I stopped in my tracks to admire the school that I was transferring to.
"Uwaahh…" Sakura petals were flowing in the spring breeze. So serene… So peaceful… This might just be the change of pace that I needed… I gripped my schoolbag tight, before taking a step forward… not realizing that I stumbled over a crack in the path. "Kyaa!" I squealed, before feeling a firm grip on my hand stopping me from falling. The wind gust in my face. I shut my eyes as it sent a bunch of sakura petals my way.
"You alright, there?" I hear from my side. I slowly open my eyes, and they widened at the person standing underneath the large sakura tree.
This girl… She had long, raven-black hair, held together with two white hairpins. She peered at me with her concerned emerald eyes, but still held a soft smile. Right underneath those lips that smiled, I couldn't help but notice the small beauty mark she had. I somehow caught myself staring at her. I squeaked, realizing the position I was in.
"S-Sorry! I…" Her smile was still there.
"You should be careful next time." She gave my hand a squeeze before releasing her grip. Her eyes peered down at me. Nnggh… Is she looking down on me, already? I looked down at my form, slightly frazzled.
"U-Um! I… I'm t-transferring here today." Her eyes widened.
"Oh! You're the transfer student, Sakurauchi-san, right?" I gave a shy nod. She laughed. "It's a pleasure to meet you!" She took my hand, giving it a firm shake. "I'm Kurosawa Dia, Uranohoshi's Student Council President."
Eh?!
"S-Student Council President?!" She furrowed her brow.
"Something the matter?" I placed my hands behind my back, fidgeting.
"Ah, n-no, it's just… Uhm, Kurosawa-san, what y-year are you?" She tilted her head.
"I'm a third-year."
And she's my senpai?!
"… Oh."
An awkward pause later…
"Mm, Sakurauchi-san, why don't you follow me to the Chairwoman's Office?"
"Eh?"
"Well, to get you acquainted with the school — get your class schedule, getting you settled in."
"Ah, r-right!" She turned towards the school's entryway.
"If you'd follow me…"
"Oh! Good, you're here, Dia!"
"And, perfect timing! So's the new girl!"
"Excuse us, Mari-san, Kanan-san." Kurosawa-san nodded towards me to come into the room. "Sakurauchi-san."
"Ha-Hai…" My feet slowly led me into the room, glancing up at the other two girls.
One girl was leaning against the desk in the room, casually resting her hands behind her head. She had a head of blue hair that was pulled back in a ponytail. She smirked at me, her purple eyes glistening.
The other girl… was sitting at the Chairwoman's desk? She had blonde hair and golden eyes. She greeted me with a cat-like smile.
"Ciao, bella!"
"Eh? You mean, me?" I pointed at myself. The blonde girl giggled.
"Yes, you! Welcome to Uranohoshi Girls'!"
"Good to have you here!" The blue-haired girl spoke, winking at me. I glanced at their uniforms. They wore the same color neckties as Kurosawa-san. So, I gained two more senpai today, I suppose…
I looked around the room.
"Is the Chairwoman… not here, yet?" My three upperclassmen giggled.
"Um… Sakurauchi-san… You're looking at her," Kurosawa-san pointed at the blonde girl sitting at the… Wait. Eh?
"Heh?!" I pointed in Kurosawa-san's direction. "Sh-She's the Chairwoman? Seriously?!" She laughed.
"Yes."
"Long story short…" The blue-haired girl smirked to the blonde. "Let's just say her family is… stinking rich." The blonde playfully tipped her tongue out. The blue-haired girl laughed. She stepped over to me. "Anyway… I'm Matsuura Kanan." She reached her hand out. "Yoroshiku ne, Riko-chan." I smiled shyly, taking her hand.
"Yoroshiku onegaishimasu, Matsuura-san…"
The blonde girl stood up from the desk and stepped over to me.
"Well, Riko, you already know me as the Chairwoman, but my name's Ohara Mari!" She reached her hand out to me. "You can just call me Mari, 'kay?" I furrowed my brow, before taking her hand.
"Not 'Chairwoman'?" She snickered.
"Please, just Mari, is fine." I gave a nod, before I felt Mari-san twirl my body.
"Wah!" As I spun, I nearly lost my footing. I stumbled back into place. "W-What was that for?"
Mari-san giggled. "That was to show off the uniform!" She gave a wink. "It suits you really well!" I blushed, peering down.
"A-Arigatogozaimasu…"
Mari-san checked the clock in the room.
"Hmm… Seems like enough time before the day starts." She turns to Matsuura-san. "Kanan, would you mind giving her a tour of the school?" Matsuura-san gave a wink.
"Leave it to me!" She walked past me. "C'mon, Riko-chan!"
"Ha-Hai!"
It was about forty minutes into the tour, and we had already covered most of the school. The library, the restrooms, the first, second, and third-years' class floors, the gym, the field, even the roof.
"Last place is here, I guess," Matsuura-san said, prepping her hands behind her head. I looked up at the sign above us.
Music Room.
I pursed my lips, feeling my chest tighten a bit. Matsuura-san slid the door open, and gestured for me to step inside. Footstep after footstep, I could feel my chest tightening more and more. There was a large piano that sat in the room. As I kept my eyes on the piano, I could instantly see… myself.
I was hunched over on the piano bench, my mother at my side, comforting me, as I cried.
That vision stopped me in my tracks. My chest. It was getting tighter and tighter. I could barely breathe.
I hunched down, bringing my knees up to my chest. My breathing quickened, my heart pounded. All I could hear was my heart pounding out of my chest. Ba-dump. Ba-dump. Ba-dump.
"Riko-chan? Riko-chan!" I could hear faintly. "Hey! Can you hear me?! What's wrong?!" Matsuura-san's voice was muffled in my ears. "This is bad! Just hang on, okay? I'm taking ahold of you!" I faintly felt an arm wrapping in my own, and being pulled away from the Music Room. "You'll be okay, Riko-chan. Just stay calm…"
Nice first impression, Sakurauchi. You nearly lose yourself just at the mere sight of a piano… How pathetic.
But… I can't help what happened at that competition!
Tch. "Competition". You didn't even place! You were disqualified, remember?!
No… I-It wasn't… I-I didn't mean—
You didn't mean to fail Otonokizaka? It's no wonder you were decided to leave—
"Just shut up!" I raised my voice before hearing a somewhat timid reply.
"… Sakurauchi-san…?"
"Heh?" I turned my head to see… Kurosawa-san, who looked a bit puzzled. My eyes widened. "Ah! K-Kurosawa-san, I…! I'm sorry! I-I didn't—" She placed her hand on mine.
"It's alright." She lent a smile. "Kanan-san brought you here. Do you remember?" I looked around, to see that I was in the nurse's office. I glanced out the window. It was still daylight. "It's lunch break right now." I looked back to her. "I finished up what I needed to in the Student Council Room, and I had my lunch already, so I just…"
"You… came to check on me?" She slowly nodded.
"Sakurauchi-san… if there's anything troubling you…" I peered at the sheets, gripping them. I shook my head.
"No, really, I-I'm fine." I felt a grip on my hand. I looked to see her hand on top of mine.
"Please, Saku— No, Riko-san." I peered to Kurosawa-san. Her expression softened as she lent a smile. "I have a younger sister. I don't let her bottle things up. If something's troubling her, I allow her to let it out." I bit down on my lip, glancing down. She sighed quietly. "Fair enough. Would you like to talk, perhaps, after school?" My eyes went back up to meet her emerald eyes. "I'll let you know when the Council Room is empty, that way we'll be alone. Would that be better?" I gave a slight nod. She grinned. And then… my stomach rumbled. Agh, what timing! "Ahaha." Great, she's laughing at me! I blushed, bringing a hand to my stomach. "Why don't I get you something from the cafeteria?"
"Eh? N-No, it's fine, really! You don't have to—"
"Please." She insisted, lending a smile. "You need something." I glanced down before looking back up at her.
"Then… I don't mind."
She chuckled. "I'll just be five minutes." She stepped out of the room, leaving me to my thoughts. I leaned back, running my hands through my hair. I sighed heavily.
Was coming to Uranohoshi really the best decision for me…?
3pm finally hit, and I patiently waited outside the Student Council Room.
"Riko-chan!" My new friend, Chika-chan, exclaimed, coming over to me. "You sure you don't wanna hang out, even for a bit?" She noticed the room's sign. "You have business with the Student Council?" I avoided her gaze.
"Y-Yeah. Sorry, Chika-chan. Maybe some other time. Thanks for the offer, though." She shrugged, looking a little down.
"Mm, okay. I'll see you later, then." She turned her back, before waving. "Bye-bye!"
"Bye-bye." I gazed after Chika-chan before hearing some voices in the Council Room.
"Well, then, ladies, I'll see you tomorrow." A few girls exited the room. They turned towards the open door, before bowing.
"See you tomorrow, Kaichou. Otsukaresamadesu!" They passed by me, and I politely nodded to them. They returned a nod, and went on their way. I turned to the door to see Kurosawa-san's head peeking out.
"Thank you for waiting."
"Ah, hai." I followed her inside, closing the door behind me. "So, um… Kurosawa-san—"
"It's Dia." She handed me a teacup. "That's herbal tea. It'll help calm your nerves."
"Arigatogozaimasu." She smiled softly before stepping over to the desk in the room. She stood behind a chair and pulled it out. I slowly drank the rest of the tea, and went over to sit down. I sat myself down, and Kurosawa… Dia-san pushed me into the desk. She pulled another chair up beside me, setting herself down. She rested her hands on the desk.
"So… what is it that's been bothering you?" I slowly felt the lump grow back in my throat. My hands on the desk, I fidgeted, digging my nails into my skin. Dia-san slid her hands to reach mine, gripping my hands tight. "Please, Riko-san." She lent a smile that was almost unbearable to look at. Because those were the same smiles that greeted me before that competition. The smile of great expectation…
I gripped her hands in my own before releasing a shaky breath.
"I didn't tell you… my reason for transferring here, did I?" Dia-san shook her head. "Well, it's because… I decided to leave my previous school, Otonokizaka, of my own will…"
"May I ask why?"
"I…" I bit down on my quivering lip. "I participated in a… piano competition. Otonokizaka is prestigious for its music program, so… my teacher wanted me to represent the school…" My eyes stung as the tears dared to escape. "I messed up the piece… I misplayed." I hung my head low, letting the tears fall onto my and Dia-san's intertwined hands. "I… I couldn't play. I immediately stopped, and… I just… I couldn't go on, let alone, try again." My voice broke. "My mother, she… she apologized to the judges. I couldn't look any of my classmates in the eye after that." I sobbed. "I… I failed my whole school…! And, because of that, I… I ran away. Instead of promising myself that I would get up and learn from this mistake, I ran from it, and…" I paused for a second, catching my breath. "To this day, I still can't figure out what went wrong. I practiced for months on that piece, Dia-san. Endless hours of practice; I thought I had it down!" I let out a bitter laugh. "But, I suppose not…"
"The piano…" Dia-san whispered. "Since then, have you…?"
I shook my head. "I haven't touched it." She gave a nod. Another slight pause.
"Riko-san." I look to Dia-san. She gently brushes a stray hair from the side of my face, before placing a chaste kiss to my forehead. "Thank you for telling me all this."
"Can you please… keep this—"
She nodded. "Just between you and I." I sniffled. She glanced down at my hands. "Your hands… they're a bit scarred." I nodded, staring down at my scarred hands. "It's from digging your nails into your skin." Another nod. She ran her thumb over the back of my hand. "These hands were meant… for creating something beautiful. Not for self-harm." She gave my hands a firm squeeze. "Riko-san… Can you promise me something?" I pursed my lips, nodding. "Please promise me that… until you're confident enough to play the piano again, that you won't… that you won't defile these delicate hands." I looked at Dia-san. She gazed into my eyes. "Promise me," she whispered.
One last pause, till I let a shaky breath leave my lips.
"I promise."
"Would you like some more tea?" I gave a small nod.
"Yes, please…"
"Why don't we exchange numbers?" Dia-san offered, smiling softly, pulling her phone from her bag. I smiled and did the same, handing my phone to her. After a second of trading phone numbers, Dia-san took my hand, and placed a kiss to the back of it. "Please be sure to call me, anytime, if you're not feeling well."
"Hai." I glanced toward the gates of the school. I turned to Dia-san, and bowed my head. "Thank you for today, Dia-san. I'll see you tomorrow." She gave a nod.
"See you tomorrow. Rest well tonight." I turned and walked away from the same sakura tree where we met this morning.
Dia-san. She's amazing…
