The chapter list is all messed up. I'm so sorry. I combined some chapters together when I edited them. Just read (so that you can recall, I guess) the whole story again. It may seem that I haven't updated the story, but if you read it, the story is moving. SORRY! DX No editor, how weak. Weaklingggg. /3

Chapter Twelve

"Dreamscape"

Sakura watched a young girl with auburn hair seating, her head in between her legs, at the middle of the room. The room seemed familiar, and was full of people. These people were all looking at this poor girl with disgust.

"What a terrible girl! And at such a young age," said a woman who were part of the crowd.

To Sakura, the girl didn't seem so bad. She pitied the girl, even. She was alone and hurt and judged upon. Yet, to Sakura's dismay, she wouldn't fight back.

Another woman among the crowd spoke. "How could she say such things? Young people nowadays are lost. What do their parents teach them?"

"She insults other people to cover up her own insecurities, pathetic!"

Sakura couldn't stop herself from crying, and she didn't know why. The girl seemed to cry as she did, although her misty eyes could not be trusted.

"I bet her parents are no-good-doers, just as she is!"

"Doesn't her parents teach her anything?"

The girl looked at Sakura, face red from crying. She mouthed out: "help me."

Sakura was aghast, it was her fourteen year-old self asking for help.

oOoOoOoOoOo

"Sakura-chan? Sakura?"

Sakura was too tired to open her eyes.

"Sakura-chan, it's already six in the morning," said Syaoran's voice as he shook her shoulder.

"Whaa-"

Syaoran stopped shaking her, "it's already 6:30. You'll be late."

"WHAAAT?" She immediately stood up and grabbed her bag. Without paying attention to her morning breath, she gave Syaoran a quick hug, "thanks for letting me stay."

As she held the doorknob, she realized what she did.

Oh my, did I just? Did I just?

She slowly turned around and saw Syaoran still staring at the now empty space where she hugged him. It was their first physical contact after their break-up.

Red from humiliation as Syaoran was, Sakura twisted the knob and left the room.

"Wait," Syaoran called out before he was out of earshot.

Sakura took a deep breath and walked back in, but kept away from eye-contact. "What is it?"

"Wei-san will take you home and back to school," Syaoran, too was looking away from her.

"Oh, okay."

"He's downstairs waiting for you."

"Thank you again," as she bowed down in gratitude.

"Thanks for keeping me company."

Sakura smiled, "anytime... See you at school, then."

Wei, the Li family butler, was waiting near the front desk.

"Good morning, Kinomoto-sama," he greeted her as she approached him.

"Good morning, Wei-san," she bowed, "sorry for bothering you."

Wei smiled at her. "It's nothing; this is what I do for the family. Come on now, we don't want you getting to school late."

Sakura nodded in response.

As they were inside the car, Sakura checked her things. Everything seemed to be in order, except for her morning-stricken self.

Crap.

She forgot to take her skirt from the bathroom.

I'll just go back and take it later after school. I just hope he won't notice it.

"Thank you very much," Wei talked to her looked at the rear mirror.

Sakura was curious as to the reason for Wei's gratitude. "I should be the one thanking you for sending me home, Wei-san," following it with a sweet smile.

"No, thank you for making the young master happy."

Sakura didn't know what to answer.

"At the room, he watched you sleep. He didn't even notice me enter the room," Wei laughed a bit, "he only noticed me when I called out his name.

Again, Sakura was speechless.

"He was afraid of walking you up."

The silence was not awkward; there were just no use for words.

Few minutes passed, and they arrived. It was already 6:46 when they arrived. Sakura ran to her room for a quick bath. She finished a good 15 minutes later. She was already running late, amidst her rush.

Hungry, she grabbed two pieces of toast, took a bite. "Bye, otou-san, sorry for last night." She kissed him goodbye, and rushed off.

"Take care of yourself."

"Bye, Kaiju." Touya shouted as she closed the door behind her.

Wei was waiting for her at the driveway with the car's engine already running.

"Sorry!"

"It's no problem, ma'am."

They hurried off to school.

When they arrived, Sakura was finished with her toasts. "Thank you very much, Wei-san." And then she bowed down, "please send Syaoran my thanks."

"I will."

"Take care."

"You, too, Kinomoto-sama."

She closed the door and ran towards her locker.

It was already 7:15 in her watch. She's fifteen minutes late for her first class.

Four letters fell as she opened her locker. She put them on the bag, changed her shoes and went to her first class.

There were very few students along the corridor rushing as she did, but they did not fail to glare at her sight. Already used to this kind of thing, she ignored them and continued on her way.

To her dismay, one student tripped her intentionally. She fell with a loud thud straight on her hands and knees, scraping it. Good thing she only had her backpack, her things did not scatter.

"Oh, sorry," the man's voice was sarcastic. "I didn't see you there."

Sakura ignored him, tended her hurting knees and went to her room.

The class was already starting based on the noise from the room. She entered, bowed and apologized. "I'm sorry for being late, teacher."

"Oh, Ms. Kinomoto, you're here. The principal is looking for you. You're excused in class."

Her fellow classmates moaned in protest.

"Do all of you want to go to the principal's office?"

The class fell silent.

Good thing it was not Makoto Ukitate, their over-strict chemistry professor. It was Ms. Olivia Matthews, their English professor who was not that strict when it comes to students.

"Off you go, then."

Sakura followed and left for the principal's office. The principal was not in his office when Sakura arrived, so she waited for him. After about ten minutes of waiting, he arrived.

"Good morning, sensei," Sakura bowed as she greeted him.

He did the same. "Let's talk in my office." He unlocked the door and invited Sakura in. "I've informed all your teachers that you won't be attending their classes, and that you are suspended. They won't be excusing you from all the things that you'll miss. They expect you to borrow notes from your friends."

Thanks, like I've got a lot of those.

"Today, you are to help the cook prepare. I've already told her that you'll be helping out."

Sakura nodded and went to the cafeteria.

Now that classes were going on, Sakura did not have to worry about many students seeing her. However, she knows how word of mouth can spread like forest fire.

Upon arriving at the almost empty cafeteria, a chubby lady wearing an apron approached her. "Are you Kinomoto-san?" She asked with a rather curious tone of voice.

"Yes, my name is Sakura Kinomoto. It's nice to meet you," following it with a courteous bow.

The lady did no different. As she bowed, she introduced herself. "I am your cafeteria cook. My name is Ayako Sato. Pleased to meet you. Enough, courtesy, we have a busy day ahead, Kinomoto-san." She led the way towards the kitchen and Sakura followed.

"Yes, Sato-sensei."

"Kinomoto-san, please don't take this the other way around, but you don't look so bad. This is the first time I've gotten a suspended student helping me out. And you don't look like a bad kid. What happened anyway? Why did you get suspended?"

Sakura appreciated that somebody wanted to hear her out. It was a stranger, but a kind one. She kept silent for she did not know where to start.

Mrs. Sato misunderstood the silence. "Okay, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to pry or anything, I just wanted to hear you out."

"Oh no, it's not like that," Sakura began, "it's just difficult to talk about."

"Still sinking in?"

Sakura nodded.

"Yeah, it's real tough what you've gotten yourself into. Permanent record, I presume. It'll be more difficult to enter into a good college."

She was surprised to hear that. It never came to her how bad this suspension would affect her future. When it came to academics, she isn't all that bad, but with a suspension in her school record it might just make it a lot more difficult than it already is. She pondered on this predicament. It was either she'd go to the principal and tell the truth or work harder to get into a good college. If she'd go with option one, she needed proof. And that's what she lacked—solid evidence that it was not her who started the brawl.

Noticing that what she had said made the girl fretful, Mrs. Sato tried lightening up the mood. "So, Kinomoto-san..." Sakura was still focused on the dilemma at the moment. "Tell me about yourself. What do you do around the kitchen?"

What can convince them of my innocence? Can tha-

"Kinomoto-san?" Mrs. Sato patted Sakura's shoulder. "I'm sorry for bringing the topic up; you know how old people can be sometimes." She laughed at her own excuse. "Oh, I really am getting old!"

"I'm sorry, I was just thinking."

"It's no problem. So what are you good at?"

Sakura couldn't answer without sounding conceited, so she restrained from answering. She could bake well. She often bakes for her family. Shortcakes, muffins, pies are something she can cook with eyes closed, and very tasty, even. Baking was a hobby she and Tomoyo enjoyed doing together since they were little.

Mrs. Sato smiled at her. "Let me guess... baking?"

"How did you know?" Surprised to how she guessed correctly.

This made Mrs. Sato chuckle. "Never underestimate a woman's intuition."

Sakura smiled back.

"Come on, let's start cooking. These kids won't wait for anything, you know." She led Sakura into the kitchen, and gave her an extra apron hanging behind the door. "Here," she handed over a hairnet, "put this on and wash your hands before you touch anything." Sakura obeyed. "Peel these and cut them into very fine pieces like this," she grinded the garlic and chopped it up swiftly, "we'll use it for the bread." She handed her a large empty bowl and a plastic full of garlic. "Just hand it over to me when you're done." The woman left her and Sakura started peeling it off.

Almost an hour has passed and she was half-way through. Her hands were starting to ache. The cafeteria was starting to get full assuming that it has become noisy outside. Sakura wanted to take a look if Tomoyo was in the cafeteria eating her breakfast. She planned on avoiding her throughout her suspension and wanted to keep it a secret from her. Sakura did not want her to worry.

Half an hour passed. "Almost done?" Mrs. Sato asked.

"Almost," as she looked behind to give her a smile.

It was quarter to 9:00 when she finished and gave the bowl full of ground garlic to Mrs. Sato.

"Thanks," she said. "Now, can you please collect the dirty plates outside and give them to him?" She pointed at a guy who had curly hair who seemed to be in his mid twenties. The guy waved at her. Sakura bowed and left the kitchen to collect the plates and utensils.

Eyes turned to the young girl in her school uniform collecting dirty plates. Sakura heard laughter and giggles and insults, but she ignored them. The dirty plates were piled up and she had to segregate. Leftover foods were thrown into the trashcan. It was such a waste. Some of the food seemed as if they weren't touched.

While she was segregating, a guy while a tray full of used plates placed it beside her. "Thanks for cleaning up after us." He could not wipe the annoying smirk off his face, but Sakura kept silent. The guy left her, "Oh, and by the way, you seem perfect for that job. Just tell me if you wanna apply as our maid, okay?" Sakura did not look behind and ignored the jerk.

Carrying a heavy tray full of dirty plates, Sakura was cautious as she walked back to the kitchen.

She needed to pass by students to get back to the kitchen. The cafeteria was not that packed, but she noticed some familiar faces; Seiki's friends, some of the girls who usually send her hate letters, and Kogure with some guy friends who didn't seem to notice her. On the contrary though, she had to pass by the jerk earlier.

Please don't. Please, please.

It seemed as if somewhere heard her plead. Nobody tried doing anything and she arrived back at the kitchen safely. A sigh of relief came out her mouth as soon as the kitchen door closed behind her.

"You saw your crush or something?"

Sakura got surprised. It was the guy earlier, the one she needed to give the dirty plates to. He took the tray, "Thank you very much, Kinomoto-san."

"Oh. It was nothing," she forced out a smile that looked terrible.

The guy laughed. He went to the sink and left the tray there. "I'm Ryota Miyagi, Mrs. Sato's loyal assistant." He bowed and flashed her a wide smile that showed his white teeth.

Sakura bowed down in courtesy. "I'm Sakura Kinomoto, please to meet you."

"So is it okay if I call you Kinomoto-san?"

"Yes. And should I call you Miyagi-san?"

"Or Ryota, I don't really mind," again flashing his perfectly white teeth.

"Oh... Okay, then." She smiled back, now it looked normal.

"Kinomoto-san, we really need flour and the supplier hasn't delivered it yet. Do you mind just going to the supermarket to buy a few bags?" He seemed really nice.

"No, it's no problem. How many bags do you need?"

"Just three bags, we need it for the pork. I'm so sorry for having to ask you to do such errand."

"It's really okay. I'll go buy them right now."

"Here," he handed her money. "Use that money for the bus fare, it'll be enough."

Sakura obeyed and went out.

"NO, I WASN'T!" Sakura heard Ryota shout as she left the kitchen.

To Sakura's surprise, a group of people were waiting for her. It was Seiki and his friends, unfortunately.

"Hello, Sakura!" It was Seiki. "How lovely we're looking!"

Some of the guys laughed out loud. Sakura ignored him, and walked away. However, Seiki and the other guys blocked her way. "You forgot to greet me," his voice turned sweet. To Sakura's horror, she felt someone's lips pressing against hers. She removed hers instantaneously.

"What are-"

Seiki grabbed her hand and whispered to her ears, "You really want to see Syaoran hurt that much?"

Sakura loosened from his tight grip and left, holding back her tears.

"See you around."

Her pace slowed when she was out of the cafeteria. When nobody was around, she let her tears flow. For about the fifth time, she wiped her lips with the back of her hand. Seiki's scent just won't go away.

She stopped. After inhaling a mouthful of fresh air, she let out a scream of anger. Good thing only the cars that passed by could hear her, although she didn't care whatever the people think of her weird behaviour. Her tears no longer flowed from her tired emerald eyes. It seemed irrelevant now. She promised never to cry over Seiki. He was not worth her tears.

After wiping the tears off her face, she continued on. The market was one ride away from the bus stop, so she headed for the bus stop. It was 9:52 in her watch when she arrived at the bus stop. Nobody was there; all of the students were already at school. She took the empty seat filled with vandalism.

Not long after, the bus arrived.

The market was not as busy during the weekends. She was familiar with the supermarket, so she didn't have difficulty in finding the flour. She took three bags as she was told, and was about to line up when she bumped into Satsuki and Fuji, unfortunately.

"Kinomoto-san? What are you doing here?" Satsuki asked. Her hair was tied back to a ponytail.

Fuji was avoiding her gaze; he was carrying a basket full of food. It had bread, fruits and chocolates. "Oh, I was..." they didn't seem to know about Sakura's suspension yet. She raised the basket, "Just buying flour." Then she forced out a smile.

"You cut class?"

"Erm..."

"That question was too obvious, Satsuki." Fuji finally spoke out, but his voice was still weak.

Satsuki hit him on the arm. "Never mind him. So, Kinomoto-san, I never thought you were the cutting type of student, you seem so diligent and hardworking."

Sakura really was diligent and hardworking at school, but her suspension required this kind of job. Unknowing of how to react, she simply laughed it out. "You, too, Kagami-san."

"Oh these?" pointing at the basket Fuji was carrying, "These are for Syaoran. When we got there early this morning, Eriol-kun wasn't able to buy food for Syaoran, so here we are now... cutting classes." The last words seem to hurt her.

"You won't get low grades, Satsuki. It's just one cut."

"One cut can change everything! What if I'm absent on a quiz day? My professors don't give me—"

"Okay okay. We get it, Satsuki. We'll make Syaoran treat us with—"

"DESSERTS!" Satsuki finished his sentence.

"Yeah, we will."

Satsuki got excited as she imagined what desserts she'd ask from Syaoran. It felt awkward with just Sakura and Fuji standing there waiting for someone to break the silence.

"I guess I'll go now." Sakura waved them goodbye.

Satsuki waved back and Fuji didn't move a muscle. Irritated, Satsuki grabbed his free arm and moved it from left to right, imitated Fuji's voice and said, "Take care, Kinomoto-san!"

Sakura heard them arguing as she left them. Before they were totally out of earshot, Sakura heard someone shout. "FORGIVE ME, SAKURA!" It was the real Fuji.

"Sorry for taking long," as Sakura entered the cafeteria kitchen.

Ryota quickly grabbed the bag of flour she was carrying. "Thank you, Kinomoto-san!" flashing again his brilliant white teeth. "Wash your hands and help me put flour on the pork."

Sakura wiped her forehead with the back of her hand and obeyed.

After hours of kitchen work, the bell rang. It was already dismissal time. However, being suspended meant that Sakura had to work overtime. She had to clean up after.

It took about an hour to collect all the plates and utensils. Some students were taking too long.

"Thanks for the hard work," said Mrs. Sato.

Sakura bowed in respect.

"You were a great help, Kinomoto-san," as Ryota flashed her his perfect white teeth.

Sakura replied with a smile.

"I hope everything works out well." It was Mrs. Sato. She felt that Sakura was not treated fairly. From the looks of how she behaved that day, she was nice, hardworking and respectful. Those kings of children are not supposedly suspended; they should be looked up to. And Mrs. Sato admired Sakura.

"Thank you," Sakura appreciated the support she was given.

The corridors were less busy now that it was starting to get dark. Familiar and unfamiliar faces greeted her with evil grins on their faces. They seemed to enjoy seeing Sakura clean up after them in the cafeteria. It was the beginning of their revenge.

Sakura was headed to her locker to get changed and head home. It was a tiresome day, but enjoyable at the same time. She was able to meet nice people who believe in her innocence. Support was something unusual for her, and it felt nice. Amidst the taunts and mocking, she would go home with a smile. The only thing left now was how to tell her family, Tomoyo and Syaoran. This suspension will make entering into a good college more difficult. It'd worry Tomoyo so much that it'll hurt. And Syaoran would blame himself. He would get angry at Naomi for telling lies, maybe they'd break up. A small part of Sakura was happy at this thought, but it felt wrong. She shouldn't be happy about a couple's breakup. She hated that she loved the idea.

He is too good for her anyway. Syaoran's beyond lies and deceit, and Naomi's so full of it.

As she was walked slowly, thinking to herself, she saw a girl with long purple hair turn right to the classroom. Her hair swayed as she turned. Sakura recognized this girl. It was Tomoyo. She rushed after her, still worried of what happened yesterday.

Tomoyo was staring blankly at the window.

"Hey, Tomoyo-chan."

She caught her by surprise. She wiped her face before turning to Sakura. "Oh, Sakura-chan. Why are you still here?"

"I was just about to go home when I saw you here."

"Oh, then we'd better go. Come on, I'll dri—"

"Say, Tomoyo, why were you crying last night?"

Tomoyo fell silent. She did not want to lie to Sakura, but did not know how to tell her also.

"And why were you crying just a moment ago?"

Sakura hated that she knows nothing. Tomoyo won't tell her why she's sad. She hated not knowing, especially if it was about Tomoyo and her problem. She felt so useless not being able to help her best friend.

"I just—"

Sakura stopped her. "You don't have to force yourself. I'll just listen when you're ready to tell me," and followed it with a wide and sincere smile. "Come on, I'll take your offer!" Sakura grabbed her by the hand and led her out the empty and dark room.

While they were at the car, Sakura decided to tell her about her suspension. It was better to hear it from her than from other people. "Hey, Tomoyo-chan."

"What is it?" Tomoyo kept her eyes on the blurry images of the mirror.

"I don't know how to tell you this without making you worry, but still, please try not to. Promise me you won't. Please?"

"You know I still will."

"Yeah, but I want you to promise me you'll try not to."

A sigh escaped Tomoyo's lips. "I promise."

Sakura closed her eyes and let out a deep breath. "I got suspended because of what happened to Syaoran."

"Are you serious?" Syaoran's voice was infuriated.

Fuji was seated on the couch. "Of course I am! How can I not be? This is a serious matter, Syaoran! Naomi told the principal that—"

The door swung open. "Told him what?" It was Naomi.

"You could have knocked," Satsuki could not hold her tongue. "How could you, Naomi?"

Naomi threw the door close with a loud thud. "I'm not talking to you, Satsuki. Now, Fuji, what did I tell the principal?"

A moment of silence.

Fuji sighed aloud, "You told him lies."

"And?" Her voice annoyed Fuji and Satsuki.

"AND?" Satsuki could not hold her anger. Dishonesty was something Satsuki hated. "You made Kinomoto-san take all the blame!"

Naomi raised her voice as Satsuki did, "I just made a choice, Satsuki! I just chose Syaoran over that bitch!"

"Nobody asked you to choose! You just simply had to tell the truth!"

"And what? Let Sakura go? It's entirely her fault!"

"Enough!" To everyone's surprise, it was Eriol who shouted. This was one of the rare moments when he'd lose his temper. Often times Eriol is patient and kind and gentle. "Naomi, if you're just going to mess things here, might as well leave."

Naomi was outnumbered. Without saying another word, she left the room throwing the door close with a louder thud.

Somebody knocked after a few minutes. The door swung open. It was a nurse. "Is everything okay here?"

Everybody was silent. "Yeah," said Fuji. "We're sorry for the noise."

"Keep in mind that you're in a hospital, please." She closed the door as she left, leaving the four of them in the silent room.

Syaoran was trying to take all the information in, but he just couldn't. Naomi was not that good of a person, but she wasn't bad either. What could have pushed her to do that if she did? Has Sakura done something to her to loathe her? There were just too many questions.

Fuji took a glass of water, gave it to Satsuki and sat beside her in the couch.

Satsuki drank it and slowly calmed herself down. Dishonest people really just piss her off.

Eriol, too, was trying to take it all in. They only knew of what Naomi did when Fuji told them everything.

"So, Syaoran, what will you do?" Eriold broke the silence.

Syaoran's chain of thought broke, but he had an answer. "I'll believe Naomi. But I have to fix this."

Tomoyo dropped Sakura off without another word. Sakura told her about the suspension and Tomoyo was silent the whole time. She could have kept the words; she couldn't, however, hide the pain. It was evident on her face, moreover the tears she was forcefully holding back.

Sakura kept silent as well, not expounding on the punishment she received.

The teary eyes of Tomoyo reflected regret and anger. Sakura could not make up what this was about.

After a few minutes of silence, they arrived at Sakura's house.

"Thanks for the ride, Tomoyo-chan," as Sakura waved her goodbye.

Tomoyo forced out a smile but did not say goodbye.

Sakura watched the car as its rear light disappeared.

Tired and stressed as she was, she lost her appetite. She just wanted to lie down and sleep. Sakura went in, "I'm home."

"Welcome back," her father greeted her. He was on the kitchen preparing dinner. To Sakura's surprise he was home early.

"Oh, you're early, Otou-san." Sakura sat on the couch while removing her socks.

Sakura could smell the aroma of the beef teriyaki her father was cooking. He was the best cook she'd every known and her appetite slowly came back. "Dinner will be ready in a few minutes."

Feeling lazy to go up to get changed, Sakura just opened the television and closed her eyes. She needed to think and relax. Too much stress is bad. Too much work is bad. Too much sadness is bad. And she was getting too much of everything these past few days.

She tried emptying her mind of all these and unknowingly dozed off.

oOoOoOoOoOo

"How pathetic!"

"This girl just can't do anything right!"

"I hate her!"

"What kind of parents does she have? They should teach her some manners!"

Tears began to fall from Sakura's eyes. The young girl did not deserve such treatment. She was kind and young and innocent. But everyone was closing up on her, condemning, loathing her very existence. It was just too much. Just as when she was about to open her mouth to speak, a boy's voice shouted out loud. "STOP!" He said.

Sakura was about to turn to that guy that shouted when a loud thud woke her up.

oOoOoOoOoOo

"Oh sorry!"

"It's okay, but I think Sakura fell asleep."

Sakura rubbed her tired eyes. She couldn't make out the figure standing in front of her. "Sakura-chan, are you okay?" She felt a warm hand touch her forehead. It happened too fast. Her vision started clearing up, but all she could make out was this person holding her forehead had a familiar, gentle voice and his amber eyes were looking straight at her.

YAAAY. Another chapter done, I hope my writing is becoming better. :P If there are questions, just email me or something. XD Even I'm confused with all of these. Haven't touched this story for... a year now, I think? Or maybe more than a year ._.