76. The beginning

426 Words

Satsuki was an only child. Her grades were always average – the good side of average, but average still. It wasn't that she wasn't smart; she just simply wasn't into academics. Cramming for exams wasn't her forte, and she thought that going to cram schools every day after school to study even more was way too excessive. Her mother wasn't strict, she did not nag or demand A's from her.

Satsuki's favourite class had always been P.E. She found a home at the volleyball club. She really loved to play, and she gave her all at every practice. The extra mile she never managed to push herself into in regular school-work, she took every week at the volleyball court.

Because it was fun and rewarding. Because the game she actually cared about.

Due to her dedication to athletics, and lack of interest in girly things, she was quickly labelled as a tomboy in middle school. That came to cause her a lot of grief, but the most unfortunate result of that label was that Satsuki started believing what her classmates thought of her.

And now, years and years later when she already was an adult, she still bore that stigma with her.

She had never once thought that she was a pretty girl.

She had never wanted to be in show business. She had never dreamt of such. At school, the people in the drama club had seemed to have so much fun, and she had been envious of them, she admitted that.

But she had told herself she was not one of them; she could never stand on that spotlight on the stage, wearing a pretty dress.

She never understood that the girls on her volleyball team had always flocked around her, admired her, for her innate charisma, not her athletic prowess.

Eventually, she had graduated high school. She had gone to college - because even though she was not keen on academics, she knew everyone was expecting her to achieve higher education. And she had finally found a goal to strive for: she wanted to become a P.E. teacher. She had graduated college, but she had not got her teaching licence. The competition for teaching positions was fierce, and only a fifth of the applicants passed and got their licence. Satsuki had resolved to try again next year, being better prepared for the written tests and the interview. Meanwhile, she had got a job at a café.

That had been her everyday life, until one day, director Takahashi had waltzed right in.