The Best I Can Be- Sakaki
She got up early, like she always did. Life as a veterinarian was tough; she had to work odd hours, not to mention the frequent house calls she had to make. This was her passion though, and she loved it- she wouldn't give it up for anything.
Many of her friends had dated, some gotten engaged, a few married- but not Sakaki. She devoted herself completely to her veterinary studies, and later her practice. Not that she didn't want to date- she did; she just put her job before everything else. The very few friends she had were much better off than she was, and they spared no expense in reminding her of it.
"How would you like to go to the game on Saturday?" they would ask her. When she responded, "Sorry, but I'm a bit short on money," they'd say, "Oh yeah, I forgot- you don't make as much as we do…" They would go on their way, laughing amongst themselves. Sakaki hated it, but she knew that, given the chance to give up her beloved profession for one that paid much more, she would turn it down in a heartbeat.
One day, as she got home from work, she heard the phone ringing in the apartment. She got to it, and picked it up.
"Hello?" she asked.
"Hey!" said the voice on the other line.
"Erm, who is this?" asked Sakaki, a bit confused.
"You don't remember me?" said the voice. "It's me! Tomo!"
Sakaki's eyes widened; she hadn't heard from her in years. "Hey, Tomo!" she said. "What's been up with you?"
"Oh, not much really. How 'bout you?"
"Well, I'm a vet now," she replied. "Trying to be the best I can be."
Tomo laughed. "Just like back in high school. Which is the perfect transition into why I actually called. Did you get it?"
Sakaki tried to think. "Did I get what?"
Tomo laughed. "Oh, you know, the-" At that point, the phone went dead.
"The what?" Sakaki asked. She looked at the phone's caller ID and realized what had happened. She set the phone back down on the base, laughing to herself. "Sounds like something that would happen to me…"
She began to flip through her mail- some bills, mostly junk mail. Something caught her eye, though. She squinted at the return address, trying to decipher the almost illegible handwriting. When she finally figured it out, she smiled.
"Now why the heck would Miss Yukari send me a letter?" she asked herself. She opened it carefully and began to read. As her eyes went down the page, she let out a cheer.
"Awesome!" she said. "Our ten-year reunion! I hope Chiyo-chan can make it!
"Keep it down!" yelled the tenant from the next room over.
"Sorry!" Sakaki said. She went into the kitchen to make dinner, ready for the week until the reunion to pass her by.