High's corridors, the ear-piercing ring of their school bell playing in the background. It was recess. She hurried down the crowded place, zoomed right past some baffled guy, nearly bumped into a surprised sensei, and almost tripped along the way. But she didn't stop running. Instead, she raced faster, determined on getting to their cafeteria earlier than…
…Him.
Sakura abruptly halted in her tracks. She couldn't believe it, or rather, she didn't want to believe it.
"Late as always, I see." He smirked.
"W-what…b-but…I-I…" she sputtered, clearly at a loss of words.
This made Syaoran's smirk grow…well…cockier. "What's wrong, Sakura? Don't tell me you actually thought you'd get to beat me?" he mocked.
Sakura flared. "OH SHUT THE HELL UP, LI."
Point Tally: Syaoran - 36, 482; Sakura - 0
"Whatever," Syaoran merely shrugged in response. "Come on, let's get inside. Tomoyo's waiting…"
.
.
"…along with our History test results…"
With this said, Sakura instantly rushed inside, face brimming with anticipation.
Challenge No. 36, 483: History Unit Test
"Tomoyoooo!" Sakura called from across the room. "Let me see my test result!"
Behind her, Syaoran followed, hands in pockets and still as composed as ever. Tomoyo handed the two's papers respectively. Syaoran scanned his paper with expressionless eyes. Sakura, however, had a different response.
"HA!" she blurted out, then shoving the paper proudly in front of Syaoran. "See this, Li? It's a damn, freakin' 'A!'" she boasted. "Bet you can't beat that!"
Syaoran raised a brow. "Uh…yeah. I can."
"W-what?" Sakura sputtered out. "Let me see!" she said as she grabbed his paper, eyes widening as she looked at the red-tinted score largely encircled at the top-right corner of his answer sheet.
'A+'
He got an 'A+'.
Point Tally: Syaoran - 36, 483; Sakura - 0
Syaoran grinned. "What's wrong? Speechless?"
Sakura remained frozen, before then flaring up with determination. "I AM NOT!" she said defensively. "Listen here, Li, in the next challenges…I. Will. Beat. You. Got that?"
"Keep wishing…Miss Rank Number Two."
"ARGGGGGGGGHHHHHH!"
Challenge No. 36, 484: Poem Writing Activity
"…The beeping stops, and all goes quiet,
Not a single breath comes from among the riot
No pulse, no beat, but a silent scream,
No one to wake from this horrid dream."
"Wonderful!" their Literary teacher exclaimed as Sakura went back to her seat. "Next?"
"Me." —Syaoran.
"Good. Li, please come up the platform."
The boy did as what he was told to do, before then clearing his throat.
"The World's Reality
As a child, we dreamt of jolly things,
Soaring high, flying on bird's wings.
We dreamt of the of the good, but never of the bad,
Of simple pure happiness, the thoughts we had."
Sakura yawned. Bo-ring…
"Slowly and slowly, as we grew,
Our dreams changed, and morphed anew.
We somehow locked the jolly spirit inside,
Kept all those dreams and fun behind.
And in those times of development and change,
The way we think has been rearranged.
The world as we saw it, moments before,
Left all the simplicity, even happiness was no more."
"Wow…his poem's not bad at all," Mei Lin said.
Sakura snickered. "His poem sucks Mei Lin…"
Denial, a silent voice rang in her mind.
"Then we come to see the world, in a different way.
Things had changed, so they might say.
The world runs on riddles and games,
In secret passages, and secret names.
You could wish your life was a fantasy,
Or even a fairytale, from a book could be.
You could always wish for genies in a lamp,
But the fact remains; they're only dreams that are trapped.
Rain or shine, it may never change.
The boundary that can make, people deranged.
The line that separates us from the imaginary,
This little thing, we call 'reality'."
As soon as Syaoran had finished writing his perfectly written poem, he sent a triumphant smirk Sakura's way.
"I win," he mouthed.
Point Tally: Syaoran - 36, 484; Sakura - 0
Sakura sulked, and from behind her, she could hear Ryu stifle a laugh. "Stop that!" she demanded.
"Right...right...pfft-" Ryu nearly choked. "But...yeah. You should've listened to me. I keep telling you Sakura, you'd never get to beat him."
Sakura frowned. "Look, if you're just gonna say something stupid, keep your blabber mouth shut and you'l be doing me a favor. Are you really a friend or what?"
"I'm just telling you the truth Sakura-chan."
"Yeah right," Mei Lin snickered. "Way to enlighten things up baka," she turned to Sakura. "Don't worry Sakura; the day's still long. You'd get to beat him..."
Her voice didn't sound the least convincing.
Sakura sighed. "I guess," she then grinned as dawning comprehension showed in her face. "Yeah, you're right! The day's still long! I'd get to beat him today, you guys just watch!"
"That's the spirit Sakura!"
Five hours later...
Challenge No. 36, 599: Track and Field
"Good luck Sakura-chan!" Tomoyo yelled.
"Tomoyo, your precious voice!" Mei Lin protested. "You might strain it. Let me do the shouting for you, okay?" she turned to front. "GO, SAKURA-CHAN! MAKE SURE TO KICK THAT DAMNED GAKI'S ASS FOR ME!"
Ryu could only groan as Mei Lin's standing figure completely blocked his view.
Cheers and hoots filled their track field as both Sakura and Syaoran took their respective places in the starting line. Sakura took a deep breath, then glanced at Syaoran from the corner of her eye. He seemed confident; no worries, no frets, or rather, showed not even the slightest sign of nervousness, contrary to how she felt.
Easing herself, she then positioned herself, only one thing in mind: To win. There was no way she'd let herself get beaten again. She seemed cursed for heaven's sake, forever condemned in the stinking, second-rank spot. But now, she'd make sure she'd bag the first place. For a change. Relax, Sakura. Relax.
"Ready…" the stern voice of their P.E. trainer broke right through her imaginings.
Sakura's eyes narrowed.
"Set…"
She leaned forward.
"Go!"
And she dashed away.
Their spectators burst into clamors once more, clapping with all their might, yelling their bets and cheering for the two as both ran as fast as they could. But all these went ignored by Sakura as an overwhelming feeling washed through her. She couldn't see Syaoran, but she could hear footsteps quite a distance from behind her, which could only mean one thing.
She was winning.
"She's winning! Sakura-chan's winning!" Tomoyo exclaimed, standing amongst the crowd.
Mei Lin nodded. "Yeah, she is! All right!"
Ryu joined in. "Go, Sakura-chan!"
Sakura smiled. Joy? No. Happiness? No. The feeling was indescribable! Too wonderful to even put in words! Finally, after nine years of trying and trying and trying, she'd get to beat him for the very first time!
"She's winning!" Tomoyo repeated.
"She's winning!"
Syaoran's figure dashed past Sakura.
Tomoyo's face fell. "And…she's not…."
Sakura, still left stupefied, couldn't remember much what had happened, probably because it all occurred so fast. But she swore, she heard Syaoran say a soft "I win, Sakura," the moment he passed by her. The next thing she knew, they were already running up to Syaoran now in the finish line, congratulating him. Sakura slowed down, only a few meters away from the endpoint.
She had lost.
Just like what happened, nine years ago.
"Sakura…" Tomoyo whispered worriedly from afar.
Sakura panted hard, slumping down, hands on her knees supporting her.
She couldn't run anymore. She didn't want to actually. Besides, Syaoran had won already. Why bother?
"Oi oi…"
Sakura looked up to face him. "What? I know you won okay? You don't need to rub it in my face," she sullenly muttered, her emerald orbs refusing to meet his gaze.
"It's not that," he said. "The race. You didn't finish the race."
Sakura sighed as she straightened up. "…What's the point?"
Syaoran frowned. "That's not the Sakura Kinomoto I know. You can't just back down on a competition like that. No wonder you always loose."
"I'm tired."
"You're not worthy to be my rival, then."
Sakura merely turned her head away, making Syaoran quite worry for the dejected girl. Sakura was loosing hope; he could feel it. But he also knew the one thing which would fire her up again. Four words, to be exact.
"Oh well. Sucks to be you..." he grinned. "Miss Rank Number Two."
Sakura gasped. "What...did...you s-say?" she demanded softly, anger marks on her forehead, fists clenched and voice dripping with venom. She then looked up at him once again, her eyes burning with anger.
Literally.
"DON'T CALL ME THAT!" she boomed.
Syaoran smiled secretly to himself. "Only if you finish the race." He looked at her straight in the eye. "Besides, what's a challenge if one would just back out in the end?"
Sakura stared at him, pondering over his words momentarily. For a moment, she thought all hope was lost. For a moment, she thought she'd never be able to do it. For moment, she thought she never be able to set her mind to finishing this…stupid…race, now that Syaoran had won already. But who would've thought that it would actually be Syaoran himself, who'd encourage her to pursue her goal? She found the thought quite surprising.
Syaoran Li. Her rival.
What's a challenge if one would just back out in the end? He had said.
She smiled. "You're right, Syaoran…uh…Li."
"See? Told you so. Now go and finish this…stupid…race." He grinned.
Sakura laughed. Probably because he had said the word funnily, or maybe because he had nailed the word right on spot, unknowingly paralleling with hers.
"Sure! And thanks. Means a lot," she said as she sprinted off.
"No problem," Syaoran called ways behind her. "And…"
.
.
.
"BETTER LUCK NEXT TIME…MISS RANK NUMBER TWO."
"I AM NO—AAAHHHH!" she tripped.
Syaoran sweat dropped. "…Klutz…" he whispered.
"Hey…I HEARD THAT!"
Point Tally: Syaoran – 36, 599; Sakura - ...still... 0
Sakura sighed softly as she strained to reach the finish line. She
High's corridors, the ear-piercing ring of their school bell playing in the background. It was recess. She hurried down the crowded place, zoomed right past some baffled guy, nearly bumped into a surprised sensei, and almost tripped along the way. But she didn't stop running. Instead, she raced faster, determined on getting to their cafeteria earlier than……Him.Sakura abruptly halted in her tracks. She couldn't believe it, or rather, she didn't want to believe it."Late as always, I see." He smirked."W-what…b-but…I-I…" she sputtered, clearly at a loss of words.This made Syaoran's smirk grow…well…cockier. "What's wrong, Sakura? Don't tell me you actually thought you'd get to beat me?" he mocked.Sakura flared. "OH SHUT THE HELL UP, LI."Point Tally: Syaoran - 36, 482; Sakura - 0"Whatever," Syaoran merely shrugged in response. "Come on, let's get inside. Tomoyo's waiting…".."…along with our History test results…"With this said, Sakura instantly rushed inside, face brimming with anticipation.Challenge No. 36, 483: History Unit Test"Tomoyoooo!" Sakura called from across the room. "Let me see my test result!"Behind her, Syaoran followed, hands in pockets and still as composed as ever. Tomoyo handed the two's papers respectively. Syaoran scanned his paper with expressionless eyes. Sakura, however, had a different response."HA!" she blurted out, then shoving the paper proudly in front of Syaoran. "See this, Li? It's a damn, freakin' 'A!'" she boasted. "Bet you can't beat that!"Syaoran raised a brow. "Uh…yeah. I can.""W-what?" Sakura sputtered out. "Let me see!" she said as she grabbed his paper, eyes widening as she looked at the red-tinted score largely encircled at the top-right corner of his answer sheet.'A+'He got an 'A+'.Point Tally: Syaoran - 36, 483; Sakura - 0Syaoran grinned. "What's wrong? Speechless?"Sakura remained frozen, before then flaring up with determination. "I AM NOT!" she said defensively. "Listen here, Li, in the next challenges…I. Will. Beat. You. Got that?""Keep wishing…Miss Rank Number Two.""ARGGGGGGGGHHHHHH!"Challenge No. 36, 484: Poem Writing Activity"…The beeping stops, and all goes quiet,Not a single breath comes from among the riotNo pulse, no beat, but a silent scream,No one to wake from this horrid dream.""Wonderful!" their Literary teacher exclaimed as Sakura went back to her seat. "Next?""Me." —Syaoran."Good. Li, please come up the platform."The boy did as what he was told to do, before then clearing his throat."The World's RealityAs a child, we dreamt of jolly things,Soaring high, flying on bird's wings.We dreamt of the of the good, but never of the bad,Of simple pure happiness, the thoughts we had."Sakura yawned. Bo-ring…"Slowly and slowly, as we grew,Our dreams changed, and morphed anew.We somehow locked the jolly spirit inside,Kept all those dreams and fun behind.And in those times of development and change,The way we think has been rearranged.The world as we saw it, moments before,Left all the simplicity, even happiness was no more.""Wow…his poem's not bad at all," Mei Lin said.Sakura snickered. "His poem sucks Mei Lin…"Denial, a silent voice rang in her mind."Then we come to see the world, in a different way.Things had changed, so they might say.The world runs on riddles and games,In secret passages, and secret names.You could wish your life was a fantasy,Or even a fairytale, from a book could be.You could always wish for genies in a lamp,But the fact remains; they're only dreams that are trapped.Rain or shine, it may never change.The boundary that can make, people deranged.The line that separates us from the imaginary,This little thing, we call 'reality'."As soon as Syaoran had finished writing his perfectly written poem, he sent a triumphant smirk Sakura's way."I win," he mouthed.Point Tally: Syaoran - 36, 484; Sakura - 0Sakura sulked, and from behind her, she could hear Ryu stifle a laugh. "Stop that!" she demanded."Right...right...pfft-" Ryu nearly choked. "But...yeah. You should've listened to me. I keep telling you Sakura, you'd never get to beat him."Sakura frowned. "Look, if you're just gonna say something stupid, keep your blabber mouth shut and you'l be doing me a favor. Are you really a friend or what?""I'm just telling you the truth Sakura-chan.""Yeah right," Mei Lin snickered. "Way to enlighten things up baka," she turned to Sakura. "Don't worry Sakura; the day's still long. You'd get to beat him..."Her voice didn't sound the least convincing.Sakura sighed. "I guess," she then grinned as dawning comprehension showed in her face. "Yeah, you're right! The day's still long! I'd get to beat him today, you guys just watch!""That's the spirit Sakura!"Five hours later...Challenge No. 36, 599: Track and Field"Good luck Sakura-chan!" Tomoyo yelled."Tomoyo, your precious voice!" Mei Lin protested. "You might strain it. Let me do the shouting for you, okay?" she turned to front. "GO, SAKURA-CHAN! MAKE SURE TO KICK THAT DAMNED GAKI'S ASS FOR ME!"Ryu could only groan as Mei Lin's standing figure completely blocked his view.Cheers and hoots filled their track field as both Sakura and Syaoran took their respective places in the starting line. Sakura took a deep breath, then glanced at Syaoran from the corner of her eye. He seemed confident; no worries, no frets, or rather, showed not even the slightest sign of nervousness, contrary to how she felt.Easing herself, she then positioned herself, only one thing in mind: To win. There was no way she'd let herself get beaten again. She seemed cursed for heaven's sake, forever condemned in the stinking, second-rank spot. But now, she'd make sure she'd bag the first place. For a change. Relax, Sakura. Relax.
"Ready…" the stern voice of their P.E. trainer broke right through her imaginings.
Sakura's eyes narrowed.
"Set…"
She leaned forward.
"Go!"
And she dashed away.
Their spectators burst into clamors once more, clapping with all their might, yelling their bets and cheering for the two as both ran as fast as they could. But all these went ignored by Sakura as an overwhelming feeling washed through her. She couldn't see Syaoran, but she could hear footsteps quite a distance from behind her, which could only mean one thing.
She was winning.
"She's winning! Sakura-chan's winning!" Tomoyo exclaimed, standing amongst the crowd.
Mei Lin nodded. "Yeah, she is! All right!"
Ryu joined in. "Go, Sakura-chan!"
Sakura smiled. Joy? No. Happiness? No. The feeling was indescribable! Too wonderful to even put in words! Finally, after nine years of trying and trying and trying, she'd get to beat him for the very first time!
"She's winning!" Tomoyo repeated.
"She's winning!"
Syaoran's figure dashed past Sakura.
Tomoyo's face fell. "And…she's not…."
Sakura, still left stupefied, couldn't remember much what had happened, probably because it all occurred so fast. But she swore, she heard Syaoran say a soft "I win, Sakura," the moment he passed by her. The next thing she knew, they were already running up to Syaoran now in the finish line, congratulating him. Sakura slowed down, only a few meters away from the endpoint.
She had lost.
Just like what happened, nine years ago.
"Sakura…" Tomoyo whispered worriedly from afar.
Sakura panted hard, slumping down, hands on her knees supporting her.
She couldn't run anymore. She didn't want to actually. Besides, Syaoran had won already. Why bother?
"Oi oi…"
Sakura looked up to face him. "What? I know you won okay? You don't need to rub it in my face," she sullenly muttered, her emerald orbs refusing to meet his gaze.
"It's not that," he said. "The race. You didn't finish the race."
Sakura sighed as she straightened up. "…What's the point?"
Syaoran frowned. "That's not the Sakura Kinomoto I know. You can't just back down on a competition like that. No wonder you always loose."
"I'm tired."
"You're not worthy to be my rival, then."
Sakura merely turned her head away, making Syaoran quite worry for the dejected girl. Sakura was loosing hope; he could feel it. But he also knew the one thing which would fire her up again. Four words, to be exact.
"Oh well. Sucks to be you..." he grinned. "Miss Rank Number Two."
Sakura gasped. "What...did...you s-say?" she demanded softly, anger marks on her forehead, fists clenched and voice dripping with venom. She then looked up at him once again, her eyes burning with anger.
Literally.
"DON'T CALL ME THAT!" she boomed.
Syaoran smiled secretly to himself. "Only if you finish the race." He looked at her straight in the eye. "Besides, what's a challenge if one would just back out in the end?"
Sakura stared at him, pondering over his words momentarily. For a moment, she thought all hope was lost. For a moment, she thought she'd never be able to do it. For moment, she thought she never be able to set her mind to finishing this…stupid…race, now that Syaoran had won already. But who would've thought that it would actually be Syaoran himself, who'd encourage her to pursue her goal? She found the thought quite surprising.
Syaoran Li. Her rival.
What's a challenge if one would just back out in the end? He had said.
She smiled. "You're right, Syaoran…uh…Li."
"See? Told you so. Now go and finish this…stupid…race." He grinned.
Sakura laughed. Probably because he had said the word funnily, or maybe because he had nailed the word right on spot, unknowingly paralleling with hers.
"Sure! And thanks. Means a lot," she said as she sprinted off.
"No problem," Syaoran called ways behind her. "And…"
.
.
.
"BETTER LUCK NEXT TIME…MISS RANK NUMBER TWO."
"I AM NO—AAAHHHH!" she tripped.
Syaoran sweat dropped. "…Klutz…" he whispered.
"Hey…I HEARD THAT!"
Point Tally: Syaoran – 36, 599; Sakura - ...still... 0
Sakura sighed softly as she strained to reach the finish line. She
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