Diary: True
Confessions
Chapter One
Chiharu's Secret
Date: 15 of March
Spring
Dear Diary,
Hello. I guess it's time to introduce myself. I am Chiharu ... your new owner. I'm now seventeen.
It's springtime. You know, the time when the world stirs to life after a bleak period of time. The time when flowers burst into bloom, the time when birds begin to chirp and smile again, and time of the annual Spring Festival.
For every Spring Festival, I have been hoping for a certain someone to ask me out and bring me there. He does, every year, but not in the way I want him to. Not in a relatives sort of way, in the boyfriend-girlfriend sort of way. So I'm praying that this year, he'll ask me out, in that way.
Chiharu puts her pen down thoughtfully, as her gaze searches the window ceaselessly. How was she to put her thoughts into words? The thoughts that she ponders every day, without fail, but yet, she couldn't seem to find ways to describe it. Chiharu looks at her diary, her new diary. It has beautiful Sakura flowers all over it ... Sakura flowers. They jolt a memory into her brain, another factor. She picks up her pen and continues writing.
I have a best friend, and her name is Kinomoto Sakura. We've been ever so close since Rika and Naoko moved away, and Tomoyo died. Daidouji Tomoyo is ... was very pretty and gentle and mild, but she died in a car accident, with her mother. I'm still unable to think about her without feeling a pang of pain. She's been dead for many years now, but I've never forgotten her.
Sakura started going out with this boy, Li Syaoran, just before Tomoyo left us. She's always urging me to reveal my true feelings, like she revealed hers successfully. Did I mention that Syaoran admitted that he had always secretly liked her, and had not slowly accepted her because she had feelings for him? And that they got together on the Spring Festival? I'm just hoping that I'll follow her in her footsteps. Then again, I am not as outgoing as Sakura is. After Tomoyo's funeral, Sakura has managed to keep it together, just slightly quieter, mourning her loss in secret, but reverting back to her usual self slowly. Even though I had not been as close as Sakura was to Tomoyo, I was the most traumatized. I witnessed the accident as it happened ... don't make me relive the past.
Anyway, ever since then, I've changed into someone not as outgoing as before, quieter and more reserved, gentler. I even began to study harder than usual. I pulled into my shell after Tomoyo's unnannounced and sudden leave, and only Sakura can drag me out of there. I venture out occasionally, but not often. You may not even know me from the exasperated Chiharu of eleven.
The person in question is Takashi Yamazaki. God, even as I write his name, I can feel the blush creeping across my face. I guess I should describe him to you. Yamazaki is tall and is class president. He's very smart, and there's always a smile on his face, which causes him to sort of close his eyes. But whenever he's solemn or serious, you can see his eyes. They are very girlish, big and round and glassy, with long, long lashes. He has brown hair, and sometimes I feel the urge to run my fingers through them and straighten it out. He has a library of stories - fake ones, may I add.
Yamazaki is also my cousin.
I guess I should also describe myself to you too. My hair is still the same as before, brown, with waves running through them, thick and somewhat silky. I have brown eyes, too, but I'm no longer on the cheerleading team. Sakura and I dropped out after Tomoyo's unexpected leave. An activity that required you to keep a smile on your face and peppy energy just didn't cut it. We are in the gymnastics team though, so I'm still in shape.
Sakura is a very pretty person. She has gorgeous green eyes and brownish-golden hair - either dark blonde or light brunette, I can never decide - and she's willowy. Her personality's very outgoing, friendly, and so on.
What happened today was typical ...
Yamazaki stepped into the room and flashed his usual smile. "Good morning!" "Morning, Yamazaki-kun," I replied, keeping my head down and eyes on the book I was reading. "Hello," Sakura greeted, and Syaoran nodded. Yamazaki kept the smile on his face as he tossed his bag onto his empty chair. I watched, amused, as he poised himself in the aisle between Sakura and Syaoran's desks. (Syaoran had moved to Tomoyo's usual spot ... ) "Sakura-chan," he began. Sakura looked up from her book, gullible as ever. "Yes?"
"Did you know that our national flower, the Sakura flower, or cherry blossom, was created by an Englishman called Sakurian? He came to Japan as an ambassador, and one day, he noticed a strange plant outside his house. Now, Sakurian was also a plant scientist and ... "
I giggled. Plant scientist?
" ... the DNA of that plant and a rose's and he got the Sakura flower. They named the ... "
At that point, I looked at Sakura's book: 'The Origins of Japan.' So Yamazaki got inspired by that one.
" ... and at that time, Japan's ruler hadn't found a national flower yet, so he submitted the flower ... "
Enough was enough. I stomped over, okay, walked over, and dragged Yamazaki away from the listening Sakura. "Yamazaki," I warned, voice low, eyes glaring, pulling on his ear. Sakura looked sheepish. "Chiharu ... " she said slowly. "I was listening to Yamazaki."
"Don't believe that load of nonsense."
Yamazaki waved gaily at Sakura and Syaoran as I hauled him away from them, and plunked him into his seat. I'm sure that I burnt holes into the back of his head with my eyes that day.
Date: 17 of March
Spring
Dear Diary,
Guess what? This year, as we're the seniors of Tomoeda Academy, we get to organize the Spring Festival! Our Chinese teacher was talking about it today. It's known universally as chun jie. Isn't that a pretty name?
Our class were taking nominations for the commitee, the council, to be exact, that would head the whole thing. Yamazaki, Sakura, Syaoran, and I were chosen, along with a new, very capable and responsible American girl called Klara. She has long blond hair and very blue eyes, typical American girl look, so she tends to be self-concious. I don't really know her that well; she's more Sakura's friend than mine.
Yamazaki was also chosen, unanimously, as the head. When asked to chose the assistant, Yamazaki chose me. I blushed - I'm sure that he saw me and guessed my ulterior motive! - and smiled pleasantly. When we were done and let out of class, Sakura confided in me that when Yamazaki looked at me, she saw something else in his expression that signalled not only friendship, comradeship, and cousinship, but something deeper.
I wanted, but didn't dare to believe her. Later in the afternoon (they have just left), the council came to my house. I baked some cookies and brownies. Yamazaki said that it was delicious and he wanted more, but I took it that he was just being polite. We chatted about this Spring Festival, and chose to hold it on the 15 of April. I have just been on a horoscopes website, and they say that the 15 of April, the moon will be bright and round: perfect for confessing your love for that special someone. I daren't hope too much on this, either.
Sometimes I wish that I have more confidence in myself.
Chiharu looks up sharply as the phone begins to ring. She slips her flowered, blue pen into a pencil holder, climbs off the chair and picks it up. "Hello?" she asks. "Chiharu?" comes the familiar voice.
Her breath catches in her throat. "Yamazaki?" she replies hoarsely, with a question. "Yes, of course," her cousin says, laughing. Chiharu laughs a little as well, happy that she has made Yamazaki laugh. "When do you want to meet next?" Yamazaki inquires, voice taking on a curious tone. Chiharu is silent, pondering. "After school," she decides, as she grabs a pad of paper with designs of clouds for a border and a pencil. "How about the Tomoeda park?"
"Sure," is Yamazaki's reply.
Chiharu scrawls it down, her neat, cursive handwriting flowing effortlessly out of her pen. This is the type of paper she uses for her poems, however silly they seem to her, with their romantic murmurs; so she feels at home with it. "Thanks for calling me, Yamazaki." She sets down the paper, assuming that she was the last Yamazaki called. "When do we meet Klara, Sakura, and Syaoran?"
Yamazaki's voice is now low and gentle. "You were the first one I called."
Chiharu's heart skips a beat, then her pulse increases as her palms get damp. "Really?" she asks, forcing herself to sound normal.
"Hai."
"How about after school?" Chiharu suggests, in reply to her original question. She can almost see Yamazaki nodding over the phone. "Okay," he agrees. "Bye."
Chiharu waits for him to hang up, wanting to savour the sweetness of this phone call. She did not hear the click and dial tone as expected, as Yamazaki is also waiting for her to hang up first.
The silence hangs in the air.
Finally, Chiharu speaks. "Yamazaki?" The word lingers over the phone lines. Yamazaki is quick to respond. "Ladies first," he jokes. Chiharu chuckles as she sets the phone down into the cradle. With a warm feeling in her heart like she had just drunk a bowl of warm chicken soup, Chiharu flys across the room and resumes her diary-writing.
You wouldn't believe what I'm about to say, diary! Yamazaki called, we're meeting after school tomorrow ... I'll keep you updated! I'm so excited!
Author's Notes
Well, I suppose I'm starting a new tradition: Author's Notes at every end of a 'part'.
So … how was it? Review review REVIEW! //looks at you with puppy-dog eyes// PLEASE?! What do you think of the plot itself? I hope it's okay. //prays//
