"Ugh, all the prizes for the sport festival competitions are so goddamn retarded!"
Sakura had been fetching her shoes from her locker, preparing to depart home, when she had overheard the group of boys at the other side of the locker-shelf.
She knew what they were discussing: the sport festival that was to be held in two days. Sakura smiled at the mental image of Misaki carrying around extra books in her backpack for the training purposes. She was determined to win as many competitions as she could, she had announced to her and Shizuko.
Sakura's smile faded, half-heartedly listening to the boys' conversation from across the room as she put her shoes on as quietly as she could. She did not want them to know she was in the room. She grimaced. The catcalling had gotten progressively worse in the past month. She did not want to cross her way with theirs, especially when she was alone.
"A pen from the headmaster?", someone exclaimed, rhetorically. "Who gives a shit?"
The other boys in the group agreed through dissatisfied moans and grunts.
"Well", one of them started, "at least one of the races allows the winner to choose the music that will be played during the lunch hour, right?"
Someone barked out a short dissmissive laugh.
"Yeah, yeah.. Still lame."
Sakura rolled her eyes, deciding she had heard enough. Securing the straps of her backpack, she tip-toed towards the door.
However, she stopped dead on the spot when she overheard her name. Her skin prickled.
"Hanazono Sakura", someone sneered, enunciating her name lowly, dangerously.
"For the obstacle course, the prize should be a kiss from Hamamoto Sakura. She's the hottest girl in the school."
Sakura clentched her fists, listening to the low whistling and barking laughter that briefly interrupted the boy's monologue.
"Fuck yeah. Those legs? I want to eat her".
"I want to grab her pigtails like reins while I ride her like a horse."
"Whoah!" the other boys laughter became more high-pitched in reponse to the latter remark.
Sakura stared down at the floor, her brows furrowed. She was terrified to move. After hearing the comments, she could not imagine being discovered in the same room as them. She blinked back the tears angrily. This was disgusting, humiliating..
As she listened to the hooting laughter, she shut her eyes momentarily, thinking of the amber eyes, the soothing, determined feminine voice and her encouraging smile. It would be okay. Misaki had her back.
Suddenly her eyes popped open, a plan forming in her head.
"Anyway, it can never happen." One of the boys resumed, suddenly sounding regretful. "Kaichou will never allow that prize to be official. We'll just end up getting in trouble."
The boys' laughter subsumed, agreeing.
Sakura could hear the doors being banged shut. They were beginning to leave.
Her jaw tightened. It was now or never.
"Actually."
She could have laughed at the terrified expressions that met her appearance from behind the wall of lockers. "Actually it's not that difficult."
Doing this was worth at least the view she was witnessing, she thought. Their pathetically sheepish, blushed faces.
"Hanazono-san... "
She forced herself to smile sweetly - with a hint of coquettishness – before she continued.
"It's only fair that boys should have a say in setting a prize for the competitions too."
The urge to burst out laughing was stronger than ever as she watched disbelief seeping through the flabberghasted facial expressions.
"Kaichou is fair and has everybody's interest at heart. She is wrongfully resented by the lot of you, you know." She held the eye-contact, feeling extremely powerful, when one-by-one, all four of them tore their eyes off hers in a matter of seconds, unable to even look at the girl they were verbally molesting only few minutes ago.
"So, go through with it, I say. I look forward to kissing the winner." She purred the last words softly.
She felt dirty, but simultanously intoxicated by the odd sense of power.
She smiled at the confused, blushing figures for the last time before turning on her heel.
Her back turned, a small smile lifted the corners of her lips. This was going to work. There was no way Misaki was letting these perverts near her. She smirked.
No, Misaki was going to be kissed by this pervert herself.
She thought back of the day when she had sneakily kissed her during the lunch break and shuddered.
She sighed contentedly, turning her face up towards the sun as she stepped outside the building. She was sure it was going to be a sunny weather on the day of the sports festival. It was going to be a great day.
"..Coming in second is Ayuzawa Kaichou! Which means that the winner Usui Takumi wins the prize to be kissed by Hanazono Sakura!"
When his hand - holding the prettily-packaged "kiss ticket" - was raised by the announcer in a victorious manner, he could swear he could hear Sakura grind her teeth.
He had gotten involved in the race to protect kaichou from her bitter competetor's unruly treatment. Yet here he was now, getting in Sakura's way. He chuckled. Life was strange.
He eyed the violet-eyed girl comforting the wheezing, sweating girl he loved. Once again he marvelled at the cluelessness of the otherwise intelligent, capable kaichou. How could she miss the signs? How could she not see how maddeningly in love - or in lust - her own best friend was with her?
He watched them through the cheering, clapping crowd. She was now lovingly dry-towelling kaichou's sweat-soaked ponytail. The black-haired girl, haunched with her hands on her knees was apologizing profusely to the very girl whom - he knew - had set up the whole situation in the first place.
He narrowed her eyes, green pools zeroing on the pigtailed girl with a sweet smile.
She had known kaichou would get involved in the race for her sake.
Perhaps she had even known he would participate.
She had probably even predicted the outcome, knowing very well that he had no interest in being kissed by her, and thus would..
He chuckled again, slightly shaking his head. Well played Sakura. She was too good and he could not deny this to her.
He stepped closer to the couple of girls.
"Oh, so it's a ticket for getting kissed. Here then, I don't need it."
Behind Sakura's feigned surprised expression, he could see the tiny, almost imperceptible smile. For a split second his eyes were serious as they bore into the levander orbs.
I'm not losing to you this easily.
Her smile became more apparent now, but he could see the fire in her eyes. She was not going to lose to him either.
He held out the ticket to Misaki, who flushed in his presence, which, much to his pleasure, recently she did more and more often.
"Rather than receiving, I prefer doing it." he smirked as he watched his words sink.
Listening to the incoherent shouts from the angry kaichou, he waked off, laughing.