บท 2: Graduation Day

The following days of her life have been tough for Sakura.

After knowing the childish scheme that her ex-boyfriend and her rival have plotted against her, there was no way she could face Ryuuji once again after the incident last night at the resort. And so she did everything in her power to avoid these two people, and so far she has been successful in that.

There were times, however, that Sakura can't help but feel crying over what her ex did to her. She willingly gave her love and trust completely to the guy, given he was her first love, but that did not do her any good.

Good riddance, she almost gave her virginity to the jerk as well if it weren't for her courage to push him away the day when the bastard invited her over to stay at his house when his parents were away.

And she was glad knowing she actually did the right thing.

Yet, unlike in the previous days, Sakura slowly learned how to cope up with the pain brought to her by her first love. Whenever she feels down, she would seek her books' company, rummaging through her bookshelf for those that she hasn't read yet ever since she started to date her ex.

And, if in case, she was able to finish all those unread books in a week, she would surely see to it that she wouldn't let the day pass by without logging in to Introvert Nation, the site that she also seek comfort knowing that most strangers in the site (if not all of them) are having the same problems like hers, being introverts as she is.

Then there would be one particular person whom she will always end up chatting with for the rest of the night until she decides to go to sleep. A stranger whose name is hidden under his or her alias on the site: Sushi Roll.

…

SushiRoll

-> Hey! How did your day go? I hope it didn't really end up that bad.

…

The moment she logged in to her computer one Saturday night, two days before her graduation, Sushi Roll's message was the first thing that popped up on her notifications. A smile crept upon her face as she typed in her reply.

…

NekoNii

-> Hi! I am more than okay right now! Thanks to your advice about letting go of these stupid feelings for that bastard, I don't need to cry over him anymore.

…

Sakura's finger immediately hit the send button, her message popping into their inbox.

This may seem stupid, but Sakura has grown rather comfortable with this stranger, to the point that she started sharing what had been bothering her lately.

Through Sushi Roll, she found the courage to vent out her frustrations towards her ex-boyfriend and his current girlfriend, a thing that she can't do towards other people.

It felt good to know someone out there, no matter how far away he or she was, was willing to listen to her problems without second thoughts.

Aside from that, Sushi Roll also has a way to make sense of complicated matters, another trait she likes from him or her.

It did not take long before Sushi Roll replied to her message.

…

SushiRoll

-> Glad to hear you are completely okay right now. Your ex isn't worth your tears, so please stop crying for him. There are plenty of fishes on the sea, don't waste your life catching only one.

…

Sushi Roll's advice actually made the girl laugh for some reason. He or she sounds just like her mother if ever she'll try to vocalize the message that he or she is sending to her right now.

Before Sakura could reply, another message pops out, only to see Sushi Roll sending a picture of a lake and people who went to do some fishing for the day. Under the photo is his added statement.

…

SushiRoll

-> Speaking of fish, I went fishing today with some acquaintances for the weekend. Look how many fishes are swarming on the lake. That's the literal description of what I said just now, it's just that we're on a lake, not on the sea.

…

Sakura can't help but laugh at the pun he or she intended on his or her last statement. That made her crack a laugh out of the blue. This stranger truly has some sense of humor within him or her, she thought.

Sakura also wishes that Sushi Roll could send a photo of himself so that she could properly address him or her.

She actually doesn't know whether this stranger is a boy or a girl, or what's his age bracket.

Maybe, just maybe, she might be talking to an elderly man all this time!

However, based on what he or she says, this doesn't seem like the wisdom of an elderly person, but more of a teenager's. Sakura is too timid to ask for his or her photo or age, for she knows it would be rude of her to ask.

To be fair, Sakura also hadn't sent any pictures of her either.

So in the end, Sakura doesn't have a choice but let things be in their usual way without meddling or something like that.

The next day finally came, which is exactly at the last day of March. It is time for Sakura to graduate and finally be on her merry way without having to suffer seeing the faces of the people that she doesn't want to see every single day.

It was the small details that she mostly remembered during their graduation.

Sakura was able to observe her mother's tears as she placed the medal around her neck after her teacher declared her as the class valedictorian for the academic year, or her father's smiling face as he watched Sakura's mother place the medal on her.

Sakura also noticed the odd looks her ex-boyfriend Yamamoto Ryuuji was throwing at her, or the moving of his lips...like he had something to say to her. But Sakura simply ignored it and sat back on her assigned seat.

Though she had to witness his face, Sakura could definitely say that her graduation still went well as she expected.