The car pulled outside the school. I grabbed my bag and opened the door. "Have a great day!" My mother called to me as I clambered out of the car. "Do I have to?" I asked glimpsing at all the students rushing to find their friends and catch up on the daily goss before attending classes. "Yes Hitomi, just think of it as a new start ok?"
"Fine, bye!" I finally let the door slip out of my hands and the car sped into the distance. I sighed. This was going to be a long day.
The bell chimed and I was rushed back into reality. Everyone was rushing around to get to their classes and when I found classroom 5-C it had already been five minutes. "Ahh, there you are Komatsu-san. You found your way ok?" The sensei turned and spoke to me. "Come in and introduce yourself," She told me. I did as she said, as if I was under her control. "I'm Komatsu Hitomi and I recently moved here from Ikeda in Osaka. It's nice to meet you," I bowed my head.
"Very good," The sensei said and pointed to a vacant seat at the back of the classroom. I walked and sat down but I couldn't help feeling out of place. Two classes passed and no one had come up to me or introduced themselves. I was starting to feel unconfident, not that I was confident to start with. I took out a freshly packed container of sushi out of my bag and walked outside. I then saw a beautiful sight, a cherry blossom tree in flower. I ran over to it and sat down beside it. I opened the plastic lid of the container and took out one of the sushi rolls. I took a bite. I heard the clomping of footsteps coming towards me and looked up. A boy, about my age, was standing in front of me. "Ohayou Gozaimasu, I'm Fujihara Takuro from Class 5-B, the classroom next to yours. A girl in my class, she reads star signs. Today, I'm supposed to meet someone who I've never met before and we will become really good friends. Usually I never listen to her but when I heard there was a new student in class 5-C I guess I decided to see if she was right. Mind if I sit with you?"
"Ehhh…" The boy sat down so I continued to eat my sushi.
"So, tell me a bit about yourself," Fujihara-kun asked. I finished my mouthful of sushi and said, "Not now, I'm eating."
"Fair enough," Fujihara-kun said and took out a wrapped parcel containing three onigiri. He took one out and started to eat. I threw the sushi container into the bin and pushed the straw into my juice box. I slurped up the last of the juice and threw it into the bin. "Nice throw, do you play a sport?" Fujihara-kun asked.
"No, I used to try out for netball but I never got in. The positions I wanted to play had better people than me trying out. They offered me other positions in defence but I'm a better attacker so I rejected their offer," I answered coldly.
"I see, but if you had accepted you would have become a better player and eventually become an attacker,"
"But being a defender is not what I wanted to be and I was afraid that if I played well as a defender that they would keep me there," I said.
"Oh yeah, I guess that happens with sport. So, what else are you interested in?" Fujihara-kun asked me yet ANOTHER question.
"Um, I like reading, drawing and I love animals. At my other school there was an artists club and I often entered my drawings in the school fair and in art competitions. They always won something and often people asked to buy them. Is there an artists' club here?" I asked. "No, there hasn't been one since I started. It was full of young people wanting to expand their talents and after a while everyone that came into the school as freshmen were sporty and all the members graduated," Fujihara-kun answered.
"Oh, well I guess I can't join a club then, since nothing else interests me," I sighed. Fujihara-san finished his morning snack and said, "If you want, we could re-create the Artists' Club," Fujihara-kun suggested. "You would do that for me?" I asked.
"Well, I'm not really in any clubs so I guess so," He answered. The end bell rang and I hugged him before running back into the crowded hall, blushing and with a heart pounding with joy, love and happiness.