Sensei, I Love You

Chapter 9

A shrill noise pierced the blessed silence in the room and Sakura shifted under the covers, pulled the covers beyond her head in hope of blocking out the sound. The loud ring of her cell phone continued to blast with no hint of stopping anything soon. With a loud groan, Sakura tossed her covers aside and plucked her cell phone from the small bedside table, glaring at the name on her display. She spent the whole night revising studiously for the subjects that she had missed out, especially Calculus, and didn’t get to sleep till four in the morning. She was hoping that she could sleep in over the weekend.

“Good morning, Tomoyo-chan,” Sakura greeted and stifled a yawn. Apparently three hours of sleep wasn’t enough for her. She could feel herself getting old already. Coffee would be good to give her the instant energy boost throughout the whole day.

“Sakura-chan! I’ve found you a job!” Tomoyo squealed on the other line. “The manager just responded to me and she’s such a nice lady.”

Screw coffee. That was just what she needed and she was wide awake in the next instant. “Really?” she breathed, unable to believe her ears. “What kind of job is it? When do I start?”

“Today at 9 A.M. I’m not sure if you are comfortable with it… It’s actually a cosplay café and it’s very near to our school… I can always look for another suitable job for you if you are not up to it.”

Sakura considered it for a moment. Cosplay café? It sounded pretty fun to her but its proximity to the school was a big problem to her. Although it was only on weekends, chances of her encountering a schoolmate were pretty high. It was too risky but beggars can’t be choosers. She needed a job and there was one available for her. “I’ll take it.”

“You sure?” Tomoyo asked, sounding a little worried now. “You are not afraid of being found out?”

Sakura shrugged and then realized that Tomoyo couldn’t see her on the phone. “I’ll deal with it when the problem arises. Right now, I really need a job to pay for my meals. Besides, it will be better for me if I were to be caught and tossed out of school.”

“Sakura-chan! How could you say that?” Tomoyo exclaimed angrily. “No matter what you still have to go through high school and then university if you want to earn big bucks in the future! What good will it do to you if you couldn’t even get through high school? Are you going to do waitressing for the rest of your life?”

“I’ll try to find a rich man and marry him?” Sakura suggested teasingly, earning herself a big sigh from her best friend. “What? Can’t I do that? Then I don’t have to go through the long hours at school.”

“Be realistic, Sakura-chan,” Tomoyo admonished. “It’s difficult to find a good guy nowadays and a rich one at that.”

A good guy? There’s one in the house at the moment, Sakura thought with a grin. And he seemed pretty rich to be able to afford a house like this. Too bad he’s my teacher.

“I’ll just find a way to survive on my on in the worst case scenario,” Sakura said. “Trust me with my survival instincts.”

“Right. Anyway, be there by 9 and look for the café manager, Junko-san,” Tomoyo reminded. “She’s one of the nicest ladies I have ever met so be nice to her.”

Sakura grunted. “When have I ever been bad to anyone?”

“Well, people can change right?” Tomoyo said. “And I don’t want to hear any silly things from you about marrying a rich man. It isn’t funny.”

“Yes, madam!”

When the call ended, Sakura stood up and stretched her lethargic body before going downstairs to make a simple breakfast of toast and coffee. She still had some time to spare before she had to show up at the café and if she just lay down on her bed again, she knew she would doze off immediately.