Sakura's Fault

My surroundings were so loud, I barely heard my phone ring. The familiar sound of a pornstar moaning, the result of a truth or dare session, played in my pocket, faintly amidst the chaos ensuing both outside and within. I quickly took out my phone, expecting, no, hoping it was her. It wasn't.

I read the word 'Mom' on the LCD screen before putting the phone back in my pocket. It was then that I began to wonder, standing in the middle of a busy mall area, shoppers passing by and staring at me awkwardly. What was I doing here in the first place? Oh, that's right. I was looking for her. With sweaty hands, I took out my phone from my pocket again and opened up the 'Messages' application. My touches weren't registering properly due to the beads of sweat rolling down my fingers. Why am I sweating again? Oh, because I'm nervous. I accessed the messaging history of the contact named 'Gf' and found it to be the same as earlier this morning. Just a single message from her and multiple from me.

The time is currently 12:10 PM. I'm sitting in a restaurant in the same mall, refreshing the message history, desperately hoping for a new message to appear. But it doesn't. I put my phone down and observe my surroundings. Part of my brain thinks she's in this restaurant, observing my actions and laughing to herself. But the only customers in this restaurant are me and a fat lady sitting two tables away from me. As I look around, a waiter approaches me and asks me for my order. He's about my age and seems kind of familiar. Too bad remembering names and faces isn't my forte. I stare at him blankly for a moment.

"Uh, I'll have some water, please," I say.

The waiter shrugs, annoyed. "Would you like anything with it?"

"No."

The waiter nods and retreats back from where he came. I look at him go. He might've been someone I knew, I think. Even his voice was familiar. That's when I heard the notification ring go off on my phone. I pick it up, and sure enough, it was a message from her. I read today's message history to align my thoughts and get my head together.

From Her: yousei, thank you for all you've done for me. it's really been a good time being with you. but i'm sorry. me and my family are moving to another city now for my education, so this will be my goodbye. they're not giving me time to say bye in person, so i guess this is it. i hope i'll see you again.

Me: what? where are u rn
Me: sakura? are u there?Me: sakura?Me: ok, i don't know why ur not responding, whether its on purpose or not, but pls can u come to the mall for me? its where we usually meet and its close to your house to, so pls come there for meMe: ill be right thereMe: im on my wayMe: im at the mall, where r u?

From Her: you dont need to do this for me.

I stare at the phone, confused. Something like this has never happened in the past six months I was going out with her. I put the phone back down on the table and rub my eyes. I don't know if this is a dream or if this is actually happening. I try to shut down my brain, but my thoughts keep going to her. To Sakura Fujimoto. I let my brain get engulfed in my thoughts as I lean back into my chair.

Sakura was always a special one. She was the top girl in my class, be it in terms of grades, looks, or sports. Dating someone like her was something of a dream to introverts like me. Until that fateful day, when we met after school. She told me she had a crush on me, and loved my silent, mysterious persona, and we've been going out ever since, meeting on evening trips to the same mall. I was an average kid, with average grades and average looks, and dating a beauty like her was a dream come true, and these six months were the best of my life. Sakura told me to keep this relationship a secret to not affect her social image, but I didn't care. As long as I got to spend time with THE Sakura Fujimoto, anything was fine.

Until today.
The waiter comes back and places a glass of iced water in front of me before retreating into the kitchen. I stare at the glass, water droplets flowing down its side. Glass. I look out the window to my side, looking at the passersby. Most of them are shoppers, done with a long morning of shopping, and drinking coffee as they walk. Most. Also in the crowd are some homeless people, just looking for a place with air conditioning. And then I saw him.

It was a student dressed in a high school uniform. A high schooler, out shopping at this time? Unlikely. Today's a public holiday for middle schoolers like me, after all. What's he doing out here?

The student takes out his phone and scrolls desperately, a hopeless look on his face. Hopeless. Desperate. Maybe... I get out of my chair and walk outside the restaurant, leaving my water untouched. My brain pieces together the information, but I try my best to shut it down. It's something which, if true, I'm not ready to accept. I walk towards the student and spot another with the same uniform behind him. He's also got his phone out. I approach the first student awkwardly.

I ask him a question. "Um, hi. Are you from Orchards High?"

He looks at me in the eye. He seems frustrated. "Yeah, can't you see my uniform?"

I stutter. "Uh-Uhm, Yeah..."

He gets even more frustrated. "Well? What do you want?"

I look him back in the eyes. "What's that on your phone?"

He turns his phone off and puts it in his pocket. "Not your business."

After a brief pause, I finally mustered up the courage to ask him what I approached him for. "Don't you think that you, by any chance, might have been played with?"

His eyes widen. The student behind him stops in his tracks.

"I- don't know," he replies.

I gesture to the student behind him.

"I'm pretty sure we're on the same page. Spill the beans," I say.

Takashi Oigawa and Jyusei Hitou are both students of Orchards High, the most prestigious high school in the city of Tokyo. They're both top scorers and excellent at sports. They also have another similarity, however. They're both in love.

Takashi met Sakura Fujimoto 3 months ago. Both of them went to the same grocery store every evening to buy groceries. Soon enough, they approached each other and conversations started. He found out she was a high schooler too, and they built a casual friendship in no time. After a month, affection blossomed in Takashi's heart, and he finally got the courage to ask her out, to which she agreed. They both used to meet frequently in the same mall at night, and this went on for 2 months. But this morning, she texted him something unexpected, and he rushed to the mall in hopes of finding her.

Jyusei met Sakura Fujimoto 4 months ago. He was a national-level football player and used to attend football training in the afternoon after just a few hours of school. During practice, he would often see a beautiful girl attending dance classes through the windows in a studio next to his training ground. After a while, he approached her and had a casual chat about random topics. From then on, he had a conversation with her every day and found himself falling in love with her. He asked her out to the mall once, and from then they started dating, and life was going smoothly until this morning when she sent an unexpected text.

We stare at each other after I recount my own story. I stand there unable to accept what I just learned.

Takashi laughs in disbelief. "She played us all, and now she's gone scot-free."

That was when a thought formed in my brain. A lasting one. I made a vow to never love again, no matter what.