20th January

6:30 PM

Yeah, so here I am in my room, waiting for my stupid brother to finish using the computer and I found this old notebook; completely empty. I don't even know why I'm writing in this thing. It's not like I'm the kind of person who likes to keep a diary. Well, I guess it's just one of the ways to get rid of my boredom.

"Pass me that pencil, annoying." My brother ordered me as soon as he saw that I was lying down lazily on his bed. Honestly, that boy can't seem to see me relax and in peace for just a millisecond. He would always try to ruin the silence.

I threw the pencil at him, frowning. Annoying, that's his nickname for me. Unfortunately, I can't find one name that suits him the most. Currently I'm sticking with stupid, but I doubt that it'll last for long.

What was I doing again?

Oh yeah, this notebook that I'm writing on. Hey, what am I supposed to write on this anyway? Introductions? I've never heard of a diary which contains information about its owners. Oh well…

So I'm Sanako Yamashita, turning sixteen years old this coming March. Joy… too bad no one really cares. Except my brother and friends, anyway. Guess having a brother does have some good points… but those are too few to even point out. My best friends are, let's see; Kouichi, Kouji, Takuya and Izumi. But I get along with Kouichi much more than I do with the others.

Maybe it's because we went to the same primary school when we were seven. Well, as I was saying—or writing—for that matter, I get along with Kouichi. Kouji, his twin brother, is nice too, but somewhat different. While Kouichi is really shy, Kouji is always full of confidence but also calm and collected. That makes him a good friend for Takuya who sometimes gets over his head about something.

Izumi's a girl who I always talk to about normal things as in clothes or the likes. But I have never talked to her about romantic interests. Why?

I do not have one.

I'm not really interested, for now anyway.

At least she has one. A boyfriend, I mean. The people who don't know who she's dating with must be way out of date. He's the handsomest boy in the whole school (says her and tons of other girls), Taiki Yamada. I can't say that I think he's the hottest boy in school, though, since I obviously don't have any strong feelings about the way he looks.

To me, he's normal. But if people saw the glares that I get from girls when I accidentally admitted that out load to Izumi at the girl's room, one would think that I killed someone.

Well, excuse me, but I'm just not the kind of girl who drools at the sight of cute boys, even if they do try to flirt with me occasionally. It's not like I think that I'm way too good for them. God, no! I'm just not interested. Besides, I know that they're toying with me when they asked me to be their 'girl'. Even if I decide to go and hang out with them, my brother would kill them before the unlucky boy would have the chance to ask me out on a date.

Putting that aside, what happened today was really excellent. My netball team won the championships and Kouji and Takuya's soccer team did as well. Izumi got an absolutely exciting date planned for the night while Kouichi… well, he just did his normal thing, which is study.

No wonder he's the smartest one of all of us. You just can't find him anywhere without a book in his hands. I remember when Takuya and Kouji tried to snatch the book away from him. Well, let's just say that it didn't work out really well. Kouichi was really cross but he didn't show it. Typical of him, really.

I don't think the others noticed, either. In fact, I only realized it when he was being a bit too quiet and asked him what was wrong with him. He was reluctant to tell me at first, but he gave in after a while and told it all to me.

Oh, great… I smell my mom's cooking. I can't believe she would even bother to do it. After all, it's not like Shun and I are planning on eating it. I doubt that dad would want to eat her cooking either.

"Hey, mom's not cooking right?" Shun, my brother, said suddenly when he noticed the change of smell in the room. I had to stop myself from laughing out loud. If there was one thing that Shun was scared of more than our father, it was our mom's cooking. It's not that terrible… it's just… burnt. In other words, not very edible to a normal human being.

"Obviously yes. You should help her before she set the kitchen on fire again."

Shun, complaining and grumbling, went outside the room and left the computer on. His mistake.

While he was gone, I surfed on the internet. I checked my e-mail first, as usual, and saw that I had received an e-mail from Izumi.

Hey Sanako!

Guess what happened to me. I swear, Taiki must be the most romantic creature to have ever walked the earth. He bought me a bouquet of roses with his own money! Don't you think that's so very sweet? OMG, do you think he's planning on asking me to the Valentine's Day dance at school on February 14th? I can't wait! By the way, who're you going with? Don't 4get to reply, alright? I'm warning you!

-Izumi

I sighed. Izumi makes most of her e-mails look like notes that you would find on the fridge during the morning when your mom tells you where breakfast is. So short and not so detailed, either. She's doing it on purpose, I know it. She just wants me to reply to her and asked her what happened.

I don't mind short e-mails, but at least make it a little more detailed. That why, I don't have to wait ages for people to send me their reply when I ask them a question. Knowing Izumi, she would probably check her e-mails next week, or, if she's feeling lazy, next month!

That girl can be exceedingly inconsiderate.

Izumi,

For your information, the dance will be held THREE whole weeks from now. If he's planning on asking you to that dance (which I'm very sure he is), he will ask you next week. Guys are just like that, they like to take things slow. Tell me about what that awesome date you had. Wait, never mind, I'll just ask you at school tomorrow. I'm bored to death here! Pray that I don't die, please! –Sanako

P.S: I probably won't be going to the dance, seeing as I have no date whatsoever.

I clicked the reply button and sent the e-mail to her. After that, I decided to leave the computer and go outside the room. It looked like my brother was successful in stopping my mom from cooking. That's nice… that means we can order in.

"Tell me you didn't touch my computer. I can't believe I forgot to turn it off."

I turned to Shun with an annoyed expression on my face. His computer? Last time I checked, our parents told us to share. And even if we didn't share, that computer would be mine since they gave it on my birthday two years ago.

"I did touch OUR computer. But don't worry, I wouldn't even dream of entering that website of yours."

"Thank goodness. It's full of information about the pranks that I'm planning on doing to some kids." I shook my head.

"Pranks on kids? That's low, Shun. You're seventeen, for god's sake."

"So? What's wrong with doing a few things to kids. Your age, I mean."

"Are you forgetting that I'm turning sixteen in less than two months. Stupid Shun."

Shun smirked. That irritating smirk of his just makes me want to scream! Ugh… I need to go for a walk that very instant. I slipped on my jacket and rushed out of the house, away from my brother.

On the way, I saw Shinya, Takuya's younger brother, walking around the path with his friends. He waved at me when he noticed me and I waved back. It's nice to see him having fun. That kid is just so cute.

Now that I think about it, Shinya seems like an exact duplicate of Takuya. Sadly, the older boy was much more insane than Shinya. That drives the teachers mad. He's been in detention a lot of times than any other student that I ever knew.

I guessed I wasn't looking in front of me, because the next thing I knew, I had bumped into someone. Neat, absolutely. I have this special talent of bumping into people without meaning to. It's not like I'm blind! Hell, I'm not even wearing glasses!

"Sorry!" I mumbled to whoever the person was.

"It's okay." I was surprised to see Kouichi standing in front of me. I thought he was going to study for the exam next week. Maybe he changed his mind and decided to go to the arcade for once. Wait, who am I kidding? That's not possible. It's just not. Kouichi won't stop studying unless there's a really good reason why he had to stop. For example, helping his mother around the house.

"What are you doing here?" I asked. Kouichi smiled at me and shook his head. Okay… what does that mean?

"I was just planning on visiting you." He replied when he noticed that confused expression on my face. I looked even more confused. Why doesn't he just tell me straight-out what he really was up to?

"You left your Biology notebook with me, remember? Here you go. I thought you might need it for revision." He handed me the book and I took it while thanking him.

I don't know why he even bothered giving that to me. He knows that I won't start studying until the very last minute. Don't blame me! I just can't help it! Stop, why am I writing this in my notebook? No one and absolutely no one at all are going to read this book. Not after all the things that I just wrote in it.

"I won't read it." I reminded him playfully. Kouichi laughed and his blue eyes were focused on me. "I know that. There's a reason why I'm still being your friend after almost nine years, you know."

"Oh, really? And what is that?"

"Because I know you." He replied gently while smiling sweetly.

Know me? Yeah, Kouichi knows me. In fact, he knows about me so much that it freaks me out sometimes. In a good way, I mean. Like when I would want to go to netball practice, he would always remind me to take three instead of one of my water bottles because he knew that I'd need it later.

I straightened my dark, moderate length hair that had come untidy when a strong gust of wind suddenly blew. I tied it in a ponytail, sick of it being blown around all the time.

Kouichi eyed what I was doing and grinned.

"Maybe you should just leave it like that instead of tying it. You look more beautiful that way." He suggested.

"Beautiful? Kouichi, wear your spectacles. You know you need them." I said as I moved my hands up and down in front of his eyes. He took my advice and took out his glasses from his pockets and wore it. Hopefully no one will ever read this book, because I want to confess one thing. Kouichi looks extremely cute when he smiles at me like that. It's a wonder why he doesn't have a girlfriend…yet.

Kouji already has a girlfriend. She's a freshman, but she's really nice. I hang around with her if I have the time. She never misses one of Kouji's soccer games with Takuya. What was her name again? Oh, right. Maya Kirihara, if I'm not mistaken.

Takuya doesn't have a girlfriend, but he certainly has girl fans. He doesn't have to worry if he has no date to a dance. Just ask one of those girls to come along with him and they'll dump their dates at the last minute and say yes. Not that he had done this before. Takuya's definitely not as mean as that!

Kouichi… well, it's not like he's not cute or something, but he's just so shy when it comes to girls. I'm pretty sure that the only girls that he can talk to normally are Izumi, Maya and I. Three out of six hundred girl students are not exactly many.

Wait a minute, what do I care about Kouichi's love life? He seems content, so why should I worry about him? This book must really be starting to mess with my mind.

"Still gorgeous to me." He joked—or at least, I think he did—and I frowned. Me? Gorgeous? Please!

When a stranger sees me I bet the first thing that comes to his mind is probably, 'Wow, that girl is hideous,' not gorgeous. Kouichi's not feeling well today, I'm sure.

"Uh-huh, sure… Hey, do you want to drop by my house for a while. Shun would be really glad to see you."

He really would be glad to see Kouichi. I think Shun thinks of Kouichi as a little brother. That's not weird because he had known him since he was young. But still, one would think a sister would be enough.

"I'm sorry, I can't. I need to help my mom with housework…" I nodded. Kouichi's mom is always busy lately that she doesn't have time to manage her house. "…tell him I said hi, okay?"

"No probs. Be careful on your way back home and don't day dream!"

He blushed as he waved to me and went off alone.

Oh no, I think Shun is in a bad mood again after arguing with mom. Better get out of his bedroom. I always go to his room when I'm back from long walks. It's because his room is untidier than mine and thus making it more comfortable. Mom said it's not proper for a lady to have messy bedrooms and I was forced to clean up my room every single day. Honestly, I just can't…

"Out, Sanako. Out!"

Oops, too late. Guess I didn't get away in time.

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A/N: Continue or not? Review please! And for those of you who read 'Mannen's Life', it's safe to say that I will update that later, but maybe not soon. Sorry guys! But I will update, I promise!