The Secretary's Secret: Teenage Remake
Chapter 4
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"Are you serious?!" Tomoyo's loud exclaim was even of a higher decibel than the sounds of wooden swords beating against each other and the fierce battle cries of Seijuu High's kendo club.
"Yes!! So he wasn't lying about how he believes in me after all!" Sakura said, casting a glance over at Eriol, who raised both his hands up in defence.
"Hey, it's not my fault! You have to admit that it did sound like –"
"I wasn't talking about that!!" Tomoyo exclaimed once again, not caring in the slightest that she had interrupted Eriol. "I mean, were you serious that you hugged him?!"
Sakura blushed at this mention of her sacred hug with Syaoran Li.
"Um. Yes."
"OH MY GOSH, YOU HAVE A CRUSH ON HIM!!"
Sakura's natural reaction was to scream back, "NO I DON'T!! It was just…a friendly hug."
"Yeah, stop picking on Sakura, Tomoyo. Why are you always talking about Syaoran Li anyways? Perhaps you're the one with the crush on him." Eriol said, looking at Tomoyo expectingly through his pair of glasses.
"What?! I don't have a crush on Syaoran Li!"
"Oh yeah? Then why do you talk about him all the time?"
"Because I think he and Sakura-chan make the cutest couple ever!"
"Tomoyo-chan!" Sakura protested and quickly glanced around in case anyone had overheard that. Luckily the kendo club members were too busy practicing, and inside the school dojo, so the chances of being overheard were close to zero.
We are never eating this close to the dojo again, Sakura thought. Rei Lin could very well be practicing in there and if he heard what Tomoyo said about me and Syaoran...GOSH he'll go tell Syaoran and it'll be so embarrassing!!
Lost in her own thoughts, Sakura must have missed whatever insult Eriol threw at Tomoyo. Whatever he had said though, it got a big rise out of Tomoyo, and the next thing Sakura knew, her two best friends had stood up and were screaming intensely at each other.
"Eriol Hiiragizawa! I can't believe you'd say something like that!"
"Well, you can't deny that it's not true!! I mean—"
"FINE!! I guess in your eyes all these years I've always been that type of person, haven't I?!"
Sakura looked wildly from her one best friend to the other before she hastily stood up from her spot as well. "G-guys!! What's going on? Let's all calm down and—"
"Sakura! Did you hear what he said to me?!" Tomoyo asked, turning to face Sakura. Sakura looked into her violet eyes and was able to tell that Tomoyo was near tears.
"Umm…not exactly. I sort of zoned out. The last thing I heard was that he said you have a crush on Syao—"
"I'm not talking about that!" Tomoyo screeched, her tantrum rising higher and higher, "I'm talking about what he said after that!"
Sakura turned to face Eriol, a blank look on her face. "Eriol! What did you say to her?!"
"Nothing!! I—I—" Eriol stuttered, obviously shocked at the impact of his own words, once he noticed the tears in Tomoyo's eyes.
"What he said was not nothing! You are such a –"
But whatever Tomoyo was planning on saying, she didn't get a chance to finish because at that moment, she had decided to throw the onigiri in her hands at him.
"Whoa," he exclaimed and ducked from Tomoyo's vicious rice ball that came flying his way.
Sakura stood there stunned. The gaze of her green eyes followed the trajectory of the onigiri and watched as it flew passed Eriol's head of midnight blue hair and towards…
…an unsuspecting kendo club member with jet black hair and who was coming out of the dojo from practice, his bamboo sword still in the clutch of his hand. Rei Lin.
Syaoran's best friend!
Tomoyo's onigirl hit Rei squarely on the left cheek, left a few rice grains in its landing, and fell on the grass in a big messed up clump of rice and seaweed.
The three best friends stood frozen, as well as Rei's kendo friends who all have their bamboo swords in hands.
Oh no! They're not going to beat us up are they? Sakura gulped. No way! That'll be stupid! This is Rei Lin we're talking about. He's cool and collected enough…if it had been Amiko, then maybe we'll get beat up…
True to her thoughts, Rei simply wiped the few rice grains from his cheek, bent down to pick up the squished onigiri, aimed it at the nearby trashcan…
…and made it in without even touching the rims.
None of the three friends dared move as Rei strolled over casually to their spot and stopped next to Tomoyo.
"That's how you throw an onigiri," he said with a chuckle.
"Umm…sorry, Lin-san. I wasn't aiming at you. I was—"
"And a pretty girl like you shouldn't cry." Rei said, and gave Tomoyo a warm smile. Tomoyo's violet eyes widened at this compliment and Sakura noticed a pretty blush graced her best friend's cheek.
Tomoyo nodded slightly, at a lost of words.
This is a first. Tomoyo-chan is hardly ever silenced. Actually, I think this is the first time I've seen her speechless…
"I'll see you in class after lunch," Rei said, his smile not wavering. "You're in my Chemistry class, right? I'm Rei, by the way."
"I—I know…and umm…yes, we're in the same C-chemistry class." Tomoyo stuttered, the blush never leaving her pale cheeks.
Ohmigosh, now she's stuttering too!! Sakura's green eyes widened as she took careful note of her best friend. It was as if their roles have reversed. Instead of Tomoyo taking notice of Sakura's reactions around guys, it was Sakura taking note of Tomoyo's.
"I'll see you later then," Rei said. Then he turned to Sakura. "By the way, Kinomoto-san?"
Sakura jumped and tore her observant gaze away from Tomoyo. "Yes?"
"Congratulations on winning the election. Did you know Syaoran never doubted your potential?"
"Oh, really?" at the mention of Syaoran, Sakura felt herself joining Tomoyo in blushing.
"Anyways, I better get going now. See you around Kinomoto-san…and Tomoyo-chan."
And with that said, Rei walked off. Apparently, neither Sakura nor Tomoyo noticed that Rei never acknowledged Eriol the whole time.
"OH MY GOSH, YOU HAVE A CRUSH ON HIM!!" Sakura exclaimed loudly, her yell similar to the way Tomoyo usually shrieks at the mention of Syaoran and Sakura.
"What?! No, I—I—" Tomoyo stuttered, still at a lost for words even though Rei was completely out of earshot.
"Come on, Tomoyo-chan. I've known you since forever, and I've never seen you at a lost for words like you were with Rei Lin. You totally have a crush on him!" Sakura giggled, giving her friend playful nudges on the shoulder.
"No, I don't!! I was just surprised that he knew I'm alive and he knew my name too!" Tomoyo exclaimed, her voice matching Sakura's in decibels as she waved her arms around in innocence.
"Fine, he totally likes you then!! I mean he knew you're in his chemistry class and --"
"Hello?! Do I cease to exist to either of you anymore?!" Eriol's loud voice pierced right through the girls' little gossip world.
Awaken from her girly giggles with Sakura, Tomoyo refocused her attention – and glare – at Eriol, causing him to glare back at her as well.
Oookay, Sakura thought, time to start Operation Patch up.
"You guys! Come on! Whatever happened, whatever who said what, let's just forget about it, and—"
"Forget it," Eriol said angrily, and started to pack his lunch up, "I think Tomoyo just proved what I said is true."
"I didn't even do anything, Eriol Hiiragizawa! You're just being mean and stubborn! At least now I know what you really think of me as a person!" Tomoyo huffed and started to pack her lunch up as well.
Sakura panicked. "You guys! Let's not be childish! Come on, we still have fifteen minutes of lunch left! Let's just forgive and forget, and pretend like it didn't happen, and—"
"Forget it, Sakura." Eriol rolled his eyes. "I'm going to my locker now."
"Eriol-kun!! Waitttttt!!" Sakura yelled after her best friend but to no avail. She whirled back around to Tomoyo, who was still packing up. "Tomoyo! Eriol left!"
"So? I don't care!"
"But he's in your Chemistry class too! You two are lab partners!"
"Whatever. I'll see you after school, Sakura-chan. I'm going to my locker too."
"Tomoyo-chan!! Waitttttt!!" Sakura yelled after her other best friend, but again, to no avail.
Aiyaaa…so much for Operation Patch Up!!
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Sakura opened her locker and reached for her backpack. She hadn't seen Tomoyo or Eriol since lunch, and a part of her wondered if the two of them had made up by now.
Of course they have! I mean, they've been best friends since forever too! And they had Chemistry together after lunch, and they're chem partners! So they must have worked together. And Eriol is always such a joker; he must have made her laughed. And Tomoyo laughs easily, so she must have forgave him by now. Unless… Sakura paused mid-putting-her-math-book-into-her-backpack as another thought crossed her mind. Unless Rei Lin asked Tomoyo to be his partner! Oh my gosh! Poor Eriol would have been partner-less then! Oh wait. Rei must have had a usual Chem lab partner too. No way he'll ditch that person. So of course Tomoyo and Eriol must have made up…
"You know, I've noticed that you've been holding that math book like you're going to put it in your bag for half a minute already." Syaoran's voice broke through Sakura's thoughts.
Sakura snapped out of it and hastily stuffed the beaten old textbook into her bag, and as usual, a blush formed on her face.
"Yeah, I was just thinking about some stuff." She said. Then, not exactly sure why she was telling him this, "My two best friends got into a fight at lunch."
"Yeah, I heard." Syaoran replied casually.
Sakura's eyes widened like saucers. "YOU know?! How did you know?! Do you know if they had made up by now too??"
"Uhh, well, I don't know about that," Syaoran laughed. "But I heard they got in a fight from Rei. He said Tomoyo threw an onigiri at him."
"Oh…yeah. Well, she was actually aiming at Eriol." Sakura said sheepishly, feeling embarrassed on her friend's behalf.
"I thought so. Anyways," Syaoran looked deep in thought for a while, "you're a girl aren't you, Sakura?"
Sakura blinked at him, and was at a lost for words. What kind of person would ask such a question?!
What does he mean by that?! Do I look like a boy?! Ohmygosh what if he thought I'm a boy for all the past two years?!
As if reading her mind, Syaoran laughed and said, "Sorry!! No, really, I'm sorry, I didn't mean it as an insult. I've always knew you were a girl," he winked, "but it just occurred to me that you can help me with something. Are you busy tomorrow after school?"
Thump, thump, thump, thump, thump, thump…her heart rate sped up uncontrollably.
Is he asking me out?!
"N-n-no, I'm not busy." Sakura flushed.
"Great, soccer practice is cancelled tomorrow, so I'll meet you here after school? We'll head out together."
"O-okay. That sounds good." Sakura said, trying her hardest not to stutter.
"Great, I'll see you later then."
And as he was about to turn his back on her…
"Syaoran?"
"Yeah?" he turned back around. Sakura opened her mouth, but noticed that Amiko, Rumiki, and Rika were just turning the corner, all in their cheerleading uniforms, and were waltzing towards Syaoran.
Should I still say it??
"Where are we going?"
"Oh, I just need your advice on something." He said with a mysterious and playful twinkle in his auburn eyes, "You'll see tomorrow."
"Syaoran-kun! There you are! Come on, you'll be late for soccer practice! The cheerleading team and the soccer team are sharing the field today! Let's go!!" Amiko said flirtingly, grabbing him by the arm.
"Alright, alright, I'm on my way." Syaoran laughed. "Bye, Sakura."
"B-bye." Sakura said timidly, quickly glancing away when Amiko shot her a glare behind Syaoran's back.
Sakura lead back against her locker, trying to calm down her rapid heartbeat.
He asked me out!! Well, okay, not on a date exactly, but still!! I get to spend tomorrow after school with him!! I wonder what we'll do!!
The possibilities of tomorrow were zooming around in her imagination when a sharp tap on her head made her yelped in pain.
"Tomoyo-chan! That hurts! And you're late in meeting me today!" Sakura said, and rubbed the sore spot on her head.
"I saw Syaoran Li talking to you so I didn't want to interrupt."
"He asked me out tomorrow. But not a date or anything! He said he wanted my advice on something!" Sakura added quickly, afraid one Tomoyo will shriek again about how cute she thinks Syaoran and Sakura would be as a couple.
But to her surprise, Tomoyo did no such thing. Instead Tomoyo casually leaned against one of the lockers and hugged her heavy textbooks to herself, and gave Sakura an encouraging smile.
"Oh. Well, congratulations, Sakura-chan!"
Sakura frowned. "Tomoyo, are you okay?"
"Of course! Why would you ask?"
"Well, for one thing, you didn't jump up and down and yell about how cute it is for Syaoran to ask me for advice." Sakura pointed out and kept an observant eye on Tomoyo.
"Well, it's just that, I—" Tomoyo stopped mid-sentence as she dropped her heavy textbooks on the floor with a loud BANG!
Near by students who were packing up at their lockers gave the two girls odd glances that clearly said what's the matter with you two?
Sakura and Tomoyo blushed from the unwanted attention as they quickly bent down and pick up the textbooks.
"You see, Sakura-chan?! You asked me what's wrong. Well, this is what's wrong!! This is what happens when—never mind." Tomoyo stood up briskly as she gathered up her books and decided against on what she was about to say.
"This is what happens when Eriol doesn't pop up from nowhere to carry your books to your locker everyday after school." Sakura finished for her, and realized that that was what was bothering Tomoyo.
"Whatever. Who needs him?" Tomoyo huffed childishly.
"I can't believe this. I thought you two would have made up by now," Sakura said, shocked. "Don't you two have Chemistry together?"
"No!! What are you talking about?! I don't have any chemistry with Eriol!" Tomoyo denied loudly, not looking Sakura in the eye. Sakura raised her eyebrows at her friend.
"Err…Tomoyo? I was talking about Chemistry class…not, you know, love chemistry."
Tomoyo blinked her violent-grey eyes in realization and laughed. "Oohh…yes. Chemistry class."
"Yeah. How can you two work together and not made up by the end of class?"
"We didn't work together. The sensei did a randomization and mixed up everyone today. I worked with Rei." Tomoyo sighed. Whether it was a sigh of depression that she didn't get to work with Eriol, or a sigh of dreaminess that she got to work with Rei, Sakura couldn't tell.
"Then who did Eriol got paired up with?" Sakura asked questioningly.
"Oh, he got stuck with Nicky McGill," Tomoyo waved her hand in dismissal over such a trivial piece of information, but this action nearly made her textbooks spill out of her arms again. Luckily Sakura caught it in time.
"Tomoyo-chan, do you have a crush on Rei or something?" Sakura asked, finally locking up her locker for the day.
"I have no idea what you're talking about." Tomoyo muttered, and honestly, Sakura just can't decide whether she was telling the truth or not. The two girls started to walk towards Tomoyo's locker. However, this time, Sakura suggested that they take a different route.
"Let's go around this corner instead, Tomoyo-chan."
"Why? We have to walk more to get to my locker."
"Yeah, but we will pass by Eriol-kun's locker. Don't you want to see him at least?" Sakura asked hopefully.
"I don't care." Tomoyo replied stiffly, but followed Sakura's suggestion nonetheless.
"What did he say to you at lunch today anyways? It must have been really bad for you to stop talking to him, but Eriol isn't that nasty, was he? You know he values your friendship. He probably didn't mean it." Sakura tried to persuade Tomoyo.
"I don't want to talk about it." Tomoyo replied with stubbornness clearly in her voice, and made sure to kept her head turned to one side – the side that Eriol's locker was not located at.
"Oh, look, there he is now! Eriol-kun! Hey!" Sakura called and waved. Eriol looked over at the girls and his eyes clearly lit up. However, he frowned a bit when he noticed that Tomoyo's head was resolutely turned away from his gaze.
"Err…let's go over, Tomoyo-chan." Sakura said, pulling the lavender sleeve of Tomoyo's pretty cotton sweater.
"No, thanks. I'm going to my locker." Tomoyo said and walked even faster past Eriol's locker. Sakura sighed as she watched her lavender-haired friend stroll further and further away.
"She still mad at me?" Eriol asked as Sakura slumped against the locker next to his.
"Yes. What did you say to her at lunch? I've never seen her this mad before!"
"Ouch. That's not too reassuring, is it? But whatever! It's her fault. I wasn't actually serious about what I said at lunch. But from the way she's been acting ever since then, I'm starting to think I was right." Eriol said with a hint of anger and annoyance in his voice.
"Eriol, she's just upset. Of course she's going to scream or give you the cold-shoulder—"
"I'm not talking about how she's acting with me when she's mad. I'm talking about—oh just forget it." Eriol slammed his locker shut with a loud bang. "I have to get home now, Sakura-chan. I have driving lessons with my dad. But here are the math notes you wanted to borrow. I'll see you tomorrow!"
With a final smile and a wave, Eriol walked down the hall, leaving Sakura standing there with a pile of math notes.
Oh great…my two best friends are giving each other the silent treatment and cold shoulder. And I don't even know what's wrong.
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Sugar Pink: Hey everyone! Anyways, I hope you all enjoyed this chapter! Next chapter, we get to see what Syaoran wants to do with Sakura, and also, the next student council meeting.
This chapter, I just wanted to spend more time developing the "side stories" to this story.
Still accepting ideas for fundraiser function/event!!
I've read all the ones you guys already gave and they were pretty awesome hehe thanks!
Please leave a review and I'll update faster!
