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« on: April 15, 2014, 11:45:30 AM »
Prologue
In the year 2015
April 11th
08:23 AM
In the suburbs outside of Tokyo.
In a house where a foreign family have recently moved in, a girl in her mid-teenage years named Kelly woke up on her bed in her room as her alarm goes off, boxes of her stuff unopen scattered around, she gets off bed. She puts on a school uniform consisting of a blue buttoned open shirt and a blue skirt, she brushed her hair in front of a mirror as she look at her reflection, a 15-year old American girl with fair skin, medium long blond hair with a pink hairband on top, sky-blue eyes which are partially covered by her bangs and has a pretty face.
I have always been the quiet girl back where I live in America, never talking to anyone there, always to myself, then I was introduce to Japanese culture which I instantly like it, giving me a chance to start over and make friends here.
"Time for a new life in Japan and to make new friends." She said with a cheerful tone as she winked at her reflection.
She grabbed her backpack and heads downstairs where she grabbed toasted bread from a plate on a table in the kitchen area and sticks to her mouth to eat it along the way to school.
"Bye mom!" She muffled as she heads to the front door, bidding her mother, who is cooking breakfast, bye, she left the house on her way to school after putting on white shoes.
The early sun shines above.
Kelly walks alone to school, she admired the peaceful and quietness in the neighborhood.
"Wow, it's quiet than I thought, no stupid teenagers yelling, no stupid rap music back home, this is gonna be awesome!" Kelly raised her hands up, one which hold her bread. "Hm?"
Along the way, she spotted a Japanese boy in the boy's version of the school's uniform walking alone in a distance from her to the same direction, listening to music with headphones connected to his MP3 hanging from his red sakura-patterned lanyard which he holds with his left hand, his other hand in his right pocket.
The boy has black hair with bangs across his forehead, some on the right side of his face partally covering his right eye, his eyes has red pupils, he looks a little smaller than Kelly, his face looks like a middle schooler's.
"I wonder if he could be my first friend (and he looks so cute!)" The foreign girl said as she ate her bread.
Kelly comes to him.
"Ohaiyo!" She said in Japanese to him.
"Hm?" The boy noticed her, has a high voice, he took off his headphones, left dangling from each side in front of his shirt, he looked up at her, being a head shorter than her. "Oh, hello, where your from?"
"Hee hee, silly, I'm American duh, my pretty blond hair doesn't prove it?" Kelly teased.
"O-oh, sorry..." He bowed to her in apology.
"Are you heading to Shinsenharu High School?" Kelly asked.
He nodded.
"Sugoi! I'm there too, I moved here recently, do you like to be my first friend in your country?" Kelly smiled.
"I like too... but I can't..." The boy said in a sorrow tone.
Kelly surprised. "Huh? Why not?"
"I just like to be alone... I don't need friends..." He said without emotion.
He walks away.
"H-hey! What do you mean you don't want friends?" Kelly worried.
"I just don't want to... ever again..." The boy said now in a sorrow tone.
"Um... at least, you want to walk with me to school?"
He looked away. "If you really want to..."
"K'!" Kelly pat his head. "(His hair is so soft like a sheep!)"
"I'm not a kid..." The boy looks away nervously.
"Soaweh..." Kelly said it childish, meant sorry.
The two then walk side by side to the school.
This boy, he's just like me when I was younger, what made him not wanting friends? It's sad to hear it from him. I hope I can be his friend so he won't feel so sad.
-When The Petal Falls-
At the high school, in an area surrounded by homes a mile away from the city of Shinjuku.
The girl and the boy went inside the building.
Inside, students of 1st, 2nd and 3rd year going to their respective classes, the girl takes a note from her pockets, looking at it to find the teacher's lounge to look for her homeroom teacher while the boy goes away to his class, Kelly waving him bye.
"Hm... this is much different than I thought, meh, at least this place is alot better than the average American high school." Kelly grins.
She finds the room after some walking.
Inside, she spotted her teacher, Ms. Furukawa, 28-years old, sitting at her desk.
Kelly comfronted her, the teacher noticed her.
"Konnichiwa, I'm the transfer student." She said in Japanese.
"Oh, you must be Erica Kelly." Ms. Furukawa said in English.
"Yup!" She said in English after hearing her speak her language.
Ms. Furukawa gave her a hand.
"Welcome to Shinsenharu High School, I hope you have a great time here."
Kelly shook her hand with two hands in a rapid pace, surprising the teacher.
"I'll do my best!"
"Ha ha... great to hear..." The teacher is nervous.
After that, Ms. Furukawa walks with Kelly to Class 2-B, which is in the second floor.
They arrived at Class 2-B, most of the students are in classes.
"Come inside once I call you, want the students to be surprised to have a student from America here." Ms. Furukawa said, smiling.
Kelly nodded.
The teacher went inside as she slides the door, Kelly is confused about how to open the door.
"Good day everyone, here, I like to introduce a new student, she is from America who loves the culture here in Nippon, come in now!" The teacher told the students then called out to Kelly.
A loud bump is heard.
"Oh dear..." Ms. Furukawa slides the door, finds Kelly on the ground on her back, swirls on her eyes.
"O... haiyo... gozai... masu..." She said in dizziness.
After the rather comical event, Kelly properly introduced herself.
"Ohaiyou gozaimasu! My name is Kelly Erica, my family just moved here a week ago from America, I love the culture here and want to learn more about it, please take care of me." Kelly bowed after speaking her introduction in Japanese which she spoke perfectly.
The whole class looked at her then making passing comments, most of which about Kelly being a ditz after what she did before.
"Nice to hear from you, Ms. Erica, please, have a seat." The teacher pointed at the open desk in the back of the room.
Kelly walks to the seat and sat as the teacher continues with class, she noticed the boy with the MP3 sitting in front of her when she passed by.
"*He's in my class... should I talk to him?*" Kelly wondered in her thoughts. "*Maybe not, he'll think I'm into him, I don't want a boyfriend in my first day here!*"
After the succeeding classes, some time later.
Lunchtime.
The students are free to roam the school and even eat outside.
Kelly decides to eat outside, she is disappointed that the boy isn't in her classes besides their homeroom class, giving her less time to see him in school and despite her cheerful attitude and being a foreigner, no one seems interested of being her friend in her classes.
"*sighs* Oh well, maybe I'll have a chance next time with that cute boy..." Kelly complained as she walked with a lunchbag on hand, filled with a PB&J sandwich made by her mother.
She ends up to a fountain in the middle of the school's outside interior, she spotted the boy sitting on the side of the fountain, eating bread, he is listening to his music.
Kelly walks up to him front, the boy sees her, took off his headphones.
"Oh... hey Ke... ll... e..." The boy has trouble pronouncing her name because of the Ls' not being in his language.
"Kel... ly..." Kelly attempts to help him speak her name right. "It's fine anyways, can I sit with you?"
"Sure..."
Kelly turns back, jumped on the side, her being too close to his side.
"How you been doing in school?" Kelly asked.
"Ok..." He said quietly as he took a bite of his bread.
"Nice, I'm doing super." Kelly lied, math is her biggest issue, she is too lazy to read and write and her attitude annoyed the teachers and students, Ms. Furukawa being the only teacher who enjoys her company.
Kelly touches shoes with the boy's, enjoy teasing him.
"You think I'm nice?"
He nodded.
"And pretty?"
He nodded.
"Do you like me?"
He shook his head.
"I already like someone, she's special..." The boy blushed.
"Ehhh?" Kelly shocked. "Who is she?"
"She isn't from the school, she has a job." The boy said.
"Whoa whoa whoa, hang on kid." Kelly holds her palm out. "You can't like older women, that's mega weird."
"She's the same age as me, don't get the wrong idea." The boy sounding more nervous.
"K'... is that why you don't want friends?" Kelly asked.
"Kind of." The boy looks away.
"Oh ok, I'm not into deep relationships to let you know, I just want to be friends, having friends keeps you comfort, it's better than being alone, but you have a girlfriend so that's ok..."
"She used to be my love..." The boy said sorrowful.
"Wha! She broke up with you but you still see her?" Kelly leans back in shock.
"No no, she still loves me..." He laughed.
"(Yay! He laughed! He's getting close...)" Kelly cheered in her mind.
"I visit her every day after school, she doesn't like to be lonely too." He smiled.
"Nice nice." Kelly crossed arms as she nodded. "(Man, this is getting interesting, I wonder if they cuddle, hee hee...) What else you two do?"
The boy then frowns.
"Nothing..."
"Hm?" Kelly wondered.
"Nothing till I wait for my death, then I'll see her again..."
He gets up and runs away from her, tears left behind.
"H-hey? What's the matter?" Kelly yelled to him. "What is his problem?"
Kelly then spots his MP3 with the headphones lying on the ground, she walks to it and pick it up.
"He always listens to it, wonder what music he likes." Kelly then wears the headphones and played the (only) track on the MP3 called When The Petal Falls that the boy have listened to it many times.
When the petal falls
Life is like stairs
Each with memories, cherish them
The joys of living
Bring us all happiness, sharing it
To the one you love
With hearts combined
Live on till the end
When the petal falls
My heart still belongs to you
Our memories together, it'll be eternal
Love life as we have always been
Be happy always
When the petal falls
Meet again in another life and time
Till then...
Always be happy, my friend
The song ended.
Kelly, filled with overwhelming sorrow of the song's sad tone and lyrics sung by a girl with a beautiful voice, she took off the headphones and head back down as the bell rung.
Hours has passed, school is over for the day
Kelly, being in her carefree self with the teachers and her new classmates, she had fun in her classes.
Once out from school, she gone back to being sorrow, listening to the song again which she still has the boy's MP3, intending to returning it to him but has no idea where he lives.
"Where could he be..." Kelly wondering as she walks around the suburbs as the place is glowing orange from the setting sun.
"When the petal falls... does it meant about the sakura?" Kelly thinks, having little knowledge of the sakura's symbolic nature.
"Everytime I see him in school, he always looks at the sakura trees whenever he had the chance."
Kelly thought about it for a time.
She have figure it out where he is.
She went to a nearby place full of sakura trees
Kelly looks around, she found him.
The boy is looking at one of the trees in front of him.
"Hey..." Kelly call out to him.
He turns around, his face covered in tears but smiling.
"Hi... I'm visiting her..." He said.
"Your love... she's... dead?" Kelly said with a sad expression.
He nodded.
"This tree is where me and her became friends since we're little, we got close later on and you know... then she is gone..."
"Oh god, I'm sorry to hear that." Kelly looks down.
"I don't want to be with anyone else after that, I don't want to see another die, it's too much..." He wiped his eyes. "I have to go now..."
Kelly looks at him, looked away, she then ran and hugged him tight from behind.
"I don't know how you exactly feel but I know your in pain, your heart is lonely and I'm going to fill it with happiness by being your friend, I won't die on you, I'll be with you till the end..." Kelly with heartwarming words.
The boy turned around as she let him go, he cried and hugged her back.
"Thanks... that is what she wanted for me..." The boy said about his deceased friend.
She then gave him his MP3 and headphones.
"Sorry if I listen to it, the only song you listen to, it makes me think about you being alone, it makes my heart feel sad..." Kelly wipes her right eye.
"Thanks, it's alright... I'm Sakuri, Kurenai Sakuri, nice to meet you..."
A petal falls from the tree, Sakuri catched it as he saw it.
"Ke...lly..." He has trouble pronouncing her name. "Can I call you, Cherrie?"
Kelly smiled of the nicknamed Sakuri gave her.
"Of course, Sakuri-chan..."
Sakuri smiled brightly, making him look a little more younger.
My hopes that I can connect to the boy, my new friend, helping him seek joy and friendship that he deserves like I do, like I said, I'll be with him till the end... when the petal falls.