the tabby by the sakura tree

2

The first friend I made in middle school never spoke to me after that. Maybe it was because I avoided eye contact each time we crossed paths, too afraid to look at him without an odd feeling arising in my chest. It was a dull ache that haunted me whenever I thought of him. It excited me, sure, but it terrified me as well.

Everyday, that tiny blonde boy crossed my mind. Even after years of never speaking a word to him, my eyes still trailed his back on the few times we'd pass each other in the hallways. The fact that my schoolmates would whisper rumors about "The Great Mikey" didn't help either. I wasn't entirely sure what that title of his meant, but surely he had to be something if everyone knew him. As the years passed, I started seeing less and less of him at school, and even though I didn't want to admit it, all my friends knew how much that broke my heart.

The only memory I had left of him was the tabby kitty that soon became my closest companion. Because of the sakura blossoms I found on her in the sea of fleas and patched blood, I decided to name her Kkura. My grandmother loved how much it suited the cat and coddled her the most when no one was home.

Before I knew it, I was already a third year student. I'd like to think that nothing much has changed about me, but my parents would always gush about how I finally started "growing into my features". My brother would tease me about the fact that my height only increased by a few centimeters—which I still counted as improvement—only because he towered over me whenever we'd walk together.

I was on the way to school with my best friend, Rei, who was currently gushing about the latest heartthrob from her favorite TV show.

"God, I wish I could be Miyawaki Haruka-chan so bad. She's had like a billion kiss scenes with Sanji Hiro and they're in every drama together!" She gushed, hands to her chest like her heart was going to burst if she didn't keep them there.

"They're probably dating, that's why." I teased, a cheshire-like grin forming on my face. Rei gasped dramatically, giving me a stare that would make bystanders think I had murdered her family.

"Hiro-kun would never! He's waiting for me to get out of school, I just know it." She crossed her arms, cheeks puffing out making her freckles all the more visible. In all honesty, I shouldn't be one to judge, since the guy I talked about was someone I hadn't spoken to in forever. Not to mention the notorious rep he had in school. Rei had talked to Sanji Hiro more than I've talked to Mikey, because of all the handshake events she had been to.

I didn't push her buttons any further and we walked in comfortable silence.

As we neared the school grounds, I spoke up once more, "I swear if we aren't classmates this year I'm having a personal chat with the principal."

"Me too! Not having you with me last year was already too much for me." She whined, her short black locks bouncing in the process.

After taking off our outdoor shoes we made a beeline for the school announcement board. Sadly, we weren't the first to arrive, so it took a whole lot of pushing, shoving, and sorry-ing to get us to the front. An air of excitement washed over the two of us as we searched for our names and sections.

"3-3! I'm in 3-3!" Rei stated.

Squinting my eyes so that I could find my name better, I somehow sharpened my hearing by accident.

"Sano's in 3-3? Thank God I'm not classmates with him." A student from behind me muttered to his friends.

"Me too. Wouldn't want him beating me up in case I look at him wrongly or something." One of them replied.

Sano ... Who was that guy? I wondered to myself if I should be concerned for Rei as I continued to scan for my name when I realized that I was in class 3-3 as well.