Eljin stared out the window of the classroom as he watched the pink sakura petals flutter and float from their branches to the floor. Those were the sakura trees, and whereas they had already commenced their show of petal fall, the rest of the flora had only begun to bud their leaves. It was spring, and soon he would be graduating from middle school.
The classroom began to fill with noise as the rest of the students clamored in and gathered around their friends. Soon enough he noticed a cheerful blond girl walk into the classroom surrounded by her entourage…as usual. Eljin stared at her, reminiscing a bit about his childhood.
“Hey. Hey Eljin,” a voice called him. Eljin snapped out of his bored stupor as he noticed his friend, Liam. “Morning dude, whatcha starin’ at?” He asked as he hung his bag at his desk-side hook.
“N-nothing,” Eljin turned away, flushing slightly.
The black-haired Liam glanced in the direction his friend had been staring in. “Ah, little miss Chloe Midsommer, eh? Got a crush on her or something?” Eljin furiously shook his head at this comment. “Well I wouldn’t blame you. Pristine as a jewel, dignified like a princess, with the grace of a swan. Plus she’s also really smart and sings really well. Who wouldn’t like her?” Eljin remained quiet in his seat as he thought back to his childhood. The truth was, Eljin and Chloe were originally childhood friends. They lived in the same neighborhood and had played as children. Though eventually as they grew older, Chloe became more popular as both peers and adults began to flock and fawn over her. They became distant, and soon lost contact.
I guess she wouldn’t really want to hang around an average guy like me anymore, huh? Eljin thought to himself.
Each day seemed to pass on like this, with just as much struggle on both sides—if you had a mob of people around you, how could you possibly escape or force an entry? Each night Eljin went home, he’d think long and hard about how he could reach her, as he had been trying to for the past couple of years.
“A letter in her locker? No, too public and cheesy. Perhaps a text? No, I don’t even have her contact,” Eljin sighed as he lay on his bed. “Maybe I should just give up. Who’s to say she even wants to be with me anymore?”
“Ah young love, how touching,” Liam chuckled one day before homeroom. A month had passed now and graduation loomed. Eljin had started to become desperate. Their school only had up until middle school, meaning that this was his last chance. He didn’t know where Chloe would be enrolling next, and after having moved a couple years back, he didn’t know where she lived either.
“Shut up,” Eljin pouted, “I shouldn’t have told you all that…”
“Oh c’mon,” Liam remarked, driving his knuckle into Eljin’s head, “I can’t leave a bro hanging, I’ll help.”
“Fine… thanks.”
Their first plan? An accidental collision in the middle of the hall. As Eljin strode through the hall with Chloe’s group passing, Liam ran past and shoved the smaller boy, the force of which sent Eljin tumbling into the blond girl’s group and knocking over Chloe herself. Eljin’s eyes widened.
“Oh! I’m so sorry! Um…” Eljin got up, shook to the core. Liam hadn’t divulged much information as to how he’d make the plan work, but Eljin hadn’t expected this! Eljin offered her his hand, “Chloe are you-”
“Hey watch it punk!” A rather large student lumbered over to Eljin. With a single brutish hand, and with incredible force, Eljin was pushed back and held by his collar. “How dare you, throwing yourself against Midsommer like that,” the barbaric student growled. Passerby students turned around to see the commotion. Even classroom doors slid open as curious eyes and heads peaked out. “Gunther! That’s enough. It was only an accident,” Chloe said sternly.
“But-”
“Let him go, and let’s be on our way,” she continued, her voice softer now and more dignified. Gunther the brute let go of Eljin’s collar and lumbered away, a hulking human mountain. Eljin could only watch as he lost his chance.
A little while later at lunch, Eljin sulked at his seat at the back of the classroom, staring at the ever falling sakura petals as Liam kept munching on his sandwich in silence with his eyes closed and arms crossed deep in thought. After what had just transpired, the two had decided to rethink their strategy. Suddenly, Liam’s eyes snapped open with a lightbulb seemingly lighting up over his head. As a direct confrontation had failed, Liam suggested a more indirect approach–an anonymous letter. Eljin sighed. He knew the plan would fail, but as he had no other ideas and nothing to lose, he yielded to Liam’s proposition.
So later that day, when all the students had left the grounds and only teachers sparsely populated the building, Liam crafted a letter and envelope, taking care to slide it into Chloe’s locker. With it being unquestionable that Chloe would check her locker every morning, this plan was surely to be a success… right?
“I'm someone who's been friends with you since we were kids. I like you, so can you meet me behind the gym after school?” A girl read aloud the next morning. “Ew what a creep!” She exclaimed.
The morning had come and just as the two boys had predicted, the pristine idol of the class came to her locker. Though what they hadn’t anticipated was that she’d immediately have a squadron of students with her. As students gathered around Chloe, the letter was passed around more and more. Each time accompanied by increasingly worse insults from the ravaging students. Eljin leaned against the wall behind the stair with his head–a tear nearly formed.
“What kind of message is that Liam?” Eljin whispered aggressively as he shook his friend. “I thought you said you wrote something good! I thought you said this was a good idea!”
“It was good! But I hadn’t considered the possibility that she’d have her entourage… wait, now that I think about it, that is still very much a possibility…” the taller black-haired boy trailed off.
“Liam…” Eljin whined, “can’t I just…y’know, go ask to talk to her in private straight as it is?”
“What? No way dude, a school princess like her needs something grand, and what if she says no? You’ll completely lose face!” Liam rebutted.
“Fine,” Eljin exhaled deeply. “What did you have in mind?” “Heh, we need a certain gentle giant,” Liam grinned sneakily, “and a little bribe…”
“Move it pipsqueaks!” a hulking giant pushed through the lines in the cafeteria. He stood towering over the towers, even the boy that had very nearly gotten into an altercation with Eljin—a true human mountain for his age. He practically bulldozed his way through the crowd. Just as he was about to push past Chloe, who had been brought to the front by her “friends,'' the cafeteria doors burst open. The silhouette of a Eljin stood at the entrance as he approached his hulking peer.
“Hey, you,” Eljin commanded. “Yes, you. Hulking barbarian. Don’t you know it's rude to cut the line? Didn’t your parents ever-”
“Not...king…barian,” he mumbled. “W-what?” Eljin stuttered. “I’m not a hulking giant!” the seven foot boy sobbed as he charged through the cafeteria and out the door. He wiped his eyes with his right arm as his left flailed about. As quick as his reaction time would permit, Eljin attempted a sidestep as he swiveled on his feet.
Smack.
Eljin felt a great force collide against him squarely in the chest as the massive boulder fist made contact. With the wind forced out of his lungs, Eljin was sent flying a few feet back and continued to slide a few more. The cafeteria was left in silence. Awkward silence. Save for the coughing and gasping of Eljin. With this opportunity, Chloe stepped forward and helped Eljin up.
“I’m going to take Eljin to the infirmary. You guys have lunch without me.” She smiled at her group. With Eljin’s arm in her grasp she continued to escort the boy not to the infirmary, but rather, the back of the gymnasium. Setting him down, Chloe gracefully sat next to him. “Are you alright?” She asked, gently. “I’m…fine,” Eljin rubbed his chest sorely. “Why?” Chloe leaned against the wall with her eyes closed. “Why what?” Eljin cocked his head. “Why’d you do all those weird schemes?” “Wha- how…how did you know it was me?” Eljin retracted slightly in surprise. “Oh come on El, we grew up together. How could I not?” Chloe stared into his electric blue eyes with her calm and serene sky blue ones.
“Alright fine…I have two confessions for you,” Eljin sighed as he looked away. “The first is that I wanted to talk to you in private. Since we’ve entered middle school you’ve become so popular and we’ve talked less and less. I thought someone so… special like you didn’t want to hang out with someone average like me anymore. Also, we’re going to graduate middle school soon and we’ll be going our own ways… I didn’t know where you lived anymore and I never thought I’d get the chance to tell you.” “Tell me what?” Chloe asked curiously. “That…that I like you!” Eljin exclaimed. Chloe’s eyes widened and at that moment a cool spring breeze blew by. It shook the frail branches of the spring sakura trees, sending a fluttering shower of pink petals all around them. As the last few petals floated to the floor, Eljin felt a peck on his cheek. His face burned a bright scarlet red as he turned to Chloe. “Um… yeah… that’s my answer,” Chloe stood up with her back turned to him. “I gotta go now or they’ll get suspicious. Oh! And I’ll leave my phone number in your locker. Okay bye!” Eljin was left alone as he gently touched his cheek. With the event finally sinking in, he leapt with joy as he jumped happily and fell into the bath of pink spring petals. “Spring is the best!” He exclaimed to himself. Now of course, this isn’t the end of their story and there is more to come, but that’s all for this year’s spring. As the ethereal sakura petals fall, so is time that passes by in life.
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