Stand Up For Yourself

"But Tomoya-san, our classes will soon start and--"

"Are you now defying my orders, Nana-chan?"

"N-no… Tomoya-san."

"Good. Then get your ass out of here quickly!"

Sakura was just standing near the door, her fist clenched to her side. She was left with two choices of whether to turn her back, leave, and pretend not to hear the domineering president's words just now or step back in and help Nana in dealing with her.

This scenario alone reminded Sakura of her weaker self back in her early elementary years. Before meeting Mori Ken at that time, Sakura was exerting a lot of effort for any group from her class to accept her as their friend.

Somehow, Nana reminded her of her past, pathetic self back in those days. Sakura once served a group of obviously mean girls of their class in her second grade just to get their friendship and acceptance, which she never got in the end after all the hardships she had endured.

Sakura realized then that once you lose your value to others, you wouldn't mean anything to them at all.

But looking back at it now, Sakura wished to travel back in time to have a one-on-one talk with her past self at that time. Then, she would give herself a solid one-hour scolding and would tell herself how precious and worthy she is and that she doesn't need to lower her standards in order to be accepted by others.

However, no one could travel back in time and no one can reverse what they have already done in the past. What matters right now is what you can do in the present time in order to change who you are and what you'll be in the near future.

Filling in with these kinds of thoughts, Sakura had already made up her mind and decided to step back inside, surprising everyone present in the office for the second time.

At this point, Nana was still not able to go out and was immediately stopped by Sakura's presence entering the office once again.

As Sakura fixed her firm gaze back at the Student Council president, she declared, "Even if you are the president, you still do not have the right to manipulate people."

That's right. If Sakura had only this courage way back then, this would also be the kind of words she would be saying to those mean, rich girls who acted like they own the world.

Nana, on the other hand, looked at Sakura and was completely stunned to her place. "Hayashi-san…"

"And what actually gives you the right to tell me what I can and cannot do, huh? You're just a peasant who happened to be enrolled in a prestigious school originally for socialites like us." countered the narrow-minded Student Council president, which immediately irked Sakura with her mean attitude.

However, Sakura was not at all bothered by it but rather triumphantly asked her, "Have you forgotten that the Student Council elections are fast approaching?"

Earlier, before entering the Student Council office, Sakura happened to see an announcement posted on their announcement board about the Student Council election that will be happening somewhere in May.

Upon hearing that, Tomoya was somewhat dumbfounded in her place and was even speechless for a while.

An outsider witnessed her true colors, which were going against the innocent and sweet facade she is usually showing outside of her office. How can she let this happen so easily?!

In addition, this girl is a friend of Mori Ken and Yamaguchi Alan, two of the most influential bachelors in the country.

Anything she might say or do would surely affect her popularity amongst the student body of Hirosaki University.

Either she needs to get on her good side, which is already impossible to do at this point, or quickly get rid of her in the school as soon as possible before May, which is basically a few days away from now.

If there's only one thing she could use against this girl…

"Good luck on your next campaign then," Sakura added when the president failed to respond on time.

She then grabbed hold of Nana's hand and together they went out of here and proceeded in the hallways away from the student council office.

Along the way, Nana was only silent and just let Sakura take her somewhere as long as it is away from the office. But when Sakura stopped, she also halted and faced the girl curiously.

"A few walks from here and I'll be able to get on to my next class," Sakura explained without her asking. "How about you?"

"Oh…" Nana only scratched the back of her neck and hesitantly replied, "Well, I still need to go upstairs to get to my next class…"

"Well, I think you should get going now. Classes will soon begin in five minutes."

"O-Okay."

Sakura waved her hand and started walking and so was Nana. But just as the latter began taking a few steps, Sakura stopped in her tracks and turned around to face Nana once more.

"Miyazaki-san," Sakura called, which made Nana halt and turned to face her too. "I wish I would have said this to my past self, but... stand up for yourself if you need to. If you're looking for a friend, I'm here for you."

Nana's eyes swelled with tears as she heard Sakura's words. Smiling gleefully, she responded, "Alright then. I will sure remember that, Hayashi-san! Thank you so much!"

After that brief, heartfelt conversation between these two, Sakura and Nana had now gone to their respective classes. As Sakura entered the classroom, her friends were curious about where she came from and why she arrived a little later in class than they had.

Sakura simply answered them with, "I have helped a friend from the Student Council,"

"A friend?" Yuna and Ryo asked at the same time, their eyebrows were hunched together.

"Yeah, a friend,"

"From the Student Council?"

"Yep."

Yuna raised one eyebrow at her and asked, "Since when did you interact with those arrogant brats from the Student Council huh?"

"Not all of them are brats," Sakura insisted. "There was this one person who was different from the rest. One day, I will need your support to give her a boost for the upcoming Student Council elections next month."