kong, China to their little town of Tomodea through a six-year exchange program. Although Meiling had come off quite arrogant and mean, the three girls quickly bonded and became the best of friends.
The ten-year-old girls had grown into twenty-one-year-old women. After high school Sakura decided to attend the University of Tokyo to obtain her law degree while Tomoyo decided to attend the same school for her design degree. Meiling on the other hand decided to go back to China and attend two years at the University of Hong Kong before doing co-op at the University of Tokyo.
It was September and they were all getting together for the first time in two years. And it was going to be quite interesting to have Meiling around again, especially considering she was bringing a little surprise along with her.
--
"Do you see her?" Sakura asked, looking around rapidly for their Chinese friend.
They were currently at the airport. It was 6:00 in the evening and they were here to pick her up. The three girls would be living in a house together where Meiling had her own room.
Sakura was dressed in dark blue skinny jeans and a baby pink off the shoulder sweater with matching gloves. Tomoyo too was dressed in dark blue skinny jeans, put wore a violet v-neck sweater with an indigo scarf.
"Look!" Tomoyo pointed excitedly, "There she is!"
"Sakura-chan! Tomoyo-chan! It's so great to you see you two again!" A woman with tanned skin and layered, straight black hair called excitedly. She smiled at her two best friends, her ruby eyes clearly displaying her affection for the two girls.
"How was your flight?" Sakura asked, taking one of Meiling's bags. She only brought a few suitcases with her since most of her things had already been sent to the house earlier that week.
"Are you hungry?" Tomoyo asked, taking another bag.
"Is there a boy we need to know about?" Sakura asked slyly, dragging the flaming red suitcase on its wheels to Tomoyo's car parked outside.
"How is your family doing?" Tomoyo asked, taking out her keys to take off the alarm.
"Calm down you two," Meiling laughed at the questions she was being asked all at once. "My flight went well, they were showing How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days, and we all know how I adore that movie. I am hungry actually, so I was hoping we could stop and get some sushi and miso soup on the way home. There are no boys you need to know about, and my family is doing pretty well; a little disappointed I've left for Japan again, but they'll survive."
"We made your favorite miso soup and sushi at home and unpacked your things like you asked. But you have all six of these suitcases to unpack too. We may not even be able to go out tonight after the jet lag and everything else," Tomoyo sighed, sending a special grin in Sakura's direction.
"Oh whatever will we do," Sakura cried dramatically.
"Hey! Li Meiling is never too tired or too busy to go out clubbing with her two best friends in the world," Meiling exclaimed with a grin, hopping into Tomoyo's black ACS M6 BMW.
"It's great to have you home Mei-chan," Sakura told her friend softly, smiling in her direction.
"It's great to be home, Sakura-chan," Meiling replied softly in return.
--
As the girls finished their dinner and catching up, although there wasn't too much of that to do since they were on the phone together everyday, they faced one of their hardest, but most fun tasks yet:
What should they wear to the club?
They received exclusive VIP tickets from a friend of Tomoyo's to one of the hottest clubs in Tokyo; Moon Light Lounge. It was a club that was insanely difficult to get into, considering this was the club all celebrities loved to be at and you needed extreme high class to be able to get in. They had an Aston Martin Vanquish rented that night to pick them up from their home and drop them back off once their night of partying was finished. The girls had all gone shopping on their own so they could surprise one another with the dresses they bought.
"Are you guys ready?" Meiling called out from her bedroom. "The car will be here in five minutes!"
"I'm ready!" Sakura called from the bathroom.
"Me too!" Tomoyo called from her bedroom.
"Okay, everyone come out in three, two, one!" Meiling counted, her two roommates coming out at the same time. They immediately ran to greet each other in the middle and compliment each other immensely.
Sakura was dressed in a strapless, silky, bubble dress that stopped right at her knee. It started off as a bright fuchsia at the top but faded out into a soft baby pink. Her fingers and toes and were done in a simple French tip and she wore fuchsia peep-toe pumps. Large, heart-shape, diamond earrings donned her ears, the matching pendant on her chest, accentuating her cleavage. Her usually long curly hair was curled tighter into ringlets, making her hair jump up slightly past her shoulder. She wore bright pink glitter shadow on her lids and lined her eyes with black and topped off with a slightly pink gloss for her lips.
Tomoyo was dressed in a deep indigo dress where the top was made to be worn as a corset before it faded out to black all made of chiffon, ending slightly below the knee, silver glitter decorating the hemline in an ornate pattern. She donned simple black stilettos, and put her hair up into a French twist, leaving a few tendrils handing which were curled. Her nails were painted violet and she wore no make up other than black liner, mascara and clear gloss. Large silver hoops hung from her ears and silver chain with her name on it rested on her chest with chunky and thin alternating silver bracelets decorated her wrists.
Meiling was dressed in tight silky dress that stopped an inch above her knee with a slit going up her left thigh. It was a deep burgundy color, shimmering to a shiny black as she moved. It had a dropping neckline with chain-like straps on her shoulders before they disappeared around her neck, revealing her back up to her waist. Her hair was let down and straightened with a few streaks of wash out red dye standing out from her black hair. She wore strappy black sandals and no jewelry other than diamond chandelier earrings and a chunky diamond-studded bracelet.
"We look hot," Meiling commented with a grin, causing the other girls to laugh and head outside where the car was waiting.
--
It was already approaching midnight and the club was packed with people. The girls had slid into their about a half hour or so booth and with their fifth cosmopolitans that night, observing the dance floor. There were plenty of cute guys; they just wanted to be sure it wasn't the alcohol talking. On their way over to the club, they finished a bottle of vodka amongst the three of them. They now sipped their drinks, wondering if they should have another or just head out to the dance floor.
"Sakura!" A girl cried to her, her long blonde hair billowing behind her, deep brown eyes filled with happiness.
"Haruhi-chan," Sakura called while the blonde girl enveloped her in a tight hug. "These are my two best friends Tomoyo-chan and Meiling-chan. Guys, this is a family friend of mine, Haruhi," Sakura introduced.
"It's nice to meet you both," Haruhi told the two happily, pulling up her glittering white tube dress.
"Likewise," Meiling grinned.
"I love your dress," Tomoyo complimented with a smile.
"Thanks! So what are you guys doing just sitting here?" Haruhi asked. "You know Ryo is here," Haruhi told Sakura with a nudge and playful wink.
"Don't you get started on that again Haruhi-chan," Sakura rolled her eyes in the same manner.
"Ooh! Who's Ryo?" Meiling asked with a smirk. "I thought you told me that there weren't any boys that I needed to know about!" Meiling chided.
"Ryo is Haruhi's older brother. They used to come to visit a couple times a year with their parents when we were all younger. Our fathers have always had the notion that Ryo and I would get married when we were older," Sakura explained while taking a sip of her drink with a smile.
"Really? How come we've never met before now then?" Tomoyo asked, slightly confused. They were all pretty much inseparable.
"It was always during the holidays, so you were always off travelling with Auntie Sonomi and Meiling-chan was always in Hong Kong," Sakura replied.
"Enough talking! Let's go dance!" Haruhi cried, pulling Sakura out of the booth, in turn grabbing Tomoyo's hand who grabbed Meiling's, causing the girls to chug down their drinks before getting ready to dance.
They must have been dancing for hours before it happened. They had refused to dance with anyone but each other, this was a girls' night out; there would be other times to pick up boys. While Sakura was dancing to one of her favorite songs, she stumbled back slightly, into something hard, yet soft somehow, and warm, although everything was warm at that point. When she turned around to flash a sheepish smile and give a quick apology to whomever it was that she bumped into she remembered nothing else, other than to feel as though she were suffocating in thick waves of amber. And she was pretty sure this wasn't the cosmos talking this time.
I'm back! I finished first year, and after struggling for who knows how long to come up with a good story that I'll be able to write in a few months, here she is! Hope you like it and you know the drill; drop a review to let me know what you think!
SBG
Translations:
-Sensei: a suffix added at the end of one's name to indicate the individual is a teacher
-Chan: a suffix added at the end of one's name to indicate they are friends
Ano: Um
Gomen ne: I'm very sorry