Chapter 01: Get Out of My Face

Normal P.O.V.

It was the day of Sakura Kinomoto's birthday, and right now, all she wanted to do was sleep in. She near threw her alarm clock out the window, but she remembered that a screen had been put in the window a week before to prevent anymore concussions of nearby joggers. Against her own wishes, Sakura got up, went for a jog, had a cup of coffee, showered, groomed herself, ate breakfast, and headed out the door. With her books and papers in hand, she walked to the mailbox and looked inside. She pulled out a giant stack of envelopes, mostly for her roommate, Tomoyo. However, there was one envelope for Sakura. As she read the return label, she held her breath, opening and closing her eyes. With a shout of hope in her mind, she tucked the envelope in her purse, left the rest of the letters in the mailbox, and excitedly got in her car for her drive to work.

When she got to her work building, she walked in with an extra bounce in her step. When Tomoyo saw Sakura, she immediately noticed and asked, "What's so exciting birthday girl?"

Sakura beamed in reply. "I got a letter from a modeling company this morning!" she squealed.

"What did they say?" Tomoyo asked.

Sakura giggled. "I can't open it. You do it."

Tomoyo sighed and snatched the letter from her best friend's shaking hands. Hurriedly, she opened the envelope and cleared her throat.

"Dear Kinomoto-san,

Thank you for sharing your photos with us. We are pleased to hear that you've requested your admittance into our modeling company. Unfortunately—"

Sakura's happy face wilted and dropped. Tomoyo was shocked and angry as she read the rest of the letter. Scoffing, she ripped the letter and envelope to shreds. "Stupid idiots. They don't know a good model when the read one."

Sakura still didn't move. Tomoyo moved in front of Sakura's face and put a hand on her best friend's shoulder. "Hey," she comforted, "don't let it get to you, okay? You are a great model, regardless of what they say. Trust me, I know. If I owned a modeling company, I'd hire you in a heartbeat. Maybe the other companies won't be so stupid."

Sakura sighed in defeat. "Do we have any ice-cream?"

Tomoyo laughed. "No comfort food now. C'mon, you need to pick out the collection for the spring season catalog. It'll take no time, and I'll drive you to your class after we're done. When your class is over, I'll take you, Chiharu, and Rika out for some ice-cream." Sakura nodded in agreement and followed Tomoyo to her office.

After 15 minutes of debating, Sakura finally picked the spring collection for Fab's catalog. Feeling depressed, Sakura dragged herself to Tomoyo's car to get to her English class. When they got on the road, Tomoyo stared at Sakura. "Everything will be fine, Sakura. Trust me; those guys will regret it later."

"But Tomoyo, that was one of the top modeling companies in the country. I know you mean well, but honestly. What's the chance that those other companies will say yes?" Sakura asked.

"Sakura, you shouldn't be so negative about it. Think of it as an opportunity to fix the few flaws you have. Just take the advice the company told you in the letter and try doing what they tell you," Tomoyo suggested.

"You ripped the letter up and then put the shreds in the shredder."

"See? No revisions need to be made. You're modeling is perfect," Tomoyo answered with a smile.

Sakura stared back into the road. "Oh well," she said. "If I can't do modeling, I guess I can always write that book I never got around to do." Sakura sighed. "Happy birthday to me."

At this comment, Tomoyo pursed her lips and held her breath. She looked like she was going to explode. Sakura noticed and asked, "Tomoyo what are you doing!"

Tomoyo exhaled. "Okay, this was supposed to be a surprise, but I can't keep it in any longer. I set you up on a blind date tonight for your birthday."

"WHAT? Tomoyo, this has got to stop! You can't do this to me anymore!"

"But Sakura, you've got to find a guy for yourself! You're 23, and still a prude dork! Do you want to walk around for the rest of your life with the title of 'Cheerleading Captain,' 'Student Council President,' and 'Prude Dork!' You might as well just walk around with a sign on your forehead that says RECALL!"

"Tomoyo, I don't care that I still haven't had a boyfriend, and frankly, if being a prude dork is what's going to make me happy, then I'm fine with that! Besides, you saw what happened to Chiharu! I don't want you to have to come and save me, too!"

"What do you mean?" Tomoyo asked.

"I'm just… scared," Sakura admitted.

"To have a boyfriend?" Tomoyo asked.

"Well, no. Just the fact that he'll do to me what that sleaze did to Chiharu. I mean, what if I make the same mistake that Chiharu did by accident? You'll be the one that'll have to bail me out, and I don't want to put you through an experience like that again!" Sakura explained.

"Sakura, don't worry. That's not going to happen to you," Tomoyo assured.

"How do you know?" Sakura asked.

"Well first of all, you're not out to date every single guy that comes your way. You don't have dating magazines and books sprawled across your bedroom floor. Second, you have much better judgment that Chiharu does; just don't tell her I said that. Third, you portray a better image of yourself than Chiharu ever did. That's why all the wrong guys went for her," Tomoyo explained.

"Whatever," Sakura answered.

"So will you do it?" Tomoyo asked, hopefully.

Sakura eyed her friend. Tomoyo stared back with a puppy dog pout. Sakura sighed and closed her eyes. "I'm totally going to regret this."

Tomoyo beamed in triumph. "No you won't."

"I'll go on this date, but this is the last one. After tonight, all future dates are up to me."

"Deal," Tomoyo answered. She started to giggle. "I've got a good feeling about this one, Sakura." Her best friend rolled her eyes. "You say that every time you set me up on one of these. How is this one going to be any different?" Sakura asked.

"Because I just know," Tomoyo answered plainly.

Sakura laughed. "Your matchmaking instincts are that good huh?" Sakura asked. "So tell me, where did you pick this guy up?"

"He's a good friend of Yamazaki," Tomoyo answered.

"You mean our cameraman?" Sakura exclaimed. "You don't even know him!"

"Your date, no. Our cameraman, yes," Tomoyo answered.

"How long have you known our cameraman? How long have you known his name? How long have you known he has a name?" Sakura asked.

"Since I hired him…" Tomoyo answered. "We went out to lunch last week. He's super cute."

"Tomoyo, unlike me, you do have a boyfriend," Sakura reminded.

"I know. We were just looking at some of your photos. We wanted to see which ones were the best for the catalog," Tomoyo answered innocently.

Sakura eyed her fried suspiciously. "Is that all you were looking at?" she questioned.

"What?" Tomoyo asked, catching on to this hint. "You don't think I'm cheating on Eriol, do you?"

"Are you?" Sakura asked.

"Of course not!" Tomoyo answered. "What kind of person do you think I am?"

"I was just making sure," Sakura replied. "Thank goodness you're not. Imagine trying to explain that to Eriol. 'It's no big deal, really. I was just fooling around with our cameraman. Same old, same old.' That would be a time where I'd have my camera in hand."

"Stop," Tomoyo said. "I'm not cheating on Eriol, and you know it."

"Yeah, I'm just poking fun at you. You know that," Sakura replied.

"Whatever," Tomoyo answered. "Anyway, your blind date happens to be Eriol's best friend. They've known each other since they were little kids."

"And I've never met him?" Sakura asked. "Tomoyo, you and I have spent time with Eriol practically our whole lives, and we've never met his best friend?"

"I suppose so," Tomoyo answered. "But lucky you, you get to meet him tonight."

Sakura groaned.

"Hey," Tomoyo said. "Enough with the groaning. It's your birthday, be happy!"

Sakura smiled. She was happy. And she wasn't going to let anything else ruin her day.

Tomoyo pulled into the campus parking lot. "Get outta my car, loser. I'll pick you up in two hours."

"Alright," Sakura answered. "Thanks again, Tomoyo."

"For what, driving you? You know I'd do that anytime," Tomoyo said.

"No, I mean for making me feel better," Sakura said as she got out of the car. "You're awesome."

"I know," Tomoyo answered with a knowing smile. "But really, it's no big deal. Anything for the birthday girl!"

Tomoyo drove off and Sakura started to walk to the building where her next class was. She did so without the extra bounce this time, but still with a smile. After walking a few yards through crowds of people rushing to get to their classes, Sakura nonchalantly walked to the building, knowing she'd be late anyway and the teacher wouldn't give her a second glance when she walked in. Sakura walked into the building where she met Chiharu and Rika, waiting by the door.

"Hey guys," Sakura said, a little confused. What are you doing, why aren't you in class?" Sakura asked.

"Oh, no reason. We're just waiting for the birthday girl!" Chiharu answered excitedly.

"But you guys know I'm always late, and you will be, too," Sakura replied.

"Big deal," Rika answered. "Besides, we've got a substitute for the next two weeks. Minamoto fell down the stairs of her apartment over the weekend and needs a hip replacement."

"Oh, that's terrible!" Sakura exclaimed.

"No, that's awesome," Chiharu replied. "I swear that woman was too old to be living, anyway. Living proof that reptiles have scales, I'm telling ya. But just think! No work for two weeks, and who's to yell at us for being late?"

Sakura rolled her eyes at Chiharu. "I hope you're right, because we are totally…"

"Excuse me ladies, but some people are trying to teach classes," a voice interrupted. Sakura bumped right into somebody and all of her books fell to the floor.

"Excuse me, but some people are trying to get to class," Chiharu replied hotly. "Besides, who are you to interrupt a conversation and tell us to be quiet when you don't even teach here? The least you could do after being so incredibly rude is help us pick up our birthday girl's books!"

Sakura quietly picked up her books while Chiharu was talking and stood up quite embarrassed. "Chiharu, it's really okay. Don't make a scene, we're the ones late, remember?" she reminded.

"Maybe, but it's about time somebody taught men to respect women when they rightfully should be," Chiharu replied. Then she looked at the man. "I'm sorry, not men, I meant pigs."

"Chiharu!" Rika exclaimed.

"Chiharu, please," Sakura begged. "It's really not…"

"Or perhaps," the man interrupted once more, "it's about time students should learn to respect their superiors. That means teachers and their substitutes when they unexpectedly fall ill."

Rika gasped. "Hey! You're the sub for Minamoto-san! We're actually on our way to her…" A wave of realization came over Rika. "…Oh," she simply replied.

Sakura stepped forward. "I'm terribly sorry, sir," Sakura said while bowing to the teacher. "My friend Chiharu doesn't really react very well to m…"

"Take a seat, ladies," the teacher interrupted yet again. "You've already wasted enough of my time, and I do not wish to lose any more of it."

Silently, Sakura, Chiharu, and Rika made their way through the room of thirty other people and sat down.

"Now," the sub said, "as I was saying before I was so rudely interrupted, I am going to be your teacher for the next few weeks. You will refer to me as Li-kun, and disobedience will not be tolerated in my class." As Li-kun said this, he eyed Sakura. Sakura sank into her seat, wondering why he was picking on her.

Li-kun continued to go over his rules for the time he was going to be teaching. During this time, Sakura took the opportunity to write down a few thoughts that might be of use for another book. That is, if she ever got her first book out in the open. 'Perhaps about a girl tormented by an unbelievably mean substitute teacher.' The thought amused Sakura and she giggled to herself.

At this action, Li-kun turned around as the sound of Sakura's laugh echoed in the classroom. Sakura put on a straight face in order to get caught. As she pretended to copy down notes, Li-kun looked at each and every one of his students. Finding no culprit, he turned back to the chalkboard and started to talk again. Sakura exhaled as a sign of relief and decided to try and pay attention. However, as she began to copy down the instructions on the board, a piece of wadded paper hit her head. Not thinking, Sakura let out a loud, "What the-" but covered her mouth after she spoke. Li-kun turned around once more and immediately faced Sakura and made eye-contact. Seeing the crumpled paper on the floor by her desk, he walked towards her, picked up the paper, and walked back to the front of the room. Giving Sakura a suspicious look, Li-kun opened up the paper, stood nice and tall at the podium, cleared his voice, and began to read:

Hey Sakura

What a jerk! Can you believe this stupid substitute? If he were some regular guy on the street, he'd be in the hospital right now. He says he was interrupted by us, but he interrupted you like, 3 times!

But did you notice how he keeps staring at you? Well, Rika and I did. Rika thinks that maybe he likes you. Sucks for you, if you were me, I'd probably shoot myself. Just kidding. Besides, you need to stay single for your blind date tonight anyway. Talk to ya after class, B-Day Girl!

Chiharu

Li-kun looked up from the paper. He, along with the rest of the class saw Sakura, as low and as red as she possibly could be in her seat, and Chiharu, with the deadliest scowl on her face that clearly read: DEATH.

Looking at the roster and then up at Chiharu, Li-kun said, "Mihara-san, please step out of my class."

Chiharu scoffed and glared in disbelief. "What is this, kindergarten? Sorry pal, but there ain't no principal here."

"I am fully aware there isn't a principal here, Mihara-san," answered Li-kun. "Now please leave my class."

"You're class?" Chiharu exclaimed. "First of all, this is anything but you're your class, it's Minamoto-san's. Second, Minamoto-san can barely control this class, what makes you think you can do a better job?"

"Mihara-san, I'd advise you to listen to me, start being obedient and leave the room immediately," Li-kun replied, getting a little impatient.

"Obey you?" Chiharu scoffed. "Dude, I barely obey my parents. What makes you think I'm going to do it for you?"

"Mihara-san, I will not tolerate selfish, ignorant, unattractive babies that belong in kindergarten in my English class. Step out now," Li-kun stated quite firmly.

Chiharu stared at Li-kun, tears welling up in her eyes. She left the class, giant teardrops threatening to spill uncontrollably down her face. Feeling terrible for her friend, Sakura got up and started to follow Chiharu in hopes of comforting her. Unfortunately, as became only feet within the door, a tall man stepped in front of her, keeping Sakura from her friend. Both of them stared into each other's eyes, simultaneously thinking, "Get out of my face."

R+R, please! Any reviews, flames, or suggestions are welcome. Thanks to those who reviewed! Chapter Two will be up soon!

sweetpea