Chapter 7: New Day
As soon as she saw the first student wearing her school’s uniform on the street, Sakura donned her protective mask—the cold, stuck-up persona they had come to expect of her. It wouldn’t do for them to know she often hummed to herself while walking, or see her stopping to admire flowers. Once there was a chance any of her classmates might see, it was eyes straight ahead, an almost stiff march, and a dash of dismissiveness added to any glance she gave them.
Wordlessly, she switched out her shoes and headed to her classroom. All around her, early morning chattering filled the silence she left in her wake, the joyful noise of friends greeting each other as if they hadn’t just been together yesterday.
With a steadying breath, she pulled open the classroom door and stepped
