Sensei, I Love You

Chapter 5

Sakura poked her head into the house and listened for any hint of activity. She blinked at the gloomy interior, waited for any signals and was satisfied that the house remained eerily quiet before giving the door a gentle shove so that she could step in. She paused inside the doorway, glancing around the place worriedly, suddenly wondering if anyone was upstairs because she needed to go up to her former room—it would really be bad if she encountered anyone up there. Besides, Tanaka and the rest of the family could be back any moment and she would be caught. She had to be quick and leave the house before that could happen.

Closing the door behind her and hoping that she could hear the lock should anyone return early, she hurried up the stairs to her miserable former room on the second floor of the house. The knob turned easily and she released a huge sigh when she found the door unlocked. This made her task even easier. She slipped into the room and found that everything was left where it was before all her items were ruthlessly thrown out of the house. However, one thing was missing. Her photograph was not there.

Thinking that Tanaka must have hidden it somewhere in the house, she sneaked out of her former room and was about to step into Tanaka’s room, which was just a few paces away from hers, when she heard the unmistakable click of the lock on the front door before it swung open with a loud bang. A string of muffled curses could be heard and Sakura’s face paled when she recognized the owner of the voice—it was Rui, Tanaka’s creepy son. Without giving it any further thought, Sakura hurriedly hid inside her former room.

There was nothing she could do while trapped in the room. She couldn’t very well just skip outside and waved hello to Rui before making a mad dash for the door. No—there won’t be enough time for her to make a clean escape. He would catch up with her easily since it will definitely take her some time to fumble with the locks on the door. Her next best alternative was the sole window in the room. She padded across the small room and peered down from the open window. It was a long drop from where she was to the soft thatch of grass below and she hesitated from jumping out. What if she broke a hand or leg from the fall? It was so not worth it, not when she didn’t manage to get what she wanted.

She bit her lips and retreated back into the middle of the room. Footsteps pounded up the stairs causing Sakura’s heart to lurch up to her throat. Was she found? How? Her mind was jumbled up by the many questions that she randomly thrown around and it was difficult to think clearly. She almost wept with relief that Rui had shut himself in his own room. That would give her some time to think and plan.

“What should I do? What should I do?” Sakura whispered to herself as she paced in the room. She needed to get out of the house before anyone caught her. She could handle Tanaka’s sweet wife but Tanaka was a tough case and when Rui was thrown into the equation, things could get sticky. She was lucky to escape unscathed from her previous encounters with him alone but she wouldn’t be so sure if it were to happen again. Her only hope was for Rui to remain in his room so she could make her escape.

Rui’s room was just right next to where she currently was. She climbed onto the small bed in the corner of the room and pressed her ear against the wall to try to listen to what was going on in his room. She waited a few seconds and frowned when she heard nothing. She presumed that he was taking a nap. Great timing! She was about to turn the knob when Rui’s door flung open and crashed loudly against the wall. She flinched away from the door as cold sweat poured down from her forehead—her escape was thwarted.

She heard a soft thud behind her and she jumped in fright. There was nothing behind her when she turned around. She wondered if she had imagined the sound because of her anxiety. The answer was revealed a scant second later when a small piece of rock flew through the open window and landed on the floor with another soft thud. She raised a brow in confusion.  Another rock landed in the room and prompted her to peer out of the window in curiosity.