Octagons

When I arrived at the school gate at 7 in the morning, sure enough, there was a progression of buses resting under the sunlight. I looked at the piece of paper in my hand, its content told me what bus number I was supposed to ride.

As I continued walking—searching for my designated bus, eventually, I spotted my classmates standing in their casual clothes with their Identification cards hanging around their necks. Obviously, I had one too but It was inside my backpack.

"Sakura!"

"We're here, hurry!"

"We will leave you!"

My classmates, more specifically my group mates, shouted in reasonable excitement. I did what they said and sped up my pace. Maybe I was excited too. As I came to meet them, I first greeted them with "Good morning." since it was a proper thing to do as an adult.

Obviously, they greeted me back but their attention was eventually drawn to my hair. Today, I had my hair braided on each side and tied to the back. I also had this hairpin quietly sitting near my temple to prevent the strands of my hair from loosening. Of course, my sister was the one who tied my hair. I told her that I could do it on my own but she insisted.

"Oh, Sakura…that hair." I looked over my shoulder as I heard a familiar voice. "I-it looks good on you," he mumbled, averting his eyes away from me and looked at the ground.

"Oum, thank you"

Evidently, it was the spiky boy as he arrived with his hands fiddling the straps of his backpack.

For a moment, I contemplated how he could tell that my hair looks good on me when his eyes were eventually looking somewhere else.

Facing downwards, he peeked at me and flinched as if he had seen a ghost, and went straight inside the bus. I furrowed my brows and couldn't help but feel annoyed with him. Why did he have to flinch? It certainly annoyed me.

Finally, after our teacher arrived and gave us a few rules and warnings, and we'd begun our journey to the first location that was listed on the school trip.

While on the bus, we were seated with our group mates. Obviously, (this such thing shouldn't tell anymore) Spiky Boy was sitting next to me. He couldn't settle on his seat and eventually looking around and turning his body in some random direction. It made me worried that he might get sick and vomit, all of a sudden. Thus, I distanced myself from him and leaned against the window.

As the houses and buildings disappeared from my view, a vast field surprised my eyes. Pointing its edge to the sun, the grass waved as the wind from the bus met them like they were struck by a huge wave. I knew there was a large grass field near our town but this was the first time I'd seen it with my own eyes. In a distance, I saw cows in different colors peacefully eating and some goats resting on the grass. There was also some old peoples but I got more fixated on the animals than on them.

"Your face looks weird, Sakura."

A voice came from beside me. He chuckled, hand on his mouth as he was looking at me. Somehow, I felt embarrassed since surely—surely and precisely— I looked like a child looking at the scenery with a glint in her eyes.

I immediately retracted from the window, fixing my posture, and took a breath.

Weird, huh…?

"It's not weird, you know."

"Right, it was a…a." his eyes wandered upward, as though looking for an answer, and finally said, "…dazzling?"

"Dazzling…?" Even I found it questionable.

I felt a light thumped inside my chest (when would it get bigger?) 

… Just how the hell does he see me for? A Christmas tree? Good grief, how immature of him.

"Sh-shut up!" he groaned, hastily averted his eyes.

Then once again we filled with silence. The only sounds that I heard came from my classmates who certainly enjoying on their seats, chatting, and eating the food. I, on the other hand, didn't feel anything in particular on my seat hence, I let my mind drifted and let the scenery on the other side of the window take over my body. if I were on the other side of this window, I'm sure all I can smell is the strange scent from the green grasses.

Certainly, there were so many things in the world that I wanted to explore. I didn't mean to be a traveler but somehow, I want the current me to feel all the feelings and emotions that I hadn't felt before. 

Experience is learning and learning is growing. After I experienced all the feelings and emotions that I needed and after I finished all the things that I need to learn, I wondered if I would grow to the proper adult that I always yearned for.

This may sound like plain selfishness and I knew that somewhere in the future I need to make a decision that could hurt me or other people, but all of it…for my dream.

"All of it… I want it for my dream and in that dream, I want my big sister to be there."

See, I was still a child who wanted to be spoiled by her big sister. When would I graduate from being immature?

"Did you say something, Sakura?" the spiky boy asked.

"No, it's nothing," I answered, closing my eyes and fell to a deep slumber.