Part of being a disadvantage when you are in a poor family is that you are fully aware that your parents won't support your college expenses, especially once you're in Tokyo and you are thousands of miles apart from your family.
The first thing that Sakura did upon arriving to Tokyo was to go to the local real estate agency to look for a cheap place to rent that the money she saved for the past few years from working part-time jobs back in Kyoto would suffice.
If she will choose what room she prefers, she wants a room that faces south with lots of sunshine. An apartment room that is located on the second floor would also be nice to minimize the risk of having thieves and insects at night.
And the most important thing to remember when looking for an apartment is if it is near the train station, bus stop, convenience store, etc.
However, due to a shortage of budget, Sakura has no choice but to go along with the cheapest apartment she could find that has nothing to do with all those qualities that she was looking for.
Again, that's the disadvantage of being poor.
With the hand-carry bag she was holding on to and a big backpack strapped in her back, she now arrives at the only apartment that her savings could pay.
The room she rented was on the first floor, where there isn't any sunshine at all because of the other building that is blocking its path.
Once she inspects inside, the room is not facing south, with a worn-out wooden bed that has a thin mattress and no bed sheets at all. That would be the first thing on her list that she needs to buy once she finds a part-time job.
She looks up as she hears loud footsteps above her and soon discovers that the ceiling is a bit thin, even the walls, that you could literally hear what your neighbors are up to.
At night, she could hear the couple occupying the room on her right making some crazy, moaning noises while in the morning, she could hear loud stomps of someone's foot (probably a kid's foot) above her at occasional times.
On her third night here, she could hear it again. Those crazy noises, that is.
Sakura can't help but smack her hand with her right hand and mutters to herself, "It's just four years… Four years to live in this hell hole." to keep her sanity intact.
But that did not work actually…
So, the following morning, the almost sleepless girl decided to wake up at exactly seven in the morning, prepared her breakfast, and tried to get things done as quickly as she can before setting off towards hunting for a part-time job just around the corner.
Well, if there is one thing that Sakura is lucky to have upon transferring here, it is the fact that she gets to live near what people call "Business Avenue".
Practically, it's where stores of different kinds were mostly sprawled around here and are arranged literally just a few walking distances away from one another.
The sun was already up by the time she reached the said avenue. For today, Sakura tried to wear semi-formal for her interviews by wearing a flowy beige dress with short sleeves and a pair of sandals with her glasses on.
Behind her is where her small black-colored backpack was strapped on her shoulders.
Yet as she hops in and out from one store to another, inquiring if they have some vacant positions for part-timers like her, she almost instantly figured out that wearing a dress won't give her that much luck like she was hoping to have.
Most stores are looking for full-timers, and if they did look for a part-timer, they wouldn't accept a student like her.
By afternoon, Sakura decided to give it a break when she happens to pass by at a coffee shop.
Once she pushed the door inside and entered, the aroma of the freshly-brewed coffee immediately filled her nostrils that could make anyone stay alert just by the smell of it.
To her surprise, the store is currently packed with people her age who are somewhat busy having their chitchats, either by groups or by pairs. It must have felt so good to have friends like that, she thought.
This time, when the academic year officially opens, she makes a solemn oath to herself that she would at least try to make as many friends as she could.
Sakura isn't a coffee drinker, but after seeing some plain, affordable croissants displayed on the counter, she decided to buy some for her lunch.
After spotting a vacant table near the window, she decided to occupy that chair with the bread in hand.
The girl stared at her bread, lips quivering, as she complains to herself, "I am feeling so pathetic right now."
She could have opted for that local college that is only a few distances from her home, yet she chose to acknowledge her pride and instead went here to Tokyo...where she pretty much knew that living is quite expensive here.
Sakura sighed for like a millionth time already. She was about to take another bite out of the bread when she felt her phone suddenly make a short beep, indicating that someone messaged her,
…
SushiRoll
- Hey! How's it going there?
…
Her face lit up when she saw the username on the phone. With haste, she typed down her reply.
…
NekoNii
- I am feeling so pathetic right now.
…
It did not take that long before she received a reply from her online buddy.
…
SushiRoll
- Why? What happened?
…
At that point, Sakura began typing away all her frustrations about moving here (but leaving out the details of that couple next door.)
And somehow, it feels good for her to let it all out to a stranger whom she didn't even know if he is a guy or a girl...or haven't had the slightest idea what he or she looked like.
After the frustrations had been washed away from her system, Sakura saw the three-dot icon emerge from the screen, meaning he or she is typing his or her next reply.
Sushi Roll's next reply was super long, she thought as she patiently waited for it to appear on her phone screen.
It was also then that she caught a glimpse of the time on the upper left corner of the screen that says three in the afternoon.
"Oh boy, I gotta get going and find myself some part-time job." she said to herself
Sakura started pulling her bag and strapped it right behind her once again when she finally got the message from the person she is conversing with on the other line.
---
"All things have their right time. Maybe, sooner or later, or a few seconds from now, you'll be able to find the perfect part-time job for you. Patience is the best policy."
---
She couldn't help but smile upon seeing that message. Part of the reason was that Sushi Roll purposefully mistranslated the last phrase to make her laugh, and it is a sweet gesture, but at the same time she appreciates the thoughtfulness behind the message.
As Sakura stood up from where she was sitting and walked out of the store, she sighed and started down the path towards her next target store when she saw a girl her age walking past her with long, olive green hair.
When she was just about to ignore her, the girl tapped her on the shoulder and then said, "Hey, you're a student, right? Are you looking for a part-time job right now?"
Astonished, Sakura bobbed her head up and down as her response to this stranger's question.
"I just left this certain maid cafe for personal reasons, so now they are currently vacant. Why don't you go ahead and try applying there?" The girl whispered, her eyes shifting from left to right as if she was afraid that someone might hear their conversation.
She then straightens up, points to the nearby commercial building across the street, and raises her right hand.
"There is a building over there that's where I was working before. The headmistress is kind and the salary is quite good. You don't need to work long hours." Her voice now sounds rather sketchy like she is recruiting Sakura in a syndicate.
Hearing all of this, Sakura can't help but ask her, "If the salary and the schedule were good, then why did you leave then?"
"I said, I left there for personal reasons. It's up to you now if you are up for the challenge or not." The girl shrugs and starts to scurry away past Sakura after their brief conversation.
"Wait--" Sakura was just about to stop her and ask a few more questions, but she was already nowhere in sight. What the hell was that all about?
Looking at the building she pointed to earlier, Sakura struggled with whether she should go there or not. The girl seems really sketchy, she says to herself, and the building does look the same.
In the end, she agrees to apply there-- if and only if-- not a single store around here won't accept her as their part-timer.
But as minutes passed and not a single store had accepted her, she only ended up seeing herself standing near the cutesy-designed door of that commercial building, sighing, before entering inside to submit her application.