It was the beginning of the spring…
I remember the first time I saw Sakura, it was right after the opening ceremony in fourth grade. Instead of running around as I and the other student do, Sakura was silently standing beneath the cherry blossom tree, reading a book in her hand.
At first, I thought she was a weird girl. She was alone in the opening ceremony in which parents were supposed to attend with their child, the same goes when we move up to fifth grade, she was always alone.
Occasionally, there was a girl who was waiting for her by the school gate but she was too young to be called her mother. If I were supposed to say, she seemed to be her older sister.
Our class was always so lively…erm, to put it nicely it was lively. But there was always part of our class that appeared to be different from the other.
That part had a rather peaceful atmosphere and coincidentally, that part was Sakura's seat. Most of my classmates thought she was weird since she speak difficult words and brought books that most of us couldn't understand.
One time we tried to invite her to play in the field, but she refused. She said reading books was more productive than sweating herself since reading can improve her knowledge and knowledge can improve her life, she said something about that sort. She also added some complicated words but it was too difficult for me to understand and remember.
*But I think she only shows how much she loves learning.* Thinking about it, it was one of the traits I'd liked about her.
In those two years, I'd spent with Sakura we only had a decent conversation in the latter part of our fifth grade, when we attend the class trip. I thought we could become friends after that but unfortunately, we parted ways in sixth grade since she was assigned to another class. Certainly, lack of communication makes any relationship to rust. But whenever I ran into her on the school ground, I tend to greet her. Expectedly, she didn't even give me a passing glance. Sakura was always engrossed in her books, after all.
"She should take a look at the people around her sometimes."
That reminded me, one of our classmates act indifferently towards Sakura. He was the only one who still approached Sakura even she ignored him. His voice was too loud that even I, who was seated in the very last seat, heard him. I could also say, that boy was weird. One time he was chattering with the boys around his seat, and a moment after I'd eventually found him near Sakura's seat. It always frustrated me when he bothered Sakura, but the next thing I knew his face was flushing like crazy. I *do* think that boy was weirder than Sakura.
Still, I couldn't blame him for wanting Sakura's attention. Sakura had a beautiful face, after all, not to mention she had excellent grades in every subject. The only problem at that time was her lack of awareness. She was to focus on her future and forgot everything in the present. But still, I liked her and nothing could change that.
I wondered where she was now. Did she still read her book as often as back then? Did she grow taller than me? Had she still had a dubious expression on her face when somebody tried to approach her? Was she still alone in every opening ceremony? I wished she had a person that would walk alongside her.
*If ever I would get a chance to meet her again…*
This was my wish in the opening ceremony of my first year being a high school student. Hours after that, my wish came true.