Chewing the tip of my pencil thoughtfully, I flipped through the files of my brain to find some kind of clue to the answer on this question. How do you spell opthomologist? Hoping that my luck would stay true, I filled in the letter a and quietely put my pencil carefully next to my test. I stole a look to both sides and saw that the others were having a hard time too. Some of them even had beads of sweat wandering down their foreheads. Suddenly feeling worried, I soundlessly turned my paper fron-side again and checked it over. Had I done something wrong? It seemed pretty easy to me. When I checked all of my answers again, I sighed and looked up. The man was still standing there, not even bothering to look at the clock. I closed my eyes and lay my burning face on the cold cool, desk. The scraping of pencils grew faint and the light rustles of papers cushioned my ears. I tried to open my eyes one last time but only managed to squint. Very soon. The hard desk underneath me and the stone chair I was sitting on gave away under me.
It was morning and I was sitting in a seat looking dazedly out of a window on the opposite side. Suddenly, a shadow was looming over me and when I looked up, a high schooler's enormous back was towering above me. The next thing I knew, a huge tennis racket struck out barely stopping an inch from my nose. I flinched and gasped but my heart was keeping me from crying out. "You think you know how to do a western grip? Is that what you call a western grip? That's nothing man! This is how you do a realy one!" And once again, the tennis racket was coming closer and closer with every step until I thought that it would actually hit me. But when I closed my eyes and looked down, there was a voice. "Hey, can you stop that? I'm trying to sleep." ...I looked up and there was that dark figure slumped on the other side of me that I had not noticed before. He had those hard, bored-looking eyes...and then that figure said... Miss Ryuzaki?...Miss Ryuzaki? ...We are done with the test...
I woke up with a start. My head jerked back painfully and my face felt as if the skin was still stuck to my desk. I looked up and saw all the eyes staring at me. But I didn't see those familiar, hard, eyes among the people who were staring back at me. "Sorry, I guess I studied too hard." I chuckled. Only a few answered. Then, we all turned back towards the black board at the front of the room. The class was almost like a court room and it made me shiver. But I was soon leaving all this behinde-if I graduate of course. "Now this is I suppose the hardest of all the questions." the teacher retorted. "None of my students have ever gotten this question right." I peered closesly from where I sat and saw that the letter a) ophthalmalogist was circled. I smiled. Well sorry sir, but I think I just broke you record. I thought to myself. I was still smiling after we packed up, confirmed with others about our answers, and walked out the door. I knew I wouldn't be walking through that door again. And I was glad of it.
The soft, warm rays of the sun soothed my skin as I pushed out the doors and I smiled. I stood there basking in the sunlight and seeing the people pass by me looking down. I couldn't help it. I skipped down the steps and walked briskly with a spring in every step. This is what I wanted. The whole world was embracing me. I smiled at anyone. At the bleary-eyed men that sat by the street, the mothers doing groceries who pulled their child closer when I talked to them, and even Mr. Suzuki who only gave you criticism. On this particular day when, I beamed at him. He stopped his usual stream of words and stared at me for a long time. I walked away. I remembered the dream that I had just had. I know what happened after what that incident on that train ride and after that. After the years at Seigaku Middle, the whole team split and went their own courses in life. Eiji went on to become a professional tennis player along with Tezuka, Takasan unraveled his dream creating a chain of sushi restaurants after his father's death, Oishi had become a volunteer at the community service center while earning his pay as a lawyer and fuji had become a teacher at a university where there were for some reason, a large population of girls taking his classes. Inui became an engineer of the Science and Math Conservation Laboratory and Kaido and Momo were colleagues in a large company. I smiled at all the memories I had with all of them. Tomoka, my best friend back then, is now a famous fashion designer for clothes and what have I become? Finally, a graduate getting the job she always wanted, a journalist.
And that boy I muttered to myself. The one with the hard eyes that never blinked...I looked up at the sky as if his image might be standing there and charged right into a blurry form that was coming from the opposite direction. Our heads collided and we both fell to the ground. Without having to think, I sat up rubbing my head and brushing my long straight, hair away, said "I'm sorry for that. I must have not been looking. I've never been this clumsy since I was in Middle Scho...I stared at the face that was staring right at me. Those eyes... "Ryoma-kun?" I whispered. Yes it was him. That long face, those clear, calm eyes, and that mussy, black hair. He was here, standing before me-or sitting should I say, not even noticing that I was staring at him. "Ryoma-kun!" I exclaimed. "Why I haven't seen you for 10 years!" He looked up slowly, taking his time and replied, "Who are you?" I smiled. Of course he did not remember me! I barely did myself. I used to have a crush on him when I was with him 10 years ago at Seigaku. He played tennis so well back then, that whenever the ball hit his racket, the sound echoed through my heart I straightened my shirt and talked to him in a conversational way. I wanted to tell him that I was not that shy Sakuno who never talked anymore. I was a new Miss Ryuzaki. "Well, this is a surprise! I'd like to have a chat with you! You know, fill me in on your life these past few years and we can exchange memories. It'll be fun! I'll meet you at this cafe tommorow at 12 PM tommorow!" I waited for him smiling vainly as the silence lenghthened. When he finally figured out that I would no go away, he said, "Are you married?" "Wha-? No!" I laughed a little too shrilly. "Well, then, it's a date?" he asked slowly. I tried to suppress the blood rising to my face but failed. "If you like to call a small talk with a childhood friend a date, then...yes." The next thing I knew, he had reached out and taken the pen that I had tucked behinde my ear while I was flinching, pulled out a tennis ball from his pocket (which I would have smiled to if I weren't so nervous and baffled) and wrote something on it. Then, he turned away and tossed the ball over his shoulder. I caught it almost dropping all of my papers and examined it. There was a scribble: Lassy park, 2 PM today. I looked up but he was already gone. I walked all the way home quietely with my head down like the others all the way home, with a bright, warm ball, cought in my fist.