Sakuno slowly turned her head and look at the boy wearing a white cap, a single notebook on the table, pencil resting on its side, and the tennis bag he always used. It read Seigaku. As she turned completely and faced the aforementioned person, her eyes widened, she could not believe it. Of all places in New York, they had to meet here in this very school, in this very room.
"R-Ryo…ma?" she whispered but the boy heard it anyway. Sure enough, it was him. Those sharp eyes, longer green hair, his lips that was always kept shut. Sakuno could not help but stare at him. She missed this feeling of warmth, this comfortability whenever she sees him. Even if they rarely talk or have spent time during their middle school, she felt like they've shared a lot of moments together, being classmates, sharing bento, being tennis players…
Whoa, so much thought and class hasn't even started yet! Sakuno mentally shook her head. This is no time to be awestruck, gotta focus on the reason why she's here. TO STUDY!
Ryoma took his time studying the girl in front of him, trying to recall her identity or where he had seen her. Then it hit him.
"Ryuzaki… why are you here?" he finally said.
"Uhh, well—"
"Alright, let's start class, shall we?" sir Ben smiled.
They blinked, and Sakuno turned back to listen to the lecture. Both of them decided to deal with this later.
After class, Sakuno quickly gathered her things and turned around, but Ryoma was already gone. She was disappointed, she then proceeded exit the room.
"Ryuzaki." a boy suddenly appeared in front of her she almost jumped.
"Oh my god, R-Ryoma-kun! You gave me a fright!" Sakuno clutched her chest, her heart beating loud. Ryoma's eyebrow arched. It certainly is nice to see a familiar face.
"Sorry. I guess I was a bit hyped seeing someone I know here." Ryoma gestured for Sakuno to follow him. They walked side by side along the corridor. Sakuno had no class until afternoon so she can hang out for a few hours, while Ryoma has only one class today and the rest of the afternoon would be club time.
Feeling the weight of the silence, Sakuno thought of something to say.
"Ryoma-kun, did you have lunch yet?" she asked happily.
"Ah no, not yet. You?" he said. Sakuno noticed that Ryoma had changed over the years. Even if it was just a little bit, Ryoma is no longer the snob brat he was, but a friendlier, and considerate man now. Yes, he grew taller, he gained weight and more tan.
"Not yet.."
"Let's go eat. I'm starving." The boy started walking without waiting for her reply.
Sakuno blushed. This was the first time Ryoma asked her out. Well, not a date, though. Just lunch.
Inside the burger joint, Ryoma stood at the end of a short line while Sakuno followed him behind.
"You can find us a table." He pointed his thumb behind him where plenty of vacant tables were.
"U-Um, oh.. okay." She scurried away and found a table at the corner with two sofas facing each other. Sakuno took a seat and eyed the prince. It was his turn to order. His lips slowly moved, pronouncing English words, not too loud, but enough to be heard by the cashier. Some fellow students were eating there, too. Sakuno noticed that the American girls were staring lovingly at Ryoma. It was no doubt that the prince would also be popular here, being a tennis star, not to mention his handsome charms and athletic physique.
Her train of thoughts were disturbed when Ryoma headed towards Sakuno, carrying two trays with food on it.
"Here." He placed the other tray of burger, fries and soda in front of Sakuno, then he took his seat.
"Oh, I haven't paid for this yet!" Sakuno rummaged through her backpack in search of her wallet while Ryoma ate his burger.
"Don't worry about it." He simply said between hungry bites. Sakuno blushed. Now, it really looked like a date. On the other table, she noticed the girls were eyeing her from head to toe. They must've thought she is Ryoma's girlfriend. That's how it looked like.
Sakuno shrugged and started to eat, too. She was used to being judged by other girls whenever she was hanging out with the Seigaku regulars.
After a while, they found themselves enjoying a nostalgic conversation about their middle school days and how the senpais were doing back home.
"So how long are you going to be here?" he asked while finishing his drink.
"About a year." Sakuno smiled. "Oh, what degree are you taking by the way?"
"I'm studying Engineering here. It's not strange, is it?" he looked at Sakuno. She blushed.
"Uh, no. Why would it be strange? What's strange is me being here and finally being good at English." She laughed, Ryoma smirked.
"That is strange."
Ryoma walked Sakuno back to the school building and bid goodbye. Before he could walk away, Sakuno built up the courage to ask him.
"Ryoma-kun!" the boy turned around and looked at her. "Yeah?"
"Um.. well.. I was – the senpais were wondering if you got a phone number they could contact." She felt the guilt of using the senpais into getting Ryoma's phone number but it would do good if she could actually get them to communicate to Ryoma after being away for so long.
"Oh, yeah. Here." He fished out a piece of paper and a pen out of his sling bag and wrote numbers. He then handed it to Sakuno. She slowly grabbed it.
"Thank you, Ryoma-kun. Be careful on your way home." She smiled. She will definitely hand these to the senpais. The boy walked away, waving his hand.
That night, Sakuno laid in her bed, holding the piece of paper, her laptop sat idly beside her. She was thinking of texting Ryoma, to ask when she could see him again, which class, what day, what time, etc. It was driving her mad. All those forgotten feelings regarding the boy came back to Sakuno in an instant and it felt so good.
This is ridiculous, she thought. They're nineteen years old, for God's sake. It shouldn't be a problem to catch up like old friends, right? No more shy and timid Sakuno. It's a whole new Sakuno even before she went to New York. But she kept her long, braided hair, and her hips still wobbled sometimes. But this is a rare chance! She should totally call Ryoma right now.
Finally, after battling thoughts in her head, Sakuno decided to dial the number on her cell and waited for that voice. But instead, Sakuno was startled.
"Who's this?" a girl's voice said.
to be continued.
A/N: Have I been abusing the use of the horizontal line? Hehe..