Trouble comes when you least expect it...

I sit under this cherry blossom tree every day. It truly brings me joy and peace, sitting here, not having any soul to come disrupt me. It is behind my house and a discreet place to read the books that I got from my mom, although discreet doesn't mean private. I cherish them most above all. My late mother is whom I cherish and I love her dearly even if she is not here with us. This tree is so significant because it is where we asked for her to be buried. Me and my mother would sit together, under this tree, reading books all day. She was a great woman and now she has passed.

However, not all is lost. I still have my father and while he struggles in this market, he tries his hardest to make me have a good life. He is a great man and was perfect for my mother. I will mourn my mother's death but at different times because she taught me to be strong.

Well, you know how I said I got to be alone by the tree? That changed today. This girl, one that I was very familiar with, had interrupted my reading today. I was enjoying this book that my mother gave me, "Strange Weather in Tokyo", and she had seen me or something because 30 minutes pass by and I am greeted by her, but she isn't as loud as she normally is.

This girl came up to me and just stood there in our school uniforms. She wore the white t-shirt and the black skirt a little loosely and the belt that was supposed to be around her waste had been missing. She stood in front of me with her hands behind her back. I look up and see her beautiful brown hair and gorgeous blue eyes. She realized I looked up because she turned red as a tomato. Aiko Aki was her name, and she was the most beautiful girl in our grade. I have never seen her so nervous nor flustered so it came to a shock.

"You're Aiko, right?" I asked dumbfounded.

"Y-yes, I am. I noticed you were reading a romance story. You're Hikaru Hiroki, right?" she asked.

I was in awe. I didn't talk much and tried to stay to myself so the fact that she knew who I was really surprised me.

"Yes!" I blurted out and instantly realized how loud it was so I adjusted myself and said, "I mean, yes I am. Is there something you need?"

"Well, I enjoyed reading that book as well and couldn't find anyone else whom wanted to read it. I thought it was cool that you were reading it and wanted to see if you are liking it as much as I do," she said with growing with excitement.

"Well actually, I love this book. This is my 3rd time reading it and I would read it for many more times," I said matching her how excited she was.

By now, she was a lot more calm than before.

"That's so cool! Hey, I have to get home, but could I get your number? I would love to talk more!" she said all at once.

"Um.. sure I don't see why not," I said without showing how surprised I was.

I was by no means shy, but this was something I hadn't expected. This girl is definitely something.

I gave her my number and she saved it and started to walk away, but turned around and exclaimed,

"I'll text you later and you better answer!" which scared me but I shouted back and said,

"I will!"

I read for another 30 minutes, but I felt a vibration in my pocket. I thought it must've been my dad telling me to come back to the house, but no. It was Aito. She had texted me with a series of texts about the book.

"What was your favorite part? How did you get it? Why do you like it so much?" I read the texts off my phone.

I decided I would go home for the day and come back the next day to continue reading. I responded to all of Aiko's texts and she would always text back quickly. I thought she would be the type of girl to text for a little while and eventually get bored and stop, but Aiko was different. Then again, I rarely talk to anyone, especially girls, and I have never even had a girlfriend so maybe I was just being stereotypical. Either way, I was off in my thoughts at dinner when my father snapped me to reality.

"Hikaru! What are you doing?" he exclaimed.

"Huh, what?" I said coming to reality.

"What has you off in the clouds today?" he asked teasing me.

"Oh, nothing dad. Just the book I'm reading," I said blushing.

"Which one is it?"

"Strange Weather In Tokyo."

"Haven't you read that twice?" he asked me.

"Yes, but I love the book a lot."

"Well, that's good Hikaru," he said to me

"Yes, it is."

I sat there eating my dinner when I suddenly started to miss my mom... a lot...

"Dad.. do you ever miss mom?" I asked putting my chopsticks down.

"Of course, but we can't change the fact that she is gone," he said looking at me.

"I understand. I'm sorry that I asked," I said going back to eating.

"Hikaru, you can miss your mom as much as you want, but you need to realize that she brought you into this world to do great things, not mourn her," he said smiling.

"I understand, dad. Thank you," I asked and finished eating.

The next day, I get to school and I walk into class. As soon as I walk into class, Aiko walked up to me and said,

"You're super fun to talk to!" She was grinning from cheek to cheek.

"Uh... thank you, Aiko," I said with an awkward tone.

"You're so welcome!! You make me very happy, Hikaru," she said, her smile not going away.

I walked over to my chair and noticed all the awkward looks I was getting. I understand why, to be honest, because I was a nobody and she was extremely popular. The class starts and finishes and we are released to lunch. I sit by myself and eat as normal while reading. I was minding my own business when a group of the popular guys came up to me and jerked me out of my chair.

"What do you think you're doing talking to my girl?!" he shouted at me.

"Listen! She came up to me! We share an interest in reading so she wanted to talk about it! I just listened! I swear I didn't mean anything by it!"

This girl was gonna be trouble...