A/N: Hey! Here's chapter three! So yeah, not gonna be saying much, except...
Happy happy birthday Emma ^.^ (She's a really good friend of mine xD) I dedicate this to you :)))
Thank you reviewers!
TearsAndHeartbreak
pricious7divil
Ciaossu
Fashion Fairy 26
OtakuThatIsMe
Disclaimer: I do not own CCS.
(Preview)
"So…who's this guy you say? The one whom you got a crush on?"
"O-oh…that…it's…uhh…"
"Who?"
"Um…"
"Spill it!"
.
.
.
"Syaoran. Syaoran Li."
Sakura shot her friend a weird look. "EH? THAT JERK? ARE YOU SERIOUS?"
The girl beside her blushed a deep red. "P-p-please don't tell him!"
Sakura raised a brow. "Alright…? Fine, if you say so…"
"What about you?"
"Huh?"
"Don't you like him too?"
"NO! HA. NEVER IN MY WHOLE LIFE WOULD I LIKE THAT GUY! He's all yours. So, when are you gonna tell him?"
"I…I won't."
"EH? WHY NOT?"
"Because…"
…Of you, Sakura-chan…
She smiled a sad smile. "…I just don't want to."
"Hm. You know, I don't really get you sometimes, Tomoyo-chan. Say, maybe you're just hungry. Come on, let's grab a snack."
Sleep didn't come to Sakura that night. She had drunk three mugs of coffee that night. As expected, Touya didn't approve of Tomoyo coming over, so she studied by herself, not really sure whether she had understood the topics completely.
She couldn't sleep. But it wasn't the caffeine. Something else was bothering her.
"I'm sorry, Tomoyo-chan," she whispered. "But I promise, I will win this. I'll beat him tomorrow."
The Game of Love
By: Abby
Chapter Three
Mei Lin paced back and forth by the narrow gaps between chairs, her every movement closely followed by the keen yet confused eyes of her friends. Tomoyo shifted nervously in her seat, growing uncomfortable with every minute of silence that passed.
"Oi, Mei Lin, something wrong? You've been like that the whole time," Ryu deadpanned.
"Sakura…Sakura-chan…" she muttered. "I'm worried…"
"…"
"What if she wasn't able to study properly last night?"
"…"
"What if she fails?"
"…"
"What if she gets kicked out of our class?"
"…"
"WHAT IF SHE NEVER GETS TO BEAT LI, IN, ANYTHING?"
"Okay, okay, calm down, breathe Mei Lin, breathe," Ryu said. "Remember? We said so ourselves. We are NOT gonna let that happen."
"Yeah, we did say that, but did we actually do anything to help her? No!"
Tomoyo fell into a thoughtful silence before gasping as though an idea had dawned upon her.
Mei Lin briskly turned to her. "What? What is it, Tomoyo-chan? Have you thought of something?"
"It's just a suggestion, but…"
Everyone's eyes shifted to Ryu, who in turn raised a brow.
"H-hey…you know, it's rude to stare." A nervous pause. "…Uhh…guys…?"
Math. Oh how she despised that word—that very same word which would always bring her a feeling of nausea, struck fear in her at the mere mention of it, and a feeling of helplessness which would always overcome her whenever she actually tried solving a single Math problem.
And today was no exception. Sakura was already stabbing the pencil against the piece of paper which sat by her desk as she wrote, creating a huge mess of scrawled numbers, eyes narrowing as she tried to make sense of things.
No good.
Teeth clenched, her grip on the pencil grew tighter, anger slowly running through her veins as she once again went through the question.
Ryu sighed. "Still don't get it eh? Here, let me explain it again."
Sakura inhaled deeply, the droning voice of her friend cutting sharply right into her hazy mind. Still, no good. Her emerald eyes, no longer focused, completely clouded with anger, shone with an inner steel as Sakura broke the pencil into two.
"Shit," she muttered in a soft, low voice, before then tweaking it up what seemed to be five octaves higher as she broke into a fit. "GAAAAH! I CAN'T TAKE IT ANYMORE! WHERE DO YOU GUYS EXPECT ME TO USE THIS IN REAL LIFE? WHERE, DAMMIT, WHERE?! IN THE GROCERY STORE? YEAH RIGHT, LIKE HELL I'M GONNA USE THIS CRAP WHEN I'M CALCULATING HOW MANY FREAKIN' POTATOES I NEED TO BUY!"
Both Mei Lin and Ryu went up to her, straining to push her back down on her seat.
"O-oi, Kinomoto! Keep it down will 'ya?" Ryu commanded, quite annoyed at how the girl could have such a short patience.
"Yeah. Sakura-chan, don't let yourself get too stressed out by a sample problem Ryu gave you!" Mei Lin added, before exasperatedly muttering. "Here comes her feisty self again. This side of her always appears when it's something Math-related…"
Despite both their desperate attempts to calm her down, Sakura proved stronger as she furiously brushed them off with a violent shake of the arms. "IT'S NOT JUST ABOUT THE SAMPLE PROBLEMS, IDIOTS!" Her eyes flared as she assumed a determined pose with one foot on a chair and a fist brought up. "I'M TALKING ABOUT JUSTICE. FREAKING. JUSTICE! THIS SUBJECT HAD ALWAYS BEEN THE FEAR OF EVERY STUDENT, AND MARK MY WORDS, I'M GONNA PUT AN END TO ALL THIS TORMENT! SOMEDAY, I WILL, YOU JUST WATCH!" And she breathed out flames along with a heartfelt roar, tearing the paper into shreds as she did so.
Ryu rolled his eyes. "Look Kinomoto, if you really can't do it, JUST AGREE TO THE DATE!" he yelled, trying to drown out the girl's mindless outburst.
"OH SHADDAP!" Mei Lin growled at him. "WEREN'T YOU SUPPOSEDLY HER TUTOR? SAKURA WILL PREVAIL, I KNOW IT. RIGHT? SAKURA, YOU'LL WIPE THAT SMIRK OFF HIS FACE, RIGHT?"
"GYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"
Ryu snickered, trying his best to ignore all the noise Sakura was making. "Well that sounds more like a 'no' to me! So, plan B?" he yelled.
("MATH'S A STUPID PIECE OF CRAAAAP!")
"We don't have a plan B!" Mei Lin yelled back, voice barely audible. "We'll stick with Tomoyo's plan of tutoring Sakura!"
("DIE. DIE. DIE. DIE. DIeEeEeEeEeEeE!")
"We're gonna get killed! No. Correction. I'M GONNA GET KILLED! BESIDES, WHY DOES IT HAVE TO BE ME?"
"BECAUSE OF YOUR MATH SKILLS!"
("ARGGHHHHHHHH!")
"Well yeah, but how the hell am I supposed to teach her WHEN SHE'S GONE COMPELTELY BERSERK!"
"I'm sorry if my suggestion failed guys!" Tomoyo too was yelling, much to Mei Lin's protest.
"Don't worry! It's all right Tomoyo-chan!"
"WHERE IS THE JUSTICE IN THIS?! ANSWER ME, INFERIOR BEINGS! WHEEEEEEEEEEEEEERE?!"
The three sighed.
Sakura was then instantly silenced as a crumpled paper hit the back of her head. She need not ask who it was as she quickly turned and pointed an accusing finger at…
…Him.
Syaoran Li.
Ever so calm and composed as he went through his Math textbook with bored eyes.
She bristled like a riled tiger. "OI, GAKI! WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT FOR, HUH?"
First, there was a sudden silence. Everyone's gaze shifted from the raging girl to the nearly asleep boy, eyes glinting with anticipation at what could possibly happen next. After all—each day in Tomoeda High was bound to be anything but ordinary with the two always fighting and bickering and competing their whole day through.
A yawn.
"Look, I'm trying to study here, so please keep it down, annoying lady," he answered bluntly. "And we're not inferior beings. Science topic, chapter sixteen, lesson three in our textbook: Taxonomy—'All of us exist in this world equally as fellow human beings'. Which means, there is no such thing as 'superior' and 'inferior', Miss Kinomoto."
Sakura narrowed her eyes as she coolly retorted, "Well, my utmost apologies, Mister Li." Her words didn't seem the least sincere. "But 'There is no such thing, as 'no such thing'.—Logic, chapter four, lesson one: Reasoning."
A stunned silence occurred.
There were several unspoken rules when it comes to being one's rival, and as Sakura finished her sentence with what seemed to be a triumphant smirk, both knew. They could sense it—the start of yet another non-stop, continuous rivalry feud. It was a silent pact they had unknowingly developed through their years of rivalry, understood by both parties, though begrudgingly.
Syaoran smiled. "My, my…could this be another challenge?" he asked.
Sakura feigned hurt. "I'm disappointed. Shouldn't you have figured that out by now? This is no challenge, Syaoran Li." She smirked. "This is war."
WORLD WAR III: Commence, start! (Hell yeah!)
Challenge No. 36, 600: Hand-to-hand combat
And so, chaos erupted.
Mei Lin, Tomoyo, and Ryu could only watch the scene as still as stones, completely dumbfounded, eyes shifting alternately between the two as they spoke.
It was like a fierce tennis match, with the opposing sides throwing witty retorts back and forth, one after the other, and as the three watched with every bit of exasperation on their stunned faces, neither had the remote idea of what to do even in the slightest bit. It was almost impossible—only having what seemed to be a split second to be able to come up with something right after the other. Yet they did it with ease, for with people such as Syaoran Li and Sakura Kinomoto, the word "impossible" was a non-existent one.
"Messy-haired idiot."
"Hm. Like you're one to talk."
"Hell yes I am! At least I know, what a 'comb' is for."
Syaoran let out a cough. "A strip of plastic, metal, or wood with a row of narrow teeth, used for untangling or arranging the hair—straight from the dictionary, word per word," came his apathetic, drawling voice as he recited. "So…you were saying?"
"ARRRRRGGGH!"
From the side-lines, Mei Lin face palmed. "And so, the Algebra exam later, comes forgotten," she murmured. "Sakura won't pass if this keeps up."
One thing occurred after another, and the next thing they knew, their little "battle" had then gotten physical. She pushed through the door; he made sure to get her stuck, pushing his shoulder against her. She used her foot to try and trip him; he dodged it easily. They kept on pushing against each other, not even caring anymore about getting in or out of the doorway, one side simply concentrating on hurting the opponent, while the other swiftly evading the attacksdirected to him.
"You hit like a girl."
"I AM a girl, idiot."
Syaoran faked surprise. "You are?"
"AND WHAT THE HELL IS THAT SUPPOSED TO MEAN?"
Syaoran smirked as he easily dodged the girl's punch aimed for his head.
Sakura frowned. "Hey! Don't just dodge! Fight back!"
"Sorry, but I'll pass. I don't hit girls."
A scoff. "I thought you thought I was boy," Sakura then lunged forward with all her might. Syaoran moved away so quickly it almost seemed like he disappeared into thin air.
A gasp.
W-when did he…? Oh shit.
She fell forward.
"Ow. Must have hurt, ne?" he mocked.
She glared. "Don't think you've won yet, Li; THIS. ISN'T. OVER."
"You really don't know when to give up do you?"
"Weren't you the one who told me that?"
"Hn. Guess I did," he responded, extending out an arm.
"What's that for?"
"Offering to help you up obviously."
"Sod off," Sakura snorted as she stood up on her own, purposely ignoring Syaoran's hand. "I don't need your freaking help. Otherwise, it'd be a sign of my defeat. I told you already, didn't I? This isn't over yet."
A smirk graced Syaoran's lips as he withdrew his hand. "Hai, hai. Heard you loud and clear…"
Sakura frowned, knowing what was next. Oh God. Please no.
"…Miss Rank Number Two."
Worst suspicions confirmed.
"But for now, this first sector is my win, okay?"
Point Tally: Syaoran – 36,600; Sakura – 0
"Anyway, see ya' later," he said as he waved with minimal movement before walking away.
And as usual, she was the one to burst into a rage of fury. "THE NAME'S KINOMOTO, BAKA!" she yelled to this retreating back. Her eyes then lingered to the large school clock which stood by the middle of their school grounds. 10:08, it read. As in, two more minutes before her Music class starts.
"Shit. We're late," she whispered. Damn that guy. "Teme…"
.
.
.
"I'LL MAKE YOU PAY FOR THIS, SYAORAN LI! GYAAAAAAAA!"
And so, their day continued, like any other not-so-ordinary day, at their not-so-ordinary school—Sakura and Tomoyo dashed off to Music, while Mei Lin walked her way to Chemisty.
The ruby-eyed girl could only gulp with nervousness.
For Sakura, it was Math.
Yet to Mei Lin, the subject she found the hardest was Chemisty. Yes, Chemistry. Truth to be told, Mei Lin really had no expertise—just some average student who manages to get by with average grades. Her forte, perhaps, might be sports, yet still far off from Sakura's level. More so, Syaoran's.
And that was what pissed her off ever since then.
Syaoran Li this; Syaoran Li that. Why can't you be more like Syaoran? Damn it, she was always being compared to that cousin of hers! Though in the years that she had grown up with Syaoran's achievements rubbed into her face every so often, she had, honestly, gotten used to it all and could only shrug the thought off. She could care less.
Still, sharing the same class with him, and only him, in that very subject she had very much hated…
She found it most disturbing.
Good thing it was only for an hour. She'll endure. Probably.
"Benzene?"
"C, subscript 6; H, subscript, 6."
"Very good."
The door burst open.
"Sorry I'm late sensei!"
"Ah, Mei Lin," the teacher acknowledged. "Please. Take your seat and we shall proceed."
The girl nodded, then scanning the current scene before her. Syaoran was standing up. Obviously, he had answered yet another of their teacher's tricky questions. She could only roll her eyes at the thought before doing as told as she carelessly dropped her bag on the floor and sat comfortably on her chair, her mind drifted off into the land of dreams…
Syaoran frowned at her sleeping figure.
"Class, we'll be having an activity today…"
The school bell then rang, cutting right through Mei Lin's half-awake consciousness. A small smile appeared on her lips as she grabbed her bag and made her way outside.
"Oi…tell me, until when are you gonna keep ignoring me?" the ever-so-familiar voice of her cousin interrupted.
She shrugged. "I don't know," she answered vaguely on purpose. She was in no mood to talk, especially since she had been very much bummed in managing only a seven out of fifteen in their Chemistry activity for that day, when Syaoran aced it with ease, giving yet another reason for the Li elders to sneer at her. Of course, she wasn't that stupid to actually brag a failing grade to them, neither does Li, and it was always a wonder to both as to how their elders get a hold of information about their performances in school. Connections, most probably, but they were in Hong Kong, so they really couldn't be sure.
"Until necessary, I guess," Mei Lin continued in response to the boy's question earlier.
"You seem to be in a bad mood…"
"Ah, yeah, well, you wouldn't understand. I mean, you're good in everything you do."
"That's not true. You were half-asleep when you were answering the activity. You were bound to get a lot of mistakes. I should know. I was the one who checked yours."
"Whatever," Mei Lin shrugged once more. "Anyway, shouldn't you be meeting up with Sakura right now? From what I remember, you still have to finish your match."
"Ah, yes. Thank you for reminding me."
"Break a leg."
Syaoran raised a brow. "Wow. Quite unusual for you to bid me luck."
"Nah. I meant it literally. You know, like, really break your leg and let Sakura win even for just one freaking time."
There was no sarcasm in her voice. Just blunt; a teeny tiny bit angry and irritated, but mostly blunt.
"Never change, do you?"
"Should I?"
It was question Syaoran need not answer.
Because Mei Lin had already made up her mind.
And he secretly awed her for that—being able to live her life as she pleased despite their elders' protests.
Of course, he'd never tell her that.
Challenge No. 36, 601: Concentration Ability
(English class)
"Writers—?"
"—Write."
"Singers—?"
"—Sing."
"Runners—?"
"—Run."
"Fingers—?"
"—Fing." A pause. "AUGH, DAMMIT! THAT WAS A NASTY TRICK!"
"No it wasn't. Just means you're not paying attention, Kinomoto. This is a concentration contest, remember? Shall we now call it 'my win' then?"
A defeated sigh.
Point Tally: Syaoran – 36,601; Sakura – 0
"Li. Kinomoto," the stern voice of their teacher rang as he folded his arms in one swift move. "May I ask what's so important back there, that you'd rather have that discussion instead of listening to mine?"
"Uh…well…eheh…"
"Oh, it's nothing important sensei," Syaoran confidently cut in. "Please accept our apologies, and sorry for the interruption. So…may we continue with your discussion?"
"Yes, yes. Very much…yes." And the teacher turned her attention back to the whole class.
"Tsk. Whatever," Sakura whispered. "I swear to God, I'll beat you the next time."
"You know, I've heard that, like, 36,601 times already."
Sakura madly reddened with embarrassment. "Humph!"
"Alright! So, now we have plan B!" Mei Lin said determinedly, as soon as she, Tomoyo and Ryu had met up at the cafeteria.
"We have?" the other two chorused.
"Ha. Of course! After all, the next person other than Sakura who probably wants to see Li defeated…" she said and her ruby eyes glinted, "…is me."
Tomoyo tugged her shirt. "Look. It's Sakura-chan."
"Ah! Then we shall put our plan into action! GET HEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEER!"
Sakura pouted all her way to the cafeteria, with a pool of thoughts in her mind. It was only when she heard an ear-splitting…
"…GET HEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEER!"
…And the feeling of three pairs of hands clasped tightly on her arms dragging her back...
…She knew…
A smile. "Heh. These idiots…"
…That she might actually win this time.
"So they've come to help me again. Meh…they always do…"
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
"OKAY, LISTEN UP HERE, KINOMOTO. THE EXAM IS ALMOST UP, AND WE'RE GONNA BE TUTORING YOU FROM THIS POINT ON UNTIL TIME COMES!"
"Tutor? Wait…WE'RE SKIPPING CLASSES?"
Tomoyo blinked. "Oh, didn't you know? When you're in danger of being in probation, you can actually skip classes you've got high grades in, to study and make-up for the low ones. Mei Lin only remembered it at the last moment, and so she sent excuse letters to the teachers." A sigh. "If we had remembered it earlier, it would've been better. Oh well."
"Wow. I didn't know there was such rule. That's quite unusual."
"Well. This is Tomoeda High we're talking about. Everything in here is quite out of the ordinary."
"Yeah," Ryu groaned. "Including the cafeteria food."
Everyone laughed.
"Oh, wait. But…what about you guys then?" Sakura raised a brow. "You weren't sent a probationary note right?"
Mei Lin smiled reassuringly. "We can manage. I mean, a few low grades on our cards won't hurt much." She frowned. "But you? Oh no, no, no. You must never…ever, ever, ever, eeeeever, ever, ever, ever, eeeever—"
"Alright, alright!" Sakura interrupted. "I get, I get it! Geez."
Silence.
"Uhhh, guys? Isn't this the part where you start already?"
"Oh. right. Yes, it is. Ryu, what do we do?"
Ryu's eyes widened. "Huh? Why are you asking me? Isn't this Daidouji's idea?"
Tomoyo shook her head. "Uh, yeah…but I thought Mei Lin-chan had it all planned and…"
Sakura threw them a blunt stare. "So you guys haven't thought of anything at all aside from practically abducting me and bringing me here?"
"Eheh…well…"
Another silence occurred.
A sigh. "Alright. Let me help you out on this one. It's the formulas that I don't get. Maybe you should start by teaching me those things first before moving to word problems?"
"Right then! Ryu!"
The boy nodded. "Hai!" He grabbed piece of paper and wrote in it. "Look here. This is the main formula you'll be using. You just need to substitute the values to it, and solve. Tomoyo, give some example problems."
"Right. Um…let's see now…"
Sakura smiled.
"Ahh…here we go again. I'm really thankful to have friends like them…"
(Half an hour later…)
"So, do you get it now?"
"Ah CRAP! I DON'T UNDERSTAND ONE. FREAKING. BIT!"
"Maybe we should take a break."
"Yeah, maybe. Come on…" The three turned to Sakura…
…Who had already dashed off to who-knows-where. "Sakura...?"
"ALRIGHT! YOU JUST WAIT LI, I'M GONNA GET YOU THIS TIME!"
"And…she's gone," the three chorused.
Challenge No. 36, 602: Hand-to-hand combat...Eh? Again? Oh dear...
"OI, LI!" Sakura called out as soon as she had caught sight of the amber eyed rival eating alone at the cafeteria.
"What? Honestly, Kinomoto, you show up at the most inconvenient of times," Syaoran responded bluntly, not even bothering to glance Sakura's way. "Can't you at least, give me a schedule of your unlikely appearances?"
"Oh get used to it! Like I said, I'm gonna grab any opportunity to beat you."
"Right; if you can. Anyway, I have to warn you, I'm in a really foul mood at the moment, I might lash out my anger on you."
"You got a failing grade?" Sakura piped hopefully.
"Ha. You wish."
"Then maybe—"
"It's just as I said; I'm in a foul mood."
Sakura grinned mischievously. "That time of the month?"
"Shut up, stupid."
"Hey! That's my line! Anyway, hah! All the better that you're in a bad mood! Means you won't be able to focus that much!"
And so, once again, she lunged forward.
He quickly stepped aside.
But she wasn't going to let that happen—falling down alone. And so, she took him with her, grabbing his arm. They were a mess of elbows and limbs on the floor. Yet they went on, completely oblivious to the amused watching crowd. She grabbed his collar, he gripped her shoulders, engaging in what seemed to be a tug-of war...on the floor. Their eyes locked for a split-second, and then were back on it again.
Though Syaoran felt dissatisfied for some reason. The way Sakura moved, dodged, fought seemed different…weaker.
Sakura tried to land a punch, Syaoran blocked it, then taking advantage of Sakura's surprised stupor to get her off him, yet making sure she wouldn't be able to get up all the same. The next thing they knew, Syaoran's standing figure loomed over Sakura's fallen one. With one last glance at her pitiful state, he turned his back against her and paced away.
"OY!" she called after him. "WE'RE NOT DONE YET!"
Syaoran frowned. "Oh, I think we are. Besides, don't you have your Algebra exam to take care of?"
Sakura's eyes widened. "Oh…right."
"Don't tell me you actually forgot…"
Sakura gulped.
Syaoran breathed as he fixed his sleeves. "As I said, I'm in a foul mood. And to think that you actually decided to take advantage that…of your opponent's weakness…doesn't it make you feel ashamed of yourself? We decided to play a fair fight since the beginning, right?"
His words bore right through Sakura.
"You performed badly this time Sakura—you weren't able to inflict even just one scratch. Continuing this would be pointless. Just go study for the exam later," he said, disappointment obvious in his voice before walking away.
He paused.
"And…don't push yourself too hard. Worrying about the after-results than the exam itself would likely lead to failure. I wouldn't like to see that."
Sakura could only stare at his back as he then disappeared from sight, feeling the worst she could possibly have.
She had lost.
And she knew it.
Point Tally: Syaoran – 36,602; Sakura – 0
Had she really been pushing herself too hard?
Had she been more worried about…'that'…rather than passing the exam itself?
And to think she decided to take advantage of Syaoran's dishelved thinking at the current moment due to his foul mood…UGH! SHE COULDN'T EVEN THINK ABOUT IT!
A hand aided her as she stood up. "Come on, Sakura," Tomoyo whispered sadly. As a close friend, of course, she had to take a share of Sakura's pain. "Let's just continue with the tutoring session, okay?"
"O-okay..."
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
"Oh dear, we're really, really sorry, Sakura, but our next class is Gym. Well, we really can't skip it because there's a practical test today, and…"
"Oh, don't worry. It's alright. I mean, a long time has already passed after all."
From far off, they could hear the school bell ring followed by the students' whoops and cheers by the sports field right beside their study area. Tomoyo and Ryu exchanged worried looks. Mei Lin shot Sakura an apologetic stare.
"But, you're still quite confused, and…"
"I said don't worry." Sakura smiled. "I'll manage. You just go. I don't really want to be blamed upon if you guys get a failing grade in Gym."
"Alright." The girl nodded hesitantly. "But I promise, right before the exam, we'll make a run through to see if you remember."
"Thanks. But…please…"
The scenery from before flashed in her mind.
Sakura's hands closed into a fist. "I…I promise, I'll try my best." She sent a reassuring smile their way, and then laughed. "So please don't give up on me, alright?"
...Because Syaoran already did...
"Hah. Course not! You won't either, right?"
"Never do."
Sakura watched as the three then took off.
"Gym, eh? Wow, for once, I'm actually skipping it," she whispered as she resumed on answering the sample problems.
A frown.
"Shit, my pen's out of ink."
She muttered incoherent curses under her breath as she rummaged through her bag. "Pen…pen…pen…" she mumbled repeatedly as though it was a foreign word. "Gah, no luck." A realization hit upon her. "Locker. Yes, the locker. I know I stored some extra pens in there just in case."
She walked along the halls as quietly as possible, past classes quite awkwardly. It was her first time doing it—actually skipping classes. Of course, she had a valid reason, and won't affect her records whatsoever. But still, it bothered her.
"Wow, I can't believe the halls are this quiet in between classes."
Not one soul can be seen.
She actually liked it.
Then catching sight of her locker (#161), she ran the rest of the way, entering the code and propping it open. "Ah! Pens!" she cried with relief as she grabbed two. "Wait a minute…"
A note was plastered on the inside of the metal door.
"Formulas…" it read. "…Huh? Oh my God, I need these!" she cried happily as she snatched it and looked through it as though it was check worth millions. "A complete list. Awesome!"
But who would…
Oh yeah! She remembered. She accidentally told Tomoyo her password.
"So it's those three…" A chuckle. "Man, they sure are idiots…"
"Still, I'm glad…"
.
.
.
"I don't know what I'd do without them."
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock.
Mei Lin, Ryu, and Tomoyo watched the clock tick with nervous eyes. They had finished the test minutes ago—it wasn't that hard actually. And then they would glance at Sakura from the corner of their eyes, and couldn't help but get worried. She seemed to be having a hard time. She wasn't finished yet.
Five more minutes.
Mei Lin gulped. "Think she's okay?"
"Don't worry, she'll be fine," Tomoyo said.
"Think those formulas helped?"
"Of course! It was a complete list, wasn't it? I'm sure Sakura will do just fine."
A wave of relief then passed through them as they saw Sakura stand up and pass her paper just in the nick of time. She seemed to be really tired. Solving all those problems must've totally drained every bit of energy she had.
The bell soon rang, and the three instinctively ran up to her.
They broke into continuous rants, bombarding her with questions.
"So, how was it?"
"Were you able to answer all the problems?"
"No, forget all. Were you able to answer most of the problems?"
"Were you able to answer even just one problem?"
"What about number 16? That was a hard one."
"And 28?"
"Have you solved them?"
"So…"
"HAVE YOU?" they chorused.
Sakura remained still, completely stupefied. "Did…did they…r-r-rehearse…t-this?"
She then frowned. "OI! STOP IT! YOU KNOW I HATE BEING LOOKED DOWN UPON!" She crossed her arms. "Don't insult my wits. All I needed were those formulas and I'm good to go."
"So it helped huh? Tomoyo snuck it in right after we left for Gym."
"Yeah. Sure did. Thanks. And, oh yeah…"
.
.
.
A smirk. "Number 16 and 28? Ha. Didn't even break a sweat."
JUDGEMENT TIME
Challenge No. 36, 602: Algebra exam
A tensional silence hovered over the four of them as they sat by their usual hang-out place, at a certain bench in the school field right under the shade of a tree. Mei Lin twiddled with her thumbs, Tomoyo sat still, face quite red, and beside her sat Syaoran, who was reading William Shakespeare's Macbeth for their book review. Sakura, on the other hand, chose to sit at the three's branch as she swung her legs back and forth, Ryu was missing. Well, not really. Everyone knew he was probably at the cafeteria grabbing some snacks.
"Li-sempai! Kinomoto-sempai!"
Sakura hopped down. "Ah! Yamato-san!"
Misa smiled. "I'm so glad I caught up with you! Here," she handed them a pile of papers. "Those are your papers. Sensei asked me to hand it out to everyone in her class."
"Thanks!" Sakura grinned as she excitedly fished out her paper from the pile. "Here it is!"
"Li-sempai got a perfect score as always…as for Kinomoto-sempai…"
Everyone stared at Sakura.
"S-so…?" Mei Lin asked. She peered over. Her face fell. "Oh. A 92 percent. We're sorry Sakura…"
Sakura smiled. "Sorry? For what? Oi, oi, I got a 92. Aren't you happy for me? Didn't we already talk about this a while ago? Right after exam?"
"But…doesn't that mean you lost?"
A shrug. "Oh well. There's always next time. Right, Li?"
A smile. "Well said, Kinomoto. Well said."
Sakura breathed in the cool air. She wasn't angry. She wasn't disappointed. Not one bit of any negative emotion she would usually feel when she loses to her rival. In fact, she actually felt satisfied.
"And…oh yeah," Misa spoke. "Kinomoto-sempai, sensei wants to see you. Probably to congratulate you for a high grade."
"Hai! Oi, Li, next time, okay?"
"As you wish. Anyway, you aren't mad?"
"Eh. No."
"Really? No outbursts this time?"
"None. I've been thinking about it a lot, and I realized it's not so bad to be defeated by a guy like you. Looking back at our past competitions, I can't help but laugh at myself because I looked like such an idiot whenever I get all angry and mad. I remember that fight we had back there. I must've looked very pitiful, ne?"
"So finally noticed, huh?"
"HEY!"
"Sensei's waiting for you. Maybe we can save this argument for later?"
"Fine, fine. Anyway, so that means I'll be dating you for seven days huh?"
"Oh about that. You don't have to do that."
"EH?"
"Drop that look, it doesn't suit you. Anyway, I only agreed to that deal for you to study harder. So it worked, huh?"
"But…I didn't beat you…"
"A ninety-two is good enough for me. Sensei's waiting for you, Sakura. Shouldn't you run along now?"
Sakura shot a skeptical look at Syaoran.
Syaoran raised a brow. "What? Something wrong?"
"Nothing. So wait, if I'm not gonna go on a date with you, then whose win will this be?"
"Mine of course. I mean, I did score higher than you, right?"
"Heh. I knew you'd say that." A grin. "Right then, off to sensei's office. Catch you later guys!"
And with this, Sakura took off.
Mei Lin breathed, right after the girl was no longer in sight. She awkwardly stepped closer to Syaoran. Syaoran raised a brow at her unlikely gesture. A few minutes of silence passed, until Mei Lin then spoke.
.
.
.
"How long are gonna keep that act?"
"What do you mean?"
"Oh stop playing innocent. That list of formulas. It wasn't Tomoyo's handwriting, ne, Tomoyo-chan?"
The lavender-eyed girl blushed, looking away.
Syaoran smirked. "Looks like you're smarter than what they give you credit for."
"Aren't you gonna tell her?"
"Should I?"
I was a question Mei Lin need not answer.
Because Syaoran had already made up his mind.
She folded her arms. "You're an idiot, you know that?"
"Hm. Guess I am. Anyway, I'm heading home. See you tomorrow."
"Yeah. See you."
Sakura walked down the hall to their teacher's office, the list of formulas still in her hands. Since dismissal had long passed, it was nearly empty, and along with the orange glow of the setting sun passing through the large glass windows, Sakura couldn't help but feel relaxed.
She then brought up the paper to her face, scanning it with bored emerald eyes.
"Ah, he's really insulting my wits, is he?" she muttered. "Did he really think I wouldn't figure it out? Gee, what an idiot."
.
.
.
"Still, idiots like them…
...They make the perfect friends…
…And rivals."
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
(Hong Kong)
"That boy…he skipped classes, eh? He's fooling around again!" a stern voice rang throughout an empty, cavernous room, breaking right through the stillness of the dark place. It was then followed by bad coughs.
"Please, dear, lie down and rest." A woman's.
"I can't! Not when…" A cough. "Not when…"
"Li-sama," a third voice rang. "I do not wish to interfere, but I think it's best if you do what Yelan-sama says. Please don't worry about your son, I promise he'll be taken care of. I'll find him a suitable bride in five month's time."
Silence.
"Ah, he's asleep," the woman spoke once more, before then turning to the boy. "Thank you, dear, I don't know what I will do without you. Anyway, is it really okay? It's quite a hassle to drop by Tomoeda at a time like this."
"Oh, it's no bother. I'm actually excited to see my cousin again. Besides, there's someone over there I'd like to meet. Feisty, wild, outgoing. I like girls like her. What was it?" A thoughtful pause. "Ah, yes…"
.
.
.
"Sakura. Sakura Kinomoto." A smile. "Please bid me luck, Yelan-sama."
-End Chapter Three-
