The Beginning

Arriving in a new city is never easy.

The air feels different, the people aren't the same and suddenly you feel all alone.

Well, not exactly alone.

Sakura had been living in Osaka for years, it was where all of her friends were, and everything that she was familiar with had been in that city.

Safe to say that she didn't find the idea of going away from all of that too appealing...

When her parents first told her about the move to Sendai, she wasn't at all interested but even after weeks of begging, they wouldn't listen to her.

Her dad was a teacher and an offer to teach at Tohoku High School that was apparently irrecusable suddenly appeared.

For a 15-year-old, moving cities when she was just starting to have a decent group of friends felt like dying.

Okay, maybe it wasn't that bad, but for a teenage girl, that's how it felt like.

Sakura was naturally a very introverted girl and making friends wasn't easy.

That's why she felt like the world was ending now.

"But, mom, can't we stay? Dad has a job here."

"I'm afraid not. Everything is already settled. I promise you will like the new school and you will make friends in no time."

"But I don't want new friends... I like my friends..."

"You have to understand, Sakura-chan, your dad needs this, ok?"

"But..."

"It will be fine"

And just like that, any possible chances of fighting this were almost completely gone.

Sakura packed all of her things reluctantly when she finally gave up on changing her parents' minds.

Sendai was so far away...And even with phones, keeping contact with her friends was almost certain going to be difficult.

Not that it mattered because, like her mom said, it was already settled.

She didn't even know how Sendai was, they had never been there and suddenly her parents seemed completely sure about moving into this unknown city.

The first impressions were that it wasn't that bad, it was still Japan after all, and some things weren't as different as she expected.

It did help that the new house where they were moving into was well-located with a beautiful Japanese Style garden in the back. If there was one thing Sakura loved was nature. The garden would for sure be one of her favorite spots from the get-go. She instantly imagined herself reading there for hours.

Not that it made the situation any more enticing, she still felt alone and lost and the school hadn't even started yet.

Sakura was usually fine being alone, she even preferred it, but when in school, the girl didn't want to be the outcast.

Worst of it all was that she was going to the same school that her dad was teaching.

While he wouldn't directly be in charge of her class, she knew him well enough to realize that all of the teachers would know who she was.

At least she had a couple of days before classes started.

Getting to know a new city is one of those things that everyone has different methods to do. Sakura and her parents spent the weekend walking around and meeting some locals.

She had to admit that most of the people around seemed quite nice and welcoming.

Everything was going quite well. She liked her new bedroom and the house, the surroundings were beautiful and Sakura quickly realized how much nature there was in Sendai.

Osaka was also beautiful but the beautiful forests and temples of her new city weren't bad either.

Going through the school's curriculum that was sent to her, Sakura quickly realized that this was a strict school. It even made her wonder if she would be able to keep her max grades.

Being the daughter of a teacher meant that she was taught to excel in school, but sometimes the pressure could get heavy on her shoulders.

It wasn't even that her father put that much pressure on her. It was just that Sakura already placed that pressure on herself. After so many years of being the best student, she didn't want to suddenly fall apart.

She had to be the best.

It was her honor to keep.

Turns out that being the best student in her class wouldn't be as easy as she expected.

Just on her first day, it started being more than clear that making friends wouldn't be easy.

Everyone was already separated in groups and it seemed almost impossible for her to even get past the awkward conversation state with anyone.

Sakura eventually discarded the option of trying to make friends after a week. Every time she tried to speak with any of the girls, they just called her ugly or nerd.

They didn't even know her.

Maybe she should try to look nicer, and pay more attention to how she looked.No, not Sakura.

She was taught to be proud of herself and changing her appearance to make friends shouldn't be necessary.

So, here she was now, in a secluded corner, trying to gather if she wanted to attempt to get a place at the crowded cafeteria or if she should just eat outside.

She gave a total of two looks inside the room and immediately got out.

Too crowded and no one looked friendly enough to approach.

Sakura found a nice deserted place in the middle of the grass and just placed her jacket on the ground before sitting down and taking her bento box out of her backpack.

"Why are you eating outside?" She heard someone say, making her look around to try and find the source of the voice.

A few meters in front of her eyes was a boy, maybe around her age with a haircut that resembled a mushroom and a cute face.