Secret

Part 20

Night had fallen, and everything was quiet at the Sabaku's residence. Rasa was in his study with Gaara, both were discussing something together. Whereas Temari was off taking a shower and Kankuro was fiddling with a mechanism on one of his puppets. More importantly, it had gotten very quiet in Sakura's room.
Her mother sat there, staring at sakura with an unreadable expression on her face. After a while, sakura started fidgeting around, not knowing how to move ahead from the blunder she created.

Flashback

Taking a deep breath and deciding that this is a better time than ever says, "Mom, there is something I want to tell you."

Mebuki looking up at her daughter and seeing the serious look on her face, closes the album and directs all her attention towards her daughter, and says, "What is it honey?"

"Mom, I should have told you this before, but I lied to you. I am not attending Konoha Girls Academy. I am a student at Konoha Prime Academy.", Sakura blurted out.
"That's funny dear, but I am pretty sure that KPA is an All Boys school, they wouldn't have you as a student there." Mebuki answered with a smile, "Are you trying to prank me", she added.
"What, No mom, it's not a prank. It's the truth." Sakura said flabbergasted.
"Sakura, ...", Mebuki started saying.
"I disguised myself as a boy and with the help of the girls got into KPA as a student and have been studying there for the past term.", Sakura added in one breath looking at her mother who had gone eerily quiet.

Flashback end's

She sat there quietly watching her mother, not moving a muscle, any one wrong move and the volcano might burst, 'that is not a pleasant thought at all', sakura watched and waited. And then a single voice penetrated the silence.
"Sakura Haruno, are you telling me that you have been attending KPA all this time and didn't bother to tell me. You have been pretending to be a Boy this whole time just so you could, I don't even know what you were thinking?" Mebuki said not quiet shouting but still being evident about her anger.
"I can explain" Sakura said meekly looking at the ground.
"I don't know what to say, I can't trust you to tell me the truth." Mebuki said shaking her head, looking sadly at sakura. She stood up and walked out the door, stopping she turned once and said, "I need to think about this sakura, for now, you should get ready for dinner."

Now left alone in the room, sakura could do nothing but feel immense guilt for lying to her mother and for hurting her so much. Tears started falling down her cheeks, so she sat there as silent tears fell and all she felt was guilt for everything she had done to hurt her mother and create such strain on their relation.

In the Master bedroom

Mebuki sat on the chaise, thinking to back to everything that had happened. 'everything was going fine, we finally started talking after so many years of keeping our distance and now this. Why would she go to a boy's school, is this a rebellious phase? I don't even know what goes through her head'. Sitting there quietly, she kept thinking.
"How did she manage to get into a boy's school to begin with, and more importantly, is their screening process so lax that any one can forge a document and get admitted. What would Kizashi say, if he heard it, he would probably...", she trailed off, remembering Kizashi and his dreams.
Holding her head, she sat there and now she knew with her whole being why her smart, intelligent daughter would do something downright illegal, and not consider the consequences at all.

"You seemed to be thinking hard.", Rasa says as he enters the room, looking at her with a slight smile.
"You have no idea.", she replies looking up at him.
"Want to talk about it?" , comes a questioning tone.
"I'll tell you, once I can make heads and tail out of it." Mebuki answers with a strained smile.
"Well, just know, I am here, anyway, there is something I want to discuss with you."
"What is it? Everything is okay, right?"
"Yes, its fine, I just wanted your thoughts regarding it."
"Okay, so what would you like to have my thoughts for"
"It's about Gaara."

Back in Sakura's room

I can't believe this, mom is going to be so mad, she might tell Rasa san, and then he would be going on in a monotone way that I cant go back to Konoha, I will have to stay her, no one will know, Sakura or Hikaru wont exist. And Temari, what will she say, she will be so disappointed and worst off Kankuro will know, he'll make stupid jokes about me and I wouldn't be able to do anything. And Gaara, stoic and mean when teaching Gaara, will look at me and probably say "Is this why I was teaching you, No More", what will I do now.

Sakura despaired as all kinds of thoughts came into her mind, she didn't know hat was going to happen now, she hadn't been able to explain to her mother her reasons and why she did it. She left before she could tell her. And now she had no idea about anything. She hadn't told her friends where she was going, they wouldn't know until it would be to late.

It was during this inner monologue that Temari knocked and entered the room.

"You're not ready yet sakura", Temari asked as she took a long look at sakura curled into a ball.
"I am getting ready a moment", came a muffled reply.
"Okay.... You're okay right?", questioned Temari, feeling a little lost.
"Yeah, just getting up", she said getting up and morosely walking to the attached washroom.
'That girl', Temari thought leaving the room.

It wasn't long before the Sabaku's family met in the hall, all ready to go out for dinner. Temari and Kankuro were both teasing each other as Gaara stood to the side, watching them quietly while Rasa was on the phone, checking something. Mebuki watched the whole family and thought how everyone looked a little livelier then before and how an air of excitement was filling the house. Sakura came down the stairs and gave a small smile to everyone, as her eyes met her mother, she couldn't help but feel the hot flame of guilt and shame around her. Her mother was watching her like a hawk, looking at her with distrust. Sakura couldn't help but avert her eyes, she didn't want to know what would happen next. She was sure that come morning, she wouldn't be returning to KPA, and more so everyone would be disgusted by her.
'It's going to be a very exciting night, NOT', was the only thought in her head as the family headed out for dinner.

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