002. Screenwriting an Apology

There was not much to know about me. Well yeah, my name is something but it is not that important. I could be named something else, if I wanted to. I believe it comes with the perks of being a pathological liar. Trust me; there are many perquisites. I would gladly elaborate them all if I was not too occupied now. You see, I had not expected my cousin Tomoyo Daidouiji to come back from Paris so I slept in late. Well, who could blame me? I had an unexpected history project due in the morning which I may or may not have done. Stupid alarm clock did no good at all. It just sat there, staring at me with its piercing tick-tocking. I would have smashed it, had my cousin not splashed me with cold water first. Yes, this day was getting better and better.

"Sakura, hurry up!" I hear my cousin yelling from downstairs. "We are going to be late!"

That spoiled the mystery rather fast. Maybe my name is Sakura, maybe it is not. All I know is that I do not intend to eradicate the magic of guessing my name. Do not be surprised, I can tell the truth occasionally (if and when I want to.)) I heaved a huge sigh, barely managing to brush my wet wavy auburn hair. I stopped and thought of changing my clothes but decided against it once I pictured my cousin's reaction in my head. She is going to be so pissed and I was going to have a laugh off it. Thankfully, I had not worn pajamas the night before. Okay, so maybe I reek of damp clothes but who cares right? I grabbed my black backpack and preceded going down the stairs, my wet hair dripping down my cheek.

I found my cousin in the kitchen, biting into a piece of buttered toast. She has not noticed me yet, seeing as her chair was turned away from me. I decided to tease her a little bit, walking through and fro behind her as quietly as I could. For a neat freak, her sense of smell was twisted. A normal person would have smelled my damp clothes a mile away. I guess weirdness does run in the family.

"You know, walking behind my back is not exactly the revenge I was hoping for," Tomoyo said, taking another bite of her buttered toast. She stood up from the chair, and opened the cupboard, revealing a heavenly box of Frosted flakes. "Are you hungry?"

My stomach grumbled in response. It was then that I had an epiphany, a moment of silence. My stomach and alarm betrayed me. They were traitors in my eyes. "Does that answer your question, princess?" I approached my cousin, took the Frosted flakes cereal from her hand, grabbed a bowl, and got a carton of orange juice from the fridge. I watched in anticipation as bits of cereal spilled on the bowl, and poured orange juice afterwards. There was the tangy smell of cereal coupled with orange juice that seemed to brighten my morning every day. Some people think I am weird for liking such a breakfast choice, but let them think what they want. In fact, I would rather have it over burgers anytime. The fact that my cousin thinks it is disgusting is another plus.

"How can you stand eating that?" I could hear repulsion in Tomoyo's voice.

My lips formed into a small smile as I took the spoon inside my mouth and replied, "Want some?"

"Not really," Tomoyo firmly said. "Come on, we better get going. Just leave that bowl there. Uncle will probably wake up in a matter of minutes." She glanced at her diamond studded watch.

This was not going as planned. "Are you not going to complain about my clothes?" She was supposed to scream at me for wearing clothes I have slept in, more or less, damp ones. I was expecting her to whine and whine about my being disgusting by eating Frosted flakes with orange juice. Something must be wrong with her head; either that or she was abducted by aliens while on her trip. If it is the latter, I must contact aunt right away. I sarcastically added, "Thank you for the cold water by the way. Nice touch."

"No problem. As for your clothes, I have got it covered. I figured since you would try to annoy me by wearing damp clothes, I took the liberty of stashing a few dry ones in the car," Tomoyo declared, pointing the tip of her manicured purple fingernail towards the front door. "Now get your butt in the car!"

I narrowed my emerald eyes at Tomoyo and replied through gritted teeth, "Fine, you win this round but I shall win the war."


I could guide you through Tomoeda High, with its flowing fountain and bush sculptures, but you would probably get bored. There is not a single thing in this school that I would call as fun or entertaining. Okay, so maybe I am lying; there is one thing that makes me happy. If you want to know, it is sleeping. I guess that is how I maintain my usual weight unlike my cousin, who is an exercise freak (she just keeps getting weirder and weirder.) The ride to school did not last an hour, more like thirty minutes so I don't get the logic behind wanting to be early. As you may very well know, I dislike being early, or anything associated with the word.

"…and we are here this early, why?" I asked my cousin, who was fixing her hair on the rearview mirror. "I know mornings are not really your thing."

Tomoyo stopped fixing herself and looked at me. "Well, I just wanted to explore the school."

"Fine, do what you want. We're at school anyway."

The thing with my cousin is that she was the adventurous type. Granted that she was new to Tomoeda High did not do any good. I knew her to be incredibly indecisive, albeit a perfectionist. She is weird in so many levels. Would I think that a brief description of Tomoyo would help others think that she needs a psychiatrist? Not really but why not try? Okay, my cousin has wavy raven hair and expressive amethyst eyes. Her skin is as white as snow and her lips as red as blood. In a way, she kind of looked like Snow White. I thought back to the time when I used to announce to everyone in the room that a living, breathing fairytale was among us and I smile. I think that was brief enough.

After parking my car, I did not bother waiting for Tomoyo to get out. I just grabbed my book bag, and a grey hoodie from the backseat. The fact that my cousin did not call me out was chocolate chips on cookie dough. I breathed a sigh of relief, hoping that no one saw who was with me. I believe that my high school life would go smoothly without anyone knowing me. Call me a wallflower, but to think I survived two years not being noticed must mean it worked. If being invincible meant that there were no distractions, then I would gladly keep it up. I do not need my life to become a soap opera. On the contrary, I like it the way it is now.

I scanned for an available seat at the mini park in our school. Opening my school bag, I produced a hardbound book that I have been dying to read. Since it was still early, I decided to spend my time doing just that. I slid on a pair of Ipod earphones unto my ears and bobbed my head in time to the music. Alexithymia by Anberlin came bursting through my ears, screaming the lyrics: Addiction fills the table where the family used to sit/ and conversate/ conversate to the sound/ to the sounds of a record player/ with its jumping needle and a light that grows dim over time. I was so transfixed in singing the song, completely abandoning the book, that I did not notice someone sit beside me.

"It suits you," a man's voice said.

A normal person's instinct would be to scream in surprise but what I did would not even be categorized as such. I lowered the hood of Tomoyo's hoodie, inching away from the man beside me. I wish I could have done it subtly but it just so happens that I am not magically endowed with subtleness. All I know is that I must remain invincible. Either that or I shall undergo plastic surgery. I do hope it is the former. I could feel someone trying to peek at my face, but the more he peered, the more I lowered my hood. I wish he would just go away. I swear, if I lower my hood any further, I would be a great ol' sack.

The voice laughed, scratched the back of his head and asked, "Are you trying to escape?"

"Uh…no." I told you I am not blessed with subtlety. I wanted to scream how idiotic his question was.

"I think you are."

No duh, Sherlock. Maybe I was escaping, but I believe I am not to blame here. I stuffed my Ipod and book back into my school bag and took out my cellphone. I pretended to dial a number, talking to an imaginary person on the other line. I paused to let my imaginary speaker talk and I reply, "Wait right there. I'll be over in a minute." I stood up and swung my school bag on my shoulders. As I began to leave, I felt a hand grab the cuff of my jacket, stopping me in my tracks.

"Will you come back tomorrow?"

I couldn't hide the panic that swept through my features. Even though he only touched the jacket, it was still physical contact. Damn it. I could feel his hand. I reply, "I don't know." He let go and I walked away, never turning back. For the record, I need to have acting lessons as soon as possible. How much would that cost me? Goodness, I think that it is best if I just forget this day.