Under The Cherry Blossom Tree

Chapter 9 - Drowning Jealousy

Cyra's POV

"I'll walk her home for today... Careful on your way home, Hinata-chan." And again, our distance seems to widen.

"See you tomorrow, Hinata-chan!!" He waved his hand and walked away with Ms. Venus by his side as I stood there, watching them with an uncomfortable feeling that I couldn't explain.

Weeks have passed since I witnessed their shared sweet interaction. Ever since then, Toshiro-san and Ms. Venus were always together.

At lunchtime, he's the one bringing her food in her classroom. During our morning walks, where we're supposed to be alone, he's there too, and she's not waiting for me anymore. She's always walking home with him.

Their bond seems to grow day by day, and I don't hate it. I'm actually glad there's someone who can make her smile like I did. But for some reason, as our distance widens, these uncomfortable feelings are growing.

"The day after tomorrow is a big day. Are you guys ready?" asked our team leader. We answered in unison as we continued our tasks.

"Drama club tent... Check... Sports club tent... Check..." My task is to check if the tents of the clubs are complete and properly set up. So far, everything is complete. Some aren't finished, but if they continue tomorrow, they will be done.

"How about our Welcome Poster? Is it done already?"

"President Yuu! Is it okay if we place it here?!"

"Council member! What do you think about this?!"

As the day passed by, our club got busier. There were many students still here, like the music club, student council members, designer club, and dancer club.

The dancer and music clubs are currently practicing their collab performance while the designer club and the student council members are, of course, designing the whole school.

"Hinata-san! Where do you think we should go after our performance?" one of the dancer club members shouted.

"Divide your members into two and use both exits. That'll be less messy and it'll look more decent."

"Oh right. Thank you, Hinata-san!" I walked away and returned to the room where my teammates were gathered.

"Hinata-chan, are you done with your task?" the school council president asked as soon as I entered the room.

"I am. Is there anything else I could help you with?" I handed her the list of club tents.

"Well, there's something I want you to do. Is that okay with you?" I nodded in response. I didn't have anyone to walk home with, so I might as well stay with them.

"Great. Could you print these tickets in the computer room? I need at least twenty pages of it." She handed me the tickets to be used before the performances.

There are tickets for the drama club performance, student pageants, and tickets for the science club performance. I headed to the computer room and printed them. Afterward, I cut them up to lessen the workload for my teammates.

While cutting, I couldn't stop thinking about the events of the past few days.

It's normal for best friends to be that close, but why do I feel like they're not just friends?

Why do I feel like there's something more going on with them?

"Fuck," I cursed under my breath when I accidentally cut my finger. I winced in pain as I sipped the blood coming out of it.

"Look at you tearing up dahil lang sa maliit na cuts." I got startled when someone suddenly spoke up. It was Keita walking towards me while reaching for something in his pocket.