Exam Week

A One-shot by Diamond Wolf Returns

Summary:

Me: characteristic of bubbly moods and smiles all around; until exam week that

is… then my slightly neurotic side comes out… turns out the only guy who can tame it is the infamous Syaoran Li…I just didn't know it yet… (Sakura x Syaoran; Sakura POV)

Quick Little Author Note:

This is my first one-shot ever so please excuse me somewhat if it isn't that good. Anyway, I know this is a bit late, but I started this before exam week then I didn't get on the 'puter until after the week was over then I got busy with family and work and etc, etc… anywho, enjoy the fic and review please!!!

Disclaimer: I do not own CCS! Just this story… but not the charies in it…


It's exam week… stress is running high, well it is for those of us who actually care about our school work, like me. However, the end of this week brings Winter Vacation and therefore Christmas, my most favorite holiday. But there's that little fact that I have to survive the week first… that might be harder than I had originally expected… especially with Syaoran Li, the guy I have been crushing on for the past I don't know how many years, finally taking notice of me after I thought he thought I was nothing more than a fellow student to borrow a pencil from… Here is my exam week story...

Gawd… why does school seriously have to be so early in the morning? Why can't it start at noon? I for one would be much more receptive and actually be able to stay awake. Then, I could have gotten some sleep this morning… and some breakfast… I don't know why this has to be the week my Volvo was in the shop! Darn bus has to come at 6:30! Augh… These and many more not so nice thoughts swirled through my messy brown-haired head as I walked to the bus stop in the -25 degree weather that didn't help my wonderful mood. I couldn't help it, my mood I mean, exam week never fails to dampen my spirits. It seems I spend all semester ensuring I have straight A's then exam week rolls around I study my butt off and then it always seems I get a 'C' on my math exam… never fails…

A blast of cold air greeted me as I reached the bus stop; the bus had arrived carrying some of my classmates who chattered loudly and waved when they saw me. Of course, being me, I waved back, a faux smile on my face despite the dread that loomed underneath the surface.

"Yo Sakura!" A voice called from inside the big metal monster, aka the bus. It was Chiharu. One of my best friends, second only to Tomoyo.

"Hey!" I called back, tucking my Algebra II review book underneath my arm as I searched my jean pocket for some change. Finally, after what seemed like a year, I drudged up a few yen and threw it into the Bus driver's box before heading to the back of the bus toward my friends. Turn around Sakura, they'll understand, you can't study back there with them… it's impossible! Remember last year? You don't want to fail your math exam again just 'cause you couldn't get any last minute studying in!!!!! I silently chided myself, but I didn't follow my own advice, I went to the back anyway. Was it to escape the bad feeling at the pit of my stomach due to the looming exams? Failing, in my eyes is a 'C'.

"Long time no see! What brings you back to the bus so very soon? I thought you just got a car!" Chiharu murmured wrapping her arms around her boyfriend of two years, Yamazaki. Where do I begin with Chiharu? She's loud, brazen, but easily one of the nicest girls ever, well to everyone except Yamazaki. She's also gorgeous, well, now that she left her notorious pig-tails behind, she wears too much makeup in my opinion though.

"Yeah," I grumbled taking a seat next to Naoko, another one of my good friends who, unlike Chiharu, is quiet and reserved except while talking about the latest scary movies or books. Her appearance has barely changed from middle school and elementary school she still wears the same type of glasses, no make-up, short brown hair that just surpasses her chin, if she hadn't grown any taller no one other than us would have known she was in our grade, but she surpasses all of us except Yamazaki in height. "My car is in the shop. Stupid "Needs Maintenance" light came on!"

Chiharu nodded knowingly even though I know for a fact that she's never owned a car in her life. Her mom's too nervous about having her daughter behind the wheel that she's refused to allow her to get her driver's license.

"Well, look on the bright side; at least you have a car to drive. Did you know that in the Stone Age cavemen had to get around on mammoth's backs or by riding down hills on giant boulders? "Yamazaki said his eyes closed and his finger up in the air. He was making up stories again, although this one did seem pretty true…

"Shut-up Yamazaki, that's a load of bull and you know it!" Chiharu cried, socking her boyfriend in the arm.

Now, normally I would've eaten this up as usual, but today I just groaned and shoved my nose into the review book. Why can't the information just be absorbed into my head? I wondered as I lay against the smooth pages.

Now Naoko spoke for the first time since I'd arrived on the bus, she was too interested in her newest Scifi book before to notice others around her or so I thought… "Really? I always wondered if they used mammoths for transportation. I mean it makes sense right?"

Chiharu yawned visibly and rolled her eyes. "Don't tell me that you believe this garbage again!" She looked sideways at her friend and boyfriend with her big brown eyes. "You don't believe it do you Sakura?" She asked me pointedly, I didn't even have to look at her to know she was staring at me, I felt her eyes on me, searching for some back-up against Yamazaki.

I sighed and looked up from my book; I wasn't reading it anyway. "Frankly, I don't really care if it's true or not. All I know is I have finals all this week, I have to work after school and I have limited time to study! I DON'T WANT TO FAIL!" I half-yelled, but I instantly clamped a hand over my mouth and wished I hadn't said anything when I saw the shocked looks on my friend's faces. I never make outbursts like that.

Luckily, at that moment the bus lurched to a stop and I hopped out of my seat and bounded down the aisle, my book bag in hand, then sailed out the door straight into the one person I never wanted to run into ever… Syaoran Li.

Let me begin this next part by saying that I'm the best runner on the Girl's All-Star track team at our school and I'm not bragging, but coach says that at full run I could rightly take down a small horse if I tackled it just right. So, needless to say, I hit Syaoran quite hard in his side as I fled from the bus. Then, due to the domino effect, he went flying and me right after him right onto the ground as my classmates piled out of my bus and several more came from their cars or bikes to see the commotion.

"Ever consider going out for the sumo team?" Syaoran asked me after he regained his ability to breath. I blinked slowly, was he really talking to me? I didn't think he hit his head that hard. "Cause dang…"

Some people from the crowd around us started snickering and some of Syaoran's Fangirls, as I call them, began whining and shooting me dirty looks, I finally realized the gravity of the situation. There I was straddling the most popular not to mention gorgeous guy in school, my forehead against his strong shoulder, his hand on my upper thigh; dangerously close to being a bit too friendly…

I let out a low yelp and jumped back so suddenly that he didn't have a chance to retract his hand which somehow got caught in my bag strap and by some random, rather strange event my arm caught onto his bag strap and I fell right back on top of him, this time our faces were just inches apart so close that I could feel his hot breath against my face. I closed my eyes not wanting to the anger in his expression or allow him to see the fear and embarrassment in my eyes. This only caused our audience to be sent into another reel of laughter.

"Why isn't he pushing her off?" One girl asked, my eyes were still closed so I couldn't tell who it was.

"Maybe he's just being nice. That little skank had best get off of him before I pry her off myself." Another girl answered, her voice was a higher and snootier pitch than the other girl's.

"Wooh! Syaoran you Lady's Man! They just keep 'falling' for you! Hah hah"' It was a male's voice this time.

That's when I made my next big mistake, I opened my eyes, and there, staring intently into mine were Syaoran's big amber ones. I just thought they were pretty at a distance, but up close they were literally breath taking. Big golden specks were mixed into the chocolate brown of his eyes. There were so many variations of brown and gold that it would've taken me all of first period just to sort out the different colors.

Syaoran's voice drew me from my reverie and pulled me back into the real world. "As much as I don't want to take exams, I'd suggest that you get off of me so we both can go to class. Sound good?"

I nodded dim wittedly and backed off him once again, this time ensuring neither of us were stuck on either's bag. "S-sorry," I managed to choke out, proud that I had gotten anything to come out of my suddenly parched throat. I fully stood up and brushed off my skirt before bowing and turning to go to class.

Well, that was embarrassing… Hopefully I can just sneak into my classroom unnoticed… study a bit… take my exam… then go home…. Why, of all girls this could've happened to, did this happen to me? Well it was kinda nice, getting to see him up close… SNAP OUT OF IT SAKURA! EXAMS! EXAMS! I shook my head hard trying to get my uneasy thoughts out of my mind. Great, now even more people are staring at me… Why can't I just go relatively unnoticed by the popular crowd as usual?

By some miracle, I actually made it into my classroom, and by some other marvel, it was completely empty of all people. I sighed in relief then headed to the back of the classroom to grab a seat and hopefully study for my exam. I had just opened my review book and was getting some paper out to practice problem 23 again when Tomoyo ran into the classroom.

"Oh my goodness!!!!!!!!!!!!!! SAKURA! Chiharu just told me what happened! How could I not have been there and gotten that on film?" Tomoyo cried, smacking herself in the forehead with her free hand, the other, I noticed, held her brand new Sony digital camera, not due to be out for at least another month, but when you're rich you can almost get away with murder so why can't you get a camera before the street date? "Augh! And that would've been amazing on the end of the year movie. Would it not?"

I rolled my eyes then looked up from the book. Now, don't get me wrong, I love Tomoyo like a sister and have since third grade, but she is the last person you want in the room when you're trying to study. "Yes, Tomoyo, but if you don't mind I have a test I really have to study for and it is getting closer and closer to testing time so if you don't mind-"

"Oh, right… well, I'll sit here nice and quiet just taping you for a new student special. Sound good?" Tomoyo murmured sitting down in the chair in front of me.

I yawned visibly and raised an eyebrow as she began taping me. "You just want an excuse to use your new camera…"

Tomoyo smiled then shut of her camera. "Yeah, but you can't blame me right? I'm sorry about getting all excited, but it's not just any day that your best friend bumps, well tackles from what I hear, the hottest guy in school." She stood up and walked over to me then laid a slender hand on my shoulder.

"Yeah," I mumbled under my breath, reluctant to follow suit to her good mood.

She smiled down at me just the very edges of her violet eyes crinkled. "Hang in there Sakura. Just one week of exams and it's all over. Stop being such a worrywart."

"I wish I could just brush it off like that, but I need at least an 89 on the exam to keep an 'A' in this class and I just don't feel like I'm going to do that well. And yes, I did calculate it out, even though I hate math. Let me tell you, I can't wait to breeze through the P.E. exam. Did you know we just have to run a lap around the field in under 3 minutes?"

At that, Tomoyo groaned. "Don't remind me. I'm dreading that exam. I hate running…!"

I was about to answer when the bell rang and Tomoyo skipped out the door with a quick wave of her hand. Dangit! I wasted all of my studying time talking to Tomoyo. I'm gonna fail… I'm gonna fail… I'm gonna fail… Thus began big mistake #2; I began hyperventilating and became so light-headed that I passed out. The last thought on my mind before everything went black was how much I hated exam week…

…………………………………………..

"Sakura… Sakura… Sakura. SAKURA!"

I woke up to Chiharu's face being right in front of mine. It was so close and so sudden that I jumped back, well as far as I could being in my seat and all, and hit my head against the wall. Geez, seriously… Could today get any better?

"Why are you sleeping when she's about to pass out the exams? Really Sakura, I thought you were a better student than that!" Chiharu exclaimed in her highest whisper. She winked then turned back to face the front of the room.

Dumb question…

I sighed and looked up at the teacher who held a stack of intimidatingly large exams packets in her pudgy arms. "Now class, you may write on the exam, however I want all of your final answers to be on the last page of your packets. That is only what I will be grading, not the work inside your tests. On your desks should only be a writing utensil and a calculator so Nagano get that magazine off your desk! Good luck." Then she began passing out the exams which made me begin hyperventilating all over again especially when she threw a big packet on my desk.

Alrighty Sakura, you can do this, just one little exam… Gargh… I'm gonna be sick….

…………………………………………..

I was now in my next class, Reading and Literature, our exam was supposed to be over some book we read this semester… Good thing I actually read and enjoyed the book… however instead of a quick and easy test, the teacher had other plans…

"Alright class, since this is honors I decided to step things up for your exam. Instead of a 35 question test, it is now 135 questions. And I expect them done by the end of the period." The teacher, Mr. Sake, and yes we've all gotten quite a few laughs out of his name, instructed with a devilish smirk on his face. Suddenly, none of us felt like talking…

"How can you get 135 questions out of one little book?" Naoko asked me under her breath," I just don't think it's possible, unless it's extremely specific."

Augh, this time I'm most definitely gonna be sick… Where's the trashcan?

…………………………………………..

Day #2

I believe that I've lost 15 pounds from lack of eating and all this worry… I really do… Just four more real exams left… just four… doesn't help that one's history and the other's Chemistry and then there's actual English class… Holy… why me… I can't take one more day of this… Where's the Pepto? I'm nauseous…

Day #3

My head rested against the cool metal of my gym locker. I love this feeling, the feeling you get after running hard. The burn in my legs, the light floaty feeling I get due to lack of oxygen to my brain, the sweat trickling down my forehead and the feel of accomplishment after a long run. I just finished the P.E. exam. The easiest exam of the week, but now that it was over I realized I still had chemistry after this…

So, after that rancid thought, I showered uneasily and got redressed uneasily. Good feelings from my run were definitely gone. So, in my uneasiness, I made my third big mistake of the week: I walked out of the locker room only half dressed right in front of the one person I had been avoiding the past couple of days, the one person it just had to be (note the sarcasm), the one person I hate loving…you probably have guessed already, Syaoran Li.

The worst thing was that I didn't even notice him right at first nor did I notice that I hadn't put my school uniform top on and I was walking out in my white, practically see-through camisole on the day that I decided to wear the Mistress' Closet (Think of it as an equivalent of Victoria's Secret) bra that Tomoyo bought for me for my sixteenth birthday. The one bra that I swore I'd never wear because it was too frilly and lacy and increased my chest size so much that it gave unaccustomed attention to my chest area. I knew I should've taken a break from studying to do my laundry…

Anyway, I took the peace and quiet being the last one out of the locker room gave me to look over my chemistry notes as I walked. The fifteenth element on the periodic table is… … it is…dagnabbit…

"Haven't seen you since our little "accident" then I get to see more of you than I've ever seen, neh?" A low voice whispered, pulling me from my studies, and again I found myself face-to-face with amber-eyes.

I immediately blushed crimson, I knew it without even looking at myself, I could feel my face burning. "What do you-"I began, then I looked down as a sudden draft brushed against my shoulders. "-Oh…" Was all I could say as I looked down at what I was wearing or rather what I wasn't wearing. Then I bowed again and went slowly back into the locker room to dress, this time correctly, before I fainted. My life… sucks…

Day #4

Okay, this is it… the final day of exams… just one more exam… it's a half day so I take the exam, then go home… that's it… you can do it… just so happens it is my hardest exam yet… this'll make Chem look easy… I thought as I walked into school. Yesterday afternoon I had gotten my car back so without having to worry about catching the bus, I decided to go to school early for some last minute studying. However, that was my 4th biggest mistake of the week, or the best considering how you look at it.

It began when I walked into my classroom, I set down my books, and was just beginning to sit down when Syaoran came by. I'd forgotten that he had this class too. Anyway, I tried to shrink behind my History textbook, but it was to no avail; he spotted me and as he did, a large smirk grew on his face.

"Hey Kinomoto," He murmured in that low, drawl of his. I couldn't help watching his lips as he said my name, they looked so soft and I began wondering what it would feel like to have his against my cherry lip balm covered ones. "Are you alright?"

I nodded dreamily, like an idiot of course, but couldn't bring myself to say anything.

"Kinomoto?"

"Wha… sorry… my brain is just fried from studying. I hate exam week." I said, unable to believe I was telling the truth to him. I ran my nail along the spine of my book and sighed. 'Yeah, but you know what I just realized?" Then I looked up at him, a small, true smile on my lips for the first time that week. "You helped me get over my exam obsessing. You were that diversion I needed to keep me from going crazy with worry. So, thanks… thank you a bunch."

He smiled back and moved a bit closer till he was at the edge of my desk. "Well I'm glad I could be of service. May I divert your attention some more?" He looked down at me and I looked up at him, then he did it… the one thing I really would have never expected… (and you think I would after a week like this) He leaned forward till there were just inches between us then centimeters, then millimeters, and finally our lips touched and you know what? It was just like in the movies; fireworks seemed to go off everywhere and I began to feel dizzy, though that could've been a result of a shortage of oxygen, I'm still new to this whole kissing thing so I wasn't quite sure of the proper way to breath during long, drawn out kisses. New feelings started to rise up and I didn't want this ever to end. Unfortunately, the kiss ended and I found myself looking up into his eyes again, but this time I felt braver and surer of myself.

So, with my History textbook lying forgotten on the ground at my feet, I made my first request of the week, "Well, since you're so good at this diversion thing; I think you should distract me again…"


Yay me! I finally finished it! And I really like it for some reason, although it's not quite as well written as some of my other stories… I was going for a different writing approach… XD Anyway, please review now that you've so kindly read my little waste of time/work of art. Lol Thank you!