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I finally made it.
That's what Sakamoto Yumiko thought to herself as she entered the big hall of the most prestigious university in Japan, surrounded by way too many people for her taste. She can't help but stand in the doorway and admire the colorful ceiling, portraits and statues that adore the walls. People push past her and mumble inaudible comments but she's way too distracted to give them a second thought.
Shaking her head she takes one last look around. "So this is the place I will spend the next four years of my life, huh"
Yumiko takes her first steps into the hall, walking towards the small stage at the of the big room. Brushing past people, she doesn't even recognize one face and starts to question if leaving her beloved village and moving to a big city like Tokyo really was such a good idea. She never was the most outgoing girl and had difficulties building real friendships. Yumiko was anxious to say the least. No one likes being in an environment they are completely unfamiliar with.
At least that's what she tells herself.
But she promised herself that she won't shy away today. This is a new start and she won't waste it being in her head and overthinking about things that didn't even happen yet.
Yumiko finally arrives at the stage, or at least as close as she can get. The staff set up four rows of chairs but most of them were already occupied, apart from some seats here and there, but she wasn't really in the mood to squeeze inbetween people she didn't know. Who knows maybe they are sick or straight up creeps. So she decided that standing at the side was her best option.
She takes out the letter from her backpocket, smiling at the memory it evokes.
Her mom was the only one that had a key to the family's mailbox, so she was the first one to find out that Yumiko got accepted for the scholarship to Japan's best university. Mrs. Sakamoto doesn't understand the concept of privacy or the confidentiality of letters, so she opened it without Yumikos knowledge and once her eyes scanned the letters she let out a loud squeal, startling Yumiko upstairs.
Thinking her mom hurt herself she was quick to run down the stairs and open the door to the living room. "Mom! Are you okay? What happened?" She walks over to her mom and cradles her pale face into her palms, thinking of the worst. "Are you feeling well, mom? Do you need something?"
Her mom finally takes her eyes off of the letter, lowering it and looking up at her daughter with a frown. "What are you talking about? I'm feeling fucking amazing! Look at this!" She pushed the letter into her face.
She jerked away at the sudden invasion but after her eyes adjusted and roamed over the words she let out a high tone, tackling her mom with a hug. Both of them laughing and grinning, filled with happiness..
A sudden sound eruptes and echoes through the hall. Putting the letter away with a ghost of a smile on her face, she looks towards the stage. A man in a suit proudly stands infront of a microphone, cards in his hands. He cleares his throat "Good afternoon future students of the Sato Academy of Tokyo. I welcome all of you and hope that you had a pleasant trip. My name is Takakimi Nishihira and am one of the four principals of this school." He points towards the other people that sit behind him. A mix of both women and men.
